Chapter 26: County Town

Early the next morning, the sound of a tractor echoed in front of the ancestral hall at the village entrance. Li Village did not have a tractor yet, so it immediately drew the attention of the villagers having breakfast, and they all gathered around.

Several large boxes were placed in front of the ancestral hall where Ye Tian and his father lived. Since Ye Dongping had already visited each household the day before, everyone knew this was for their move.

“Brother Ye, if the city doesn’t work out, come back. The village won’t let you two go hungry.”

The village’s plump sister-in-law held onto Ye Tian, looking reluctant to let him go. Even though the boy was quite mischievous, he was also likable. The way he spoke was as sweet as honey.

“Yes, Little Yezi, don’t think about the past anymore. In my opinion, just find a wife and settle down here.”

The respected old village chief said the same. With Ye Dongping in the village, he took care of all the electrical work. If he left, they would have to train another electrician.

“Sister-in-law, Uncle Li, thank you. Thank you all. My son and I have caused you a lot of trouble these years. Li Village will always be Ye Dongping’s home…”

Upon hearing the villagers’ words, Ye Dongping’s eyes grew moist. Over a decade of living together day and night, helping and supporting each other, they were not relatives by blood, but they felt even closer than family.

“Uncle Ye, it’s getting late. The tractor needs to come back to work by noon. Should we start loading the things?”

The tractor was arranged by Feng Kuang. Originally, by seniority, he and Ye Dongping were of the same generation. However, Liao Haode told Ye Tian to call him brother, so Feng Kuang reluctantly had to address Ye Dongping as uncle.

“Alright, Xiao Tian, get up first and arrange the things…”

Ye Dongping lowered his head, wiped his tears with his sleeve, and lifted Ye Tian onto the tractor.

However, Ye Dongping didn’t get a chance to help, because the villagers surrounded them and quickly loaded everything onto the tractor.

“Ye Tian, you must come back often!” Fatty Dun wiped his tears with his mud-stained hands and waved vigorously at Ye Tian from below the tractor.

Ye Tian rummaged around on the tractor, pulled out a handful of wild dates he had picked from the mountain the day before, and handed them down, saying, “Fatty Dun, why are you crying? Aren’t you also going to the county to study next year? Won’t we be together again then…”

Ye Tian’s nose tingled as well, but he forced himself to hold back the tears. His Master had said that a real man sheds blood and sweat, not tears. He couldn’t act like some women, crying at the slightest thing.

“Ye Tian, do you mean it?” Fatty Dun wiped his tears hard.

“Nonsense, when have I ever not meant what I said?”

“Okay, then I will definitely get into the county middle school next year!”

Fatty Dun waved his little fist fiercely. He didn’t know that, because of this decision, he would become the only one among his peers to leave the countryside and see the vast world outside.

“Alright, bye Fatty Dun, goodbye everyone…”

Under the gazes of the village elders and Ye Tian’s little friends, the tractor chugged out black smoke and drove toward the County Town.

The tractor traveled on the dirt road, and the bumpy ride could easily be imagined. Because of this, Ye Tian was in low spirits along the way. It wasn’t until they reached the cement road and entered the County Town that his mood improved.

…

“Dad, look! That’s the Cinema! They’re showing ‘Shaolin Temple’!”

Seeing the large hand-painted oil painting poster above the Cinema, Ye Tian became excited. Even though he had already seen the movie “Shaolin Temple” several times, boys never tired of such films.

After the tractor passed the Cinema, Ye Tian’s attention was immediately diverted. “Brother Fengzi, what’s that car called? Also, why aren’t there any monkey shows in the County Town?”

“Dad, is the place Teacher Yu and the others went to as big as ours?” Ye Tian had a feeling that if Yu Qingya hadn’t left, the two of them could have continued being classmates in this County Town.

Looking at the scenery of the County Town, Ye Tian was like a question machine, constantly asking various strange questions. In truth, he didn’t really expect his dad or Feng Kuang to answer; he was just venting his excitement this way.

Even though this was only a small County Town—one so small that there were probably hundreds or even thousands of counties in the country larger than it—for Ye Tian, it was the most lively and bustling city he had ever seen.

“Dad, their clothes are so pretty…”

Compared to the people in the countryside, who always wore dull, grayish clothes, the County Town offered much more variety in colors. The newly popular flared trousers from the south and the girls’ Dacron dresses left Ye Tian dazzled.

The novel experience made Ye Tian forget the pain of parting from the Old Taoist and his little friends. Even Ye Dongping’s mood improved, though someone who had come from Sijiu City couldn’t really look up to such a small County Town.

