In the Pond Read Online Free PDF Page A

and united effort of the workers and cadres of our plant.”
    The meeting was dull. Many people dozed off or let their minds wander. But after the report, the secretary switched to another topic, Shao Bin’s recent activities, which at once aroused the audience’s interest.
    Liu told them that Bin had been engaged in new calumnious work. He opened his leatherette briefcase and took out a sheaf of paper. “Comrades,” he said, “I have ironclad evidence here. Look, this is Shao Bin’s handwriting, black on white. It’s a thirty-page accusation, all written in brush. My, my, handsome brushwork indeed. What labor! He must’ve eaten a lot of meat and eggs to have the energy for such a project. But I want to ask Comrade Young Shao a few questions here: Why don’t you put more energy into your real job as a fitter? Why are you often late for work? Why are you still unableto operate a universal lathe? Why can’t you fix the forklift truck, although you have tried many times? Why do you enjoy so much fabricating stories and spreading rumors against others?”
    Liu slammed the paper on the table, then picked up the last page. He went on, “Here’s how he slandered others. He wrote to the Commune Administration, ‘I believe there is an affair between Liu Shu and Hou Nina. Please order a full inquiry.’ Shao Bin, you are a crook! Nina is just about to get married. Why did you do this to her? To make her unmarriageable? Yes, I love her, but only as a comrade, just like I love my daughter. Shao Bin, you son of a turtle, you have a dirty mind. To tell you the truth, I’ve been thinking of taking Nina as my nominal daughter. Yes, I love her. Say whatever you want, you pathetic imbecile.”
    Some people chuckled, and many turned to stare at Bin. Suddenly Nina burst out wailing in the front. She jumped up, running toward the table at which Bin was sitting. Her long hair was swinging around her shoulders; a few people leaped to their feet and stopped her.
    “Let me go. Let me scratch his face!” she screamed, her mouth wide open and her eyes shut.
    Liu told two young women to take Nina back to her office. After they left, the hall was so quiet that people could hear Liu breathing.
    “Yesterday somebody called him ‘lunatic,’ ” the secretary continued. “He went to Director Ma’s office to complainabout that. I told him bluntly that I thought he was a lunatic too. Why? Comrades, look at what he did. He tried to destroy an innocent girl’s life, ruin our plant’s name, and in this letter he actually smears soot on lots of people’s faces. I asked myself again and again, How should I handle this fellow? If I treat him as a normal man, then he will be nobody but a reactionary, a criminal. In that way I may put a comrade into the camp of the enemy class. I’ve known him for six years and don’t think his heart is that black, so I believe he has a problem in his brain. Yes, very likely he has a mental disorder. That’s why yesterday I suggested he go to the hospital for a checkup.”
    Some people glanced at Bin, tittering and whispering. Bin felt his face burning and knew he couldn’t convince others of what had actually happened, so he remained silent.
    “Before I conclude,” Liu said again, “let me give Comrade Shao Bin a piece of advice. An ant can’t shake a tree. If a mantis tries to stop a tractor, it will only get itself crushed. Please have second thoughts before you try again.”
    Liu sat down, huffing, and lifted a teacup, as director Ma got up and went to the front.
    “Comrades,” Ma said, “I also think Shao Bin is a lunatic. Yesterday afternoon he came to us when we were in the middle of a meeting. I told him to come another time because we were busy at the moment. All of a sudden heyelled, ‘I screw your ancestors! I screw them pair by pair!’ ”
    Some men threw their heads back, guffawing. Ma went on, “Both Hong Bao and Huang Dongfang witnessed that. Probably their ancestors were defiled