A river wound its way through the city like a flowing white silver ribbon wrapped around Tangdu, its waters rushing on without pause for a thousand years. By the Tangdu River stood an ancient town; within the town was a village, and in that village lived a family surnamed Tong, who had dwelled there for generations. The Tong family lived at the eastern end of the Big House Clan. They had once been prosperous and well-off, but by Tong Da's generation, they had declined. All that remained from their ancestors were a few dilapidated wooden lofts, long surpassed by the pavilions and mansions of several families at the western end. Tong Da was unwilling to accept this. He often stood on Yandou Mountain before his home with his wife Wang Xiyue and son Tong Haojing, facing the place where the sun rose, and swore, "Let the sun bear witness, let the mountains bear witness—the men of the Tong family will never be turtles that hide their heads!"
One morning in the Big House Clan, Tong Da stood on the slope before his door. The rising sun was especially huge and red, and Tong Da's shadow stretched especially long, like a giant standing tall with head held high. He looked down proudly upon the low-tiled houses at the western end of the Big House Clan and swore that he would build a distinctive grand house at the eastern end.
A newly built highway ran before the Big House Clan like a long dragon. In one direction, it led to Tangdu; in the other, it stretched toward economically developed Hedong Province. Filled with ambition, Tong Da's heart flew along the highway into the distance. He would set out from here, go elsewhere to make money, and build his dreams.
Everyone in the Big House Clan wanted to raise their roof ridges a little higher, to show that their roofs stood above others'. Whoever built the highest house was stronger than everyone else. It was a matter of prestige and had little practical meaning, yet the people who had lived in the Big House Clan for generations valued this custom that hindered the progress of worldly civilization. Everyone competed in secret, all wanting to claim the highest peak.
Tong Da had always been competitive. Relying on his shrewdness and capability, the day finally came when he returned with a fortune. At the eastern end of the Big House Clan, he built a small Western-style house that immediately rose above every other building. The people of the Big House Clan saw him in a new light. They envied him deeply, yet resentment and jealousy took root in their hearts.
Just when Tong Da was at the height of his success, he fell ill and never recovered. Two years later, he died, leaving Wang Xiyue and Tong Haojing, mother and son, living alone in that empty little house, isolated and lonely.
Fang Qiong's son, Heidou, fell mysteriously ill and showed no improvement for months. Piglets in several households at the western end died one every few days. A dense, gloomy atmosphere of ill omen hung over the eastern walls and western corners of the Big House Clan like an epidemic.
The people of the Big House Clan began blaming Wang Xiyue's small Western-style house. Why had it been built so high, towering over the roofs of the Big House Clan and pressing down on everyone until they could not hold their heads up? Fang Qiong, who had a particularly strong personality, even directly blamed her own weakness, poverty, and every unhappy thing in her life on the little house and Wang Xiyue, its owner. They even took pleasure in Tong Da's death, claiming it had been caused by building the little house.
Wang Xiyue did not believe such ignorant nonsense. She would not tolerate others slandering and accusing her without cause, so she argued and fought with them until she was physically and mentally exhausted. The people of the Big House Clan began to hate Wang Xiyue, blaming every setback in their lives on this rural woman. Wang Xiyue stood alone and helpless, but Uncle Mumu at the eastern end could no longer bear to watch. He was the first to stand up and speak fairly for her.
"Bullying a widow and her child—what kind of heroes does that make you?" Before everyone in the Big House Clan, Uncle Mumu fiercely rebuked those idle troublemakers who kicked people when they were down. Those words were enough to inspire Wang Xiyue's fighting spirit. Her meager strength was magnified in an instant. She debated fiercely against them all without fear and supported the household on her own. She hoped Tong Haojing, who was attending middle school in Tangdu, would grow up quickly, lend her a hand, and become capable both inside and outside the home. Tong Haojing was an ambitious boy whose childishness had not yet faded. Naturally, these unpleasant disputes struck at his competitive young heart. At such a young age, he had already felt the cold looks cast his way by the neighbors. The only person who made him feel warmth was Uncle Mumu, who lived at the eastern end. Every day after school, Uncle Mumu took him to fish in the Tangdu River and often cooked fish for him. Perhaps it was because Uncle Mumu's daughter, Mei Tingyu, was Tong Haojing's classmate.
Two years later, Tong Haojing was admitted to Tangdu Middle School, and before long, graduation arrived. On the morning of June 29, 2012, outside Tangdu Middle School, a crowd of men and women packed tightly beneath a Ficus virens tree. Everyone kept pushing inward, standing on tiptoe and craning their necks to look. Their eyes were wide with shock, their faces twisted with terror. A woman's corpse lay there. She had just jumped from a building, and the horrific state of her death filled people with fear.
An ambulance arrived and stopped outside the crowd, waiting for the police to come.
