Chapter 5: The Backbone and the Brick Kiln

The village chief did not become chief because he went door to door handing out rice, flour, grain, and oil during the vote, but simply because he had many family members.

When news spread that the village chief had been beaten, a large, intimidating crowd of men from under the same roof gathered, blocking the alley completely. Even the two officials sent from the township were pushed aside and lost in the throng.

There were hoes, manure forks, and red-tasselled spears...

But the second brother, with strength like a titan, removed the two wooden doors of the village chief’s house as if they were bulldozers, single-handedly pushing the crowd out of the yard.

At that moment—

Bang!

After a muffled sound, the noisy scene suddenly fell silent.

The village’s rarely involved but highly respected old party secretary appeared, carrying a Hanyang rifle. Parting the crowd, he entered the yard.

“What’s going on at this hour?”

“Reporting to the elder, we’re looking for the donkey,” Yu Yang answered truthfully.

The village chief, hung from the ceiling fan, stopped his clan from speaking and said in a low voice, “Help him find the donkey.”

“Found it yet?”

“Found it.”

“Then everyone disperse.”

With a clatter, everyone returned to their homes.

The conflict dissipated like smoke.

Yu Yang, along with the burly men, carried away the large color TV, DVD player, and home theater system that Old Yu had left at the village chief’s house.

When they reached the alley, they saw Sixth Uncle arriving with two cousins to back them up.

But without anyone from their own family outside, the three elders kept some distance.

Yu Yang understood—after all, the village chief had many people, and if the three charged in, they would just end up beaten.

“Let’s go home.”

Sixth Uncle, unbothered by the awkwardness, complained, “How did it come to this with him?”

“After my father was arrested, the villagers looked at me differently. If I didn’t make some noise, I wouldn’t be able to stand tall.”

“But we can’t use him to intimidate others. We’re too few; we’ll just get the short end of the stick.”

“No worries. From today on, times have changed. We have numbers now.”

“???”

Hearing this, Old Yu Liu, originally puzzled, noticed three more technicians in the group and suddenly understood.

He eagerly pulled out cigarettes, inviting everyone as they dispersed, “Come, come, come, let’s go sit at my place.”

“No thanks, Sixth Uncle. It’s almost eleven o’clock.”

“Good food waits for no one. I’ve got three big carp at home, your aunt’s already stewing them.”

Old Yu Liu waved off refusals, telling his two sons to open the convenience store and buy some casual snacks to go with the wine, while inviting the strong men toward his home.

He leaned close to Yu Yang’s ear and whispered, “They helped us tonight; we have to treat them with good smoke and good wine. Otherwise, who’ll help us next time?”

“Makes sense.”

“That’s how the world works; you’d better learn it well.”

“You’re right.”

Yu Yang nodded repeatedly, signaling his eldest brother to load the large TV, DVD player, and home theater system, taken from the village chief’s house, into the donkey cart to bring back home.

These items had originally been purchased by Old Yu as gifts. After the house was raided, they somehow ended up in the village chief’s hands.

Though their appearance had changed, their functions hadn’t. They were definitely ours—no mistake.

Before long, the feast at Sixth Uncle’s home was underway again.

Steamed carp, soy-braised carp, cabbage and tofu stew with carp...

Sliced salted duck eggs, torn spicy strips...

Scallion oil mixed bean curd sheets, cold vinegar with white fungus...

A box of fine liquor—Jingyanggang...

Hearing the commotion, Yu the Lame from the neighboring yard opened his door and couldn’t help but sniff the air.

“What kind of conditions are these?”

“Stewed chicken last night, stewed fish tonight. How can life be any better?”

...

Back at the village chief’s house.

After Yu Yang left, the yard grew lively again.

The village chief’s uncle, cousins, and other relatives gathered in a large group.

---

“We can’t just let this go,” the village chief’s eldest uncle said bitterly. “Betraying your own, and even calling outsiders into it.”

