Yu Hua - Brothers

Baldy Li and Song Gang weren't at all scared of him. Song Gang raised his head. "We're laughing at your sweeping leg kick."

"Heh." Long-haired Sun Wei looked back at his mates oddly, saying, "How dare he laugh at my kick?"

Song Gang scoffed to Baldy Li, "His sweeping leg kick?"

Baldy Li chuckled and also scoffed, "His sweeping leg kick?"

Baldy Li's and Song Gang's cocky attitude astonished the older boys, who exclaimed, "Fuck!"

Song Gang said evenly, "Let me tell you guys. There's a move my father didn't teach you, but he taught it to us."

"Fuck!" the students retorted. Sun Wei added, "So you're saying that you also know the sweeping leg kick?"

Song Gang pointed at Baldy Li. "We both know it."

The three middle-schoolers burst out laughing. They looked over Baldy Li and Song Gang. "You know the sweeping leg kick? You're still as short as our dicks."

Long-haired Sun Wei said to Song Gang, "So sweep for me."

Song Gang said, "You stand steady first."

Sun Wei looked even more astonished. He turned to Victory Zhao and Success Liu. "He wants me to stand steady? Fuck, he thinks he can sweep me off my feet?"

Amid their snorts and laughter, Sun Wei stood in front of Song Gang. First he stood with his legs apart, then he brought them together again, and finally he ended up perched on one leg. He asked Song Gang, "So how do you want me to stand?"

Song Gang pointed to the ground. "Stand on both legs."

Sun Wei grinned and lowered his leg. Song Gang turned to Baldy Li. "You want to kick first? Or shall I?"

Baldy Li wasn't so sure of himself, so he said to Song Gang, "You go first."

Song Gang backed up a few steps and made a running start to sweep-kick Sun Wei's leg like a bunny rabbit kicking a dog. Long-haired Sun Wei just stood there smirking while Song Gang bounced to the ground like a rubber ball. Song Gang got up again, unable to understand what had happened, and looked over uncertainly at Baldy Li. At this point Baldy Li realized the truth about his and Song Gang's sweeping leg kicks, but Song Gang was still completely in the dark. The three middle-schoolers roared, and their laughter caused Baldy Li's insides to tremble. With a smile, Sun Wei swept out his leg and flipped Song Gang over. He said to Baldy Li, "See, now that's a sweeping leg kick."

The revolutionary crowds in Liu Town saw the three middle-schoolers kicking the two little preschoolers and scolded them furiously, saying that they were oppressing the weak, just like the military in the old society. Victory Zhao and Success Liu didn't dare reply, but long-haired Sun Wei argued, "They are landlord Song Fanping's sons. They are little landlords."

The revolutionary masses were silenced. They watched as Baldy Li and Song Gang again and again fell to the ground until both of them simply lay there, unable to get up. Sun Wei, Victory Zhao, and Success Liu were drenched in sweat and breathing heavily, but they gathered around Baldy Li and Song Gang, laughing and shouting at them to stand up again. The brothers had nothing left in them. They couldn't stand up, so they lay on the ground, saying, "We're just fine lying here."

Once they said this, they immediately realized how to escape the middle-schoolers’ sweeping leg kicks, which was simply to stay lying on the ground. No matter how the older boys kicked them, cursed them, and threatened them, they steadfastly refused to get up. Finally the three middle-schoolers resorted to trickery, saying, "If you get up, we won't kick you anymore."

Baldy Li and Song Gang didn't fall for this and continued lying in the street. Sun Wei pointed at an electrical pole, trying to lure Baldy Li up. "Hey, kid, go over to the pole and vent some of your sex drive."

Baldy Li shook his head. "I don't have any sex drive now."

Victory Zhao and Success Liu also encouraged him. "If you go and rub a few times, you'll get your sex drive."

Baldy Li continued shaking his head. "No rubbing for me today. You go and get some sex drive for yourselves."

"Fuck," said the middle-schoolers. "These two little fucking cowards."