The lightly clothed corpse had dark, filthy blood all over her face. Old Man Gao from the western part of town recognized the deceased at once. "This woman is called Hu Lian. She sold roasted goose on West Street. What a pity, what a pity. Her older brother was useless, so she had to hold everything together. Her home is on the fifth floor upstairs. Such a good family, ruined just like that. Now we won't be able to eat Tong Family Roasted Goose anymore!"
When Tong Haojing and Mei Tingyu passed by the Ficus virens tree, he saw the silent moment when the woman jumped from the building. He wanted to save her, but there was nothing he could do. Before long, the area around the tree was packed with people. Tong Haojing stood outside the circle; being tall, he could naturally see clearly. The woman was Hu Lian, younger sister of Hu Pan, the drug user who had visited the detoxification center on June 26 for an on-site warning education program.
Mei Tingyu hid behind Tong Haojing in fear. "Tongtong, could this girl have been taking drugs too?"
"Don't talk nonsense. Once the police arrive, the truth will come out!"
Ten minutes later, a police car arrived. Two criminal investigators stepped out, followed by a forensic examiner carrying an investigation case. They went forward to inspect the body, took photographs, and recovered a small packet of drugs from the corpse's stiff hand. One officer shook his head and said regretfully, "She overdosed, hallucinated, jumped from the building, and died!"
The police then called the funeral home and contacted the West City Police Station. Before long, the funeral home's vehicle arrived and took the body away.
Tong Haojing clearly remembered that June 26, 2012, had been International Day Against Drug Abuse. Tangdu Middle School had organized three hundred students to visit the Tangdu City Compulsory Isolated Drug Rehabilitation Center, where Hu Lian had gone onstage to receive her brother Hu Pan. In the blink of an eye, Hu Lian had gone to heaven. It was unbelievable.
Tong Haojing's class had gone that day as well.
The detoxification center was about three kilometers from the city, located on the secluded and quiet Luosi Mountain southwest of Tangdu.
At nine in the morning, led by their teachers, the students rode a bus to the gates of the detoxification center. The gleaming iron gates were tightly shut, guards stood rigidly before them, and a grim high wall topped with electric fencing sent chills down their spines.
After a while, the gates opened, and a police officer came out to welcome them. Following the prearranged plan, after the principal of Tangdu Middle School led the students through the various functional areas of the detoxification center, they gathered in the outdoor activity yard to watch the drug rehabilitation detainees speak about their own experiences.
At nine thirty, the outdoor activity yard was ready.
A thin, pale young man in a drug rehabilitation identification uniform walked onto a temporary stage under the guidance of a young police officer. He coughed twice, looked somewhat nervous as he glanced at the teachers and students below, then turned to look at the uniformed officer on his right.
The officer nodded. "You may begin!"
"Respected leaders, students, my name is Hu Pan. I am from Tangdu. Because I repeatedly used drugs, I was sentenced to six months of compulsory isolated drug rehabilitation. Under the patient guidance of the officers, I have resolved to turn over a new leaf and reform myself completely. Here, I am willing to tell you from personal experience the lesson of how I gradually fell into the abyss of drug use. Students, do you want to hear the story of an ambitious young man who experimented with drugs and ended up on a road of no return?"
The students below burst into cheers. "We do! We do!"
"More than ten years ago, my parents ran a small roasted goose shop on West Street in Tangdu. The brine was a secret recipe passed down from our ancestors and one of the Hu Family's main means of making a living. Our family became well-known as wealthy people far and wide because of it. But storms can come without warning. My parents passed away one after another. With the help of our neighbors, I buried them properly and began running the family roasted goose business with my younger sister, Hu Lian. Back then, I worked hard, took my work seriously, and had a quick mind. Business flourished, and I even created my own brand—Hu Brand Roasted Goose. Do you know that if you wanted to eat the goose meat I made, you might have had to queue in a long line outside my shop? Sometimes, by the time your turn came, the goose meat was already sold out.
My younger sister and I were wealthy, happy, and blessed!
Business was so busy that we could hardly keep up. My sister and I were exhausted, and we only took one day off each month. Neither of us complained, because my income kept growing, and we became young people everyone in the West Street neighborhood of Tangdu admired.
Just when my career was reaching its peak, my friends began inviting me every few days to upscale teahouses, dance halls, and entertainment venues. At the time, I had money and felt honored in front of them. I paid for all the food, drinks, and fun. I learned how to indulge myself and became lazy as well.
My younger sister noticed the change in me. In tears, she tried earnestly to persuade me not to associate with those shady people who meant me no good. But I did not care. I believed that since I had money, it was only natural for me to enjoy myself freely.
Yet among those shady friends, they had targeted me precisely because I had money and valued brotherhood. In entertainment venues, they tempted and egged me on to pursue fashionable things. Unable to resist temptation and driven by curiosity, I followed them in and out of all kinds of cheap, vulgar song-and-dance venues. I could not pull myself free and became unable to live without those so-called fashionable things—smoking water pipes and heating drugs to inhale them.
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