The Explosion Chronicles

by Yan Lianke

  At this point, the music suddenly stopped, and an even brighter spotlight shone down from above. As a result, even from a distance it was possible to discern the color and complexion of the girls’ skin, together with every individual pore. The stage became extremely still. All of the girls were watching Kong Dongde intently, as he blushed deeply and quickly looked away.

  Zhu Ying asked, “Father … which of them do you like?”

  She added, “They are all better than Little Cui.”

  Then she laughed and said, “Whether you want one or two, or even three or five, you can pick any of them you want. They are all yours, because they all belong to our Kong family.” As she said this, she turned to Kong Dongde and saw that he had finally looked back at the stage, and his gaze quickly fell on those jade-like beauties, like a child who is permitted to pick any toy he wants from an enormous pile in front of him. His cheeks glowed with delight. With this, Zhu Ying saw that her plan had succeeded; her play had reached its climax and was rapidly approaching its conclusion.

  CHAPTER 10

  Structural Transformation

  1. A DIFFICULT PATH

  I.

  As officials in the city were debating whether or not to elevate Explosion to the status of a county, Mingliang received the death notice from his family. The notice stated that his father had had a heart condition and had died while lying atop one of the girls at Otherworldly Delights. It was midsummer at the time, and both the town and the county mayors were staying in a hotel in the city. The hotel’s luxuriousness was truly astounding, with silver inlaid tables and chairs plated in gold. The rug under their feet was made entirely from the hair of prepubescent girls, and embroidered in the center was a picture of a naked couple with blond and black hair, such that when you walked on it you could smell the sweet scent of a girl’s skin and hair.

  The hotel was enormous, but there was only one suite with this particular rug. When guests from lower-level work units, who lacked documentation from the higher-ups, wanted to stay for a night, they needed to reserve a room three years in advance, and had to pay more than half a jin of gold a night. At first, County Mayor Hu Dajun was strongly opposed to permitting the exceedingly rich Explosion to separate and establish itself as an independent county, because if it did Mayor Hu’s own county would become proportionally smaller and the mayor’s stature would consequently be diminished. However, after Mingliang reserved this suite and invited Mayor Hu to come stay for two nights, the mayor’s attitude softened. He stayed for an additional two nights, and in the end he basically agreed with Mingliang’s proposal. A couple of days later, Mayor Hu formally announced that after Explosion increased its population and the number of its factories, and also raised its profits and taxes, he would send the city the official notice that Explosion had been upgraded from a town to a county. Having now reached that specified target, Mayor Hu and Mingliang used a special car to deliver thirty boxes of documents, recordings, forms, and data to city hall, so that the city’s political leaders might examine them. They waited in the hotel suite to hear of the city’s response, until they were exceedingly anxious and Mingliang, sitting in one room drinking water, began turning the television on and off until he was tearing his hair out. The clock suddenly fell off the wall and onto the pillow at the head of the bed. Startled, Mingliang reached to pick it up, and his face became completely covered in sweat. He stood there in front of the bed for a while, and suddenly rushed into the room across the way, where Mayor Hu was staying, and blurted out,

  “Bad news! My father has died!”

  The mayor was sitting cross-legged on the rug, reading the newspaper. He stared, and asked with alarm,

  “How do you know?”

  “The clock fell off the wall. It didn’t break, but now the hour and minute hands no longer move.”

  Mayor Hu put down his paper, placed his teacup on the table, then turned around. He saw Mingliang standing in the middle of the room, staring in shock, and asked him why he didn’t go call his family to see if they were all right. It was only at that point that Mingliang finally snapped out of his stupor. He grabbed the phone in the mayor’s room, dialed a number, and asked a few questions. He stood motionless next to the telephone, as his complexion turned first pale and then dark, dark red. As his face was going from red to black, he put the phone down and stood facing the window, watching as the birds in the courtyard continued to fly around and people continued to sweep up the fallen leaves and trash. His own gaze simply could not focus on the scene outside.

  “What’s wrong?” the mayor asked.

  Mingliang smiled darkly. “The workings of heaven are not as important as transforming a town into a county.”

  “Is he really dead?”

  “In transforming a town into a county, it’s impossible to avoid losing a few lives.”

  “How did he die?”

  “Mayor Hu,” Mingliang said softly, gazing at the mayor’s face. He paused, then said hesitantly, “After Explosion succeeds in being elevated from a town to a county, I want to give you ten percent of the county’s income.”

  The mayor considered for a moment, then asked, “Aren’t you going home for the funeral?”

  “Even the largest private act of heaven is not as significant as the smallest public act, and the same applies to the death of a parent.” Mingliang was still looking out the window, then added, “I want to go, but today the city just finished reviewing all of the documents, and what would happen if the city mayor needed to find me but I’m not here?”

  Mayor Hu half-filled two teacups, handing one to Kong Mingliang and taking the other for himself. They clinked cups, and Mayor Hu exclaimed, “If all of the county’s town mayors were like you, the county would be in excellent hands! And if all of the nation’s cadres were like you, the nation would be in excellent hands.” He continued with a smile, “In light of the fact that, on account of your dedication to your work, you are not even returning home for your father’s funeral, it would be a crime if you were not appointed county mayor after the town is redesignated as a county.”

