Wang Ta-Shi sensed a difference in almost everything. He even sensed a difference in his wife.
He had not anticipated this change: in his thirty-five years of life, he had witnessed more than once the changing-hands of power. However, the change of a village chief, the change of a flag or the change of a tax scale had never affected much of his life as an ordinary farmer. But this time the impact was ominous. He sensed a difference in everything. Three days after the "liberation," he saw a notice on the wall of the village office and was quite taken aback. Chen Yun-fo, a good-for-nothing, whose notoriety was known to everybody around, was appointed as the temporary village chief. Ta-shi was especially unhappy over this because he had never been on good terms with Chen Yun-fo. He despised him. And he knew that a bad man in office means that he has the law in his hands.
Ta-shi worked as usual. Life had been hard but now with a void in the depth of his heart he began to feel an uneasiness and uncertainty that combined to make life even harder. Rumor was now in full swing. Some said the "land to the tiller" would be effective by the end of the month. Others put it differently. They said the program of redistribution would not be limited to land only, it would involve other items. There would even be redistribution of wives. There would be no more widows staying indoors mourning for the dead ones. There seemed no end to this kind of rumor. Some laughed their heads off when they talked about remarrying of widows. Wang Ta-shi felt much disgusted when one night he stepped into the only tea house in the village near a day's hard labor.
"Brother Wang, come and join us," Fatty Li, another good-for-nothing waving at him to come over.
Seated at the same table were Bald-head Liang and Hung Chin-yun both loafers and generally ill reputed. The place was unusually crowded. Seeing that there was no other empty table, he promptly joined them.
"Hei, brother, have you heard anything about this widow-remarrying business? Fatty is crazy about it. He said he should think his life well spent if he could lay his hand on Widow Li," said Hung Chin-yun.
Wang Ta-Shi was silent, looking grave.
"Say, what's wrong, brother? You have the same idea and are unhappy for having a rival? You've got a beautiful wife already."
"God damn it, I don't know what good does it to you to insult a woman in this way. You seem to enjoy it very much, don't you?" Ta-shi burst out.
"Oh, you backward rascal," said Bald-Head Liang, "don't you know this is a new society. There will even be redistribution of wives. Yours might not be yours in days to come. As for me, I have nothing to lose. Anyway, a wife is better than no wife. I don't care who she is. Incidentally Chen Yun-fo has mentioned once that he thought Widow Li and your wife are the only two pretty women in this place."
"Oh, I see, that's why Brother Wang felt not inclined to talk about this subject," Fatty rejoined.
Wang Ta-Shi was silent most of the time, brooding over things that had never occurred to his imagination. On his way back, he was deep in thought. He even failed to notice that among the three girls humming that rice planting song in front of him was his wife.
"Where have you been?" asked the husband. "Well, we went to see Sister Three Flower. She is one of the cadres and has so much stimulating ideas. She has just come back from the city."
He tried to recall who this Three Flower was but of no avail. When they reached home, Wang Ta-Shi hesitatingly said:
"You shouldn't go out at this hour of the night. Things aren't what they should be and I am afraid these rascals might do some harm to you should they know you go out often at night."
"Oh, don't you know this is a new society...?"
This phrase particularly got on his nerves. Everyone talked about a new society. Wang Ta-Shi was very much puzzled. Does a good-for-nothing loafer as an officer signify a new society? Or does the ever-present rice-planting song indicate a new order? For whatever they are, Wang Ta-shi was not happy. He believed that it would be better to remain what it used to be; he could not stand the change because the change would definitely lead to ruin. He could not stand the waste, to see good land lay fallow. He could not believe that bad men coming to the fore was a prelude to the happy days of poor men's overturning. This "overturning of the poor" was now in everybody's mouth, a slogan that made him sick just as much as that "new society." One day in irritation, he said to his wife: "I don't want to turn over and be a loafer. If you cease to do your duty well, I might just turn you out."
"Don't you see this is a new society..."
Wang Ta-shi was now in a fit of rage.
"You shut up your mouth. Now everybody is talking about a new society, about poor men's turning-over while land lays waste, animals go hungry and uncared for..."
"Now listen, I am not going to argue with you, I have to go to see Sister Three Flower. We are having a conference tonight." Without waiting for his approval, she slipped out, again singing that rice-planting tune in utter disregard of her husband.
Evening set in misty and cold. His wife failed to show up. The old man, sick and arrogant, sulked in the other room. The present change was certainly too much for him who thought negligence in filial piety a crime. And this act of leaving the old man in sick bed without preparing food for him was a crime in first degree. Ta-shi cooked the meal in a hurry and the two, father and son, ate it in silence. Ta-shi felt the strain, because he knew that his father took him a coward in giving his better half too much freedom. But he felt himself helpless in this situation. They had been married for almost five years. Though he had not been too domineering, she was all submissive. The two seldom quarreled. Each played the part well. Their marriage just like everything else in rural areas was neither a success nor a failure: it was just a commonplace. He was a good husband because he never beat her. But ever since he sensed the change in everything, he was often seized with a desire to beat her up. By way of easing the tension in his father's face, he said offhandedly: "I'll give her a good lesson when she comes back."
