Chapter 49

Dai Min sat in a simple room. There was a desk with drawers, a bench and two stools inside. The public security worker asked Dai to sit on a stool. But the moment she sat on it, it almost collapsed. Dai had to sit on another stool.

Dai sat there with a sense of unease. She did not move as if it would make her guiltier. She tried to calm herself down. She wondered if Liu had been detected, or the other bandits had exposed him. It was dusk now. She was responsible for cooking in the Zhang’s. They must have known that something bad had happened to her.

At last, a male public security worker came. Dai gave him a glance. It was a 15-year-old or so boy. He cast a glance at Dai and walked towards the other stool and sat down. The stool made a creak, and the young man fell to the ground, with his head bumping into a post. Dai wanted to help the boy get up. But then, he shouted, “Stop!”

Dai was shocked. The young man’s shout reminded her of something happening 16 years ago.

It happened in a year after her marriage. She could not recall if it was autumn or winter. It was a fine day, with the blue sky. It was like the batik blue of the Buyi people. So nice and beautiful!

But Dai was sad with the blue sky.

It was the wedding night. Her husband Zhang Yunchang tortured her with sex in a cruel way. She bled a lot. She almost fainted. Fortunately she was carried by her relatives to the hospital in Huaxi. The way to Huaxi was rough and she almost felt as if she were in the sky. She had lost much of her sense.

Her husband did not accompany her to the hospital. Instead, he went to Guiyang. He had much land but no money. She had no child yet. Zhang Yunchang went to town to get some traders to buy his corn and rice.

Dai had an easy time during her husband’s absence. After he left, she had a good rest.

It was late in the afternoon when Dai got up. She looked up and found the blue sky. She would like to go to the corn or rice fields and relax herself. With this thought she put on her dress.

She passed by some dry rice land, and then came to a corn field. Her father-in-law’s tomb was not far away from the field. She felt like eating a stalk of corn. Then, she picked a corn and thinned it. Suddenly, she heard a noise. She looked ahead. Beside her father-in-law’s tomb sat three men. They all looked at her in surprise.

These three men looked hungry. Probably they had been woken up by Dai. Dai stared at them, wondering if she had met some bandits.

Some days ago, the villagers here said that some Communist army was going to attack Guiyang. The army was supposed to come from Jiangxi Province. They had suffered some blows in Hunan, and now were in Guizhou. This made the Kuomintang leaders here uneasy. But the villagers said that the Communist army worked at night, for some slogans had been left on the village walls, encouraging people to fight against the Japanese invaders and the Kuomintang army and support the Communists. The Communists soldiers did not do anything bad against the local people.

Some villagers said, “These people are not bandits, but the Red Army soldiers, who fight against the Kuomintang army.” Others said, “Fuck the Kuomintang leaders! They just spread rumors!” The villagers were frightened but got calm soon.

The three men did not look like bandits. If a bandit saw a beautiful girl on a slope, he would attack her. He would torture her in sex. Of the three men, one was in his thirties, another was not 17 yet, and the other was probably only 15. They looked hungry and weak. They stared at Dai and stayed by the tomb. Dai wondered if they were ill.

The eldest man spoke, “Dear sister, did we trouble you?”

Dai thought them kind, replying, “Are you well?”

“No. One of us had diarrhea for a few days. He could hardly walk.”

“Then why don’t you go to see the doctor but stay here?”

“We have no money.”

At this time, the youngest man looked up and asked, “Dear sister, could we have some soup at your home? Just give us some rice soup (porridge), and we’ll remember you forever.”

Dai was moved at this. She replied generously like most people of her nationality, “Dear brother, I have rice soup and rice for you. Please follow me if you don’t mind.”

The youngest man tried to stand up but fell down weakly. Dai wondered why the eldest and the elder men did not support the youngest man. Then, the eldest man asked, “Where is your home?” Dai replied, “Just walk straight. That is my home.”

That man sat down, asking, “How many people are there in your family?”

“Only me.” Dai looked at the young man, who gave her a glance at well. Dai said to the eldest man:

“Didn’t you hear that he would like to have some rice soup (porridge)? Aren’t you hungry?”

Then, the three men looked at each other and followed her reluctantly. Dai still had the corn in her hands. She was the head for them. The three men murmured behind her.

The cottage was unlike the other ones. It was at least 100 meters away from the other cottages. There was a big iron lock at the gate. Dai unlocked it and went in. The three men still stood outside in a silly way.

Dai called to them, “Come in please.”

They hesitated for a while and then entered. Dai greeted them warmly like most Buyi people.

The eldest man supported the youngest. They found the house new, and asked:

“Dear sister, are you the hostess here?”

