Mook-Mook, Chungsoo's pigged-nosed leather-faced busybody, learned about the eight-year-old girl who lived in Yanquan, while buying cloth from Shunying, a fat and talkative merchant who plied his trade along the Great River. Fan Xiliang needs a bride and the girl in Yanquan is a perfect match, I must find Youngxin, the village matchmaker; she'll know what to do. Perhaps the Fans can start the first of the six etiquettes; perhaps there will be a wedding soon.

Mook-Mook's interference lasted three months and by the time she finished meddling, everyone in Chungsoo hoped she'd join forces with the remants of the warring nations and move in with the forest people who lived beyond the Great River on the other side of the mountain. Finally, however, Youngxin, the village matchmaker, journeyed to Yanquan and presented the Fan marriage proposal to Meng Lem and Meng To-Ra, the parents of the future bride, Meng Jiangnu.

However, when Youngxin returned to Chungsoo atwitter with excitement, knowing the proposal had been accepted, the first person she encountered as her feet touched the earth outside her door, was Mook-Mook, who spit out seven sentences in a row without bothering to be polite. "What happened? Did you present the offer? Is the girl pretty? Is she smart? Has the boy's family accepted Meng Jiangnu? What are they like? Is the marriage arranged?"

Youngxin opened her mouth, but the words just didn't flow; she was disgusted with Mook-Mook's interference . . . and for trying to perform her role as matchmaker. Youngxin turned her back, shook the dirt off her feet, and entered her tiny hut. "I can't speak," she whispered hoarsely to her front door, with her back solidty turned to Mook-Mook, "I am exhausted. I must rest."

Mook-Mook didn't need a bucket of laundry dumped on her head to let her know she was being insulted (even though that happened more and more frequently now), so she shook her fist three times at Youngxin before turning away. Then, flexing her ass muscles up and down, up and down, up and down, she galumphed down the tiny path toward the center of town, "Excuse me for trying to make a young boy's life joyful," she shouted, as she huffed her way up the hill, grunting pig-like and clamoring away, wishing she could get way with beating the old hag senseless trying to think of a better way to pay for Youngxin's impertinence.

What ingratitude! All I wanted was to help Fan Xiliang find a bride and Youngxin treats me this way. I'll get even, no matter what. Xiliang and his bride will get exactly what's coming to them. I'll curse them both! I hope they turn into rocks, like the rock-headed villagers in Chungsoo. Let them sit like rocks for all eternity. Let them become two fat boulders like the dunderheads around them.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

With Mook-Mook out of the way, Youngxin and the two families complied with the next of the etiquettes as they presented the hours and dates of their children's birth to Ee-Sin, the village astrologer. In his youth, Ee-Sin had wanted to be a hog butcher, but when he realized the villagers slaughtered only one hog a year, he decided to remain a peasant. Three years into his peasantry, however, he was drafted as the village astrologer because, in a fit of whimsy, on the night of a lunar eclipse, as the rest of the villagers hid behind rocks, Ee-Sin pulled out his chopsticks and mimicked the sky eating the moon. He regurgitated just as the shadow of the earth left the moon and from that instant on, they venerated Ee-Sin, assured that he had a special gift from the gods. "Surely, you are an astrologer," Shan-non said as the rest of the villagers shouted in acclamation, "Long live, Ee-Sin. Longlive our astrologer." Ee-Sin, who was too embarassed to deny the honor, accepted . . . only to learn later that the job brought him no money, a mountain of work, and no praise.

Now Ee-Sin poured over his records, trying to complete the charts necessary to fulfill the second etiquette: if the children's birth dates were compatible, they would be married-if he charts were not compatible, however, both families would be forced to begin their search all over again. Accordingly, Ee-Sin never found a bad match. He knew it was easier to tempt the fates than to anger the villagers. Besides, I'll be dead by the time they marry and no one will blame me if anything goes wrong.

The next three weeks were agonizing for both families as they waited, wondering and worrying, for the divine disposition necessary to bless the marriage. Finally, twenty days after preparing his charts, Ee-Sin predicted that all signs pointed to a perfect marriage. "Meng Jiangnu and Fan Xiliang will have eleven healthy children. Fan Xiliang will live to be a revered elder and the name of Meng Jiangnu will live forever."

