Chapter 79 Chapter 78 Pearl Buck's Love

Ding Jieqiong came to a large living room.Betty quickly got up from the sofa, and the two embraced again. "Betty, Betty, my dear Betty!" the female professor shouted passionately, "I'm so happy to meet you, so happy! Oh, who told you that I'm going back to China?" "Who else could it be, of course it's Lolita!" Betty said repeatedly, and suddenly asked, "Hey, who was that short and strong man just now?" "Aaron Perry. A soldier." "Ah, 'General Manhattan'!" Betty asked again, "What about the hunchbacked old man, I think he looks a lot like Charles."

"Yes, it is him." "What are they here for?" "Stop talking about them, and talk about us, dear Betty, and talk about ourselves!" "As soon as I saw these people, I was deeply afraid that they would harm you again..." "Perry and Charles are also here to see me off." "Seeing you off? Alright, alright, I'll listen to you, let's not talk about them!" Ding Jieqiong and Betty embraced each other, pushing each other away and zooming in, looking left and right, as if they couldn't get enough.The female professor spent nine years with Lolita on Alice Island, and she can often see Lolita this year when she returns to Berkeley; it is different from Betty, since she left Toombs Prison in 1949: a whole Ten years of silence...

Ten years ago, on September 10, 1949, when Ding Jieqiong left Toombs Prison, she asked Betty to "see" Pearl Buck and "tell her about my situation." Betty certainly understood what that meant to a prison guard.Doing so could have serious consequences.Betty knew that Ding Jieqiong was "secretly arrested" and she was "disappeared".The outside world must not let the real situation of Dr. Ding know, otherwise it will definitely cause trouble for the authorities.Letting Pearl Buck know about Ding Jieqiong's "situation" is tantamount to letting the whole society and even the whole world know the truth!

But Betty still agreed.She likes Ding Jieqiong and believes that Ding Jieqiong will never be a "spy".Everyone knows how scary the FBI is.And the CIA, and the Immigration Service and many other secret or quasi-secret agencies, and countless police agents and state-of-the-art investigative techniques... If all these things are put together and it is still possible for as long as three years If you can't prove that a person is a spy, and dare not publicly accuse and punish this person for the crime of espionage, then it can only prove that there is an unfathomable conspiracy! Betty wrote a letter to Pearl Buck, saying that she was entrusted by a "Chinese person" and hoped to visit her.

Pearl Buck quickly called to welcome Betty. Soon, Betty met Pearl Buck for the first time at the farm in the suburbs of Philadelphia.It can be seen that the female writer was tall and slender when she was young, with an oval face, and she was a standard beauty; although she is fifty-seven years old, she is obviously fat like most white women of this age, but her demeanor is still very dignified... … Upon hearing the name "Ding Jieqiong", Pearl Buck immediately suppressed her smile, leaned forward, and asked repeatedly: "I haven't heard from her for several years. Where has she gone? Please tell me quickly."

Beatty said Ding Jieqiong was secretly held in Toombs Prison for three years, and the Department of Justice, Immigration and State Department were all involved in the case on the basis of "suspected atomic espionage."But Betty said that, according to her feeling, the key role in the "Ding case" was actually the FBI.The first interrogation was with a State Department guy named Charles, but the old man never showed up again.Three years later, Professor Ding was sent to another place.According to the usual practice, the prison guards would know the whereabouts of the "prisoners"; but, strangely, Betty tried her best to find out where Ding Jieqiong was sent.She even imagined whether female scientists were secretly executed...

"Is it possible?" Pearl Buck asked nervously. "When the highest interests of the country are involved, anything can happen!" Seeing Pearl Buck's pale face, Betty softened her tone, "However, generally speaking, the biggest possibility is that Dr. Ding is being held in a secret place." "Is Charles that man's last name or first name?" Pearl Buck asked again, "Apart from being an 'old man', what other characteristics does he have?" "His full name is Lynd Charles, and he has the status of a priest." Betty said, "By the way, he can speak Chinese fluently just like you. I heard that he also has a Chinese name..."

"Oh, I see: Chalude." Pearl Buck nodded, "I know him. Both he and I have lived in China for a long time, and both have worked in Chinese universities. They can all speak Chinese fluently, and even once had Chinese nationality. Yes, I heard that he returned to the United States after the war..." "Really?" Betty was overjoyed, "You look for him quickly." Pearl Buck wrote to Charles, but there was no reply; she went to Washington in person to visit the "China Affairs Adviser" at the State Department, but Charles avoided seeing her.But Pearl Buck persevered and began to write or call the president, vice president, cabinet members, members of Congress, journalists and all famous people, looking for the whereabouts of Ding Jieqiong, a beautiful Chinese scientist.The struggle that started in October 1949 and Pearl Buck's "Memory of China" even became one of the factors that triggered "McCarthyism"...

