Chapter 13 chapter 12

This is an English version of "Zi Lin Xi Bao", which published a photo of Hong Jianchen on the first page. The title is: In order to reflect the Japanese nation's respect for scholars, the Japanese army decided to forgive Hong Jianchen; the subtitle is: Gendarmerie yesterday Release St. John's eminent professor.In the photo, Hong Jianchen was wearing a light-colored robe, with a radiant face and a smile on his face. An insider could tell at a glance that it was an irrelevant photo, taken on a day when there was no incident.Beside the photo, there is a line of small words that there is no money here: The picture was taken when Hong Jianchen was released from prison.

Wang Duoying ran up the stairs with the newspaper, but she didn't find her mother. She put the newspaper on the sofa, turned around and poured herself a glass of water, and drank it.Guan Ma walked into the small living room with a tray, and put a bowl of porridge and a small plate on the table. In the small plate was half a deep-fried dough stick cut into small pieces and soaked in soy sauce.Zhu Yuqiong's voice came from the bathroom: "Are the cockles from the vegetable market fresh today?" The excitement and agitation on Wang Duoying's face subsided immediately, she put the glass on the tea table heavily, and sneered: No matter how big things happen in the world, it will not prevent her from eating cockles!

Zhu Yuqiong shouted again: "Buy another catty of lean meat, let Lao Luo make some stir-fried rice cakes with pickled vegetables and shredded pork, make snacks when playing cards in the afternoon, and make lotus seed soup... Sigh, there are more and more gray hairs, don't worry." Mom, go downstairs and see if my reading glasses are there, bring them up for me!" Guan Ma muttered dissatisfiedly: "I see, those guests who come to your place are fake playing cards, but cheating a snack is real. If you do well, you can cheat a dinner!" Wang Duoying sneered again with contempt.

Guan Ma suddenly yelled: "Come out quickly, Uncle Hong has let him out!" Hearing this, Zhu Yuqiong rushed from the bathroom to the small living room, saw the newspaper on the coffee table, and started reading. Wang Duoying glanced at her mother, and saw a bright childlike smile on her face: "Your third uncle must have spent money, opened up important relationships, and got Uncle Hong from the hands of the Japanese! Otherwise, he would have entered the Japanese military police." From the team, how many people can survive?" She put down the newspaper, picked up the phone, dialed a few numbers and put down the phone, "Just now I was thinking, Bining was in a bad mood, so I asked her to come over to play cards and relax. Stir-fried rice cakes with pickled vegetables and shredded pork, Bining liked it when she was young, but she still can't get enough of it."

It was only then that Wang Duoying understood her mother's intentions, and she was being supercilious just now. Zhu Yuqiong patted the sofa and said, "Mum, let's buy more cockles, five catties of it! For lean meat, buy two catties of it, and then buy two young chickens, stir-fried young chickens, and big mackerel!" Lao Luo said, cook some dishes for me tonight!" Guan Ma was taken aback: "There is not enough food money in the first place, and you are going to have a banquet again?" "Our royal family used to have a big banquet for three days, and a small banquet for two days. I haven't held a banquet for so many years! Uncle Hong's family passed through the gate of hell once, even if he was reborn once. His 100th birthday is not as important as this rebirth birthday, right?" Zhu Yuqiong pushed Guan Ma, "Hurry up, or you won't be able to buy big mackerel!"

Guan Ma hesitated, and finally made up her mind: "I'm out of money! Rice, white flour, cooking oil, I don't know how many times the price has increased since the beginning of the new year. The money your third elder brother gave us has increased by three or four in a month." times, it will be gone in less than half a month, he always keeps adding money, and he won't let me tell you, eat as much as you can and spend as much as you want!" Zhu Yuqiong poured cold water on her, her spirits became depressed, she was bored for a while, then hurried to the bedroom, when she came out, she held a painting scroll in her hand, and handed it to Wang Duoying: "Here, take this painting as pawn. A landscape painting by Zhang Hong in the Ming Dynasty is four and a half feet long, and it is probably worth a few dollars!"

Wang Duoying hesitated and reminded her mother that this was left by her grandfather.Zhu Yuqiong had a great understanding and said: "The old house in Jiangwan is in turmoil. If a bomb falls, it will be gone?" Wang Duoying had no choice but to go down the stairs with the painting scroll. The third uncle just entered the door and noticed the painting scroll in Wang Duoying's hand at a glance. He asked and understood.He said to Wang Duoying, "Sell me the painting." Wang Duoying was a little shy and embarrassed, and didn't know what to do. The third uncle took out a stack of banknotes from his purse: "Here, here are five hundred French coins. Even if this painting is genuine, it can't be worth so much money. The war is in chaos and the people are in dire straits. Who still collects calligraphy and paintings?"

Wang Duoying asked in surprise: "You mean, this painting is not real?" The third uncle shook his head and smiled wryly: "Before your mother married into the Wang family, your grandfather sold most of the real paintings. At that time, your grandfather's family was already struggling to make ends meet, and the ostentation had to be displayed, so your grandfather found a few Everyone who makes fakes, get the real ones and sell them quietly. Later, when your father came back from the United States, he got the highest salary as a professor and restored the Wang family’s ruin... But, after all, your father passed away .”

Wang Duoying still didn't believe it: "It won't be possible? Muma has poor eyesight when looking at other things, but she should be able to see paintings accurately. She is also a person who can write and draw..." The third uncle sighed with emotion: "You still don't know your mother? What you tell her is true, she will believe it is true and never doubt you. Besides, there are so many old things piled up in the house, true and false Thousands of pieces, she turned a blind eye, didn't try to distinguish the true from the false, so she could have a big dream without realizing it. She has been lying in the treasure in the dream. If she wants to distinguish carefully, the dream will wake up. She would rather dream , would rather be carefree like a child."

Wang Duoying took the money with a guilty conscience, and the third uncle had mixed feelings on his face: "She also called Ah Mu a prodigal son. No one is more like herself than Ah Mu. Speaking of which, she is the daughter-in-law of the Wang family and has nothing to do with the Wang family." Blood relationship, but our relatives all say that she is more like your grandfather than the daughter of the Wang family!" The third uncle rolled up the painting scroll and tied the rope carefully: "It is a rare thing to find such a good fake." He took the painting scroll and walked to the door.

