was also a midnight quiet. The father and sons took home the leftover food, and on the road Mingliang asked Mingguang,
“Did you get a receipt?”
Mingguang replied, “Yes, and I even had them add an extra thousand yuan to the total.”
“You could have added more, and I would have signed for the reimbursement.” When they got home, Mingliang and the others sawwith surprise that of all the gifts they had given away that afternoon, nearly half had been returned to them in the middle of the night and left piled up next to their front door. The gifts had not been returned directly to the Kongs, and instead they had been deposited anonymously on their doorstep. In the moonlight, the gifts looked like a pile of pumpkins and other vegetables. The father stared at that stack of returned gifts without moving. Mingliang and his brothers also stood looking at the gifts. Under the moonlight, they could hear the light passing through the doorway. Suddenly, the entire family began cursing, “God …” Minghui leaned over to pick up a bag but then put it back down again and said, “In that case, our family can enjoy everything that was returned.” Mingliang stared at him coldly, then kicked the pile of gifts and smelled the rich cookies and pastries. The first thought that came into his mind was, “Do you fucking want to die? How dare you return our gifts?!” Then he remembered that Third Brother, when he was in the army, had been issued a gun, and it occurred to him that if only he could borrow it for a day, everything could be sorted out. When he looked over at his father, Kong Dongde said something that was completely consonant with what he himself was thinking:
“Why don’t you send a telegram to Third Brother, and see if he can bring his gun back for half a day?”
Mingguang and his brother Minghui stared at their father in confusion, but Mingliang saw he had a look of evil excitement that even the dim moonlight couldn’t conceal.
5. KONG MINGYAO
Kong Mingyao returned from the army.
He was now much taller and stronger than before, and was as powerful as a galloping horse. When he entered the village, ayellow travel bag in hand, he walked down the street with an excited expression. He nodded to everyone he saw, and handed out cigarettes and candy. He gave cigarettes to the men and candy to the women—as was customary in Balou for people who had left the village and then returned in glory. The quality of the cigarettes and the candy was taken as evidence of one’s relative success or failure while away. When Mingyao returned, the cigarettes he distributed were the most expensive ones available at the time, and it was said that only national leaders could afford to buy them. These were the cigarettes that Mingyao distributed to the villagers. As for the candy he distributed to the women and children, the villagers didn’t feel this was necessarily the best or sweetest candy available, and in fact they found it rather bitter. However, the writing on the tinfoil wrappings of the round, rectangular, and triangular candy was definitely not in Chinese, and instead was in some foreign script. From this, everyone realized that the chocolate must be a foreign delicacy, and therefore Kong Mingyao’s return became even more legendary. When he walked over from the village street, the spring sun had flowers bloom for him and enveloped him in tints of tender green and fresh red. The scholar tree to the north of the village was covered in flowers in his honor, including red roses and white peonies. The air was filled with a fresh aroma, as the flowers glittered brightly in the sunlight.
It had been several years since Mingyao last returned, and now he was wearing a blue uniform and black leather shoes. As he strode along the main street, he spoke to everyone he knew. After he passed by, some villagers thought how excellent it would be if their daughters could marry him!
Kong Mingyao returned to the Kong family home, to the
“Did you get a receipt?”
Mingguang replied, “Yes, and I even had them add an extra thousand yuan to the total.”
“You could have added more, and I would have signed for the reimbursement.” When they got home, Mingliang and the others sawwith surprise that of all the gifts they had given away that afternoon, nearly half had been returned to them in the middle of the night and left piled up next to their front door. The gifts had not been returned directly to the Kongs, and instead they had been deposited anonymously on their doorstep. In the moonlight, the gifts looked like a pile of pumpkins and other vegetables. The father stared at that stack of returned gifts without moving. Mingliang and his brothers also stood looking at the gifts. Under the moonlight, they could hear the light passing through the doorway. Suddenly, the entire family began cursing, “God …” Minghui leaned over to pick up a bag but then put it back down again and said, “In that case, our family can enjoy everything that was returned.” Mingliang stared at him coldly, then kicked the pile of gifts and smelled the rich cookies and pastries. The first thought that came into his mind was, “Do you fucking want to die? How dare you return our gifts?!” Then he remembered that Third Brother, when he was in the army, had been issued a gun, and it occurred to him that if only he could borrow it for a day, everything could be sorted out. When he looked over at his father, Kong Dongde said something that was completely consonant with what he himself was thinking:
“Why don’t you send a telegram to Third Brother, and see if he can bring his gun back for half a day?”
Mingguang and his brother Minghui stared at their father in confusion, but Mingliang saw he had a look of evil excitement that even the dim moonlight couldn’t conceal.
5. KONG MINGYAO
Kong Mingyao returned from the army.
He was now much taller and stronger than before, and was as powerful as a galloping horse. When he entered the village, ayellow travel bag in hand, he walked down the street with an excited expression. He nodded to everyone he saw, and handed out cigarettes and candy. He gave cigarettes to the men and candy to the women—as was customary in Balou for people who had left the village and then returned in glory. The quality of the cigarettes and the candy was taken as evidence of one’s relative success or failure while away. When Mingyao returned, the cigarettes he distributed were the most expensive ones available at the time, and it was said that only national leaders could afford to buy them. These were the cigarettes that Mingyao distributed to the villagers. As for the candy he distributed to the women and children, the villagers didn’t feel this was necessarily the best or sweetest candy available, and in fact they found it rather bitter. However, the writing on the tinfoil wrappings of the round, rectangular, and triangular candy was definitely not in Chinese, and instead was in some foreign script. From this, everyone realized that the chocolate must be a foreign delicacy, and therefore Kong Mingyao’s return became even more legendary. When he walked over from the village street, the spring sun had flowers bloom for him and enveloped him in tints of tender green and fresh red. The scholar tree to the north of the village was covered in flowers in his honor, including red roses and white peonies. The air was filled with a fresh aroma, as the flowers glittered brightly in the sunlight.
It had been several years since Mingyao last returned, and now he was wearing a blue uniform and black leather shoes. As he strode along the main street, he spoke to everyone he knew. After he passed by, some villagers thought how excellent it would be if their daughters could marry him!
Kong Mingyao returned to the Kong family home, to the
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