Castration of Pigs Chronicle: Chapter 4, Contemporary Era 02

When Branch Secretary Liu stepped into the brightly lit office, militia captain Liu Mazi was lying on the secretary’s bench reading a book.

Catching sight of the secretary, Liu Mazi hurriedly shoved the book into a messy pile of newspapers.

"Reading?"

"Yes. Every meeting we're told to improve ourselves, so I figured I should make some progress!"

"Oh? Tell me, what have you learned?" the secretary chuckled.

Clearing his throat and sensing a rare opportunity to showcase his intellect, Liu Mazi recited in a crisp, loud voice, "In books there are houses of gold; in books there are jade-like women; in books there is a wealth of knowledge." By the final phrase, however, his tone had grown noticeably hesitant.

The secretary pulled the book out from the stack of newspapers and flipped it over. "Ah, *The Plum in the Golden Vase*, one of the Four Great Classical Novels. Young man, you've got a bright future."

Liu Mazi’s initial reaction was excruciating embarrassment and tension. But upon hearing the middle part of the remark, a surge of excitement washed over him. Yet when the secretary delivered the final, faintly ironic praise, his heart began to beat wildly and inexplicably. Was the secretary genuinely complimenting him, or was he just genuinely complimenting him?

Liu Mazi decidedly chose to take it as praise, especially since this was the first time he had ever heard that *The Plum in the Golden Vase* was one of the Four Great Classical Novels. A sense of smug pride crept into his heart.

"Did you hear that commotion over by the pigpen?"

"Oh, I didn't notice, Secretary. I was too engrossed in my reading."

"Was the sense of immersion a bit too strong?"

"Huh? What's a sense of immersion?"

The secretary sighed. "Something's happened at the pigpen. Take a few militiamen and seal off the scene. Don't let anyone get near the pigpen, and nobody is allowed to enter Widow Li's house either."

"What happened?!" Liu Mazi’s heart skipped a beat. Could the village head have found out about his affair with Widow Li? He was still so young; his future was definitely finished.

***

The secretary paid no attention to Liu Mazi's reaction. As he busied himself organizing the broadcasting equipment, he clearly and plainly recounted everything he had witnessed.

First startled, Liu Mazi then felt a wave of relief. *Good, good,* he repeated to himself continuously, trying to soothe his racing heart.

"Hurry up! Any slower and the whole village will be swarming the place. Your main job is to protect the crime scene. Once it's cordoned off, take a few men and search for Widow Li—I want to see her alive, or her body if she's dead. Move, move!"

Coming to his senses, Liu Mazi dashed into the adjoining office, where seven or eight militiamen were fast asleep and snoring soundly. Seized by a sudden surge of captainly authority, Liu Mazi started kicking and cursing until everyone was awake.

The moment the militiamen heard that something had happened to Widow Li, they snapped to attention. Led by Captain Liu, they bolted out of the office and sprinted toward the scene.

Behind them, Branch Secretary Liu's loudspeaker blared, "Attention villagers, attention villagers! Gather at the ancestral hall for a meeting immediately! All village leaders must be present!..."

When Captain Liu and his men finally laid eyes on the pigpen, everyone froze in utter shock, too terrified to take a step forward.

Liu Mazi stared at the prize boar, which had stopped squealing and was now emitting soft, low grunts, and then at the severed hand on the ground.

The entire hand had lost its flesh-colored hue due to massive blood loss, but Liu Mazi still recognized it as Widow Li's right hand. Meanwhile, the boar's testicles had turned an alarming shade of bruised black.

The militiamen were all youngsters of fifteen or sixteen. Though Liu Mazi was in his early twenties, the gruesome sight made his own crotch involuntarily twitch with dread.

Just as everyone stood paralyzed, Liu Mazi’s captaincy possessed him once again. "Little Guo, find a handcart, load the whole pig onto it, and haul it to the ancestral hall. Little Wang, Old Yao, the two of you come with me to look for Widow Li. Hurry up, lives are on the line here—and make sure that pig stays alive!"

"What about the hand?" Little Guo asked, trembling slightly.

Having been broadcasted three times by the branch secretary, practically the entire village had been jolted awake.

Old Man Li violently shook Auntie Wang, who was snoring loudly. "Wake up! Did you hear that? There's a meeting! Something's definitely happened over by the pigpen, get up!"

Auntie Wang was right in the middle of a wonderful dream that was just about to come true when she was rudely shaken awake. The moment she opened her eyes, she threw a punch straight into Old Man Li's left eye. Old Man Li let out a yelp as tears gushed down his face. In the pitch darkness, there were no visible tears, but when Auntie Wang felt liquid streaming from his eye, she panicked and asked with sudden concern, "What's wrong? Are you bleeding? I didn't mean to! It's all that pig's fault, and that damned widow's fault—why is it still bleeding?"

***

"Hehehehe..." Old Man Li suddenly burst into muffled laughter.

Auntie Wang felt the moisture and licked her finger. "Bah! You act like a delicate little girl, yet you're a man. I hit you once and you're crying? Can't handle a little punch and you start blubbering..."

Auntie Wang continued her non-stop scolding, but within two or three minutes, both of them fell silent.

"What's wrong, fizzled out again, you useless piece of junk? We might as well get up for the meeting. At least that won't get delayed!"

Old Man Li rubbed his left eye. "You hit my tear duct, and now it's affecting my kidneys."

"Don't blame a crooked well just because you can't draw straight! I'm going to boil some hot water; we need to be well-fed before going to the meeting."

***

After broadcasting the notice, Branch Secretary Liu grew drowsy and dozed off before he knew it.

Suddenly waking up, he wandered unconsciously toward Widow Li's house. Widow Li was inside washing her hands. Turning around and seeing the branch secretary, she flashed a flattering smile. The branch secretary lay down on the bed, when suddenly his lower back was seized by an iron claw. The excruciating pain made him roll back and forth across the bed, howling incessantly. Abruptly, the iron claw transformed into a severed hand, and with a blood-curdling shriek, Secretary Liu jolted awake.

Wiping the sweat from his brow, he realized it had all been a dream. Unsure how long he had slept, Secretary Liu hurriedly threw on his padded cotton coat and headed toward the Liu Family Ancestral Hall. Along the way, he ran into Director Hao of the gynecology department.

Director Hao looked at the terror-stricken branch secretary and asked, "What's wrong, Old Liu? What major disaster happened that you didn't even put on your trousers?" Though his tone feigned deep concern, Director Hao was secretly gleeful inside.

"We'll talk in the ancestral hall. It's too cold, it's too cold..."