"New York Times" reporter Davis received a call from Sang Xia and immediately summoned a dozen men and women to rush to Richard's Hotel. This is an American young man with a sense of justice and enthusiasm. He was very impressed with this brave girl. When he arrived at the hotel, Davis found that the atmosphere was already tense, with more than a dozen hotel security guards and a few plainclothes people making noise.Seeing the reporters, the plainclothes tried to stop them, but the security guards quickly rushed to the door of Sang Xia's room by embracing the reporters. Davis rang the doorbell and shouted: "Miss Hong Wangmei, I am Benjamin Davis, a reporter from The New York Times. Your father was released by the Japanese Gendarmerie early this morning. We would like to conduct a special interview with you on this matter. Can we go in?" Hong Wangmei in the room looked anxiously at Sang Xia who was standing behind the door, and Sang Xia said to the door, "I'm sorry, Mr. Davis, because Ms. Hong is worried about her life, I'm afraid you can only go through this distance." Open the door to complete the interview!" Davis glanced at the plainclothes people behind him, and sneered: "Safety? I want to know, the Japanese side even released Professor Hong. What else could threaten Miss Hong's life?" Sang Xia said: "Miss Hong was very frightened last night. I don't need to say more about it. She is worried that after her father is released, someone will secretly revenge on her..." The French female reporter knowingly asked: "Who will take revenge on Ms. Hong secretly?" Davis put on an air and said, "It can't be Japanese, right? I think Miss Hong is worrying too much. The Japanese will not be so revengeful. They won't do such narrow-minded and shameless things." , and they should know that doing such a thing is not worth the loss, and the most important thing is that it will affect their international image. Haven't they always cared about Japan's image in the minds of people around the world?" The western reporters laughed knowingly, and looked at the several plainclothes armed with guns at the same time. Sang Xia said: "If you can get those gentlemen with guns at the door to leave here, Miss Hong is of course willing to accept your interview." Davis seemed to have just discovered the confrontation between the plainclothes and the security guards, and an exaggerated look of surprise appeared on his face: "Excuse me, sir, what are you doing here?" A plainclothes replied coldly: "It's none of your business." A security guard answered, "Hey, you just said that you were ordered to protect Miss Hong!" Davis asked the security: "How about you?" The security guard said, "We are also ordered to protect Miss Hong!" Davis thought for a while, and looked at the obviously hostile crowds on both sides: "Since both sides are here to protect Miss Hong, I don't understand why you are so tense. How about this, I have invited Miss Hong to our American Hall, There we can hold a press conference and let Ms. Hong talk about her feelings about Professor Hong being released from prison. Ms. Hong, do you agree?" Sang Xia in the room glanced at Hong Wangmei, leaned over and whispered in her ear: "It's better to plan." Turning her head to the door, she said loudly: "Miss Hong said that as long as her life is not threatened, she agrees to accept your proposal. " Several plainclothes stared at the door, ready to fight.The security guards kept their eyes on the plainclothes men and were also ready to fight.All journalists stand ready with their cameras.The corridor seemed unusually quiet. Sang Xia comforted and encouraged Hong Wangmei with her gaze, while gently smoothing the hair on her forehead with her hands, buttoning her neckline neatly, and taking out a tube of lipstick, lightly daubing it on her lips.After everything was over, she took a step back and carefully looked at Hong Wangmei, who was refreshed. When she was satisfied, she solemnly stretched out her hand to the door latch. With a "click", the door was opened from the inside, and Sang Xia and Hong Wangmei appeared at the door side by side. The reporters immediately surrounded them, protecting the two girls like last time. The security guards and the plainclothes kept a confrontation with each other and followed the reporters. The plainclothes wanted to do something but couldn't. They watched Hong Wangmei and Sang Xia enter the elevator surrounded by the reporters. The reporters surrounded Hong Wangmei and Sang Xia to several cars and sat in the middle one.The car started, and several plainclothes rushed to the door. The French female reporter excitedly took pictures of their faces full of disappointment with the camera: "Ha, I hope we can forever screen out these ugly faces for innocent people!" Regarding the difference between ugly and innocent, the definition of human beings is simple: ugly people always do everything possible to make others suffer, while innocent people can only suffer endlessly.Once those sudden ugliness befalls an unsuspecting