Chapter 29 Chapter Twenty Eight

Yinwa walked eastward for more than ten days, and finally arrived in Xi'an.When she plunged into the city of Xi'an, her joy was indescribable, and she couldn't help calling out: "Brother Li Gong, I'm looking for you!" Yinwa is not only happy that she has found Xi'an City, but also that this is a good sign and that her wish has been fulfilled.Since leaving Zhou's Village, Yinwa has suffered a lot along the way!She has never traveled far in her life except for the Beishan Bank.She was carried by someone else on a donkey to the bank of Beishan. She didn't have to walk, and of course she didn't have to worry about getting lost.But Xi'an didn't know how much farther it was than the North Mountain. She didn't know where it was, and she didn't have animals to support her. She was a single girl wandering outside, and the difficulties could be imagined.Along the way, she ate dry food when she was hungry, drank river water when she was thirsty, and slept in a kiln when she was sleepy. She asked about the distance with one mouth, and walked eastward unswervingly.On the way, she made a wish to God. If God has eyes and let her find Xi'an, it means that she has a destiny with her brother Ligong, and he must be waiting for her in Xi'an.If they had no chance, God would not have led her to Xi'an. Either she got lost by herself, or she was eaten by wolves, robbed by bandits, or abducted by human traffickers. can happen.Now that she has walked into Xi'an City unscathed, it means that God wants to fulfill them.It was something that made her ecstatic.

But Yinwa became worried within a few days after being happy.The city of Xi'an is too big, where can she find her meritorious brother?She had thought that the city of Xi'an would be huge, much bigger than Jiangzhang Town.But no matter how big it is, even if it is as big as ten Jiangzhang towns, it doesn't matter. She will go door-to-door for ten days and a half months to ask, and she will always find her brother Ligong, even if he is hiding in a mouse hole. She can take him out too.But when she was in the city of Xi'an, she realized that her thinking was too naive. There was no comparison between the Jiangzhang and Xi'an. Even if the Jiangzhang was enlarged by a hundred times, it could only cover one corner of Xi'an City.As soon as she entered Xi'an, it was like a drop of water falling into the Wei River, and she didn't even know where the river bank was.

But Yinwa is not afraid, no matter how big the city of Xi'an is, there is always a boundary, and she will search it inch by inch, and she will always find it all.As long as her meritorious brother is here, she will go all out to find him!She entered the city from the west gate, so she asked from house to house through the west gate.When someone asked what this person looked like, she would describe it from head to toe. They shook their heads and said, girl, you can’t find someone like this. No matter how detailed you explain, others still don’t get the point. Are there any photos?There are photos that others can see clearly.Yinwa didn’t know what a photo was, and she still didn’t understand after being explained to her for a long time. The person who explained her saw that she was a country bumpkin and had never seen anything in the world, so he became impatient and said that there is a photo studio on this street, you go in and have a look Just look at it.After inquiring, she found a photo studio. She went in and saw that there were many New Year pictures on the wall, but the people in these New Year pictures didn't seem to be drawn, they were simply drawn out of real people, so clear and realistic.People told her that this was a photo, and she immediately told them that I want one too.She believed that she had a photo of her brother Li Gong in her hand, and anyone in Xi'an who had seen him would recognize him immediately.The master of the photo studio led Yingwa to a black cloth-covered box and fiddled with it for a while, then agreed to ask her to come to pick up the photos the next day.The next day she came to the photo studio impatiently, and they gave her a piece of paper that was one inch square. She saw it and immediately exclaimed, Wrong!wrong!The master at the photo studio thought she had confused her photo with someone else's, so he took it over to compare with her, and said it was right, it was you.Yinwa said, I don't want me, I want my meritorious brother!The master was confused and asked her, where is your brother Ligong?Yinwa said, I don't know where he is, I just want to look for him with his photo!The master said that you have to come by yourself to take pictures, and you can’t take pictures if you don’t come.Yinwa said, don't you just paint whatever you want in New Year pictures?I want the God of Wealth to be able to draw the God of Wealth immediately.The master said, I am a photo studio, not selling New Year pictures.The baby asked him, why didn't you say it earlier?The master laughed angrily at her, saying that there is no need to explain in advance?Whoever enters the photo studio takes pictures of themselves, no one takes pictures for others, if you say I will take a picture for you, of course it will be you!

