The Explosion Chronicles

by Yan Lianke

  “… So, are you going to destroy her business?

  “… I’ll ask you one last time, will you or will you not destroy her whorehouse?”

  Zhu Ying gripped the window frame as she shouted, but when her arms and legs began to tire, she shifted her position. As she was doing so, she glanced at the crowded meeting room, and saw that everyone was terrified and covered in sweat. Outside the room waiting to get in, there was an additional crowd of town government cadres and others who had come to watch the excitement. There was a sea of faces in the hallway, as people craned their necks and watched with their mouths open, and because they were standing on tiptoe, their pants were hiked up, revealing their bright red ankles. Zhu Ying peered down at them, then looked back at Kong Mingliang standing in front. She saw that he no longer had the solemnity of a town mayor, and instead appeared terrified and had broken into a cold sweat, a look of embarrassment plastered on his face. He didn’t seem to know where to put his hand, as if he half wanted to reach out to the window but at the same time was afraid to. When she hopped down from the ledge, he started to reach out to her but immediately pulled back, leaving his hand suspended in midair. She knew she had succeeded in using her reputation as his wife to bring him down. So she turned and shouted three orders to him and everyone else in the room:

  “Send someone to destroy Cheng Qing’s Peach Blossom Spring!

  “… Not only as county mayor, even when you become provincial governor you’ll still need to do what I say!

  “… As long as you do what I say, then I’ll cook for you and wash your clothes, bear you a son, and raise your family.”

  The sky turned dark.

  With a thunderous roar, darkness fell.

  The final rays of sunlight came down like a window curtain, casting the world into darkness. Afterward, lights appeared in the town, in the factory, and in the distant mines. Everything began to glow brightly, including the stones in the riverbed, the electricity poles lining the streets, and the crops and weeds in the fields outside town. It seemed almost as if the dark night was even brighter than daytime. As Zhu Ying was leaving the town hall building with her husband, there was no one in the streets who didn’t recognize her. Everyone who saw her nodded and greeted her, and said that she looked even younger than before, her skin was better, and even in her thirties she looked as though she were still in her twenties.

  2. VICTORY

  I.

  Coincidentally, the day Zhu Ying gave birth happened to be the same day Explosion was officially redesignated from a town to a county, and her husband was promoted from town mayor to county mayor. That was the nineteenth day of the third month of the following year, just as the entire world was waking up from its hibernation. The ceremony celebrating Explosion’s redesignation as a county was held in the location where the authorities planned to build a sports stadium, and there were so many people in attendance that the shoes they lost in the bustle were enough to fill five trucks. Each night, the trucks hauled the shoes back from the meeting site to a local shoe factory, where they were cleaned, repaired, matched up, then shipped to shoe stores in different cities. In this way, one of Explosion’s shoe factories was able to double its profits overnight. That day, everyone drank so much soda and bottled water that the taps of several local beverage companies ran dry, and it took more than a hundred sanitation workers, working continuously for three days and three nights, to collect all of the discarded bottles to send back to the factory for recycling. So many fireworks were used that several fireworks factories were rescued from bankruptcy, and so many slogans were posted on the walls that several paper companies ran out of paper. Explosion held a celebration that ran nonstop for several days, and with this the county’s economy, culture, and politics improved.

  The day Zhu Ying gave birth happened to be the same day the town hospital was redesignated as a county hospital. On that day, the hospital discharged all of its patients, and the entire hospital was cleaned so that the mayor’s wife could come to give birth. There was a six-wheeled float parked in front of the building, every hallway was full of fresh flowers and bouquets, and the maternity room and bathroom were scented with French perfume. The hospital had purchased an expensive piece of equipment for the express purpose of confirming whether or not Zhu Ying’s fetus was in the correct position, and later paid an enormous sum for a Japanese-produced ultrasound machine. The birth was personally overseen by the director of the hospital, and the director of the maternity ward—a woman in her fifties—had prepared eight different contingency plans to address potential complications, and had even prepared blood plasma for a potential transfusion. But when Zhu Ying was transferred to the maternity ward, no sooner had she lain down on the sterilized sheets and said a few words to the hospital director than the baby immediately popped out.

  The hospital director had asked, “How do you feel?”

  Zhu Ying had replied, “The perfume in the hospital is very pungent.”

  The hospital director then said, “You should prepare for excruciating pain.”

  Appearing unsettled, Zhu Ying had asked. “What’s wrong with my belly? What’s wrong with my belly?” She then screamed loudly, “Why has it collapsed like a mountain?”

  The hospital director and the director of the obstetrics ward lifted the sheets and Zhu Ying’s hospital gown, and saw that her cervix was already as large as a city gate, and after the baby passed through, it silently fell into a pool of blood and amniotic fluid.