innocent, the devastation is almost fatal.As one of the innocent human beings, Hong Jianchen's suffering did not end after he was tortured, and soon he lay down on the bed unconscious.Sun Bining found Dr. Falkenstein, who has excellent medical skills, but facing such a dying life, Falkenstein could only resign himself to his fate. Falkenstein took a puff of cigarette and spit it out slowly: "If the internal bleeding cannot be stopped, all possibilities are the worst. After the hemostatic needle is injected, we will look again and find that he did not break two ribs, but a broken rib." Three of them. I think a broken bone has stabbed a lung. If the bleeding stops, we'll go to his ribs. Just like that, watch hour by hour." Sun Bining's body trembled slightly, and asked, "What do I need to prepare?" Falkenstein asked a strange question: "Are you religious?" Sun Bining shook her head: "I believe it. But it's been a long time since I went to church." Falkenstein made a joke that wasn't funny at all: "That'll save you the trouble of having to call in a priest at the last moment." Then he let out a sympathetic sigh, "Get an outfit he likes. Be prepared." Someone rang the doorbell, and Sun Bining came out of the bedroom and came to the door.Looking through the peephole, a young man was holding a large basket of fruit and tied a ribbon with the words "I wish our beloved Professor Hong Jianchen a speedy recovery". The young man said: "Mother Sun, I am your neighbor and I live downstairs from your house. Just now someone gave a gift to my house with the wrong house number..." "Thank you so much! But it's not convenient for me to go out now, can you please leave my things at the door?" The young man said: "Okay, then I will leave it at the door. Remember to come and get it. It is a pity that such a good fruit is taken away by others. The students have lived up to their hearts... Goodbye, Mama Sun!" said Completely turned and left. Sun Bining and the others left and were about to open the door, but they heard Hong Jianchen's call from the bedroom.She goes into the bedroom. Hong Jianchen was woken up by his own cough, and he didn't notice a stream of blood trickling out from the corner of his mouth.Sun Bining sat down by the bed, quietly wiped off the blood on her husband with a towel, and poured tea from a teapot on the bedside table.Hong Jianchen weakly opened his eyes and looked at her. She smiled slightly and brought the spout of the teapot to his mouth.After Hong Jianchen finished drinking, he also smiled at her.This couple who have been together for many years seems to have made all preparations. They are calm and calm, and the so-called mutual dependence shows its deepest meaning at this time. Hong Jianchen grinned childishly: "I... just had a dream..." Sun Bining asked softly, "What did you dream about?" Hong Jianchen's breathing also seemed to become softer: "I dreamed that we were in America..." "and after?" "Later... I coughed..." Another stream of blood flowed from the corner of Hong Jianchen's mouth, and Sun Bining still wiped the blood away for him with the most inconspicuous movements.Hong Jianchen held her hand, and she gently threw the blood-stained towel on the ground.Hong Jianchen took her hand, looked hard at it, then raised his head, his gray and tired eyes became lively and bright because of suspicion. "What are you wiping?" Sun Bining's hand moved slightly, but she smiled easily: "No... Look, there is nothing." Hong Jianchen's eyes gradually filled with trust, and he closed his eyelids safely. Sun Bining stood up, picked up the blood-stained white towel on the ground, tears filled her eyes.She walked softly towards the door, sobbing repressedly. Hong Jianchen opened his eyes slightly, looked at the bloody towel in her hand, and at her shaking shoulders from sobbing.He wanted to comfort her, but all he could do was pretend not to know, and he felt a little guilty, Sun Bining shouldn't bear these pains alone... How can those ugly people sympathize with the suffering of innocent people?They will never know how to be moved. When Sun Bining went out to get the fruit basket, they suddenly appeared like a plague, kicked over the fruit basket, and then swaggered into Hong's house, carrying wooden sticks aggressively, smashing everything they saw.How pitiful they are, because only in this brutal vent can they find their own existence value. Sun Bining stepped back step by step, retreated into the bedroom, and locked the door.She walked to Hong Jianchen's side and hugged her husband.There was a sound of things breaking beside her ears. She seemed to be avoiding an air raid, trying to protect her husband under her body, and covered Hong Jianchen's ears with her two hands, as if the sound of smashing outside the bedroom would shake him. his eardrum. Hong Jianchen comforted her back with a weak voice: "It's okay, let them smash it, it's all external things... just... a fire... burn all the books, and... it's okay... the books are here... He pointed to his heart, then to his