Chapter 10 chapter Ten

Mo Yan and Li Yidou were walking on Donkey Street. As expected, there are ancient bluestone slabs on Donkey Street. The rain at night washed the stone slabs clean, and a cold fishy smell rose from the cracks in the stone slabs.Mo Yan thought of Li Yidou's novel, and asked, "Is there really a little black donkey that eludes people in this street?" Li Yidou said: "That's a legend, but no one has actually seen it." Mo Yan said, "There are countless donkey spirits wandering in this street." Li Yidou said: "That's true. This street has been around for at least two hundred years, and the number of donkeys that have been killed cannot be counted."

Mo Yan asked, "How many donkeys can you kill every day?" Li Yidou said: "At least there are twenty of them!" Mo Yan asked, "How can there be so many donkeys?" Li Yidou said: "Set up a donkey killing shop, why don't you worry about not killing donkeys?" Mo Yan asked, "If you kill so many donkeys, can you sell them?" Li Yidou said: "Sometimes it's not enough to sell." Just as he was talking, a man who looked like a farmer walked towards him leading two fat black donkeys.Mo Yan went up and asked, "My fellow, are you selling donkeys?"

The donkey driver gave Mo Yan a cold look, and without saying a word, he hurried past with the donkey.Li Yidou said, "Do you want to watch Killing a Donkey?" Mo Yan said, "Look, of course I have to." They turned back and followed the donkey-leader.Walking to Sun Ji's donkey meat shop, the donkey driver shouted outside the shop, "Boss, here comes the donkey." A bald middle-aged man ran out of the shop and said, "Old Jin, why are you here?" Lao Jin said: "It was delayed at the transition." The bald man opened a fence door next to the shop and said, "Let's get in!"

Li Yidou stepped forward and said, "Old Sun." The bald man was startled, and said, "Oh, brother, come out for a walk early in the morning?" Li Yidou pointed at Mo Yan and said, "This is a great writer from Beijing, Mr. Mo Yan Mo, who wrote the movie "Red Sorghum"." Mo Yan said, "One fight, that's all." The bald man looked at Mo Yan and said, "Red sorghum? You know, it's a good material for wine making!" Li Yidou said, "Teacher Mo wants to see how you kill a donkey." The bald man said in embarrassment: "This... this... blood is flying all over the place, don't get the bad luck on you..."

Li Yidou said: "Don't hesitate, Mr. Mo is a guest invited by Secretary Hu of the Municipal Party Committee to write an article for our Jiuguo." The bald man said: "Oh, it's a reporter! Take a look, let's make a name for my little shop." Mo Yan and Li Yidou followed the donkey to the backyard.The bald man circles around the two black donkeys.The two donkeys seemed to be afraid of him, and they ran in circles to avoid him. Li Yidou said: "This guy is the King of Hades." The bald man said: "Old Jin, the goods brought in today are not very good!"

Lao Jin said: "Tender mouth, black skin, fat from bean cakes, what do you want?" The bald man said, "How should I put it? These two donkeys have been fed hormones, so the meat doesn't taste good!" Lao Jin said: "Where the hell am I going to get hormones? Tell me something sweet, do you want it? If you don't want it, I will take it away. There are donkey killing shops all over the street!" The bald man said: "Brother, don't be impatient! It's been a long time since you've been an old friend, even if you brought two paper-made donkeys, I'd have to buy them and burn them for the Kitchen God."

Lao Jin stretched out his hand and said, "Give me a price!" The bald man held out a hand too.Clasp both hands together and cover with sleeves. Mo Yan was a little strange.Li Yidou said in a low voice: "This is the rule. When buying and selling livestock, the price is always negotiated by touching your fingers." Both the bald man and the donkey seller have rich expressions on their faces, like two actors performing a pantomime. Mo Yan observed their faces, feeling amused. The bald man shook his arm and said loudly: "That's the number, it's reached the top, and you can't add a dime!"

The donkey seller also shook his arms and said, "This number!" The bald man shook his hand and said, "I told you, I won't add a dime. If you don't sell it, you will be taken away!" The donkey seller sighed, and said loudly, "Baldy Sun, Bald Sun, go to hell and let the wild donkey eat you to death!" The bald head retorted: "You, the donkey dealer, were the one who gnawed to death first!" The donkey seller took off the donkey's bridle.The deal is done. The bald man shouted, "Mother Man, pour a bowl of wine for Uncle Jin." A greasy middle-aged woman came out with a large white bowl of wine and handed it to Lao Jin, a donkey seller.

