You’re the only one who still defends him, content to be his kou t’ui-tzu , dog’s leg.”
“Must have been bribed,” Chang said. “What did he give you?”
Feng cried out, “No, nothing! Whoever took anything from him, may his right hand rot if he took it with his right hand, may his left hand rot if he took it with his left hand!”
“Then why don’t you speak the truth?”
They pressed him further and Feng finally admitted haltingly that the money T’ang lent him was “ yen-wang ts’ai , a loan from the king of hell.” A high rate of compound interest had been charged. So in recent years he had never got paid when he carried water for T’ang, padded loose earth over his land, repaired ditches and ground wheat and wheat-stalks for him.
Liu had been watching with smouldering indignation. Twice he had written a short note on a slip of paper, passing it to Chang. Each time Chang had crumpled it into a ball after glancing at it and stuffed it into his pocket, and had gone on with the questioning and prompting. Liu reminded himself that he could not speak out strongly for T’ang since he was staying in T’ang’s house and could very well be accused of having been bought or softened up. But in the end he could not stand it any more. “Comrade Chang,” he said, “I don’t hold with mobilizing the Masses in this manner. It doesn’t encourage them to tell the truth.”
“What do you mean?” Chang looked at him coldly. “We’re always talking of mobilizing The People, but when The People have really Risen, you don’t think we’re going to get frightened and try to gag them, are we? I tell you, nowadays nobody can gag The People when they choose to speak.”
Liu was about to speak again but Chang cut him short. “Comrade Liu, it seems that you have taken the wrong Class Route. You’re due for some Self-Examination. Think it over by yourself first. We’ll discuss your problem some other day.”
His last words were clearly a threat. Liu fell silent, and after that nobody else dared say anything.
When the meeting had ended and they were on their way back to the village, Su Nan caught up with Liu and whispered, “Really, it’s too undemocratic.”
At first Liu did not speak. Then he suddenly burst out furiously, “You saw what happened today. Anybody who so much as opened his mouth must be the landlord’s kou t’ui-tzu .”
“All right, all right, that’s enough,” another young man in the Corps whispered as he brushed past them. “If anybody should hear, they’ll say we’re Holding a Small Meeting.”
Su Nan hurried away without another word.
Liu lagged behind the others. He dreaded going back to the Tangs. If he should behave as if nothing had happened, he’d feel too hypocritical. But of course it was out of the question to tell them anything. On top of breaking the discipline of the Corps he would be committing the most serious crime of Sabotaging the Land Reform, punishable by death. Besides, what good would it do to warn them? The Tangs could not get away from the village and even if they could, they had nowhere to go.
Liu walked slowly, taking the long way home past the ditch to the west of the village. The tall old willow by the ditch stood golden in the setting sun. The days were quiet now without the cicadas.
Somebody was squatting on the stone slab across the narrow ditch, washing clothes. Liu took no notice of the flowered purple blouse and pants and did not realize that it was Erh Niu until he had come quite close. And then he was too stunned to turn round, but went on walking toward her.
He stood on the bank, only a few steps away from her, but he did not look at her. Instead he looked down into the thickly flowing water, specked with pale bits of straw. Long wisps of yellow mud trailed sluggishly in the current, like half-beaten egg-yolk floating in the egg-white.
Erh Niu had seen his reflection in the water. She pretended not to notice, waiting for him to address
“Must have been bribed,” Chang said. “What did he give you?”
Feng cried out, “No, nothing! Whoever took anything from him, may his right hand rot if he took it with his right hand, may his left hand rot if he took it with his left hand!”
“Then why don’t you speak the truth?”
They pressed him further and Feng finally admitted haltingly that the money T’ang lent him was “ yen-wang ts’ai , a loan from the king of hell.” A high rate of compound interest had been charged. So in recent years he had never got paid when he carried water for T’ang, padded loose earth over his land, repaired ditches and ground wheat and wheat-stalks for him.
Liu had been watching with smouldering indignation. Twice he had written a short note on a slip of paper, passing it to Chang. Each time Chang had crumpled it into a ball after glancing at it and stuffed it into his pocket, and had gone on with the questioning and prompting. Liu reminded himself that he could not speak out strongly for T’ang since he was staying in T’ang’s house and could very well be accused of having been bought or softened up. But in the end he could not stand it any more. “Comrade Chang,” he said, “I don’t hold with mobilizing the Masses in this manner. It doesn’t encourage them to tell the truth.”
“What do you mean?” Chang looked at him coldly. “We’re always talking of mobilizing The People, but when The People have really Risen, you don’t think we’re going to get frightened and try to gag them, are we? I tell you, nowadays nobody can gag The People when they choose to speak.”
Liu was about to speak again but Chang cut him short. “Comrade Liu, it seems that you have taken the wrong Class Route. You’re due for some Self-Examination. Think it over by yourself first. We’ll discuss your problem some other day.”
His last words were clearly a threat. Liu fell silent, and after that nobody else dared say anything.
When the meeting had ended and they were on their way back to the village, Su Nan caught up with Liu and whispered, “Really, it’s too undemocratic.”
At first Liu did not speak. Then he suddenly burst out furiously, “You saw what happened today. Anybody who so much as opened his mouth must be the landlord’s kou t’ui-tzu .”
“All right, all right, that’s enough,” another young man in the Corps whispered as he brushed past them. “If anybody should hear, they’ll say we’re Holding a Small Meeting.”
Su Nan hurried away without another word.
Liu lagged behind the others. He dreaded going back to the Tangs. If he should behave as if nothing had happened, he’d feel too hypocritical. But of course it was out of the question to tell them anything. On top of breaking the discipline of the Corps he would be committing the most serious crime of Sabotaging the Land Reform, punishable by death. Besides, what good would it do to warn them? The Tangs could not get away from the village and even if they could, they had nowhere to go.
Liu walked slowly, taking the long way home past the ditch to the west of the village. The tall old willow by the ditch stood golden in the setting sun. The days were quiet now without the cicadas.
Somebody was squatting on the stone slab across the narrow ditch, washing clothes. Liu took no notice of the flowered purple blouse and pants and did not realize that it was Erh Niu until he had come quite close. And then he was too stunned to turn round, but went on walking toward her.
He stood on the bank, only a few steps away from her, but he did not look at her. Instead he looked down into the thickly flowing water, specked with pale bits of straw. Long wisps of yellow mud trailed sluggishly in the current, like half-beaten egg-yolk floating in the egg-white.
Erh Niu had seen his reflection in the water. She pretended not to notice, waiting for him to address
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