Chapter 14 Chapter Twelve

Watching the children grow up day by day, Zheng Shaobai realized that he was getting old. In July 1945, on the eve of Qingpu's recovery, he was released by the Japanese from the Hall of Hell, and his steps were not so steady.His body was extremely weak, and all the flesh in his body was really used up this time, leaving only a pair of skeletons wrapped in yellow skin, it seemed that a gust of wind could blow him down.From Dongfang Factory to his home on the back street of Xiahong Road, Zheng Shaobai stopped at least five times along the way. He came back suddenly.The family was surprised and delighted.Ye Chunlan asked Heng Ren to buy a pack of pig ears and pig tongue at the street corner, and then she was busy making a fire to cook.Xiao Chung fiddled with a bottle of Lao Bai Gan out of nowhere and clamored for a drink to celebrate.

When he picked up the wine cup, Xiao Yong's eyes were red, and he said, "Uncle, for us these few years, you have suffered a lot and suffered a lot. Uncle, I respect you!" Xiaoling also held up the wine cup with tears in her eyes: "Uncle, I...I also...respect you, old man! Without you, old man, I... we are afraid that we will all starve to death..." Before she finished speaking, tears began to flow. It dripped into the wine cup. Zheng Shaobai nodded repeatedly, held up a cup full of wine with trembling hands, and drank it down in one gulp. Xiaoyong said again: "Uncle, you are in such poor health, you should rest at home first! Don't be too busy, don't think about anything, Xiaoling and I are not children now, we are supporting the family! Xiaoling also Go to Daxing Spinning Mill to work!"

Zheng Shaobai looked at the two children, smiled almost happily, and said with emotion: "Yes! Yes! You...you have all grown up, and the little devil is finished. We...our big family will...finally I’ve made it through!” After saying that, the smile on his face disappeared, and he shed tears at first, and then he began to cry, and the more he cried, the more fierce he became. Ye Chunlan came over to persuade: "Look at you, why are you crying in front of the child? It's a joy to come back alive, everyone should be happy!" However, turning her back, Ye Chunlan also wipe away tears...

It was an unforgettable reunion.Zheng Shaobai remembered the situation of this reunion for a lifetime; Zheng Shaobai also remembered what Xiaoyong and Xiaoling said in this reunion for a lifetime.He later said countless times that for this day, for what Xiaoyong and Xiaoling said, all the hardships and sufferings he had suffered over the years were worth it, and he would be willing to enter the palace of the king of hell again. That night, Zheng Shaobai asked Ye Chunlan and Xiao Yong to bring out the broken vise and small melting pot that they had hidden a few years ago, and put them in the east room in a grand manner.

Xiao Chung was very surprised, and asked Zheng Shaobai: "Uncle, you still... still want to do it? Continue to steal things from the factory?" Zheng Shaobai shook his head: "No, no, quit! But I have to look at these things often, and you should also look at these things often, so that you can remember what kind of life we ​​lived in the hands of the little devil!" Xiao Chung said: "None of us will ever forget this kind of day!" Zheng Shaobai took Xiaoyong's hand and said: "You still have to remember: Uncle is not a thief! Uncle is because of you... You guys are forced to do nothing, and have to take some copper back home to do private work." Do you know? When your uncle was seventeen, he was an executive member of the strike committee of the General League! He was the youngest of the eight executive members!"

This time I slipped away. Xiao Yong immediately asked, "Hey, Uncle, are you, like my father, a... the Communist Party?" Zheng Shaobai was startled, and quickly shook his head in denial: "No, it's not..." As soon as the incident was over, Zheng Shaobai forgot about it. He never thought that Xiao Chung would keep it firmly in his heart, and would bring up the old story again two years later, making another big commotion, which changed his life path again. After resting at home for two months, when I went to work at the factory at the end of October, the Japanese guard at the factory gate had been replaced by soldiers from the national army, and the Japanese sun flag on the gate tower had also been replaced by a blue sky and white day big red flag.The Dongfang Factory and the entire Qingpu City were taken over by the national army, and most of the traitors in the Special Three Division were arrested, but the military production of the Yanwangdian continued as usual.The only difference is that the workers who commute to and from get off work are free and no longer live in the factory dormitory that is like a prison.

