Chapter 19 In the sound of firecrackers

On the night of "Jesus Christmas", I came out of a friend's house, and the sound of firecrackers on the street was still crackling; Changing change at a cigarette paper shop, I heard two citizens talking about it; one with a doughy belly said: "Didn't I guess right? A few days ago, the God of Wealth ① flew away, and I knew that the matter was about to be settled!" ① The God of Wealth refers to Song Ziwen, who was then the Minister of Finance of the Kuomintang government. "How much did it cost?" "Thirty million—Jin Yang!" The lumpy dough suddenly turned his face and looked at me, as if he regretted that so few people heard his words.

Rumors of this kind had already been circulated by the public three or two days ago, and the money worshipers naturally felt that this was the most "reasonable" explanation. However, this guy with a lumpy belly seemed to have seen it with his own eyes.But it's no wonder he, the big newspapers never revealed any news about how to solve it.Although ordinary people are "stupid", they can't believe official articles. Amidst the crackling of firecrackers, I suddenly felt lonely. It was still early, and by the way, I went to the home of a fellow countryman.The master of this family was wondering at home because of the inconvenience, he laughed and said to me:

"Just now, firecrackers were set off for a long time in the Zhu mansion next door. The servants inquired and said that the chairman ① came out by plane and was at Zhu's house; it's probably true that he was at Zhu's house. But it's nonsense, haha!" When I walked to the street again, I saw the shattered red firecrackers in front of the door of a very high-spirited bungalow, which was half an inch thick.There also seemed to be a national flag fluttering in the wind on the balcony.One or two dirty children squatted on the ground to pick up firecrackers that hadn't been released yet.Two idlers were there to study the relationship between "Zhu Mansion" and the Chairman.One said:

"It's a relative! Why don't you know?" "Nonsense! It's just a fellow from Allah!" retorted another. ① Chairman refers to Chiang Kai-shek. ②Ala, a dialect in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, means "I". I didn't mind my own business, but I couldn't help laughing. Walking on the calm road, suddenly - bang, shoot!Gao Sheng's double sound came from the front.The road is like stone, the shops and houses on both sides are as dead, and the street lamps are shining coldly; but there is an auspicious car driving towards me neither fast nor slow.As soon as it passed, I suddenly heard a sound in the back of my head: bang——shoot!I looked back and saw that the arm holding a piece of incense was still stretched out of the window of the Xiangqi car that was driving at a moderate speed. I could clearly see that this arm was wearing a uniform.

It dawned on me, but this time I was bored. I went to a family again—an old classmate from twenty years ago, but a new believer of the "Lord Jesus" who has been recruited for less than three years.There is a Christmas tree in the living room, not too big or too small; small red and green electric balls are hung, not too many or not; there are some "gifts" presented by the masters and wives of this family to the young masters and ladies, which are not extravagant nor frugal;— —This is like this "respectable" family, neither high nor low, neither high nor low. The lady told me enthusiastically: "Sure enough, the chairman came out today. We prayed for three days, and the Lord Jesus promised our prayer." She folded her hands on her chest and looked up at the top of her head.

But the old man said passionately: "According to Reuters, it is said that the chairman's first action after freedom is to order the withdrawal of troops. This is a rumor! It must be crusaded! The poisonous gas has already been prepared!" "Oh! But that would be a civil war. Wouldn't that create opportunities for the enemy's aggression? Didn't you often say that creating opportunities for the enemy is worse than beasts?" "Otherwise, at this time, at that time, for the sake of the law of the country, I can't take care of those!" This master has been talking about "law" a lot lately, and I'm honestly tired of hearing it; do we have "law"?But I didn't come here to argue with him. I smiled lightly and turned my tone into a joke:

"By the way, my friend, you have a God, but is this also God's will?" Unexpectedly, the old man resolutely declared: "Although the Lord Jesus hasn't told us yet, I believe the Lord Jesus will accept it!" I wanted to be "humorous" again, but the lady stopped me, saying that it was time for them to sing hymns as a family, both for thanks and for new prayers. I went to the street again amidst the singing of praises. I found that couple ridiculous and even more disgusting. January 9, 1937.