"Forever?" Ta-Ra, Xiliang's mother, questioned indignantly, "Even the emperor's name won't be remembered forever."

"The gods state it. I believe it. That settles it. Besides, I checked the records seven times and each time the reading was the same. No Chinese couple will be remembered as long as Meng Jiangnu and Fan Xiliang-their names will live forever." Ee-Sin blushed, a trait that overcame him when he was perplexed, but luckily no one took note of it-or at least no one said anything to his pink face.

Jiangnu's parents, To-Ra and Lem, smiled, secretly hiding their joy from their jealous gods.

Both families celebrated for months after the announcement. Indeed, Jiangnu's family had almost waited too long to get the perfect match. They had turned down three suitors before finally accepting Fan Xiliang and by the time the couple was engaged, Meng Jiangnu was already eight years old and Fan Xiliang was nearly ten.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"You'll be married," To-Ra told her daughter, "You'll marry Fan Xiliang."

"Who's he?" Jiangnu asked as she stood on her tiptoes and flapped her eyebrows up and down, like she had seen the older women do, "And when will I meet him?"

"You'll meet him on your wedding day like all honorable women."

"But I want to meet him now."

To-Ra slapped Jiangnu hard enough to remind her never to question her authority again. "You'll see Xiliang on your wedding day and you'll know him in your bed."

Jiangnu walked to her corner of the room, wondering why she had to wait so long, wondering what her husband would be like, but mostly she wondered if she would like Xiliang's smell. Lately Jiangnu made all her decisions with her nose. If she didn't like the smell of something, she left it. I'd rather starve than eat something stinky, she thought, and as much as her mother, father, seven sisters, six brothers, twenty-four aunts and nineteen uncles prodded her, Jiangnu knew she would never change her mind over something as serious as odor.

"Jiangnu's stubbornness will be the death of us all," To-Ra complained to her husband. "Jiangnu's the most hard-headed girl in the village."

No matter how much her family pleaded, however, Jiangnu refused to budge. She held to her principles and, even if everyone else in the universe behaved differently, she knew she'd never change. I'll wait until I smell him, then I'll decide if I like him or not, Jiangnu thought as her eyes closed in sleep, but she dreamt about Xiliang anyway. If I don't like his smell, I'll toss myself into the Great Sea. If I don't like his smell, I'll . . .

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"We're doomed," To-Ra said to Lem, "Jiangnu has always been a stubborn girl; let's pray she likes this young man's smell, otherwise she'll throw herself into the Great Sea!" Then To-Ra and Lem laughed as one. They had heard Jiangnu's threat so many times that it became their standing joke, "That'll be the sea's loss. . . or not!" To-Ra laughed again.

"She'll like his smell if I have to bathe the boy in a thousand grapefruits. Now come to bed, old lady, it's time we make another son before it is too late."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

July 228 B.C. Monkey Year-Ettiquette (The end of the days of the warring nations)

Shortly, after the exchanges of the three letters, the Meng family sent wedding gifts of tea, lotus seeds, red beans, nutmeg, coconuts and wine to the Fans. In return, Fan Xiliang's family sent longan, green beans, red dates, oranges, and lilies to the Mengs. Jiangnu didn't like the smell of the longan, but she sniffed everything else until she used up their smell. This is a good sign. Fan Xiliang's parents send such sweet-smelling gifts; I bet their son smells just as sweet. Jiangnu lived in bliss until she developed a sneeze that lasted four days and five agonizing nights. Then both families consulted Ee-Sin one more time to determine the best date for the wedding.

"In seven more cycles, the full moon will point to the three stars, and the three stars will point to the one: that will be the perfect time for their marriage. Never in my life has then been such an auspicious date." Ee-Sin bit his cheek. I would have made an excellent hog butcher, slicing pork bellies from ugly beasts. Instead, I create a new world and cater to even more stupid beasts.

Later, in her small hut, alone after the crowd left, Meng Jiangnu's mother, To-Ra, marveled at her good fortune. The bride and groom will live together in harmony, and I'll end up with eleven grandchildren-if Jiangnu can only bear his smell.

