Street Stories: A True Account of a Group of Blind Men in the Underworld

With a loud bang, the wooden door was kicked open, and a gust of cold wind carrying the smell of gunpowder rushed into the room, startling An Tai and Li Youwei on the kang (a heated brick bed). The blind man suddenly looked up, and the color drained from his face instantly.

Qiao Yang's heart tightened, and his voice, though extremely low, carried an undeniable ruthlessness:

"No matter what happens later, you two stay right behind me."

Before he finished speaking, two militiamen carrying old-fashioned rifles burst into the house, their cold rifle butts slamming onto the blue brick floor with a dull thud.

The leader, veins bulging on his neck, shouted at the top of his lungs:

"All of you, stay seated and don't move! Move even a fraction of an inch and you're arrested on the spot!"

The dim, yellowish light of a kerosene lamp wafted in from outside the door.

The shopkeeper, his back hunched, held up the lamp with trembling hands. The flame was blown about by the strong wind, casting the shadows of the militiamen across half of the earthen wall.

The middle-aged man following behind had bloodshot eyes and clenched fists. He strode to the table and slammed his fist on the old wooden table, making the dishes rattle loudly.

"How can you act like 'teachers'? Young people joining the army is responding to the Party's call! It's to fight Chiang Kai-shek and liberate all of China! It's to ensure that ordinary people can have enough to eat and are no longer bullied! And what you do—"

How dare they spout such nonsense, saying that anyone who joins the army is a "petty person"!

"that is!"

The militiaman next to him immediately chimed in, pressing his right hand hard on the bolt and deliberately pulling it forcefully.

"Click—"

The metallic scraping sound was extremely grating. His cold gaze swept over the three blind men, his words dripping with icy chill:

"If this had happened two years ago during the land reform, people like you who spread rumors, misled the public, and disturbed the peace of the people would have been dragged to the village entrance and shot!"

You're lucky to be alive today, but you'll get a taste of the militia's power!

An Tai and Li You were stunned on the spot.

Mr. Li initially thought that Qiao Yang had offended someone by discussing marriage, and that's why he sent people to cause trouble. But instead, it was the militia who rushed in!

They racked their brains but still couldn't figure it out—which sentence or which divination had caused such a huge mess?

The shopkeeper busied himself lighting the oil lamps in the lamp kiln.

The warm yellow light instantly filled the small house, but it couldn't dispel the tense, murderous aura that permeated the room.

The middle-aged man leading the group swept his sharp gaze across the three of them, but when his eyes landed on Qiao Yang, his fierce demeanor suddenly softened, and his tone changed:

"This...isn't this Mr. Qiao? Did you do the divination today?"

The shopkeeper quickly stepped forward and introduced in a low voice, "This is our village chief."

Upon hearing the softening tone, Qiao Yang immediately stood up and took the blame upon himself:

"It was my calculation. Village chief, if I'm wrong, please don't blame others; it's all my fault for not keeping a close watch."

He knew in his heart that he was an accurate fortune teller and a reliable person in the village, so the village chief would give him some face.

"Mr. Qiao, it's not that I blame you."

The village chief's anger had subsided considerably; he tapped his fingers lightly on the edge of the table, his tone heavy:

"Who in the village joins the army is decided jointly by the Party branch and the farmers' association; it's a great thing! How come it's become 'being a villain' in your eyes? If this gets out, who would want to send their son to the army?"

"Yes, yes, yes! I was confused!"

Qiao Yang bowed his head repeatedly, his face full of sincere apology: "Village Chief, I spoke without thinking. Please forgive us this time; I will never dare to say such things again!"

After a moment of silence, the village chief finally spoke:

"Considering your good reputation in the village, Mr. Qiao, we will not hold it against you today."

He changed the subject, his gaze sweeping coldly over An Tai and Li You:

"But you guys better remember this! From now on, don't say things you shouldn't say, and don't do calculations you shouldn't do!"

Anyone who dares to spread rumors and sow discord between officials and the public again—no matter who it is, I will not let them off easily!

The footsteps faded into the distance, until they disappeared completely at the end of the alley.

Qiao Yang's tense body relaxed, and he exhaled a long breath. He turned to An Tai and Li You, his voice low and heavy:

"What exactly happened? Why did they suddenly bring up the phrase 'being wronged by someone'?"

Li You's voice trembled, and he kept wiping the cold sweat from his forehead:

"It's...it's that old man from the military family this afternoon. He came to ask for a divination, and kept saying that his son was serving in the army and he was afraid that his son might be in danger."

Then they drew a card, and...and it just so happened to be the one about "being targeted by petty people."

"What did you say to him back then?" Qiao Yang's voice suddenly rose, filled with barely suppressed anger.

