Chapter 27 Chapter 24 Qinglong Town

When Li Hanzhang entered the ancient city of Qinglong Town, a group of middle school students were holding red flags, lined up neatly, and came towards him singing songs.Standing on the side of the street with his shoulder strap on his back, he watched the team pass by.These ten-year-old children, with sonorous footsteps and loud voices, really look "majestic and high-spirited".Such a scene reminded Li Hanzhang of those days when he was studying in Shanghai, especially after the "September 18th Incident" broke out in Northeast China. Go to the front line to defend the country.In a trance, Li Hanzhang felt as if he had returned to the years that made him passionate.

"Resist US aggression and aid Korea, defend our home and country!" "Down with American imperialism and defend peace!" After the team passed by, Li Hanzhang noticed that the streets and alleys of Qinglong Town were densely covered with colorful slogans.The old ink was still wet, and the new one was covered.A few young people were still busy writing slogans on pasted paper: "The people of the whole country and the world unite and make full preparations to defeat any provocation by US imperialism!" "All peace, justice and freedom-loving human beings in the world, especially the oppressed nations and peoples in the East, rise up in unison to stop the new aggression of American imperialism in the East."

Li Hanzhang pretended not to read, and asked the young man who had written the slogan: "What is written on these papers?" The young man looked at Li Hanzhang, whose face was dark and rosy, wearing patched clothes, and carrying a basket on his back, and patiently read the two slogans to Li Hanzhang, and then explained: "Uncle, this sentence was said by Chairman Mao. One sentence was said by Premier Zhou. Don’t you know? Oh, you are illiterate and don’t read newspapers. Let me tell you, the so-called “United Nations Army” assembled by the US imperialists has landed in Incheon, North Korea. Now, the flames of war have reached The Yalu River in the northeast of our country burned to our doorstep. Chairman Mao called on the people of the whole country to resist the United States and aid Korea, and sent the Chinese People’s Volunteers to North Korea... Uncle, you old man can’t read, so go to more meetings. Take action, do a good job in the rear of the Volunteers, and contribute to the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea."

Li Hanzhang agreed with a "hmm" and pretended to be very serious. After watching for a while, he waited for the students to pick up the paste buckets and go to other places to put up slogans before walking away. In fact, before Fuling left, Li Hanzhang knew through many channels, such as loudspeakers on the street and newspapers, that the United States "coerced the emperor to command the princes" and forced the United Nations to make "the 84th UN resolution" in the absence of the Soviet Union. Resolution", and then sent troops to the Korean peninsula.Perhaps in order to prevent the Communist Army from eating up Taiwan in one go, the U.S. Seventh Fleet also chose to sail into the Taiwan Strait and land in South Korea when the Communist Army just took control of mainland China.

This newly established regime dared to face the "United Nations Army" sent by 15 countries and keep the enemy out of the country! Think about the time when the Japanese Kwantung Army occupied the Northeast and launched the "September 18th Incident" to invade China... Li Hanzhang was infected by the atmosphere in front of him, and his blood boiled uncontrollably after being cold for a long time!However, he is very clear about his current situation: he has no conditions to do anything for the party-state, let alone the opportunity to do anything for the Communist Party. The only meaningful thing he can do is still the same as in the past few months, which is for his parents The wife lived on, in order to realize the kind of life that Zhou Yungang yearned for.After figuring this out, he brought the relevant certificate issued by Li Dayong to visit relatives in the ancient city of Qinglong Town, trying to find a way to settle down in Qinglong Town.

Li Hanzhang was walking along the street for a while with his back on his back, and saw a group of people setting up a dragon gate array on the side of the street. They were about to go there to find out where "sister" was so that they could "seek relatives". A woman happened to be holding a wooden basin at this time. Clothes came up from the river, and when he walked past the group of people in the Longmen formation, he lowered his head and bowed slightly, and said to a fat old man in the crowd: "Uncle Li, go home early for dinner." The fat old man raised his head and smiled and agreed: "Okay, sister, tell your aunt that I'll be home in a while."

