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墨書 Inktalez
We stood at the Village Entrance, and there was no sign of anyone around. I felt a bit uneasy; even though it was broad daylight, the silence made me feel quite anxious. The Black Horse beneath me snorted, impatiently turning in circles before starting to walk into the village.
Old Wei urged his horse ahead of me and entered the village first. After a few steps, we suddenly heard barking from up ahead. Two or three stray dogs dashed out from somewhere, running towards us and barking wildly not far away. Following that, a commotion of voices erupted, prompting us to rein in our horses and observe.
A group of people emerged from around the corner not far ahead, dressed simply and plainly, clearly reflecting the local style. Leading them was an elderly man in his fifties, holding a pipe and sporting a face full of wrinkles. He walked quickly and steadily.
"Old Mo, Village Head Mo!" I heard Old Wei call out. "Ah, it's Wei," the old man replied.
"It's me. I'm here to bring some leaders from the army for a home visit." As Old Wei dismounted from his horse, I clumsily followed suit, trying to mimic him.
By this time, the crowd had approached us. I noticed there were both young and old, men and women—clearly the villagers. However, it struck me as odd that not a single person remained in the village; where had everyone gone?
Old Wei had already begun chatting with Village Head Mo. I saw Old Wei pull out a pack of Jiaxia cigarettes to offer to Village Head Mo, who shook his head seriously in refusal. He took out his own pipe and silently began packing it with tobacco. Old Wei didn’t seem to mind and laughed, "Old Mo, where has everyone gone? So many people here; it’s lively!"
Village Head Mo glanced at me and whispered something to Old Wei. Since my unit included Guangxi People, I struggled to catch a few words: "Mo Old Three died the night before last. We just went to pay our respects at the Ancestral Hall; hopefully nothing else will happen."
I noticed Old Wei's expression change. "How did Mo Old Three die? Wasn't he fine last time we came?"
Village Head Mo waved his hand to interrupt him. "That's enough questions for now; introduce your guest!" He turned to me and spoke in Mandarin, albeit not very fluently.
Before Old Wei could respond, I quickly stepped forward and introduced myself. "Village Head Mo, hello! I am Wang Wei, sent by the army for a home visit."
"Oh!" Village Head Mo took a puff from his pipe and squinted at me for a moment before saying, "You’ve come at an unfortunate time; since Mo Old Three has passed away, if you don’t mind, I can take you to see them."
It dawned on me then that Mo Old Three was the father of Mo Ping, whom I was supposed to visit. "Indeed unfortunate," I frowned slightly but reminded myself that since I was here, I still needed to do my job. "Shall we go visit their home? It would be great if you could guide us, Village Head Mo." I said politely, knowing that in villages like this one, village heads are usually respected figures or elders.
Village Head Mo didn’t say much more and turned to lead the way. Old Wei and I followed with our horses. As we walked those few steps, Old Wei informed me that Village Head Mo was actually a cousin of Mo Old Three. He had been a militia member in his youth and even participated in parades in the county; he was considered well-traveled for someone from the village. Mo Old Three's second son was Mo Ping; their family was quite poor as his mother had passed away early on, leaving behind two children—a daughter who married out years ago and a son who worked outside the village. Hearing about conscription this time prompted him to return home to enlist in hopes of changing their lives.
After walking a few dozen steps around, I arrived at a dilapidated courtyard on the outskirts of the village, leaning against the mountain. This courtyard seemed to have fallen into disrepair over the years, with its walls crumbling and several sections collapsed. The two broken doors at the entrance swung open with a gentle push. The courtyard was quite large, about the size of a basketball court, and contained three rooms arranged in a concave shape from left to right. The middle room appeared to be the Main Hall, with its door wide open, revealing what looked like a mourning hall inside. I could see a coffin resting on several benches in the center.
As I took a couple of steps inside with everyone else, out of the corner of my left eye, I caught sight of something dark rushing towards me. Reacting instinctively, I darted to the right and collided forcefully with Old Wei, nearly knocking him over. He steadied me as I turned to see what had startled me; it was a Big Yellow dog, its long tongue hanging out and bloodshot eyes fixed on me as if it wanted to pounce. Thankfully, it was tied up with a rope around its neck, which it was pulling tightly, and it didn’t bark—just seemed intent on breaking free to leap at me, which was quite frightening.
"Ah, when a person dies, even the dog goes mad," Village Head Mo said as he stepped further inside the courtyard. "Ping Yaoer! Come out! We have guests!" He called out several times until someone inside responded, "Coming!"
Just as his words faded, a Buddy dressed in mourning attire emerged from the Main Hall. I focused on him; he wasn’t very tall—maybe just over five feet seven—but he looked lean and energetic. My first impression was favorable; he seemed like a decent person.
