Chapter 23 Twenty-three, the avenging angel

Huang Zhong's wedding is scheduled for August. At the end of June, Huang Kun came to deliver posts to Jiaxiu and Huang Chang, but she didn't have the slightest joy on her face, she secretly said to Huang Chang: "The posts have been sent, and the formation has been laid down, but how can Huang Zhong look like that?" I can't get married as I wish..." She said with a sigh. Huang Chang was taken aback: "What's wrong with Huang Zhong?" Huang Kun sighed: "People say 'the tree falls and the hozen scatter', but in our house the tree hasn't fallen, and the hozen is almost gone. In the past six months, our brothers and sisters have died, walked away, married, The remaining one, Huang Zhong, fell ill again. At the beginning, it was just a cold, but after a few months of treatment, it became more and more serious. The doctor said it was stagnation of liver qi, which was not good. My mother kept urging her to do a dowry , It doesn’t matter if you say Chong Chongxi—I think it’s more like a reminder. I’m not saying something to curse myself. I think our family’s life is exhausted, and there is only a superficial beauty left. I’m afraid it won’t last long. "

That's all for now.But Huang Chang already understood that Huang Zhong had a heart disease. She had a sister-brother relationship with Huang Di, even if Huang Di was alive, it was impossible.It's just that Mrs. Huang Li is resolutely unwilling to admit this matter, so she has to urge Huang Zhong to get married to cover up everyone's mouth.From the point of view of being a mother, it might be good to do so, but Yu Huang Zhong, it was too cruel. Huang Zhong couldn't help but think of Kedi, because he asked, "How is Miss Han?" "How is it? You're so proud! A girl from a small family, once she flies up a branch and turns into a phoenix, she won't try her best to charm my dad!"

Huang Chang shook her head: "I believe she is not that kind of person." Huang Kun pursed his lips and said, "She's not that kind of person? She's a master of Hu Meizi! She was afraid that her youthful beauty would not be able to seduce my dad, so she persuaded my dad to take morphine on the pretext of an old injury, and she gave the injection herself. He is very attentive. My dad is addicted to him now, and when he disappears for a while, she will look for her everywhere. Just like the second uncle and second aunt." She laughed, "Really, it can be seen that they are brothers. Looking at the two people who are quite different, the older they are, the closer they are to each other. They both marry concubines and smoke opium. Fortunately, I am so old that I will not fall into the hands of Wan Niang, otherwise I will be like you back then. Yes, ran away from home."

Huang Chang couldn't help feeling sad when he mentioned the past, he quickly changed the subject and asked, "Have you heard your father talk about Zhuo Wen recently?" Huang Kun looked at her sympathetically: "I wanted to inquire about it for you, but unfortunately I didn't hear a single wind. This is a good thing, at least it shows that they are not in a hurry to trouble him...you are still Yueyue now." He sent money?" Huang Chang sighed sadly: "Where do you dare to send it every month? Just send it every few months, and write his mother's name. Apart from the address and name of the payee, I dare not write a word. I am afraid that it will be exposed. He For so long, I haven't replied a single word. I thought Wang Jingwei was dead and he should be back, but..."

Huang Kun saw a pile of drafts spread out on the table, flipped through them casually, and said, "You have written four or five plays in the past six months. Although you want to make money, you have to take care of yourself. Ordinarily The remuneration is not low, isn’t it enough?” Huang Chang was afraid that she would mess up the drafts, so he stood up and went to sort them out one by one, lowering his head and saying, "How can I do it? Mom needs money for medical treatment, and I also need money for socializing. He lives in the country alone. It's so bitter, no matter how much money you send, it's too little... You don't even know that in their place, it is difficult to even eat a bowl of noodles. You have to go all the way to the town, and you still light oil lamps at night, not to mention lighters I don’t even have matches, so I just use a sickle to start a fire, and use a straw twister to light a firewood for cooking. I never thought that the life of the poor is like that.”

However, it is such a hard life, I don't know how long he will live, maybe when the wind blows, he will go to flee again.At that time, if you don't have any money, how can you do it? Both of them fell silent for a moment.Only the clock was ticking. Huang Chang looked at the calendar. The time on it was June 18, 1945. It has been a full year since she divorced Zhuo Wen.She is no longer his wife, but he is still her favorite, eternal life, will not change.She always remembered what he said to her on the wedding night. He said that they were already caring, and he said, "If one day we have to be separated temporarily, our hearts will still be together, we are inseparable from each other, and we are inseparable."

