On a rainy night, my father lost the bet and wanted to sell my sister.
Later, my father disappeared.
Neighbors said that the gambler Shen San ran away because of debts.
Only the three of us knew what was buried underneath the wild flower that suddenly grew lush in the backyard.
Later, the pervert uncle touched the door and disappeared.
The soil in the vegetable plot was newly plowed.
At the dinner table, the three of us looked at each other, with no tears in our eyes, only a cold tacit understanding.
My mother said, "This family cannot continue to be in such a bad state."
My sister wiped her slingshot: "You must have money and power."
I put down the bowl: "Then go earn it, go grab it, go step on everyone's heads and climb up."
From that day on, there were no men in our family, just three ruthless men tied to the same secret.
We plotted against our clan members, fought for the upper hand, and fought all the way from the broken earth house to the capital.
Many years later, I became the most powerful person in the country, my mother was a super-ranking official, and my sister became the most feared lady in the capital.
We sip tea in the pavilion under the moonlight.
My mother suddenly said: "It rained really hard that year."
My sister smiled: "Brother, you have such a steady hand."
I drank all the tea in the cup, as if I had drank in all the unspeakable past.
As for the backyard... What is buried there is not our sin, but the first stepping stone for us to climb up.
