Chapter 316 Awakening
Muna grew taller and taller, and he became a young man, an intelligent young man.
During this year he not only read a lot of books, but also traveled to many places.
He never knew that Uttar Pradesh, where he was born and raised, was so big that it would take several days to travel from east to west by train.
He also heard from others that Uttar Pradesh is known as the State of Wild Boars.
Muna initially thought that there was an infestation of wild boars in a certain area, but later realized that it was all because of the map.
The outline of Uttar Pradesh looks very much like the boar incarnation of Vishnu, emerging from the sea carrying the earth.
It is also divided into eight parts according to the parts of the wild boar.
The eastern region where Varanasi and Mirzapur are located is the wild boar's butt - Eastern Anchara, also known as the Purvancha region.
This is the place with the worst natural conditions in the entire Uttar Pradesh. Floods and waterlogging often occur. Kana Village is flooded by the Ganges tributaries once a year.
Of course, there are also a large number of low-caste and untouchable ethnic groups here, such as the Harvi people.
Munna is no longer ashamed of his caste; instead he has come to see it as a strength.
Thanks to the books his master had him read, he understood a lot, especially after traveling throughout the Pufancha area.
Well, Muna has been traveling a lot for the past three or four months. Sometimes he takes the cement trucks that deliver cement to the factory, and sometimes he drives himself!
God knows, he never thought that one day he would be able to drive out alone and drive for himself! Even if it was an 18th-hand-built Maruti Suzuki that was broken down to the point of being broken down.
This is the Master's command, a gift from the Master! It is also the task assigned by the Master.
Munna needs to find out how many lower castes there are in Purvancha district, especially the Harvis.
Wild boar's butt may not sound big, but it covers seventeen constituencies and more than twenty cities. Without a car, he couldn't even leave Mirzapur.
To be honest, Muna is not yet used to driving this Maruti Suzuki. He feels that this car has its own thoughts and he has not yet figured out its temperament.
When he went out for the first time, he even prayed secretly, praying to all the gods, please don't let him make any mistakes.
Fortunately, everything went well, and after a few times, Muna became a qualified driver.
However, the road conditions in Uttar Pradesh are very bad. No one obeys traffic rules and everyone crosses the road like crazy.
Look, there's a flock of sheep in front of you. Look, there's an ox cart resting in the middle of the road on the left.
Look at that again, a tractor-trailer is coming at full speed from the opposite direction, with black smoke coming out of the rear of the vehicle, just like it is dragging a beautiful black tail.
The guy driving the tractor went the wrong way! And he didn't even notice!
Well, Muna himself didn't pay attention. He knew that he should drive on the left hand side, but he had never seen anyone take this rule seriously.
It was not until we passed the bumpy dirt road south of Varanasi that the car drove onto a smooth concrete road.
On both sides of the road, there were slogans or portraits at intervals, such as "Long live the great Mr. Suhr!" and "This is Mr. Suhr's generous gift to his people!"
There is no doubt that this is the road built by the Sur Cement Factory, the only 60-kilometer-long cement road in Pufancha District.
A sense of pride rose in Muna's heart, but it was quickly destroyed.
There was a traffic jam ahead, and a truck was parked in the middle of the road. The truck was full of people, all with red ribbons tied around their heads, shouting slogans.
"Down with the rich! For the great socialists! Landlords, get out!"
Soon another truck arrived. The people on the truck had green cloth tied on their heads and shouted slogans at the people on the previous truck.
It looked like a conflict was about to break out, but Muna was not panicked at all.
He has seen this kind of scene many times recently. As the election approaches, the two parties on the street are fighting more and more fiercely.
Muna simply took out his work ID from the Sur Cement Factory and waved it, and the two groups of people automatically let him pass.
In the East, Sur's signs are sometimes more effective than the police.
Back in Mirzapur, Munna did not drive the car to the cement factory but turned towards Khanna village.
The owner recently told him that he can use the car for personal use!
When Muna heard this, she almost cried and wanted to kneel down and kiss his feet immediately.
Today was the first time Muna drove the car back to the village, and needless to say he was very proud.
Hi, I really don’t know what to say about my family.
They all ran to the village entrance to greet him, and they gathered around the car and kept admiring it, although they were too scared even to touch it.
For the first time in his life, Muna received more attention at home than their buffalo.
The most enthusiastic and excited person was of course the shrewd old Lutu. She looked at Muna and laughed so hard that her mouth couldn't close, and she kept rubbing her forearms.
Grandma Lao Lutu had a habit of rubbing her forearms as if she were rubbing a piece of ginger, and giggling whenever she was in a good mood.
She had lost all her teeth, but that made her smile even more cunning.
It was with this smile that she established her authority in the family, and her sons and daughters-in-law all held her in awe.
"Oh, I don't know how much candy I stuffed into your little mouth when you were a child." She said as she reached out to pinch Muna's face.
