Two days passed by in a flash and just one day was left before Shoucheng had to leave Hanzai village. The sounds of the ploughs turning the soil echoed in the fields as the villagers groaned and burned under the hot sun. Ever since the day he stamped his fate to become a eunuch, Shoucheng had been working harder in the fields, so as to try to not leave a heavy workload on his parents and siblings. He had finished ploughing almost half of the land and combined with his father’s work, just a little more and they would be done. After that, his father would need to level the soil and mix in the manure before the soil will be ready for planting. 

Shoucheng sighed as he thought of the work he would leave behind on his father and sibling’s shoulders. He wiped his sweat with the ragged cloth hanging round his neck and shifted the position of his straw hat before he continued ploughing the fields. Once the sun turned orange and only half of it could be seen did the villagers finally stop working. In a group they walked back to the village all while singing and humming their rhyme.

“In the summers, Hanzai village burns, 

In the winters, Hanzai village freezes, 

No one to help the poor villagers,

In this life, Hanzai village dies~” 

Their loud voices echoed through the barren lands and reached the ears of the villagers in the village. Upon seeing their figures, a couple of them hurriedly beckoned them to move faster. Confused, the farmers stopped singing and quickened their pace to see what all the commotion was about.

A crowd of villagers were making their way towards the center of the village. A couple of the villagers were already seated round a largeblack pot whispering and chatting among themselves. The farmers made their way to their family members to ask them what was going on. Hao Shoucheng and Hao Zhu Lin had already located Fengmeng and the little children. They were sitting close to the pot making it easier to see them. 

Hao Fengmeng gave a small smile upon seeing her husband and son. They didn’t have time to wash up so traces of soil and mud could be seen on their faces, arms, legs and hair. Fengmeng beckoned them over and made space for them to sit on the hard, sandy ground covered with a thin piece of clothing. Hao Er, Hao San and Hao Si were playing a few steps away from their mother and didn’t dare to wander far. 

Once they were seated, Hao Fengmeng began explaining, “For some reason the Chief asked us all to gather. A few villagers brought that pot over and threw in some ingredients, all said to be from her resources.” 

Hao Shoucheng tilted his head as he pondered on the reason behind the Chief’s actions. He looked around searching for her and finally spotted her walking from between groups of families and heading towards the black pot. Soon, everyone noticed and gave her their full attention. The Chief was a woman, whose name was Zhou Jufeng and was 39 years of age. She was tough and mentally and physically strong. But years of hard work and pressure had caught up to her, giving her streaks of white hair which were tied up in a ribbon and tossed over her shoulder and crow's feet near her eyes. Her light black eyes were pulled together and her lips pulled down into a frown, making the large scar running down her left cheek which didn’t stop until the end of her throat look all the more imposing. 

“My dear villagers, I will not beat around the bush and get straight to the point. Two days prior we had two officers from the capital in our village. They spoke frivolous words and promised great rewards all at one price, to send your son to become a eunuch or your daughter to become a maid.” She paused as the villagers were now silent, no doubt recounting the events that unfolded that day. Fengmeng tensed when she heard the Chief’s words and leaned to her husband’s comforting presence. 

“You may have also noticed one thing being slightly different than the normal procedures carried out when one signs up to be a servant. It is the son or daughter, only, who has to stamp their fingerprint onto the scroll yet the instructions included both the father and mother’s stamp.” 

“The times right now are hard and will continue this way as we have long realised that the Emperor doesn’t have time to concern himself with a small village like ours. The hopelessness and dread must have caught up to most of you as you have sent your children to work in the imperial palace knowing fully well the danger it brings. I do not blame you but I still cannot seem to fathom how you would be able to send your children away even after all what happened before and right now.” Zhou Jufeng’s voice grew solemn with unhidden shock and grief. 

“We can’t go back on our decisions. It’s been two days since their last visit and they will arrive once again tomorrow, like grim reapers to take our children away. I do not want to say much in this matter. All I ask is for tonight to be an occasion of happiness. For everyone to bond and eat and drink to their fullest as 40 of our people will be gone tomorrow leaving only 36 of us.” 

Tears streamed down the faces of most of the villagers as they hid behind their palms. The Hao family also cried as they huddled together, reality slowly dawning upon them. Sadness and grief etched on their faces as they cried in sorrow. The only things that could be heard were sobs and words of apologies. 

