"Mmm-"
The moment Gabriel stepped into the house, a wave of warm air washed over his face.
The warmth melted the snow on his shoulders and drove the chill from his body, making Gabriel let out a groan of pleasure.
"Well?"
Seeing Gabriel's reaction, Kanel raised his chin smugly, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly as he asked:
"This air conditioner I imported from the United States for three million North African francs really is something else, isn't it?"
Three million North African francs!?
"Hiss..."
Hearing that figure, Gabriel sucked in a sharp breath, inwardly stunned.
"Hahaha!"
Gabriel's provincial reaction gave Kanel all the emotional gratification he could want, and the corners of his mouth nearly stretched to the back of his head.
Then,
Gabriel came back to his senses. Hearing the trace of mockery in Kanel's laughter, he did not dare get angry and hurriedly said instead:
"As expected of Sir Kanel-what a lavish spender! I doubt even President Sankara enjoys luxuries like this!"
At the end, he did not forget to belittle Sankara.
"I had to pull strings with my connections in the United States and go to a great deal of trouble to buy this! As for that dog Sankara, hah-even if he wanted one, he wouldn't qualify!"
Kanel spoke with great smugness.
Neither of them could go more than a few sentences without mentioning Sankara.
It seemed that only this could prove they really were better than Sankara, vent their anger toward him, and barely satisfy their hollow, rotten hearts.
"Absolutely. In our Republic of Burkina, only our Sir Kanel has the means to get hold of something this good!"
Gabriel hurriedly chimed in.
Just then, several equally fat men with fleshy faces and big ears came out of an inner room.
"The moment we heard voices outside, we knew Sir Kanel was back!"
"It's been so long, yet Sir Kanel is still as imposing as ever!"
"Sir Kanel, you're finally back! Let's hurry up and discuss what to do!"
"So none of you managed to see that brat Sankara?"
Hearing that Sankara had turned them all away, Kanel instantly felt much better, no longer as upset and angry as before.
"If even you couldn't see Sankara, Sir Kanel, what chance did we have?"
"Never mind Sankara-we couldn't even see that minister of agriculture who only took office a little while ago!"
"They're simply insulting us! Whatever else, we're men of standing, yet they just sent some official to fob us off!"
"How is Sankara spanking our bottoms? He's clearly slapping you in the face, Sir Kanel!"
The landlords sitting around Kanel spoke over one another, vying to get their words in, as though they had finally seized a chance to air their grievances.
Only after the other landlords had finished did Gabriel, who sat closest to Kanel, sigh and say:
"Ah... In the past, when we sold cotton to French merchants, we could get at least two hundred and forty thousand North African francs per ton.
"Now the Ministry of Agriculture issues a single document, and we're no longer allowed to sell cotton to French merchants? Where in the world is there any sense in that!
"Fine, forbid us from selling it, then. It would be all right if the government were willing to pay to buy it. But the Ministry of Agriculture's officials actually said they would only offer two hundred thousand North African francs per ton of cotton. Isn't that asking for our lives?
"Our lives aren't worth much, but you're different, Sir Kanel! In our country, you're the only one who's made a name for himself growing cotton!
"Just think, if they really do this, how much money will you lose for nothing every year? They're carving flesh off you with a knife!
"Most importantly, I'm afraid you'll never again be able to afford to buy or run an air conditioner as expensive as this three-million-franc one. How cold will the dead of winter be then!"
Every sentence Gabriel spoke seemed to be for Kanel's sake, but in fact, every sentence fanned the flames. He hoped Kanel would be the bird that stuck its head out and charge to the very front of the confrontation with Sankara.
In his youth, Kanel would certainly have recognized that.
But now Kanel was over fifty, as fat as a pig, his brain so rotten it was ready to ooze pus, and he failed to recognize it at all.
Bang!
After hearing Gabriel's words, Kanel was provoked into going red in the face.
Furious beyond measure, he slammed his fist directly onto his chair's armrest with a tremendous bang, even leaving a crack in it.
Then the room filled with the foul stench familiar to Gabriel:
"Only two hundred thousand North African francs for a ton of cotton? Why doesn't Sankara just go rob someone! That damned bastard! At his rate, wouldn't I lose, uh... every year for nothing?"
"Two point seven billion North African francs!"
Someone beside him hurriedly supplied the number.
"What? I'd lose two point seven billion North African francs every year for nothing!?"
Kanel froze for a moment, then grew even angrier, spittle flying as he said:
"I toil all year long just to earn a little hard-earned money, and that brat Sankara thinks he can take two point seven billion North African francs from me just by opening his mouth? Fuck him!"
"That's why we have to hurry up and find a way to fight back!"
Someone else beside him seized the opening to interject.
"Exactly! We have to fight back. I'll make sure that brat Sankara understands that my money isn't so easy to steal!"
Kanel nodded, voicing his wholehearted agreement.
"The point is, if you don't fight back, you'll be robbed of two point seven billion North African francs every single year!"
Seeing that anger had already clouded Kanel's mind-or perhaps he had never had much of a mind to begin with-Gabriel immediately poured one last bucket of oil onto the fire.
"!?"
Kanel froze instantly, then flew into an utter rage:
"What? They're going to rob me of two point seven billion North African francs every single year!!?"
At the entrance to Nayafaso Village.
"Master, will we keep growing cotton next year?"
An old man, whose clothes were slightly more presentable but whose body remained stooped, opened the car door for Gabriel and asked in a humble tone.
"..."
Gabriel turned to look at Nayafaso Village. Only after a long silence did he speak:
"We'll see! If that fellow Kanel really can make Sankara, this newly inaugurated president, withdraw the policy he's already issued, then we'll keep growing cotton.
"If Kanel can't manage that, we'll start growing grain next year.
"The government said in the document it issued that the purchase price for grain is two hundred and ten thousand North African francs per ton, and there are subsidies too! All told, it'll earn more than growing cotton!"
After Gabriel got into the car, he seemed to remember something else and muttered to himself:
"Perhaps I should also sell some land to the government, just in case... Forget it. I'll wait to see how things turn out on Kanel's end before deciding!"