At 9:00 PM, the lights in the Five Mile Fort village office came on.
Their village got electricity several months after Shili Gou, but thanks to An Ning, they finally had it installed.
At that moment, on the village's old threshing ground, a yellow light bulb under the communal loudspeaker was glowing.
Under the yellow light, eight boys were kneeling on the ground. They had fresh cuts on their faces, and their hair was messier than a bird's nest.
Sun Dazhuang and the Five Mile Fort village chief stood on opposite sides, as clearly divided as the Chu River and Han border.
An Ning was right behind Sun Dazhuang. Jiang Xia had taken the gong from her hands.
"Sun Dazhuang, what's the meaning of this tonight?"
"What's the meaning? Isn't it obvious? We're escorting these animals home."
The chief of Five Mile Fort had already heard what happened, but he was a man who cared deeply about his pride. Having people from another village come and cause trouble on his turf was humiliating.