In 1932, Pearl Buck became the first female winner of the "Pulitzer Prize for Fiction" with her novel "The Great Earth" about China; The only female writer who won both the Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Prize. "The Great Earth" has been translated and published in more than 60 countries. Therefore, Pearl Buck has become the American writer whose works are written in the most languages. Tooth itchy, but helpless. What happened to Betty was miserable!Her connection to Buck was on the FBI's radar almost from the start.But Betty was a prison guard after all, and had a sense of defense; although the FBI suspected her, they could not confirm what she said to Pearl Buck.So pressure was put on the prison authorities to remove her.Betty was unemployed, and her husband took the children with him when he divorced her.She fell apart, lived on the dole, and no one dared to hire her; it wasn't until 1955, after McCarthy's downfall, that she got a job as a security guard in the Everglades National Park at the far southern end of the Florida peninsula...

"I'm the one who killed you, Betty!" Ding Jieqiong choked up, "How are you doing in the Everglades?" "Have a good time. Have you forgotten my nickname, 'Rhinoceros'." Betty raised her chest, "The park faces the vast Gulf of Mexico and the Straits of Florida. The water and the sky are the same, and there are many poachers and smugglers; And I am proficient in marksmanship, can fight, drive a cart and ride a horse, and I am brave, indeed like a strong and strong rhinoceros! The park does not pay much attention to political background, which is very good to me."

