100: The Recognized Sub-base

The *forty* came back to the cold-spring camp at the dusk of the eighth day after the Liyang meeting.

By the small specific accumulating reading at the past four months' accumulating reading — the cold-spring camp now had, by the small specific accumulating reading I am giving at this dusk, an accumulating new shape: the small accumulating *Wagang-recognized upper-hills sub-base* the lad had received at the small accumulating *equal-stance bow* of Li Mi's accumulating morning. The small accumulating *recognized* shape was, by the small specific accumulating reading I am giving, at the small accumulating *real* shape of the small accumulating *forty's* place in the rebellion's accumulating new structure: the *forty* was — by the small specific reading I am giving — at the small accumulating *upper-hills holding* sub-unit, with the small accumulating *cold-spring camp* at the small accumulating *recognized base*, and the lad at the small accumulating *recognized staff-officer* who would, by the small specific accumulating reading I am giving at any small accumulating moment of the next several years, accept or refuse the small accumulating *commitment*-orders the small accumulating new headquarters might, by the small specific accumulating reading at certain small accumulating engagements, send.

The *forty* settled.

That spring and that summer and that autumn of the twelfth year went by, by the small specific accumulating reading at the past seven months at the *recognized* shape, at the small accumulating *real* sub-base discipline.

The *forty* did the small accumulating *upper-hills patrol* of the camp's accumulating perimeter and of the small accumulating *upper-hills lower contour's accumulating routes* at every dawn. The boy An Ashi laid the small accumulating *political-eye* on the lower country at certain accumulating peddler-arrivals and at certain accumulating Liyang-runners' accumulating dispatches. The lame brother walked the small accumulating *eye-stations* of the cold-spring camp's accumulating perimeter at every dusk. Wang Er at the small forge worked the small accumulating *bog-iron* at certain accumulating noons. Ah Chou at the small accumulating *medic's tent* laid in the small accumulating *huang lian* and the small accumulating *salves* at the small accumulating *one-mark-knowing* of the *forty's* accumulating health.

Heizi at the small accumulating *staff-officer's tent* did the small accumulating *daily round* and the small accumulating *Wagang-correspondence* and the small accumulating *reading* of his own accumulating reading at the small wooden bench.

By the small specific accumulating reading at the past seven months — the lad's accumulating reading was at perhaps four thousand five hundred characters. He had, by the small specific accumulating reading at the past two years' accumulating reading at the small wooden bench, finished the *Mencius* and the *Zhongyong* in their accumulating completed second rounds. He had — by the small specific accumulating reading at the past three months — begun the accumulating reading of the *Han Shu's accumulating biographies* in their accumulating careful selection.

By the small specific accumulating reading at the dusk of the first day of the eleventh moon of the twelfth year, the small accumulating *forty's* accumulating *recognized-but-not-engaging* shape had, by the small specific reading at the past seven months, become — by the small specific accumulating reading I am giving — the small accumulating *real* shape of an accumulating sub-unit at its accumulating *holding* the lad and the brothers had, by the small specific accumulating reading at the past eight years and ten months on a road, been laying since the small specific accumulating *small flat place behind the long low ridge* of his own accumulating tenth year.

By the small specific accumulating reading at the dusk of the first day of the twelfth moon of the twelfth year, a small accumulating peddler from the upper hills came up the cold-spring path at the small accumulating dusk's careful arrival.

He carried two small accumulating papers.

The first was — by the small specific accumulating reading at the address — for the lad. From the master.

The master's letter said in perhaps a hundred and fifty characters:

*Lad. By the small specific accumulating reading at the past peddler-saying of the seventh moon — the *forty* is at Liyang's accumulating sub-base and the lad has been received by Li Mi at the small specific accumulating *recognized* shape. By the small specific accumulating reading I am giving — that is the small accumulating *correct* shape. The hut at the grove holds. The master is well. The country has, at the past eight months, brought no accumulating Sui patrols up the path. The master has — by the small specific accumulating reading at the past two months — completed the small accumulating *fourth* round of the *Daxue's accumulating final commentary*. By the small specific accumulating reading I am giving — the lad and the brothers will, at the small specific accumulating *some unfound year* I am asking the lad to lay in the lad's accumulating reading, return to this hut at the grove of twelve pines for a small accumulating *full reading*. By the small specific accumulating reading I am giving — the small accumulating *unfound year* may be, by the small specific reading at the past four months' accumulating peddler-saying, sooner than the lad has been at the small accumulating reading. There has, at the past two months at the lower country of the upper-hills' accumulating southern fold, been a small accumulating *Sui patrol-traffic* the master has not, by the small specific accumulating reading at the past nineteen years and four months at this hut, seen at this country before. The master is — by the small specific accumulating reading I am giving — not, by the small specific reading I am giving, in any specific accumulating immediate danger at this dusk. The master is — by the small specific accumulating reading I am giving — asking the lad to lay the small accumulating *coming-back* at the small accumulating *some specific time within the next year*. — Lao Wen.*

Heizi read the letter twice.