As she rested her head on her straw pillow, To-Ra remembered her thirty years of changing fortune: the years of locust and famine; the years of flood; the years of endless snows; and the years of broiling sun, but now, thanks to the words of Ee-Sin, she knew her world was about to change forever. Now, her new family and her new son would take care of her, and the newlyweds would live together in peace and prosperity forever. Today's a new day; today's the day that my daughter starts a new life; we'll see our children's children. We'll be provided for in our old age. To-Ra snored nosily into the quiet night and dreamed on.

Fan Poh-Dee, Xiliang's mother, who was born with a deformed larynx and pronounced each of the ch, k and c sounds as nggg, remembered the terror of the olden days, as well, but mostly she remembered the warring nations that killed half the men in her village. I'm glad Qin Shi-Huangdi is Emperor of China. He conquered all our enemies, and we'll live in peace for the rest of our days.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

May 30, 221 B.C., 7:00 a.m. Rabbit Year-Wedding Day (the begining of the reign of Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi)

Xiliang had never seen his future bride, but Youngxin told him all about her. "Meng Jiangnu is a strong-willed woman, but she will bear eleven sons."

Xiliang wanted sons but nothing moved him as much as visualizing his bride, "Go on, tell me more."

"She's tall, just a little shorter than me and she stands straight. She never worries about any of the things others say about her-no matter how demeaning-and she's as courageous as a man."

And, Xiliang thought, She'll make a strong and beautiful wife and I'll fill her and she'll be mine. Xiliang's manhood rose in anticipation. Best of all, Fan Xiliang thought, Meng Jiangnu has a brain-unlike the other village girls-she has a brain.

Fan Xiliang washed his hands and feet and changed his clothes, pleased that he was a poet and would never have to wear the clothing of a common laborer. Then Xiliang smiled, held his head up high and strode back to his house dreaming of his bride.

Meanwhile, Xiliang's mother, Poh-Dee, crept into their tiny one-room shack, remembering the day she told her husband their house was too small for a wedding bed. "If Xiliang grows any taller, we'll have to cut off his feet to make him fit. I only pray his bride will bear his children outside in the field where I bore mine."

"This house isn't big enough for a pregnant woman and a baby," Gao-Li said, but Poh-Dee stared him down. "This house is big enough for a dozen grandchildren-as long as they're mine!" And then Poh-Dee's laughter filled the village, and her glee overcame the drabness of the day as she filled the village with love. I'm already planning for my son's future, and he hasn't even met his bride.

Then as Fan Poh-Dee remembered her own wedding, I never saw a man undress until my wedding day, and I never guessed how fulfilling one could be. But by all the gods in heaven, did he shock me when I met him! Gao-Li's face was pockmarked, his crooked teeth were black from drinking so much tea, and his feet were almost as large as Xiliang's; they scared me more than anything., Everyone knows what big feet mean but, thank the gods, I was wrong . . . even though Gao-Li kicked me off the bed that first night. Fan Poh-Dee laughed her shrill echoing laugh and hugged herself-thinking about Gao-Li. He was such a shy man with such big feet . . . but I wouldn't trade him for all the men in this village. I love his shyness; I think that's what saved our wedding night. I'm sure I would have run away the moment the sun set if he'd yelled at me. Yes, it was his shyness . . . and his feet . . . and his voice. You can tell the meddle of a man by his voice. Xiliang has that same soft voice. I wonder what kind of voice Meng Jiangnu has. I hope she's not a screamer.

Remembering Gao-Li's shyness made Poh-Dee wonder about her son, Xiliang. Gao Li's face touched his toes every day until the birth of our first daughter and Xiliang is almost as shy, but at least he's learned; I think he can stand up to Meng, so unlike my adorable Gao Li, who spends his life muttering and stuttering every time he tries to talk. It took me twenty years to figure that man out-I hope it doesn't take Meng Jiangnu as long. Then again, Gao-Li drove me insane trying to figure out what he was saying and even though I wanted to please him and knew I was a thousand times smarter, I knew I must never let him discover my knowledge. I knew how to play the role of submissive. I made all the decisions. I always have, but I let him think he ruled our home. I bet Meng is like me-I bet she will rule my son from the nuts up, just like I rule Gao-Li.