"Still alone?" "It's good to be single! After all, I was married, and you have always been single." "What are you talking about, what a 'rhinoceros'!" Lolita glared at Betty. "No, what I mean is that Dr. Ding is about to end his celibate life. It is worth celebrating!" Betty laughed, "Don't you know, Lolita, Dr. Ding's lover in China is named 'Lan'. Once she When I go back, I will be immersed in the fragrance of orchids every moment!" "If that's the case, of course it's good." How could Lolita "don't know" what Betty knew!But Lolita's tone is far less enthusiastic than "Rhino".Perhaps, she, the psychologist, had some premonition... Betty always said "it's fine", "it's fine".In fact, how much hardship and suffering she had endured for ten years, especially during the years of unemployment during the White Terror!Ding Jieqiong thought that if the money she left in Berkeley was unfrozen or developed, she should donate a sum to Betty.But it is too early to think about these things, we can only wait for the future; however, where is this "future"?What year and month?Can you see it in your lifetime?Yes, there was also a particularly beautiful ruby ​​brooch in the trunk.But the jewelry is only "extremely beautiful" on Ding Jieqiong, not any other woman-this has been tried and tested.What's more, it's not real jewelry, but a fake ruby, not worth more than fine crystal glass; its metal part looks like gold, but it's just gilded... "Betty," Ding Jieqiong held each other's hands tightly, "I don't have a better way to express my gratitude. I can only boil down a thousand words in front of me to one sentence: Thank you, thank you!" "Thank you for what? For the suffering I have suffered?" Betty smiled and shook her head, "Don't take this matter to heart, Doctor. During the McCarthy era, how many kind and innocent Americans suffered enough, and some were even forced to Killed myself! I'm the kind of person who would have done it for someone else if you didn't—did you forget that in Toombs Prison? There are countless crimes and secrets hidden there. To tell the truth, It’s a relief for me to be able to leave that place.” These words reminded Ding Jieqiong of the "American Bastille" which was dedicated to detaining felons and had an execution room.She once had the opportunity to experience the other floors except for the eleventh floor: "pigeon cages" made of steel grids are lined up on both sides of the aisle, each cell is only a few square meters, poorly ventilated, dirty, filthy, and smelly. Breathtaking.The vast majority of criminals are black, some of them wear shackles and handcuffs, their bodies are bruised, some have their teeth knocked out or their mouths cut open, their heads are stitched or bandaged... The female professor shuddered. "Really, Doctor," Betty went on, "to say thank you, you should thank Lolita, and you should thank Pearl Buck even more!" Pearl Buck has been looking for it for many years, but Ding Jieqiong has never been heard from.Women writers think more and more of those two lines of ancient Chinese poems: Go up to the poor and go down to the underworld, and the two places are gone. Until eight years later, an accidental, small event changed everything. It was one day in the autumn of 1957. A sixty-five-year-old female writer was invited to Atlantic City to attend the wedding of a good friend's daughter.All the guests were proud to shake hands or have a few words with the Nobel laureate.Among the guests was Lolita, a distant relative of the groom.She was very happy that it was her turn to talk to the great writer, "I have read a lot of your works!" "Which ones?" Pearl Buck asked casually. "'The Earth', 'Sons', 'The Separation', 'East Wind·West Wind', 'Dragon Seed', 'Exile', 'The Fighting Angel'..." Lolita was so familiar with almost all of Pearl Buck's works, "but my favorite My favorite is "All Brothers Within the World"!" "Huh?" The female writer was surprised. Lolita proudly said, "I am reading only your autographed book!" "yes?" "Yes!" "Who do I sign it for?" "Dr. Ding Jieqiong—" Lolita blurted out. "She, Ding Jieqiong, where is she now?" Pearl Buck immediately stared at her, "What's your name, and where do you work?" Lolita gaped, looking around alertly. Unexpectedly, Pearl Buck soon became smiling: "Do you like books bought from bookstores, or autographed books?" "Of course it's a signed copy..." "Nice to meet you!" Pearl Buck got up and took Lolita's hand, "I brought some new books, which were supposed to be autographed for the bride and groom, so I'll give you a copy too." Pearl Buck led Lolita to find an empty room, turned around and closed the door, and held her hands tightly... Lolita introduces everything on Alice Island.She only made one request: "If you make a move, I hope it will be at least a year later. Otherwise, they will suspect me soon." "Oh, Ding can only be wronged for another year!" Pearl Buck sighed, "You know, what a lovely girl she is." "'Girl'? She's forty-seven." "But when I first met her, she was only nineteen years old, like a rose budding." Pearl Buck looked confused, "Twenty-eight years have passed, and she is always that age in my mind. " Pearl Buck kept her promise, and did not send that fiercely worded letter to President Eisenhower until a year later, in October 1958, requesting "give me back my friend and student Ding Jieqiong"!In her letter, she pointed out the place where Ding Jieqiong was being held - Alice Island.She wrote: "I have finally found out and confirmed this after many years, otherwise I would not write this letter to you. If the President ignores this, I will have to publish this letter in the newspaper and seek the United States. Help from the people!" In addition, since 1954, Beijing has repeatedly raised the Ding Jieqiong issue with the United States.In 1958, the government of the People's Republic of China also learned that Ding Jieqiong was imprisoned on Alice Island, and included this as a "major topic" in the Warsaw talks.The Chinese ambassador made it clear that Premier Zhou Enlai was personally following this matter directly... "Oh, doctor, I was just happy and almost forgot a big event." Betty took out a letter, "I first flew directly from Miami to Philadelphia, visited Ms. Pearl Buck, and then borrowed a car from her and went straight to New York —here, here is her letter!" After Ding Jieqiong left Alice Island, she had several short phone calls with Pearl Buck; to prevent eavesdropping, she only spoke a few dozen sentences each time, feeling that there were thousands of words stuck in her heart.So, now, what does Pearl Buck want to say?Ding Jieqiong wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, opened the envelope, took out a few pages of letter paper, and spread them out with both hands; she closed her eyes, calmed down, and began to read—— Ding Jieqiong knew that Pearl Buck adopted nine children after 1925 and six more after 1935.Little John was the youngest of all these children, and the sickest of all... Until today, at this moment, on the eve of Ding Jieqiong’s departure from the United States, when she read this letter, she suddenly realized that Pearl Buck was eighteen years older than herself—this is already the age gap between two generations. Because I have never been married and had children, I haven't realized the motherhood in Pearl Buck's love for her for a long time... Ding Jieqiong wiped the corners of her eyes again, and continued to read—— After reading this passage, the female professor's mood was particularly disturbed.Isn't it just Pearl Buck?Aum and many other peers and colleagues have the same opinion, why does Ding Jieqiong herself not understand this point!A simple fact is that her experimental results in the "Manhattan Project" have already produced two major discoveries that are considered "Nobel level".After the war, many scientists planned to elect her as a member of the National Academy of Sciences, nominated her as the vice president of the American Physical Society, and pointed out that she was the most powerful "potential winner" of the Nobel Prize in Physics.It's a pity that her main achievements were bound by wartime regulations and could not be published at that time; after the war, she could organize, publish and participate in the "election campaign", but she lost her personal freedom, and it lasted twelve years! Pearl Buck went on to write— Pearl Buck's letter came to an abrupt end.The above text is the words on the last page.Ding Jieqiong's heart was full of confusion and melancholy, and she always felt that the words were still unfinished, and the meaning was still unfinished.In this farewell letter, Pearl Buck poured out her deep affection for China, but did not mention what she had done for Ding Jieqiong.Yes, from ordinary Americans like Betty and Lolita to outstanding Americans like Pearl Buck, they are all so respectable and lovely!Yes, there are also Roman Olmhouse and his brother Hull, and the thousands of Americans that Ding Jieqiong has come into contact with... "Professor." Lolita's voice sounded in Ding Jieqiong's ear, very soft and very special. Only then did the female professor realize that she had her eyes tightly closed.As she hastily folded Pearl Buck's letter and stuffed it into her pocket, she opened her eyes vigorously, looked around, and suddenly her body and mind trembled—— A man with a thin body, yellow-black complexion, and disheveled hair quietly walked into the room at some point, and was standing about four or five meters away from Ding Jieqiong.He was old-fashioned, tall and thin, obviously suffering from some kind of disease or diseases, his whole body seemed to be trembling or shaking, and the eye sockets, mouth, cheeks and chest were deeply sunken, indicating tooth loss and extreme weakness of constitution.However, his flickering eyes and the corners of his tightly pursed mouth showed some kind of determination and deepness... Ding Jieqiong let out a short exclamation, and tears welled up in her eyes.She rushed forward, held the other person's head and face, and kissed vigorously again and again, kissing, crying: "Ah, my teacher, my friend!"