her. “Looking for death!”
“Let’s go,” Sun said impatiently. They took T’ang back to the school.
6
THE NEXT day Liu was among the Corps members sent out to measure the fields and look into the matter of Black Land, hidden, unreported land. When they came back in the evening he heard that all the landlords had been sent to the hsien prison. There wasn’t much hope for them once they got sent up to the hsien , village. The only ones left were Han T’ing-pang and his wife, who were still detained in the back courtyard of the school. Liu was surprised to learn this because Han was definitely a genuine landlord. How was it that he alone got special treatment? Then he learned that it was because they had forced Han to write to his relatives for money to pay back what he owed his tenants for exploitation going back for generations. Han had written urgent letters to his father-in-law in Peking and the old man had sent some money but nothing like what was expected. So they were still making him write letters. They had high hopes for him.
After the events of the past three days Liu wanted nothing more than a moment alone with Su Nan, if only to talk over all those things that shocked him so deeply. But there were always so many eyes and ears around. That was a part of living the Collective Life.
The hsien government sent them a message saying that the landlords of Han Chia T’o had been tried and sentenced and were going to be shot the next day. The village militia and the Land Reform Workers’ Corps were invited to send representatives to witness the execution.
Chang and Liu were among those chosen to represent the Corps. The next day they started out before dawn, walking all the way to town. The mass execution was to take place outside the city wall, but as they hadn’t been in town for a long time they took the opportunity to go shopping on the main street for toothpaste, soap and sweets.
The morning sun shone down the empty yellow dirt street, spotted here and there with mule and horse droppings and bits of straw. All the little shops had mud counters. When they finished shopping they came across a street barber who carried all his implements on a flat-pole. Liu took off his cap and felt his hair. He needed a haircut, so he stopped the barber and sat down on a stool by the wayside. The pharmacy he sat in front of had a mulecart hitched near its door. The mule chose to urinate just then, splashing noisily right into the barber’s brass basin placed on a low washstand.
The barber cursed richly. The pharmacy was built around a big tree. Half of its scaly black trunk bulged out of a side wall. The huge forked branches stuck out of the roof and the sun had lit up the treetop. When Liu looked up he saw two golden green leaves drifting down against the blue sky, scratching the rows of black tiles on the roof and then floating slowly down until they finally landed among the little black heaps of short hair at his feet. It was early in the day and nobody was in a hurry. And yet for T’ang Yü-hai this was the last hour. When Liu thought of this he felt the edge of the barber’s razor cold against the back of his neck.
After he had his haircut he went with two other Corps members to find Chang Li at the hsien Public Security Bureau. But Chang had already sent somebody out to find Liu. When Chang saw them he came up to them calling excitedly, “Where’s Comrade Liu Ch’üan? Hey, Comrade Liu, there’s a new task for us! Here’s a letter from Peking. The two of us are to go back right now. We’re assigned to a new task.”
Chang was evidently as surprised as Liu was by the order. The Organization had mentioned him and Liu in the same breath. Either he was slipping or Liu had considerable backing. In which case he had made a mistake in continually reminding Liu of his place, putting on the airs of an old kan-pu in front of him. Now he tried to make it up by suddenly getting very chummy. Sending away the other
“Let’s go,” Sun said impatiently. They took T’ang back to the school.
6
THE NEXT day Liu was among the Corps members sent out to measure the fields and look into the matter of Black Land, hidden, unreported land. When they came back in the evening he heard that all the landlords had been sent to the hsien prison. There wasn’t much hope for them once they got sent up to the hsien , village. The only ones left were Han T’ing-pang and his wife, who were still detained in the back courtyard of the school. Liu was surprised to learn this because Han was definitely a genuine landlord. How was it that he alone got special treatment? Then he learned that it was because they had forced Han to write to his relatives for money to pay back what he owed his tenants for exploitation going back for generations. Han had written urgent letters to his father-in-law in Peking and the old man had sent some money but nothing like what was expected. So they were still making him write letters. They had high hopes for him.
After the events of the past three days Liu wanted nothing more than a moment alone with Su Nan, if only to talk over all those things that shocked him so deeply. But there were always so many eyes and ears around. That was a part of living the Collective Life.
The hsien government sent them a message saying that the landlords of Han Chia T’o had been tried and sentenced and were going to be shot the next day. The village militia and the Land Reform Workers’ Corps were invited to send representatives to witness the execution.
Chang and Liu were among those chosen to represent the Corps. The next day they started out before dawn, walking all the way to town. The mass execution was to take place outside the city wall, but as they hadn’t been in town for a long time they took the opportunity to go shopping on the main street for toothpaste, soap and sweets.
The morning sun shone down the empty yellow dirt street, spotted here and there with mule and horse droppings and bits of straw. All the little shops had mud counters. When they finished shopping they came across a street barber who carried all his implements on a flat-pole. Liu took off his cap and felt his hair. He needed a haircut, so he stopped the barber and sat down on a stool by the wayside. The pharmacy he sat in front of had a mulecart hitched near its door. The mule chose to urinate just then, splashing noisily right into the barber’s brass basin placed on a low washstand.
The barber cursed richly. The pharmacy was built around a big tree. Half of its scaly black trunk bulged out of a side wall. The huge forked branches stuck out of the roof and the sun had lit up the treetop. When Liu looked up he saw two golden green leaves drifting down against the blue sky, scratching the rows of black tiles on the roof and then floating slowly down until they finally landed among the little black heaps of short hair at his feet. It was early in the day and nobody was in a hurry. And yet for T’ang Yü-hai this was the last hour. When Liu thought of this he felt the edge of the barber’s razor cold against the back of his neck.
After he had his haircut he went with two other Corps members to find Chang Li at the hsien Public Security Bureau. But Chang had already sent somebody out to find Liu. When Chang saw them he came up to them calling excitedly, “Where’s Comrade Liu Ch’üan? Hey, Comrade Liu, there’s a new task for us! Here’s a letter from Peking. The two of us are to go back right now. We’re assigned to a new task.”
Chang was evidently as surprised as Liu was by the order. The Organization had mentioned him and Liu in the same breath. Either he was slipping or Liu had considerable backing. In which case he had made a mistake in continually reminding Liu of his place, putting on the airs of an old kan-pu in front of him. Now he tried to make it up by suddenly getting very chummy. Sending away the other
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