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Author: Feng Minfei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-01-01
Features: The book is primarily realistic, organically blending comic elements, exaggerated and distorted styles reminiscent of funhouse mirrors, with a touch of magic and absurdity. It offers both a fresh perspective and a thought-provoking experience.
Ouyang fell asleep peacefully in my arms, but I couldn’t sleep at all. I admired the beauty of holding a doll-like woman for the first time, kissing her occasionally. As I kissed her, I stirred her awake, and we had another round of intimacy. She fell asleep again, but I still couldn’t rest. Until dawn, I indulged in pleasure three or four times in one night, like a starving man trying to eat for days.
On this sleepless night, I also reflected on other things. I thought that starting today marked a significant turning point in my life. I believed what Liu Zhenye said—that as long as I worked hard, I would have a future. I wondered if I had accumulated some virtue from ancestors or if I unknowingly moved a divine spirit.
I also thought about the accounting matter that night, feeling it was inappropriate. It was clearly using public funds for personal gain, much like what we call "embezzlement." But then I doubted it—how could they really charge household items like MSG and toilet paper to the official entertainment budget? Perhaps he was testing my principles. Tomorrow, I decided to voluntarily pay back my share to avoid losing more.
After a while, I felt excited about having done a favor without spending money and proud about how just signing my name earned me two months’ salary. I also thought that if I got a position, I would hate corrupt officials even more.
I remembered when I was very young, my dad and I went to the city to sell herbs and often passed by a place called "Futang." The house was very large and beautiful. I said, "Dad, when can we build a house like this too?"
"Such houses are dirty. We won’t build one!"
"I’m not saying it’s dirty outside. It’s dirty inside—built with dirty money. It’s dirty in every brick and every piece of wood. It’s not good to live in such a dirty house."
I didn’t understand what my dad meant at the time, but it left a deep impression on me. Later, I learned that the owner of Futang was the last county magistrate appointed by the Qing dynasty in this area. His name was Li Bingwen, a white banner man. Originally serving as a county magistrate in his hometown, Manchuria, he had committed some offenses that displeased both officials and the public. Though he was supposed to be severely punished, his wife’s brother in the court intervened, and he was transferred to the distant Silver Lake as a county magistrate.
When the revolutionary flames reached his doorstep, his greedy and lustful nature remained unchanged. One year, a group of blacksmiths from Guangdong, led by a man named Huang Guanfa, a notorious criminal, arrived. They pretended to make pots for a living but secretly smuggled opium, ran opium dens, organized gambling, and made a fortune.
Li, the county magistrate, was envious of Huang’s ill-gotten wealth. Under the guise of banning gambling and opium, he arrested and fined some opium smugglers and gamblers. Huang, realizing Li’s intentions, bribed him with a large sum of money and offered to pay monthly taxes on opium and gambling. Li benefited both openly and secretly, turning a blind eye to Huang’s actions.
But Li was insatiable and soon wanted to seize more. He launched another crackdown on opium and gambling. Huang, not being a kind man, bribed the county’s police chief to stand aside. Then, he gathered over a hundred gang members and fellow townspeople from nearby counties, armed with swords, spears, homemade guns, and iron clubs, and stormed the county magistrate’s office at midnight, capturing Li.
The next morning, Huang raised a white flag on all city walls, pretending to be the "revolutionary army," forcing Li to hand over his seal and resign. Li fled to the Shao Wu prefecture. Huang then gathered local elites, appointed himself as the police chief, and had the former police chief appointed as the new county magistrate, coercing everyone to accept.
The people of Silver Lake despised Li but also feared Huang. They secretly sent a telegraph to the Shao Wu prefecture, requesting troops. Upon learning this, Huang looted the county office and fled. Li returned to Silver Lake but instead of chasing bandits, he intensified his extortion of the people.
He conspired with the prefect to hold a meeting with local elites under the pretext of discussing post-disaster relief. The prefect invited over sixty to seventy prominent figures to the county office. Once they arrived, heavily armed soldiers surrounded them. Li finally appeared, looking menacing and demanded that the locals compensate with 25,000 taels of silver for the looting.
Ding Meifu, a scholar, immediately objected: "The county office was looted by Huang’s bandits, who are solely to blame. Huang’s rebellion was incited by you, Li. The scholars, merchants, and common people are innocent. Silver Lake has already been extorted beyond measure—we cannot comply."
