Chapter 42: The Old Village Chief Who Takes Sides
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“Xu Feng!”
When Sun Defa saw him come out, even he felt a jolt at the sight of that fearsome expression. But with the entire village watching, he could not afford to lose face. He cleared his throat and put on the officious air of the village chief.
“You’ve grown quite bold, haven’t you? How dare you throw your weight around in Old River Gully Village and bully your fellow villagers?”
Xu Feng’s gaze was sharp as an icicle. It swept across Wang Erhu’s gloating face before turning to Sun Defa.
He did not answer at once. Instead, he took two steps forward.
“Village Chief Sun, what exactly do you mean?” Xu Feng’s voice was not loud, but it carried a suppressed fury. “I just returned to the village, and I’ve always kept to myself and followed the rules. How have I suddenly become a tyrant?”
Wang Erhu immediately jumped out from behind Sun Defa. He pointed at his own face, then at several of his staggering underlings nearby.
“Village Chief, look! He beat us into this state! Then he forced us to build a heated brick bed for his family! If that isn’t bullying, what is?”
“Xu Feng, look at what you’ve done!” Sun Defa seized the opportunity, his voice full of reproach. “Even if Wang Erhu and the others were in the wrong, you didn’t have to beat them so badly, did you? You’re all from the same village. You’ll be seeing one another every day. Are you trying to drive them to the grave?”
A cold smile appeared on Xu Feng’s face. He looked at Sun Defa and spoke slowly.
“Village Chief Sun, that’s a rather one-sided way of putting it. Why don’t you ask Wang Erhu what he did before you ask why I beat him?”
He took another step forward and stared Wang Erhu down.
“Wang Erhu, tell them yourself! Did you kick down my front door and steal my belongings while I was away?”
Wang Erhu grew uneasy beneath his gaze and stammered, “I... I only... Your door was already falling apart...”
“Fine. We’ll set the broken door aside for now.” Xu Feng cut him off, his voice suddenly rising. “Were you planning to lay hands on my wife and insult her just because there was no one else at home?”
The words caused an uproar among the watching villagers.
Harassing another man’s wife was a despicable act anywhere.
Inside the house, Lin Xue trembled faintly when she heard this and clutched the edge of the quilt.
Wang Erhu’s face flushed crimson as he hurriedly defended himself. “I didn’t! Don’t make up lies about me! I was only... only joking with her!”
“Joking?” Xu Feng’s voice grew colder. “And afterward, didn’t you go to the Soviet Army headquarters in town and falsely accuse me of being a traitor and my wife of being a Japanese spy, hoping to use the Soviet Army to kill us both?”
Even Sun Defa froze for a moment.
He had only just heard a rough account of the matter. He had not expected there to be such details behind it.
“You... You’re talking nonsense! I was only... only trying to rid the people of a menace!” Wang Erhu continued to insist stubbornly.
“Rid the people of a menace?” Xu Feng pressed forward. Wang Erhu retreated in fright. “How exactly was I a menace? I killed the mad pig and shared the meat with the entire village. Did that harm you? I’ve been living quietly. What business of that was it of yours, Wang Erhu?”
He turned to Sun Defa, his voice carrying a trace of indignation.
“Village Chief, you be the judge! First he stole my things, then he harassed my wife, and finally he tried to have us killed! If I gave someone like that a beating, was it really excessive? If you were in my place, could you have endured it?”
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Sun Defa was left somewhat speechless. He could tell that Wang Erhu was indeed in the wrong.
But Wang Erhu had always shown him a fair amount of respect, and Xu Feng, this young man who had only recently returned, had been attracting far too much attention lately. Sun Defa had to rein him in.
“Ahem, ahem.” Sun Defa cleared his throat twice and waved his hand. “Xu Feng, let bygones be bygones. Wang Erhu was certainly wrong in some respects. I’ll have him apologize to you later.”
“You’re all fellow villagers. You’ll be seeing one another every day. I think we should let this matter go. As for building the heated bed, I don’t think that’s necessary either. His family isn’t well-off.”
His words sounded like an attempt at reconciliation, but in truth they were nothing more than blatant favoritism and pressure.
Xu Feng sneered inwardly. The old bastard clearly intended to smooth everything over while earning Wang Erhu’s gratitude.