brain, "Don't bother with them..." Sun Bining nodded. Seeing that her husband looked very calm, she also relaxed a lot. The plainclothes men were not satisfied after smashing the living room, and started to smash the bedroom door.Hong Jianchen gently pushed Sun Bining away and said, "Go and open the door. Otherwise, the good door will be broken by them..." Sun Bining stood up slowly, opened the bedroom door, and the plainclothes rushed in. Hong Jianchen closed his eyes, just like he closed his eyes in front of Hirano, out of sight and out of mind.He already had experience dealing with ugliness, and the world in which he closed his vision was gray and peaceful. But he started to cough violently again. He closed his eyes and let the cough shake his whole body... A plainclothes came to the bedside, and Hong Jianchen suddenly spurted out a stream of blood. The blood was like a red fountain, shattered into countless small blood beads, and fell onto the snow-white quilt.The plainclothes was petrified and stared at the dying old man. Sun Bining came over and pushed the plainclothes: "What's there to see? Have you ever seen an old man cough?" She wiped the blood on Hong Jianchen's face, mouth, and quilt with a spotless white towel. The plainclothes actually exited the bedroom.In the face of a dying life, they actually feel fear—this may be the only remaining bit of humanity in them. The plainclothes finished venting and were about to leave.In order to prove that the trip was not in vain, he did not forget to take away one or two pieces of decorations from the Hong family: antique ceramics, a clock, and a plainclothes man who couldn't find any valuables, so he simply carried a big cowpea red vase to the Hong family. Go to the door. Sun Bining came out of the bedroom and called them back: "Please wait." The plainclothes people stopped with a guilty conscience and turned their heads.There was no trace of anger on Sun Bining's face, but a kind of sadness after calm: "I just want to ask, we are all Chinese, why do you hate us so much?" The plainclothes seemed to realize that they were "Chinese" at first, and this fact made them feel even more embarrassed. One plainclothes impatiently said to his accomplices: "Hurry up! Why are you in a daze!" Sun Bining said flatly: "You frighten us, torture us, and make us unsafe. You just want us to change and become like you, don't you? We can't stand your scares. You see, we all It is a person of a handful of years. But no matter how hard it is, we will not change, and we will not become people like you. There is no way, what kind of person a person wants to be is not up to him, just like you can’t change, You can't become people like us. Since this is the case, you might as well save your energy and stop torturing us. Isn't it good for everyone to go their own way? My husband has only one breath left. Who is he? Who? Can you change him? All you can change is let him swallow that breath. I don't think you would do that, and if you did, I'd feel sorry for you. Let's go, ah ? Our family has been scholarly for generations, and we don’t have any good things. You can take all the things that you like. Let’s go.” After realizing that fear is useless, Sun Bining, a woman who has always been timid and fearful, no longer has the slightest panic at this moment. Her weak body stands calmly and gracefully in the ruins and mess. Those plainclothes in front of her can only be Ashamed of myself. The white Chevrolet stopped at the entrance of the alley of Hong's apartment. Wang Duoying got out of the car first, and the driver helped Zhu Yuqiong out of the car door. Wang Duoying carefully took out a multi-layer food box from the car.Those were Zhu Yuqiong's special dishes for Hong Jianchen today, and she cooked them herself. Several plainclothes ran out from upstairs, some were holding pastel porcelain jars, others were holding large cowpea red vases, and the last person who came out was carrying a tripod and a suitcase with a telescope on his back.Wang Duoying exclaimed: "That's Wang Nan's telescope! How did it get into their hands?" "The cowpea red is also from the Hong family!" Zhu Yuqiong shouted at the plainclothes, "Hey, stop!" Several plainclothes men crossed the road and ran towards a car parked on the other side of the road. Zhu Yuqiong grabbed Wang Duoying and gave chase.The mother and daughter chased across the road and stopped the plainclothes people who were loading things into the car.The driver saw that the mother and daughter were trying to stop the gang of men who seemed to have no good background at first glance, so he hurried to the phone booth in the apartment on the side of the road and lent the police station a call to protect himself. Zhu Yuqiong asked the plainclothes: "Where did these things come from?" The plainclothes had just learned the lesson from Sun Bining and fled, unexpectedly killing two more women, he was furious: "Get out!" Zhu Yuqiong refused to let go: "These are my in-laws' belongings! It's day and night, you are looting your