My head jerked back to look for the origin of the voice and found an unruly brat, clutching a plastic toy rifle in his arms, running towards us. My third aunt was chasing after him from behind, gasping for breath. “I’m breathless just by chasing this rascal!” She managed through her infrequent pants. Seeing us, she came to us and greeted us. “You have graduated, have you, Shiyan?” She asked. “I have. In fact, the three of us here have started our own paranormal investigative firm. We specialized in looking into supernatural incidents and some counseling too. But we have hit a snag; hence we’re here today. I heard that Third Uncle knows a man who commands certain authority even over deities and immortals. There were rumors that he could even move mountains and shift the oceans!” My third uncle guffawed hilariously. “What is this you’re talking about? From where do I find somebody with such powers!” The boy scurried over and leaped into the arms of Third Uncle. His eyes were unabashedly set upon the fruit basket we had brought there. I tore opened the wrappings of the fruit basket and asked him which of the fruits he was interested in. Feeling encouraged, he stooped down and began holding every fruit and looked interestedly at them as my third aunt scowled with exasperation. “Look at this rascal!” She reached for the fruit basket, muttering, “Let’s see what fruits you bring us, and you impudent rascal, have you no manners?” She held the basket in her hand and moved indoors with the little boy trotting after her.

Third Uncle nipped at his tea as he shifted in his seat, his interest aroused by our mention of the “powerful man he once knew”. “Now that you have reminded me of him… we met long ago when I was sent to the countryside during the government’s Down to the Countryside Movement that time! I was such a young fool then! A proud young man, fresh and ambitious, eager to serve the Party and country! I answered the Party’s call for educated young men which they wanted to send for agricultural re-education! It was important that we continually seek progress, as I was once taught; hence I filled in a form to take part! It was a huge affair that we were sent off in trains with great fanfare as if we were triumphant soldiers going to war! But little did we, the prideful and eager young men, know that great trials and sufferings awaited us at the farming villages! Oh the hot and steaming wheaten pastries which had scorched my throat when I ate them! There were no tools and machines that we could use to harvest the wheat; so we have to reap the crops with our bare hands! Under the sweltering heat of the sun, bare-backed young men pulled and yanked at the already-ripened crops as our backs and muscles screamed with pain at the sore and weariness we felt! Some of the young men were already crying out loud with agony as we worked the fields. But at least, sometime later, we were delivered from our pain, with the timely appearance of that powerful man!”

He took another swig off his cup and began recounting his story, his face livid with emotions. “He was one of the older seniors. Before the liberation of the country, during the Sino-Japanese War, he was serving as a spy in Tianjin, when in truth, he was supplying intelligence to the guerrilla forces. During an information drop, his identity was discovered. But fortunately he was rendezvoused with another agent sent forth by the guerrilla forces to recover him and they slipped out of Tianjin, after which he began serving directly for the anti-Japanese forces. During the Pingjin Campaign, on the assault of Tianjin, he was assigned to Deng Hua’s staff at the front lines due to his extensive knowledge of the terrain around Tianjin and the city’s layout. His prowess with gathering intelligence was truly appreciated then and was earmarked for his potential, which then won him a place among the army which was then dispatched to fight in the Korean War against American forces.

He survived the war and returned to work at the government’s Department of Materials. But things began to take a dreadful turn for him. At the government agency for materials that he was working at, he was surrounded by many former post-war veterans who were also discharged from the army following the end of the war. The offices and corridors of the department became a watering hole where former soldiers would share war-time stories and tales of triumph among one another as well as juniors. Despite having forged legends of his own during the war when he was working behind enemy lines, he had always deigned to reveal them to others. Instead, out of his eagerness to stand out from the rest of the old warhorses, he would babble to anyone who foolishly displayed the patience to listen to him his tale of his encounter with a deity during his work as an undercover! Sadly, his tales earned him not only scorn and disdain, but he was also being branded as an alleged ‘rightist’ and was nearly being prosecuted during the purge of the Anti-Rightist Campaign that swept the country. But he survived the ordeal. Apparently, the Party felt that his gibberish, although heretical, did no damage to the Party. Dismissing his absurd tales as mere nonsense, the Party sentenced him to forced reformation through labor (laogai) at his home town. Then again, no one knew, what should have been an arduous punishment for him, had, in fact, turned out to be a blessing in disguise!

