Chapter 19: 18

18. "Wen Laozu"

The morning fog was gradually fading, yet the streets of Qingyi Town saw few passersby.

Zhou Chang, who had eaten breakfast at home, now lay on a flatbed cart pulled by Zhou Sanji, heading west along the street.

Yang Rui led Shi Danzi, walking on the right side of the flatbed cart.

Perhaps because they had risen in the small hours to chant scriptures, none of them were in very high spirits, having no interest in making conversation with each other, only focused on hurrying along.

Zhou Chang had a tattered jacket draped over his belly, his head pillowed on a block of wood; his eyeballs rolled in their sockets as he kept glancing at the houses and buildings on either side of the street.

The people hiding inside the houses pressed their bodies against the papered windows, peering out at Zhou Chang and the others passing by on the street outside; the dim daylight and the lamplight within cast their silhouettes pressed against the windows in dark, shadowy outlines—eerie and sinister.

The feeling of being watched lingered in Zhou Chang's heart.

Every house along the street seemed like a pair of eyes, fixed in the dark corners, staring intently at the passersby on the street.

Zhou Chang looked again at Zhou Sanji, Yang Rui, and the others walking in silence; he suddenly realized that their keeping quiet and not talking was more likely because, under the gaze of "all those eyes," none of them had any desire to chat.

A deep, oppressive atmosphere hung over the empty street.

Not until the distant sound of a noisy crowd drifted from the end of the street did faint smiles appear on the faces of those around the flatbed cart, and they all quickened their pace.

The flatbed cart rolled over the gravel road, letting out a creaking sound.

The group passed through this long street, and at its end a tall gatehouse abruptly came into view.

The gatehouse, its eaves supported by six wooden pillars painted with black lacquer, hung three plaques high above: the left plaque bore the four golden characters "Famed Throughout the Southwest," the right plaque read "A Hundred Years of Lasting Fame," and the central plaque boldly proclaimed the three characters "Wen Laozu."

Beneath the high-hung plaque of "Wen Laozu," a central door had been opened.

Above the central door's lintel hung another plaque, inscribed with the four characters "Wen Yongsheng Wine Shop."

The towering gatehouse and the spacious main hall of Wen Yongsheng Wine Shop, compared with the low, dilapidated buildings all around, were a world apart.

By now the open ground in front of the wine shop's gatehouse was already packed with people, a dense, surging sea of heads; all manner of noisy shouts and laughter filled the air below, like a great market fair, giving Zhou Chang a sense of a long-missed bustle.

"Selling myself! Selling myself! I'll trade myself for wine!"

From within the crowd, Zhou Chang suddenly heard a hoarse cry.

He looked toward the sound and saw quite a few people squatting in twos and threes by the roadside, grass tokens clutched in their hands, most of them with drooping heads in a dazed, listless state; at that moment only one old man with a full white beard was craning his neck and shouting: "Who'll buy me? Just buy me a jug of wine!"

As that old man shouted out, the people around him also clutching grass tokens seemed to receive some kind of signal, and one after another they began vying to sell themselves to the passing travelers:

"Buy me! Buy me! I'm younger than him—I only want half a jug of wine!"

"Buy me! I'm fair-skinned, soft and tender—I could serve as a young page for the gentlemen!"

These people clutching grass tokens in their hands had all come here to "sell themselves for wine"!

Zhou Chang swept his gaze around; on this open ground in front of Wen Yongsheng Wine Shop, those clutching grass tokens and selling themselves for wine were by no means few!

At the wine shop's right-side door, people stood in a long line, having purchased liquor from inside the shop; many of them, the moment they came out the door, couldn't wait to tear open the seals of their wine jars, clutching the jars and drinking greedily, the satisfied, joyful smiles on their faces so genuine;

some people lurked around those bold drinkers raising their jars; whenever a drop or two of the wine in the jar was accidentally spilled, they would stick out their tongues to lick the earth stained with the wine, the secret delight between their brows so genuine.

From the wine shop's rear courtyard rose wave after wave of white steam, carrying the faint scent of fermented grains.

The cold wind blew that billowing white steam from the front courtyard over, spreading it before the gatehouse; the people in front of the gatehouse craned their necks to sniff the wine fragrance in the vapor, the hungry, covetous greed on their faces striking a strange dread into Zhou Chang's heart!

"Sss—" Yang Rui also took a fierce gulp of the vapor, a look of rapture spreading over his face. "Wine is medicine—it can cure the sickness of the heart!

In times like these, just being alive is a luxury; if you're craving wine, then crave it.

If you don't crave wine, dread and terror rise and fall without warning…"

Such words seemed both as if Yang Rui were comforting himself and as if he were advising Zhou Sanji and Zhou Chang, who were comparatively silent among the group.

Zhou Sanji turned his head, looked at Zhou Chang on the flatbed cart, his expression solemn: "Wine—best to drink less of it."

"Alright." Zhou Chang nodded.

"Once you've taken to this stuff, how could you ever tell how much is too much?" Yang Rui patted Shi Danzi's shoulder. "Just use your own judgment."

"…" Shi Danzi kept his head lowered, his expression calm, showing a maturity beyond his years. Zhou Chang caught sight of his hands quietly withdrawing into his sleeves.

The group arrived before the wine shop's left-side door.

The people queuing here were no fewer than the customers buying wine on the right—most of them had come to Wen Yongsheng Wine Shop to seek a living.

