My Confession

My name is Chang Wannian. In 2004, I was imprisoned on charges of illegal business operations and intentional homicide.

I’m a native shepherd boy from these mountains. As a child, I used to climb over ridge after ridge to graze sheep. Back then, the mountains were green, the water was clear, and though life was poor, it was joyful.

Later, my family sold all our sheep to send me out of the mountains to study. I achieved some modest success. Ten years ago, coal was discovered at the foot of the mountains. I returned, eager to mine the black gold.

That year, I invested everything I had and signed forest transfer agreements with villagers from several mountain villages to obtain the mining rights. Most of the farmers were easy to persuade — I acquired the sea of coal at a very low cost. But some stubborn young men refused to sign. My man, Da Jin, raised a machete to deal with one of them. I stopped him. We were all neighbors — bloodshed would be disgraceful. Instead, I gave the village chief a few hundred yuan to gather the village elders and men at Xiao Ding’s lamb restaurant and invite the young man to eat lamb. The old chief was cunning — with a few words, he incited the others to pressure the youth. “You won’t leave until you sign.” A fight broke out. The youth stabbed Xiao Ding in the eye with a lamb bone. In the end, he signed. To pay for the injury, he went to a neighboring county to dig coal. It would probably take him years to repay the debt.

After that, things went smoothly. The environmental bureau, the safety office, and the village chief all became my friends. Toss them some meat, and they’d do whatever I wanted. Coal trucks lined up outside the mine entrance every day. Sometimes, when I watched entire mountains collapse with a rumble, my heart ached. The green hills and clear waters were gone. But what could I do? If I didn’t mine it, someone else would. To make up for my guilt, I rebuilt the local elementary school. The old principal, my former Chinese teacher, asked me many times to speak to the kids. I never had the face. When I visited, I never dared to go on stage. The children probably think I’m a great benefactor. One day, when they leave these mountains, they’ll curse me.

To save face for the mayor, I built the tallest building in the busiest part of the city and named it Fortune Center. I kept the top floor for my own office. There are two rooms I’m especially fond of. One is my private gallery — not big, but filled with my hunting trophies: black bears, eagles, deer, owls — dozens of rare beasts I shot with a crossbow in the hills around the mine. I’ve flattened mountains, broken water veins — the wildlife fled, and hunting got harder.

One time, after emerging clean from a tricky legal case, I was in a great mood. I took my lawyer, Xu Wenjie, hunting. He clutched the 500,000 yuan I gave him, too afraid to get out of the car, worried he’d lose the money. I found it amusing — risking disbarment for a mere 500,000, bribing 3–4 witnesses on my behalf. Money really is power. As I drew my bow, I thought of Genghis Khan shooting eagles — heroic and grand. But the sky was gray, the mountains barren. No birds, no beasts. Only a shepherd boy driving his flock home in the distance. “Kid, how much for a sheep? I’ll shoot one — if I hit it, it’s mine.” Before he could answer, I made a fatal mistake. I thought about the sheep but aimed at the boy. The arrow pierced him, stuck in the dirt behind, raising a small cloud of dust. He collapsed beside the flock, which calmly continued grazing. I was weaker than the sheep, but I acted quickly. I gave Xu another million to clean up. Lawyers are efficient — he handled it perfectly.

The other room was my hotpot lounge. I often hosted government officials there, eating lamb and drinking red wine. The girls who accompanied us were from Dongguan. I also invited members of the coal association — negotiations with them were tough. They were thugs. When talks broke down, I got angry. Da Jin knew what to do. After that, the association members became obedient.

Recently, I took interest in Li Shuiquan’s mine — good location, rich reserves. I invited him to the hotpot lounge for lamb. He said he was vegetarian. “You want to rob me and serve lamb like a trap? I’m no Fan Kuai — I don’t eat raw meat.” He added, “You can beat me and take the mine, but I’ll say this: selling mining licenses is illegal.” I got angry again and made him into Fan Kuai — he handed over the mine.

The next day, I sent Da Jin to take over the mine. I told him not to use violence — persuade the workers. But he called me, saying the miners were aggressive, demanded debts, and threatened to attack. So Da Jin had to fight back. No big deal. But then a mute man, looking for a child, smashed my Range Rover’s window. I didn’t care about the glass — but the mention of the child made my heart sink. I told Da Jin to bring him to my office. Stupid Da Jin told him he’d seen the kid.

When the man showed me the photo, I knew he had found the truth. Fate. Since you came to me, I might as well take you down too. “Da Jin hasn’t seen the kid — he lied. You’re strong, good at coal mining and fighting. Don’t worry about the window. Come work for me.” I thought: once you’re on the mine, your life’s in fate’s hands. He didn’t believe me. His eyes fixed on my barely ajar trophy room. “What are you looking at?” I told Da Jin to take him back. Outside, my guys beat him and dumped him on the road.

The prosecution reopened my old case — said there were inconsistencies. I called Xu Wenjie to fix it. He didn’t answer. Later I heard the prosecutors visited him. All the evidence is with him. If he turns me in, I’m done. Days passed, no calls. I knew he was about to flip. Not just this case — the child too. Xu has a daughter. Maybe if I grab her, I can force his hand. I told Da Jin to get her. Two hours later, he called: “The mute guy took her first…” I cursed Da Jin and his ancestors. That mute again — seems he wants to die.

I thought back to when the villagers sold me the land — pathetic. Without my compensation, where would they be now? The village chief used to wear rags. After signing, he wore leather, smoked imported cigarettes — from me. Now the women have swelling — they say mining polluted the water. The chief drinks bottled water now.

I decided not to eat local lamb anymore. People eat sheep; sheep eat grass and drink water from the mine. Bioaccumulation leads to high levels of heavy metals. The last time I had hotpot, I also killed Da Jin with an ashtray — that idiot. I didn’t care about the kid. I just wanted Xu’s evidence. After the meal, I returned to my office — the mute had trashed it. I caught him on the spot.

I planned to kill both Xu and the mute the next day. But fate had other plans. At the Tai Ping Mountain rendezvous — the police came.

In prison, I never confessed to shooting the boy. I bet Xu wouldn’t talk either — his hands are stained too.

Oh, and all this mess was made into a film by director Xin Yukun — Wrath of Silence. Jiang Wu played me. I’m quite satisfied.