Three-Bald 三秃子
When people found San Tuzi, he was already floating in the river. Which river, no one could say for sure. Anyway, San Tuzi was dead—drowned.
The news spread through the village, and not a single person was sorry. Only at Old Man Hua’s grave was an extra stack of ghost money burned—his eldest brother did it, muttering, “Dad, the one you doted on all your life… he’s gone too.”
San Tuzi’s real name was Hua Shi. Old Man Hua had found him in a straw pile. In those years, every family was tight on food. Old Man Hua already had two sons and four daughters, but he still carried the baby home. “Found him, so let’s call him Hua Shi.” He was the third boy by birth order. As a child, he had sores on his scalp and kept his head shaved, so the nickname stuck.
Though adopted, Old Man Hua favored him most. Good food went to him first; when he made mistakes, the scolding was loud but the hand was light. Sometimes at night, Old Man Hua would sit by the bed, staring at the sleeping boy for a long time.
San Tuzi was sharp in school and made it all the way through high school. In the early 1980s, he was assigned to the township supply and marketing cooperative—a job many envied. His head swelled. He started taking a little here, a little there, until it added up to nearly a thousand yuan—equivalent to a couple hundred thousand today. When it came to light, he was fired and forced to return everything.
The evening he came back from town, he passed the village river and spat into it. The water was murky, its depth impossible to tell.
Back in the village, he scraped by on a few acres of land. His wife, Wu Yanghua, was just as lazy as he was. Later he opened a small shop, but dust settled on the shelves. Few in the village shopped there; they called him a “tightwad” and said you couldn’t get a bargain out of him.
Among his siblings, he was the youngest and the most spoiled, so he was naturally arrogant. Once, Old Man Hua scolded him during a family dispute. San Tuzi flew into a rage, went home, grabbed a bottle of pesticide, and put it to his lips. Rushed to the clinic, they pumped his stomach—the doctor said the bottle probably held plain water. Old Man Hua seemed to age overnight.
When Wu Yanghua went to work in another city, she had affairs with several men. San Tuzi heard the gossip but pretended he didn’t. Instead, he poured his energy into other people’s households—wherever there was a quarrel, he fanned the flames.
Truth be told, San Tuzi and his wife could bend over backwards when they needed help. Their youngest son didn’t have much education or a pleasant temper, so finding a wife was tough. By chance, they learned that Erxiang’s daughter‑in‑law had a relative who was single. They stuck to her like glue, pestering her to play matchmaker. Erxiang’s daughter‑in‑law had just undergone major surgery and was too weak to get out of bed, but they wore her down. She dragged her frail body to travel far to arrange the match. Earlier, when San Tuzi’s eldest son got married, Erxiang’s son had driven nearly a thousand kilometers for free to help. San Tuzi forgot all these favors. Once the marriage was settled and he felt he wouldn’t need any more favors, his attitude shifted. He began looking for opportunities to stir up trouble in Erxiang’s family.
The year Erxiang died, everyone remembered. COVID restrictions had just lifted; Erxiang was already in poor health and didn’t make it. A few days after the funeral, Erxiang’s wife went to stay with her son. San Tuzi, like a hungry wolf smelling blood, called her on his phone, pretending to offer condolences:
“Sister‑in‑law, it’s not convenient for you to live alone with your son. Better go back to your old place.”
“Your son should give you a certain amount each month—you need to keep that straight.”
“Your daughter‑in‑law doesn’t seem sensible. If you stay too long, they’ll get tired of you.”
Erxiang’s wife sighed, saying she was thinking of going home. San Tuzi raised his voice: “If Erxiang were still here, would he let you suffer this?” He got more worked up, cursing Erxiang’s son as if the boy had desecrated his ancestors’ graves.
Erxiang’s wife was easily swayed by outsiders, trusting others’ words more than her own family’s. What she didn’t know was that her son had installed security cameras in the house—back when Erxiang was ill, he had put them up in case something happened. Her son watched the entire conversation on his phone, seeing San Tuzi fanning the flames, seeing his mother’s red‑rimmed eyes. He was furious.
Later the story spread through the village, and people said a dog can’t change its habit of eating shit. A stick that doesn’t stir things up feels like it’s wasted.
Once, San Tuzi went to his son’s house; no one knows what started it, but they came to blows. He was shoved to the ground. The next day, word went around: his son was unfilial, hitting his own father.
Now he is dead. Some say: the elderly aren’t turning wicked—the wicked are just growing old. Maybe that’s true, maybe not. But San Tuzi’s life proved the old saying: the pitiable often have their hateful side.
His grave is in the cemetery north of the village, surrounded by fellow villagers. Likely he won’t find peace even there.
The river still flows. The villagers go on with their lives, still have quarrels, still have people fanning the flames. Only there is no longer anyone named San Tuzi sidling up to say, “Let me tell you…”
The river water is murky, its depth impossible to see.
This story is purely fictional. Any resemblance to actual persons or events is coincidental—for under the sun, there is nothing new.
