by Zhou Daxin
Nuannuan was unable to talk, being both too tired from the run and with too much excitement too.
Zhan Shideng did not expect the couple to actually sue him. When he arrived in the village committee office and saw the judges, he thought it was no more than another regular inspection from above. He did not realize what was happening until the judges bid him to talk about the reason why the Kuangs should not receive visitors. He panicked and stammered without talking any sensible words. The judges made the decision and said: “ … Zhan Shideng, the leader of the village committee of Chu Wang Village, by prohibiting the family of Kuang Kaitian from providing accommodation to visitors, has violated the citizen’s right to run a legal business. Therefore, Zhan must stop harassing the business of Kuang’s and offer apologies …”
Zhan Shideng’s eyes were wide open in shock. Nuannuan, standing to the side, burst into tears. She fainted because of extreme excitement and consolation …
Chu Di Ju reopened that very day. The young girls they hired started their work of cleaning, too. Shallot and Huiyu were also busy cleaning up the kitchen whilst Jiuding and the boatman they hired started preparing for the journey in the lake. The whole village heard about the Kuangs’ victory over the leader. Uncle Da Geng, who planted peppers, whispered to Kaitian at the doorstep: “Great! You are a real man! You dare argue for your rights with the emperor of the village! I admire your courage!”
Wang Tiechui, the stonemason, put his thumbs up at Nuannuan and said: “You are a brave girl to fight the leader. Even I feel that justice is served! I did not expect you to do that.”
After breakfast, Kaitian picked up the hoe and headed out to the farmland. Nuannuan stopped him: “You are such a mule! No work is left in the fields! What are you doing now?”
Kaitian answered: “There is no guest in the house. So I was thinking of finding something to do in the fields.”
Nuannuan pouted in a pretended anger: “Use your head! We can go find the visitors.”
“Where?” Kaitian did not understand. “The visitors are all from the city. How do we know who want to come visit the west bank of the Red Lake?”
“We shall go to the east bank!” Nuannuan waved her hand. “I think there are some people visiting the east bank. It’s only that Zhan Shideng told him not to come over because there will be no food or bed for them. We shall go to the east bank today to help the visitors to come down here. There is nothing for us at home now.”
Kaitian put down the hoe and told his mother about their plan. Later on, the couple started walking towards the pier by the lake.
There was no wind on the lake that day. The boat picked up its speed on the peaceful lake towards the east bank. When was the last time she visited the east bank? Nuannuan asked herself as she watched the water split and retreat beneath the boat. Because they could get almost everything needed around the house on Juxiang Street, Nuannuan had not paid a single visit to the east bank since her return from Beijing.
When the boat anchored it was already midday. The busy pier surprised Nuannuan. A couple of years ago when she returned home, the scene was completely different. There were various boats for visitors on the pier in addition to fishing boats and small boats for the locals to travel. There were now big ships that would head to Hubei Province; they were all big and beautifully decorated. Many visitors were stepping in and out of the boats. Various merchants were selling snacks, beverages and small souvenirs outside of the pier. Nuannuan said: “Let’s go to the long-distance bus station and see if anyone wants to go see the west bank.”
There was a parking lot by the side of the main road where coaches and cars were parked. From their plates it could be told that some were from cities in the province whilst some others from Beijing and Hebei. Still others were from counties in Nanfu City. Two coaches had just arrived from the provincial capital. Seeing the visitors stepping off the coaches, Nuannuan dragged Kaitian and walked towards them in a haste, preparing to ask whether or not some might want to visit the west bank. Suddenly a familiar voice raised in the center of the crowd: “Dear visitors, the west bank of the Red Lake is not open for tourism, please plan your trip accordingly!”
Nuannuan and Kaitian looked at each other in surprise. They both hurried into the crowd and found out it was the village hooligan Zhan Xiao’er, who had done nothing but snatch free meals. Kaitian gripped his collar in anger and slapped his face: “You son of a bitch, what bullshit are you yelling about? Who told you the west bank is closed?”