  After clinking their cups again, they each took a sip of water and then looked at each other. Mingliang smiled and said,

  “I asked a fortune-teller to tell me your fortune, and he predicted you would quickly be promoted to city mayor.”

  Mayor Hu laughed and said, “Your father’s funeral should include all the trappings. I’d be happy to offer an elegy.”

  When Mingliang returned from Mayor Hu’s room to his own, he was secretly grateful that his father had died at that precise moment. He stood there gazing at the stopped clock, then picked it up and shook it. After confirming that the clock’s hands really had stopped, he hung the clock back on the wall. Having nothing else to do, he stood in his bedroom, then went to his living room and paced around. He opened the window and saw in front of him the several-dozen-story municipal government building, like a chopstick stuck in a sand table. He carefully counted how many floors the building had, and when he discovered it had sixty-eight, it occurred to him that after Explosion was promoted from a town to a county, he would first construct an eighty-six-story government building right in the middle of the county seat, such that after the county was redesignated as a city, the building would appear neither small nor out-of-date. As he was standing in front of the window thinking about the eighty-six-story building he was going to erect, he noticed that, off in the distance, a window on the sixty-sixth floor was open. The city mayor’s face appeared as small as an apple, and he smiled as he leaned out of that window and waved at Mingliang, urging him and the county mayor to hurry up and come over. Mingliang quickly waved back, closed the window, then went to urge Mayor Hu to go with him to the city mayor’s office.

  They left the hotel and took a taxi, passing through three small districts. After many twists and turns, they finally arrived at the back of the city government building, where they had to fill out endless paperwork, and only then could Mingliang and Mayor Hu proce
ed inside, where the city mayor was examining many graphs and tables that had been submitted by Explosion. The city mayor was the former county mayor, back when Mayor Hu was still town mayor and Mingliang was still village chief. The city mayor recognized them immediately—his memory being as fresh as the morning sun and as beautiful as a fresh flower. They reminisced about the past and drank some water. Eventually the city mayor, upon noticing Mingliang’s excited expression, said, “I know that you’re so dedicated to your work that you didn’t immediately return home for your own father’s funeral. Based on this, in principle I’m willing to support Explosion’s application to be elevated from a town to a county.”

  Mingliang was on the verge of tears.

  The city mayor looked over at Mayor Hu and asked, “Have you decided whom you will appoint to be Explosion’s new county mayor?”

  Mingliang’s heart skipped a beat. He turned toward Mayor Hu, his pleading eyes resembling the morning mist along the mountain ridge.

  But just as Mayor Hu was about to respond, the city mayor laughed and said, “I actually don’t think you should select anyone. Why don’t you just promote comrade Mingliang directly from his current position as town mayor to county mayor?” Mingliang watched in relief as Mayor Hu smiled and nodded, then took another sip of the water the city mayor had offered him. As Mingliang was about to refill the city mayor’s glass, he noticed that the red hands of the square clock hanging on the wall behind the city mayor were moving very sluggishly and looked as though they were about to stop altogether. At that point, Mingliang’s hand paused in midair. He turned again to Mayor Hu and signaled for him to look at the city mayor’s clock. He watched as Mayor Hu looked up at the clock. Mingliang clearly saw how with each revolution it appeared as though the clock’s second hand were struggling up a steep flight of steps, and sometimes it would fall back down. Mayor Hu, however, appeared as though he hadn’t noticed a thing and, face aglow with pleasure, he continued talking to the city mayor as before.

  Mayor Hu said, “During these years of deep-level reform, the county has been doing very well.”

  The city mayor said, “We should grasp this opportunity and follow the tide of the era.”

  Mayor Hu said, “Come what may, I will follow your instructions. Whatever objective you specify, I swear I’ll do everything in my power to make sure our reform attains it.”

  The city mayor laughed and said, “We should all follow the central directives. We’re here merely to implement these central policy directives.”

  They both laughed. It was then that the second hand of the clock on the wall behind the city mayor finally stopped altogether. Mingliang stared at that red second hand that was stuck between 7 and 8. His face went pale, as sweat covered his forehead. Eventually, he couldn’t resist taking a step forward and, inserting himself into the conversation between Mayor Hu and the city mayor, he quietly told the city mayor,

  “Mayor, the battery of the clock on your wall needs to be changed.”

  The mayor turned and looked, then turned back to Mayor Hu and asked nonchalantly, “Which liquor do you want to drink today?”

  “The best.”

  At this point, Mingliang realized that not only was the clock’s second hand stopped at 7 but—like someone who has climbed halfway up a tree and then starts to slide back down—it suddenly trembled and retreated toward 6. As the second hand moved backward, Mingliang heard a sound that resembled a meteorite falling to the ground. There was a flash before his eyes, a buzz in his brain, and he immediately ran shouting out of the city mayor’s office.

