The Quagmire of Desire: From Gambling Addict and Village Flower to Movie Queen

After the door to the woodshed was locked with an iron lock, the two men lay sprawled on the ground.

Sun Xiaoyan lay motionless on the haystack, her head buried in her arms, her body curled up like a shrimp.

Liu Meiling lay on her side, her back against the earthen wall, her eyes half-open and half-closed, making it impossible to see what she was looking at.

The woodshed was dark, with only a sliver of light coming through the crack in the door. It was filled with a musty smell, mixed with the smell of straw and mud, as well as the smell of alcohol and sweat on the two men.

She didn't know how much time had passed, but Sun Xiaoyan drifted off to sleep and was woken up by the cold.

The coarse cloth jacket he was wearing was already torn, and his arms were covered with bruises.

She tried to move, but her whole body ached terribly.

Hearing the noise, Liu Meiling didn't turn around, but said in a hoarse voice, "It's not dawn yet."

Sun Xiaoyan remained silent.

She didn't know what else to say.

A sliver of dim light shone through the crack in the woodshed door; it must be dawn.

Footsteps came from outside the door; it was two people, clattering and tapping.

The lock clicked open.

The door was kicked open, and Erniu and his skinny brother stood in the doorway, each holding a bowl of porridge.

"Awake?" Erniu peeked inside, spat, and threw the bowl of porridge on the ground.

The bowl fell to the ground, spilling some porridge onto the dirt.

Erniu's brother, Gou Dan, chimed in with curses, "Damn it, still sleeping? Do they think they're here on vacation?"

Sun Xiaoyan looked at the porridge on the ground, and her stomach growled.

She couldn't remember when she had her last meal.

She slowly got up, knelt on the haystack, and reached for the bowl.

Just as her fingers touched the rim of the bowl, Erniu suddenly squatted down, grabbed her chin, and lifted her face up.

Sun Xiaoyan was forced to look up and saw Erniu's dark face right in front of her.

"Eat your fill," Erniu said, pinching her cheeks with his fingers, quite firmly. "There's a banquet today, so you'll have the energy to serve us if you eat your fill."

Sun Xiaoyan did not speak.

Her eyes were fixed on Erniu; she neither looked away nor cried.

Erniu stared at her for two seconds, then let go of her hand and stood up: "Eat up, eat up, stop dawdling."

Sun Xiaoyan lowered her head, grabbed the bowl of porridge, and shoveled it into her mouth in a few mouthfuls, not caring whether it was hot or not.

The porridge was cold, with some sweet potato mixed in, so it was sweet but nothing special.

Liu Meiling also climbed over, picked up another bowl, lowered her head and drank without saying a word.

Dog Egg leaned against the door frame smoking, and the smoke drifted in, making it unbearable to smoke.

He looked the two women up and down, muttering to himself, "Damn, these two women were quite a handful last night."

Erniu didn't reply and turned to leave.

Not long after, the door was pushed open again.

This time it's the older woman.

She still had that expressionless look on her face, carrying two coarse cloth garments in her hands, both old, faded jackets and trousers, one of which had patches on it.

Without even glancing at the two of them, she threw her clothes on the ground and said, "Change into these and go help out at the foot of the mountain."

Sun Xiaoyan was stunned: "Auntie..."

"Enough with the nonsense." The old woman's tone was stern. "If you're not going to freeload, you have to do the work."

Sun Xiaoyan looked at the clothes on the ground, then at Liu Meiling.

Liu Meiling bit her lip, but finally bent down and picked up a piece.

The two of them couldn't be bothered with formalities, so they took off their tattered clothes and put them on coarse cloth jackets in front of the old woman.

Sun Xiaoyan's hands trembled as she buttoned the jacket. It was too big and hung loosely on her, with a large section of the neckline showing.

Liu Meiling was tying her belt, and she had only tied it halfway when the old woman came up, grabbed her hair, and dragged her towards the door.

"Go!" The old woman was quite strong, and Liu Meiling was pulled so hard that she stumbled and almost fell.

Sun Xiaoyan quickly followed.

When I stepped out of the yard, the sun was already high in the sky.

Several men were standing at the village entrance. When they saw the old woman leading two people out, they immediately started whistling.

"Oh my, ma'am, are these the two from last night?"

"Tsk tsk, he really does look presentable when he's dressed up."

The old woman ignored them and pulled Liu Meiling toward the foot of the mountain.

As Sun Xiaoyan followed behind, she felt as if the men's gazes were knives slicing through her.

When we reached the foot of the mountain, it was the same large courtyard as yesterday.

The banquet had already been set up, and several tables were packed with people. Women were carrying dishes back and forth, heads down, their steps hurried.

