veneno Gu - Capítulo 5
After the sun set, the old man had already tasted the water in the moonlight. Then he called the young men to carry buckets and run back to the village so that the sick elderly people in bed could taste the water.
This water is sweet and fragrant; it quenches thirst and satisfies cravings. The old folks say it, the children say it, the whole village says it.
The next day, the whole village gathered at the well, burned incense, knelt, and swore an oath to heaven: no one was allowed to harm the well water, wash vegetables, clothes, or bathe near the well, children were not allowed to play near the well, and no one was allowed to throw things into the well. Every year, the well would be cleaned, with those who had money contributing money and those who had labor contributing labor. Anyone who broke the rules would be forbidden from drinking the well water again.
There's an old saying that only good water can produce beautiful women; without good water, where would beautiful women come from? Ever since people started drinking the sweet water from the Nine Fairy Maidens, this place has become known for producing beautiful women.
The reputation of Sweetwater Well spread far and wide, and more and more new residents moved in, but no one ever broke the rules of Sweetwater Well.
Because of this well, Tianshui Village quickly became a large town called Tianshui.
In Sweetwater Well Town, doors are left unlocked at night, and no one picks up lost items on the road. Not even a needle has ever been lost. People live in harmony and treat each other with respect because the water in everyone's life comes from a single sweetwater well.
The people of Sweetwater Well have passed down the tradition of cherishing the well as their lifeblood. Adults and children alike know how to protect it, and even during times of war, the Sweetwater Well was well preserved.
Later, Tianshui Well Town became a district in the city, and every household had access to tap water. They no longer had to fetch water from the well, so people started calling Tianshui Well the Ancient Well.
Over time, young people stopped knowing where the ancient well came from and started throwing garbage, waste, dirty water, ash, dead cats, and dead dogs into it. Wealthy families even filled the well with broken bricks and tiles from house renovations.
At this point, Yang Ming suddenly asked, "Do you know who that important person is who said our area is full of beautiful women?"
Zhao Xiaowei naturally had no idea.
Yang Ming then asked, "Do you know why he said that our area is full of beautiful women?"
Who can answer this unanswerable question?
Yang Ming said with great seriousness, "It's said that this commander only came to our area once, and for a very short time. It was around 5 p.m. on October 15, 1948. The residents hadn't had dinner yet. The Northeast Field Army had already liberated our area. The smoke of battle had just cleared, and the smell of gunpowder was everywhere. Soldiers and civilians were busy moving the Nationalist army's ammunition and gasoline barrels to the ditches outside the city, preparing for any possible bombing by Nationalist planes. The sky was still bright. Just then, he rode into the city in a jeep to inspect the spoils of victory. When he reached a bustling old street, the street was too narrow, and the people coming and going blocked the road. He stopped the jeep and walked slowly a few steps along the busy street, observing the men and women coming and going. None of the citizens recognized him. There was no applause, slogans, or flowers. He just glanced around and then got back into his jeep and left." Walking along our bustling streets, just passing by, but he was, after all, a man, a young man, and his eyes immediately noticed that our city was different from other cities, with its own unique charm. So, more than twenty years later, by chance, he remembered that our place was known for its beautiful women.
After listening to Yang Ming's story, the newspaper's editor-in-chief just smiled mysteriously and walked back to his office. Some people immediately guessed that the editor-in-chief was laughing at Yang Ming for being such a good storyteller, even managing to make up stories about the editor-in-chief. The editor-in-chief, the editor-in-chief, he's been making up stories his whole life! How could he be fooled by you?
Yang Ming said, "You flatter me too much! How could I possibly make up such a story?" It took me a whole week to investigate this matter.
For some reason, after hearing this story, Zhao Xiaowei developed a liking for Yang Ming.
The story inevitably contains elements of truth and fiction.
In the afternoon, just before school was about to end, Haozi had already packed his schoolbag. This first-year junior high school boy was ready to be the first to rush out of the classroom, but he was the first to fall flat on his face outside the classroom door. When he got up, he saw Sun Xiangdong sticking out one leg in front of him, looking smug.
"Where can the traitor run? He's doomed! If you want to sweep the floor, you won't fight; if you want to fight, you won't sweep the floor. What are you going to do?"
Sun Xiangdong's subordinates Yang Zirong, Bai Ge, and Li Yongqi all rushed over and surrounded him.