Zhou Sanji, pulling the flatbed cart with Zhou Chang on it, had only just moved to the very back of the line to queue up when Yang Rui tugged at him: "We've got tickets—what are we queuing for? Come on, let's go straight in!"

The moment Uncle Yang spoke, the people in line turned their heads one after another to look at Zhou Chang's group.

Their unblinking gazes hid danger and jealous hatred.

Zhou Sanji set the flatbed cart moving again, following Yang Rui and Shi Danzi through the long line.

From the very back of the line to the very front, the arrogant, swaggering voice of the steward seated at the front by the side door drifted into Zhou Chang's ears in waves: "Listen up!

Anyone wanting to work at our Wen Yongsheng Wine Shop must first offer up a hundred copper coins to the shop upon entry!

Those who've brought enough copper coins can stay and keep queuing; those without money, get lost—fast!"

Hearing the steward's words, Zhou Chang and Zhou Sanji both turned their gazes to Yang Rui.

Zhou Sanji tugged at Yang Rui and asked him: "Do we need money to get into the wine shop?"

"We've got tickets!" Yang Rui answered thus, though his tone was ultimately not as firm as before.

……

Before the left-side door.

The wine shop steward cast a sidelong glance at Zhou Sanji, propped one leg on the table before him, and said in a tone that was neither warm nor cold: "One of your children here is paralyzed, can't move at all—strictly speaking, the wine shop can't possibly take him in. You understand, right?"

Zhou Sanji kept nodding, a fawning smile on his face: "I know, I know."

The wine shop steward's eyeballs rolled, and suddenly a smile appeared on his face: "But since you've got tickets given by the Wen family, the wine shop can only pinch its nose and accept the matter.

Tell this paralyzed person to go lie down in the cellar pool at the back.

Let's see if his mania can be put to use in brewing wine.

But let me say the ugly part first—if this person turns out not to be mad at all, the wine shop can keep him for at most three days!"

"Alright, alright." Zhou Sanji kept nodding, a fawning smile on his face. After agreeing with the wine shop steward, he turned back to Zhou Chang and said, "Well, little great-grandson, you'll stay here in the wine shop then?"

"Alright." Zhou Chang nodded.

The steward took his legs down from the table, stood up, and casually waved behind him: "Bring two men over here, carry this cripple!"

The moment his words landed, two young, strong brewery workers came over and helped Zhou Chang down from the cart.

"You come too." The steward pointed lazily at Shi Danzi standing beside them, then turned and walked into the front hall with his hands behind his back.

The two young men supported Zhou Chang and followed inside; Shi Danzi hurried after them.

"A-Chang, behave yourself in there!"

At that moment, Zhou Sanji, standing in front of the hall, called out.

Zhou Chang heard the old man's voice but did not turn his head.

Supported by the two brewery workers, he passed through the great hall lined with wine jars of various sizes and wines of varying quality, and stepped into the brewery's rear courtyard.

The rear courtyard was where Wen Yongsheng winery brewed its liquor.

In the vast courtyard stood several flat-roofed buildings, shabby compared to the front hall.

Empty wine jars were piled haphazardly at the foot of the courtyard walls, and the entire large yard was filled with the faintly sour smell of fermenting grain.

The walls of those flat-roofed buildings connected with one another, forming yet another inner courtyard within the large yard.

The inner courtyard was sealed behind tall walls. The steward led Zhou Chang and the others around the walls for a long time before finally finding a black-lacquered wooden door in an inconspicuous corner.

He had everyone stand before the door, then knocked somewhat nervously.

Not long after the knock, a voice came from within: "Who is it?"

"It's me, Zhu Gui…

Two people came today, carrying work tickets stamped with the Wen family's seal, wanting to work in the cellar — hoping to use the 'Gan Chun Qu' in the cellar to cure hysteria and madness." Steward Zhu Gui swallowed his saliva and said softly.

The person behind the door fell silent for a moment upon hearing Zhu Gui's words, then said: "If they have work tickets from the owner's family, then let them in."

"Aye, aye!" Zhu Gui hurriedly agreed. He turned his head to look at Zhou Chang being supported by the others, then hastened to explain to the person behind the door, "One of these two is paralyzed, can't move at all. What about this…"

"In the cellar they aren't allowed to move around anyway. Him not being able to move is actually perfect." The person behind the door laughed, slowly drew back the door bolt, and pushed the door open just enough for one person to slip through sideways.

Zhu Gui first pushed Shi Danzi, who was following behind, through the gap, then together with the two brewery workers, pushed Zhou Chang through the door crack.

Boom!

The black-lacquered wooden door slammed shut again.

Zhou Chang fell onto the damp, slippery stone floor. He raised his eyes and saw that this inner courtyard was completely covered by a wooden shed.

Clustered beneath the wooden pillars supporting the shed roof, a mountain of grain resembling a tomb stood imposingly in the very center of the 'inner room'!

Before that 'tomb mountain' of grain, overgrown with mycelia, there also stood imposingly a tombstone — 'Wen Laozu'!

"Wen Laozu is the best liquor our Wen Yongsheng winery makes." A bare-chested man, layer upon layer of fat rippling over his body, stepped out from the shadows behind the door. Seeing the look of terror on Shi Danzi's face beside Zhou Chang, he laughed and explained to Shi Danzi.

In the inner room, where not a single lamp could be seen and everything was dim and gloomy, came the sound of wheels rolling.

Rumble, rumble…

That muffled, heavy sound drew closer and closer.

Two more men pushing a cart carrying a coffin approached Zhou Chang and Shi Danzi.