“Now, everyone stop crying. We have only tonight left so let’s cherish the moment and make memories.” Zhou Jufeng’s voice softened once she saw her people’s sadness. A sense of disappointment settled in her heart at herself for not working hard enough to ensure good lives for her people. Only God knows how baffled she was when the officer ‘secretly’ told her the number of people enlisted to become servants before leaving Hanzai village as they didn’t want to stay there. 

The villagers wiped away their tears before smiling at their Chief who stared at them with a soft gaze. The Hao family separated and sat close to each other as they looked at the burning firewood and the black steaming pot in front of them. No one said anything for a while as wisps of red flakes flew away from the wood and disappeared into the night. Suddenly, Fengmeng chuckled and wiped her tears making everyone look at her in confusion. 

“For some reason a sudden memory popped up into my mind out of nowhere.” With curious eyes her husband and children urged her to continue making her laugh again. 

“There was a time when your father was still young and we hadn’t gotten married yet. During one evening, he sneaked out of his house to come and see me. But before he could reach my window, the dogs started barking. At that moment I was scared and feared for him as soon I could hear my parents going outside and shouting along the way. We had two dogs, one male and one female. The female one ran away from the house the moment she saw your father while the male one kept on barking but made no move to bite him.” Hao Zhu Lin started laughing along with Fengmeng as the sudden memory also appeared in his mind. 

“Once he saw my parents coming out, he suddenly ran to the small shed we made for the dogs. It was narrow and shaggy and even our dogs barely slept there. He entered inside and hid while my parents were busy shouting for our dogs. They grew worried once they didn’t hear A-Deng, our female dog and were about to call the other villagers for help. Then your father did something I never expected him to do.”

“He whined and made pitiful noises like a sad puppy and my parents immediately went to the shed. I remember cursing and pulling my hair out in fear before my mother suddenly said, “A-Deng’s pregnant!” I felt a ‘dong’ in my head and saw my parents excitedly return back home while patting A-Ding, our male dog while congratulating him. Thankfully, in a flurry they forgot to take a candle with them otherwise they would have realised that their A-Deng was actually a 24 year old man.” Soft chuckles rang out from the Hao family as slowly forgotten memories began to resurface. They talked and laughed and huddled close while staring at the bubbling pot. Soon other families sat along with them and conversed, creating a light-hearted atmosphere among the villagers. 

The Chief sighed as she looked at her people while checking on the fragrant porridge mixed with pieces of chicken. Once she opened the lid, the scent wafted out making everyone stop in their tracks and sniff with saliva pooling in their mouths. A few helpers brought enough bowls from their houses and began scooping up spoonful's of porridge. One by one the delicious meal was passed to the villagers who waited until everyone got their share. 

Once the last bowl made its way to the last villager, everyone started slurping their porridge, though they did try to eat a little more elegantly by making less noise. Conversations soon started again, this time about the magnificent black pot which was surprisingly able to feed all 76 villagers. Some even kowtowed in thanks to the huge pot making everyone else burst out in laughter while jokingly following their actions.  

Their festivities continued till dawn, they sang and danced around the burning fire, the esteemed pot had already been bathed and put to rest by that time. Seeing the sun rise made people stop as their hearts felt heavy. Then, a melodious voice started singing the well-known hymn, and soon others followed. 

“In the summers, Hanzai village burns, 

In the winters, Hanzai village freezes, 

No one to help the poor villagers,

In this life, Hanzai village dies~” 

The Chief’s voice echoed in the villagers' hearts as with tears streaming down their faces, they sang out loud almost like the song was a patriotic anthem. Sobs echoed alongside the heavy tune as families hugged their children tightly as if in their mind a hug would protect them from the world. What’s done is done, nothing could change their actions now, not even regret and sadness. 

Once the sun was high in the sky, lighting up the tear-filled faces of the villagers and the ashes of the previous night’s happiness flew away along with a breeze, like a bitter pill, the villagers were forced to let their children go and live with the eternal regret and fear of never seeing them again. 

Seeing the bright yellow-orange ball high in the sky, the children for a moment, thought of running away. But thinking of the fact that their parents, brothers and sisters may die because of their actions, they stood strong with tears glistening in their eyes. The fear was suffocating and the ‘I don’t want to’ hug heavily in their minds. They too were forced to live in regret at their or their family’s momentarily action of greed and fear for their mortal lives. 

The sounds of horse hooves clicking and running through the fields were loud and clear this time to everyone. They grew closer and closer until they stopped in front of all the villagers. The Chief stood in front of them and glared at the two officers leading the others behind them. The grim reapers had come to take their children away and there was nothing they could do.  

Trivia: 

• Crows feet-Wrinkles 
• Hanzai Village has a total population of 76 people.