"I... I just read the note on the post..."

Li You's voice grew softer and softer, almost inaudible:

"The divination results indicate that your fortune is not good, so you must be careful in your words and actions."

Words spoken in a cold and hurtful way will ultimately backfire and cause the speaker to bite back.

I also said... that your son must have run into some bad people, otherwise why would he have to go to the front lines...?

"You bastard!"

Qiao Yang slammed his fist on the table in anger, his palm trembling from the impact, and pointed at Li You, shouting sternly:

"You're absolutely out of your mind! How could you just spout something like that? For that one sentence, the militia would tie you up and lock you up for ten days or half a month, and that would be the least they could do!"

"Qiao Yang, don't be angry anymore, things have come to this..."

An Tai quickly tried to smooth things over, saying, "Just be more careful in the future. But how did the village chief find out so quickly about Li You interpreting the old man's fortune?"

Just then, the curtain was lifted, and the shopkeeper walked in carrying a pot of chilled tea, lowering his voice to say:

"Gentlemen, don't panic. I specifically asked when I saw the village chief off. That old man had a few drinks at dinner, and just now, fueled by alcohol, he went around cursing in the street, shouting, 'I don't know which villain instigated my son to join the army and die.' The village chief happened to catch him in the act—and here he is with his men right away."

He poured them some cold tea and then patted his chest to assure them:

"Don't worry, I'm here. We'll settle things the way they always have to be. If anything happens, I'll take care of it for you."

An Tai and Li You quickly stood up to express their gratitude. Li You suddenly remembered something and hurriedly said:

"Shopkeeper, could you please go to the backyard and retrieve Mr. An's and our bags?"

"Why did you throw the bag in the backyard?" The shopkeeper was taken aback.

"I was so scared I threw it out the window..."

Li You's voice was bitter. "My pocket is filled with divination sticks and fortune slips. These things are very hard to buy. If the militia confiscate them, we won't be able to continue our business."

It was late at night, and the kang (a heated brick bed) was pitch black.

Qiao Yang stared blankly into the distance, tossing and turning, completely unable to fall asleep.

The ancient precepts passed down from our ancestors echoed repeatedly in my mind: "Do not discuss national affairs, do not discuss politics."

But in this day and age, how can we not talk about it?

Rural enlistment in the army, land redistribution, and class classification—which of these wasn't related to national affairs? How to speak about it, and what to say about it, was no longer a matter of fortune-telling, but rather a science of survival, an art of walking on a knife's edge!

He finally couldn't hold back any longer, reached out and gently nudged Li You beside him, then whispered to the other side:

"Uncle-Master, you're not asleep either, are you? Wake up, let's talk."

"I'm thinking about it too," Antaeus responded from the darkness.

The three blind men lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), chatting amongst themselves, meticulously reviewing the day's misfortunes and past troubles, and finally, with gritted teeth, set forth a few inviolable rules:

The hexagrams related to joining the army and being allocated land will not be discussed further.

For military dependents and cadres, the divination only speaks of peace and smooth sailing, never mentioning villains or disasters;

If you're unsure about a divination, just say you can't calculate it; never try to force it or pretend you can't.

As Qiao Yang listened, he suddenly burst out laughing.

Li You turned his head blankly: "Brother Qiao, what are you laughing at?"

"According to your logic, do fortune tellers even need to apprentice under a master?"

Qiao Yang stopped laughing and spoke seriously:

"Anyone with a quick mind can probably open a business by just putting up a signboard. True fortune telling involves analyzing the eight characters of a person's birth chart, interpreting the hexagrams, and predicting their past and future."

An Tai frowned: "That makes sense, but what should we do if it really involves policy-related issues?"

Qiao Yang remained silent for a moment, then spoke each word with the weight of a thousand pounds:

"The key is not in the divination, but in one's stance."

"If you understand clearly, the Eighth Route Army and the People's Liberation Army are the people's own soldiers, protecting us. How could you associate being a soldier with 'being a petty person'?! That military dependent is usually sharp-tongued and argumentative; he's the one who easily offends people!"

"If I had spoken up earlier, I wouldn't have made such a big mistake today..." Li You sighed, filled with regret.

Qiao Yang patted his arm, his tone softening:

"Learn from your mistakes and remember the lesson."

But a huge boulder always hung in his heart, heavy and unable to be lifted.

No matter how comprehensive the rules set tonight are, they cannot prevent the unpredictability of life and the myriad aspects of human nature.

He never expected this—

Just three days later, he encountered a divination. Although it was unrelated to politics, it was sensitive and difficult to discuss, and it was completely outside the rules they had agreed upon.