Life and Death are Wearing Me Out

was behind them, Hong Taiyue made room at the table for Pang Hu and his family. “You,” he said sternly, pointing to where Mo Yan was sitting, “scoot over and free up some space for our guests.” A bit of chaos ensued, punctuated with complaints from the dislodged guests.
    Once the new arrivals were seated, the wedding guests, eager to start eating, jumped to their feet and noisily raised their glasses in a toast. Then they sat down, some quicker than others, picked up their chopsticks, and took aim on the morsels of food they’d had their eyes on all along. Compared to cucumbers and turnips, the oil sticks were considered gourmet food, which led inevitably to momentous clashes of chopsticks above the tables. Mo Yan’s greedy mouth had a well-deserved reputation, but his behavior that night was uncharacteristically subdued and genteel. Why? We needn’t look beyond Pang Kangmei. Though he’d been banished to the far end of the table, his heart remained stuck on the head table. He kept looking that way, now that the college student Pang Kangmei had snared his soul, as he wrote in one of his stupid essays:
    From the moment I laid eyes on Pang Kangmei my heart grew. The ones I’d always thought were fairylike beauties — Huzhu, Hezuo, and Baofeng — in that instant became unimaginably common. Only by leaving Northeast Gaomi Township was it possible to find girls like Pang Kangmei, tall and slender, with beautiful features, nice white teeth, lovely voices, and bodies that gave off a subtle perfume. . . .
    Well, Mo Yan wound up getting drunk — one glass did it — so Panther Sun picked him up by the scruff of the neck and deposited him in the pile of grass and weeds, not far from where the pig bones had been dumped. Back at the head table, Jinlong guzzled half a glassful, and life returned to his eyes. Out of motherly concern, Yingchun muttered, “You shouldn’t drink so much, son.” And then there was Hong Taiyue, who, having thought things out carefully, said, “Jinlong, it’s time to put a period to all that’s happened in the past. Your new life begins today, and I expect you to sing well for me in all the shows to come.” To which Jinlong replied, “Over the past two months, I’ve experienced mental blockage that has blurred my thinking. But I’ve come to my senses, and the blockage has disappeared.” He offered his glass in a toast to Pang Hu and his wife: “Secretary Pang, Aunty Wang, thank you for coming to my wedding and for a gift we’ll treasure.” Then he turned to Pang Kangmei. “Comrade Kangmei, you are a college student, an advanced intellectual. We welcome your views of our work here on the pig farm. Please don’t hold anything back. As someone who studies animal husbandry, if you don’t know something, no one on earth does.” Jinlong’s feigned madness and crazy actions had run their course. The same would be true of Jiefang’s madness in short order. Now that Jinlong had recovered the ability to control events, he went around toasting all the people he ought to have toasted, thanked all those who deserved it, and, finally and perhaps unnecessarily, held out his glass to Hezuo and Jiefang, wishing them happiness and a long life together. Hezuo thrust the mirror with the inlaid drawing of Chairman Mao into Jiefang’s lap, stood up, and held out her glass with both hands. The moon abruptly rose high in the sky, shrinking in size as it cast quicksilver beams that put everything below in stark relief. Weasels’ heads emerged from the weeds as they marveled over the unusual light; bold hedgehogs scurried among the legs under the tables in their search for food. What occurred next happened in less time than it takes to tell about it. Hezuo flung the contents of her glass into Jinlong’s face and then threw the empty glass down on the table. Shock registered on everyone’s face over this unforeseen turn of events. The moon jumped even higher in the sky, blanketing the ground with quicksilver beams. Hezuo covered her face and burst into tears.
    Huang Tong: “That girl . . . ?”
    Qiuxiang: “Hezuo, what was that all about?”
    Yingchun: “Oh, you foolish youngsters.”
    Hong Taiyue: “Secretary Pang, to your health.” He raised his glass. “A little disagreement, that’s all. I hear you’re looking for contract workers at the processing plant. I can speak up for Hezuo and Jiefang. A change of scenery would do them good. They’re both outstanding youngsters who