The Absurd Drama in the Tape Recorder

In those days, absurd things were like chives, sprouting again after being cut.

So, Li Ergou, the son of Old Li's family in the east of the village, got engaged to Wang Cuihua from the neighboring village. The betrothal gifts were given, the banquet was held, and they were just short of getting the marriage certificate and entering the bridal chamber. But what happened? Guess what? Wang Cuihua sued Li Ergou for rape!

This incident caused a stir in the surrounding villages. After tea and meals, everyone gossiped. Some said that Wang Cuihua was not a fuel-efficient lamp and might be trying to blackmail the Li family; others said that Li Ergou always looked shifty and didn't look like a good person.

The clerk at the government office stroked his beard and looked worried. In these days, it's hard to judge cases! It's difficult for an upright official to settle family disputes, let alone this one involving the affairs between men and women.

The key evidence was a recording.

That day, I happened to be wandering around the county town. Passing by the courthouse, I heard a commotion inside. I, being a person who naturally loves excitement, squeezed in to take a look.

In the court, a dark tape recorder was placed in the center, like a silent monster.

"Play!" The clerk ordered, and the tape recorder started to whir.

First, there was a burst of noise, like something falling or breaking. Then, there was a woman's cry, intermittent and unclear.

"You... don't come over..."

"Ergou... you... what are you doing..."

"No... don't..."

Then, there was a man's voice, rude, overbearing, with a beast-like panting.

"You damn... I... gave the betrothal gifts... what are you pretending to be noble for..."

"Sooner or later you're mine... you... why are you still being coy..."

The recording stopped abruptly.

The court was silent.

I looked at the dark tape recorder, feeling a pang of distress. This thing recorded not only sounds, but also the absurdity of the world and the distortion of human hearts.

Li Ergou lowered his head, like a defeated rooster. Wang Cuihua covered her face and cried with tears streaming down her face.

The clerk knocked the gavel and asked Li Ergou, "Do you have anything else to say?"

Li Ergou raised his head, his eyes empty, like a puppet that had lost its soul: "I... I thought... engagement... is... is being family..."

This statement was truly laughable. Engagement is being family? Then what's the use of the law? What's the use of morality?

I suddenly remembered a story I heard from the elders when I was a child. It was said that there was a rich man who took a fancy to a poor girl and wanted to force her to marry him. And the result? He was castrated by the girl with a pair of scissors.

This matter, if it happened now, would probably be called "excessive self-defense," right?

I sighed and walked out of the courthouse.

The sunlight outside was very dazzling, making it hard to open my eyes. I looked up at the sky, which was gray, like a huge curtain, covering all the absurdity and helplessness of the world.

This world is truly incomprehensible.

I lit a cigarette and took a deep drag. The pungent smoke made me cough. I suddenly remembered my deceased father. If he were alive and saw this, he would probably be cursing again.

"Damn it, what kind of world is this!"

I think the sound in this tape recorder will probably reverberate in this world for a long, long time, like alarm bells, striking people's numb nerves. I just don't know if these alarm bells can awaken those sleeping souls.