Chapter 2 1. Herding cows and pigs to study hard

I was born in September 1911 in a rural area (Naonigou Village) belonging to Renzhao Town, Pingdu County, Shandong Province. When I was young, my family was poor; my parents had five brothers and a younger sister under my parents' knees. The family of eight had only three acres. Halfway.When I was 8 years old, I started to study with my teacher Cho Seok-gyu.During the busy farming season, the village school is on holiday, so I go home and help with farm work.Because I was the youngest brother, my brothers refused to let me do heavy work in the fields, so I went to herd cattle and pigs.There is a wasteland in the northwest of our village. The villagers call it "Northwest Wasteland". It is a good place to graze cattle.I connected the cattle rope (the rope tied to the nose of the cow) to a long rope, tied the other end of the rope to a nail (an iron nail about 30 cm long), and inserted the nail into the grass, so that the cow could It grazes in a circle with a radius of about 6 meters long without being able to run away.I just sat in the shade by the river and read a book.In late autumn, in the open space where sweet potatoes (sweet potatoes) were dug out, there are still small pieces of sweet potatoes buried in the soil. This is a good place to put pigs.I drove the pigs to the field, and the pigs used their mouths to dig up the soil to find sweet potatoes to eat.I sat on the high slope, watching the pigs while reading a book.

At that time, there was only one county higher primary school in Pingdu County, but no county middle school.There is a Zhiwu Middle School and affiliated primary school run by the American Christian Church.I was admitted to the sixth grade of the school from a private school.The year I graduated from elementary school, Zhiwu Middle School closed down.There is no middle school in this county to advance to, so I did farm work at home for half a year.I was eager to study, and I heard that there is a Chongshi Middle School in Huang County, more than 300 miles away from Pingdu County, which is doing well. After the Spring Festival in 1929, my father bought me a small bamboo pole, and asked me to carry my luggage and books. Along with the villagers who went to Huang County to work as long-term workers in our village, I arrived in Huang County and was admitted to Chongshi Middle School.This is also a school run by an American Christian church. The principal is an American pastor, and his Chinese name is Pu Qiwei.

On May 3, 1928, the Japanese invaders in Jinan wantonly slaughtered our compatriots, creating the "May 3rd" tragedy that shocked China and foreign countries. On May 3, 1930, the student union of Chongshi Middle School in Huangxian County held a meeting of all students to commemorate the "May 3rd" tragedy."Three bows to the national flag" is listed on the conference order list.The principal of the United States said that "bowing to the flag" is worshiping "idols" and violates Christian teachings, and asked the student union to cancel this item.The students were firmly against it.During the meeting, all the students resolutely bowed three times to the national flag.The next day, the American principal announced: "Stop classes and disband the school." The American teachers immediately suspended classes, while the Chinese teachers continued to teach.With the support of the teachers, the students organized reading maintenance meetings to maintain school order and ensure normal classes.It was maintained until mid-June, and the final exam was held.The summer vacation was announced nominally, but the school was actually disbanded.

A rich classmate plans to transfer to another city to study, what should I do?