Chapter 17: A Man

Xiao Chun'er broke free from her hand and said, "I'm not going in. I'll come keep you company tonight, okay?"

The Secretary's wife stood by the door and said, "Xiao Chun'er, tell your mother that Secretary Liu is staying at your place tonight." Xiao Chun'er looked a bit uneasy, glanced at me, and said, "Our place isn't very comfortable."

There was no village office in the village; the office was in the Secretary's home. Every year, when superiors came to stay overnight, it was a major event for the village. The Secretary was a retired soldier who had served in Yunnan in his early years. In '79, he had been sent to the front lines, but the war was declared over the moment his feet touched the red soil. He didn't get to fight, but he joined the Party on the front lines. After retiring, he became the village Secretary and was currently the only person in Gude Village who had ever been a soldier. The Secretary's wife served us *lei cha* (pounded tea)—a tea made with tea leaves, salt, sesame, and soybeans pounded together. It was thirst-quenching and refreshing. After drinking a pot of tea, the dishes were served: a bowl of cured meat—it was hard to tell if it was pork or something else, but it was fragrant and delicious—a bowl of greens, and a bowl of clear soup with egg ribbons floating in it.

After eating two bowls of rice, I was full. I wanted to smoke, but before I could light up, I saw a tall, burly man walk in. He went straight to the water vat, scooped up a full ladle, gulped it down, wiped his mouth, and only then greeted us with a smile.

The Secretary's wife scooped a large bowl of rice and handed it to him. He looked at the dishes on the table, dumped the rice from his bowl into the leftover soup, stirred it, and buried his head to eat in large mouthfuls.

The wife asked, "Did you find it?"

"That dog-gone thing, could it run away? I caught it long ago. It's tied to the locust tree in front of Old Sun's house. We'll deal with it tonight."

"What about the cow?"

"Still there. One leg is broken; looks like it won't be much use anymore."

"Don't go killing anyone."

"Who's afraid of that!" the Secretary said, chewing his rice. "The dog-gone thing still won't admit it. If Old Sun hadn't recognized his own cow by its broken horn, the dog-gone thing would have insisted he bought it."

As the Secretary and his wife went back and forth, Hongyan and I exchanged looks, sensing the gravity of the situation. Although I was here for family planning work, I couldn't just watch them commit a crime, so I tentatively asked, "Why not send him to the police station?"

"Heh," the village Secretary gave a bitter laugh. "Where is the police station? Who's going to take him? And what if we do? In the end, won't I just lose the cow anyway? I'll handle this myself. If that dog-gone thing's family doesn't bring money, he's not leaving."

"But doing this is against the law," I said.

"Can't worry about that," the Secretary said. "In our Gude Village, having no cow is like having no hands or feet. Old Sun's family has no cow now; how is he supposed to live?"

"Isn't the cow still there?"

"What good is it now! It's ruined. With a broken leg, what can it do?"

The Secretary finished his meal, threw down his bowl, and said, "Secretary Chen, you're a great intellectual who understands the law and reason. You should go take a look too. You're our leader; tell us what we should do. We have to listen to our leader."

Following the Secretary, we arrived at Old Sun's house. A man with his upper body bare was tied to a lush, leafy tree at the entrance of the village, his chest covered in bloody welts from being whipped with branches.

The villagers saw us coming and cleared a path. The Secretary first introduced Hongyan and me to the onlookers, then grabbed the cow thief by the hair, lifted his head, and shouted, "You dog-gone thief, open your dog eyes and see clearly! These two are cadres from the township. Give me an honest confession."

The cow thief raised his head; he couldn't have been more than seventeen or eighteen. Seeing us, a glimmer of hope appeared in his eyes.

I said, "Let him go first. We can talk this over slowly."

"Talk my ass! Are you going to pay for my cow?" Old Sun roared at me. "If there's no money, I'll beat this damn thief to death!" As he spoke, he picked up a thorn branch and whipped the thief mercilessly.

The cow thief screamed in pain. Hongyan stood behind me, gripping my hand tightly, her body trembling slightly.

I rushed over and snatched the thorn branch from Old Sun's hand, saying, "This is a society ruled by law; we must be reasonable. He committed a crime, and the law of the land will deal with him."

Old Sun glared at me with eyes as big as bull's eggs and said, word for word, "A Communist cadre, and you're helping a thief?"

I said, "I'm not helping the thief; I'm helping the truth, not the person. He committed a crime, and there is national law. If you beat him now, you are committing a crime yourself, understand?"

"I don't care! My cow is crippled; who's going to pay for it? Without a cow, do you want my whole family to drink the northwest wind?"

"If there's to be compensation, there must be a proper procedure. Does beating him get you paid?" I said, trying to comfort Old Sun. "Let's ask about the situation first."

"The dog-gone thing won't say a word. He won't even say where his home is," Old Sun said, exasperated. "Let's just dig a hole and bury the dog-gone thing."

I said, "Old Sun, don't be impatient. This cow will definitely be compensated."

"You promise?"

"I promise," I said, patting my chest. "If he can't pay, I will!" ===== CHAPTER 18 =====