She knew he would never forget her, just as she herself could never forget him.But that was not enough, she still wanted to see him again, not only thinking about him, but also seeing him, hearing him, touching him, even if only once. She missed him like a knife.when?When can she see him again, confirm his face with the description in her heart, and let her know that there was indeed such a person in her life, her beloved, her husband. The clock is ticking.Where are we going? Although Jiaxiu has always been at odds with her eldest brother, as an aunt, she has no reason to have a hard time with her niece.So on the weekend, according to the custom, Mama Cui would accompany Huang Zhongdaoxi to sew a quilt and give congratulatory gifts.

Mrs. Huang Li was watching the servants count the dowry in the wing room, remembering the same thing. The clothes list alone took up three full pages. When she saw Jiaxiu coming in, she hurriedly got up to greet her. While listening to people continue to report the list, I only heard: "... thirty-six cheongsams, six each of monofilament, quilted, velvet, camel's hair, short hair, and long hair; forty-eight pieces of material, Indian silk, crepe brocade , jacquard satin, iron machine satin, soft satin, grosgrain, velveteen, velvet, velvet, engraved velvet, georgette, georgette, seersucker, Chinese silk yarn, Gesi yarn, and cloud yarn; nine suits Set..." Then there are leather shoes, jewelry, hats, even handkerchiefs, purses, sticks...

Jiaxiu couldn't help laughing: "Handkerchiefs and purses are all that matters. What do you need so many canes? You're neither old nor young. It's weird enough to walk with a cane all day long. How about changing your appearance every day?" Mrs. Huang Li frowned: "Who says it's not? But this is Shanghai. It's different from our Beijing rules. There are new articles about dowry. You don't see the buddies in Shanghai now, everyone is waving a cane around, We don’t prepare it for the new uncle, not to mention that we don’t have this Shanghai habit, and we just treat it as poor and poor—it’s better to be too polite and put it in the garden as a tree seed, than let people pick it up! I don’t want it! Let’s talk about him. In fact, during the war period, the dowry has been reduced by a lot. I think back when I married into the Huang family, hey, the camphor wood boxes alone piled up two whole halls..."

Just as he was talking, Huang Kun came in, saw Jiaxiu, and called "Auntie" with a very unhappy expression on his face. Jiaxiu said with a smile: "So you are here too. You are a complete 'Shanghai expert' now, but you can be a good helper for your mother...Why didn't you see Huang Zhong? Are you going to be a bride, shy and ignore her?" people?" Huang Kun said sullenly: "She's lying down, aunt and I will take a look together?" Jiaxiu was puzzled at first, but after seeing Huang Zhong, she realized that she was so sick that her breath was weak. Knowing that Huang Kun was worried about her younger sister, she was taken aback and said, "Why are you so sick?"