Long-haired Sun Wei commanded, "Pull those two little cowards up, then kick them down again."

Just as Victory Zhao and Success Liu were about to pull the boys up, the stout-hearted revolutionary Blacksmith Tong arrived and roared, "Stop!"

Blacksmith Tongs roar made the three middle-schoolers tremble. Sun Wei mumbled, "They're little landlords."

"What little landlords?" Blacksmith Tong pointed at Baldy Li and Song Gang. "They are the blossoms of our nation."

Sun Wei looked over Blacksmith Tongs thick arms and torso and didn't say anything more. Tong pointed at the three middle-schoolers and said, "You are also the blossoms of our nation."

The middle-schoolers peered at one another and began to cackle. They continued cackling as they walked off. Blacksmith Tong looked first at them, then at Baldy Li and Song Gang on the ground, and sauntered away, proclaiming, "You are all the blossoms of our nation."

Baldy Li and Song Gang struggled to their feet. Bruised and battered, they looked at each other. Song Gang simply couldn't understand why he wasn't able to sweep long-haired Sun Wei to the ground. He asked Baldy Li what had gone wrong. Didn't he use the crucial move? Baldy Li huffed, "That move doesn't exist. Your father was bullshitting us."

Song Gang shook his swollen face. "He's our father. Fathers don't lie to sons."

Baldy Li hollered, "He's your dad, not mine."

The two of them stood there, shouting at each other. Finally Song Gang wiped the tears from his face and blew his nose. He said, "Let's go ask Papa."

Baldy Li and Song Gang came to the front entrance of the middle school. A struggle session was getting out. Song Fanping stood with his placard hanging from his neck, along with two others, as a group of students who had just walked out surrounded them and shouted slogans condemning them. A few people wearing red armbands were also saying something. The two boys didn't know that these people, after getting out of the big struggle session inside, were holding another small rally here. The boys squeezed through the crowd and went right up to Song Fanping. Song Gang tugged at his father's sleeve, asking, "Papa, you taught us the most important move in the sweeping leg kick, didn't you?"

Song Fanping stood bowed and motionless. Song Gang started crying pitifully. He pushed at his father. "Papa, tell Baldy Li you taught us…"

Song Fanping remained silent. Baldy Li started yelling, "You lied to us. You didn't teach us how to do the sweeping leg kick. You lied to us about the characters on the wooden placard. They mean landlord,’ but you told us they meant ‘Chairman Mao of the land.'"

At that moment Baldy Li had no way of knowing what a terrible fate his words would bring down on Song Fanping, and he was stunned by what followed. When the people heard Baldy Li's words, they were initially flabbergasted, then they proceeded to strike, kick, and pummel Song Fanping until he was barely breathing. They roared as they stomped and kicked him on the ground, demanding that he confess how he had wickedly attacked "our great leader, our great teacher, our great general, our great helmsman — Chairman Mao."

Baldy Li had never seen anyone pummeled like this before. Song Fanping's face was completely covered in blood, and even his hair was soaked red. He lay there as countless adults and children stomped on him, his body like a platform as countless people stepped over him. His face didn't flinch, but his eyes did — twitching to the side so that he could glimpse Baldy Li and Song Gang. When he looked at Baldy Li, it was as if he was saying something with his gaze, a gaze that terrified Baldy Li. After a while Baldy Li was squeezed out of the circle and could no longer see Song Fanping's eyes. He only saw Song Gang wailing as he tried to force his way back into the circle. There were more and more spectators, and Song Gang was pushed farther and farther away. Finally he opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He walked next to Baldy Li, his face full of tears and snot, his mouth opening and closing as if he was yelling at Baldy Li, but Baldy Li couldn't hear a thing. After Song Gang yelled silently for a while, he punched Baldy Li and Baldy Li punched him right back. The two boys took turns punching each other, as if taking turns dealing out a deck of cards. Altogether, they punched each more than thirty-six times.