Lao Jin took the wine bowl, didn't drink, looked at the woman, and said, "Sister-in-law, there are two black donkeys today, and those two donkey dicks are enough for you to bite for a while." The woman spat at him and said, "There are so many things that I can't bite, the person in your room can take that bite!" Lao Jin laughed loudly, Gududu drank the wine.After drinking, he handed the bowl back to the woman, tied the rein of the donkey around his waist, and shouted, "Baldy, I'll come to get the money in a while." The bald man said: "Go and do your work, don't forget to buy a 'money meat' to honor Widow Cui."

"He already has a master, it's not my turn to be Lao Jin Xiaojing." As he spoke, he strode into the store, passed through the cabinet, and walked onto Donkey Street. The bald man packed his belongings tightly and prepared to kill the donkey.He said to Li Yidou: "Brother, you and the reporter stand aside, don't splash the dirt on your body." Mo Yan saw that the two donkeys that had been unleashed were huddled obediently in the corner of the wall, neither running nor barking, only trembling. Li Yidou said: "No matter how fierce the donkey is, it will only tremble when seeing him."

The bald man walked behind the donkey's buttocks with a blood-stained oak mallet, swung it up, and hit the joint between the donkey's hoof and the donkey's leg, and the donkey sat down on the ground.He swung the mallet and gave the donkey another tap on the forehead, and the donkey lay completely flat, with its legs straightened out like four sticks.The other donkey still didn't run away, but pressed a donkey's head against the wall with all its strength, as if it wanted to go out through the wall. The bald man dragged an iron basin, put it under the donkey's neck, and then took a small knife with the length of a tiger's mouth, and cut off a blood vessel in the donkey's neck. The purple-red blood sprayed into the basin and finished killing the donkey, Mo Yan Walk up Donkey Street with Li Yidou.Mo Yan said, "It's cruel enough." Li Yidou said: "Compared to the past, this is already super gentle." Mo Yan asked, "What else can happen in the past?" Li Yidou said: "At the end of the Qing Dynasty, there was a donkey meat restaurant on Donkey Street. The fried donkey meat was the most delicious. Their method was: dig a rectangular hole in the ground, cover it with a thick wooden plank, and there are round holes in each of the four corners of the plank. , Put the four legs of the donkey into the round hole, so that the donkey can’t break free. Then pour boiling water on the donkey to scrape off the hair. The diners can choose which piece of donkey’s meat they want to eat, and cut it with a knife. Sometimes the donkey meat is sold out, and the donkey is still dying. Do you mean cruelty or not cruelty?" Mo Yan said, "It's cruel enough." Li Yidou said: "Not long ago, the Xueji Donkey Meat Restaurant resumed this kind of donkey torture. At one time, there were so many customers that the city government stepped in to ban it." Mo Yan said: "Good ban!" Li Yidou said: "Actually, if you do that, donkey meat won't taste good." Mo Yan said: "Your mother-in-law said that the fear of animals before death will affect the quality of meat - this is what you wrote in your novel." Li Yidou said: "Teacher has a really good memory!" Mo Yan said: "I have eaten 'Braised Live Fish'. The body of the fish is steaming with marinade, and the mouth is still opening and closing, as if talking." Li Yidou said: "There are many examples of this kind of abuse - my mother-in-law is an expert in this field." Mo Yan said, "How different are the parents-in-law in your novel from those in real life?" Li Yidou blushed and said, "It's a world of difference." Mo Yan said: "My brother is brave enough. If your novel is published, your wife and your parents-in-law will definitely burn you!" Li Yidou said: "As long as the novel can be published, I am willing to be braised by them, steamed or fried." Mo Yan said, "It's not worth it." Li Yidou said, "It's worth it." Mo Yan said: "Let's have a good talk tonight, you can do it, your talent is definitely better than mine." Li Yidou said, "Teacher, I'm overwhelmed." The luncheon was held at Yichi Hotel. Mo Yan sat in the VIP seat.Secretary Hu of the Municipal Party Committee sat in the host seat.There were seven or eight people accompanying the banquet, all of whom were important cadres in the city.Yu Yichi and Li Yidou also accompanied the banquet.Yu Yichi has seen a lot of classics and is very chic, while Li Yidou