Yinwa sat down on the stool in front of the counter, feeling a bit cold in her heart.She didn't feel bad about money, although the price of taking a photo was equivalent to two buckets of wheat money, she felt bad that this good way of finding people could no longer be used.However, the New Year pictures reminded the master photographer that he often retouched the negatives of the photos, and also retouched the black and white photos into color. He had some painting skills, so he said to Yinwa, I can make portraits, or I will paint for you. one?The photographer is afraid that the money will be refunded if the baby is brought in. These country people sometimes mess around and make troubles that affect the business.

Yingwa smiled and said it was great.The photographer prepared a pen and paper, and asked Yinwa, is that brother of yours your own brother?Yinwa asked, does this have anything to do with it?The photographer said, "If it's your own brother, I'll draw it in your image. The same mother and compatriots look similar."Yinwa said that she was closer than her own brother.The photographer was puzzled, saying that if you kiss, you are kissing, and if you don’t kiss, you don’t kiss. What does it mean to be closer than your brother?Yinwa said, you are very talkative, you just draw like me.Yinwa often hears people say that couples have husband and wife looks, and husband and wife must look alike, so she and her meritorious brother should be very similar.The photographer drew a portrait of a handsome man by comparing Yinwa's appearance.The baby looked at it, and felt that he was somewhat similar to her brother Li Gong, and also somewhat different, but the more he looked at it, the more he felt the resemblance, anyway, as long as he was beautiful, he was her brother Li Gong.

Yingwa admired the photographer's craftsmanship, didn't mention refunding the money, picked up the portrait and left happily.The photographer is happy, he has been in this business for a long time, and he knows that no matter how ugly a person is, as long as you make him look good, he will be happy no matter whether he looks like or not. Yinwa took the portrait and searched in Xi'an city for more than ten days, but she still couldn't find her meritorious brother, and the money on her body was about to run out.Some well-meaning people persuaded her, saying, "Wajia, you are looking for a needle in a haystack like this. The city of Xi'an is so big that you can hide people in any corner. Can you search every corner?"Besides, it's hard to tell if the person you're looking for is in Xi'an.You better go back.

No, she is stubborn.She firmly believed that her meritorious brother was in Xi'an, which was God's will.As for the Xi'an City University, she has learned it now, but no matter how big a place is, it can't stand a person's legs. I can spend a lifetime walking around it.Yinwa decides to stay in Xi'an until she finds her elder brother. Staying in the city of Xi'an is not an easy task. There must be a place to eat and live. Sleeping in the gate of the city wall and eating restaurant leftovers like this is definitely not a long-term solution.Yinwa observed carefully when looking for people, and found that there was a labor market in Chenghuang Temple on West Street, where many people from the countryside were waiting to be hired, both men and women.The men are all coolies, carrying the tools of carpenters and masons, while the women are tidy and tidy, carrying small bundles. When I ask, I know that they have come to the city to work as servants.Yinwa felt that she could also be a servant, so she changed into clean clothes and came here to wait for her employer.

However, Yingwa was a bit ingenious. She went to the photo studio to find the photographer and asked for a piece of paper, wrote "I can read" on it, and held it in front of her chest to make a sign for herself.This trick was very effective, as there were very few literate women in the country. She immediately showed that she was different from others. Coupled with her good looks, many employers came to her for inquiries.There are all kinds of employers, and those with a little bit of status naturally hope that their servants are somewhat literate.Mr. Kong, who claimed to be the editor-in-chief of the newspaper, was very interested in Yinwa. He tested Yinwa's simple characters and asked her to write her name and hometown.Yinwa saw that Mr. Kong was bookish and very similar to his meritorious brother, so she agreed, even though his salary was not high.