house?" Wang Duoying stepped forward to stop them, how could her slender body stop a group of strong men like wolves and tigers? , They pushed Wang Duoying to the ground, laughed and walked away. There will never be a shortage of spectators. They point at the mother and daughter and sigh meaninglessly.Wang Duoying stood up, patted the dust on her body, looked at these numb people, and suddenly burst out: "What are you watching here? Watching a circus? There are so many of you, just watching those gangsters rampant, Thanks to you, you are still Chinese! Thanks to you, you know the virtue of drawing your sword to help when you see injustice! No wonder the Japanese bully us, and some Chinese even bully the Chinese!" The onlookers on the third floor and the third floor looked at Wang Duoying with a very indifferent attitude. Standing at the front, a young man with straight brows sniffled loudly.Zhu Yuqiong pulled her daughter up and shook her head: "Even if you call the police to the police station..." Seeing that the danger was gone, the driver quickly squeezed in from the crowd to claim credit: "It's useless to call the police. The police station heard me report the car number and told me that it was the car of a Japanese spy." There is no need to be on guard now, and the door of the Hong family is wide open.There were smashed ceramic bottles and jars at the door, smashed furniture throughout the room, glass shards and pieces of paper all over the floor.Sun Bining was bending over to sweep the floor, when she heard the sound of the door, she straightened up. Wang Duoying and Zhu Yuqiong came to the door of the bedroom and saw a completely out-of-shape Hong Jianchen.They slowly came to the bed, Wang Duoying picked up the teapot and fed water to Hong Jianchen, tears streaming down his face. Hong Jianchen thanked Wang Duoying after drinking the water. Seeing Wang Duoying's expression, he comforted her in turn: "Wang Nan... will be fine... In America... a gypsy told his fortune, It is said that Wang Nan can live to be one hundred and one years old..." The old man's life was in danger, and she was still trying to comfort her. Wang Duoying nodded vigorously, but tears splashed everywhere. With red eyes, Zhu Yuqiong bumped her daughter with her elbow, signaling her not to provoke Hong Jianchen any more.Then he came out of the bedroom and grabbed Sun Bining's broom handle: "Don't sweep! Can you sweep broken things together?" Sun Bining smiled wryly: "What if you don't sweep? It's not enough?" "Come on, come to my house!" Zhu Yuqiong turned her head and shouted towards the bedroom, "Aying, help Hong's mother and Uncle Hong take out the clothes and put them in boxes!" Sun Bining waved her hands to show her refusal: "No, Jianchen has so many books, how can I move them?" "I'll vacate the second floor for you." "There are still manuscripts, students' papers..." These are Hong Jianchen's lifeblood. Zhu Yuqiong interrupted her mother-in-law: "Everyone will move there. Let's see who they come to mess with!" Sun Bining looked at Zhu Yuqiong blankly, but still did not move: "Jian Chen will not agree to move, he is most afraid of hurting others." Zhu Yuqiong pulled Sun Bining back and began to cry: "Am I someone else from you? Aying, what did I say just now? Didn't you hear? Pack up for you, Mama Hong and Uncle Hong!" Outside the window, the clouds were surging, and Hong Wangnan, who was wearing a flight suit, was sitting behind the pilot, and his dark glasses covered his bandaged right eye.He is going to fly to Macau, then take a boat to Shanghai, and go back to have his right eye treated. The pilot was an American boy, and he assured Hong Wangnan: "I will definitely let you catch up with the ship. The boss told me that if your eyes were operated on one day earlier, there would be more hope of recovery. You Chinese want to build their own planes. If the aircraft factory wants to revive, aviation experts like you are indispensable." The bombing by the Japanese Air Force was a nightmare for Hong Wangnan. He hadn’t woken up from the nightmare yet, so he smiled wryly: “Recovery? I became poor, not to mention more and more corrupt officials. When the factory was located in Leiyun, I thought that I would never have to move, because the factory location is so secret, it is a place that has never existed... As a result, the Japanese sp When it was approved, a spy station was set up in Nankan, and a photo studio was opened, across a boundary river, and photos of our factory buildings were taken." The pilot speculated: "Perhaps the Japanese spy network first obtained the information in the country before sending spies under your noses. In places like Shanghai, all kinds of information are secretly flowing. It is simply an underground intelligence black market!" "I have never killed anyone. I have hated killing and bloodshed all my life, but if the person who collected information for the Japanese spies is caught by me, I must kill him with my own hands." Hong Wangnan's face suddenly showed a hint of ferocity, "I