Chapter 14 Build a cowshed by yourself

But again, our hopes were dashed. We have not grasped the temper of the rebels yet. One day, I received an order: go back to school.We didn't stay in Taipingzhuang for a long time, less than a month anyway. Go back to school, go back to school.Anyway, we are already "a cripple who fell into a well, and when he gets up he sits up", it doesn't matter where we go.I don't know what place Taipingzhuang played in the torture plan for the past twenty days.After returning, I don't know what tricks they will come up with to continue to abuse and torture us. When I got to school, I got off at the Yanluodian Coal Factory in Zhazidong.The student-like commune leader who gave us a lecture before leaving held a spear in his hand and gave a loud lecture.The next day, our group of gangsters were summoned to the three-row bungalow behind the Foreign Languages ​​Building and the Minzhu Building, and built the cowshed by ourselves, and then invited the king to live in it.

I am very familiar with these rows of bungalows.I pass by here every day on my way from home to the office of the Foreign Languages ​​Building.I have also taken classes here.The houses are all shabby and shabby.The roof is extremely thin, unable to block the summer sun.The windows are dilapidated, and some lack glass, which cannot block the cold wind in winter.There is no heating at all.Installing a stove can only play the role of "seeking plums to quench thirst".The floor is brick and damp and cold.All in all, based on my experience of taking classes here, there is nothing to like about this place.

Today, however, the leaders of the Peking University Commune chose this place as a cowshed and locked us up here.The scale of the cowshed is that the Minzhu Building is used as a barrier in the east, the Waiwen Building is used as a barrier in the south, the open area in the west and the unbuilt area in the north are covered with reed mats.The open space between the Foreign Language Building and the Minzhu Building was also surrounded by reed mats to form the gate of the cowshed.Our group of "cows" were assigned to live in bungalows, separated by men and women. There were about 20 people in each room, and each of us had only room to sleep when we lay down.Because it has been abandoned for a long time, the damp and musty smell of the ground hits the nose straight.The reform supervisors are especially suitable to announce: "Lafayette" Tianen has brought a batch of wooden boards, which can be spread on the ground to block the moisture.It means let us be grateful to Dade.Of course, reform supervisors cannot live in such a place.They set up their headquarters in the Democracy Building, with their offices inside, and some people probably lived there as well.As in the past, they were terribly afraid of our remnants, mostly old and weak.They opened the back door of the Democracy Building, leading directly to the cowshed.There are many protective facilities inside and outside the back door, as well as things like barbed wire, and of course there will be no shortage of spears.The heavy doors were closed at night, fearing that our group of gangsters would rise up and riot.This situation is both ridiculous and deplorable.A mat shed was built next to the women's prison on the west side, which was originally called the foreign transfer room.Later, they felt that this was not "revolutionary" enough and renamed it the interrogation room.It is true that many people have been interrogated here, and it often happens that the nose and face of the interrogated are swollen.A large mat shed was built behind the foreign language building, which was later used by the prisoners to eat.

This is roughly the scale of the building of the gang compound.Due to years of disrepair, the yard is full of potholes, overgrown with weeds and barren.Now that we have a group of "special" new owners who want to move in.It must be swept vigorously and the grass cut and paved.This work is of course to be done by ourselves.The supervisors are very strategic and direct.They called out a few of us who were young and strong, and formed a small team similar to a construction team to take charge of this work.The rest of the old and weak soldiers and some female prisoners were assigned to do other jobs.There is a vibrant labor atmosphere on the construction site.The difference from any construction site is that there is no one here who dares to talk and laugh. They are all prisoners with their heads in mourning. They are a labor force that has never been seen at any time and anywhere in the past.

I was originally ordered to bury pillars and set up a mat shed in front of a row of bungalows (the bungalows have now been demolished) on the east side of today's archaeological building.First use a shovel to dig the soil into a pit, plant wooden stakes, then set up wooden columns between the stakes to form a frame, and finally nail reed mats on the frame, which is more than one foot high, and people cannot climb out.It used to be an unobstructed passage, but now it has become an iron wall, and no one dares to take a step forward. After the mat shed was set up, I was transferred to the interrogation room, where I used shovels and wooden sticks to tamp the ground to make it level.None of us who were transferred dared to be lazy and play tricks.We are all motivated to strive for the top.It's not because our awareness is particularly high.We are only afraid of unexpected disasters flying on our heads.At this time, the reform supervisors no longer held spears in their hands, which was completely different from when they were in Taipingzhuang.Maybe it's because Taipingzhuang is located in the wilderness, but here is the headquarters of the commune, so there is no need to worry.We also knew in our hearts that although they had no spears in their hands, there were a large number of them piled up in their arsenal in the Democracy Building, and they could get them without any effort.And they all have sticks in their hands now.Their spears are not vegetarian, and their sticks are not vegetarian.

I was not wrong to be concerned.An old professor of French in the Department of Western Languages ​​was always over seventy years old at the time.There seems to be something wrong with his eyes, and he doesn't seem to be so clear-headed. He usually gives me the impression of dementia.He probably didn't go to Taipingzhuang to undergo a big baptism; in terms of being criticized, he didn't go to any big scenes, he was a little bit closed, he didn't know the heights of heaven and earth, and he didn't have the perceptual knowledge of being a vegetarian.Now also called to pound the ground with a shovel.While working, the shovel in his hand stopped moving for a while.How did he know that the prison guards were standing behind him with sticks in their hands.It wasn't until he was hit hard on the back that he woke up like a dream, and the shovel in his hand started working again.This may be a small episode.After the episode, the world was peaceful, and the sound of shovels hitting the ground resounded in the small interrogation room, passionate and harmonious, like a symphony by a certain master.

The reform-through-labor compound was finally built in this way. After it was completed, it was the finishing touch. On the wall of a row of bungalows to the south of the big courtyard, eight big characters were written with white paint: Sweeping all monsters, ghosts and snakes, each character is taller than a person, flying like a dragon, dancing in the wind, extremely beautiful skill.It made the courtyard full of brilliance, and it was extremely deterrent to us, a group of monsters and monsters, which was more powerful than a hundred lectures with spears in hand.Personally, I appreciate these words very much, and I feel happy when I read them. I secretly thought that this person could be included in the Chinese Shushu.Therefore, I thought that during the "Cultural Revolution", writing big-character posters exercised calligraphy, beating people exercised wrist strength, criticizing speeches exercised sophistry and lying, and fighting exercised courage.Divide everything into two.Can you say that the ten-year catastrophe has no benefit at all?

In addition, I also thought that what Mr. Lu Xun said is very correct. He said that China is a country of words.This practice has existed since ancient times, and it is still strong today.In the Han Dynasty, there was "Xiao Mei Bandit Zhen, Zha Da Hong Huan", which can be translated into clear words as "night dreams are ominous, and going out is good luck".Just write these words on the door, and things will be "good luck".Later, there were many kinds of word games of this kind, and they were used in a wide range of ways, such as "seeing joy at the door", "good luck" and so on, can be seen everywhere.Even Chinese ghosts are afraid of words, "Taishan Shi Gandang" is the best example.After China entered the socialist stage, this trend continued. The words "serve the people" can be seen in many places.It seems that as long as these five words are written, the work of serving the people has been completed.As for whether to serve or not, that is an extremely secondary matter.The "sweeping all monsters and monsters" we are facing now also belongs to this situation.As soon as the eight characters were written, our group of monsters and monsters seemed to be swept away.How concise!What a joy!

From then on, our group of prisoners lived under the deterrence of these eight characters.