Mr. Kong's name is Kong Heqin, he lives in the gate of the academy, and he goes to work in the newspaper office every day.His wife is a primary school teacher and also leaves early and returns late.They have a five-year-old daughter who is not yet old enough to go to school.The job of introducing a baby is to take care of the children, cook, and clean up.She does these things very well, especially with children.Yinwa has already raised two children. One is her younger brother and the other is her husband. He is very experienced and better at managing the children than her mother. This is very popular with Mr. Kong and his wife.

Yinwa never forgot her mission when she was a servant of Kong's family, and she took every opportunity to inquire about her meritorious brother.Whenever she had the chance to go out, she would carry the portrait of her meritorious brother in her bosom, go to the vegetable market to buy vegetables and ask the small vendors, take the children on an outing to ask the tourists, and even go to the public toilet to ask the people who squatted with her.But what made her sad was that all this came to no avail. A year has passed, and Yingwa has searched every nook and cranny in Xi'an, but she still hasn't heard from her elder brother.At this time, Yinwa was a little uncertain: Could it be that her meritorious brother is not in Xi'an at all?As soon as such an idea popped up, Yingwa was taken aback, and she tried her best to deny this possibility.If her meritorious brother is not here, it means that her hard work this year has been in vain, and what is even more frightening is that she may never see her meritorious brother again!Yinwa can't imagine without her meritorious brother, what would she do?Where is she going?What hope does she have in this life?

