south of the village square.
With this, all that was left was rumor and speculation, together with the sound of footsteps running to and from the Kong household.By afternoon, however, everyone’s feverish speculations had begun to fade. The villagers saw Mingyao reemerge from his home, followed by countless other members of the Kong clan—including men and women, young and old. None of them retained their earlier look of excitement, and instead they each had a barely concealed expression of murderous rage. The men followed immediately behind Mingyao, while the women and children came after them.
When Kong Mingyao emerged from the Kong home, he was no longer wearing the same blue uniform he had worn when he first returned to the village. Instead, he was wearing the military fatigues he had worn while in the army, together with a red leather munitions belt. In his hand, he was carrying a jet-black pistol—the likes of which the villagers had not seen for decades. The villagers did not know what Mingyao and his family had discussed while he was inside, but when he emerged the air in the village was tense with anticipation. Like his face, the atmosphere was also somewhat cloudy. The two badges on his collar were bloodred and reminded people of a decapitated head. Neither his father nor either of his brothers dared walk behind him. Meanwhile, Minghui was studying in the city and had no idea that Mingyao had returned to the village.
When Mingyao emerged from the house, he proceeded directly to the village square, where he looked at all of the people gathered there and said with a smile, “I hear that the village is going to vote on a new village chief. Democracy is good. Whomever you want to elect, that is your right, which no one can take away from you.” He took out his pistol, looked at it, wiped it with his handkerchief, and casually aimed it toward the sky. Then he said to himself with a smile, “I hear that Liu Gully and Zhang Peak have become so wealthy that they have replaced all of their houses with new ones. Shall we go take a look?”
The people of Explosion all cheered, “Let’s go to Liu Gully! Let’s go to Liu Gully!” The crowd grew larger and larger, forming a blackmass that pushed and shoved the young soldier Kong Mingyao, while at the same time opening a path for him, as they left the village and surged toward Liu Gully a couple of
li
away.
At this point the sun was directly overhead, and the mountains were warm and indolent. By the time the tide of several hundred residents of Explosion had surged to the entrance of Liu Gully, the news of their arrival had already preceded them. Therefore, the people of Liu Gully had closed their windows and locked their doors, as though fearing a bloodbath. But in the end they discovered that the situation was not as they had feared, which is to say that Kong Mingyao had simply returned home from the army to visit his family, and he gave away cigarettes and candy. Then he opened his door, and everyone saw he was wearing his military fatigues and was holding a pistol. By this point he had already walked out of his family’s house, and people surrounded him as he stood in the doorway of a new three-story house. He then aimed his gun into the sky, and with a
Hu!
he opened fire. After waiting for all of the birds in the trees to fly away, he blew the muzzle, wiped down the gun with his handkerchief, then tucked it under his belt and proclaimed, “Democracy is good. You should vote for whomever you wish!” Then he proceeded from Liu Gully to Zhang Peak.
After Mingyao left, and as the sound of his gunshot reverberated through the air, all of Liu Gully’s green leaves suddenly wilted and the spring flowers died. The villagers were left speechless.
Zhang Peak was actually right next to Liu Gully, with a dirt path connecting them and a river separating them. The Kong family didn’t have any relatives in Zhang Peak, so Kong Mingyao didn’t need to visit their houses
With this, all that was left was rumor and speculation, together with the sound of footsteps running to and from the Kong household.By afternoon, however, everyone’s feverish speculations had begun to fade. The villagers saw Mingyao reemerge from his home, followed by countless other members of the Kong clan—including men and women, young and old. None of them retained their earlier look of excitement, and instead they each had a barely concealed expression of murderous rage. The men followed immediately behind Mingyao, while the women and children came after them.
When Kong Mingyao emerged from the Kong home, he was no longer wearing the same blue uniform he had worn when he first returned to the village. Instead, he was wearing the military fatigues he had worn while in the army, together with a red leather munitions belt. In his hand, he was carrying a jet-black pistol—the likes of which the villagers had not seen for decades. The villagers did not know what Mingyao and his family had discussed while he was inside, but when he emerged the air in the village was tense with anticipation. Like his face, the atmosphere was also somewhat cloudy. The two badges on his collar were bloodred and reminded people of a decapitated head. Neither his father nor either of his brothers dared walk behind him. Meanwhile, Minghui was studying in the city and had no idea that Mingyao had returned to the village.
When Mingyao emerged from the house, he proceeded directly to the village square, where he looked at all of the people gathered there and said with a smile, “I hear that the village is going to vote on a new village chief. Democracy is good. Whomever you want to elect, that is your right, which no one can take away from you.” He took out his pistol, looked at it, wiped it with his handkerchief, and casually aimed it toward the sky. Then he said to himself with a smile, “I hear that Liu Gully and Zhang Peak have become so wealthy that they have replaced all of their houses with new ones. Shall we go take a look?”
The people of Explosion all cheered, “Let’s go to Liu Gully! Let’s go to Liu Gully!” The crowd grew larger and larger, forming a blackmass that pushed and shoved the young soldier Kong Mingyao, while at the same time opening a path for him, as they left the village and surged toward Liu Gully a couple of
li
away.
At this point the sun was directly overhead, and the mountains were warm and indolent. By the time the tide of several hundred residents of Explosion had surged to the entrance of Liu Gully, the news of their arrival had already preceded them. Therefore, the people of Liu Gully had closed their windows and locked their doors, as though fearing a bloodbath. But in the end they discovered that the situation was not as they had feared, which is to say that Kong Mingyao had simply returned home from the army to visit his family, and he gave away cigarettes and candy. Then he opened his door, and everyone saw he was wearing his military fatigues and was holding a pistol. By this point he had already walked out of his family’s house, and people surrounded him as he stood in the doorway of a new three-story house. He then aimed his gun into the sky, and with a
Hu!
he opened fire. After waiting for all of the birds in the trees to fly away, he blew the muzzle, wiped down the gun with his handkerchief, then tucked it under his belt and proclaimed, “Democracy is good. You should vote for whomever you wish!” Then he proceeded from Liu Gully to Zhang Peak.
After Mingyao left, and as the sound of his gunshot reverberated through the air, all of Liu Gully’s green leaves suddenly wilted and the spring flowers died. The villagers were left speechless.
Zhang Peak was actually right next to Liu Gully, with a dirt path connecting them and a river separating them. The Kong family didn’t have any relatives in Zhang Peak, so Kong Mingyao didn’t need to visit their houses
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