Other attendees echoed his sentiment. Li’s face turned black, accusing Ding and others of collaborating with bandits and being the masterminds behind the occupation and looting. Without hesitation, he had Ding dragged to the North Gate and executed.
The soldiers immediately presented three death (baozi), and Ding threw them fiercely at Li’s face. Just as the crowd was stunned, a gunshot rang out. Soon, more speakers were dragged out. Li threatened them, saying they would be charged with collaborating with bandits if they didn’t pay. The attendees reluctantly agreed, and only by midnight, when the payment was completed, were they released.
Li was not only greedy but also lustful. When he first arrived in Silver Lake, a famous courtesan named Jing Pianpian came to Tingzhou. She was beautiful, educated, skilled in music, calligraphy, and painting, and had a refined demeanor. She had several poetry collections, one of which, a seven-character palindrome poem titled "Chunqing" (A Night of Passion), became widely known:
"Flute plays late in quiet chamber,
Lone tears on pillow, two in pair.
Willow shadows dip over brow,
Gazing afar at green peaks beyond compare.
Flowers flutter in sunlight’s glow,
Tunes on zither, short or long.
Red clouds swirl around the bed,
Chirping orioles in disarray, lost in song."
The poem was melancholic yet captivating, and scholars and artists recited it endlessly, unable to resist its charm. Many came to visit her out of admiration.
Impressed by her culture, Li traveled to Tingzhou’s flower district and paid 50,000 taels of silver to buy her as a concubine. However, he feared his wife and sister-in-law, so he bought a house outside the city to keep her hidden. Soon, his wife discovered the affair, flew into a rage, brought her servants, and caused a scene, severely beating Jing. That wasn’t enough—she also had someone file a lawsuit against Jing, accusing her of adultery. Li was fooled and only realized she was his new concubine when she was brought to court. He was left in a humiliating mess.
Jing, heartbroken, hanged herself. Li buried her in a shallow grave on a hillside in the city, but scholars and artists couldn’t help but visit her tomb on flower-sprinkled or moonlit nights, composing poems to comfort her soul.
Several years later, an anonymous person moved her tomb to the east side of the city and erected a new stele with eight lines of a seven-character poem:
"Jade bones sink in east waters,
Weeds and brambles entwine the graves.
Phantom moon at three o’clock,
Ghostly wind at five through temple gates.
Beauty misplaced, sorrow in earth’s embrace,
Wandering soul asks heaven’s grace.
Famous beauty fades, yet love remains—
Words hold infinite tenderness."
The east side of the city was already a beautiful place, part of the ancient eight scenic spots, including "Three Creeks in East City" and "Two Pines North of the Hall," along with the Mazu Temple, with scenery all year round. With Jing’s tomb added, it became even more enchanting.
Li didn’t mind. He had no face to return to his hometown, and Silver Lake’s scenery was lovely. The east side had even better feng shui. The Shangxi, Beixi, and Puxi rivers converged here to form the Yin River, and the local saying was, "Where the river flows like a spear’s tip, a scholar is born." Historically, this poor and remote place had indeed produced two scholars. An ancient poem said:
"Three winding creeks embrace east city,
Day and night, endless flow.
Milky way splits its tail,
Linking clouds with rainbow glow.
Rain-kissed shores, spring waters rise,
Peach blossoms warm the waves.
Fish and dragons swim in grandeur,
Carrying you to heaven’s hallowed halls."
Especially along the city walls, there was a large area slightly elevated, like a compass, with no bad direction. He didn’t need to consult a geomancer to build a house or tomb. Li decided to settle in Silver Lake and chose this land to build his private residence, the "Five-Fortune Hall."
"Five fortunes" refer to longevity, wealth, health, virtue, and a peaceful death. The hall had ten buildings and over two hundred rooms, ornately decorated, rivaling the royal palace.
However, the money used to build the hall was dirty, and he got no good reward for it. He didn’t enjoy the hall for long before the Qing dynasty collapsed. Li was in constant fear, and when the last emperor abdicated, he knew he wouldn’t end his days well. His family committed suicide. This greedy man, even in death, couldn’t bear to part with money. He, his concubines, and children each swallowed two to three taels of gold. His third son refused and went mad, set the hall on fire, and jumped into the flames himself (though some say he didn’t throw himself into the fire but disappeared after dawn).