The village chief lit a cigarette. “It’s precisely because outsiders got involved that we can’t act recklessly. Otherwise, those outsiders would hit us hard, maybe even cause casualties. If that happens, they’d flee overnight. Where would we find them then?”

“You can’t just do nothing, though.”

“Wait and see.”

The village chief held back some words.

It was true that Yu Jianjun’s home was raided on his orders.

He took that step because, after the flood, Yu Jianjun came to him for a loan, explaining the brick kiln’s situation.

In short: although the kiln cave collapsed, that was a minor issue. A few bricklayers could repair it and restart production. What the brick kiln lacked was funding—for coal, oil, and hiring workers.

At the time, the village chief had no other thoughts and was ready with the money.

However, the bank, fearing Yu Jianjun would flee, had him sent to the detention center, showing him another path.

For example, the brick kiln owed the rural bank 200,000 yuan. If the bank changed the credit loan to a mortgage loan, they could seize the kiln. If worse came to worst, the bank could sue and have the kiln auctioned off by the court.

Few truly knew the brick kiln’s real condition.

When the time came, they could buy the kiln back from the bank for 250,000 yuan, reimbursing the loan. The bank employees handling the case could privately pocket an extra 50,000 yuan.

By doing this, the brick kiln would no longer owe other debts.

If they took over the kiln, restarting production this year, they’d break even next year and make a profit the year after.

Who wouldn’t be tempted by that?

Hence, he ordered the raid on Yu Jianjun’s home, hoping to pressure Yu Yang and his mother.

Now Yu Yang had met a group of outsiders and came back asking to save face. Who knew if the brick kiln would be restarted...

The village chief pondered for a long time, then took out a pack of soft Huaxia cigarettes and left with his brother.

...

The next day, the fourteenth day of the tenth lunar month.

Solar term: Minor Snow.

Before dawn.

The strong men who had drunk and celebrated last night climbed out from the firewood stacks to get busy.

Eldest brother fired up the stove, second brother planted bean sprouts, third, fourth, and fifth brothers continued building a super large kang (heated brick bed) in the yard.

Indeed, these men with construction skills had such craftsmanship in earth and woodwork that Yu Yang, who had worked in engineering for more than twenty years, was amazed.

“On the twelfth is the big market at Shiliying.”

“On the thirteenth, the small market at Hanggai Township.”

“Today, we have to go to the Buddha Temple market.”

Yu Yang counted on his fingers and checked the old almanac carefully, making sure he hadn’t miscalculated.

Then he led the little donkey to a distant cousin’s place—Yu the Lame.

He knocked on the gate, dropped five yuan, and asked him to feed the donkey.

Yu the Lame had a mule, a grass-cutting knife, a grass-washing vat, stone troughs, stacks of wheat straw and corn stalks, and a full array of supplies.

“Brother, did you feed your mule?”

“It’s not even dawn yet, it’s already fed, what’s up?”

“I don’t know how to drive the cart yet. Your mule is docile; mind if I harness it and practice?”

Yu the Lame was reluctant but saw the five yuan in his hand, hesitated, then nodded: “Alright, just bring it back soon.”

“No problem!”

Yu Yang immediately led away the mule, whose size rivaled that of a large horse, with strong, sturdy limbs.

Back at home, he harnessed the wooden cart and called his eldest and second brothers to head straight to their brick kiln.

With the help of the third brother and others, the construction speed in the yard picked up considerably.

They had already finished a foundation pit about 50 meters long and 30 meters wide.

But building the super large kang required bricks stable enough to support the smoke channel.

When the second brother laid the kang in the main hall yesterday, they had already used up all the red bricks supporting the tiles on the roof.

Though their brick kiln had ceased production after the flood, and the bricks it once produced had been emptied during the creditor’s raid, they could still salvage some refractory bricks from the kiln cave, which were even better suited to support the kang.

The brick kiln was located three li (about 1.5 kilometers) north of Yu’s village.

Ten li north of that was the Buddha Temple they planned to visit today.

So they had to work fast; they still had to sell vegetables later.