want to watch his blood flow." Wen Xin died.He died when his patriotic enthusiasm was fully ignited, and when the aircraft factory was just getting better.He was bandaged all over his body, and died screaming and moaning. Everything was so sudden that he passed away without even leaving a last word. Will he forgive me?Hong Wangnan asked himself over and over again, and the answer was no.Because he was really sorry for Wen Xin.He once promised Mrs. Wen that he would be responsible to Wen Xin and his family. Now that Wen Xin is gone, can he take responsibility? Wen Xin died in the hospital of the manufacturing factory. At that time, the smell in the corridor of the hospital was very strong. Hong Wangnan never knew what the smell of blood was. He knew it at that time. But Wen Xin didn't even smell of blood, because his blood had been scorched. It was Hong Wangnan who brought Wen Xin away from his relatives.Wen Xin is here, he is here, everyone is here, he thinks that from now on China will use its own aircraft and won't have to suffer from the Japanese devils anymore.Unexpectedly, at that time, behind their backs, the transactions under the table did not stop. The powerful people in the government still planned to take bribes from foreign aircraft manufacturers to buy those aircraft that made them lose money in the air.Perhaps these under-the-table transactions have never stopped and will never stop, and war is a transaction for them... But he told Wen Xin that everything was for justice and ideals, and he used these to persuade Wen Xin to take him to the aircraft factory.Now, Wen Xin is dead, carrying those righteousness and ideals that never die. Hong Wangmei was arranged by Davis to temporarily stay at the Shanghai Office of The New York Times.Davis's Chinese is not too bad, and he can basically understand it.He said to Hong Wangmei: "Although our place is a mess, we eat dry bread, sleep on the sofa, and the smell of smoke from the old men is still very safe after all. At least the Japanese and their lackeys dare not come. So I advise you to stay here." Go down, unless..." He hesitated to speak. "Unless what?" Davis looked at Hong Wangmei in a very different way. Apart from admiration, it seemed to have another meaning: "Unless you move to my apartment." He seemed to promise, "Don't be afraid, I promise not to harass you." You, okay? I have two bedrooms, if you are worried, you can put three locks on your bedroom door. " Hong Wangmei didn't express her opinion immediately, but raised her head and looked directly at Davis after a while: "Tell me, do you Americans look down on the Chinese?" Davis was taken aback and shook his head again and again: "How could it be? No, no." Hong Wangmei looked downstairs: "I was born in the United States. My father said that my mother was not allowed to give birth in white American hospitals. My father returned to China later because American universities did not hire Chinese professors." "I admit that there are particularly conservative people in the United States who discriminate against all non-white races, but I am not that kind of person!" Davis was eager to defend himself. Hong Wangmei stopped talking, she was considering whether she should trust Davis.Davis patted the rocking chair and said, "Can I ask you to sit here?" Hong Wangmei walked over and sat beside Davis.Her knees were exposed from under the cheongsam. Davis took off his long scarf and put it on his and Hong Wangmei's laps: "Look, am I engaging in racial discrimination?" Hong Wangmei turned to face Davis.At this moment, her ignorant eyes are already trusting. Davis is very good at observing words and expressions, and launched an offensive again: "Consider my suggestion?" Hong Wangmei nodded and said, "Even if I move to your place, it's only temporary." "How long?" Hong Wangmei's eyes became gentle, she lowered her head and said softly, "I'm waiting for someone. I'll move out when he comes back." "Your boyfriend?" Hong Wangmei shook her head: "If someone says he is my boyfriend, he will be angry." "where is he?" "have no idea." "Then why are you waiting?" Hong Wangmei had a sweet smile on her face: "I just wait like this. My mother said that when a man fights a war, a woman always has to wait." Davis looked at Hong Wangmei's childish face thoughtfully, and was moved. He said, "Well, move to my place. I'll wait with you, huh?" A gust of wind blew off the long scarves covering their legs, and Davis held Hong Wangmei's hand.Sang Xia appeared in the glass door behind them and knocked on the glass.The two turned their heads, and Sang Xia smiled slightly.They walked to Sang Xia, and Hong Wangmei found that her hand was still held by Davis.Davis understood what she meant, smiled, and let go. Davis is going out for an interview, and Sang Xia and Hong Wangmei are left in the room.Hong Wangmei wanted to go home to see her father, and bring some books along the way, but Sang Xia disagreed. She asked Hong Wangmei to write a list, saying that she would find someone to pick it up from