Poppy House

Author: Su Tong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-08-01
Features: Excerpt from the article: The barn was stacked with farming tools like plows and hoes, neatly leaning against the earthen wall, resembling a row of human shapes. The rusty smell emanated from them. This was my family's barn, a dark and unfathomable space. The grandmother's spinning wheel still hung in the air, with fine cobwebs forming around the wheel and blades. Yang Yi regarded that spinning wheel as a giant spider, forever gazing down at people's heads. As the sunlight on the window paper gradually faded, all the miscellaneous items and farming tools dimmed, leaving only blurry outlines. They looked like a row of human shapes. It was getting dark. Yang Yi's hunger struck again, and he ran to the door, desperately pushing and pushing the wooden door. He heard the clatter of two large locks, and the door was locked tight by his father, unable to be pushed open. "Let me out. I won't eat any more steamed buns!" Yang Yi yelled shrilly. Yang Yi crouched down and peered through the door crack. A group of long-term workers and maids stood in the large house. They seemed to be in high spirits, jumping around like dogs over some good news. Yang Yi wondered what made them so happy. He hammered the door with his fists, the door banging wildly. He saw the twilight in the sky falling like iron blocks, falling. Yang Yi feared the dark; when it got dark, he became ravenously hungry, and that hunger turned him into a fierce young beast. You could hear his cries shaking the Liu family's mansion in 1930. Yang Yi shook the door and yelled, "Let me out. I want to eat steamed buns." Someone glanced over toward the barn. Yang Yi thought, Why didn't they come unlock it if they heard? Judging by their mouth movements, he thought they were cursing the hungry ghosts. Hungry ghosts, hungry ghosts, they will kill you sooner or later. Yang Yi rammed his head against the door. A maid with a of keys around her waist walked over. The two iron locks fell down, and the deep purple evening light rushed toward him. Yang Yi covered his eyes and shook, due to the glare. You saw Yang Yi grab a piece of miscellaneous wooden stick and jab it against the maid's stomach. This was his way of dealing with them (this action would repeat itself later).