  News of the successful birth was immediately sent to the office of the county mayor, which had just removed the town government signs and replaced them with county government ones. Kong Mingliang, exhausted from having spent the day attending events celebrating Explosion’s redesignation from town to county, had just sat down in his leather office chair and his staff had just brought him some tea and placed it on his desk, when the hospital director excitedly ran in and told the mayor, “Your wife’s cervix was fully dilated, and the birth went smoothly. It’s a boy, who weighs eight pounds eight ounces.” When the hospital director finished saying this, the mayor stared at him intently. “Is it really a boy?” The hospital director said solemnly, “It is indeed a boy, eight pounds eight ounces—which is a very auspicious number.” Then, the ballpoint pen on the governor’s desk burst into bloom, and a variety of colorful plants and flowers suddenly appeared on his papers. Even the wooden armrest and back of the couch in front of him started budding with new growth. There was a fresh aroma of spring plants, which slowly circulated through the office. Looking at those plants and flowers, Kong Mingliang broke into a broad smile. He looked at the hospital director’s joyful expression and quietly asked, “Did you say that my wife’s cervix was very dilated?” The hospital director nodded and replied, “She is built to have babies. If the mayor wants to have another child, I’d be happy to pull together the medical documentation permitting her to have a second child and send it over.” Then, the county mayor stood up and shook the director’s hand, and said, “Go back and tell my wife that our child will be named Victory. The plan to have the town redesignated as a county has achieved victory, and our child will also be called Victory. Tell her that after I’ve finished with some county business, I’ll come to see her and the baby.”

  The hospital director left.

  After the director left, the mayor called in the office manager and told him to immediately draw up a directive to send out. “Fuck, not only did a lowly hospital director see my wife, he even dared say that her cervix was very dilated… . I want a directive terminating his position to be drawn up immediately!” The office manager immediately drew up the document, printed it, and attached the county government seal as well as the county mayor’s own personal seal, thereby terminating the hospital director’s position. He then transferred the director of obstetrics to oversee the hospital’s trash collection and grounds maintenance. In the same document, he also announced to all of the residents of the county that the mayor’s family had a baby boy,
whose name was Victory Kong.

  II.

  The postpartum month of rest is every woman’s vacation. During this period, Zhu Ying needed only to reach out her hand and someone would bring her some clothes, and she needed only to open her mouth and someone would bring her some food. Everyone was so busy that the household was like a city street where no one even has time to sit down and relax.

  Zhu Ying was putting her son to sleep when she heard someone knocking at the front door. She went downstairs, and in the courtyard she saw that the trees and the courtyard wall were covered by a dense flock of magpies singing loudly, as though a waterfall had suddenly appeared in that space. Staring at all of those magpies, she asked, “Aren’t you concerned that you’ll wake up my son?”

  The magpies perched in the trees, on the house, and along the courtyard wall immediately stopped singing.

  She then gestured toward the sky and said, “Go on, begone!”

  The magpies immediately flew away. So as not to wake up the baby sleeping inside, they muffled the sound of their wings flapping, like tree leaves falling to the ground. Once the birds had disappeared, the courtyard was silent again. Zhu Ying went to the gate and saw five or six nannies waiting with their luggage, each of them holding a letter of introduction. Some of them had been recommended by various county departments, including the county’s business bureau and the county’s agriculture bureau. The youngest one, who had just given birth herself, had been sent over by Yang Baoqing, the director of the county’s propaganda department.

  “I need only one nanny,” Zhu Ying said, looking them over.

  They all replied, “Then keep me!”

  They proceeded to argue right there in the entranceway, each of them afraid that if, after having been sent over by her department, she was not allowed to serve as Zhu Ying’s nanny and have the privilege of looking after the mayor’s son, the department’s director would curse her. Therefore, they all boasted about their skills and why they were each uniquely suited to being nannies—each of them claiming that she was the most qualified. After they had argued like this for a long time, Zhu Ying finally took their respective letters of introduction and recommendation, looked them over, then said that she wanted her son to drink human milk, not cow or goat milk. She added that she herself didn’t have enough milk and asked which of the prospective nannies did.

  In the end, Zhu Ying selected the twenty-year-old who had just given birth, as well as an older woman who was very skilled at cooking. One of them would be responsible for looking after Zhu Ying’s son, while the other would be responsible for Zhu Ying’s meals and clothing, so that Zhu Ying herself would be left entirely idle. On the third day, Zhu Ying realized that Kong Mingliang had not yet come to see their son. On the fifth day, she spent the entire day thinking one thought, which was that no matter how busy the mayor might be, he should still see his son! She called him, but it was Cheng Qing who answered the phone, and as soon as she heard Zhu Ying’s voice she immediately hung up. Zhu Ying called again, and at first no one answered, and when eventually someone did answer, it was Cheng Qing again, who asked,

  “Don’t you have enough nannies working for you?

  “… Mayor Kong belongs to the people of the entire county, and he is not just your husband.

  “… I’m his office manager and handle all of his business. If you should need anything, let me know.”