Hearing the sound, Huang Zhong opened his eyes sleepily, lay on the pillow and bowed to her, "Auntie, you came to see me off." When Jiaxiu heard this, she felt very ominous, and hurriedly said: "Auntie is here to see you off." Because of the taboo of the word "send", she deliberately emphasized the word "kiss". Huang Zhong was speechless, but tears fell from his eyes.In her room, on the table and under the floor, there are scattered boxes and boxes, all of which are dowry gifts purchased these days for weddings.There are red hanging everywhere, and there are invitation cards piled up, but looking at them, they only feel bleak. Jiaxiu sat on the side of the bed and asked persistently, "I'm going to be a bride, but I need to get my body back up soon... How do you feel these two days?" Huang Zhong closed his eyes, panting and said: "Auntie, they are not willing to promise me, you must help me." Jiaxiu asked: "Tell me, what's the matter? If my aunt can help you, I will definitely help you." Huang Zhong said: "I know I won't live long, I only want one thing: I'm dead, just bury me next to Xiaodi's grave." Without saying a word, Huang Li became furious: "Stupid girl, what are you talking about? You are dead or alive, this is also a nonsense? You are now the daughter of our Huang family. You are married to Nanjing. People from the Bi family have to die in the ancestral grave of the Bi family, so you can say where they went?" Jiaxiu couldn't bear it, so she stopped inside and said, "She's an ignorant child, and if she doesn't feel well, she thinks something is wrong. Actually, it's fine, as long as you don't think about these things all the time, you will get better." Huang Kun also said angrily: "Mom, don't you see what time it is, and still scold her?" Huang Lishi left in a fit of anger.Huang Kun sat down and held his sister's other hand and said, "Little sister, I know what's on your mind. But as a woman, you have to get married once in your life. Otherwise, what's the purpose of coming to the world this time? Then I have also seen Master Bi's family. He is a good character, so it may not be in your heart. Even if you really have a bad life, just get a divorce. According to the newspaper, there are an average of 20 couples getting divorced in Shanghai every day. What's the point?" Huang Zhong just shook his head, holding Jiaxiu in one hand and Huang Kun in the other, tightened slightly, and said: "I know my own affairs. Auntie, at least, you have to promise me that I will die." Yes, you burn me a photo of Xiaodi to accompany me." Jiaxiu couldn't bear it any longer, tears dripped from her eyes, Huang Kun choked up his voice, but still said optimistically: "Okay, okay, I'll do whatever you want. But, don't think about such things again, how old are you? I just think about death all day long, my sister has gone through so many things and hasn’t lived enough. What are you? You haven’t lived a serious life, how can you be willing to die?” For a while, everyone fell silent, just lowering their heads and flying needles to thread.Seeing the bleakness of the scene, Cui's mother thought it was unlucky, so she tried to say something casually to interrupt.Seeing a pair of mandarin ducks embroidered on the quilt, he asked casually: "I remember a song my second grandma sang before, about embroidering mandarin ducks. Can my aunt sing it?" Jiaxiu asked: "There are many songs about embroidering mandarin ducks. There is a song by Zhou Xuan with a golden voice. It also has something like 'Embroidered mandarin ducks in front of the window of a big girl'. It is sung all over the street. Are you referring to this one?" Cui's mother smiled and shook her head: "That's not true. Second Mistress never sings those uneducated songs." Everyone laughed, and the atmosphere was much more lively.Huang Kun asked: "Do you know what is literate and uneducated?" Cui's mother said: "Of course I know. Although I am uneducated, I know how educated people should sing and speak. For example, Miss Chang is the most educated." Huang Kun was jealous in his heart, and said in his mouth: "Of course, your young lady and grandma are the most cultured in the world. But, tell me, what kind of song is that, with such a deep culture?" Cui's mother raised her head and thought hard, then suddenly slapped her thigh: "I remember, the first sentence is 'four pictures'." Huang Kun laughed even more when he said it: "It's still 'two ropes', 'four cards', it's not playing cards." Jiaxiu asked: "Is it 'four cards'?" Cui's mother nodded hurriedly: "That's it, four machines, it's about weaving and embroidery, isn't it?" Jiaxiu shook her head: "That's an ancient song, with the name of the lyrics. I also remember that Yi Fan often sang it. It's very nice, but I don't remember the lyrics." Talk about it, time flies by too fast.Back home in the evening, Mama Cui discussed the situation during the day with Jiaxiu again, she pouted and said, "I don't know if Miss Zhong will be able to get married, but she doesn't look good." Jiaxiu was also sad, shaking her head and sighing: "My nieces..." Halfway through speaking, she looked at Huang Chang, sighed and stopped talking.Hearing Yifan sitting on the side humming softly, he didn't pay attention at first, but after listening to a few words, he suddenly realized that it was the song "Four Zhangji" that Cui Mama just mentioned in the afternoon, so he couldn't help being interested, so he had to