Free The Explosion Chronicles by Yan Lianke Page A

gazed at his face that was as plain as dirt, then turned and walked away. They went into the city, their tender flowers blooming as if they were about to bear their plentiful corporeal fruit.
    III.
    Liu Gully and Zhang Peak followed Explosion’s lead and became extremely wealthy. The villages acquired not only electricity but also roads and running water, as well as a flour factory, a wire factory, a nail factory, a brick factory, and a lime kiln that was still under construction, and all the villagers instantly became rich. It turned out that the ordinary workers who had been charged with building chicken coops and brick kitchens in Jiudu all became foremen in the blink of an eye. Similarly, all of the young women who had worked in hair salons and waited on men at night went to learn from Zhu Ying. First they worked as her disciples, then they were masters, and finally, with Zhu Ying’s help, they went to other cities to establish their own businesses. The most talented among them succeeded in becoming owners of their own hair salons, and passed on their former clients to other young women. This is how things progressed, as the residents of Explosion surged into the cities as though chasing chickens and ducks, and within a year the villages had begun to acquire some urban characteristics. The streets of Liu Gully and Zhang Peak, for instance, were both soon lined with tile-roof houses and other buildings, just like Explosion. Each house had a tall gate with stone lions in front and several stone steps inside.
    Why didn’t they simply erect a stele in Zhu Ying’s honor at the entrance to the village? Without Zhu Ying, would those girls havebeen able to make their villages rich? Zhu Ying did not merely help bring wealth to the families of the young women of Liu Gully and Zhang Peak, she even donated a new sedan to each village.
    A directive was sent out to all local village chiefs, instructing them to come to Explosion to attend a meeting. Kong Mingliang had gone to the provincial seat to curry favor, so Mayor Hu himself mobilized the residents of Explosion to clean their houses, sweep their courtyards, and tidy up the streets and alleys. They hosted over a hundred visitors from other villages and towns, who followed Mayor Hu around. The visitors first went to see Liu Gully’s factories and kilns, and then they went to see Zhang Peak’s poultry and livestock. They asked questions as they walked and were able to visit any household they wanted and query the residents on anything they wished.
    Eventually, Mayor Hu led everyone to Zhu Ying’s home, which was next door to the Explosion village board building. Everyone saw that the Zhu family home resembled a new-style temple. It was located on one
mu
of land, and it was a three-story building oriented from east to west. The Zhu family had lived there for only half a year before completely renovating it. The blackish-gray bricks had been artificially distressed, and the windows were made from steel designed to look like carved wood, and inlaid with copper and brass. As for the courtyard wall, because it was made of iron it came to function as the wall around the city park. Although it was winter, grass and bushes grew along the wall, as holly bushes and winter grass added greenery. Everyone stood at the base of the building, exclaiming in delight, and then rushed away to see everything else before the sun set. The visitors reluctantly left Zhu Ying’s house and proceeded back to the village to erect a marble stele in her honor.
    There was a large open field in front of Explosion, right where the main road entered the village. It was there that the town mayor erected the stele in Zhu Ying’s honor. The stele was made of marbleand was an inch thick, eight inches wide, one foot two inches high, and it was carved with bowl-size Chinese characters.
    The base of the stele had already been placed in a pit.
    Around the base, the villagers added not only dirt but also a ring of