The woman gave a "hmm" and walked past Li Hanzhang. It looks like you are not young, why are you still wearing big braids?Li Hanzhang couldn't help looking at the woman a few more times, and when she was far away, he also walked over to the fat old man and said, "Uncle Li, I want to ask you about someone. My sister is Zhang Xiaofeng, and she runs a shop here to sell vinegar. Steamed bun, show me the way, old man, I want to find them." Uncle Li thought for a while, and said to the group of people: "No more, no more, I will accompany this brother to find someone." Turning around, he asked Li Hanzhang, "Brother, what's your name?"

"Oh, it's easy to say, Uncle Li, my surname is Zhang, Zhang Ziqiang." Li Hanzhang felt warm when he met such an enthusiastic person as soon as he opened his mouth. In fact, Li Hanzhang knew very well in his heart that Zhang Xiaofeng's family had already returned to Yichang, but they still acted anxiously, and followed Uncle Li all the way, asking and searching. I searched two streets, and the people I met said they didn't know Zhang Xiaofeng.Uncle Li patted his head and asked Li Hanzhang: "Brother Zhang, what's your brother-in-law's name? When people here talk about any woman, if they are not married, they will say the daughter of the family; if they are married, they will say the woman of the family. Don't pay much attention to women's names."

"My brother-in-law is from Yichang, surnamed Tian, ​​who escaped when the Japanese invaded Hubei." Li Hanzhang also made a look of sudden realization, and quickly said, "They have a son named Yuanwa, but now they are afraid that they will be born again. I'm the second child." "Oh, you're talking about Boss Tian. Let me tell you earlier, I recognize this man, and he rented my old house for business." The two came to a three-way intersection, and Uncle Li pointed to a small facade with straw sandals hanging all over the walls. Said, "That's the one. This half of the street used to be owned by my ancestors. Our old Li's family was prosperous, and the ancestors' houses couldn't be separated. In my generation, when I got married, there was only this small facade. Take away the attic above. After Laiyu Laibao grew up, I moved my family to the intersection and built a new house. This place was idle, and I just rented it out to others for business. There are a lot of people here, and the business is doing very well. Brother Zhang, your brother-in-law is a businessman. He always passes my house when he comes and goes to the ancient city to buy goods. He never comes to see me empty-handed. Your sister is also virtuous and a woman. I rarely see her. But every time I saw her, she was either busy with dolls or busy with business."

"Uncle Li, I know they are selling vinegar and steamed buns. Why are straw sandals hanging all over the house?" Li Hanzhang asked anxiously, and walked towards the shop. "Brother Zhang, don't worry, I haven't finished talking yet. It's like this. After our ancient city was liberated, Boss Tian told me that there was no war anymore, and he wanted to go back to his hometown to see his parents. There were a lot of things, and I didn't take it to heart. I just thought that he might not really want to leave by the way. I didn't know that he really left last month, bringing his wife and children... Oh, you are right, he has a The son who can run around is called Yuanwa, oh, right, it’s Yuanwa; there’s another one in my arms, what’s his name, I can’t remember.”