At the beginning of the liberation, Zheng Shaobai was very excited for a while. When the first batch of national army troops marched into Qingpu, he sincerely took his youngest son to welcome him.Flying a small red paper flag, he led his mistress and huddled among the welcoming crowd, the tears in his eyes couldn't help falling down.Looking at the American jeeps passing slowly in front of him, he also tried to find the familiar figures of Mr. An and Mr. Gao.Zheng Shaobai believed that both Mr. An and Mr. Gao would come back, but he was very disappointed.Almost all of the jeeps were military officers in military uniforms, neither Mr. An nor Mr. Gao.

Afterwards, Zheng Shaobai found out that Mr. An returned to Qingpu in November of the following year. When he came back, he already had a representative from the National Congress, an executive director of the National Federation of Trade Unions of the Republic of China, an alternate legislator, the director of the Qingpu Social Bureau, and the director of the Qingpu Political Design Committee. Waiting for a series of dazzling official positions, the main task is to deal with the labor movement and student movement, and he has become a household name in Qingpu City.In those few years, his name could be seen almost every day in the three newspapers in Qingpu.It was 1949 when Mr. Gao came back.He came back wearing the uniform of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, took over Qingpu as soon as he came back, and became the chairman of the Qingpu Military Control Committee.

Compared with these two old acquaintances who worked together, Zheng Shaobai really lived for nothing in this life, and his many sins were really for nothing. In 1925, Mr. Gao's partner made a revolution, and was sentenced to five years in prison and a silk coat. In 1930, he joined Mr. An's team and devoted himself to the revolution for the second time. It was a successful national revolution, but he ended up with a debt of conscience that would never be paid off and seven years of slave labor. The revolution is really sorry for him! When meeting Gao Ming in October 1949, Zheng Shaobai once sincerely thought so.

In October 1945, standing in the crowd welcoming the liberation, the idea hadn't come up yet, and Zheng Shaobai hadn't made the decision to join the revolution for the third time.At that time, Zheng Shaobai never imagined that the Kuomintang and the Communist Party would go to war again soon, let alone that the Communist Party would defeat the Kuomintang in just three years and win the world all by itself.Therefore, Zheng Shaobai insisted that: he later recruited party members in the Dongfang Locomotive Factory and led the struggle to protect the factory was not another speculative revolution, but saw through the reactionary corruption of the Kuomintang government. Out of concern, he stepped forward.

