Pow!

with Luo Tong but not with you.’ He continued meaningfully, ‘Everyone knows that Luo Tong has got this far because of you. He's the nominal head of this plant but you're the one in charge.’

    ‘Chief Han,’ Mother replied, ‘please don't say that. I'm just a woman, and, even though we can make a difference here and there, important matters are best left to you men.’

    ‘You're much too modest!’ Lao Han said as he clinked glasses with her—loudly—and then drained his. ‘Lao Lan,’ he said, ‘while we're all here together, I want you to know exactly what's going on. The township government did not decide to assign me to this position lightly, but only after careful thought. Interestingly, they did not have the authority to appoint, only to recommend. The municipal government had the final word.’ He stopped and looked round the table, then went on self-importantly, ‘So why did they choose me? Because I know Slaughterhouse Village inside and out, and because I'm an authority on meat. I can tell good meat from bad, and if my eyes can't spot the difference my nose can. I know precisely how Slaughterhouse Village got rich and know all about your shady deals. And it's not just me. People in the township and municipal governments are well aware that you injected water and chemicals into your meat. You also treated meat from diseased animals and sold it in the city. Have you made enough off your unlawful earnings by now?’ Lao Han looked at Lao Lan, who just smiled. ‘Lao Lan,’ he went on, ‘you've succeeded where others have failed because of your ability to see the big picture—you realized that these underhand tactics were no good for the long haul. So you took the initiative of doing away with independent butchers and founded this plant before the government stepped in. It was a wise and clever move. You scratched the leaders where they itched. Their blueprint is for us to become the largest meatpacking enterprise in the province, the industry's base from where meat is sent everywhere in the province, in the country, in the whole world. Goddamn it, Lao Lan, like a gangster's gangster, you never do anything small. I could see you stealing from the Emperor's treasure house or taking liberties with the Empress herself. Go small, and it's like a mouse stealing a bit of grease, not worth talking about. So I want to thank you. If there were no United Meatpacking Plant, there'd be no inspection station, and without that, obviously, there'd be no department-level position of Station Chief. Here's to you!’ Lao Han stood up and touched glasses with everyone round the table. Then he tossed down his drink. ‘Good stuff!’ he complimented.

    Huang Biao walked in with a steaming platter containing half a pig's head covered in a reddish brown sauce. The aroma filled nostrils at the table, although the taste had been overwhelmed by spices and would not have appealed to a true connoisseur.

    Lao Han's eyes lit up. ‘Has this pig's head been injected with water, Huang Biao?’

    ‘Station Chief Han,’ Huang Biao replied respectfully, ‘what you see here is the head of a wild boar the manager sent me to buy in South Mountain. Not a drop of water has been added. Taste it and see for yourself. We might be able to pull something over your eyes but not your mouth.’

    ‘I like the sound of that.’

    ‘You're the expert where meat's considered. I'd never show off in front of you.’

    ‘All right, I'll give it a try.’ Lao Han picked up his chopsticks and stuck them into the flesh; it immediately fell away from the bones. He chose a piece of lean meat from the cheek, about the size of a mouse, and put it in his mouth. He blinked, he chewed, he swallowed. ‘Not bad,’ he said, dabbing his lips with a napkin, ‘but no match for Wild Mule's.’

    Father's face flushed bright red. Mother's face grew pinched.

    ‘Eat, everyone,’ Lao Lan said loudly, ‘eat it while it's hot. It's no good cold.’

    ‘Yes, eat it while it's hot,’ said Han in immediate agreement.

    Huang Biao slipped away while the diners were sticking their chopsticks into the pig's head. He didn't see me hiding outside the window but I saw him. His servile smile on the way in was replaced by a crafty, malicious smirk on the way out, an alarmingly swift transformation. ‘All right, people,’ I heard him say under his breath, ‘now's the time for you to get a taste of my piss!’

    It seemed like such a long time since Huang Biao