Li Hanzhang was walking to the side of the street. When he heard this, he deliberately pretended to be discouraged, sat down on the side of the street, and held his head in silence. Uncle Li came up and comforted him and said, "The boat will be straight when it reaches the bridge. Brother Zhang, since you have come all the way and you are a relative of Boss Tian, ​​I will not leave you alone. Do you think this is okay? Go first." After my family settles down, I will slowly figure out a solution.” Li Hanzhang raised his head, and said weakly: "Thank you, Mr. Li, I have no relatives here. What else can I do when I encounter this kind of thing? It's all up to you, old man." The two then returned to Uncle Li's house on the street. Uncle Li's house is right next to the pier, a new house that has only been built for less than ten years.Standing outside the small wooden door, Uncle Li said, "This is my home. The front faces the street. On the left is the teahouse of my second son Laibao, and on the right is the blacksmith shop of my eldest son Laiyu. Go in here, and behind it is the teahouse opened by me and your Aunt Li. However, when he was in school in Chengdu, Noble was distributing leaflets and making student riots every day. Now he is a member of the government and works as a secretary in the town. He is so busy every day that he doesn't even have time for blind dates. Can you take care of the teahouse? The teahouse is all run by the eldest daughter-in-law on weekdays." This time, don't talk too much about Uncle Li, Li Hanzhang followed him into the small gate. This first meal in Qinglong Town made Li Hanzhang feel like coming home. Uncle Li’s house is similar in structure to the houses along the river in Sichuan. There is a pavement facing the street in the front and an inn facing the river in the back. The back to back is partitioned in the middle. The only way to enter the back is through the small door and a corridor.The corridor is long and narrow, and only two people can pass by. Of course, it is two ordinary people. If someone sees Uncle Li coming from the other end of the corridor, it is best to wait for him to go first; This person can only stand against the wall, wait for Uncle Li to stretch out his big belly, and go there first. After exiting the corridor, there is a suspended passage made of wooden boards. Uncle Li turned left, and Li Hanzhang followed him.After walking two steps, Uncle Li turned his head and said, "On the left is the place where my wife and I live, and on the right is the inn. It is said that inns are usually empty, and there are few people who come to live. There are only a few every two days. Go to the ancient city. For those who go to Chongqing and Guangyuan, some go to buy goods, some go to visit relatives, and some go to see a doctor, it is most convenient to live here and wait for the ship." Li Hanzhang agreed, but didn't dare to look around, just followed Uncle Li forward.After passing through two rooms with tightly closed doors, we arrived at a large room with a large round table in the center, on which several cold dishes and a jug of wine were already placed.Uncle Li stood at the door and shouted: "Old lady." A hunched old lady came out from the leftmost room, leaned on the door frame and asked, "Old man, are you back?" "Well, I'm back. This is Brother Zhang, let's get acquainted." Uncle Li turned to Li Hanzhang again and said, "Brother Zhang, this is my old lady." Li Hanzhang bent over and cupped his hands, and called out, "Aunt Li." "Why are you shouting? You messed up your seniority." Uncle Li laughed. "Uncle Li, I am a small business owner, so I dare not call you brother and brother. You should just call me Zhang Ziqiang." Seeing Li Hanzhang bowing and bowing, Uncle Li said, "Okay, okay, I'll call you Boss Zhang." Uncle Li was talking, entered the room, and sat down on the chairman.While Li Hanzhang took off his back strap and put it outside the door, he said to the hunched old lady, "Aunt Li, I'm sorry to trouble you, old man." "Don't bother, don't bother. Go in and have a drink with your uncle Li. He is crazy, and he likes to have guests at home." He said, smiling and waving to Li Hanzhang, "I'm still cooking, you can drink slowly what." Li Hanzhang entered the room, stood in front of the table, rubbed his hands embarrassedly and said, "Uncle Li, why are you so embarrassed?" "Why are you embarrassed? You have come from thousands of miles, isn't that a fate? What is a meal?" Uncle Li took a puff of cigarettes, tapped his left chair with the cigarette pot and said, "Sit down, don't be polite. Zhang Boss, you are a relative of Boss Tian, ​​so you are not an outsider. People live in the world, they talk about the word 'loyalty', no matter how polite you are, you just can't trust me." Li Hanzhang wanted to say something more, when there was a sound of footsteps outside the door, it could be heard that there were two people, the one in front was striding with heavy steps, while the one behind was walking lightly. The footsteps stopped behind Li Hanzhang. Uncle Li leaned on the back of the teacher's chair, and said to the two people standing at the door: "Laiyu, Laibao, come in and get acquainted. This is a relative of the