"Hm, give her a good lesson," the old man said, "should I be in your place, I'd beat her to death. If not to death, I'd tear off two layers of her skin."
Downcast and silent, the son showed no sign of taking or refusing his advice. He knew the old man didn't mean what he said. But right at this moment, he sensed that some one was pressing his ear close to the door which was closed. Rushing to open it, he saw a shadow swiftly disappear into the darkness of light. It was a girl, about fifteen years of age.
The old man gave another sigh.
"I won't last very long. The new society shall have little to do with me. But you'll see the worst is as yet to come."
Shortly after, a Women's Association was formed. Three Flower was elected its president. Wang Ta-shi's wife, being chief of one of its sub-division in charge of ten women, was very zealous in investigating the cases of "bad" in-laws and "backward" husbands. She said she had to collect all the evidence in a week's time for the forthcoming "Speaking out Bitterness" meeting. His mind began to churn with curiosity. The change in his wife was all too drastic. Her submissiveness and modesty were all gone. Her husband was never right now in what he said and did, but she would argue out any question that displeased her. And then she began to argue out every word her husband dared to articulate. One day, in wrathful indignation, he slapped her. "Have I not the freedom to speak what I like to?"
"Take care of yourself when the time comes," she shrieked.
The same afternoon, a 'cadre' member in gray uniform came to call on Wang Ta-shi's father. The girl was very young. Wang Ta-shi thought he had seen her somewhere before but could not recollect. She was very eloquent but all too courteous.
After exchanging a few words about the bad weather and harvest, the cadre girl expressed her desire to find out how his daughter-in-law behaved lately because, the girl in uniform added, there had been reports that daughters-in-law were behaving rather badly these days. She was coming to seek some remedial measures so that every family would go on well.
"Does your daughter-in-law treat you well? Does she obey orders?" She asked. The unsuspecting old man suddenly blurted out to the girl everything he did not want to say.
"You know how bad things have become my daughter-in-law goes out every night. She just steps out whenever it pleases her. Sometimes I have to cook my own meal."
Full of sympathy, the girl bid him goodbye.
Next day the village witnessed a terrible demonstration that few could believe. It was the first day of Speaking out Bitterness Meeting. Wang Ta-shi's wife went out early that morning. She was elected member of the presidium.
"This is the day we'll show some color to you men-devil. But after all you are not too bad, so this time I'll spare you. I'll not make any complaints against you. But you'll see how bitter will be the fruits for our neighbor Moustache Chou..." She was interrupted. Three Flower was calling from a distance.
"Sister, let's go."
Wang Ta-shi saw groups of women were making their way toward the center of the village. A few men were following, probably out of sheer curiosity. Presently Wang Ta-shi joined them. The meeting was held in the compound of the village primary school. There was a big banner over the platform: "Speaking out Bitterness Meeting, held under the auspices of the Women's Association."
Three Flower called the meeting to order.
"Sister, a comrade from the District Women's Association will now speak on the significance of this meeting. I ask you to keep order."
This comrade, homely but healthy, looked more like a man of medium size than a woman in uniform. She seemed to possess a quality to command an audience because before long all women present came under the spell her eloquence. She used certain terms which local women had never heard before. But they all seemed to believe her.
She raised her voice to a high pitch, "Sisters, let us stretch out our sisterly hands the oppressed women. We shall go along hand in hand into the heroic struggle against those who have enslaved us for centuries. Now we challenge any man, any husband, any father-in-law who dare to oppress us again. We shall beat them to death. We shall treat them without mercy."
After having led the crowd to accord the guest speaker a loud clapping of hands, Three Flower started to make an opening remark as Chairman of the presidium. She said in part:
"We must unite to liberate us from the domination of men. But we cannot do it individually, we must all stand together and liberate ourselves as a unit. In this meeting I ask all our sisters to come up to speak out their Bitterness and we will do everything to alleviate their sorrow. Our first case is Sister Liu who married into the family of Chou and has been treated very badly. Now I ask Sister Liu to come up to speak out her sorrows."
"I have been married to the family of Chou's for nearly two years... I worked like a slave. Often I didn't get enough food. My father-in-law treated me badly because I failed to produce him a grandson," Sister Liu began to cry.
"We must beat that old man," shrieked a voice among the crowd. "Let's beat him, beat him."
There was a great stir in the crowd.
