Chapter 227 - 196: Inviting a God

Chapter 227: Chapter 196: Inviting a God

"See? Everyone’s so happy. Last time, I treated everyone to venison. That only made their stomachs happy, but the men, old and young, were still feeling down. Look at them now—it’s like their hearts are suddenly happy, isn’t it?"

The village committee members heard this and nodded in silence. Zhao Wendong took out his cigarettes and lit them for the others. They stood there smoking, watching more and more people join the snowman-building team. After a moment, Zhao Wendong said with a smile.

"Let them build it. This isn’t about me wanting to build a snowman anymore. This is Dragon King Pond wanting to build this snowman. The process of building it is like inviting a deity, only we’re not inviting some great god, but our own spirit and vitality!"

"I agree."

"Dongzi’s right."

"Haha, I’m going to help build it, too!"

Liu Yufen said with a laugh, tossed her cigarette butt into the snow, and happily dashed toward the big pile of snow. At that moment, she didn’t seem like a forty-year-old women’s director and public canteen manager, but more like a little girl.

"Come on, let’s go too!"

Third Master Zhao also threw down his cigarette butt, his old face covered in a smile. It was as if he had returned to his youth, to that moment on May Fourth when he stood on the streets of Beiping with his classmates, raising his arm and roaring in anger. His whole body was filled with strength, and his blood ran so hot it felt like it could blot out the sky.

"Let’s build a snowman!"

Zhao Weiguo and Zhao the Fourth exchanged a smile and followed suit. Zhao Wendong watched the other committee members walk toward the snowman, watched the endless stream of Dragon King Pond villagers joining in. For a moment, he was in a daze. It was as if he could see the old man again, his eyes burning brightly as he looked at him, saying with a warm smile.

"Comrade Zhao Wendong, you must remember: Long live the people! Man will prevail!"

Gradually, the snow pile grew higher and higher. Just dumping snow from the bottom wasn’t enough anymore, so everyone formed a human chain. A line of people stood on the snow pile itself, and basket after basket of snow was passed to the very top and dumped. Meanwhile, the giant snowball that Zhao Wenwu and a group of children had been rolling was also taking shape. It was now taller than Zhao Wenwu himself and was meant to be the snowman’s head.

"Alright, that’s about right! Let’s get the head up there!"

"You got it."

Everyone cheered in agreement. Eight or nine adults pushed the snowball to the side of the massive snow pile, then began heaving together to roll it up. They kept going until it reached the very top, leaving every one of them drenched in sweat.

Zhao Wendong smiled and called upon Wang Lulu.

"Ma’am, could we trouble you, our great artist, to design it for us?"

"Of course. It would be my honor!"

Wang Lulu didn’t refuse. Looking at the massive, embryonic snowman before her, she too felt a surge of passion.

"The snowman needs a nose, eyes, and so on!"

"Everyone, go find them!"

At Zhao Wendong’s command, a crowd of people vanished in an instant. Third Master Zhao called over the militia members.

"Come, come, follow me to the warehouse."

Before long, all sorts of varied materials were brought over. Wang Lulu sorted through them, thinking carefully about how to combine them. For the nose, she chose an old elmwood pole, as thick as a forearm and taller than a person. It was stripped of its bark, sharpened, and wedged straight into the center of the snowman’s face. Its brownish-yellow color was particularly striking against the white snow.

For the eyes, she used two discarded black cast-iron woks that had been retired from the canteen. They were embedded in the snow-skull with the mouths of the woks facing out. The iron woks were nearly a foot in diameter, black and heavy. Once in place, they stared wide-eyed down the road into the village, their proportions fitting and their presence imposing.

The eyebrows were made from two dry poplar branches, each as thick as the mouth of a bowl, bent into shape and placed horizontally above the wok-eyes. For the mouth, she used a bundle of red sorghum stalks, laid out horizontally and embedded to form a curving smile over five feet long. The red stalks against the white snow radiated a farmer’s joy. For the hat, Wang Lulu simply chose a worn-out reed mat, directing Zhao Wenwu and the others to roll it into the shape of a conical hat. Once it was placed firmly on the top snowball, the snowman’s entire aura changed.

Finally, with nothing suitable for arms, she simply had them stick a thick willow pole, over ten feet long, into each side of the snowman’s body. Tied to the end of each pole was a large bamboo broom used for sweeping the courtyard. Their bristles fanned out, making it look as if the snowman was spreading its arms to protect the entire village, or perhaps to give a warm embrace to visitors from afar.

The north wind whipped flecks of snow against the villagers, frosting the eyebrows and beards of many. The white puffs of their breath froze in the air the moment they were exhaled. But no one complained of the cold, and no one backed down. Everyone watched as a massive, beautiful snowman slowly took shape under Wang Lulu’s design and direction. Looking at the colossal figure, a sense of pride swelled in every heart.

"It’s done!"

The moment Wang Lulu clapped her hands and said this, everyone burst into eager, thunderous applause. The look on every face as they gazed at Wang Lulu was filled with admiration.

"My god, Dongzi’s future mother-in-law is incredible!"

"I heard she’s a famous artist!"

"Look at her poise. No wonder she could have such a beautiful daughter."

The village committee members also nodded in satisfaction. The great snowman was truly uplifting. Had the people of their village really built this? Dongzi had been right after all. This wasn’t about inviting some great deity; it was about summoning their own spirit and vitality!

Zhao Wendong looked at the snowman’s chest, then thought for a moment and pulled Third Master Zhao aside.

"Third Master, brave enough to offer your ’humble’ calligraphy?"

"Get lost! What ’humble’? This is a demonstration of pure skill!"

"Alright, alright, whatever you say. But are you up for it or not?"

"How do you want it done?"

Zhao Wendong pointed to the snowman’s chest.

"Write three words here."

"What words?"

"Man Will Prevail!"