boss Tian who rented our old house earlier. You should call Brother Zhang." When people came in, the one in front called out "Brother Zhang" foolishly, and stood still; the one behind also called out "Brother Zhang", but stretched out his hand to shake hands with Li Hanzhang.Li Hanzhang was a little surprised, and hastily stretched out his hands to hug the other's little white hand, thinking to himself, probably this is Noble, it seems that he has not been a secretary in the town for a long time, and he still has the hands of a pair of student dolls! The two brothers went to their father's side, and after Li Hanzhang sat down next to Uncle Li on the left, they returned to their seats: Laiyu sat on his father's right, and Laibao sat on Li Hanzhang's left. Just after sitting down, Li Hanzhang saw that Yu picked up the wine glass to pour the wine, stood up in a hurry, waved his hands and said, "Mr. Li, I'm very sorry. When I was young, I accidentally injured someone while drinking, right in front of Second Master Guan." I made a poisonous oath not to drink alcohol in this life, you must forgive me, old man." Before Uncle Li could speak, Laibao grabbed Li Hanzhang by the sleeve, dragged him to sit down, and said, "It's better not to drink, there is nothing that needs to be forgiven." "Laibao, the more you read, the less polite you are." Uncle Li looked at his youngest son and said to Li Hanzhang, "Boss Zhang, don't worry about it. Drink as you like, just as you like. There are guests Come on, if you don’t serve wine, it’s the host’s rudeness; if the guest doesn’t drink, it’s also rude if the host insists on persuading you. Then we’ll have lunch, okay? I’ll drink with Laiyu, and you and Laibao will eat more vegetables.” As the saying goes, the emperor loves the eldest son, and the common people dote on them. It seems that Uncle Li also loves the younger son very much.But just now I heard from him that this Li Laibao was a radical when he was studying in Chengdu, and now he is still a secretary in the Communist Party government... Li Hanzhang thought to himself, it is better to be careful. "Why did Brother Zhang come to Qinglong Town?" Li Laibao asked. "He originally came to join Tian Wenqing..." Before Uncle Li finished speaking, Li Hanzhang stood up, took out all the documents from his body, held them to Uncle Li with both hands and said, "It's a newcomer, thank you, Uncle Li, for your kindness, for helping me find someone, and for letting me eat. I, Zhang Ziqiang, am grateful. Uncle Li, this is my certificate and certificate, please take a look at it." Uncle Li smiled, and pushed it out with a cigarette stick: "In the world of life, the word 'loyalty' is spoken. Can I not believe Boss Tian's relatives?" Li Hanzhang was hesitating whether to take back the certificate, but Li Laibao grabbed it quickly and said, "Father, your old ways need to be changed. The loyalty of the world is killing people. Let me help you see it. " Li Hanzhang turned to look at Li Laibao, and nodded quickly: "Brother, please take a look." After reading it twice, Li Laibao returned the certificate to Li Hanzhang, laughed and said, "Brother Zhang, what a coincidence, please read this letter of introduction." Li Hanzhang looked at the letter of introduction and asked, "Is there something wrong?" "Of course not, Brother Zhang, what a coincidence. I knew from the handwriting that this Li Dayong was my classmate when I was in Chengdu in college. We were divided into a group, dozens of them, and he stayed in Chengdu. , I went back to the ancient city. He just wrote a letter a few days ago saying that he went to Fuling.” Li Hanzhang's heart fell back into his stomach, and he took Li Laibao's hand and said, "Oh, your Li family is really a good person, and that director Li is also a capable person, personally arranged for me to go to the pickled mustard factory in Shuangjiangkou to process for the People's Liberation Army. Mustard mustard is very kind to me, and he even told me about how he went to catch secret agents in Chengdu in the middle of the night." "Has he told you about such things? It seems that that guy is still more than enthusiastic about doing things, how can he talk about such things casually..." Uncle Li interrupted his youngest son: "Laibao, don't talk nonsense. Since he told Boss Zhang these things, it proves that he didn't treat Boss Zhang as an outsider, so you shouldn't treat Boss Zhang as an outsider. Talk about birthright , hurt peace." "That is, that is. Brother Zhang, brother, I have no other meaning when I say this. We have just been liberated and there are many unstable factors. We must be more vigilant." Li Laibao returned the documents to Li Hanzhang, and then said, "Now the migrant population The management is strict. If you go back, leave as soon as possible; if you don’t go back, hurry up and bring your household registration certificate, come to the town government to find me, and register your household registration.” "Uncle Li, two brothers, to be honest, my parents are gone, so I came out all the way to do small business, do part-time jobs, and look for my sister. Now that I know that my sister and brother-in-law are living a good life, I don't want to worry about it. I