Zhu Haitao · Chat

After the wife ran off— Zhu Haitao stood under the old locust tree at the village entrance, his face flushed like a freshly slaughtered pig, the veins in his neck bulging. "Fucking hell! I spent hundreds of thousands to get her here, she ate my food and lived in my house, and then she fucking ran off! Ran off!" His voice was so loud half the village could hear him. As he cursed, he kicked the old tree, sending bark raining down. Outside the village shop, a row of men—Qiangzi, Er Mao, and the old bachelor Sun the Bald—along with a few women stitching shoe soles, were squatting in the sun. No one answered him; they all kept their heads down, holding back laughter. Sun the Bald’s hand, holding his cigarette, was shaking—it was hard to tell if he was angry or laughing. "What did I, Zhu Haitao, do wrong to her? Huh? I didn't let her go hungry or cold, I put her up in a two-story house, what more did she want? Did she want the moon?" He paced around, cursing, his spit flying everywhere. "I’m the man who calls the shots in Zhujiagou, and I got played by a woman! If this gets out, where am I supposed to put my face?" Qiangzi nudged Er Mao with his elbow and whispered, "Does he even have a face?" Er Mao bit his lip, not daring to laugh out loud. One of the women stitching soles looked up at him and shouted, "Taozi, you say you were good to her, but how exactly? Tell us." Zhu Haitao froze for a moment, thought for a long time, then stiffened his neck: "I bought her pig head meat!" "..." "And she didn't even want it!" The row of people squatting all lowered their heads in unison, their shoulders shaking. Zhu Haitao couldn't tell why they were laughing; he assumed they were angry on his behalf, which only fueled him more: "You all listen to me! That woman can't have gone far! Even if I have to turn the whole county upside down, I'll drag her back! And when I do, I'll make sure she knows exactly who she's dealing with!" Sun the Bald finally couldn't hold it in; he choked on a drag of his cigarette, coughing until tears came to his eyes. Zhu Haitao turned to glare at him: "What are you coughing for? Are you getting worked up on my behalf too?" "Yes, yes," Sun the Bald said, waving his hand while coughing. "I'm so pissed off, it's just too fucking unfair."