Poh-Dee wanted to think about her son's wedding-she wanted to consider his feelings, but she knew she'd start crying if she did. It was easier to recollect than to foretell the future. It was easier to picture her own life than that of her son. She took a deep breath and sighed, reconstructing her relationship with her husband, and decided that Meng Jiangnu was a woman such as she: powerful, willful, and strong. Gao-Li always thought it was his decision to build our house here, but I'm the one who found this place, I'm the one who fell in love with this spot and I am the one who led Gao-Li to believe it was his decision. I even let him believe he chose Duk-Dong and Cheong-Heng as his closest friends, but they're weak, easily controlled, and tattle everything back to their wives. Thank the gods, I'm smart enough to hide my intelligence and let Gao-Li think he's boss. Meng is just as tough. She'll control Xiliang as easily as I control his father. She's as tough a chicken as me-

Poh-Dee stopped a moment to thank the gods. Then she wiped the tears from her eyes and continued preparing the wedding feast, but her happiness was short-lived. When Xiliang came home, he told his parents the horrible news, "The emperor has conscripted five hundred thousand men. Let's pray they skip our worthless village. The harvest has not yet been gathered-"

"And you need to have a new life with your bride," Poh-Dee interrupted.

It was the first time Xiliang had heard the term 'bride' used in conjunction with his own name. Yes, he thought, before this day ends, Meng Jiangnu will be my bride. Again, Xiliang's manhood expanded to its fullest. He only prayed his mother wouldn't notice.

"Your man is ready to make more men," Poh-Dee giggled. "This is good. The gods favor a man who loves his wife."

Xiliang blushed. He didn't want his mother to know he thought about his future bride in such a way, even though he knew it was normal. Xiliang's friends had spoken about nothing but sex before they married. "You must learn to mount the horse while she's moving, mount her and breed her," they told chicken-faced Lin Chuen just before he married and now Lin Chuen, already the father of three sons and two daughters, was giving advice to Xiliang. "On my wedding night, I mounted my wife like a breeding mare and rode her like I was the emperor's prized stallion, but you, Xiliang, you'll be lucky to mount a brooding hen" and the men looked at the chicken-faced man and laughed-although Lin Chuen never quite figured out the joke.

I'm shorter than all my friends, Xiliang thought, but my manhood is larger. I've seen the others naked in the river, although I never let them see me. I'm too shy to play their games; I just hope I'm not too shy to mount my mare in my own way. I want to breed her, but I want more than that, I want to be her equal . . . like mother is to dad. Xiliang paused, waiting for his manhood to relax and slide back down to its proper place. My wife will be my equal partner-and if the village boys don't like it, I don't care.

8:05 a.m.

Outside, away from his friends and family, Fan Xiliang bathed, slowly contemplating his left toe, his big feet, his enlarged cock, wondering how anyone could be so upset on such a beautiful day as he composed this paean:


Heaven's skies stand silently above me;
children sleep below.
Snow colored clouds climb up and skitter;
Children sleep below.
Sliding, slithering down the mountain;
children sleep below.
Breaking then reforming into five clouds;
Children sleep below.
Smashing into each other into millions;
children sleep below.
Water drops from the sky;
Children sleep below.
As it inundates the river
Children sleep below.
Struggling, fish swim upstream and spawn;
Children sleep below.
Fishermen pull fishes from the river;
Children sleep below.
Farmers cultivate the land;
Children sleep below.
Chickens roost, ducks waddle, horses trot;
Children sleep below.
Gods in heaven hover over me;
Children sleep below.

Xiliang sang his poem joyously to the gods, his voice raised so loud that he knew they would hear every blessed note. Then he chanted, hoping to bring his ancestors joy, as well.


Hou-Shang, Chun-Wa, Shao-Shi, Bu-Wei;
Meng Jiangnu will be my bride.
I worship you, my ancestors, high up in the sky;
Meng Jiangnu will be my bride.
She, too, will respect you;
Meng Jiangnu will be my bride.
Boh she and I will keep your memory live;
Meng Jiangnu will be my bride.
Grandparents, parents of my grandparents;
Meng Jiangnu will be my bride.
I honor you, I honor you;
Meng Jiangnu will be my bride.

