Tie Ning's latest novel Ben Hua Village focuses on
rural China. Her style reflects a special wit and humour of Chinese
farmers in a subtle way. Following is an excerpt from the beginning
of the novel:
When the animals are gone, a trader comes on to the empty
street, trading Chinese onions for the villagers' chicken eggs.
On a small cart are two bundles of thick Chinese onions with a
basket for eggs hanging on the cart handle. While stroking the
heads and leaves of the Chinese onions, they [the traders] chant
elegantly: "Chicken egg for Chinese onion."
People who want to exchange eggs for Chinese onions come out,
most are women in charge of their families. The women hold eggs in
the palm, the eggs appearing very white at dusk, the women, on the
contrary, are blurred.
They hand the eggs to the onion seller, who weighs the eggs
scrupulously before putting them gingerly into the basket. One egg
can exchange for three to five Chinese onions of different
sizes.
With onion in hand, the women don't leave immediately they are
still eyeing the cart. They want to pick one or two leaves from the
cart as a "bonus."
The Chinese onion-seller tries to push them away: "Don't do
that." The onion-buyers are having a hard time, so are the
onion-sellers.
But the women still manage to evade the onion-seller's hands and
get a few leaves.
Grabbing the "bonus" leaves, they walk home satisfied. Taking a
bite on the "bonus" leaves, they chew deliciously, the smell of
Chinese onion immediately gushing out of their mouths.
When exchanging eggs for Chinese onion, the women take it for
granted to pick a few onion leaves.
(China Daily November 15, 2006)