三秃子死了，淹死的。是哪条河，没人说得清。
消息传回村里，没一个人难过。只有化老汉坟头多了一叠纸钱——那是他大哥去烧的，嘟囔了一句：“嗯担，你疼了一辈子的那个，也走了。”
三秃子本名化拾，是化老汉从草堆里捡来的。那年月家家吃不饱，化老汉已有两个儿子四个女儿，还是把孩子抱回了家。“拾来的，就叫化拾。”按排行是老三，小时候头上生疮老剃光头，就有了这个外号。
虽是捡来的，化老汉却最疼他。好吃的先紧着他，犯了错也高高举起、轻轻落下。有时夜里，化老汉会坐在床边，盯着睡着的老三看很久。
三秃子脑子好使，一路读到了高中。八十年代初分到供销社，那是多少人眼红的差事。他飘了，开始伸手，今天挪一点明天贪一点，加起来近千元——放在今天十几二十万。事发后被开除公职，退赃回家。
从乡里回来的傍晚，他路过村口的河，往水里吐了口唾沫。河水浑黄，看不出深浅。
回村后他靠几亩田过活，老婆伍扬花也是个好吃懒做的主。后来开了个小卖部，货架上落着灰，村里没几个人爱去，都说他是“铁算盘”，别想占便宜。
在兄弟姐妹中他最小又最受宠，自然骄横。有一回化老汉训了他几句，他当场翻脸，回家抄起一瓶农药就往嘴里灌。送到卫生院折腾一宿，大夫说瓶子里的东西怕是白开水。化老汉一夜之间老了好几岁。
伍扬花去外地打工后，跟好几个男人传出过风流事，三秃子听见了也当没听见。他把精力都放在别人家事上——哪家闹矛盾，他跑去煽风点火。
说起来，三秃子两口子求人帮忙时那叫一个能屈能伸。他们小儿子学历不高脾气也不出众，找对象费了老劲。偶然得知二祥儿媳有个亲戚没男朋友，两口子便像狗皮膏药似的贴上去，软磨硬泡求人家说媒。二祥儿媳那会儿刚做完大手术，虚弱得下不了床，硬是被他们磨得没办法，拖着病体去保媒。早先他大儿子结婚时，二祥儿子还无偿开车来回近千公里帮忙接送。这些恩情，三秃子转头就忘了。婚事成了以后，他觉得不会再有事求人，态度慢慢变了，开始寻摸时机挑拨二祥家的事。
二祥死的那年，新冠刚解封，他身体不好没扛住。丧事办完没几天，二祥嫂去儿子家住了几天。三秃子像饿狼闻到腥味，掏出手机打了过去，说是“慰问”：
“嫂子啊，你一个人跟儿子住着也不方便，趁早回老家吧。”
“你儿子每月该给你多少生活费，你得心里有数。”
“我看你儿子那媳妇，不像个懂事的。你住长了人家该嫌你了。”
二祥嫂叹气说想回老家。三秃子嗓门立马高了：“二祥要是还在，能让你受这个委屈？”越骂越来劲，咬牙切齿地骂二祥儿子，好像人家刨了他祖坟似的。
二祥嫂是个耳朵根子软的人，总觉得外人的话比自家人的话可信。可她不知道，儿子早就在家里装了摄像头——之前二祥身体不好那几年，怕出事，特意安的。儿子在手机里把这段通话从头看到尾，看着三秃子那张脸在电话里煽风点火，看着自己妈被说得眼圈发红，他肺都要气炸了。
后来村里人传开了，都说狗改不了吃屎。一根棍子，不搅出点动静就觉得白活了。
有一回他去儿子家，不知为什么动了手，被儿子推倒在地。第二天村里就传开：他儿子不孝，打老子。
现在他死了。有人说，不是老人变坏了，而是坏人变老了。这话也许对，也许不对。但三秃子这一辈子，确实应了那句老话：可怜之人，必有可恨之处。
他的坟在村北公墓里，周围都是同村的，估计在那边也难得安宁。
那条河还在流。村里人照样过日子，照样有矛盾，照样有人煽风点火。只是再也没有一个叫三秃子的人，在别人家吵架时凑上去说：“我跟你说啊……”
河水浑黄，看不出深浅。
本故事纯属虚构，如有雷同，纯属巧合。太阳底下，没有新鲜事。
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Suzhou Victory Textile Co., Ltd. （苏州维特瑞纺织有限公司）is located in Changshu city(belongs to Suzhou District) Jiangsu,China. 80 Kilometers away from Shanghai Port.
Our team has been working in textile over 18 years.Our mainly products are Tie dyed Fabric,Velour/Velvet,Quilt Fabric,Jacquard Fabric,Single Jersey, Pique,Rib Fabric,Bird Eyes/Mesh Fabric, Interlock, French Terry/Fleece, Polar Fleece, Coral Fleece, Flannel Fleece, PV Plush, Sherpa Fleece,Coarse Needle Fabric etc Fabrics.
Compositions include Polyester,Cotton,Spandex/Lycra,Nylon/Polyamide,Rayon/Viscose,Modal/Tencel,Bamboo,Arcylic,Soybean,Wool,Flax/Linen,etc.
Functional Fabric:Sportswear Fabric(Coolmax,Coolpass,Coolplus,X-dry,Cooldry,Feelcool Ice,Topcool,Sorona,Supplex etc.),Waterproof,Fireproof(Aramid,Polyimide),Heat(Thermolite),Antibiosis(Sanitized),Uvioresistant,Radiation-proof,Recycle,BCI,Organic,Pima/Supima etc Fabrics.
We also have invested a home textiles & garments factory where we move our fabrics to sew many kinds of Garments, blankets etc.
Our marketing team and QC department are checking all the day in every process and keep close contact with customers to make sure customer knows every stage of the production. All the fabrics and blankets are inspected by our QC before packaging and shipping. Also we can provide some certifications Such as Oeko-Tex standard 100, SGS, Intertek etc.
We have production capability 5000 tons of various type of fabrics annually.Our products are mainly transported to China, southeast Asia, Middle East, Europe and America etc.
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