Chronicle of a Blood Merchant by Yu Hua

Author:Yu Hua
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3, mobi, pdf
Tags: Fiction
ISBN: 9780307425263
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Published: 2007-12-17T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

One day two years later, as He Xiaoyong was walking down the street, he was hit by a truck from Shanghai. He was thrown so hard against a neighboring house that the closed front door was knocked open by the impact, and he came to a stop only on the floor inside.

When the news that He Xiaoyong had been hit by a truck spread through town, Xu Sanguan gloated for a day. It was a hot summer night, and Xu Sanguan, clad in shorts and a sleeveless T-shirt, made the rounds of his neighbors’ houses, saying as he went, “This is what is meant by karma. You get what you deserve. You do something bad and try to pretend that you didn’t do it, but Old Man Heaven always knows exactly what’s going on. And if Old Man Heaven wants to punish you for what you’ve done, don’t think you’ll get away. You might be hit by a truck. You could be walking down the street minding your own business one day when a roof tile falls on your head. Or say you’re crossing the bridge: the bridge might suddenly collapse into the water. Old Man Heaven will find a way. Look at me, for instance. I’m strong, I’m energetic, and my color is good. I’ve lived the life of a poor man and I’ve been through hard times, but I’m healthy. And health is the most important thing of all. Looks like Old Man Heaven’s rewarding me for being good.”

As he spoke, he flexed his arms and legs to show his neighbors his muscles. Then he continued.

“And sure, I’ve been a cuckold for thirteen years, but look at Yile. He and I are very close, even closer than Erle and Sanle. If there’s something good to eat, he always asks me, ‘Dad, do you want some?’ When those brats Erle and Sanle get something good to eat, they never offer me any. You know why Yile is so good to me? It’s because Old Man Heaven’s rewarding me for being good.”

Xu Sanguan concluded, “So people ought to try their best to do good and stay away from doing bad. If you do something bad and don’t change your ways, you’ll end up like He Xiaoyong and be punished by Old Man Heaven. And let me tell you, when Old Man Heaven punishes somebody, he shows no mercy. He’ll take your very life if he feels like it. Look at He Xiaoyong. He’s laid up in the hospital right now, and no one knows if he’ll live or die.

“People like me, who always do good, well, Old Man Heaven remembers us, and every once in a while he’ll throw something nice our way. Take my blood selling, for instance. You all know that I sell blood. Most people in town think selling blood is something to be ashamed of, but in my grandpa’s village they believe that the men who sell blood are stronger than the ones who don’t. Now look at me.

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