Good and Evil Chapter 111: Former Companions, Now Mortal Enemies

The ancients once said: "To err is human, but to correct it is the greatest virtue."

Liu Maocai and Shen Jun were both originally from the rural areas of S City. They grew up as neighbors and childhood playmates, sharing a bond that could be described as exceptionally close. However, all of this changed after Liu Maocai enlisted in the military.

In the late 1970s, as the nation began to stabilize, the military initiated mass recruitment. Both Liu and Shen applied, but only Liu was selected. Liu’s selection was largely due to his outward appearance of honesty and diligence. Shen, conversely, was a restless and mischievous child who often caused trouble for the neighborhood. The villagers and local officials alike favored the steady Liu over the unruly Shen, leading to Shen’s rejection during the assessment.

The reason Liu eventually decided to kill his childhood friend was rooted in an incident they had committed together before his enlistment. By today's standards, it would have been a minor matter, easily settled with a small fine. But in the specific socio-political environment of that time, if it had been discovered, Liu would not only have been disqualified from military service but could have faced public humiliation and persecution.

The incident was this: before Liu joined the army, he and Shen had stolen two head of public cattle, driven them to the city, and sold them to a slaughterhouse for cash. While it might seem trivial now, those two oxen were a significant asset, and more importantly, they belonged to the state. At that time, the village relied entirely on those cattle for farming, and with the collective economic structure of the era, the loss was a catastrophic event.

Initially, the villagers suspected other villages, but after confirming no one else had gained extra cattle, suspicion turned inward. Everyone immediately pointed the finger at the mischievous Shen. Village officials confronted him, but despite the fact that he and Liu had indeed stolen the animals, Shen refused to confess, and no evidence was found in his home. The matter eventually faded into obscurity.

Everyone had suspected Shen at some point, but upon reflection, they dismissed it; he was a grown man by then, and though naughty, it seemed beyond him to steal public property. No one ever suspected Liu Maocai.

Soon after, the military recruitment arrived, and as Liu was selected, he left with the army. Shen remained in the village. Before leaving, Liu gave all the money from the sale of the cattle to Shen, assuming that his own needs would be met in the military, while Shen would need the funds in the countryside.

Thus, the two parted ways. While Liu served in the army, Shen stayed behind. Fearing discovery, Shen kept the money hidden, but his restless nature eventually drove him to leave the village in the dead of night, taking the money with him to seek his fortune in S City.

Life in the city was vastly different from the simple, supportive atmosphere of the village. As a naive country boy, Shen was swindled out of most of his money shortly after arriving. Too ashamed to return home empty-handed and face ridicule, he stayed in the city, working grueling manual labor—washing dishes, carrying heavy loads, and laying bricks.

After years of hardship, Shen eventually landed a job at a factory. He viewed this as his "iron rice bowl," a stable path that provided food and housing. Through diligence and the connections he had made navigating the city's underbelly, he learned technical skills from a mentor and eventually rose to a stable position. He married his mentor’s daughter, and with his savings and his father-in-law’s help, he bought a house on Caihua Road.

Meanwhile, Liu Maocai served seven years in the military before returning home. He found his hometown much changed and learned that Shen had left years ago, and that both of Shen’s parents had passed away. Relieved that the cattle theft had long been forgotten and never pursued, Liu eventually moved to S City and found work as a security guard on Caihua Road, where he also married.

Fate, however, is a small circle. Years later, while patrolling, Liu witnessed Shen being taken away by police for stealing factory parts. Though it had been years, Liu recognized his old friend. He was filled with a mix of joy at their reunion and a paralyzing fear that Shen might reveal their past crime.

Days later, after Shen was released, the two met for drinks. The conversation inevitably turned to the past. Liu realized that Shen had not forgotten their crime and, in fact, harbored resentment, blaming the incident for his failed military enlistment. Shen, struggling with rising living costs and the financial burdens of a family, had turned to stealing factory parts to make ends meet. He had been caught before, but his connections had kept him out of serious trouble until this latest report led to his arrest.

Liu was repulsed by Shen’s arrogance and lack of remorse. In the following years, they saw each other occasionally, but the intimacy of their youth was gone. Haunted by the fear that Shen’s repeated criminal behavior would eventually lead to their shared secret being exposed, Liu recalled a line from the movies: "Only the dead can keep a secret."

With that, Liu decided to kill Shen.

After hearing Liu’s confession, the interrogators and the officers outside were stunned. It was incomprehensible that a man of such apparent character—a seven-year veteran, an "honest" villager, and a diligent worker—would meticulously plan a murder over a decades-old, trivial crime that no one was even pursuing anymore.

Had they simply confessed and offered restitution, the village would likely have forgiven them, perhaps even viewing them as men who had truly corrected their ways. Instead, Liu chose murder. He sought to silence the past, yet in doing so, he only ensured his own destruction. Whether he could ever have found peace, even if he had succeeded, remains a question only he can answer.