The reactionary corruption of the Kuomintang reactionary government is undeniable.Zheng Shaobai may not know about other places, but he is too clear about Dongfang Locomotive Factory.As soon as the reception staff entered the factory, the first thing they did was to occupy the bungalows, grab the cars, and then seal the warehouse.Not only several warehouses in Qingpu were sealed, but also the warehouses of Dongfang Factory in Shanghai and Tianjin were also sealed.The closure of the warehouse is fake, but the equipment theft is real. Qingpu’s officials are stealing and selling Qingpu’s machinery and equipment, and Shanghai and Tianjin guys are stealing and selling Shanghai and Tianjin’s steel and machinery in stock.The factory was unable to operate at full capacity for two years, and thousands of unemployed workers lived on U.S. flour from the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. The Kuomintang Dongfang Locomotive Works trade union under the control of An Zhongliang's Social Bureau also completely exposed its ugly face.On the one hand, they claimed to represent the workers to the factory, and firmly grasped the power to distribute relief flour supplies from the United States in their own hands.On the other hand, they colluded with the factory to engage in corruption and fraud, and smashed truckloads of flour and milk powder to sell on the black market.A large amount of cloth and some other necessary daily necessities distributed to the workers by the "Rescue Bureau" were taken for themselves. Workers were enraged, and began to join forces in secret, planning to hold petitions and demonstrations when officials from the United Nations Relief Administration went to the factory for inspections, so as to bring down the yellow trade unions that were swarming with tigers and wolves.At that time, there was no underground party organization in Dongfang Factory—it turned out that there were two party members who were arrested a few months before the petition struggle began because of the informants of yellow trade union agents.Everyone had no choice but to nominate Xiao Chung and six other workers as representatives to lead the struggle. The first secret meeting of the group of seven was held at Zheng Shaobai's house one night in March 1947.Before the meeting, Xiao Chung had a serious and in-depth discussion with Zheng Shaobai, bringing up the issue of the Communist Party again. Xiaoyong asked Zheng Shaobai: "Uncle, are you a member of the Communist Party? I asked many old people in the factory, and they all guessed that you are! You also said yourself that in 1925, you were the executive member of the strike committee of the Qingpu General League. Could it be that he is not a member of the Communist Party?" Zheng Shaobai thought for a long time, and finally admitted, saying: "I am... I was introduced to join the party by Mr. Gao Minggao in the 14th year of the Republic of China. Your father also joined the party at that time." Xiao Chung named the two party members who were arrested a few months ago, and asked Zheng Shaobai if he knew them and if he had contact with them? Zheng Shaobai shook his head: "I have no contact with them, they have never looked for me, and I have never looked for them. You know, during the time of the little devil, I have been locked up in the Palace of Hell. The changes in the factory are so great. There are so many people out there, I can't possibly know them!" Xiao Yong was quite disappointed: "So, you... you are not a Communist Party now?" Zheng Shaobai thought for a while: "This... I don't know this either!" Xiao Chung still didn't give up: "Then...then no one in the Communist Party contacted you again?" Zheng Shaobai's eyes lit up: "I remember! I have contacted, this, when the KMT and the Communist Party cooperated for the second time in the 27th year of the Republic of China, Mr. Gao came to me and sent a hundred yuan, saying that I would continue to work with him! " Xiaoyong was happy: "Then you are still the Communist Party! It's just that I haven't been in touch with you due to special circumstances in the past few years! Uncle, you participated in the strike of the General League in the city and are a party member. This time, you can lead us to do it again." !" Xiaoyong immediately told Zheng Shaobai the situation in the factory, the situation of the yellow labor union, and the secret connection with the seven-member team.At the same time, he also discussed with him the plan to organize the unemployed workers of the whole factory to petition and demonstrate to the relief agency officials.Zheng Shaobai also lost his job, and he had already suppressed his anger. When he heard the plan of the petition and demonstration, he was excited. He clenched his fists and agreed to take the lead. He also agreed with Xiaoyong to arrange the first secret meeting at home. At that critical moment, Zheng Shaobai became very smart. He remembered in time the many sleepless nights spent at 125 William Street in 1925, and the long-lost political struggle scenes appeared before him again, so that Zheng Shaobai mistakenly He believes that he has never been out of political struggle, let alone did anything against the party. He is not only a member of the Communist Party, but also a very good member of the Communist Party! Good party members naturally have to think for the party, but also for the labor brothers and poor brothers. That's what Mr. Gao and Mr. Ji did back then.Today, since he has played the role of the leader of this kind of party, he naturally has to do the same. After thinking for a long time, Zheng Shaobai said to Xiaoyong: "Okay, very good, it's very good for you to do this! It's very timely and very... this is necessary! But, you know, the struggle is this... this is a long-term Therefore, I think the most urgent task is to recruit more party members and establish a party organization!" Xiao Yong nodded in admiration, expressing his agreement: "Yes, yes, Uncle, you are so right. With a party organization, everyone will have a backbone, and they will be able to rely on them in the future!" Zheng Shaobai was dazzled by Xiao Chung's admiration, and he seemed to be an experienced revolutionary: "Is that what Mr. Gao and Mr. Ji did back then? I also often said to Mr. Gao and Mr. Ji that the revolutionary This kind of thing cannot be done