ran around here and there again. It’s just that I don’t meet my relatives, and I don’t have money or food, how can I live?” Li Hanzhang said with a dejected look. "Once you get your household registration, you won't be afraid of anything. There are many people coming and going in Qinglong Town, and you can make a living by starting a small business." Aunt Li served the dishes, and after listening to a few people, she told them to move her chopsticks. , "People who go out have difficulties, you stay with me first, and then settle the bill with me after you earn money." Li Hanzhang settled down at Uncle Li's house, and followed Li Laibao to the town to apply for a household registration. With Li Laibao's help, he obtained a business license at the tax office.Now, his household registration booklet and license are all real. Looking at these things that are so common in the eyes of others, Li Hanzhang has mixed feelings in his heart: He can't believe that he will have such good luck. proof of living in this world. That night, he fell asleep holding those documents.When he woke up in the middle of the night, he was still thinking that he was finally much safer and able to survive.Only by living can we hope to see our parents and children.Even if the paper can't cover the fire, there will always be a day when you are exposed and caught, but it's hard to say what will happen in the future, maybe you will die of illness before being exposed, maybe you will fall into the water and drown before you are exposed, maybe you will be caught and shot, Maybe killed in the process of catching... For life and death, Li Hanzhang has never considered it as seriously as he does now.Every person is born and lives, and there will always be a day when he will die in the end. He used to value too much what people can get through hard work, but now he faces the possibility of losing his freedom and life at any time every day, and he suddenly discovered that this world What he can't bear to part with most in life, besides his relatives, are the bright sunshine, fresh air, and clear river water.He is reluctant to part with these good things given by God. When the sun is shining, he tries not to go to the shade; On the side, he took off his shoes, stepped on the pebbles, and walked as deep as possible into the water, letting the pebbles lying on the bottom of the water touch the acupuncture points on his feet, and letting the small swimming fish in the water run around among his floating hairs... What a day it is!Only by being alive can we enjoy such beautiful days! However, good brother Zhou Yungang will never see these things again.There is also Jiang Huiqi, since Chengdu broke up, there has been no news. Maybe he has fled to a safe place outside the country, maybe he has been arrested a long time ago, maybe he followed people like Huo Jinshou and Commander Zhang halfway, and went on the road again. The way that he knew he couldn't do it was wiped out, maybe like himself, "lurking" down... But no matter what, Li Hanzhang believes that Jiang Huiqi will never live in this world like Gou Peide. . In autumn in Northeast Sichuan, the sky began to light up bit by bit after five o'clock in the morning.Li Hanzhang was lying in Uncle Li’s inn, looking through the open window to see the blurry scenery outside gradually becoming clearer, seeing the green bamboo forest, the hurried backs of passers-by on the river bank, and the willow-like small fishing boats on the phosphorescent river.The wind is walking among the bamboo forests, and the bamboo branches and leaves make low and pleasant whistles in the wind. Li Hanzhang feels that he is in the most beautiful concert hall in the world, enjoying a perfect feast from sight to hearing to smell. He couldn't figure out what he had been doing for the past thirty years, not to mention Guangzhou, Wuhan, or Nanjing, Shanghai, even Chongqing and Chengdu, where there are not all kinds of heaven-sent beauty?Why didn't I notice it myself?What made him overlook these beautiful things? The sound of the wooden door being opened and closed came from the other end of the corridor in front of the house. After a while of footsteps, there was the sound of the door being pushed and closed. Then, the sound merged into the wind on the river bank along the wooden ladder at the end of the corridor.After living here for two days, Li Hanzhang already knew the rules of the Li family: Every morning, the women of the Li family always get up earlier than the men, and Aunt Li goes to help the second boy Li Laibao open the teahouse and clean up; Laiyu’s wife Sun Chunhua goes to the blacksmith The shop prepares her husband for what he will do for the day; the braided woman he meets when he comes is called Chen Momei. She will go to the vegetable field on the river bank to chop vegetables and bring back a big basket. For pigs, the tender cabbage heart inside is cooked and eaten.The three women had almost done these things, and they gathered in the kitchen one after another to cook breakfast together.At this time, the men also got up, dressed, and washed their faces.When Uncle Li came out of the house, all the people had already cleaned up, and they were just waiting to say hello to