After praying to his gods and singing poems to his ancestors, Xiliang returned home and picked up his seven friends as they journeyed to Meng's village. Xiliang had chosen his friends carefully; after the wedding, they'd be responsibe to carry him and his bride back home in a red sedan chair. Xiliang didn't want anything to go wrong; he didn't want Jiangnu to fall into the mud; he didn't want his ancestors to be disappointed with his bride. Today is a red day, today is a perfect day; nothing can go wrong.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

8:15 a.m.

Early in the morning, Meng Jiangnu bathed her entire body for the first time as her mother sprinkled pieces of oranges and grapefruit in the water and Jiangnu's sisters prepared her bridal wardrobe. Meng's red gown and red shoes were waiting for her when she finished.

Pha-Ly, the Good Luck Woman, set Jiangnu's hair in the style of a married woman and then helped her dress. Pha-Ly, who had longed to be a concubine to the emperor, but was not chosen because her breath smelled of horse dung, covered Jiangnu's head with a red scarf to bring fortune and good luck as she explained the art of love making in simple terms so Jiangnu wouldn't be afraid.

"His manhood is like a field mouse hiding between his legs, but when he sees you and wants you, his mouse will double and become as hard as a tree limb. Then he'll mount you like this," Pha-Ly demonstrated by using her hands and fingers. "You are like the cupped palm, see how easy it is for me to open and close it to make a fist. Your yin jin is the same-you control it-squeeze or relax-that is your only function-just like this (she opened and closed her palm to fist and back again). Your man will think he controls it; he'll think he controls you, but you have the power to relax and enjoy his little mouse because you can open and close your yin jin just as you can open and close your fist, you can make it tighter or you can relax to please your man."

"Tighter? I don't understand."

Pha-Ly gently touched Jiangnu's yin jin and waited. "You will after you've been with your man a few times. Practice now by squeezing. Learn to do this every time he enters you and you can control him forever." Pha-Ly sighed, remembering the hours she had practiced tightening her yin jin, dreaming of lying in bed next to Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi.

"I don't know if I want to control a man," Meng Jiangnu mumbled, as she filled her nostrils with the sweet smell of the grapefruit and oranges, wondering it Xiliang's mouse had a fragrance as sweet.

"As a woman, you're in charge. It's your right-it's the only right guaranteed by your ancestors." Pha-Ly paused to let the impact settle in. "Men breed like dogs, but unless you're willing to bear his children, they can never control you. You are always in charge, you are aways the boss, but you'll learn to be wiry enough to let him think he's the ruer of your yin jin."

Jiangnu giggled, "Will his mouse hurt me?"

"A man can never hurt a woman unless she's willing to be hurt. He may mount you like a stallion, but he won't hurt you unless you allow him to," Pha-Ly paused, took a deep breath and whispered, "There are the feared and the fearful. If you are fearful, the feared will come for you, but if you are feared, those around you will be fearful."

Jiangnu didn't have time to wonder why Pha-Ly hadn't controlled her own fear-she didn't ask why Pha-Ly was never selected as one of the emperor's courtesans (although she had heard rumors about the dung-breathing woman who was sent flying from the royal palace), instead Jiangnu stood wide-eyed, praying to the gods for the opportunity to control her own fear, her man, and her own life.

"You can be a free soul, or you can be a slave! It is up to you to decide."

The sound of firecrackers put an end to their conversation. Someone can't wait, Meng Jiangnu thought, someone is more anxious than I. This is a sign from the gods; this is a very good sign.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

10:30 a.m.

"You have beat the demons," Nee-Nee, To-Ra's closest friend, laughed. "You've caught them by their tails and wrestled them to the ground."

"Be quiet, you old fool, don't tempt the gods!" Then as loudly as she could, To-Ra shouted, "This will be a bad wedding day. This couple will nag and fight each other until they die, and children will come from rocks faster than from this worthless and barren couple. No children, no luck, no children, no luck." Grinning, To-Ra whispered, "Don't tempt the gods, never tempt the gods." To-Ra bowed to the family altar, worshiping the spirits of her ancestors, knowing Meng Jiangnu and Fan Xiliang would prosper and bear eleven children. Then To-Ra erased all thoughts of happiness from her mind. She told her ancestors the truth and knew they would be pleased, but she vowed never to tell anyone else. I must guard my happiness: the gods must never know the truth. Luckily, the gods are hard of hearing today, that's why I must shout at them. I shout so they hear only what I want them to hear. To-Ra screamed again, "There will be no love in this village; their will be no children from this marriage; there will be no happiness here."

