The Scenery of the Lake and the Mountain
Page 31
As the people who had fallen into the water were swimming towards the banks, Nuannuan was searching for Shallot. She knew that Shallot was a good swimmer so she should have reached the lakeside too. However, she was not amongst the people who were back on the banks. Nuannuan started looking for Kuang Kaitian and she did not find him either. She turned to look at the lake, yet there was no one swimming in it anymore. Nuannuan’s heart was beating fast. She cried out: “No!”
Nuannuan was thinking fast and remembered how Shallot talked about revenge for her. She thought about how Shallot had behaved in the past days and suddenly understood why she asked her to watch the performance, and her real intention. Nuannuan started running towards the lake and cried in a broken voice: “Help —”
The locals watching by the side of the lake seemed to be realizing that a real problem had occurred too. Several people hastened on the boats to row into the lake.
Two people emerged from the lake as Nuannuan’s crying voice fell.
“No, no —” cried Nuannuan as she jumped on a small boat …
It took Kuang Kaitian several trips around the village lying on the back of a bull to wake up and spit out all the water he had taken in. Shallot had taken in water, too. She was unconscious as the village people carried her on a wooden board to the hospital on Juxiang Street. Kuang Kaitian was carried into his office in Shang Xin Yuan after he woke up. He closed his eyes in thought of what had just happened to him. Full of resent, he said to Xue Chuanxin: “That bitch Shallot, she held me so tight after I fell in. If I did not force her down, I would be dead! What are the fucking odds that the boat should break! I suspect that it was her who made it all happen. Neither her nor her husband will have anything to do with Shang Xin Yuan in the future …”
The next morning after breakfast, Nuannuan walked out with her cane. She had asked Jiuding to ride the bicycle and take her to the hospital in town to see Shallot. Nuannuan was just sitting down at the back of the bicycle when she saw a motorboat riding the waves of the lake and stopped at the pier. Several people in plain clothes stepped out and rushed into the courtyard of Shang Xin Yuan. Nuannuan was curious: is there an emergency in Shang Xin Yuan? As she was thinking, Kuang Kaitian and Xue Chuanxin were pulled outside with their hands cuffed by those people in plain clothes. Both Nuannuan and Jiuding were astonished.
Kuang Kaitian was shouting: “What do you want? I am the Leader of Chu Wang Village? How dare you do this to me?”
One of the people in plain clothes took out some credential paper and showed it to Kuang Kaitian. He did not speak anymore. Nuannuan felt a sudden happiness: the police! They must be the police! My dear! Finally the day has come. Nuannuan could feel her strength returning to her body and she quickly walked towards Shang Xin Yuan with her cane. Xue Chuanxin shouted out: “I am a high executive member of the Five Continents Group in the capital city. You police officers with your meager positions cannot touch me! You think you can take me away now, but you will have to send me back here and offer your respect later! Don’t complain about what I will do to you after this!”
“Do whatever you like!” said another man who was walking out of Shang Xin Yuan. His voice was loud and clear. “I’d like to see what you could do!” He waved his hand and the undercover police officers pulled Kuang Kaitian and Xue Chuanxin on the motorboat. Nuannuan looked at the man who spoke and widened her eyes in surprise: it was the tourist with a beard who asked about her injuries the day before! He is a police officer!
“Manager Chu Nuannuan, how do you do?” said the bearded man after he saw Nuannuan. He walked towards her amicably. “I must introduce myself: I am a police officer from the municipal police department of Nanfu City.”
“What are you —”
His voice suddenly dropped as he answered: “The leaders in my department sent me down here as soon as they received your report. But I came undercover as a tourist and I have stayed in Shang Xin Yuan for several days! Now I am authorized to announce to you that you can resume business in Chu Di Ju immediately.”
Nuannuan forgot to answer or listen to the man. She was too busy wiping her tears away. It was not until the man stepped back onto the motorboat had she remembered to wave her hand to him. The motorboat purred as it started and then headed towards the east bank. When it turned, the motorboat kicked up a spray of lake water into the sky, as it moved through the endless waves. The picture imprinted in Nuannuan’s mind on that day was the figure of Kuang Kaitian standing in panic on the boat, he was looking back at Chu Wang Village. The village seemed further and further away from him …
Chapter 58
A year later on one autumn morning, the Chu Street of Chu Wang Village opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Tourists from all over the country entered the small street full of excitement, and travelled through a street filled with the culture of Chu 2,000 years ago. Full of curiosity, they gazed at the architectural designs of the authentic style of Chu, as well as the men and women passing by, all dressed in clothes of Chu. In front of a pottery vender, Uncle Tan, whose hair had turned completely gray, was speaking with Nuannuan: “My wish has finally come true, thanks to you. A look at this street will give us a glimpse into the lives of our ancestors. I am so happy.”
Nuannuan turned to look away from a group of foreign visitors in the distance and asked quietly: “What’s the social status of a businessman in Chu?”
Uncle Tan answered with a smile: “Businessmen were already prominent among the four types of citizens. Ancient history has recorded the saying ‘scholars, farmers, artisans and businessmen, none will abandon their profession’. This saying exactly represents life in the time of Chu State …”
Another big event that day after the ribbon-cutting ceremony was a guided tour of more than 50 tourists from America and Europe. They went to see the misty triangle at the center of the lake, with Nuannuan guiding the tour herself to make sure that nothing would go wrong. The clear water looked no different from usual when the boat stopped in the center of the lake. However, after a few minutes, a curtain of mist rose from the water, as though a farmer’s wife had just lit firewood from her kitchen under the water. The mist grew thicker and expanded itself to the last corner of the triangle in the center of the lake before it slowly danced, rising up into the sky. The foreign tourists were amazed by the strange scene, and everyone’s eyes were wide open. Nuannuan spoke in English, which she had begun learning a short time ago: “Ladies and gentlemen, please look up to the mist, and you will find the sight of your deepest wish.”
The tourists followed her instructions and raised their heads. It took no time at all before people started calling out in Chinese and English: “I see two Mercedes Benz’s …”
“I see a huge wine cellar …”
“I see an enormous manor …”
“I see a group of very, very beautiful women …”
Nuannuan raised her head to look above the mist, too. She had taken visitors here many times, and had seen various interesting things, including a herd of sheep, a tractor, a motorcycle and a man whose face she could not quite make out.
“What will I see this time?” She asked herself. She gazed upon the mist without blinking. An image emerged and grew clearer: a group of people were walking away; there were men, women and ceremonial flags. The man walking into the center of the group was wearing the clothes of a Chu king, and he looked just like Kuang Kaitian as King Zi …
The group of people walked further and further away …
King Zi, is it you? If it is you, please keep walking. Go as far as you can …
As far as you can, away from me …
ilter: grayscale(100%); -ms-filter: grayscale(100%); filter: grayscale(100%); " class="sharethis-inline-share-buttons">share