Chapter 4 Four

All the windows in the workshop had planks nailed to keep out the light.The temporarily installed gasoline lamps all wore large conical tinplate caps. The strong light of the five gasoline lamps fell on the ground and formed five halos, which looked like a huge plum blossom from a distance. It was chosen by the noble gentlemen and called it the city flower of Shanghai. Under the "city flower"-shaped aperture, the work is so tense that it almost bursts.Greasy face, red but piercing eyes, tall chestnut flesh bulging arms, big hands like iron claws, hot sweat dripping on the cold steel.The sound of the motor is gone, and the criss-cross belts have already been rolled up, making a pile and shrunk outside the "city flower"-shaped aperture.There is a roar of hammers, awls, and saws; while lathes, planers, and other complex machine tools are being dismembered.

Near the edge of the light circle of the factory gate, a slender figure of Zhou Weixin appeared, with a hat on his head and his overcoat still draped in the crook of his arm.He was an exceptional twenty minutes late tonight, and with his capped head bowed down, he looked very tired.He stood at the edge of the circle of light for about a minute or two, silent and silent, and he did not raise his eyes to scan the panorama of the workshop as usual, and went where he saw the most intense work; he stood like a shadow. Stay there for a while, but walk slowly along the edge of the aperture. He walked past the carpentry packing crew.The sound of bare-chested carpenters nailing crates made his steps even more staggering, and he felt as if the carpenter's hammer hit his heart every time.Adjacent to the carpentry packing group is the marking number group.Tang Jicheng, a young assistant technician, wears a lapel shirt with sleeves rolled up to the elbows. He meditates on intuition, abandons sages and wisdom; criticizes current affairs, advocates governance by doing nothing, and is content with piles of parts.Usually, when Zhou Weixin sees this vigorous young technician, even if he has nothing to do, he always goes over to say hello to him; Want to run away quickly.He seemed to have done something bad tonight, he was afraid of seeing people, and also afraid of being found out.

But he has been found. "Mr. Zhou—" A crisp voice came from the left. Zhou Weixin was startled and stopped suddenly.Under the aperture, near the numbered group, next to the long rough wooden table with medicines, bandages, gauze, and absorbent cotton neatly arranged, a female nurse in white stood up lightly and looked at Zhou Weixin with a smile.This is Zhang Qiaoling from the health emergency team, Tang Jicheng's little townsman, who has just come in to do temporary emergency work, only a few days ago. "Mr. Zhou," Zhang Qiaoling said softly as she ran up to Zhou Weixin with a slender waist. "Acupunctures for pain relief and hemorrhage, I told General Secretary Cai Yongliang yesterday the real reality, and specific things are just copies of "ideas"; dialectics is the follower, but he hasn't done it yet today."

"Oh." Zhou Weixin only responded, then smiled wryly, nodded his head, and walked away. Zhang Qiaoling watched Zhou Weixin's back walking slowly in disappointment, wondering: Why is the chief engineer so listless today? Now Zhou Weixin simply retreated from the edge of the aperture, but walked along the periphery of the aperture.His pace also quickened, as if he was afraid that someone would stop him, or pull him from behind. The most important center of work is the left two petals of the "city flower", which is exactly where the two apertures intersect.Xiao Changlin, the famous big man in the factory, huddled into a ball, lying on his back under the steel frame of a compound working machine, busy twisting some parts with both hands, but his right hand was injured yesterday while working and was still bandaged. It was not very flexible to use; Zhou Amei, who was short and dainty, crawled on top of the machine, yelling loudly at Xiao Changlin below, while yelling, his hand holding the tool frequently made gestures.Two or three other workmen, hammers and vises in their hands, stood around the machine, gesticulating and talking.

Obviously, they were solving a difficult problem; both Xiao Changlin and Zhou Amei were the top technicians, and they always showed up wherever the work was the most difficult. Zhou Weixin, who was standing outside the aperture, suddenly shivered when he watched the tense scene, two forces were fighting in his heart.One is the force of habit, urging him to immediately run to the center of the intense work, throw away the coat in the crook of his arm, and throw himself into the "difficulty" to help Xiao Changlin and Zhou Amei solve it.There is another power that cannot be called a name, and it has never been seen in Zhou Weixin; this strange power is maliciously pressing Zhou Weixin to get as far away from the tense and intense circle of light as possible, and is forcing him to submit to a Something he had never known,--this thing was called "Desperation."

Zhou Weixin stood there bewildered for two to three minutes.The vigorous voices from the workshop shook his heart and made him angry; but Yan Boqian's selfish and despicable propositions, as well as his own resentful and just defenses, kept ringing in his ears one after another.Mangongchang's excited, brave, resolute and glowing faces, like little suns, burned his blood; but Yan Zhongping's vacillating and ambiguous countenance hung clearly in front of his eyes.And behind Yan Zhongping's face, he also saw another face - this is his own face, but it's not the face he always had. Cowardly and hesitant, he had no determination to oppose Yan Boqian's plot, nor did he have the courage to declare to the sweating workers in the factory: You have been betrayed!The Yan brothers have betrayed you!