is at a loss and is very unnatural. Secretary Hu is about thirty-five years old. He has a Chinese character face, big eyes, hair pulled back, shiny face, and a dignified appearance.The speech is good, and reveals a majesty. After drinking for three rounds, Secretary Hu still had a few tables of guests to accompany him, so he got up and left the table.Vice Minister Jin of the Propaganda Department persuaded him to drink.Half an hour later, Mo Yan became dizzy and his lips became stiff. Mo Yan said: "Deputy Minister Jin... I never thought you were such an excellent person... I thought you were really... a child-eating devil..." Li Yidou was sweating all over his face, he hurriedly interrupted the conversation, and said loudly: "Our Minister Jin is good at playing, playing, playing and singing, especially the Bao Gong, with a copper sound and a copper voice, don't let Qiu Shengrong!" Mo Yan said, "Minister Jin, let's have a moment..." Deputy Minister Kim said: "You're making a fool of yourself!" He stood up, cleared his throat, terrified, ups and downs, and sang the long passage about defying power, fighting corruption and advocating honesty, without blushing or panting, clasped his fists, and said, "You're laughing!" Mo Yan applauded loudly. Deputy Minister Jin said: "Ask Teacher Mo, why do you have to piss in the wine?" Mo Yan blushed and said, "Novelist Yan, why take it seriously?" Deputy Minister Jin said: "I would like to offer three cups, and ask Mr. Mo to sing a section of 'Sister Boldly Go Forward'." Mo Yan said: "I can't drink wine anymore, and I can't sing songs." Deputy Minister Jin said: "A man is a real man, he loves wine as a song, come, come, let me drink first!" Deputy Minister Jin put three wine glasses tightly in front of him, filled them up one by one, then bowed his head and took a long sip. lay down. A cadre who accompanied the wine said: "Good! 'Three Plum Blossoms'!" Li Yidou said: "Mr. Mo, this is Minister Kim's unique skill!" Mo Yan said: "Wonderful!" Deputy Minister Kim said, "Writer Mo, please!" Three glasses were placed in front of Mo Yan, filled with wine. Mo Yan said: "I don't know how to do 'three plum blossoms'." Deputy Minister Jin said tolerantly: "You can drink one cup at a time, don't make things difficult for Teacher Mo." Mo Yan drank three glasses of wine and became very dizzy. Everyone urged Mo Yan to sing. Mo Yan felt extremely uncomfortable with his mouth, and his lips and tongue were involved in each other. Deputy Minister Jin said: "Writer Mo, as long as you sing a passage, I'll drink a 'submarine' for you." Mo Yan sang ghostly: sister, you go forward boldly, go forward, don't look back...you spit out the wine before you finished singing. Everyone applauded. Deputy Minister Kim said, "Okay, I'll have a 'submarine'." He first poured a large glass of beer, then poured a small glass of white wine, then sank the glass of white wine into the beer glass, and finally, he raised the beer glass and drank all the beer and white wine. At this time, a woman walked into the restaurant with a loud laugh: "Haha, where is the writer? Let me toast him three bowls!" Li Yidou whispered next to Mo Yan: "Deputy Mayor Wang, massive!" Mo Yan saw that Deputy Mayor Wang who was walking towards him had a big square face, white and tender, his eyes were rippling like autumn water, and his dress was elegant, as if he was a figure in the Han and Tang Dynasties. Mo Yan wanted to stand up to show politeness, but involuntarily got under the table.Under the table, he heard Deputy Mayor Wang say loudly: "What's wrong, the great writer? Hiding? You can't even hide, pull him out, drink, if you don't drink, pinch your nose and give me a drink!" Two strong arms dragged him out from under the table, and he saw Deputy Mayor Wang holding up a large porcelain bowl full of wine syrup with his jade hand like a lotus root, and handing it to him with arrogance. Say: "Do it!" Mo Yan opened his mouth involuntarily, and asked the fairy-like Deputy Mayor Wang to pour down the large bowl of wine. He listened to the sound of the wine flowing down his throat, and smelled the water coming from Deputy Mayor Wang. The smell of meat radiated from the long arms, and my heart was suddenly filled with gratitude, and my tears couldn't stop flowing. "Writer, what's the matter?" Deputy Mayor Wang stared at him tenderly and asked. He restrained his impulsive mood, and said with a trembling voice: "I seem to be in love!" September 1989 - February 1992 Created in Beijing - Gaomi Revised in Beijing in November 1999