Zhan Xiao’er was shocked and upset. He was about to shout back when he saw it was Kaitian and Nuannuan who slapped him. Suddenly he looked beaten and vaguely asked: “Kaitian and the missus … is that you?”
“I’ve been wondering why my Chu Di Ju has been vacant all these days. It was you who spoiled our business!” Kaitian had him by the ear and spoke with great anger. “You son of a bitch, go with me to the police station and see what they make of you!”
“Please, please don’t, big brother Kaitian,” pleaded Zhan Xiao’er as he took a step back.
“What have I done to you that made you hate me so much?” Kaitian took out a knife that he used to peel radish and waved it in front of Zhan Xiao’er, threatening to cut his ear. He looked a ferocious man when he again shouted out: “I will cut your ears off and throw them to the dogs, if you can’t give me a good explanation today!”
“I … I …”
“Is there someone else behind this?” Nuannuan, who was standing aside and watched everything, suddenly asked.
“No, no one …”
“How much does the leader pay you to do this?” Nuannuan spoke in a calm voice.
“How did you know it was the leader’s idea?” Zhan Xiao’er did not expect the question.
“Just answer my question. How much?” Nuannuan asked again, her eyes staring at him.
“Three yuan, enough for a pepper soup and a steamed bun, a good meal,” Zhan Xiao’er answered, he sounded quite satisfied. “Six dimes for a pepper soup, and four for a steamed bun. A good meal!
“You bastard! You betrayed us for a meal?” Kaitian raised his knife again.
Nuannuan pushed Kaitian away and looked at Xiao’er. She asked: “I have another job for you, six yuan per day. Are you in or not?”
“What am I supposed to do? Is it hard?” Xiao’er showed some interest.
“You work here, same job, different words.”
“What words shall I yell out, then?”
“Dear visitors, you are all welcome to visit the west bank, where the mysterious triangle, the Great Wall of Chu, the Lingyan Temple and the beautiful lakeside awaits! You are welcome to stay in Chu Di Ju in the village of Chu Wang Village, where you can find all the convenience and hospitality!”
“Just like that?” Xiao’er’s eyes were wide in surprise.
Nuannuan nodded in confirmation: “Just like that.”
“OK, I’ll do it!” Xiao’er agreed.
“Dangen’s dad, give him the money for three days now,” said Nuannuan as she turned to Kaitian.
Kaitian hesitated, but eventually he gave 18 yuan to Xiao’er.
“You must make sure at least one group of visitors would go to the west bank every three days. The group doesn’t have to be big, but there must be at least one,” said Nuannuan as she looked at Xiao’er again. “Of course it’s better if you can send someone over every day. Also, every three days I’ll send a boat here to take the visitors. When there is no boat from us, you can send them on someone else’s boat. With every visitor that stay in Chu Di Ju, you earn one extra yuan; if you send over a group of over 20 visitors, you earn another 10 yuan!”
“Are you serious?” Xiao’er was overtaken by amazement.
“My words are as real as the money we just gave you. When have I lied to anyone?” Nuannuan stared at him.
“Great! I’ll show you what I can do!” Xiao’er spoke with great excitement.
“Another thing: if you loaf on the job, I have ways to deal wi
th you, too! I’ll cut all your payment and you’ll go back to your days where you have to trick people for meals; I’ll tell the leader that you work for us, too. He hates betrayal and he will show you; Kaitian has this uncle living here by the east bank, and he has six sons and you don’t want to upset anyone of them or they will …”
Xiao’er panicked and said: “Please don’t! Why would I want to loaf on such a good job!”