listen to the lyrics carefully. . Just listen to Ivan singing: "Four machines, Mandarin ducks want to fly together. Poor old man, please forgive me first, Spring waves and green grass, deep in the dawn cold, Relatively Yu Hongyi. " Jiaxiu listened, at first she felt the tune was melodious, until she finished singing, she gradually realized that the lyrics were very ominous. "The poor old man will be white first", doesn't that mean that if one's wish is not fulfilled, one will grow old first?My heart was shocked, and I couldn't help but wondered in a daze. The quilt was sewn for three days in a row. Seeing Huang Zhong's demise day by day, Jiaxiu was secretly worried.During the busy day, Huang Zhong, who was soundly asleep beside him, suddenly opened his eyes, called "Auntie", and said, "I want to go for a walk in the back garden, will Auntie accompany me?" Jiaxiu was taken aback: "That's impossible, you're so sick..." Huang Zhong shook his head on the pillow, and said: "It's because of my illness that I'm afraid that if I don't go to the garden again, I won't be able to go in the future. I've been wanting to go for a few days, but my body is weak and I can't get up. After sleeping for a while, I feel better, so I want to go out for a walk." Jiaxiu looked at Huang Kun, Huang Kun said: "It's rare that she is in good spirits. Wear more clothes and help her walk around. Maybe it won't hurt. Could it be possible to let her lie down all the time, and carry her out on the day of getting into the sedan chair?" Cui's mother helped Huang Zhong to dress up, and she and Huang Kun helped her out of bed, and went to the garden together. When he reached the gate of the corner, Huang Zhong signaled to turn right, and Huang Kun finally realized that Huang Zhong wanted to visit the former residence of the Yellow Emperor, so he couldn't help feeling sore, and quickly dissuaded him: "Okay, what are you going there for? The body is weak, the place is not clean, be careful to recruit something, and you will have a fever again later." Huang Zhong just refused, and begged with a choked voice: "Sister, just let me go and have a look. If you don't go today, I don't know if I will go or not... If I don't take a look, I won't die. Close your eyes." Huang Kun became annoyed: "It's a sunny day, why are you dying and alive again? Let me tell you, if you have a sister like me in your eyes, don't talk to me about such nasty nonsense anymore." Taught me a lesson, but I couldn't hold back my sister, so I had to help her to the back garden with Cui's mother. The garden was once rumored to be haunted, and it has been empty since the death of the Yellow Emperor. It has been unoccupied for a while, and it has been neglected to be cleaned. The weeds have gradually grown taller than the flowers. The color is pale, hanging on the treetops, like a banner calling for souls.Although it was June and the sun was shining brightly, it still made people feel cold when looking at it. A gust of wind passed by, and the leaves and paper money rattled. Huang Kun couldn't help shivering, feeling very uncomfortable, and urged his sister: "Okay, come and look at it, why don't you go quickly?" Huang Zhong just shook his head and said, "I want to go to Xiaodi's room to have a look." When the door was pushed open, all the people shouted "Yeah" in surprise. It turned out that the room was clean and tidy, as if there were still people living there. There was even a pot of flowers on the table, which were in full bloom. Xianyan seemed to be greeting someone with a Yiyi expression.Next to it is a book of Song Ci, which is still on the page of Su Dongpo's "Twin Cities": Ten years of life and death are boundless, without thinking, never forgetting... As soon as Huang Zhong's body softened, he sat down and began to cry, "Little Emperor, Little Emperor, are you there? Do you come back often? Why don't you come to see me?" Pained in my heart, thinking of things When people die, in this life and in this life, they are separated from the little emperor, heaven and man forever, and they will never see each other again. I just feel that the grief is like the water of the Yellow River blocked behind a thick stone wall, and there is only a place to vent. Just a transparent hole. Jiaxiu Cui's mother was also sad, but she didn't bother to cry, she just pulled Huang Zhong to persuade: "You are weak, don't be too sad, you will be sick later, isn't it a waste of time?" Just as he was persuading, he suddenly heard a faint noise coming from the partition wall, it seemed that Mrs. Huang Li was swearing, with a woman's crying and another woman's persuasion in the middle.Everyone was amazed, Cui's mother volunteered and said, "I'll go and see what happened, and I'll tell you when I come back." After a while, he hurried back and said, "It's Grandma and the newly married Aunt Han..." Huang Kun was taken aback: "The surname Han dares to quarrel with my mother? She's showing her fox tail!" Cui's mother hurriedly waved her hands: "It's not that the two of them are arguing, it's that the two of them are arguing with another woman. Aunt Han is here to help Grandma." Huang Kun was even more curious: "Who is that?" "She's a pretty woman, with a good face, wearing gold and silver, with a foot of powder on her face, and she speaks and moves like she's on a stage." Huang Zhong also forgot to cry: "Our family doesn't have such a goblin guest, who could it be?" Huang