Three Flower commanded the audience to order. And Sister Liu continued her story:
"My husband was also bad. Once when I accompanied one of my cousins in a walk to the end of the village, I was heavily beaten up when I came back... " Sister Liu burst into another welter of tears.
Lu Kwei who sat under the shade of a tree by the side of Wang Ta-shi, whispered:
"She had too many cousins around and had more than mere walks to the end of the village."
"Get that bad husband and beat him to death," a voice came from the crowd. The meeting finally decided to call in the old man and Chou I-kun, the bad husband. Two representatives were despatched to seek Chou's father and son. The meeting was temporarily adjourned. Out of curiosity, Wang Ta-shi followed the two with Lu Kwei. They saw not far behind them a group of about fifteen women, with clubs and ropes.
Upon entering the house, one of the women addressed the old man as "Uncle Chou."
"Our department of investigation has found out that you have been treating your daughter-in-aw rather badly. The Speaking Out Bitterness Meeting demands that you come and give your explanation."
The old man's jaw dropped in.
"If there had been anything wrong, that's no other man's business. I don't want anyone to interfere with my family's affairs."
"We have been polite with you. We are doing this or your own welfare. We are trying to reunite your family and make it happy," one of the representatives said with a sharp edge to her words.
"If that's the case shall be much happier if you can bring my daughter-in-law back and tell her to stay home and cook meals for us instead of going out nightly." The old man could no longer control himself. He shouted, "Please get the hell out of here. Otherwise, don't say that I am not polite."
One woman slipped away. The other fell into silence. In a moment the fifteen women rushed in with their clubs and ropes.
"Tie him up."
He tried to defend himself but was too late. He was caught like a fish in a net, both his arms bound with ropes. Another group of about thirty women soon arrived on the scene. They carried bamboo sticks, clubs and ropes. And when the son came back from the farm and tried to interfere, he got in just in me.
"If you dare to make another move, we'll finish you right on the spot."
Both father and son were carried to the meeting place like two prisoners. The meeting was already in session. Some other woman was speaking out her bitterness. But she was stopped short. Sister Liu was again summoned up. Three Flower made another stirring speech, and said:
"Now, Sister Liu, are you ready to struggle against your father-in-law? Are you ready to struggle against your husband?"
"I am ready… Do you remember how badly you have treated me. In the past I suffered from you. But shall never suffer again. I must turn over now. You told your son to beat me up and he did, because you said was I was suspected of having affairs with my cousins…"
A hiss went up from the crowd.
"Hit the two sons-of-the…" shrieked one voice.
"Beat him to death," a shout like a bursting shell rose from the crowd.
As if by a signal, all the women pushed forward. Three Flower made some signs as if to stop them, but she soon drew back. The crowd fell on the father and the son, howling, knocked them with clubs, kicked them with their feet. Those with bare hands thrashed them wildly and tore off the clothing. And then they began to twist and writhe about till their blood flowed from many scratches.
The old man let out an anguished groan.
Three Flower gave another signal and all the women backed off. The two were made to stand to confess.
"I am struggled against by the masses. I deserve this struggle," the old man's voice was low and subdued.
"I'll reform," the son shrieked while the crowd burst into a gale of laughter.
"Let them starve for three days." Three Flower gave the order and the two were taken away.
Sister Liu looked very pale, as if overcome with excitement, but she forced herself to offer thanks to the crowd.
"Many thanks, my comrade sisters. If it had not been for you, I would not have been able to get my revenge."
Prior to the adjourning of the session, Three Flower announced the Speaking Out Bitterness Meeting would be held every other day until every case was straightened out. She then led the crowd to shout out the slogans on a slip of paper:
"Down with conservative in-laws!"
"Down with bad husbands!"
"Long live the Women's Association!"
"……………………."
"……………………."
The day proved to be a very strenuous one for Wang Ta-shi, even as an onlooker. On his way back, he felt the world was definitely changed. Though he might not be a victim to this new order, unquestionably he could not remain an outsider.
Through hard work, excitement or others, Wang Ta-shi's wife suddenly fell sick. A moderate fever kept her from participating in a meeting that she had been so ardently working for. Three Flower came to sec her once, asking questions she hardly knew how to answer. How did it happen that she felt sick all of a sudden? How was the reaction of her husband? Was he unhappy over her activities in connection with the Women's Association? Could it be possible that the old man put some poison into her food so as to stop her participation in the work? Had she been beaten lately? Had her husband given her any sort of mental torment? Or, was it she who, being a coward at heart and having no more guts left in her, feigned to be sick...?
"Oh, no, sister, don't misunderstand me, I meant to...but you see..." she was interrupted.
"Brace up, sister, we are all behind you."
Thus she left.
