Chapter 26 Zhang Yong's family

I mentioned Zhang Yong many times above, and I also gave a brief introduction to his family background. Now I will focus on his family. After Zhang Shizhao stepped down, the couple took their three sons to study in Europe and settled in Göttingen.Later, Zhang Shizhao returned to China first, the eldest son Zhang Ke went to study in Italy, and the third son Zhang Yin went to study in England.Only the second son, Zhang Yong, stayed in Göttingen to accompany his mother.This was the case when I arrived in Göttingen, where mother and son had been living for several years. They rented one floor, which was on the top floor of a small western-style building, and the German landlord lived on the two floors below.The male landlady has a fleshy face and never smiles. He is a disgusting person.He has a retired old mother who seems to be in her 70s or 80s. She is very old and can't walk all the way. She lives alone in a small house on the second floor.Mother and son do not eat together.When I visited Zhang Yong, sometimes I saw an extremely rough meal on the ground outside her bedroom door, without any heat.In Chinese, it means "don't even eat dogs".The male landlord does have a big wolfhound.Not only does his dog not eat this kind of food, it is said that he must eat beef.I ate too much beef and suffered from stomach problems. I still need to ask a dog doctor for consultation.Once, when the old lady was ill, I went to Zhang’s house, and for several days in a row, I saw the same meal standing at the door of the room, cold and lonely, waiting for the old lady to eat.It's a pity that she probably won't even be able to get out of bed at this time.

This is gossip mentioned by the way, let's talk about the topic. The old lady Zhang (Long Piyan and I call her "Aunt Zhang") is a student studying in the UK, and her English is pretty good.She was Sun Yat-sen's secretary, and it is said that she was in charge of English.She adored England to the point of prostration.She has all the pride and prejudice of the British.The worship of English is no less than that of the British.The British are often proud of their English.They believe that the only language that can be used freely with a cigar in their mouths is English.Therefore, in Western countries, the people who are most reluctant to learn foreign languages ​​are the British.People from other countries must take learning English as a sacred duty.In this respect, Aunt Zhang is a British person through and through.She has been in Germany for several years, and she can't even say "good morning" or "good night".She has to go out to buy things every day.No matter how much skill and prejudice she has, she cannot make the German shop assistants perform their sacred duties anyway.She has no choice but to hold a small English-German dictionary in her hand. When she wants to buy something, she first finds out the English language, followed by the German language. She only needs to point her finger, and the clerk will understand.If you want to buy three or three catties, then stretch out three fingers.So this buying and selling activity was completed immediately, without any effort, and everyone was happy.

She refused to speak German, and of course she refused to recognize German characters. The German cursive alphabet became a thorn in her side. This alphabet is different from the Latin alphabet commonly used in countries such as Britain, France and Germany, and it is more troublesome to recognize.Fascists deliberately advocated cursive characters to express their German patriotism above all else.Most of the street name signs have changed to this letter.Therefore, Aunt Zhang encountered even greater trouble.Plus, her ability to recognize directions and remember street names is surprisingly low.I have lived in Göttingen for several years, but I still can't tell the difference between east, west, south, and north.A few times I went out and walked a little far, but I couldn't find my way home.

Aunt Zhang is such a person.Although she is over sixty years old, she is naive and innocent, and she seems to have lost her heart.She has the same performance in other aspects. She was born in a famous family, she was a student studying in Britain, she was Sun Yat-sen's secretary, and her husband was the head of the Beiyang government, so she naturally developed a vicious sense of family superiority. .Others may have this sense of superiority, but they always try to hide it, perhaps with a little pretense of corporal humility.Aunt Zhang doesn't understand this. She thinks she is an "official family" and we are all "people's family".As soon as she opened her mouth, she said: "What about our official family, what about your private family." Her attitude was frank and poised, without any shyness.When we heard it, we were shocked at first, and then felt ridiculous.Sometimes I would play some pranks, and deliberately raised my voice and said, "Does your official family also eat with chopsticks and drink tea from teacups?" She didn't notice our intentions at all, and continued to yell about "official" and "private".In this regard, she has already cultivated to the point of transcendence and holiness, and we mortals are really helpless.