Hong's house. Sang Xia saw Davis downstairs pushing his motorcycle out of the alley, looked back at Hong Wangmei and said, "He's a good man." Hong Wangmei nodded: "A good American." Seeing that Sang Xia couldn't understand, Hong Wangmei explained: "It's useless to have good people in America, I won't love them." She looked into the distance with dreamy eyes, "Because I have a Chinese boy in my heart." Chewing gum in his mouth, Davis, who was about to set off, just raised his face to see them, and saluted the US military in high spirits.Sang Xia also waved her hand and said with a smile, "I feel sorry for this guy." In the evening, Sang Xia came to the tea stand on the street, and there were already people waiting on the bench of the tea stand.He is Xiao Zheng, Wang Mutian's partner, and now he is also a soldier of the New Fourth Army, staying in the same team as Sang Xia and Wang Mutian.Seeing Sang Xia approaching, he stood up to meet her, with a habitual naughty smile on his face, and whispered: "Commander Sang!" Sang Xia glared at him: "Naughty!" She took out the leather bag that the third uncle gave her to hold cash from her purse, and said, "Be careful." Xiao Zheng was very confident: "Don't worry, there are three depositors, all armed with guns, standing by in the car!" "Don't delay on the way, send the money directly to the pharmaceutical factory. The New Fourth Army will be transferred soon, and the medicine is related to the lives of the soldiers. This batch of medicine must be bought before I leave Shanghai." Xiao Zheng no longer smiled, and nodded seriously. "After the task is completed, send two people to Professor Hong Jianchen's house to pick up some things." Sang Xia took out a note, "This is the address, and the things to pick up are also written on it." Xiao Zheng guessed it all at once: "Is it Professor Hong Jianchen who was arrested by the Japanese military police?" "Keep your voice down!" Sang Xia looked around and criticized Xiao Zheng, "You want everyone on the street to hear you?" For the sake of safety, Hong Wangnan chose to go home when it was dark, but even so, he was immediately spotted by the spies.A plainclothes man was standing behind a tree near Hong's apartment, holding a large sesame seed cake and gnawing on it, while paying close attention to Hong Wangnan. Hong's apartment seemed exceptionally quiet, Hong Wangnan opened the door in the dark, and he called softly: "Mum!" Mom didn't respond, he took a few steps forward tentatively, and called softly again: "Little sister! "Still no response.He kicked a shattered ceramic jar and nearly slipped.He stood firm, groping along the wall with his hands, and found the light switch. With a "click", the light turned on.He was stunned: it was a mess here, not like the home he was familiar with, but rather a desolate house that had not been lived in for a long time. He hurried to his parents' bedroom, but the light in the bedroom was blind. With the light from the living room, he saw that the bedroom was also in a mess: the broken glass windows looked like empty eye sockets that had been gouged out. Night Breeze Blowing the torn curtains.A basin was buckled at the door, and a blood-stained towel was thrown beside it, and the sheets on the bed were also blood-stained. Hong Wangnan seemed to be in a nightmare. He ran out of the bedroom, looked for the phone, picked it up, but the phone didn't work at all. He straightened an overturned sofa, and saw springs and wadding exposed through the cracks.He slowly sat on this dilapidated sofa, trying to calm himself down, but he couldn't calm himself down. He couldn't imagine what kind of terrible incident happened here. The plainclothes follower saw that the lights of Hong's house were on, and was about to go to make a surprise attack, but saw Hong Wangnan coming out of the building door with a suitcase and walking towards the entrance of the alley.He watched Hong Wangnan's back flickering under the street lamp, crossing the road and entering the telephone booth opposite. After completing the task of delivering money, Xiao Zheng rushed to Hong's house, passing by plainclothes. Hong Wangnan picked up the phone and started dialing, and the line was busy coming from the phone.He hung up the phone anxiously.After waiting for a while, he picked up the receiver again and dialed again.The phone went through. "Excuse me……" A familiar voice came from the microphone: "Don't ask, I am the person you are looking for." Hong Wangnan was shocked again, the owner of the voice turned out to be a person he thought he would never meet again, Ji Jiaming.He was tongue-tied and speechless. Ji Jiaming's voice was as cold as ever: "The boat from Macau yesterday arrived in Shanghai this morning? Have you been to the ophthalmologist Dr. Thompson?" 洪望楠下意识地往后看了一下，确定季家鸣没在附近，才说：“你都知道？我刚从诊所出来……” “碰到什么麻烦了？” “你怎么知道我碰到麻烦？” 季家鸣在电话另一端冷笑起来：“没麻烦你怎么会给我打电话？不是早就跟我绝交了吗？你现在在哪里？” 季家鸣说十分钟后他会到洪家。洪望楠感觉自己又陷入一个迷局，他是如此的不喜欢季家鸣，然而他又真的离不开季家鸣。 洪望楠开门进屋，摘下墨镜，摁了摁额头、太阳穴，正要关门，发现身后跟了个男人，西装革履，却是一脸粗鄙的横肉。