Wang Ta-shi's wife was in utter agony. She was all for this task of "liberation." She trusted everything Three Flower said and did. But her trust now proved to be merely one-sided. She had believed that the cadre trusted her just as much as she trusted them. After all, we are comrades, aren't we? The change of attitude in Three Flower was a terrible experience to her, an experience at once annoying and insulting. Three Flower's remark clearly implied that they never trusted her. They took her father-in-law and husband as persons rotten to the core. Why should they poison her? They were not that bad. Above all, why should she pretend to be sick if she was not. That was a downright insult.
That night was a night of agony. She dreamed of many harsh things, of being beaten up by two strangers on her way home; being chased by a host of mad dogs, sneered at by a number of cadre from the city. "You backward slave!" a mad dog was closing in on her, barking the same words the women called her just a few minutes ago. Its cold front paws were or her shoulders.
"Ah, ah! I am not."
Awakened, she found herself in the arm of her husband and was extremely thirsty. Her heart seemed to come to a standstill. She clunged closely to her husband who, feeling her forehead for a second, said abruptly:
"You are very sick. This is the reward for your working days and nights for the Association."
He got up, lighted the oil lamp to see if there was any water left in the jar. As soon as he lit up, he heard some one slip away in quick steps from their window. It was curious.
A few days later, Wang Ta-shi's wife was on her feet again. But she was still too weak for work. Rumors brewing around made her heart sink. The sessions of Speaking Out Your Bitterness were still in full swing in which many victims fell without knowing what their accusations actually were. However it had never occurred to Wang's that they would some day struggle against one another. Only Ta-shi's wife felt that a few days confinement in bed had thrown her into insignificance. Three Flower no longer came to see her. She was now just an ordinary peasant's wife, somehow backward in "a new society". All her efforts were gone, so was her friendship with others. Many a time she pondered over questions she hardly knew how to answer. Her memory took her to bygone days, days when she was not too happy but never so confused. Her mother had taught her the code of life: whomever you marry, be he a cock or a dog, stick to him for the rest of your life. This struggle against bad husbands and bad in-laws opened up to her a new vista but the wisdom of it she began to doubt.
She had grounds for her doubts. Of all the husbands and in-laws that had fallen victims of the meetings, only a fraction was bad. She knew for sure at least one of them who came out of it almost a skeleton was the best one could expect for a husband. He was her cousin, now wavering between life and death owing to loss of too much blood. She almost fainted when Ta-shi told her that her cousin had just been beaten to death. - "If he could be a bad husband, then there would never be a good one in the whole world." she murmured.
"Why, I am a good one. I have not been struggled against - yet."
Right at this moment, two cadre women appeared.
"Uncle Wang, we are ordered to ask your presence at the meeting. We also need brother Wang for some explanation."
"You can shoot me right here. I am not going," the old man shouted. He realized what was in store for him.
"Don't say we are not polite, Uncle. We act upon instructions."
The father and son were brought to the meeting in the same manner as all the bad in-laws and husbands had been. The old man had apparently been heavily beaten on the way; he was not even able to stand up when he was brought up to face the crowd.
Three Flower was in her element, calm but severe, composed but ready to strike. The audience was smaller but more organized. More strangers were seen. Three Flowers began to report:
"Comrades, a terrible thing has happened. You wouldn't believe it could happen this new society. These two men in front or you were murderers. We never suspected them to be so rotten. Now let me tell you the whole story. Our Eaves-dropping Team reported one day that this old dog had ordered his son to tear off two layers of the skin of his daughter-in-law, who, by that time, happened to be working with us. Two days later, I found our sister suddenly sick in bed. She was poisoned. Poisoned, comrades, you hear me?"
She was interrupted. The crowed began to shout:
"Let's tear off two layers of his skin."
"Comrades, be quiet, I have further evidence for you. One night when our sister was suffering from the effect of the poisonous food, our Eaves-dropping Teem reported her husband said to her abusively that this was the reward for her working days and nights for the Association."
Thunderous roars rose up from the audience.
"We thought it imperative that we must come to the rescue of our sister. And we did. Through our efforts our sister came back to life again and she is expected to return to us soon. But as regards these two rascals, I leave it to you, my comrades."
Suddenly Ta-shi's wife appeared.
"That's not true!" She shouted at the highest pitch of her voice. "What Sister Three Flower said was not true!" But she was not heard. She could hear the old man screaming. Three Flower came to pat her shoulder and said, "Brace up, sister, we are glad you came back to your old outfit."
"But I will not, you bitch! I hate the whole thing."
That night was the worst night she had ever experienced in her life. A neighbor came to tell her father-in-law failed to survive the torture. She sat up all night, waiting for their homecoming, the dead and the living. But they never did. They were never heard of again. The last time people saw Ta-shi was that night when he insisted that the dead be buried right away.
He was never seen again.