“Village Chief Sun, I understand what you mean.” Xu Feng’s tone hardened. “Wang Erhu did all those things, and you expect to wipe them away with a single ‘let it go’? I, Xu Feng, am not so easy to bully.”
He pointed toward his dilapidated house.
“Winter is almost here. The wind blows in from every side, and there isn’t even a heated bed inside.”
“Tell me, how is a crippled man like me, with a woman to look after, supposed to survive the winter? If we freeze to death in that house, will you simply tell everyone to let that go as well?”
Sun Defa frowned. “What are you implying? Are you threatening me?”
“I wouldn’t dare.” Xu Feng shook his head. “I’m only stating the truth. My life is already worthless, and I have nothing to fear. Today, Wang Erhu kicked in my door, stole my belongings, and nearly got us both killed.”
“Is it really too much to ask him to build me a heated bed? He will build it, whether he wants to or not!”
He stepped forward, unleashing without restraint the killing intent honed on the battlefield.
“If you truly push me too far, I don’t care what happens to my own life. I’m only afraid that I might take a few people down with me!”
Sun Defa was stunned by Xu Feng’s ruthless determination—the fearlessness of a barefoot man who had nothing left to lose.
He had never expected that this young man, usually so calm and composed, would be so stubborn and so utterly reckless when pushed.
He looked into Xu Feng’s icy eyes, then at the villagers’ varied expressions. He knew that he would not be able to reclaim his authority today.
“Fine! Fine! Fine!” Sun Defa said three times in succession, his anger making his mustache bristle. “Xu Feng, you’ve got some nerve! It seems Old River Gully Village is too small to contain you!”
He flung his sleeve aside.
“We’re leaving!”
Sun Defa turned and stormed away with several of his trusted followers.
The villagers who had gathered to watch, seeing that the spectacle was over, dispersed in twos and threes amid a buzz of discussion.
Wang Erhu stared blankly as Sun Defa walked away.
His greatest protector had simply abandoned him?
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He looked at Xu Feng in terror, as though he were staring at an evil spirit that had crawled out of hell.
“Xu... Xu Feng... No, Lord Xu...” Wang Erhu’s legs went weak, and he nearly fell to his knees. “The village chief said... the matter was over...”
Xu Feng slowly walked up to him. At last, a sinister smile appeared on the face that had been simmering with anger after his earlier pleasure was interrupted.
“He may consider it over. I don’t.”
Xu Feng’s voice seemed to grind out from between his teeth. At Wang Erhu’s house that afternoon, he had been asserting his authority and settling old scores. Now, he was simply venting his rage.
Bang!
Xu Feng kicked Wang Erhu to the ground.
“Ah!” Wang Erhu let out a miserable cry.
Xu Feng grabbed him by the hair and hauled him up from the ground. He struck him left and right, slapping him until his vision swam and blood streamed from his nose.
“I finally had something good going for me, and you damned dog had to show up at exactly that moment!” Xu Feng growled, every punch cutting through the air.
Wang Erhu was beaten without the slightest ability to fight back. He could only clutch his head and curl up on the ground, whimpering like a dying dog.
“Lord Xu! Spare me! I was wrong! I really was wrong!”
“The heated bed! The heated bed! I’ll build it! I’ll build you the finest heated bed there is!”
Xu Feng finally grew tired. Feeling that most of the fury in his heart had been vented, he stopped. Breathing heavily, he planted one foot on Wang Erhu’s chest.
“Ten days.” He looked down at Wang Erhu coldly. “No, seven days. Within seven days, I want to see a heated bed blazing warm inside my house. If you’re even one day late, or if it isn’t hot enough, I’ll break your bones and use them as firewood!”
“Yes! Yes! Seven days! Certainly! Certainly!” Wang Erhu wailed, another warm wetness spreading through his trousers.
Xu Feng moved his foot away in disgust and spat at him.
“Get lost! Don’t let me see that ill-fated face of yours again!”
As though granted a pardon, Wang Erhu rolled and crawled away, fleeing without even sparing a thought for the several underlings still groaning on the ground.
Xu Feng watched his wretched retreating figure, then turned back toward the battered door of his own house.
Behind it was the woman who occupied his thoughts.
He exhaled a long breath of stale air. Whatever pleasant plans he had for the evening were thoroughly ruined.
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