Story of the Times - (Illustrated Edition)

Author: Lu Xun / Country:
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: This is a collection of stories by Lu Xun, consisting of 8 tales, primarily themed around mythology. The stories are engaging and imaginative, making them Lu Xun's only works set in ancient times. This is a short story collection that includes eight stories rewritten by Lu Xun between 1922 and 1935, based on ancient myths, legends, and tales. It includes "The", "The", "The", "The", "The", "The", "The", and "The". The book was first published in 1936 by Shanghai Cultural Life Publishing House.
A clever beast indeed knows the master's intent. Just as they approached the estate gate, the horse immediately slowed its pace and lowered its head along with its owner, stepping one by one like pounding rice. The twilight shrouded the grand estate, with thick, dark smoke rising from neighboring houses—it was already time for dinner. The attendants, having heard the horse's hooves, had already come out to greet them, standing stiffly outside the gate with their hands hanging down. Yi dismounted lazily by the garbage heap, and the attendants took the reins and whip from him. As he was about to cross the gate, he glanced at the full cask of fresh arrows and the three crows and a small sparrow shattered in the net at his waist, and hesitated deeply. But he finally gathered his courage and strode inside, the arrows clinking loudly in the quiver.
Just as he reached the inner courtyard, he saw Chang'e peering out from the round window. Knowing her eyes were sharp, he was sure she had already spotted the crows and was startled, his steps halting instantly—but he had no choice but to keep moving. The maids greeted him, taking away his bow and arrows and untying the net. He felt as if they were all smiling bitterly.
"Madam," he wiped his hands and face and entered the inner room, calling out. Chang'e was watching the twilight outside the round window and slowly turned to look at him, giving him a cold, indifferent glance without a reply. This was a situation he had grown accustomed to, at least for over a year. He approached again, sat on the old leopard skin mat opposite him, scratched his head, and hesitantly said, "My luck today is still poor—only crows."
"Hmph!" Chang'e arched her willow brows and suddenly stood up, walking out like the wind, muttering, "Another day of crow meat in the sauce! Another day of crow meat in the sauce! Go ask anyone if there’s a family that eats nothing but crow meat in the sauce all year round! I really don’t know what kind of luck I had to marry into this place, eating crow meat in the sauce every single day!"
"Madam," Yi quickly stood up and followed her, whispering, "But today wasn’t so bad—I also shot a sparrow, which can be used for cooking." He called out loudly, "Nü Xin! Bring that sparrow over for Madam to see!"
The game had already been taken to the kitchen, so Nü Xin ran over, picked it out, and held it out in both hands before Chang'e.
"Hmph!" She glanced at it, slowly pinched it, and said unhappily, "A complete mess! Wasn’t it all shattered? Where’s the meat?"
"Yes," Yi said nervously, "It was shot to pieces. My bow is too strong, and the arrows are too large."
"Couldn’t you use smaller arrows?"
"I don’t have smaller ones. Ever since I shot down the boar and the python."
"Is this the boar and the python?" she asked, turning to Nü Xin, "Bring a bowl of soup!" Then she retreated back into the room.
Only Yi remained foolishly in the hall, sitting against the wall, listening to the crackling of firewood in the kitchen. He recalled how enormous the boar had been six months ago, looking like a small hill from a distance. If he hadn’t shot it then, it could have lasted them six months, and he wouldn’t have to worry about meals every day. The python could also be used for soup.
Nü Yi came to light the lamp, and the painted bow, painted arrows, Lu bow, Lu arrows, crossbow, long sword, and short sword hanging on the opposite wall appeared in the dim light. Yi glanced at them and lowered his head, sighing. Then he saw Nü Xin bring in dinner, placing it on the central table: five bowls of white noodles on the left, two large bowls on the right—one with soup—and in the center, a large bowl of crow meat in sauce.
As Yi ate the sauce noodles, he realized they weren’t very tasty. Glancing at Chang'e, he saw she ignored the sauce and only soaked the noodles in the soup, eating half a bowl before putting it down. He noticed her face seemed paler and thinner than usual, and he feared she might be ill.
By the second watch, she seemed a little gentler, quietly sitting on the edge of the bed drinking water. Yi sat on the old leopard skin mat beside her, rubbing it.
"Ah," he said kindly, "This western leopard, shot before we were married, was so beautiful, shining all over like gold." He then recalled their past meals: the bear, only four paws were eaten, the camel’s hump, and the rest was given to the maids and attendants. Later, when the larger animals were shot, they ate wild boar, rabbits, and mountain chickens. With such skill, they had as much as they wanted.
"Ah," he sighed, "My archery is so skillful that I’ve shot everything clean. Who would have thought that only crows would be left for cooking."
"Hmph." Chang'e gave a faint smile.
"Today’s luck is still decent," Yi brightened up, "I managed to shoot a sparrow. It took me thirty miles of detour to find it."
"Couldn’t you have gone even further?"
"Right. Madam. I was thinking the same. I’ll get up earlier tomorrow. If you wake up early, wake me up. I’ll go fifty miles further to see if there are any roe deer or rabbits. But it might be hard. When I shot the boar and the python, there were so many beasts. You must remember, there were often black bears passing by my mother-in-law’s gate, and I was sent to shoot them several times."
"Really?" Chang'e seemed to recall little.
"How could it be like this now? Thinking about it, I really don’t know how we’ll live in the future. As for me, I don’t mind—I’ll just eat the golden elixir the Taoist gave me, and I’ll ascend to the heavens. But first, I must plan for you, so I’ll go even further tomorrow."
"Hmph." Chang'e had finished drinking and slowly lay down, closing her eyes. The dim light of the remaining grease cast a glow on her makeup, her powder slightly faded, her eyelids a pale yellow, and the ink on her brows uneven on both sides. But her lips remained as red as fire, and though she wasn’t smiling, faint dimples still lingered on her cheeks.
"Ah, ah, what kind of person is she? I’ll just feed her crow meat in the sauce all year round," Yi thought, feeling ashamed, his cheeks burning all the way up to his temples.
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