“The question is, why do I feel like I’m cheating fate, yet I still have to get up early and work hard?”

“Only got three hours of sleep last night!”

“An hour less than before I was reborn.”

---

Yu Yang drove the mule cart, lost in thought.

After a while, they arrived at the brick kiln.

Because it was still dark, bathed in bright moonlight, the vast, barren land seemed to be crawling with a prehistoric beast.

It had a towering single horn and sixteen black eyes—eight in front and eight behind.

If one locked eyes with it, the blackness in those eyes seemed to possess a strange pull, growing increasingly unsettling.

This was Old Yu’s brick kiln.

The kiln dated back to the communal dining era. It was a relatively advanced tunnel kiln, a product of collective ownership. Since Shiliying was remote and the commune disbanded late, there had been a major repair in 1992.

It was during that repair that the kiln began to develop a series of problems.

In 1995, the Shiliying commune was dissolved, and the collective assets were liquidated. The kiln, repaired repeatedly but still defective and too valuable, was forced into idle status without further handling.

Later, the township noticed Old Yu had made some money raising pigs. Seeing villagers with shares in the kiln constantly asking for money, they had an idea: transfer the kiln to Old Yu and distribute the funds.

There was nothing wrong with that.

The problem was, the kiln had once been collective property. The clay was dug from the river embankment, which was state-owned land, managed locally by the collective. Transfers between collectives were normal.

But after Old Yu took over, the kiln became private property. Due to the short time period, the proper procedures weren’t completed. Digging clay from the embankment now constituted theft of state land.

Brick kilns nationwide had pollution issues; Old Yu’s kiln naturally failed to meet emission standards.

Moreover, villagers held different shares and had different amounts of money coming in. Some, dissatisfied and encouraged by creditors, immediately took a stand.

Thus, the creditors’ complaints against Old Yu were taken seriously and found to be true.

As a result, Old Yu in another timeline spent three and a half years in detention.

Until after the trial, when the court sentenced him to two years and released him immediately.

Yes, he served a year and a half extra.

This was why Yu Yang was unwilling to waste time on the brick kiln issue.

After a moment more, Eldest Brother turned on a flashlight. Yu Yang drove the mule cart into the kiln cave.

Dismantling bricks required skill, but Eldest and Second Brother, with their construction expertise, knew exactly which bricks to take and which to leave.

“By the way, putting the lawsuit aside, the kiln is still ours. Should we restart it?”

Eldest Brother stomped the ground and said, “It was flooded. No matter how much you fix it, it won’t be right.”

“It’s just a cave collapse—hire some masons to patch it up and it’ll be fine.”

“I’ll ask you a simple question.”

“Okay!”

“If you heat a stone until it’s cooked, then pour water on it, what happens?”

“Isn’t that how lime is made?”

“I’m asking what will happen.”

“It cracks!”

Yu Yang understood.

The kiln’s interior was exposed to high temperatures year-round; the foundation had been baked thoroughly and was exceptionally dry.

Though the flood hadn’t caused an immediate collapse, the water seeping into the foundation meant the kiln was likely to collapse.

Yu Yang hurriedly urged the mule onward and turned to leave.

Eldest Brother waved the flashlight, “It’s not that bad. It needs time. The ground has to freeze in the cold, then thaw in spring... Also, the kiln was built sturdy. At worst, the big chimney might fall. The kiln will crack or tilt from foundation collapse eventually.”

“I see!”

Yu Yang’s eyes brightened.

Though they never scammed anyone, the kiln situation was strange at every turn.

Since someone was trying to cheat them, they had to sell the kiln quickly.

Especially since he didn’t want to waste time on it.

“It’s time to put an end to this.”

Eldest Brother already knew what was on his mind. “What about your father?”

“He’s still in detention. Besides the lawyer, no one can see him or send letters or make calls. Especially since he’s in a dormitory with a dozen others.

Instead of suffering like that, better to go to prison for two years. Then we can visit him often and spend money to smooth things over, maybe get him a single cell.”

“You're truly filial.”