No, he must be there!Yinwa believes that God will not deceive her, and also believes that sincerity can move the world. It was with the support of this belief that Yinwa continued to search.One morning in the autumn of the second year, Yinwa woke up and found that the stove in the kitchen room had gone out. She had to light it up quickly to make breakfast.Yinwa went to Mr. Kong's study to get newspapers to light a fire. Mr. Kong treated all expired newspapers as waste paper, and told Yinwa to sell them for scraps or to light fires.Yinwa usually reads the newspaper before lighting it up. She is not in the habit of reading newspapers, and it is impossible for her to have time to read newspapers.But once these newspapers were about to be burned, she felt a little pity, and felt that she would be sorry if she didn't read them.Yinwa is not very literate, and she has no time to read carefully, so she can only quickly browse the titles.During a quick scan, a line of large characters on the newspaper that was used to light the fire that day suddenly pricked her eyes like a needle prick: Zhou Ligong was arrested!She quickly looked at the text under the title of this line. This is a newsletter sent from the Shaanxi Provincial Government.The general idea is that Zhou Ligong, an arrogant literati who viciously slandered the provincial government’s ban on smoking and caused bad influence across the country, has been arrested by the Xi’an Police Station in accordance with the law. Don't follow suit. This is a piece of "Qin Sheng Bao" from ten days ago, and Mr. Kong is the editor-in-chief of the newspaper.Yinwa's heart was about to pop out of her chest, she put the newspaper in her bosom, replaced it with a newspaper and lit the fire for cooking.After Mr. Kong finished his meal, she carefully brought the newspaper to him and asked about it.Mr. Kong asked strangely, why do you care about this?Yinwa burst into tears. She said that her brother's name was Zhou Ligong, and she came to Xi'an to look for him. She had been looking for him for a year, but there was no news. Mr. Kong said why didn't you say it earlier, I know this Zhou Ligong.Yinwa's eyes lit up, and she timidly explained that she didn't dare to say it, for fear that the master would dismiss her, saying that she was not concentrating on her work, that the servant was a fake, and that it was true that she came to Xi'an to find talents.Mr. Kong said that Zhou Ligong was a reporter from another newspaper. He published an article criticizing the government in Shanghai Shenbao a while ago, which caused a sensation, annoyed the authorities, and got himself into trouble.However, Mr. Kong said that there are many people with the same name and surname in the world, and your brother may not be Zhou Ligong.Mr. Kong described to Yinwa the Zhou Ligong he knew, and Yinwa felt that he was very similar to her elder brother Ligong.This made her so happy, he was indeed in Xi'an, and she had definite news about him.At this time, Yinwa suddenly remembered that she had a photo of her brother Li Gong. She took it out to show Mr. Kong, and after seeing it, Mr. Kong shook his head and said, "It doesn't look like it, it doesn't."Yinwa's heart went cold again. Yinwa is very confused now. She hoped that Zhou Ligong was her brother Ligong, but also strongly hoped that he was not.If it is, then she can find him, the needle in the haystack has finally caught him.If not, it means that he did not go to jail and did not suffer.What kind of place is the prison? That is the Hall of Yama! In fact, that Zhou Ligong is this Zhou Ligong. Zhou Ligong came to Xi'an after escaping from Zhoujiazhai that night in late April last year. This is the place where he studied in middle school. Now there are many college students working here. No matter the location or popularity, this place is suitable for him to hide.Introduced by a friend, he joined the "Xinqin Daily" as a reporter. He is a man of culture and can only make a living with culture.The setback in the rural reconstruction work hit him hard, and he was extremely depressed, not knowing where to go next.The countryside has already made his head hurt. Although he still can't let go of his hometown emotionally, it is obviously impossible for him to go back now.The city is really nice, the environment is clean and tidy, and life is quiet and comfortable, but Zhou Ligong feels that he can't cheer up.Colleagues go to work every day to write lace news, go to the dance floor and go to the theater after get off work, and have a good time, but none of these things can make Zhou Ligong care.He thinks this is a waste of life, and one has to do something worthwhile.What are the valuable things?He was at a loss.Zhou Ligong deeply felt that his current situation was like a soldier caught in nothingness. He remembered that this metaphor came from the novelist named Lu Xun. Shortly thereafter, Zhou Ligong received a letter from his father.The letter said that the cotton harvest was bumper, and he was asked to contact the textile factory immediately to buy it, which made him fall into great embarrassment.Zhao Ziang’s factory has not been moved to Xi’an, not to mention Xi’an, even in the entire Northwest, there was no textile factory at that time. Who did he call to collect cotton?But he was the one who encouraged the planting of cotton, and promised textile mills to buy it in large quantities.Isn't this drying yourself out now?And also misled the family. Zhou Ligong wrote a letter to Zhao Danna, asking why, and expressing his grievances tactfully.Within a few days, he received a reply letter, which was not written by Zhao Danna, but written by Zhao Ziang himself.The letter said that he didn't want to set up a factory in Xi'an, but because the cotton planting in Shaanxi was not on a large scale and it was difficult to meet the needs of textile factories.The reason why people don’t grow cotton is because opium poppy is more profitable than cotton because of the