After they left Xiao’er, the couple went to have stewed noodles. Nuannuan looked at Kaitian and said: “From tomorrow on, the boat we hired will come over here once a day to take visitors. The boat must come here every day with or without visitors so that everyone here will know about the sail to the west bank. We also need to find someone who can do good calligraphy and put up a sign to introduce the sightseeing close to the west bank, including the Great Wall of Chu, Lingyan Temple and the lakeside; we’ll have him write about the delicious food: green bean noodles, sesame leaf noodles, mushrooms with free range eggs, wild mushrooms with stewed chicken, fresh carp from the Red Lake with soy sauce, the special yellow rice wine, etc. We will carry the signs on the boat and put them up right here so that it attracts people’s attention and their curiosity about the west bank.”
“Sure, sure!”
Chapter 31
On dusk of the third day after they had come back from the east bank, more than 20 visitors came on the Kuang’s boat and some other boats. Some heard about the west bank from Xiao’er, some saw the sign, and others read the articles about the Great Wall of Chu. They were the first group of guests after Chu Di Ju reopened. Nuannuan was very happy about the fresh start and occupied herself with the guests and hurried Shallot to start cooking the meals. Kaitian was meeting Spotty Laosi, the tour guide and the boatman Jiuding about the visitors’ schedule. The couple did not go back to their room before the visitors finished their dinner. It was by then that they realized that they, too, needed to have some food. However, before they could make it to the kitchen, they heard Zhan Shideng’s voice in the darkness not faraway.
“I’ve come over here to give you an announcement,” said Zhan Shideng with a smile: “The road leading to the hill will be closed tomorrow. I sent someone up to do some maintenance. It will be open soon.”
“Close the road?” Kaitian was not happy to hear his words. “We’ve got visitors here and they must go see the Great Wall of Chu tomorrow!”
“That’s why I’m here tonight so that you can change their plan. Tell them to come next time. The wall is not going anywhere.”
“You!” Kaitian was too angry to talk back.
Seeing Zhan Shideng disappearing in the darkness, Nuannuan spit at the ground and spoke up, her teeth clenching: “Kaitian, one day, even with the slightest possibility, I will make you the leader!”
“Are you insane? Who will let me be the leader? My ancestors do not grant that type of wish!”
“There will be an election soon. And we must think of some way to pull him off the position!”
“Let’s focus on tomorrow’s plan. The visitors will not be satisfied if they cannot go see the Great Wall of Chu because we especially introduced that on the sign by the east bank. Most of them are here exactly for the wall.”
“Who said we are not going? Zhan Shideng is closing one road, we’ll find another one leading to the wall!”
“Another road? The hill is steep!”
“A couple of years ago they forbade us from getting firewood from the hill. But Dad and I sneaked into the hill and found a trail at the end of the cornfield of the Fan’s. If you split the grass and bushes you’ll see it: there is a steep part of that trail, too. We must find a good ladder.”
“Are you sure?” Kaitian was not fully convinced.
“I am. Tomorrow I’ll take the visitors and you should simply follow us. Do bring a ladder with you.”
The next morning after breakfast, Nuannuan gave Dangen to her mother-in-law and talked to Shallot and Huiyu about dinner. Kaitian made some arrangements around the house, too. Then the couple started taking the visitors out. Before they reached the small trail, Nuannuan raised her voice and said to the visitors: “In order to make our trip today more exciting, we are taking this dangerous trail into the hill and you can experience how steep the landscape is here in the domain of Chu.”
The visitors were not angry at all. Instead, they were excited: “That is exactly what we are looking for!”
Though they did not climb up the hill at a good speed, the trip went smooth: when the visitors, all covered in sweat, saw the Great Wall of Chu on top of the hill they all shouted out in excitement and satisfaction …
The next group of visitors arrived after two days; there were a dozen of them. Zhan Shideng did not close the road that time. Instead, he asked them to buy tickets to enter the hill. Spotty Laosi was the tour guide, so Nuannuan only walked the group to the end of the road and turned back after they entered the wooden gate with tickets. She heard Zhan Shideng calling her from behind: “Is this the proprietress of Chu Di Ju?”
Nuannuan turned back and saw him walking out of the small ticket office. She calmed herself down and asked in a plain voice: “Can I help you?”