He folded it.

He laid it at the small wooden bench beside the small accumulating earlier letters.

The second paper the peddler had carried was — by the small specific accumulating reading at the address — for the boy An Ashi.

It was — by the small specific accumulating reading at the seal — from a small accumulating *peddler's accumulating-network's western contact* the boy had — at the past year — laid through the small accumulating *runners' accumulating outgoing* of Liyang's sub-camp.

The boy took the paper.

He read it.

He sat at the small banked fire for a long beat.

He said in the small low voice: *big brother. By the small specific reading I am giving — the small accumulating western-contact has, at the past three months, found the small accumulating *small wooden fox*.*

Heizi looked at him.

"Boy."

"Yes, big brother. By the small specific accumulating reading at this letter — the small accumulating *small wooden fox* my accumulating younger brother carried at his coat at the past nine years — has been, by the small specific accumulating reading at a small accumulating peddler's accumulating saying at a small accumulating Liangzhou market four months ago, sold by a small accumulating *household at Liangzhou* who had, by the small specific accumulating reading I am giving, owned a small accumulating slave-boy of perhaps thirteen for some specific accumulating years. The small accumulating *household* had — by the small specific accumulating reading at the past two months — sold the small accumulating fox at the market because the small accumulating *boy* had been — by the small specific accumulating reading at a small accumulating illness at the past spring — buried."

He paused.

"By the small specific accumulating reading I am giving — my accumulating younger brother is dead. By the small specific accumulating reading I am giving — perhaps the past spring. He had, by the small specific accumulating reading at the past nine years' accumulating *waiting*, kept the small accumulating fox at his accumulating coat for the entire small accumulating nine years. By the small specific accumulating reading I am giving — he died at perhaps twenty-two."

He paused once more.

"The small accumulating *western-contact* has — by the small specific accumulating reading at this letter — bought the small accumulating fox from the small accumulating Liangzhou market. The fox is — by the small specific reading at the letter — being carried east at the small accumulating peddler-network's accumulating route. It will, by the small specific reading I am giving, arrive at Liyang's sub-camp at perhaps the small accumulating spring of the next year."

He looked at Heizi.

"Big brother. The small accumulating fox is — by the small specific accumulating reading I am giving — coming back."

Heizi looked at him.

He laid one hand once on the boy's shoulder.

He said in the small low voice: *boy. I am sorry.*

The boy did not — at the small banked fire — speak.

He nodded, very small.

He said in the small low voice: *thank you, big brother.*

Heizi filed it.

In the small accumulating personal dark catalog, beside the names of the brothers' household — Mei-er, Yan Liu-er, Ah Si, the eastern-pine hermit, the unnamed fourteen-year-old, the unnamed bandit, and now (by the small accumulating reading at the past nine years' accumulating *waiting*) the small accumulating boy of the An clan's accumulating *small wooden fox at his coat for nine years*, who had been the boy's accumulating younger brother — he set:

*An Ashi-er.*

The dark catalog stood, at this dusk, at twenty-two named names plus the *unnamed thousand*.

The lighter catalog stood at perhaps seventy-nine items.

That night Heizi at his watch sat at the small banked fire of the *staff-officer's tent*.

He listened.

The shape of the silence on this watch was — by the small specific reading at this evening — the shape of a small specific *staff-officer* whose accumulating brother had — at the past peddler's accumulating letter — heard the small accumulating *coming-back* of the small accumulating *fox* his accumulating younger brother had carried for nine years and whose accumulating master at the upper hills had — at the same accumulating peddler's accumulating letter — asked the lad to come back at the small accumulating *some specific time within the next year*.

He filed it.

In the small lighter catalog of moments, beside the small specific morning of the Liyang meeting, he set: *the small specific dusk of the first day of the twelfth moon of the twelfth year, when the boy heard of the small accumulating *fox*'s coming-back and the master sent his accumulating *come-back* call.*

The lighter catalog stood at perhaps eighty items.

The dark catalog stood at twenty-two named names plus the *unnamed thousand*.

He sat his watch through.

By the small specific accumulating reading at this dusk — the lad was at the small accumulating *one-hundredth* small specific accumulating *moment* of the small accumulating *recorded* reading he had laid in his accumulating ledger since the morning at the village's small specific accumulating well in Da-ye one, when the small accumulating riders had come up.

He had — by the small specific accumulating reading at this dusk — survived to twenty-three.

He had — by the small specific accumulating reading at this dusk — laid in the small accumulating shape of a small accumulating staff-officer of forty at an accumulating recognized sub-base.

He had — by the small specific accumulating reading at this dusk — carried, in the small accumulating *one-mark-knowing* and the small accumulating *family-letters* and the small accumulating *carved horses on altars* and the small accumulating *reading at the small wooden bench*, the small accumulating *carrying-forward* his sister Mei-er had stitched in silk at her last afternoon.

He filed it.

The work, by the small unhurried way of an accumulating rebellion in a country at its accumulating failure, went on.