rampant opium in Shaanxi. Only when drugs are banned in Shaanxi can cotton become the best alternative economic crop.In the midst of anti-drug campaigns across the country, Shaanxi not only did not get rid of bad habits, but secretly manipulated them, which is really going against the trend of history.And the reason why Shaanxi dared to risk the disapproval of the world was because the warlords supported their own self-respect and violated the government of the Republic of China.He hoped that Zhou Ligong would use the opportunity of the reporter to investigate the situation of tobacco and drugs in Shaanxi, and write a weighty article to expose the shady situation, to expose the bad government in Shaanxi to the world, to reach the audience, to enlighten the wisdom of the people, and to urge the Shaanxi authorities to make up their minds and ban smoking. poison.This is actually a righteous act that benefits the country and the people, and those who have aspirations should do it! After reading the letter from his prospective father-in-law, Zhou Ligong's spirit was lifted, and he finally found something meaningful.In a big sense, this matter is beneficial to the country and the people. In a small sense, it is about his relationship with Zhao Danna, and it is closely related to the rural transformation that he can't let go of.Today's countryside is so desolate, and it is hard to escape the scourge of tobacco. In the following year, Zhou Ligong traveled all over Shaanxi by taking the opportunity of interviewing. The prevalence of opium and drugs was far beyond his imagination. "Shaanxi Tobacco Disaster", published in Shanghai "Shenbao". In the article, Zhou Ligong first described the current situation of the prevalence of smoke disasters in Shaanxi. "Sanqin has been a fertile land since ancient times, and it has the reputation of being rich in heaven. The people have always been diligent in farming, the five grains are abundant, and all industries are prosperous. However, in today's Shaanxi, there are no flowers of millet, no smell of rice and wheat, and the whole territory is closed, regardless of plains, rivers and valleys. , paddy fields and dry land are all planted with opium poppies, and nine tenths of the arable land is occupied by this thing. Tobacco and poison spread, and many people are infected with this bad habit. The population of Shaanxi is less than ten million, and the number of drug addicts is more than 300,000. Its height is astounding, and it stands proudly at the head of China. With such a grand occasion, don’t blame others for saying that there are poppy flowers all over the land, and the ghosts full of hibiscus will be ruled.” Zhou Ligong analyzed the consequences of the flood of smoke in this way: "One day, the people's food is insufficient. Poppies occupy all the fields, and the food is not self-sufficient at ordinary times. Once a natural disaster strikes, there is no reserve to deal with the famine. Thousands of creatures are custom-made hungry ghosts. On the second day Officials are corrupt. The collection of tobacco tax and cigarette money is entrusted to the subordinate officials. If one of them takes classes, the number will be expanded to ten. There are endless people who take bribes for public benefit and bribery. It is often heard that people are extorted and forced to die. If things go on like this, there will be civil uprising The third is the harassment of soldiers and bandits. Those with guns regard opium as black gold. The land of the Three Qins is full of smokers, skinny as sticks, and when the wind blows to the ground, the king of Qin's tigers and tigers will turn into today's rats!" As for the reasons for the proliferation of tobacco disasters, Zhou Ligong hit the nail on the head: "Shaanxi's tobacco and drugs have not been banned. It is because the authorities cherish the benefits of tobacco taxes and the lack of compensation for wages, and implement the policy of combining prohibition with collection." Regarding this policy, Zhou Ligong added his criticism: "Shaanxi authorities know that the ban on smoking is an international trend, and the people's will is what they want. They are afraid of public opinion, and they also paint cats like tigers, and advocate the suspension of the ban. He said that the smoke disaster has lasted for a long time and has penetrated the upper and lower levels. It is very deep, if it is banned suddenly, it is afraid of accidents, it is advisable to proceed step by step and plan it slowly, so as to achieve the goal step by step. The law of slowing down the ban is contained in the prohibition. It is a deceptive talk. Because once a smoker becomes addicted, if he is not forced by force, it is not easy to quit. Even if he loses his family and sells his wife and daughters, he will not hesitate. Making money can lead to the arrogance of the gods, and the prohibition is like a joke. If you study it deeply, the prohibition lies in the levy and not the ban. This strategy is really drinking poison to quench thirst and raising tigers. " At the end of the article, Zhou Ligong appealed to the Shaanxi authorities: "In the first year of the Republic of China, Mr. Sun Yat-sen issued the "Interim Presidential Smoking Ban", the order said: Opium has been poisoned in China, and it will last for a hundred years. , Consuming wealth and perishing body, soaking in prostitution, and caste degenerating, the disaster is beyond the enemy's foreign aggression... For this reason, declare to the world, you must know that it is the responsibility of everyone to protect the country and preserve the family, and the people are capable. Those who drink poison to live in peace and forget to return cannot be the people of the republic. When the Advisory Senate deprives them of all public rights to vote, it shows that they are not in line with the people. The Ministry of the Interior will be transferred to the governor of each province, and the subordinate government offices will