Share
Chapter 10 The Unlikely Brotherhood
The date was 28 July 1976 when the Great Tangshan quake took place. Everyone in Tangshan knew that the magnitude of the earthquake was undoubtedly higher than 8, even though the reported strength of the earthquake that had laid waste to the entire city of Tangshan was a mere 7.8. In mere days, the once-booming metropolis, now turned into a tract of ruins and rubble, had its inhabitants fleeing frantically to open areas for their safety.
Like a stone in the middle of a flowing river, was a small vehicle, standing in the midst of the thronging evacuees rushing to leave the ground zero of the earthquake. It was an NJ130 truck, usually used by local dwellers for the transport of foodstuff, retrofitted with tall railings on the bed on its rear. Parked just at the side of the rubbles, some of the impatient and anxious inhabitants of the city leaped onto the truck bed and jumped over the top of the truck's cab. Some even squeezed through the sides in their haste to run away. Suddenl
Related chapters
Once Upon a Time Chapter 11 The Post-disaster Episode
I placed down my chopsticks and gazed at Mr. Zhang before I turned to the rest of the table and said, "And so we entered Mr. Zhang's office. My father took a seat and said, 'When you once found Nie Xiaojun his first work at the carriage station, there was something that you did not know, Zhang! Did you know that he had a colleague who also had a bumpy life?' " 'Oh? There's such a lad?' Mr. Zhang asked Nie Xiaojun pointedly. Nie Xiaojun nodded and replied, 'Yeah. A lost boy; about six to seven years old. He's the Yang Xiaoshan we know today!' "My father added sharply, 'And what a terrible life he's had! He lost his father to a sudden sickness when he was barely two. His mother tried to take care of him, but widows were dreadfully stigmatized and ostracized in those days. She then remarried to a Ma Lao'Er (literally the second son of Ma), a son of the Ma Family Ranch. This Ma Lao'Er was a tolerable person but his brother Ma Xiazi (literally Blind Ma) ill-t
Once Upon a Time Chapter 12 Fen's Death
Mr. Zhang broke into a fit of laughter as my father paused. Speaking to everyone at the table, he said, "I thought that since he had gone through so much trouble to help me, I should return the favor as well. But I did not know that instead of asking me for help, Brother Hai had visited me to offer me help! He asked me then, 'There were three of you when you swore an oath to be brothers and sisters. What happened to your youngest...'" Mr. Zhang interrupted himself by taking a sip of wine from his cup before he carried on, "I grew unhappy at the mention of my young sworn sister by Brother Hai and I grumbled, 'Alas... You do not know... I'd not complain that she was callous, but how could she have gone missing all of a sudden? I'd never believed for once that life in the city could be better. When we swore to be siblings, we had vowed to die together despite not sharing common birthdays. But she had never once come back! How could she! Look at Xiaojun! He had ref
Once Upon a Time Chapter 13 Resurrection
My father was still speaking when Mr. Zhang, growing agitated, quipped suddenly, "All of you could not have possibly known how distressed I was when he brought up about the time of my fall! I was drunk when I fell off the building. But the fear had remained until today! This time when I stood on the second floor, my knees also softened like jelly and threatened to buckle! Brother Hai gave me a Taoist robe. He said that it would protect me from any harm if and when I had any contact with Fen's soul. But I had cared not for this; I was worried and perturbed! I promptly asked Brother Hai again, 'Do I need to tie something to myself? A safety harness or a rope maybe?' Instead, Brother Hai just smiled, 'No matter. I'm here with you. You will not be in danger even if you're standing at the top of a 20-storey building!' His carefree demeanor when he uttered the words spoke much of his confidence as if it was merely a walk in the park, yet I could not help feeling anxious!"