Due to his past occupation at the Department of Materials, he was close to various officials of minor materials bureaus around the country. Returning to his hometown, he reached out to the local materials bureau and requisitioned for fertilizers, pesticides and various farm-use consumables. This made him a very popular person among the farmers in his home town. Through his contacts, he had even bought over the machinery and apparatuses of a run-down factory which he then refurbished with the help of another expert he sought help from and started a new manufacturing plant in his hometown, specialized in producing large and strong springs commonly used for lorries and trucks. His entrance into the fold of the manufacturing scene could have not been more readily welcomed by the government, who then practically received him with opened arms due to the limited production of state-owned factories. To increase the volume of his production, his products were further processed by a few other third-party machining plants elsewhere; hence gradually, his factories began growing in production output, outstripping even that of state-own factories. In those days, these large springs were sold at more than 70 yuan apiece; the same as the salary of a Level-6 worker in the city!

He would continue building more factories, eventually becoming the de facto leader of the local production brigade. Many, if not most, of the brigades’ affairs required his consent and support as well as input. Even to this day, his village was still being awarded at least several million in contracts every year due to the production output of his factories that had maintained efficiently! All of us, the educated young men, were sent to different factories to work as manual labor. This was no different from the work done by laborers in the city! But we were well-compensated. Working as a maintenance fitter, I received 80 yuan and 10 work points every month. I even received a bonus at the end of the year! It was a job that many would even kill for! Our benefits were even better than Level-8 workers in the city! Word of the favorable work compensation began to travel, and many educated young men in the vicinity would try all ways, be it begging, exchanging favors or even pulling strings, just to get themselves re-assigned here. Some even got married to some other colleagues of the local production brigades to clean their slate and remain here.

But his good fortune hardly reached its end. In just two or three years into his service with the local production brigade, he suddenly received a pardon and was reassigned back to his former post. Although the Cultural Revolution was far from over, he received a pardon for his past transgressions. This was because the agent who had evacuated him from Tianjin during the Sino-Japanese War was also wrongly imprisoned. Unable to locate his handler who could testify to his accomplishments for the nation and country, he was arrested and his statement taken. In his testimony, he had mentioned of another fellow spy which he had rescued under orders of the Party. Together they escaped Tianjin to safety and they were once reunited, meeting each other by chance at the Department of Materials! The investigation unit went to the Department of Materials to ascertain his claims and verified the agents’ claims, effectively proving their contributions and sacrifices during the wars. This was also helped by the pressure piled upon the investigative units by their former subordinates who now held important and influential posts within the new Communist government apparatus. With his name cleared, he was invited back to his former post. Years later when he was honorably retired, the local production brigade of his hometown, in remembrance of his aid and services to the village and its development, build him a house and employed a caretaker to look after him. It was a token of appreciation for him and even to this day, he was still regularly consulted whenever the village council needed further input on major decisions. But he left the house they had given him to his son, and he returned to his old home.”

“Oh God!” I blurted suddenly. “The old man would have been what? More than a hundred years old? Is he still here? He is still alive, I hope!”

“Of course he is,” said Third Uncle, his hands waving me off like a fly as if I had spoken something offensive. “There was a meeting of former youths who had once taken part in the agricultural re-education program; an alumni meeting of sorts. There were some of those who had chosen to remain in the countryside after getting married there. A few of them had spoken about the old man, saying that he still looks healthy and energetic! But for the past two years, he has chosen to remain indoors, rarely coming out.” “Can you bring us to meet with this old man, Third Uncle?” I asked quickly. “Now that you mentioned him… It’s been a long time since I last saw him… I’d love to go meet him!” Third Uncle replied jovially. I would have been a fool to not notice the momentum of the conversation swaying to our favor for me to strike while the iron was still hot. I prodded, “When would you be free, Uncle? We’ll drive you there!” “Any time would be fine,” said Third Uncle, beaming happily. “I’m always free after my retirement! Hahaha…” He was always a straight and forthcoming person. “How does tomorrow suit you?” I pressed. “Tomorrow will be fine!” Third Uncle said, nodding. “So be it then! We’ll come for you at eight in the morning tomorrow, Uncle!”