“It’s nothing important,” said Zhan Shideng with a smile. “Just so you know, for the sake of the protection of the wall, and for the ecology around the hill, we will be closing this whole hill very soon. After that, if anyone, using any trail, dare enter the hill, will be severely punished!”
Nuannuan’s face went stiff. She shivered at his words. She knew that there would be no way that she could continue her business of taking visitors to the wall once the hill is closed. What a merciless man this Zhan Shideng is!
Nuannuan tried her best to stay calm but her heart was beating fast in disappointment. Without the chance to see the wall, less and less visitors would come to the village. When she turned back to walk home, her legs were shaking.
As soon as Nuannuan was home, she sent for Kaitian to discuss the situation. Neither of them knew what to do. If the hill was closed for the protection of environment, and it was a righteous reason that they could not go against. Eventually Kaitian spoke up: “How about we write a letter to Uncle Tan in Beijing and see if there is anything he can do?”
Nuannuan thought about it and nodded: “Ok. You go write the letter now and make sure to include the details. You must go to Juxiang Street to send it out this afternoon!”
More than ten days past after the letter was sent and Nuannuan grew more anxious every day. During the time, Zhan Shideng had a dozen wood planks put in front of the village committee office, each had “Hill closed for environment protection” written with red paint. The hill would be closed when the planks were moved to the hill. Uncle Tan, please help us if you receive the letter. Please don’t get sick or whatever else may stop you.
One afternoon during lunch time, the Kuangs heard a familiar voie from outside the yard gate: “Kaitian and Nuannuan, are you home?”
The couple turned and saw Mr. Tan Wenbo walking in with two men that look like officials in the city.
“Uncle Tan!” The couple walked up in excitement.
“Wow, look at your place! New houses! You are good at business! Good!” Uncle Tan said as he looked around Chu Di Ju with a satisfying smile.
“It’s you who taught us to earn money from tourism.” Nuannuan offered him a seat.
“I shall introduce you,” said Uncle Tan as he pointed at the two men that came with him. “This is Lao Cao from the office of culture of the provincial government. This is Xiao Zhao from the bureau of culture of the county office. They have both visited the wall secretly and offered support to my research.” He then introduced Nuannuan and Kaitian: “This is the couple I talked about. I stayed with them every time I came here.”
The two men shook their hands amicably. Lao Cao sat down and said: “Xiao Zhao and I both read the letter you wrote. We came here with Mr. Tan to discuss with you about the Great Wall of Chu. At the moment the government do
es not have a spare budget for the renovation of the wall. But we must start the protection of the world heritage now. And how should we do that? Of course closing the hill is one way, but it is also a silly way. Having visitors to the wall is not a bad thing. The wall is made of stone and sightseeing won’t easily harm it. Moreover, if the visitors could learn to adore the culture of Chu and increase their affections towards our nation, that will be a very satisfying result.”
“You are right. But our leader Zhan Shideng insisted on closing the hill,” said Nuannuan angrily.
“But we cannot leave the Great Wall of Chu with no one to care for it at all. If visitors climb up and down the wall and cause rock fall, and further the collapse of the wall, that will be very serious,” said Lao Cao. “We must think of the best way to solve this.”
“I have an idea,” said Uncle Tan. “We should establish a tourism company that will take charge of the Great Wall of Chu. The company will sell tickets and hand in half the income to the bureau of culture for the sake of further renovation and protection. The company needs a manager, some tour guides, security guards, cleaners and ticket sellers.”
“That is a good idea.” Xiao Zhao, who had kept silent, nodded.
“Now who shall be put to these posts?” asked Lao Cao. “Will the village committee run this company?”
“If they don’t, we will do it!” Nuannuan hastened to answer and looked at Kaitian. Kaitian hurried forwards and said: “Yes, we will do it!”
“It’s good to hear you say that,” said Lao Cao as he stood up. “We shall go talk to your village Party secretary and the leader of the village committee.”