A century of poverty

Chapter 16 Encroachment on Land and Occupation

Mr. Zhang Zhenru is seventy-nine years old this year. His hair is gray, but he is still very healthy. Every morning, he gets up early, carries a manure basket on his back, goes out of his house and walks around the village, dumps the collected manure on his own field on the right bank of the North Avenue ditch, and then goes home to have breakfast.

Today, as usual, he entered the field from the east end, came down from the west end, and walked south to reach home. The fields in winter were clearly visible, but when he reached the boundary stone, he sensed something was wrong. Each family's crops were different, and it was easy to tell whose plot was which at a glance. Why did his own plot seem so narrow? He looked closely and realized: the boundary stone had been moved in half a row into his field. This plot had long rows, each row about an acre, so half a row was a little over an acre. This five-acre plot had been encroached upon by more than an acre. Who had done this?

After having dinner at home, he went to the house of Zhao Chang in his neighboring village, Zhao Zhuangtuo. As soon as he entered, Zhao Chang greeted him, "Seventh Uncle is here!" The old man replied, "Yes, I'm here."

He cut to the chase: "Zhao Chang, did you move the boundary stones on our land?"

"No!" Zhao Chang replied.

"Then why don't you come with me to the field and take a look?" the old man suggested.

Zhao Chang: "Let's go." The two chatted as they walked. Zhao Chang said, "I borrowed money from the singer of Shimen Changziyin. The interest compounded, and I couldn't pay it back. He used this piece of land of mine to pay off the debt."

Oh, no wonder the boundary stone moved. It was Chang Ziyin who did it. He's been living next to Zhao Chang for so many years and there's never been a problem. The old man thought to himself, it must have been that heartless Chang Ziyin who did it.

Chang Ziyin was a notorious bully in the area. He bullied the villagers because of his wealth and power. No one could escape his humiliation, and some people, unable to afford to offend him, dared not take back the land he had seized for their own safety.

The two arrived at the boundary stone, and sure enough, they were not in the same place as before, but had entered a half-ridge in Zhang Zhenru's field.

Zhang Zhenru asked Zhao Chang, "If I don't suffer this loss, would you dare to testify for me?"

Zhao Chang: "Dare!"

Old man: "Do you mean what you say?"

Zhao Chang: "You keep your word."

The old man arrived at the stone gate and chanted aloud, "Knock! Knock! Knock!"

"Who is it?" The door creaked open, and the one who opened it was Chang Ziyin's follower, "Chang the Black Hand." He was in his early twenties, of medium height, dressed in casual clothes, his shirt open, with a belt around his waist. He tilted his head, squinted, and sized up the newcomer.

"Is Master Chang home?" the old man asked.

"No, may I ask who you are? What business do you have with my master?"

"I'm from Zhangzhuangtuo. I have something to discuss with your father in person," the old man replied.

"Then come another day, my master isn't here today." The black-handed man said, closing the door and returning to his master: "Old Seven from Zhangzhuangtuo Alley is here, I reckon it's about that matter."

Chang Ziyin snorted, "He really dares to come knocking on my door. Next time he comes, let him in, and I'll hear what he has to say."

When the old man comes back, he sings to himself, "You're hiding from me. If once isn't enough, then twice. I'm determined to have a word with you."

The old man knocked on the door again, and Chang Hei Shou opened it: "Come in, follow me." The old man followed Chang Hei Shou, walked around the screen wall, and entered a large courtyard. They arrived at the main hall, where Chang Ziyin, dressed in a dark blue robe with a smoky-colored blouse and a black hat inlaid with jade, was sitting in a grand chair facing the door, holding a walking stick.

Zhang Zhenru came in: "How have you been singing, Master?"

He sang to himself, "Not at all, not at all. I've long heard of your name, Old Seven from Hutong. It's a pleasure to meet you today. Please, have a seat." He put on a fake smile and made polite remarks.