  After putting the phone down, Zhu Ying rushed over to the county government building, as though blown there by a tornado. When the sentry in front of the building tried to stop her, she screamed, “Don’t you know who I am? I am Zhu Ying, the mayor’s wife!” When she reached the elevator, she roared at the elevator monitor, “Don’t you know? I am Zhu Ying, the mayor’s wife!” When she reached the floor of the mayor’s office, all of the workers came to the doorway and bowed to her. Only Cheng Qing was left standing in the hallway, like a tree full of branches and leaves blocking her way. Cheng Qing wasn’t as tall as Zhu Ying, but today she was wearing milky-blue high heels and the sort of small-collared jacket that female cadres liked to wear. She was also wearing a snow-white shirt and appeared very dignified, bearing little resemblance to the former owner of Peach Blossom Spring. Standing there like a national cadre Ying, Cheng Qing laughed and said quietly,

  “Sister-in-law, how are you?”

  Zhu Ying slapped her face.

  Cheng Qing stopped smiling but continued in a quiet voice, “Do you dare slap me again?”

  Zhu Ying snorted and proceeded to slap her again.

  Cheng Qing swayed back and forth, and struggled to remain upright. In a trembling voice, she asked, “Will you dare assure your son that his father is definitely the county mayor? Won’t you be concerned that when your son grows up, he may end up resembling someone else?” As Cheng Qing said this, the smile returned to her face, like a flower blooming again in the middle of a field. She took another step closer to Zhu Ying, holding her inflamed cheek as though trying to prevent blood from spurting out, and added in an even lower voice,

  “Ms. Zhu, you should leave. If you treat me well, I promise I won’t tell the mayor anything.

  “… Ms. Zhu, you mustn’t come back here. This is my territory, and you have your own house. If you treat me well, I’ll let you keep your title of first lady.

  “… Ms. Zhu, go back and try to come up with a way to make sure your son grows up to resemble Mayor Kong, and not anyone else.”

  Zhu Ying stood in the hallway in front of Cheng Qing, beads of sweat gradually appearing on her forehead. On that day, the sunlight streaming in through the window twisted and turned in midair. A gorgeous oriole flew over and alighted on the windowsill. It peered in at Zhu Ying and flew away, but as it did so all of its yellow and red feathers fell out, drifted through the air, then disappeared. The featherless oriole, meanwhile, became a bald house sparrow. After chirping a few times, it flew toward the other sparrows. Zhu Ying was so dizzy she felt as though the window, the hallway, and everyone’s face were spinning around. Afraid she was about to fall over, she glanced at Cheng Qing. When she noticed that Cheng Qing didn’t have even a trace of wrinkles around her eyes, Zhu Ying felt a rush of confusion and quickly leaned against the wall. Just as she was about to collapse, she heard her two-week-old son in her house, wide-eyed and kicking, as he screamed,

  “Ma … Ma …”

  This scream was long and robust, and had the effect of supporting Zhu Ying and preventing her from collapsing. As she was saying good-bye to Cheng Qing, Zhu Ying stood in the hallway and screamed, “Kong Mingliang will remain my husband for as long as I live! Explosion will continue to belong to our Kong family for as long as I live!” Then, as Cheng Qing and the others watched, Zhu Ying turned around and headed back in the direction from which she had come.

  When she arrived home, she found that the two nannies had already left. From that point on, no one was left in the compound but her and her son, together with an air of bleakness following the loss of prosperity.

  CHAPTER 12

  National Defense

  1. A HERO’S STORY

  I.

  After returning from Explosion to his barracks, Kong Mingyao asked his commander,

  “Are military commendations for sale? Can I purchase one?

  “… Commander, just name a price. I really want to buy a third-class commendation.

  “… Despite having been in the army for so many years, I’ve never managed to earn a commendation. Therefore, I want to purchase both a third-class and a second-class commendation, to give to someone back home. Money is no object.”

  At that point, the barracks were shrouded in a post-dinner dusk, as each regiment had been marching in formation in the field, like a city wall moving back and forth. The trees along the edge of the field were all chanting One, Two, Three, Four into the wind. The soldiers were holding rifles and handguns that they had a chance to hold only during training exercises, and like an engaged but unmarried couple, they were sweating with anticipati
on. It was at this moment that Kong Mingyao, carrying his travel bag, returned to the barracks. He was so happy he felt he was about to explode, and delight flowed from his heart like a river, enough to float a ferry. He never imagined that one day he would have this much money, nor that a tall, slender woman would come up to him just as he was about to return to the barracks. She smiled at him, whereupon a green vine began growing from the ground beneath his feet. As he was staring at the vine, the tall, slender woman walked over. Standing there with a calm expression, she said quietly, “You look just like my brother. My brother looks just like you.” He had stared at her in confusion and saw that her eyebrows were black and radiant, and as a long as a finger. Shaped like a pair of crescent moons, they hovered over her seductive eyes. Her smile was like a ray of morning sunshine. He had never before stood this close to a girl, nor had he ever smelled a woman’s scent while he was stationed in the barracks. Her scent was so fragrant that it seemed to be perfume, though it was clearly emanating from her breasts. She was smiling as she spoke to him; her face was like a summer flower exploding into bloom.

  “Can you walk with me through the streets of Explosion?

  “… If you really want to become a soldier, then you should take me out to eat.

  “… You could take me to get a room in the hotel up ahead, so that we can chat for a while.”