Translation of infam

I counted the bills and saw that ten thousand Lire were still missing. The old man return to the children, grabbed the oldest one for a second time and hit him again. A minute later he came back with the missing.
The writer describes this situation by putting the persons into a natural environment. On one side there was no shade and there weren't any trees, he says. This description can be interpreted.
This province was only one mile away from China and one could see the border control. From there it was a bus ride up the hill, about an hour or so passed and we arrived at our final destination.