The Buddy's eyes were still red from crying, and he appeared quite downcast as he stood before us, looking somewhat at a loss. He simply wiped his eyes. Village Head Mo spoke up, "You know Uncle Wei from your hometown; he's brought some leaders from the army to visit. Make sure to show them your best side; whether they take you along in the future depends on their words."
Old Wei added from beside me, "Ping Yaoer has grown quite tall since we last met. This is Wang Squad Leader from the army; make sure to report well to him later."
Although I didn’t fully grasp their intentions, Mo Ping stepped closer to me and quietly said, "Hello, Wang Squad Leader!"
I nodded back but wasn’t sure how to comfort him. All I managed was a simple "Mo Ping, my condolences." Unfortunately, it seemed that Mo Ping was about to wipe away more tears. Fortunately, at that moment Village Head Mo said, "Mo Ping, tidy up a bit; come over for lunch at my house later and keep our army leaders company." Mo Ping nodded silently and stood aside.
Village Head Mo then turned to me and said, "Leader, please don’t mind us; we’re in the mountains here and may not be able to host you properly. Let’s head to my house for lunch instead. It’s clearly not suitable for an official visit here; since I’m considered an elder to him, we can start the visit at my place."
Seeing how things were unfolding made it seem insincere to refuse, so I nodded in agreement. I thought that having lunch would also give me a chance to learn more about Mo Ping's situation; if everything seemed fine, I could set off for another location in the afternoon.
After tying up my horse in Mo Ping's yard and receiving instructions from Old Wei for Mo Ping to feed it some hay, we followed Village Head Mo out until we reached his home. I noticed that while the village head's house was newer than most others', it wasn’t significantly larger either; it was also arranged in three rooms with sleeping quarters on both sides of the central room. The outer two rooms served as a guest room and a Storage Room. As Village Head Mo welcomed us inside, he remarked that he hadn’t expected us so soon and hadn’t prepared much—so we would just have some local produce.
As I sat with Old Wei in Village Head Mo's home and engaged in casual conversation for a while, Village Head Mo began introducing me to Mo Ping’s background. He described Mo Ping as a good kid who could endure hardship; he had once walked through mountain paths alone at night just to attend school in town. After returning home, he helped with chores around the house. After finishing junior high school but facing extreme poverty at home, he had no choice but to abandon his studies and went to Nanning for work as an apprentice at an auto repair shop while regularly sending money back home to support his family...
Old Mo sighed deeply; rural children might lack many advantages but they were known for their resilience and obedience. If army leaders took him along with them, they would find him easy to manage. Both Old Mo and Old Wei looked at me expectantly as if waiting for my approval on this matter.
I felt a bit awkward because whether I could take them away largely depended on factors beyond my control. Besides their own qualifications, it also depended on the level of local competition and other human factors. I had heard some discussions about this from the Armed Department and Old Wei along the way.
However, they clearly overestimated my abilities. I could only offer some platitudes like, "If there are outstanding candidates, we will prioritize taking them." After chatting for a while, I noticed Village Head Mo giving his wife a glance. I was puzzled until I saw her—a short middle-aged woman—come out of the house with a pack of Jiaxia cigarettes and a small jar.
After Village Head Mo took them, he said to me, "Leader, please don’t laugh at us. There’s not much to show from the mountains. This is our local specialty. You might not think much of the cigarettes, but this is our homemade medicinal wine—a small token of our appreciation. You must accept it."
Upon hearing this, I quickly stood up in surprise. My greatest strength is my pride, but my biggest weakness is my soft heart. To be honest, although my family isn’t wealthy, we are of average means. Even if money were placed in front of me, I wouldn’t pay it any mind. I hurriedly waved my hands and said, "No, no, that won’t do! We have rules in our unit. Village Head Mo, you’re putting me in a difficult position."
Village Head Mo and Old Wei insisted on pushing it into my hands. I stood up and walked outside, saying sternly, "If you keep this up, I’ll leave right now! No matter how outstanding Mo Ping is, I won’t take him!"
Village Head Mo and Old Wei exchanged glances and finally believed that I genuinely wanted to refuse. After everyone sat down again, Village Head Mo suddenly laughed and said, "Alright then, Leader. Since you don’t want it, let’s just drink this wine together. You can’t refuse this time."
I chuckled awkwardly; drinking wasn’t really my thing. At most, I would just accompany them for a few rounds. Little did I know that this thought would later lead to trouble for me. Out of nowhere, I casually asked, "About that officer who fell ill earlier—didn’t he get sick while he was here? It wouldn’t have been from drinking too much, would it?"
Unexpectedly, the expressions of those around me changed dramatically. A voice from outside accompanied by footsteps came in: "Uncle! Let’s arrange for the leader to stay at my place tonight; staying at Fifth Uncle's might cause more trouble!"
(To be continued; stay tuned for more excitement tomorrow!)
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