12:15 p.m.

Bold and brilliant red flowed down the pathway, out of the houses, onto the shoes of the future bride and groom, enveloping them in splendor.

"It's good luck," Sau-Kheng giggled to her three-year-old son, Lok-Ki. "If you wear red on your wedding day, you'll have good luck forever."

"Good luck," Lok-Ki prattled as he smiled and giggled and three hundred hurried villagers paraded down the pathway heading from Xiliang's hovel to Jiangnu's hometown.

"Today is the most extraordinary day since Tan-Ying married Ngoe-Oanh. Today, we celebrate our good luck and wondrous fortune. Today is Fan Xiliang's wedding day," but it was difficult to determine who was more excited by this revelation: Lok-Ki in his make-believe world or Sau-Kheng in hers.

Xiliang's entire village followed him to his bride's hometown. "Never miss a feast," Sau-Kheng laughed to her son. "Good food, good husband, good wife."

"Good food," Lok-Ki repeated, "Good food, good food."

"We'll have more babies soon," Fung-Ching smiled to Hoi-Li. "Soon the entire village will crawl with babies."

"And we'll have more farmers," Hoi-Li replied. "We'll never be hungry again."

Meanwhile, the boys played tag in the roadway. "I want to hear more firecrackers," Hui screamed in his screechy seven-year-old voice. "I want to hear the boom, boom, bang, bang."

The nine-year-old twins, Man-Wei and Lian, laughed at Hui although they, too, remembered the first time they waited for the earth to shake as they ran joyfully in and out of the boom, boom, bang, bang."

The men drank tea in preparation for the big event. "Since weddings are a time of celebration," Duk-Dong said, "Why don't we celebrate everyday?"

"We don't have enough children," Cheong-Heng answered as the men remembered the famine and wondered if the village would ever become whole again.

"Thank the gods that Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi rules. The times will be good for Xiliang and his bride; the times will be good for everyone."

"We're safe and free. Our long nightmare is over. We'll never make war again."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

2:15 p.m.

Jiawu had been visiting a neighboring village when he learned what was happening. The emperor is sending men to build his wall again, but now he's sending the peasants and the villages will starve. Why must the emperor take our men? Why can't he wait until our boys are old enough to have children? Near-sighted and awkward, Jiawu bumped into several trees as he hurried home to Chungsoo, the same village Fan Xiliang called home. I must warn the people. The more Jiawu fretted, however, the more he realized there was no solution. We can do nothing to stop the emperor. We can fight but we can never win. Qin Shi Huangdi is too strong, too powerful, and his men will find us. If we complain, he'll track us down like dogs in the night. Jiawu's thoughts drifted silently into the cold air and since he knew there was no solution, he wondered if he should bother to share his thoughts with the villagers. No, I must only warn the elders. Today is a joyous day; it is Fan Xiliang's wedding day, so I must hold my peace from everyone . . . except the elders.

By the time Jiawu returned to the village, with abrasions on his arms and a bruise on his left knee where he had fallen against a rock, he learned everyone had heard the rumors. What can we do? The emperor controls the army. When he commands, the mighty move. Even the rocks move!

Jiawu pouted. He wanted to be the first to share the terrible news and all he had gained were sores and bruises from the rocks the emperor had planned to move.

Xiliang, too, had heard the rumors, but he didn't fear them. I'm a poet and a philosopher, even the emperor respects poets. No one will ever harm me.

More firecrackers were about to be lit. It was going to be a wonderful day.

The boys waited feverishly in the village, screaming for the moment Xiliang and his bride would enter the town, waiting for the boom, boom, bang, bang, boom.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

4:00 p.m.

