Chapter 23.1
Now, a look at Yao Yuange’s back story. I appreciate that Ding Mo gives us these stories to help us understand the characters better. I have to say, though, that reading this one sickened me more than usual. Is there any redeeming quality to Yao Yuange at all? Or was that the point – that, for some people, there is no possibility of redemption? Read on to find out . . .
(NOTE – there is no graphic content, but the fact that Yao Yuange was a sexual predator is made clear)
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Yao Yuange’s story – Dead Soul (Part 1)
The steam on the hearth rose slowly, causing one to feel a little dizzy. Yao Yuange squatted in a corner of the kitchen, all the while swallowing his saliva, waiting for the freshly steamed big buns to be ready. He didn’t expect that the hunger in his eyes would be noticed by his father, thus attracting a wave of loathing.
Father kicked him on the back, as if kicking a dog, “Dammit, everytime I see you I feel vexed. Why are you always hungry?”
Yao Yuange sat in a corner in silence. He was only seven or eight years old, but was naturally taller than the others kids, so he ate more. And steamed buns actually only cost ten cents, but his father was just too reluctant to give him more to eat.
So he was always starving.