But Muna's uniform was still a little intimidating to her, and she didn't dare touch any other part of his body.
They practically carried him home, and the neighbors were waiting to see Muna's uniform and car.
They pulled out the new children who had been born in the months since Muna left and showed them to him, and forced Muna to kiss their foreheads one by one.
Aunt Leila gave birth to two more children, and cousin Pap's wife Lila gave him a little nephew, and their family grew again.
Of course, with more people comes more mouths and more expenses. They all blamed Muna for not paying the monthly bills home.
Old Lutu beat his forehead and ran to his neighbor's house, crying: "Look, my grandson found a good job and a good boss, and he even forced me to work! Why are the lives of us old women so miserable?"
"Let him get married!" the neighbors shouted. "That's the only way to tame a wild boy like him!"
"Yes," said old Lutu, "yes, that's absolutely right."
She burst into laughter and rubbed her forearm, "You're absolutely right!"
Muna didn't bother to pay attention to them. He was no longer the country mouse who knew nothing and was at the mercy of his family.
He went out to do the serious work instructed by his master, not to enjoy himself.
It’s just that it’s hard for the villagers to imagine that a master would be willing to send his servant out alone, and in a car at that!
They don't understand because it's too shocking.
The uncles at home told Munna a lot of news, but this was Uttar Pradesh, so it was all bad news.
The socialists on the west side of the river were still as corrupt as before, and the conflict between the anti-government armed forces and the landlords continued to intensify and become bloody.
The villagers there were like small people caught in the middle, not daring to offend anyone and suffering greatly.
Both sides have their own armed forces. If they suspect someone of sympathizing with the other side, they will arrest that person, torture and interrogate him, and then shoot him at will.
The only good news is that it has nothing to do with their Kana Village.
"Gar, west of the river, is hell," said Cousin Pap, "but we're glad you don't have to deal with them. You have a handsome uniform, and you've found such a good employer."
Papu had changed drastically. He was thinner and darker, with veins popping out of his neck and a sunken collarbone. In the blink of an eye, he had become like Muna's father.
He worked in the mines as a hard laborer and didn't earn much. The Sur family took care of him for Muna's sake.
However, the family was too fertile. In just one year, Muna had more than a dozen nephews and nieces.
Their family has grown to more than 30 people, half of whom are children, a smaller number are women, and the only ones who can really work are his cousin and several uncles.
They are all illiterate and can only do rough labor, but they have to feed dozens of mouths.
With Muna around, the family is still harmonious, and he has the highest salary.
He had been running around outside for a few months, and the huge family could no longer bear it.
They could only lie on my cousin's body and suck his blood until only a skeleton was left of him.
Muna saw old Rutu rubbing his arm with a smile and talking about how to arrange his marriage.
She made chicken specially for him and served him the meal herself.
As she spooned curry onto Muna's plate, she said, "Let's get you married in the second half of this year, okay? We've already picked out a chubby little girl. When she gets her first period, we can marry her."
In front of Muna was a piece of chicken on the bone, covered in red curry sauce. It looked like the meat on the plate had been cut from Pappu's cousin.
"Grandma," Muna said, looking at the large piece of chicken covered in red curry sauce, "give me some time to think about it. I don't want to get married yet."
Her face fell. "What did you say? You still don't want to? You have to do what we say."
Her smile returned. "Come on, honey. I made this chicken just for you."
"I don't want to eat." Muna shook his head.
"Eat quickly." She pushed the plate forward.
Everyone in the family stopped what they were doing and watched them quarrel.
Grandma glanced at me and said, "What's wrong with you? Have you turned into a Brahmin? Eat quickly, eat quickly."
"No!" Muna pushed the plate hard, sending it flying against the wall and spilling red curry all over the floor. "I said, I'm not getting married!"
She was so stunned that she even forgot to yell.
Muna stood up to leave, and Pappu ran over to hold him back. Muna pushed him hard, and he fell heavily to the ground. Muna walked straight out of the house.
At the door stood a group of dirty little kids, all his aunts' children. When they saw Muna coming out, they trotted after him.
Muna was in no mood to pay attention to them, nor did she want to touch their hair.
Slowly, they understood his idea and went home.
Muna walked alone past the temple, past the market, past the pigs, past the drain, and came to the pond. The Black Fort was on the hill opposite him.
He sat by the pond, his teeth chattering.
Pap's shadow kept swaying in front of his eyes. They were sucking his blood!
They would drain him from the inside out, just like they had done to Muna's father, until he contracted tuberculosis, was weak and helpless, and could only lie on the floor of a public hospital, spitting out blood, waiting for the doctor to come, and eventually died tragically.
He couldn't do that. He didn't want to become like his cousin Pap.
It’s not enough to just study, you also have to stand out!
(End of this chapter)
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