Impatiently, fourteen-year-old, Captain Ju-Yi marched toward Chungsoo, flicking his boogers onto the backs of his wayward soldiers, wondering how he could motivate his boys to become men. I must find a way to make my men strong before we reach the village, I must turn them into soldiers. Ju-Yi was sweating now, as the water dripped down his face, turning his eyebrows into faucets; his armpits floated around in his bulky shirt; even the newly formed hairs on his balls were saturated in sweat. He was a puddle of water-an oozing spring waiting for a prey. Mosquitoes fall into the stream and die, that's what we must do! We must lure our victims to us. We must overcome all obstacles. But how? How?

Ju-Yi continued watching his new recruits trip-stumble as they tried to march in formation. I've only been in the emperor's army one day longer than they and yet I am their captain, it is not right. Then Ju-Yi stifled a chortle, knowing that age meant everything in the land of his ancestors, yet he laughed for only a second; his duty was to his Emperor-no matter how difficult the mission, he knew he must not fail.

Ju-Yi knew all about the villagers in the north-his mother had warned him. They have a mean streak and they defy all power. Be fearless and never turn your back; they must never sense your fear.

Ju-Yi cried when he thought about his mother and he was glad that he'd started to sweat. Perhaps it'll hide my tears, but as Ju-Yi looked around, he noticed all the young boys' eyes were filled with water. For all our sakes, I hope it's sweat!

Suddenly, Ju-Yi's worry turned to dread. If my men are crying, if we fail to gather enough workers for the emperor, we will all face his vengeance. How can I turn these boys into men? How can I teach them to kill without mercy?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The locusts had spent seventeen years underground sucking sap from the tree roots, thinking of nothing but mating. Soon I will soar to the heavens, the female locust grub thought, to mate gloriously under the midnight stars. Then I'll dig a hole and find a dark quiet place under the earth to lay my eggs until I die in peace.

Ju-Yi saw the ugly wet bugs crawling out of their grub holes. They hadn't yet formed their wings and needed to dry as they lay helplessly under the bright noon sun, getting used to the bright sky, getting their bearings, sounding their clicking sounds, looking for mates. This is my opportunity, Ju-Yi thought. I know how to train my men!

"Halt!" Ju-Yi yelled in a voice that cracked more than the locust voices. "Turn right and squash those bugs-crush them like you will crush the villagers in the next town. Crush them with your hands, your boots, your knees, your toes. Get on the ground and bite them, crush them with your body. Dig your nails into their flesh, suck the life out of them. Eat them. Chew them. Kill them all."

For a moment no one moved, then Lu-Shan, Ju-Yi's eleven-year-old brother, dove into the middle of the insects, stomping them as he smashed their bodies into the dank earth. And as soon as Lu-Shan began destroying the insects, the other soldiers joined him, grinding the bugs between their fingers, jabXiaog them with their fingernails, tossing them into the rocks, biting and chewing them. Ju-Yi smiled as he watched the dead insects form huge piles reaching higher than the heads of his soldiers, reaching to the gods.

This is their first lesson, Ju-Yi thought, they will be ready to meet the villagers tomorrow. There will be no resistance.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

6:30 p.m.

The boys raced back and forth to the noise of the firecrackers. "Louder, louder," Man-Wei and Lian shouted as Hui screamed in joy, "Make them louder. Make them boom, boom, bang, bang."

The feet of the soldiers thudded up the pathways, the screaming boys raced up and down the paths, the captured peasants stumbled forward in panic, as the look of joy on Meng Jiangnu's face changed to fear.

"Come," a soldier said as he grabbed Fan Xiliang away from his new bride. "You have work to do for the emperor. Come with me."

Meng Jiangnu knew the inevitable was happening; she knew she might never see Xiliang again. "Take this," she said as she broke her jade hairpin in two. "Take half. My heart will remain as pure and white as this jade and as long as you keep this half, you'll know I'll wait for you, I'll wait-"

The soldiers shoved Fan Xiliang forward as he covered the broken hairpin in his hand and marched away. I haven't had time to know my wife and already I'm being taken from her. Xiliang grasped the jade hairpin tightly in his clenched fist. Jiangnu is part of me now and I shall hold her as the symbol of our love in my hand. I will see her again. I will-

The soldiers pushed Xiliang so hard he reeled, almost falling to the ground, struggling to right himself as he lurched forward to an unknown future.


On to Chapter Nine
First Love
Back to Chapter Seven
Butterflies and Moles
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