Yang Zirong took out a thin hemp rope from his pocket and showed it to him. It was used to tie his two shoes so that they could be hung around his neck and made to parade him around the classroom.
The mouse trembled with fear, and tears immediately streamed down its face.
Bai Ge took the cigarette that Li Yongqi had lit, took a drag, and then gave him a push.
"Revolution isn't an invitation to dinner, why are you crying like a cat?"
"Speak up! What do you want, Wu Dalang?"
Yang Zirong kicked him, making him shudder.
"Are you mute? Like begets like, and even a broken shoe's offspring can crawl through holes. You scum and remnant of the past, you little bastard!"
Li Yongqi roared, scaring him so much that he shrank into a ball.
Sun Xiangdong arched his chin, and several people immediately yanked him to the ground, frantically trying to remove his shoes. He finally managed to let out a soft, mosquito-like cry:
"Sweep, sweep, I'm sweeping..."
Several people let go of him, dragged him into the classroom, and forced him to kneel on the ground.
The white dove, a head taller than him, snatched his schoolbag and carried it on her own.
"Whenever you finish sweeping, that's when I'll give it to you!"
He looked at her with tears in his eyes, not daring to say a word.
He started from the last row, first turning all the chairs upside down on the desks before he could begin sweeping. Normally, four students would do the cleaning duty each day, but now it was just him. And being small and thin, it took him over twenty minutes just to move the chairs. After sweeping, he moved the chairs down, then washed a rag and wiped each desk clean. It was already dark when he realized that his fellow "revolutionary generals" were nowhere to be seen. Terrified, he sat down on the ground and burst into tears.
He was scared, but he dared not leave. How could he go home without his schoolbag? He dared not leave without their help. He was afraid they would parade him around tomorrow, tie his own shoes around his neck, and follow behind him, banging on aluminum lunch boxes, tin garbage scoops, and pencil cases, shouting slogans like "Down with the scum and remnants of the bastards!"
They originally called themselves heroes of the snowy forest and called him the little blacksmith of Tiger Mountain. But one day, Li Yongqi said, "The little blacksmith is so funny! I want to be a little blacksmith too!" Sun Xiangdong thought for a moment and said, "He's timid like a mouse, let's call him Mouse!"
Exhausted, hungry, and scared, the boy named Mouse walked out of the classroom. Looking back, the classroom was completely dark, and in front of him was a vast, white playground. Around the playground were countless dark, indistinct windows, and who knew how many monsters and ghosts might be hiding inside them.
The daytime hustle and bustle vanished without a trace, and the school remained as still as if it were dead.
He was afraid of the dark. He dared not go out alone in the dark, not even to the door to pee. Without his mother by his side, he would be too scared to pee. He was afraid of ghosts and monsters in the dark, he was afraid of cats and dogs in the dark, he was afraid of mice and insects in the dark.
Seeing the endless darkness outside the door, the boy, Haozi, wet his pants.
Suddenly, he saw several people in the distance. His legs went weak, and he sat down on the classroom doorstep. As they drew closer, he recognized them as those thugs (he only silently told himself that even at home, he wouldn't dare call them thugs). They were cautiously backing away, as if wary of being chased. He figured they must be their adversaries fighting! He felt much better and watched their spectacle with wide eyes. Sun Xiangdong tripped and fell to the ground. Just then, a student from another grade came over, stood in front of him, pulled back a slingshot, and fired. Sun Xiangdong clutched his head, rolling on the ground howling. Blood gushed out from between the boy's fingers, endlessly, satisfyingly! A student from another class pulled out a slingshot and threw it to him—revenge for his grudge!
He immediately jumped up, took the slingshot and fired. Unexpectedly, he was so accurate on his first time using a slingshot. He knocked down Bai Ge on the first shot and Li Yongqi on the second, making blood gushing from their heads.
Just as he was playing with great enthusiasm, a classmate from another class suddenly transformed into a white-bearded old man and patted him on the shoulder:
"Good child, go home!"
When he opened his eyes, his mother was sitting beside him, tears streaming down her face.
The next day in class, the homeroom teacher, Ms. Hao, said:
"Those who were on duty last night, stand up!"
Bai Ge was the first to stand up, and the others who dawdled for a while also stood up, their heads drooping.