The old woman pushed the two of them toward the kitchen: "Go to the backyard to boil water, don't just sit around."

Liu Meiling rubbed her hair, which had been pulled so hard, and followed Sun Xiaoyan to the backyard without saying a word.

The backyard wasn't big; there was a large stove with firewood piled up next to it.

A large pot of water was boiling on the stove, bubbling and steaming.

Sun Xiaoyan squatted down to add firewood, while Liu Meiling sat to the side, staring blankly at the fire in the stove.

The toilet was in the corner of the yard, made of broken wooden planks, separated by a low wall.

Sun Xiaoyan was adding firewood when she suddenly heard someone talking beside her.

She looked up and saw several young men squatting over the toilet, smoking cigarettes and looking in her direction.

A tall, thin young man stood up, chuckled, and walked straight over.

"Hey girl, busy?" He walked up to Liu Meiling, his eyes glancing down into her collar.

Liu Meiling ignored him.

The young man didn't care. He squatted down and reached one hand directly into Liu Meiling's waistband.

"Damn, you've got a nice perky ass."

Liu Meiling shoved the hand away abruptly, her voice rising: "What are you doing!"

The young man was pushed by her, his expression changed, and he raised his hand to slap her across the face.

With a snap, Liu Meiling's head was knocked to the side.

"What are you pretending to be innocent for?" the young man spat. "Weren't you screaming quite loudly last night?"

Sun Xiaoyan immediately stood up, grabbed Liu Meiling, and ran outside.

The two stumbled and ran out of the courtyard gate. They had only run a few steps when they bumped into Erniu.

Erniu stood grinning at the gate, one hand bracing against the doorframe, completely blocking the way.

"Run for what?" He laughed loudly, as if it were a joke. "There's a show tonight."

Sun Xiaoyan tried to pull Liu Meiling around, but two more men came out from behind Erniu and blocked their way.

"Don't rush." ​​Erniu glanced into the yard and called out to the back, "Take it to the backyard!"

Two men stepped forward, one on each side, and dragged Sun Xiaoyan and Liu Meiling into the yard.

Sun Xiaoyan struggled, but the arm was like an iron clamp, and she couldn't break free at all.

She was dragged across the yard, past the people who were drinking, and finally shoved into a small woodshed next to the backyard.

The door slammed shut from the outside.

Sun Xiaoyan collapsed onto the woodpile, panting heavily, her whole body trembling.

Liu Meiling was also pushed in and fell next to her, remaining motionless for a long time.

The woodshed was very dark, with only a little light coming through the crack in the door.

Sun Xiaoyan got up and peered through the crack in the door.

The banquet was still going on in the courtyard.

She saw several men sitting at a table playing mahjong, making a loud clattering sound.

Nearby, a young woman was boiling water in a large pot, her head down, mechanically adding firewood with her arm.

A man who had won money stood up, walked up to the woman, and without saying a word, picked her up and carried her to the next room.

The woman struggled for a moment, but didn't make a sound.

The door to the room was closed.

Soon, suppressed groans came from inside.

The people in the courtyard either drank or played cards, and no one glanced over there.

Sun Xiaoyan stared in that direction, her palms sweating profusely.

She heard a woman's voice coming from inside the room; it was muffled, as if her mouth had been covered.

Then came the man's panting, and the sounds of laughter coming from the nearby table.

"I won! Pay up!"

Sun Xiaoyan lowered her hand from the crack in the door and leaned it against the wall.

Liu Meiling was still lying on the ground, her back against the wooden wall, her eyes vacant like a dead person.

Sun Xiaoyan huddled in the corner, her hands clenched into fists, her nails digging into the flesh of her palms, the pain making her numb, but she didn't let go.

Footsteps suddenly came from outside the door.

It was the sound of leather shoes stepping on muddy ground, a very dull sound.

The lock clicked shut, and the door was pushed from the outside, but it wouldn't open.

The footsteps stopped.

Sun Xiaoyan looked up at the door.

Through the crack in the door, she saw a foot wearing a liberation shoe standing outside.

Then Erniu's voice came through: "Don't worry, I'll arrange it for you tonight."

Sun Xiaoyan didn't move.

The foot outside the door stood there for a while longer before turning and leaving.

The footsteps faded into the distance, but the clatter of mahjong tiles still echoed in the courtyard, the woman's stove was still bubbling and steaming, and the groans from the neighboring house continued intermittently.

Sun Xiaoyan buried her face in her knees, her shoulders trembling slightly.

She curled up in the corner, her fingernails tearing the flesh of her palms, blood seeping through her fingers and dripping onto the soil, quickly disappearing from sight.