without our labor brothers! Therefore, if we don’t recruit more party members and form a united group, we won’t be able to achieve great things! You Wang Yong and Zheng Shaobai can do it with one or two people. Go to heaven?!" "Of course, as long as everyone is united, the yellow trade union will collapse!" Because of the yellow trade union, he thought of the revolutionary red trade union. Zheng Shaobai’s topic changed from building a group of party members to the trade union: “Of course, the trade union has to be rebuilt! The trade union can also form a group! The trade union is a big group, what about the party?” , It’s just a small gang. When Mr. Gao and I went on strike together, we had a clear political goal, which was to establish a trade union so that everyone could form a big group and fight against the imperialist powers and capitalists!” Xiao Chung slapped his hands and once again affirmed Zheng Shaobai's wisdom: "Yes, we have to do this! The yellow trade union in the factory is the dog of the Kuomintang. Let's break it up and establish our own independent trade union under the leadership of the party!" "Then," Zheng Shaobai raised his head wisely and thought for a while, "the problem of establishing the party organization must be solved first, and the situation of the seven members of the seven-member group must be found out first to see if there are any spies driven by the yellow trade union. Infiltrate. You have to talk to them one by one to see what they really mean. If these people are okay, recruit them as the first batch of party members!" Xiao Chung grinned: "Uncle, don't worry about the situation of these people, I know them all well! They are all good, and they entrusted me to talk to you today, and they all know each other well. I want to join the party!" Zheng Shaobai was also happy: "Okay! This is very good! I see, this matter is settled like this, let them join the party together!" Xiao Chung was a little confused: "It's so easy, as you always say, they join the party when they say they join the party?" Zheng Shaobai raised his face, and said solemnly: "How easy is it? You said you know them well, and they are all good. To know them is to test...inspect, right? Did Mr. Gao examine me in the same way back then? Oh, we still have to hold a ceremony, how can it be said to be easy? Chung, your hair is still young, you don’t understand the party affairs!” After finishing speaking, Zheng Shaobai patted Xiaoyong’s shoulder very kindly, just like Gao Mr. patted him on the shoulder. Xiao Chung understood after being photographed, and asked with trepidation: "Uncle, then... the party joining ceremony, huh... when will it be held?" Zheng Shaobai thought for a while, and said decisively: "It's not too late, let's hold it when your seven-member group is meeting! Tell them, talkers must be important, keep secrets, and don't tell your parents about joining the party, and don't tell your wives and children , when you have a meeting, you must bring your birth date..." Xiao Chung, who had just realized it, was confused again: "Joining the party is not about kowtowing in exchange for posts, so what are you doing with your birthday?" Then Zheng Shaobai suddenly remembered: yes, yes, joining the party is not to bring birth date, but to fill out a form.The birthday horoscope is used when kowtowing to change posts to worship brothers.He was really too confused, and confused being introduced to the party by Mr. Gao Ming with the appointment of Wang Shousong and Wang Sange. But can not admit their mistakes.At that time, Zheng Shaobai understood that if he wanted to be an authoritative leader, the first thing he had to practice was to have a thick skin. Even if he was drunk, he couldn't accept the money for the pot of wine, so he raised his face and said, "What are you talking about? Just bring it! Bring your birth date, is it for filling in the form! Or, you don’t even know who was born in the year of the monkey, so what’s the point? Do we still look like a party? Isn’t it?” Because of filling out the form, Zheng Shaobai remembered the text problem related to the form.Zheng Shaobai could recognize a few words, like the worker's "工", which means standing upright, but because of the difficult life these years, it is rare to see them face to face, and he forgot them all. Zheng Shaobai then asked again: "Yong, among the seven workers who want to join the party, are there any who can read and write?" Xiao Chung said: "There is one, named Shao Xiaogang, who has been in elementary school for several years." "Okay, okay. Then you ask Shao Xiaogang to do this, get a pen, find a few pieces of paper, and write down their birthdays and what they have done! After writing it down, let's hold another ceremony. Even if they join the party..." In the next few days, Xiaoyong was busy with the practical and specific work of establishing the party, while Zheng Shaobai concentrated on how to preside over the ceremony of establishing the party.After thinking about it for a few days, thinking about it hurt my brain, the situation when I joined the party more than 20 years ago - I remembered it. The first thing I remembered was the party flag. The flag was a piece of bright red cloth with something on it, either a five-pointed star or an ax and sickle framed together, or a five-pointed star and an axe and sickle.The final decision was the ax and the sickle.Then what came to mind was the blood oath with raised fists, obviously not something like "I don't want to be born in the same year, the same month, the same day, but I hope to die in the same year, the same month, the same day".It seems to be: for the sake of struggle, sacrifice yourself, never betray, and strictly keep secrets.It also seems to be: loyal to the doctrine, sacrificing oneself, strictly keeping secrets, and never betraying the party.Anyway, that's the way it is. There are both doctrines and self, and it doesn't matter which one you use, so don't think too much about it. After several days of deliberation, on the night of March 19, 1947, the Qingpu Dongfang Locomotive Works Branch Committee of the Communist Party of China was declared to be established. Seven workers including Wang Yong, under the auspices of Zheng Shaobai, swore to join the party as the first batch of party members. Another historical bane was planted like this...