Zhou Weixin suddenly grinned alone.His own grin brought him back from illusion to reality. The situation under the aperture has also changed.The two or three workers around the "difficult" workhorse went back to their jobs.Xiao Changlin is now crawling on top of the machine, while Zhou Amei is leaning against the machine, wiping the sweat off her face, while stretching her neck to look at the center of the "city flower" - the meeting point of the five circles of light.Over there, around the half-dismantled two lathes and one planer, a large group of workers gathered, chattering and seeming to have a dispute.After a while, a chunky man with a twisted face emerged from the group of people. As he walked, he turned his head frequently and continued to curse.This is Li Jincai, the foreman.This is a big man who claims to be "the most responsible" and therefore the most enthusiastic about beating and swearing.

The moment Li Jincai left the group of people, still angry, he happened to catch a glimpse of Zhou Amei who was leaning against the machine.He jumped in front of Zhou Amei in three steps and two steps, made a face, and sneered coldly: "Ah, have you worked hard? Why don't you lie down and have a rest?" Zhou Amei ignored it, but spit out with a pop. This made Li Jin's talented face flushed with pimples.He was about to have a seizure when Zhou Weixin suddenly appeared in front of him, his coat was still in his arms, but his hat was already in his hand. Zhou Weixin reached out to Xiao Changlin on the machine, and said two words kindly:

"Come down." Xiao Changlin jumped down, crossed his hands, and waited for the chief engineer's order.He thought: It's time for the chief engineer to do it himself again.He looked at Zhou Weixin with affectionate and respectful eyes. But unexpectedly, Zhou Weixin waved his hands, smiled wryly, and said clearly word for word: "Let's take a break, don't be busy, we will dismantle it later." "What?" Li Jincai exclaimed in surprise, "According to regulations, this machine will be boxed tomorrow night!" Zhou Weixin didn't answer, but smiled faintly at Li Jincai, as if to say: Since you are so enthusiastic, why don't you do it yourself?

At this moment, someone suddenly shouted urgently: "The enemy plane is coming!" The shout came from the stairs at the rear left of the factory, and at the same time, two people rushed down the stairs and rushed into the factory. Yao Shaoguang, who is known as a clerk with a dry salary.These two came to the factory every night for a scene, hid in the office upstairs, drank tea, ate watermelon seeds, and smoked cigarettes comfortably, and went home in about half an hour.Their "job" is euphemistically called "air defense observation"; but the enemy's planes really don't give them face. They only came after the two of them went home a few nights ago. Tonight is the first time that this The "work" of the two has been recorded.

"The enemy plane is coming!" This cry alarmed the people who were working nervously.There was a sudden silence in the factory.Those with sharp ears have already heard the roar of the enemy plane, and it is getting closer.Cai Yongliang and Yao Shaoguang confirmed that the enemy plane had indeed arrived and attracted everyone's attention. As if they had done a great job, they raised their heads and looked around, and shouted proudly: "Everyone must pay attention to the parts in charge, don't I made a mistake in my busy schedule and lost it!" Then, he glanced at Zhou Weixin in a demonstrative manner, and hurried out of the factory, preparing to get into the air-raid shelter specially set up by the factory. Seeing the arrogance and cowardice of Cai Yongliang and Yao Shaoguang, the workers sneered and continued their work as usual.When enemy planes came, they just dropped their bombs blindly as usual, and the workers ignored them as usual.However, Li Jincai, who was "most willing to take responsibility", suddenly disappeared. Zhou Weixin stood there, motionless.In the past, after the sound of enemy planes was heard, he would have to patrol the entire site, so that the workers could see, "The chief engineer hasn't entered the air-raid shelter yet, so everyone can work with peace of mind"; but today, his contradictory psychology made him miserable and depressed. He just stood there without moving.Then, he bit his lip, made up his mind, strode to the center of the five circles of light, waved the hat in his hand, and announced loudly: "Everyone, let's take a rest! The air-raid shelter is a bit more stuffy, and the underground warehouse where materials are stored is a bit more spacious. In terms of insurance, it's pretty much the same. You can go wherever you like. However, don't go to the foundry department, it's not safe there!" Such an announcement is also a rule, but this announcement tonight is unnecessarily early, and that case is an exception.Tang Jicheng looked up at Zhou Weixin from a distance, and felt that Zhou Weixin was a little strange tonight, his cold face showed a bit of hatred, and also a bit of despair. Now the roar of the enemy planes was overhead.And it was hovering overhead.Workers evacuated in twos and threes.In an instant, the workshop was silent, and the chirping of gasoline lamps could also be heard.There are only three people left in the whole workshop. Under the "city flower"-shaped aperture, