Chinese Literature

After. chatting a while, Uncle Big Nose, Erh Lai Tze and everyone else all agreed that what Li-chiu had said was correct. The Peasants’ Association formed in 1927 was really good, except that it had not lasted long. And besides, many people had suffered because of it. If there were to be another such association, it should be permanent. It ought to be made to last.

‘Well, Li-chiu, and what about the guns in the Security Bureau?”

“Pooh, when the time came, couldn’t we disarm them ?”

Since his eldest son was away from home all day, Uncle Yun-pu had to attend to everything himself. There was no more rice in the house, and he had to go over to Mr. Li’s to borrow a picul. “You have five or six to feed in your family! Will one picul be enough? Why not take a couple of piculs more?”

“Thank you very much, Mr. Li.”

In the end Uncle Yun-pu took only one picul. When they needed fat and salt, they could now get them from the store on credit. Tien, the butcher, his face wreathed in smiles, often asked with hypocritical concern, “Brother Yun-pu, would you like some meat for your table?”

“Oh, no! We are a long way from eating meat.”

“Never mind, you just come and get some any time!”

From then on Uncle Yun-pu began to feel that he was getting to be quite a big man. Whoever he met in the street would nod and greet him with a smile. At home things had also begun to improve. There was one thing, however, which marred his happiness; his eldest son had turned out to be such a disappointment. He was never around when there was any work to be done, and Uncle Yun-pu had to take care of everything himself. Dashed were all his hopes of enjoying a leisurely old age.

The heads of rice turned more golden day by day; the smile on Uncle Yun-pu’s face broadened. He was ever so busy. He mended the winnowing-machine and also the mat for sunning the grain. Then he asked one neighbour to help with threshing, and another to help bind the straw.

de was busy from morning till night, but always smiling. This year, his life was really three times better than that of ordinary years. He could expect to reap at least thirty-four to thirty-five piculs of grain _per picul of seed. This certainly was a good year for the poor.

The year before, all because the dykes had not been maintained in good repair, there had been a flood. This year it was very important to repair the dyke, and make it one foot thicker. Then there would be no need to worry about flood. This was of course the responsibility of the

peasants. Men from the Dyke Administration had already long ago come and reminded them of it.

“Tsao Yun-pu, you must pay 8.58 dollars for the repair of the dykes.” “Of course we must pay up. It’s a little more than a picul of grain.

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