"Master Chang, you probably already know why I'm here today. Let's not mince words. My five-and-a-half mu plot of land on Beikan Avenue has never had any problems in all these years. A few days ago, I was collecting manure there and saw that the boundary stone had been moved. I went to find Zhao Chang, and he said he sold it to you. Excuse me, I didn't sell the land to you, so how did the boundary stone end up on my land?"

He sang to himself: "It is true that I bought Zhao Chang's land. I have a land deed for the land, and the acreage has been measured and matches the deed. As for the boundary stone you mentioned, I know nothing about it, and it has nothing to do with me."

The old man said, "Then dare you take the land deed, find Zhao Chang, and have all six of us measure the land together while he's watching?"

He sang to himself, "I've also heard that you, Old Seven of Hutong, are not to be trifled with, but you say you'll measure land, and I'll measure land with you? No way!" He stood up, put his hands behind his back, and looked at the ceiling.

The old man stood up: "Farewell!"

Stepping out of the door where I sang and chanted, I began to ponder this matter. Just as people had said, he encroached on one and a half rows of my land as soon as he bought it. Others may fear you, but I don't. Even if you're unreasonable, there's still the government. I refuse to believe that there's no place in the world where reason prevails.

Singing and chanting, he prepared himself and got into a small car to go to Changli. The first step in his lawsuit was to go there. The current county magistrate is my sworn brother, and no matter how stubborn Old Seven of Hutong is, he can't get out of my grasp.

The old man wrote down the details on paper, got up when the rooster crowed twice, put the petition in his pocket, and was able to walk the sixty li to Changli.

The old man hurried and arrived at the county government before noon. He handed over his petition, and the officer on duty read it, asked about the specific details, and told him, "Go back first. We'll investigate what you've said, and both of you will be present for the trial."

In the twelfth lunar month, Changli County issued a notice summoning Zhang Zhenru to their court for his trial. The old man dressed up and went. Upon entering, he saw people in uniform sitting upright. Chang Ziyin had also arrived early and was sitting below. When he saw the old man enter, Chang Ziyin stood up and stood opposite him.

The presiding judge asked, "Zhang Zhenru, you accuse Chang Ziyin of encroaching on your land. What evidence do you have?"

Zhang Zhenru replied, "This year, I planted sorghum, while my neighbor planted millet. The ridges and stubble were different; you could tell at a glance. He bought land with millet stubble and removed one and a half ridges from my sorghum stubble land. It's obvious..."

Presiding Judge: "How can this be considered evidence? Just because you can plant sorghum doesn't mean your neighbor can't plant sorghum. Explain your reasoning."

He sang to himself: "I bought Zhao Chang's land in Zhaozhuangtuo. I have documents and land deeds. The markings are clear and the measurements are accurate. The claim that I occupied land is pure nonsense."

Zhang Zhenru: "I also have a land deed. If we measure it according to the current boundary stones, the acreage doesn't match the deed. I also have important evidence. My land boundary isn't just based on the boundary stones; there's also the big poplar tree at the bottom of the west bank and the cypress tree in Zhao Chang's family graveyard at the east end. Zhao Chang is still here. Let's have the three of us go to the site to measure and inspect it in front of the officials. What do you think?"

This was unexpected for Singer-in-Wong, and he remained silent.

The presiding judge understood the situation and began to smooth things over: "Why bother? We're all neighbors, let's talk things out. The New Year is approaching, everyone should have a good holiday. Old Master Zhang Zhenru is already so old, why keep running around like this, singing his own praises? It won't make a difference if we cut off half a row of land to compensate Zhang Zhenru, and that'll settle the matter. What do you all think?"

Zhang Zhenru: "No good. He encroached on one and a half rows of my land. He only gave me half a row back, but he's still short one row. One row is more than an acre of land, so it doesn't count. I want him to return all of my one and a half rows to me."

The presiding judge's face darkened: "That's settled then. If you're not satisfied, you can appeal."

He sang to himself, "Where can I tell you to pick me up?" As he spoke, he gripped his coat with both hands and shook it forward.

The old man left in anger; this was clearly biased towards the self-proclaimed singer.