Kun and Cui Mama supported him to stand up, and Jiaxiu went out together, bypassing the Moon Cave Gate, and as expected To Huang Lishi scolding at the same young woman. In terms of youth, the woman is not too young, but she has curly hair, black glasses, a short and tight cheongsam, and a bead gray money bag in her hand. Looks like ten years old.When Huang Kun saw it, he let out a soft "ah" and said, "So it's her." Then Mama Cui also thought of something, and added: "It turned out to be her." Jiaxiu laughed, and asked, "What big shot, why do you two know each other?" Huang Kun said: "Her name is Bai Helen, she is a female star, and belongs to my father..." Before she finished speaking, Cui's mother snatched her up and said, "What kind of star is it? It's just an actor. In the past, our second master loved to dress up as a female student, and asked our second master to pay her to be the Queen of Huaguo." Jiaxiu already understood, so she looked at Bai Helen with great interest, to see what kind of charm she had that could be related to her two older brothers.Helen Bai scolded: "What is he, Huang Jiafeng? When he used to hold me in his arms, he came to report every three days, but now that he is married, he doesn't even see me! Do you think I'm rare? Isn't it just tens of thousands of dollars?" Do you still look down on you and think that I, Bai Helen, can't stand up? Let me tell you, when I gain power some other day, I will be the first to destroy your Huang family!" Hearing this, Mrs. Huang became angry and shouted: "You are all deaf or paralyzed. Didn't you hear this crazy woman messing around? Why don't you beat her out?!" It was obvious that they were blackmailing and jealous, and after all, they were in the Huang family, and the Huang Li family had the upper hand, so the four of them didn't intend to go forward to persuade them, but just hid behind the flowers to watch the excitement. On the contrary, Han Kedi, who seemed to be very helpful to Huang Lishi, was a very gentle and silent person, but now he became more relaxed after being married. You've lost your identity." Pointing at Bai Helen with one hand, he scolded, "What are you? How dare you come to our Huangfu to act wildly! You offended our grandma's daughter?" Jiaxiu couldn't help secretly praising her, what a girl, she is so smart and cunning, she can hold Huang Li's heart in every word, no wonder such a hot character as sister-in-law would agree to marry her. Huang Kun frowned at the side and said: "No, Brother Han is fanning the flames. It's not a good thing to set up enemies like this!" Sure enough, Helen Bai on the other side cried and scolded: "I told you to show your strength in front of me. When Master Huang and I were having a good time, I don't know which hospital you little bitch are carrying people's excrement and urine! Are you here?" I don’t want your family to look good to me, and I’m not called Bai Helen anymore!” Knowing that it won’t benefit her, she turned around while cursing and walked away, not forgetting to spit twice as she passed by Han Kedi.Kedi just had a calm face and didn't care. The four of Jiaxiu looked at it for a while, and then went back to Huang Zhong's room together, and continued to discuss: "I didn't expect that Han Ke and my sister-in-law get along so well." Huang Kun didn't take it seriously: "I always feel that this surname Han is not simple. She will treat my mother sincerely? I think she treats my father in a fake way. I don't know what kind of heart is there? I have to remind my mother to be more careful. Focus on this vixen." Before he finished speaking, Mrs. Huang Li had already entered, with an angry expression on his face: "Kun'er, come here, I have something to ask you." Jiaxiu Cui's mother looked at each other, wondering which song this was singing again, could it be that she was angry with his father and wanted to vent her anger on her daughter?After a while, Huang Kun came back angrily, packed up his things and was about to leave, saying, "I won't come here anymore. Sister, you can bear them, you follow them, I'm really afraid of this pair of parents." Jiaxiu hurriedly stopped: "Okay, how do you say that?" Huang Kun stood down, gasped for breath, and said for a while, "Auntie, look at my mother is not confused. Before I could persuade her to be careful about Han Kedi, she asked me instead, saying that the surname Han told her I introduced Bai Helen to my dad, and asked me if that was the case, and if I saw her as a mother. God knows, I have a lot of friends. They come to the house every day or two, and half of them are known through me. After losing my dad, what can I do? Besides, Bai Helen is not the first woman my dad dated, and it’s not a big deal. It’s just a business meeting. Chen Zhima, an old millet hundreds of years ago, now It's time to settle accounts with me. It's as if I wish she could divorce her father..." She burst into tears angrily. Jiaxiu was stunned, she didn't expect that Han Kedi was really thoughtful, obviously she knew that Huang Kun would advise her mother to be on guard against her, so she simply acted first, and filed a case there.From this point of view, Han Kedi is really not simple... However, at this time, what they were worried about was Huang Zhong's illness and the war between Huang Li's family and Han Kedi. They didn't know that there were even bigger events, social reforms, and earth-shaking changes waiting for them. .