Her son Zhang Yong is a very smart person, of course he can't understand his mother's behavior like this.He is a taciturn person, but also a very filial person.He never interrupted his mother.But judging from his frowning, he was very unhappy.He often seemed to be thinking about something, maybe a math problem, maybe something else.On weekdays at home, I probably don't chat with my mother much.The old lady lives alone in a dangerous building, with no relatives, no German friends, no one to talk to, she must be unbearably lonely.So when I saw us "folk families", I smiled happily, and kept saying, "I'll tell you something big!" I couldn't even catch my breath.The "big things" she mentioned were all trivial things.She babbled and couldn't stop talking.But she neither reads books nor reads newspapers, so the topics she can talk about are really limited.Often after three sentences, we talk about Zhang Shizhao.Talk about the scene when Zhang Shizhao married her.Zhang Shizhao became a high-ranking official, but he always treated his wife with Western etiquette.Get in the car and open the door for her, walk with her arm, and yell Darling (darling) all the time.She herself is like sitting on a cloud, thinking that she is the happiest woman in the world.However, due to unexpected events, one day, she suddenly discovered that the real situation was not like this at all.So he immediately fell from the clouds above the nine heavens.It happened that Zhang Shizhao also stepped down, so the couple came to Göttingen with their sons.

What she talked about about Zhang Shizhao was far more than that.For the sake of the sages, I will say this here.In nearly two years, she told her husband's story countless times, sometimes vividly and vividly.This is of course even more exciting to Zhang Yong.Although he remained silent as usual, his brows were furrowed even more. In this way, Aunt Zhang welcomed us to her home, and I would like to go and see this simple and innocent old man myself.My main purpose is to find Zhang Yong and listen to him talk about some problems.His mother said that when I went, Zhang Yong seemed to be a different person, with a smile on his face, and he talked more.At this time, the old lady obviously became happy, and immediately got some snacks, brewed Longjing tea, and probably asked me to eat, while talking about Zhang Shizhao, and on the other hand, she was very busy.I talked with Zhang Yong about some issues, and we were very interested.Several times, during the intervals of such conversations, thunder outside the building was suddenly heard like a drum beating.Looking through the small glass window on the roof, the sky is overcast and cloudy, and the jungle on the mountain in the east is blocked by chaotic clouds, making it a blur, and I feel the power of nature.However, we continued to talk, and when we paid attention, we heard the sound of heavy rain knocking on the window.

Such a good time is not very long, maybe only one summer in 1936.Turning to 1937, the Zhang family’s domestic economic resources had problems, and they were unable to provide for the children in Germany, Britain, and Italy to study and live.They decided that Zhang Yong should go back to China first to find out.After Zhang Yong left, the old lady stayed in Göttingen alone, waiting for news of her son.At this time, Long Piyan and I assumed the responsibility of looking after the old lady.The three of us have lunch together in the restaurant every day.When we met every day, the old lady said out of breath as usual: "I tell you a big thing!" We know that there is no big thing.After lunch, take the old lady home, like this every day.Later, Zhang Yong sent a letter from China: the economic problem could not be solved, Zhang Yong could not come back, and asked the old lady to return to China immediately.So we helped her check out the house, pack her things, apply for a passport, buy a car ticket, and became busy.In such an extraordinary period, the old lady has not forgotten her "official" status.She took a photo and asked us to help her choose a "standard photo" to give to journalists when she returns home.

The old lady finally left, and the life of Zhang Yong's family in Göttingen for six or seven years finally came to an end.Zhang Yong studied hard in Germany for six or seven years, but in the end he failed to return to Germany and failed to obtain a doctorate.Since then, I have not been able to see their mother and son again.Zhang Yong first taught at Zhejiang University, the Anti-Japanese War was prospering, and he moved everywhere. In the ups and downs, he did not forget me, nor did he forget to write poems.Letters are often sent to me, sometimes with my own poems attached.I can still remember some of his poems, such as "Chang Ge Jiande is not my land, why would you want Qimen to come to see the mountains" and so on.I don’t remember what year it was, but he sent me all the not too many poems he wrote in his life.I don't know what he thinks about it.Could it be that he had a premonition that he was plagued by lung disease and would die soon, so he sent the crystallization of his hard work to a reliable friend as soon as possible, and passed it on to others? His premonition was correct, and he left in exile soon In the world, only I, who was entrusted by him, is still alive in the world.Looking at Zhang Yong's life, he is a lonely person, a lonely person, a lonely person, and a short-lived talented person.He regards me, who has only been friends with him for more than a year, as his only confidant.This situation is sad, and this feeling is touching! I am afraid that I am the only one who knows Zhang Yong and thinks of Zhang Yong among all living beings in the vast world.I feel more and more that I have also lost a rare confidant.However, there is a gap between the world and the sky, and I want to cry but have no tears. "Up to the poor and down to the underworld, the two places are gone." I'm afraid I will hold grudges all day long.sad husband!