Dai replied, “Yes.” Then, she closed the gate. The eldest man asked, “Is there only one person at your home?”

“No, two, including my husband.”

“Where is he?”

She answered, “He is out. Otherwise I can’t treat you here.”

The man went on, “This house is big. Do you have a lot of land?”

The farmers at that time were proud of their land. Dai remarked with a sense of pride, “About 70 acres of land and field.” Then Dai found the youngest man trembling. She was sorry to see that.

Then, the man asked, “Do you till the land by yourself or rent it to the others?”

The land was her husband’s business. Dai did not think much about that, but replied, “We rent it to others.”

Then, the elder man spoke, “You’re…”

The eldest man stopped him, and asked her, “How many people rent your land?”

Dai was a little annoyed. She answered, “All the villagers.”

Dai looked at the sick man. He was very ill. She wondered what they came here for. Didn’t they want some porridge? Out of sympathy, she blamed them:

“This little brother is very weak. He needs some food. But you look as if examining me instead of asking me for help. If you do need my help, let me cook porridge for you. Or please leave the house.”

Dai did not mean to insult them, but just wanted to urge them to take good care of their health. The elder man seemed insulted, and said, “Fuck you!” He was about to attack her.

The eldest man shouted, “Stop!” They were locked together in the struggle. The eldest man kept saying, “You must be calm.”

The youngest man was so weak that he fell down to the ground. Dai was sorry for that and was about to help him stand up, when a loud voice exploded, “No!”

The voice did not match the young face. That youngest man looked very much like the public security worker in the room. Dai now realized that they treated her like an enemy, and did not need her help. They even belittled and tortured her mentally.

Dai recalled the three men got up and the youngest man said, “No, we don’t want to have her porridge.” Then, the youngest man fell into the arms of the eldest man.

Dai wondered if the youngest man still survived. She was sorry she could not help him at that time. The next morning, Dai found some blood inside her courtyard and outside on the path. The blood was visible until the forest.

Where did the blood come from?

Now, Dai was facing a young public security worker. This young man was much like that young man she had met before. Dai wondered: Why couldn’t they stay peacefully together under the same sky?

At this time, a female worker and another male worker came in. The young man gave the bench to them, and left quietly. The woman put her pen and paper on the ground, and the man asked, “We have given you two to three hours. Have you decided to tell us your guilt?”

Dai realized that she was in a difficult situation. She had not done anything bad against others. Why should she be tortured this way? Dai replied, “Nobody asked me to confess my guilt.”

The man said, “Be honest! We ask you to come here for serious purposes. We have no time to argue with you.

Dai wanted to call them “comrades”, but she did not do that. She said, “Nobody has asked me to confess my guilt. I think you have made a mistake.”

“Mistake? That’s a joke. You are Dai Min, and you stay in Zhang Yunxuan’s home. Your husband was a landlord beaten to death. You’re an evil landlady. Right?”

Dai was shocked at this. She wondered if they knew her affairs with Liu Lijing. She did not want to die. She was only 33. And she had two sons. She trembled all over, but asked, “What’s my crime?”

The woman said, “Please confess what you know. You must do that for the sake of your sons.”

Dai almost collapsed. If they mentioned the word of bandit, she would tell them all about Liu. She asked, “But where should I begin?”

Dai cast a glance at them. The man said, “What old-times officer went to the Zhang’s house? When? And what did they say?”

Dai was relieved at this. It implied that Liu had not been captured. Maybe she could meet him again. She calmed down and told the things about the visits made to the Zhang’s by Director Yan, Mr. Song, the farmers and the public security workers. The man got impatient with the account, saying:

“What are you talking about? We’re asking you to tell us your problems.”

Dai asked in a sophisticated way, “Can you give me some hints?”

The man stretched a smile, replying, “For instance, did you torture the farmers? Did you give compensations to them? Do you support the Communists? Do you admit guilty of your past actions? That’s the purpose for you to come here.”

Dai answered them in a confused way. The man got impatient and shouted, “Stop speaking. What are you saying? Just some rubbish! Go back, and try to atone for your past wrongs. If you see any bad people doing bad things, report them to us. Ok?”

Dai replied, “Yes, sir.”

The woman put away her pen and the man yelled, “Go away!”

Dai nodded and stood up, and she had just walked to the gate when the man said:

“Come back!”

Dai turned back and stood in the middle of the room.

The man said, “Please don’t tell today’s things to anyone else, including Zhang Yunxuan. Ok?”

Dai nodded. Then, she left the public security office. It was dark outside. The shops were closed, and some people were having supper by the dim rapeseed oil lamps. She was free. She was happy to find that Liu was still alive. That delighted her.