be informed. Reiterate that smoking and smoking are forbidden, and don’t let them go. Mr.’s words are still in my ears. Everyone in Shaanxi claims to be a believer in Zhongshan. They should look at themselves in the mirror and see whether they are good or bad. In April this year, the Nanjing National Government promulgated the "Revised Regulations on Smoking No Smoking", stipulating Completely ban opium within three years. This decree is proclaimed to the world and sets a deadline. The Shaanxi authorities should strictly abide by it, and change the indefinite reprieve of opium into a fixed ban, eradicate the poisonous disaster within a deadline, and return the land of Sanqin to Qingming. If it is still Therefore, I would like to present to you Mr. Zhongshan a piece of proverbs. Please write it in handwriting on the middle hall and recite it three times a day. Do you feel ashamed? You said: Recently, it has been said that the opium revival in our country is poisonous everywhere, so it is better to allow it officially by law. For the business of opium, the Customs allows foreign opium to be imported in order to provide sufficient sources of payment. Such claims are absolutely inappropriate. There is no one in China who does not oppose opium. Anyone who advocates that the law allows opium to trade, or expresses surrender to the evil forces of opium, even if It is a temporary expedient measure, and they are all public enemies of public opinion. Today's domestic situation is extremely bad, and the anti-drug campaign has been hindered by difficulties, resulting in little success. However, the declaration of war on opium must not be compromised, let alone give up. Be responsible For the sake of their own convenience and immediate interests, government agencies lower the banner to cease war on opium, no matter how long it takes, it is an act of treason.” "Shenbao" is an influential media, and Zhou Ligong's article was written after actual investigation. The facts and data listed are detailed and convincing.As soon as this article was published, public opinion was in an uproar. There were numerous articles criticizing and condemning the Shaanxi authorities in major newspapers and tabloids.Although Zhou Ligong's article was signed under a pseudonym, they quickly found out the author's true identity and arrested him. Zhou Ligong studied at Peking University and is familiar with the deeds of the May 4th student movement.Back then, the seniors stopped talking about scolding the government, they even dared to burn the official residence of the Chief of Communications, and even the Minister in Japan dared to beat them up. The students who came out of this school were somewhat stupefied.Although Zhou Ligong expected that his article would anger the Shaanxi authorities, he also took some self-protection measures, such as signing a pseudonym and publishing it in other places, but he knew that these were not very effective. If the authorities really wanted to trouble him, they would always find him.The reason why he dared to take the risk of publishing this article, and stayed in Xi'an after causing a storm of public opinion, was that he expected that the Shaanxi authorities would not do anything to him.The Beiyang government was bad enough back then, and they didn't do anything to the students when they made trouble like that.The police did arrest a few people, but they did not enter the prison cell, but ate big dishes and drank fragrant tea, and returned home safely in a few days. Chen Duxiu had a stomach problem, and the police station even invited a doctor to treat him.Chen Duxiu and others not only did not suffer, but became famous because of it.Hasn't the Shaanxi authorities already belonged to the Nationalist government?The institutions of the national government are not inferior to the Beiyang government, right?Besides, I didn't go out of line like the seniors back then. He neither marched nor demonstrated, let alone set fire or beat people. Bar? But Zhou Ligong didn't expect that he would be arrested.Although this was a bit unexpected, he wasn't too worried. He knew that he would come out after a few days, and maybe he would become a celebrity because of it!The worst outcome is to go to court for trial.Now it is the Republic of China, the judiciary is independent, and it is reasonable to move the case to the court.Which of the actions of the Shaanxi authorities is reasonable?With his eloquence, he will turn the court into a pulpit, embarrassing the authorities, and eventually he will not only be innocent, but also become a hero who exposes the shady scene. Zhou Ligong was young after all.He speculates on politics with his own simplicity, unaware of the danger he faces.Back then, the Beiyang government tolerated students not because of their kindness, but because of the strong public pressure from all over the country, which made them fearful. They were afraid that strict punishment of students would cause even greater incidents.But today he was arrested by the Shaanxi authorities, not to mention the whole country, there is not even a single voice of support in Shaanxi itself, and the authorities have no fear at all.Moreover, the National Army occupying Shaanxi was originally born out of the Beiyang Army. Although they now support the revolution and oppose the Beiyang government, they still have the habit of warlords in their bones, and warlords have always only recognized interests and not justice.The interest of the warlords is to expand the army and seize territory, and the expansion of the army requires military expenditures. The reason for conniving and forcing the people to plant opium in Shaanxi is to raise huge military expenditures.Zhou Ligong's exposing their background is tantamount to cutting off their financial resources. Can the authorities not hold grudges against him?Once they become angry, the law and the like will become child's play. Zhou Ligong reached the critical point of life and death.