“Ye Tian, stop shouting. Brother Feng will take you to see a movie tonight…”

Ye Dongping didn’t mind his son’s shouts, but Feng Kuang found it somewhat embarrassing. Driving a tractor into the County Town was already attention-grabbing enough. Adding Ye Tian’s loud exclamations only made it obvious to the townspeople that they were country bumpkins arriving in the city.

Though he had only been in the city for less than a month, Feng Kuang had already started adhering to city people’s standards in every way.

The cigarettes Feng Kuang smoked had even changed from Daqianmen to filtered “Good Companion” cigarettes. He slicked his hair with hair gel so shiny that even a fly couldn’t stand on it, though along the dusty road, his head ended up looking like it was sprinkled with a layer of ash.

“Great, Brother Fengzi, you have to keep your word…”

Hearing Feng Kuang’s promise, Ye Tian finally quieted down, much to Feng Kuang’s relief. Even though Ye Tian’s shouts had attracted many young girls’ attention, it was a look of disdain.

The tractor passed through the entire County Town and stopped at a place in the northwest corner. Feng Kuang jumped off the back of the truck, rubbed his somewhat numb legs, and said, “Uncle Ye, we’re here. This is our co… company.”

To be honest, even though Liao Haode had explained the meaning of “company” to Feng Kuang many times, Feng Kuang still didn’t quite understand what a company was. But that didn’t stop him from remembering the term.

“This… this is a scrap collection station, isn’t it?” Standing on the tractor and looking at the scene before him, Ye Tian opened his mouth wide in shock.

What appeared before Ye Tian was a solitary house, surrounded by walls as high as a person, forming a large courtyard inside.

From the tractor, he could just see that the courtyard was piled high with all kinds of metal and plastic scrap—basically, it was a garbage dump.

Moreover, right in front of the house was the main road. On both sides, for two to three hundred meters, were nothing but wasteland. Not a single household was in sight. It was even worse than the old ancestral hall they had lived in back in the village.

“Yeah, Feng Kuang, what on earth is going on here?”

Not only was Ye Tian stunned, but even the more worldly Ye Dongping was dumbfounded. Weren’t they supposed to open an Antique Shop? How did they end up with a scrap collection station?

Hearing this, Feng Kuang gave a bitter laugh. However, this matter couldn’t be explained in just a sentence or two. He handed a cigarette to the tractor driver and turned back to say, “Uncle Ye, let’s get off first. The tractor needs to go back to work.”

“Alright, alright, let’s get off…”

Since they had come, there was no reason to go back. Even though the reality fell far short of his expectations, Ye Dongping began moving the luggage down.

After moving the luggage, including the two boxes of Calligraphy and Painting belonging to the Old Taoist, into the courtyard, Ye Dongping looked at Feng Kuang. The tractor had left, and he said, “Little Feng, can you explain now? Mr. Liao mentioned an Antique Shop, not a scrap collection station.”

Ye Dongping grew up in Sijiu City. Even though his family background was merely working-class, he often visited old-name shops like “Rongbaozhai” in Dashilan. He had never seen an Antique Shop set up in such a remote, isolated place.

Hearing Ye Dongping’s words, Feng Kuang’s face showed a wronged expression. He smiled bitterly and said, “Uncle Ye, this isn’t my fault. When I went to get the Business License, those people had no idea what an Antique Shop was. They couldn’t even register a company…”

After Feng Kuang explained for a while, Ye Dongping finally understood. It turned out the business they wanted to run had no precedent in this County Town. No one would issue them a Business License.

About a month earlier, Feng Kuang had arrived in the County Town. First, he applied to open an Antique Shop. Sorry, the nature of an Antique Shop was hard to define. That couldn’t be done.

Frustrated, Feng Kuang then tried to register a company as Liao Haode had taught him. Again, sorry. Private individuals were not allowed to start companies; it had to be a collective ownership.

Now Feng Kuang was completely stuck. After spending several days at the relevant offices, he realized that private individuals wanting to do business simply wasn’t realistic. Because it was still the era of a planned economy, everything belonged to the state.

However, Feng Kuang’s mind was sharp. After thinking for several days, he actually managed to find a loophole: he took over a scrap collection station on the outskirts of the county.

According to Feng Kuang’s thinking, even if he couldn’t open an Antique Shop, he still needed to find something to do in the County Town. Otherwise, his uncle’s promised thirty thousand yuan might be taken back.

“You… you’re just messing around, aren’t you?” After hearing Feng Kuang’s explanation, Ye Dongping could only sigh and laugh bitterly. What a mix-up this was!