The letter to Sun Erlin's accumulating mother at a small accumulating Henan village was, by the small specific accumulating reading at the past three days at the master's hut, the small specific accumulating piece of small specific writing Heizi laid in the longest hours of the past three nights.
Sun Erlin had been — by the small specific accumulating reading at the past three years' accumulating *one-mark-knowing* — the small accumulating *runner* of the *fifty-now-twelve* since the boy's accumulating *coming-up* at the small accumulating *first cold-spring-camp's recruiting* of the past tenth year's eighth moon. He was — by the small specific accumulating reading at the past three years — at the small accumulating *only son* of a small accumulating Da-niang at a small accumulating Henan village two valleys southeast of Yangzhuang, whose accumulating husband had — by the small specific accumulating reading at the past four years — died at the canal in Da-ye nine. The Da-niang had been at the small accumulating *only*-son shape with Sun Erlin at her small accumulating side until the boy's coming-up at the recruiting.
Heizi laid the letter in perhaps a hundred and sixty characters. He laid it in the small specific careful even strokes the master had — by the small specific accumulating reading at the past five years' writing-teaching — laid in his accumulating hand.
It said:
*Da-niang. By the small specific reading at this writing — Heizi-zhang of the small accumulating *forty-now-twelve* of the lad's accumulating return-to-the-hut. Sun Erlin of your accumulating household died at the noon of the second day of the fourth moon of the fourteenth year at the small accumulating *upper bend's accumulating bottlenecking* of the master's accumulating hut at the upper hills of Henan. He was, at the small accumulating moment, at the small accumulating *block-and-set's accumulating recovery* of the third Sui wave. He took a Sui spear at the small accumulating *side-window* of the chest. He died at the small accumulating instant. He did not, by the small specific accumulating reading I am giving, suffer. He had been — by the small specific accumulating reading at the past three years' accumulating dusks at small accumulating fires — at the small accumulating *thinking-of-coming-home-when-the-failure-ends* shape since his accumulating coming-up. He had laid the small accumulating *coming-home* at the small accumulating *some unfound specific year* of the past three years. The small accumulating *some unfound specific year* will, by the small specific reading I am giving, not now come. I am sending, by the small accumulating peddler-runner, four strings of cash of his accumulating five months' staff-officer's pay. I am sending also the small accumulating *whittled wooden bird* he had at his accumulating mat — the small accumulating bird he carved at the small specific accumulating long evenings of the past two years from a small piece of pine he had taken from the lower edge of the cold-spring camp. The bird is — by the small specific accumulating reading at his accumulating saying at certain dusks — perhaps the small accumulating *real* shape of an upper-hills' small accumulating yellow-eyed bird that had, by the small accumulating reading at his accumulating saying, come down to the lower edge's accumulating spring at certain accumulating dusks. The bird was — by his accumulating saying — for you, Da-niang. By the small specific reading I am giving — the bird is yours and your accumulating household's now. I am sorry for your loss. — Heizi-zhang.*
He laid the letter in a small folded oilskin packet. He laid the small accumulating four strings of cash in a small accumulating cloth pouch. He laid the small accumulating wooden bird — Sun Erlin had finished it at the past third moon of the thirteenth year, with the small specific accumulating careful work of a runner whose accumulating *some unfound specific year* he had, by the small specific accumulating reading at the past three years, been laying at his accumulating mat — in a small folded packet of soft cloth.
He gave the packet to the small accumulating peddler-runner Bing Yuanzhen's accumulating successor at Liyang had — by the small specific accumulating reading at the past two months — sent up to the master's hut as an accumulating *Wagang-recognized* runner-officer.
The peddler-runner went down at the dawn of the fourth day after the engagement.
By the small specific accumulating reading at the past two days, the small accumulating *one-mark-knowing* of the *twelve-now-eleven* — the brothers and the five remaining veterans (Yan Shaozhong, Liu Erlang, Cao Hu, Liu Wenchang, Tian Erjia) — was at the small accumulating *holding* shape.
Liu Wenchang's leg, by the small specific accumulating reading at Ah Chou's salve and the small accumulating winter's accumulating careful resting, had — at this dusk — closed at the small accumulating recent re-cracking. Tian Erjia's shoulder had — by the small specific reading I am giving — also healed at the *huang lian*. The *eleven-and-master* were, by the small specific reading at this dusk, at the small accumulating *holding* readiness shape against the small accumulating *next* Sui patrol.
The next would, by the small specific accumulating reading at Lao Wen's small accumulating saying at the past two weeks' accumulating peddler-tracking, be at perhaps the small accumulating *hundred-strong* shape. By the small specific accumulating reading at the past two months — perhaps within the next four moons.
Heizi at the *staff-officer's bench* laid the small accumulating *next-holding-arrangement* at the past two weeks. The arrangement was — by the small specific accumulating reading at the past holding's accumulating reading — at the small accumulating *modified* shape: the upper bend's accumulating bottlenecking would not, by the small specific accumulating reading I am giving, hold against a hundred-strong Sui patrol. The new arrangement was — by the small specific accumulating reading I am giving at the past two weeks — at the small accumulating *withdrawing-into-the-grove-and-holding-the-grove* shape, where the small accumulating twelve old pines at the master's accumulating compound's accumulating perimeter would, by the small specific accumulating reading at the past nineteen years' accumulating natural defensive shape, give the small accumulating *eleven-and-master* the small accumulating *small specific defensive position* against the small accumulating Sui's accumulating *real* numbers.
The arrangement would, by the small specific accumulating reading I am giving, hold against perhaps a hundred-strong Sui patrol with the small accumulating *cost* of perhaps five of the eleven.
It would not, by the small specific reading I am giving, hold against larger.
By the small specific accumulating reading at the past two weeks at Lao Wen's small wooden stool's accumulating saying — the *two-hundred-strong* patrol would, by the small specific reading at the master's accumulating reading, come within the year after the *hundred-strong*.
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 *eleven-and-master* would, in the small accumulating coming year, hold against perhaps two further Sui patrols at the small accumulating *cost-of-five-and-then-cost-of-rest*.
He filed it.
In the small lighter catalog of moments, beside the small specific dusk of the slip's reading, he set: *the small specific dusk of the fourth day after the engagement, when the Sun Erlin letter was sent at the small accumulating peddler-runner's accumulating outgoing.*
The lighter catalog stood at perhaps ninety items.
The dark catalog stood at twenty-three named names plus the *unnamed thousand+*.
He sat his watch through.
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