他看着洪望楠蒙着绷带的右眼，很无赖地笑起来：“报上说洪先生高就的飞机厂遭了好几吨日本炸弹，今天一看，明白了，洪先生的眼睛遭了不幸，洪先生也可以算是局部地为国捐躯了。” 做特务不应该有太多废话，洪望楠被便衣的话猛然激怒了，他猛地一开门，便衣没有防备，顿时失重，一头栽进门来。趁他嘴啃泥倒伏在地，洪望楠抬起脚照着他的脑袋一通狠踢：“我们中国的飞机厂遭了日本炸弹，是不是特别让你们这些走狗汉奸称心啊？啊？” 便衣正要爬起来，洪望楠一把揪住他的衣领，左右开弓地挥拳，把他打得跌跌撞撞地后退。他被打得招架不住，脚下又被一块瓷器碎片滑了一下，差点又栽倒。在这个时候，便衣义务充当了洪望楠的出气筒，很快被一连串响亮耳光抽成了猪头。 洪望楠的一只独眼使他看上去无比凶狠：“我们挨了日本炸弹，家里还被你们这些走狗打劫！说，是不是你到我家来杀人越货的！你把我父母我妹妹弄到哪里去了？” 便衣看到洪望楠凶神恶煞的样子，吓坏了。一步步往后退，一个不小心，四仰八叉，倒在碎玻璃、碎瓷片里，洪望楠不容他喘息，冲上来揪住他的衣襟：“快说，我父母和妹妹在什么地方？” 洪望楠究竟只是一个文弱书生，很快便累得气喘吁吁，趁他放松了戒备，便衣原地一个翻滚，从后腰拔出了手枪，迅速扭转了局势。他从碎瓷片、碎玻璃里爬起，枪口逼近洪望楠，狠狠地吐了口唾沫：“飞机没造出来，拳脚练出来了，啊？” 毕竟这里是洪望楠的地盘，便衣不敢再纠缠，用枪口抵住洪望楠的后背，押着他走向电梯间，一脚把他踹了进去。 电梯门快要合拢时，窜进一条矫健的身影——一个年轻人走了进来，正是小郑。 小郑伸手要摁键开电梯门，便衣推开他的手。小郑无奈地说：“我乘错电梯了——我是要上楼的！” 便衣说：“等我们下去，你再上吧。” 小郑作出无可奈何的样子，慢慢转过脸，眼睛突然一亮：“唉，这不是洪大哥吗？刚回来？” 洪望楠狼狈不堪地看看小郑，对这个年轻人他并没有印象，但还是点点头。便衣紧张起来，枪口更紧地抵在他的脊背上。 小郑抬起头，电梯天花板上挂了面铜镜，从铜镜里可以看到那支顶在洪望楠背上的手枪，他用下巴指指天花板的铜镜：“洪大哥，顶在你脊梁上的枪是真的假的？” 便衣骂了小郑一句：“你个小赤佬别他妈废话！” 小郑瞪着眼很认真地说：“私带枪支是犯法的！你这位先生怎么……” 电梯着陆了，但谁都不动。便衣抵着洪望楠走到小郑前面，命令洪望楠开门，洪望楠正要伸手，小郑抢在前面从他们身后伸出手，摁在上升键钮上。 便衣急了：“你要干什么？” 小郑哼了一声：“刚才我说了，我要上楼啊！”话音未落，一把枪已经顶在便衣的脑袋上。 小郑把便衣的枪缴获过来，转头对洪望楠说：“洪大哥，摁住锁门键，我搜搜这个老瘪三。”倒霉的便衣脸朝墙，双手抱头，小郑熟练地在他身上摸索，从他的裤腰上摸出一把匕首，一顺手滑进自己口袋。 季家鸣来迟了一步，等他赶到洪家，便衣已经被小郑在弄堂麻利地处理掉并带着洪望楠走了。 去年夏天，王沐天和伙伴们曾经从日本军官手里夺过一辆三轮摩托，后来他改装成一辆小卡车，参军离开上海之后，这辆小卡车送给了小郑的二哥。现在，小郑二哥坐在小卡车的后车厢，小郑正开着它，兴奋地奔驰在上海街道上。 天上落下豆大的雨点，路面很快被打湿了。霓虹灯和高楼大厦的灯光反射在路面，使得一切加倍地繁华，整座城市显得光怪陆离。不知何处传来恰恰舞曲，整个城市似乎都在跟着扭摆。流光溢彩的城市在这个雨天中暴露出无耻的艳丽。 小卡车开进一条弄堂，停在了一个石库门房前，小郑邀请洪望楠进去：“这就是我家，我们三兄弟住三间房。” 洪望楠跟着走进去，迎面看到一段老旧失修的木头楼梯，院子左边一间堂屋，右边一间厨房，空间显得十分狭窄，还码着半堵墙煤块。洪望楠感到拘束，几乎不知何处下脚，他很少来这种地方。小郑倒是大大咧咧，指指左边的堂屋：“这边走。” 洪望楠进入堂屋，屋内正中放着一张大方桌，两边摆着两把破旧的太师椅，桌面上的几个茶盏多半豁了口。勉强坐在一张关节松动的太师椅上，这才看清茶盏里的残茶干了，留下一圈圈褐色的痕迹，好客的小郑拎起茶壶便往茶盏里倒茶，一杯色泽极深的液体渐渐积蓄在茶盏里：“洪先生请喝茶。” 洪望楠极力克制住恶心，点点头，表示谢意。 木头楼梯上忽然响起清脆的半高跟鞋的脚步声，小郑听到脚步声要出去，洪望楠一把拉住他：“待会儿你能不能送我去一个地方？我想我还是住到那里去好些。” 小郑惊奇地问：“不是说好暂时先住在这里吗？”他根本没意识到洪望楠的为难。 一个女人的声音从门外飘来：“小郑，东西取来了吗？” 这嗓音把洪望楠惊呆了。 在这个肮脏的空间里，洪望楠和桑霞重逢了。桑霞穿着深色丝绒旗袍，戴一根白珠子项链，站在楼梯口，大眼睛充满惊讶，但注意力马上被他墨镜后的绷带夺去：“望楠？你眼睛怎么了？” 小郑惊奇地看着两个人：“你们……认识？” 他们不但认识，还有许多故事。洪望楠痴痴地看着桑霞，她被深色丝绒旗袍衬得越发挺拔，健美。两年前她那热带女孩的日晒肤色已经褪色，似乎有了另一种风貌，但同样地矫矫不群，他极力控制住自己：“你怎么也在这里？” 桑霞却答非所问：“你放心，你父亲和母亲都搬到王家去了……” 洪望楠点点头，他已经隐约猜到了一些。陡然间的重逢让两人都显得局促不安，想说的话太多，却不知从何说起。桑霞忙乱地打开小皮包，取出几张小钞，递给小郑：“洪先生一定没吃晚饭，小郑，麻烦你到路口去买一瓶加饭酒，买十只油炸麻雀，我们还剩了点泡饭吧？” 小郑接过钱，兴冲冲地跑了出去。只剩下两个人了，却彼此不敢张望，半天洪望楠才算是找到一个话题：“你也学会吃油炸麻雀了？” 桑霞笑笑：“这是上海最便宜的肉菜啊。”她注视着洪望楠的绷带处，“我想……我想看看你的伤……” 洪望楠故作轻松地开起玩笑：“好久不见了，路上你看见我这副样子，大概都不认识了。” 桑霞幽幽地说：“一个人认识另一个人，常常不是靠模样的。”她已经让自己平静下来，不再回避洪望楠的目光。 洪望楠轻轻走到太师椅前面坐下来，说：“来，坐会儿吧。” 桑霞走过去，搬了个方凳坐在他身边，小心翼翼地伸出手摘下他的帽子，又轻轻捏起他的墨镜的镜腿，把墨镜摘下来。洪望楠闭上了没受伤的那只眼，全神贯注去体会她的关心。 桑霞的手轻轻拂过他的绷带，似乎也在感同身受着他的痛苦，声音有些颤抖起来：“怎么会伤得这么不巧？” 洪望楠睁开眼，看着忧心忡忡的桑霞，他们此刻又是如此接近，不禁心跳加快：“伤得太巧了，不巧我怎么能来到这里，跟你在一块儿？” 桑霞却没心思开玩笑：“医生怎么说？” “我们厂里的医生给我介绍了一个非常好的美国眼科专家，诊室就在外滩路。大夫本来今天就要给我做手术，但是我请求他推迟一天，让我回家看看父母……” “你父亲的事，你知道了吗？” 看洪望楠一脸迷惑，桑霞站起来，在方桌一角堆放的报纸杂志里翻寻，抽出一张《字林西报》递给他。他一眼看到首页上父亲的照片，便急促地阅读起来。读罢，失魂落魄地放下报纸，半天不言语。 桑霞洗净了茶盏，倒上一杯清水，轻轻端到他面前，仍然坐在他旁边的方凳上。 洪望楠接过茶盏，又放回桌子上，他长期在内地专注着制造飞机的事业，过着几乎与世隔绝的日子，想不到不过短短一年半时光，上海的局势便恶化得这么厉害。 桑霞似乎看穿了他的心事：“局势每天都在恶化。法国投降了德国之后，法租界也早就不像过去那么安全了。” 洪望楠凝神看着报上妹妹的照片，充满怜爱地说：“一年前，我还骂过小妹，骂得那么难听。”他的表情带着几分愧疚，“知道我骂她什么吗？'商女不知亡国恨'，为了这句话，我妈差点把我赶出家门。” 桑霞微笑着说：“那天晚上，我也在场。你妹妹是准备用她的生命唤醒上海的新闻界，营救你父亲的。” 洪望楠站起来戴上墨镜，又抓起自己的礼帽，他想立刻去见家人。桑霞再次把茶盏端起递给他：“喝一口水，我们一块儿走。” 洪望楠又要推开茶盏，桑霞会意地一笑，皱眉说：“洗干净了。老是把革命和肮脏放在一起，我也一向反对的。” 桑霞送洪望楠走出堂屋，见他衣服单薄，心疼地说：“都十一月了，你穿这么点衣服可不行。等一下。”说着便奔上楼梯。洪望楠看着她轻盈的背影，内心涌起无数心酸和甜蜜。 桑霞拿了一条米色长围巾从楼上跑下来，她的呼吸有些急促：“这是我父亲的围巾，他生前去欧洲旅行的时候买的，新加坡冬天不冷，他一直用不上，你看，还挺新的……”她把围巾围在望楠脖子上，“暖和多了吧？” 洪望楠握住了桑霞的手，正要说什么，面孔忽然抽搐起来，嘴唇微微发抖，他力图忍住再次袭来的剧痛。桑霞却未发现他正在经历伤痛的折磨，仍然在为他系紧围巾：“这才是真正的喀什米羊绒，是喀什米出产的……” 洪望楠疼得不能自已，下意识地把手搁在右眼的墨镜上，像个老人一样扶着墙壁慢慢蹲下来：“对不起……实在……太疼了……” 桑霞这才注意到他额头和鼻尖已经出现了细密的汗珠，着急而心痛地把他从地上扶起，几乎用整个身体架着他，艰难地登上楼梯，把他放置在亭子间的单人床上，又把窗帘拉严实：“你先在这里休息一下，我去找止疼药。” 洪望楠的脸形已经扭曲：“不要止疼药……没用……要吗啡……伤到了眼睛的神经，疼起来就像……就像……”洪望楠再也无法忍受，呻吟起来。 小郑刚从外面买了油炸麻雀回来，桑霞问他能不能找到吗啡，小郑说：“我们从药厂买的药里，有一百多支吗啡。” 不过桑霞的希望很快熄灭了，这些吗啡是药厂偷偷加班包装出来的，今晚无论如何也来不及提货了。桑霞焦虑地在院子走来走去，忽然又有了主意：“还得劳驾你再出去一趟。到福州路的'春芳苑'或者'尽欢阁'去一趟。” 小郑的眼睛瞪得溜圆：“你要我去妓院？” 桑霞苦笑：“除了那种地方，你还能想得出哪里能买到鸦片膏吗？” 小郑又是一惊：“鸦片膏？” 桑霞急切地点点头：“对！鸦片膏是最好的止疼药，跟吗啡的作用大同小异。”说着她掏出一个光洋，“妓院里一定会有的，你赶紧跑一趟。” 洪望楠面对墙壁，身体绷得像一张弓，桑霞从铜面盆里拿出一条湿毛巾，急切地替他擦去额头和脖子上的汗水，除此她也只能眼睁睁地看着他被疼痛折磨。 洪望楠的呻吟声越来越大，桑霞坐在他身边，把自己的手塞到他手里。他忘乎所以地握住桑霞的手，越握越紧，桑霞的手被他捏得生疼，却并没有抽出来。她鼓励他：“再忍一忍，我陪着你忍……药马上就要拿来了……再忍五分钟……” 桑霞忽然把脸凑过去，嘴唇贴在洪望楠的额头上，洪望楠看着她，似乎平静了一点。她的嘴唇从他的额头移到脸颊，再移到嘴唇……她的吻如同鸦片，不单可以减痛，还可以使他上瘾。 生锈的闹钟滴答滴答地走动，走动的声音也像是生了锈…… 洪望楠睁开眼睛的时候，已经是第二天中午。桑霞正坐在他身边，看上去有些疲倦，但是却是充满笑意：“你现在气色好多了，昨天晚上真是吓人……” 他坐了起来，感激地看着桑霞：“昨晚……你一夜没睡？” 桑霞摇摇头：“没关系，今天补一觉就行了。”她站起身说，“你等一下。”说着快步走出去。 凝望着桑霞风姿绰约的身影，洪望楠心驰神摇。昨天晚上他和她之间的一切，一一在眼前浮现，越来越清晰。他忍不住想，疼痛能够换来她一连串的热吻，那倒是值得的。 桑霞手里拎着荷叶包走了进来，她解开荷叶包的草绳说：“这是昨晚小郑出去买来款待你的。我想要你尝尝上海大众现在能吃得起的肉，然后你就知道上海人现在在过什么日子了。现在在上海会馆里吃一客牛排，价钱等同一个上海纺纱女工一个半月的工钱。” 洪望楠说：“所以恶化的不只是政局。” 桑霞把荷叶包里草梗穿起的十来只油乎乎的小东西倒在一个盘子里。洪望楠有些恐惧地看着这些赤裸的小鸟，他从来没吃过这种玩意儿。桑霞揪下一个油炸麻雀，放在他面前的小盘子里，又揪下一只，放在自己的小盘里。 洪望楠看着盘子里的袖珍禽类，又看看桑霞，向她讨教如何下口。桑霞把麻雀整个地塞进嘴里，香喷喷地咀嚼起来：“五脏俱全，全在你嘴里。试试啊！” 洪望楠的好胜心来了，他把麻雀塞进嘴里，横下心一口咬下去。桑霞欢快地笑起来，她的笑容是如此明媚，带着阳光的魅力，洪望楠那种秘密的欲望又腾地被点燃了。桑霞似乎意识到了他的冲动，低下头沉默片刻，又站起身：“我去给你把泡饭热一下。” 桑霞走了出去。洪望楠似乎得到一点缓解，却又有些失望。他把手伸向她搭在椅背上的毛衣外套，轻轻抚摸着它，又使劲把它攥在手心，紧紧攥成一个拳头，然后他的嘴唇落在自己的拳头上…… 桑霞热好饭走进房间，房间已经空了，洪望楠已经悄然离去。她追出去，看到一辆黄包车在弄堂口一闪而逝。 她慢慢走回房间，看到自己的羊毛外套有一片轻微的、如同菊花形状的褶皱。