  “The mayor’s second hand has stopped. Quick, give him a new battery! …

  “… The mayor’s second hand has stopped. Quick, give him a new battery!”

  Shouting, he ran through the hallway of the sixty-sixth floor of the city government’s administrative building. He sounded anxious, as though some boulders were about to roll down the mountain and crush someone. When the deputy city mayor and the party secretary, not to mention all of the cadres and workers on that floor, heard him, they rushed out of their offices and stood in the hallway staring at him. After the city mayor finally realized why Mingliang was crazily running around and shouting, he emotionally uttered a single sentence:

  “All my life, I’ve been searching for such a loyal underling!”

  II.

  Walking side by side, the county and town mayors emerged from the city mayor’s office, and when they reached the ground floor, Mayor Hu leaned toward Mingliang’s ear and whispered, “Kong Mingliang, you’re truly a motherfucker!”

  As they exited the courtyard of the city office building and reached the main gate, Mayor Hu turned again to Mingliang and said in a voice that was neither particularly loud nor particularly soft, “Kong Mingliang, your father is already dead. Why doesn’t your mother hurry up and die as well?”

  When they reached the hotel and were about to return to their respective rooms, Mayor Hu shouted down the hallway, “Kong Mingliang … you and the rest of your family should simply die … don’t assume that just because the city mayor has agreed to permit Explosion to become a county, that means it will automatically become a county. Furthermore, don’t assume that just because the city mayor has said that you can become county mayor, that you’ll automatically become county mayor. Don’t try to accomplish things by going behind my back. I have my eye on you.”

  Mingliang had no idea why Mayor Hu was so furious, to the point of cursing Mingliang’s own parents. In order to get to the bottom of this, Mingliang poured Mayor Hu a cup of hot water, washed his clothes, squeezed his toothpaste, polished his shoes, and even picked up the tissue the mayor had used to wipe his mouth and tossed it into the waste basket. But the county mayor still didn’t tell him why he was so angry. It was not until they had returned to the county seat, and their car passed through the development zone, business street, public square, and gymnasium, together with the newly built hospital, funeral home, hotel, and children’s amusement park, and as Mingliang was carrying Mayor Hu’s luggage and escorting him home—only then did Mayor Hu turn to him and remark rather obliquely, “When you get home to bury your father, think carefully about this.”

  Mayor Hu lived in a garden in the center of the city. He didn’t allow Mingliang to escort him back to his house and instead stopped Mingliang at the entrance to the garden, saying, “Your father has been lying in your home for three days waiting for you to bury him. You should go take care of his funeral arrangements.” Mingliang insisted on escorting Mayor Hu to his home and made a point of not giving the mayor his luggage. “If you don’t tell me why you’re angry, I won’t leave. I won’t leave even if my life depends on it!” He obstinately followed behind Mayor Hu until they reached the entrance to the courtyard of the mayor’s house, where he continued to whisper fiercely, “Mayor Hu, if you don’t tell me why you’re angry, then I won’t leave even if my life depends on it.” As they entered the house, he lowered his voice even further and said, “If you want to see me as your underling, your brother, your soldier, then you have to tell me why you’re so angry.” When they entered Mayor Hu’s living room, which was somewhat smaller than an assembly hall, a soldier came to get his luggage and quickly helped Mayor Hu change his shoes, then served him some tea. He also turned on the air-conditioning and brought out a basin for Mayor Hu to wash his face. As the soldier was doing this, Mingliang said in an even softer voice,

  “If you don’t tell me, I’ll kneel down before you.

  “Mayor Hu, don’t you believe I’m willing to kneel down in front of you?

  “… Not only will I kneel down in front of you, I’ll continue kneeling here until I die.”

  Just as Kong Mingliang was preparing to kneel down, both the hour and the minute hands of the clock on the wall of Mayor Hu’s living room reached 12:00, and inside that oval mahogany frame, the clock struck twelve. The sound was bright and brittle, like that of clocks and wooden fish in temples and monasteries. Seeming to realize somethi
ng, Kong Mingliang looked at the clock, as if searching for the origin of that sound, his expression resembling a ray of sunlight shining through the clouds. Mayor Hu put on some slippers and came over. Staring at Mingliang, he laughed coldly and said, “Don’t worry. The clocks in my house will keep running for at least another hundred years.” Mingliang looked at Mayor Hu, then back at that clock, as his rigid expression began to relax. With an expression of regret, he watched as Mayor Hu walked over and sat on the sofa beneath the clock, then lightly slapped his own face.

  “I’ve figured it out,” Mingliang told Mayor Hu. He slapped his face again, this time more forcefully. “The batteries of the city mayor’s clock are dead, but I actually shouldn’t have reminded him that he should change them so that the clock could keep running uninterrupted.” As Mingliang was saying this, he plopped himself down in a seat across from Mayor Hu, as though he were about to throw himself out of there. “If the mayor’s clock stops running, he will probably get sick and have to go to the hospital. And if he goes to the hospital, that will mean his illness will be difficult to cure—and if he develops an incurable illness, then his position would become available.”