Sunlight streamed into the room, falling across Lin Peisheng's face and dividing it evenly between light and shadow.
Lin Peisheng, who never smoked, had lit a cigarette despite himself.
On the worn-out sofa beside him, Feng Keqing spoke with a broad, ingratiating smile. "Life is hard in a place like ours. If you want to get things done, you need money—but if you want money, you need something to work with. If people like us want to rise above the rest, to become somebody, we can only take the road less traveled.
As the saying goes, make the best use of people's talents, make the best use of things—and make the best use of the land's advantages. Bolamula is a fine place. It has coal mines, gold mines, and Tibetan antelopes. I once killed a pack of wolves and strung their teeth into a necklace...
I knew about the first time Wang Yan went into the mountains and killed four men. After that, he killed more and more fiercely every time he went in. Then he caused such a huge commotion, fighting his way out after dozens of people surrounded him. There was no way I could fail to notice.
Back then, I told them not to provoke the mountain patrol and go looking for death. If they got caught, they weren't to resist. They were to surrender immediately and accept whatever punishment came. As long as the green hills remain, there'll always be firewood to burn. Isn't that right, County Magistrate Lin?"
Lin Peisheng smoked silently. He neither spoke nor looked at Feng Keqing, his gaze resting only on empty space.
Feng Keqing continued, "Now those people have been caught and sent to our county. County Magistrate Lin, gold panning is illegal, but it isn't a crime. They were