Once Upon a Time Chapter 14 Nuptial Preparations
"I sped as quickly as I could in my BMW. My nephew called once every few minutes to hurry me. But I too was extremely anxious myself! When I reached the gates of my brother's house, only to see the ground on the outside of the house littered with shreds of exploded firecrackers. When I got close to his door, there was my brother waiting for me. There was also my younger brother and a few other young boys. There were two huge Xi characters (literally Happiness) hung on both pillars of the entrance of his house. I was puzzled suddenly. "I got down my car and asked my brother, 'Who in our family is getting married?' My younger brother smiled at me slyly and quipped, 'Heh heh heh! Why you, of course!' He had barely finished when my older brother chipped in, 'With both of our parents no longer present, I am your elder. This is a match determined by the will of an elder, he will have to do as I say! Drag him in!' At his command, few of the younger boys manhandled me and t
Once Upon a Time Chapter 15 Xuan'er Shou
For many weekends, Lin Fengjiang had been looking everywhere this Shijia Village, but his search had yielded no result. But there was no wonder to that. The production brigades of the rural areas were being unified into people's commune to handle common geo-political and commercial as well as agricultural functions. His local production brigade had been responsible for five villages, and his village which was part of greater Fengzhuang Township was now also part of the Yahong Bridge People's Commune. He found a town called Shijia Pu (literally Shi Family Town), and discovered no new-born babies there. 1961 was one of the few years in the period where the entire country suffered from a tremendously low birthrate. Sometime after that, Lin Fengjiao was enlisted to join the military special forces. When two daughters still hardly old enough to leave home, Lin Fengchuen's mother could send no one to look for her now-lost friend. Sorely missing her friend, Lin Fengchuen's mother could onl
Once Upon a Time Chapter 16 The Mysteriously Lost Old Man
One day, little Lin Fengquan came to the bank of the river as always. There was this small patch of willow trees near the site where the river project was done. An old man tied a large piece of tarp over the branches of the willow trees and made a makeshift tent. With the leftover stalks of corns left by the farmers, the old man collected a lot of them which he then tied them into bundles and stacked them together as walls of his tent. By the walls, he had propped up items and junks that he had collected. These were not rubbish, but instead items that the old man had bought with his own spare money. There were some toys and trinkets like clay figurine, flutes, molds, glass marbles, tattered shoes, scrap metal pieces, and others. These were items that were thrown away by people in accordance with the national initiative of shunning and renouncing the Four Olds during the Cultural Revolution. After buying these items from others, the old man would classify them into different groups b
Once Upon a Time Chapter 17 The Belligerent Reunion
The man was none other than Yang Baoshan, the one who had pulled the trigger of his gun and killed "Xuan'er Shou!" It was a face that Lin Fengquan would never forget, for the years of being bedevilled by the memories and nightmares of the incident on that fateful day when "Xuan'er Shou" was robbed from him had deeply etched the image of this very face into his mind! Despite having aged and mellowed after 18 long years, Lin Fengquan would never fail to recognize Yang Baoshan! He leaped from the top of the mound and attacked Yang Baoshan, throwing a feint with his left leg and kicked with his right! In the air, he twisted his body and drew back his left leg so that he could exert more force into his right leg! This was a move known as the Twin Kicks! Yang Baoshan was thrown backward, landing hard into another gravestone just behind and tumbled over it. Lin Fengquan rushed forward and planted a foot on his chest. Due to his boiling rage, he could feel himself trembl
Once Upon a Time Chapter 18 The Cruel Stroke of Fate
Lin Fengquan was stunned. But this was also the first time the young man saw the jade pendant for he asked the young woman, "What's that?" The woman replied, "Oh? This? My mum made a vow that I would one day marry the man who wears another half of this pendant. What a joke! I do not even know who that is!" Feeling humiliated, Lin Fengquan felt sorry for his mother who had truly kept to the very same vow all these years. He felt sad for her and thought, "Look, Mother! For all these years you have been faithful to the sisterhood you shared with that woman! But it seemed everything is nothing but a joke to them!" At a sudden loss of what to do next, he hesitated and left. Back at his hostel, Lin Fengquan began pondering on what to do next for the next few days. Since his childhood, his mother had mentioned to him of the engagement. But it seemed that there was no need for him to honor this vow. Still, he could think of no way to deliver the news t
Latest chapter
- Once Upon a Time Chapter 360 The End
- Once Upon a Time Chapter 359: The Ancient Well
- Once Upon a Time Chapter 358 - The disappearance of the village man.
- Once Upon a Time Chapter 357 - A joyous occasion turns into a funeral event.
- Once Upon a Time Chapter 356: Buying a House
- Once Upon a Time Chapter 355.
- Once Upon a Time Chapter 354 - The Scourge of the Ten Thousand Families
- Once Upon a Time Chapter 353 - The Shadow Walker
- Once Upon a Time Chapter 352: The Cargo Man