him, and then he said, "Let's eat. After eating, I will do my best for the day." So , everyone started to eat breakfast. Two days ago, Li Hanzhang ran back and forth to go through the formalities. He didn't get any income, so he could only be regarded as idle food. Today, he went through all the formalities on the spot in Qinglong Town, and the business can start. After breakfast, Li Hanzhang left the bag containing some old clothes and more than 10 million banknotes in his room, and left the inn with the basket prepared for him by Aunt Li.Aunt Li usually buys needles, threads and brains, so she thinks that everyone needs these things and they are the best to sell. Therefore, Li Hanzhang's basket is full of odds and ends that housewives need every day. Li Hanzhang had never sold these things before, and walked up and down the street with a basket on his shoulders, but he didn't know how to shout.Those aunts who came out to buy things saw the things in Li Hanzhang's basket, but they didn't buy them. At most, they asked the price and walked away without stopping.When we arrived at the middle of the street, Sichuan opera gongs and drums were being played bustlingly on the stage, and there were no chairs or stools underneath. All the audience were standing, with their shoulders on their backs, and some of them wanted to squeeze to the front to watch, while others In the middle of the journey, there was an urgent matter to come out. As a result, the rhyme on the top was clanging, and the bottom was buzzing;Li Hanzhang had no intention of going to the theater at first, but when he passed by, he was squeezed by someone, and the basket fell to the ground, and all the contents rolled out.Seeing the things Aunt Li bought on credit being stepped on by people, and then stepped on again, Li Hanzhang felt like watching a drama at this time. The fate of the characters in those plays had long been arranged by the writers of the play. Yes, actors and audiences can only accept it. Li Hanzhang knew that he was incapable of protecting these gadgets, because none of those people had the intention to trample on them.Isn't it a matter of course to step on the ground?All the people are just engulfed in and out by invisible forces. They can only see other people's backs or shoulders, and they can no longer see the path under their own feet.Thus, Li Hanzhang understood that although he had traveled thousands of miles and had done business for several months, it was not an easy task to take root in Qinglong Town.While thinking about it, he slowly returned to the inn with his head down. Uncle Li was sitting at the door of the teahouse smoking a hookah. Seeing Li Hanzhang's dejected look, he said with a smile: "Boss Zhang, the place is not the same. Although the pond in Qinglong Town is small, the water But Shen, those women will never buy things from strangers. You are new here and you are not familiar with the place, so you should go for a walk first, come and go, and when they all know you, the business will be easy." Uncle Li took Li Hanzhang into the teahouse, came to a table near the inside, looked at three old men who were smoking leaf cigarettes and playing Sichuan cards, and said: "These three old brothers are all grocery shoppers. After running to the countryside near Qinglong Town for decades, follow them and run for a while." "Boss Zhang, don't meet outsiders. Fatty Li has already told us about you. We do business, and it will be more lively if there is one more person on the same road. But, what are you going to sell?" The one sitting opposite Li Hanzhang Skinny old man. Uncle Li pointed at the speaker with a pipe and said to Li Hanzhang, "This is Boss Liang." "Boss Liang, some of your brothers can help people to the end and give me advice." Li Hanzhang really didn't know how he could survive in Qinglong Town, so he begged sincerely. "It stands to reason that being a small peddler is the most realistic, but Boss Zhang is an honest man at first glance. When he went to the countryside, he might be surrounded by a few wives and talk, and his feet would become soft. In the end, he would lose his things. Yes, I don't know." "Boss Song still judges people. Boss Zhang, tell me, what kind of business did you do before? My surname is Cao, and I'm Fatty Li's boss." Lao Tiao means brother-in-law, which means that Boss Cao is Aunt Li's brother-in-law.Knowing about this relationship, Li Hanzhang suddenly remembered that Laiyu was a blacksmith, so he said, "I've been selling Dazu's ironware for people all the way, and I'm good at it." Uncle Li knocked the pot of dry tobacco on the table, and said firmly: "Go to the jade blacksmith's shop to install some sickles and machetes. It happens that you don't need to spend money on credit. If you can sell it, come to jade to collect the capital; if you can't sell it, throw it away when you come back." Go to the shop, go to Qinglong Town for a day, and he will continue to sell. When you are familiar with the way, let’s talk about making a living in the future.” In this way, Li Hanzhang followed Boss Liang, Boss Song, and Boss Cao. You shouldered the burden, and I carried the backpack. Every day, I made an appointment to go for a walk around Qinglong Town.