Once we had returned from my Third Uncle’s, I immediately placed a call to my parents, informing them that my friends and I would be paying a visit to the countryside. For this very purpose, Lin Feng had driven the car out to have its tank filled to the brim before he, too, made a call to his parents and informed them of the same. Yuan Chongxi too did not remain idle. He readied himself and we prepared another fruit basket, two bottles of wine and a flask of tea leaves as presents for the old man. The next morning, we went to my Third Uncle’s and with his guidance, we went deeper into the mountains, heading for the depths of the backcountry. The elevated road winding around the mountains were narrow and serpentine, like a huge snake that weaved and looped around the midriffs of the mountains that loomed over it like guardian giants, but it was smooth, considering we were so far from the modern civilization of the city, being paved of cement rather than asphalt. The dense and green wilderness passed our car windows like a piece of scenery from a painting. Winding down our windows, the cool, moist air shot into the cabin, reinvigorating us and relieving us the sores and weariness of crawling so early out of bed as our journey to the outback continued. Moved by the nostalgic scenes and feels, Third Uncle began humming to a tune of a song of the bygone era; a song called “Guang Kuo Tian Di Lian Hong Xin (loosely translated as ‘The Ardent Pursuit of Finesse on the Wide Fields of Limitless Potential’) which wistful rhythms invoked his memories of traveling into the countryside decades ago! What a truly melancholic reflection and sentiment that none of our age could possibly appreciate!

At length, our journey came to a pause when we reached the village and stopped to ask for the old man’s present residence. With our way pointed to us by a helpful villager, we came to the house and stood by the gate. We pressed a doorbell by the gate and waited. Moments later, a caretaker came out of the house and unlocked a wicket-gate in the large gates outside the compound. He came out and spoke to us and we related to him of our intentions to visit. The caretaker then returned and opened the large gates to let us drive in. The caretaker locked the huge gates behind us and led us into the courtyard of the residence. The residence was a large house with many separate chambers; After passing through the first hall, we came to a passage where there were rich bushes of Mexican roses blooming handsomely on our flanks and there were two separate chambers to both of our sides. The passage would continue down, leading us into a second hall before we reach the rear courtyard. Still, to call it a courtyard would be a mere understatement; a huge pergola towered over our heads with bunches of unripe grapes hanging from their vines that coiled and slithered along the eaves of the overhead lattice. We continued through the garden and found vines of luffas that curled and convoluted over another pergola. Further ahead, we reached a rock garden with two separate paths winding around it before we reach a pond filled with flowering lotuses! This was hardly a residence! It’s a manor or even a small palace at best! After the pond, there was a small flight of steps and railings at the edge of the pond for people to fish, and there was also a cozy gazebo which was backdropped by a blob of fruit trees. Hardly familiar with fruits and vegetables, I could not recognize what trees they were, but I could make out the orb-like fruits growing on the boughs of the trees. There was a stone table in the gazebo, with a teapot and some teacups laid ready. An old man was sitting quietly there, sipping at his tea. “Master Xuan!” Third Uncle walked with long, brisk strides, his anxiousness not longer bridled as he saw the old man and called out loudly. His voice reached the old man, whose head raised and looked at us. Surprised, he stood up with a dexterity that belied his age. “Young Heng! Hahaha…” He called. He took Third Uncle’s hand and gripped it warmly, shaking it. Third Uncle’s name was Zhang Yuheng. Due to the difference in their age, the old man affectionately addressed him as “Young Heng” while Third Uncle called him “Master Xuan”, although the old man’s full name was Chen Yixuan. In the dialects of the locals, “Master” could either refer to a senior; and it could also refer to an old folk of a more elder standing. But the manner in which Third Uncle had addressed him with clearly indicated the former.

They spoke for a while, sharing a few words of greetings after not meeting for quite some time. When they had finished, Third Uncle gestured to us. “This is my nephew, Shiyan!” He introduced. “These are his friends, Lin Feng and (Yuan) Chongxi.” But the old man’s arm rose suddenly, his finger pointing straight at me as he burst into laughter! “Shiyan! Hahaha! Shiyan! Hahahaha!” He howled happily, his body rocking back and forth, much to our dubious and bewildered amazement!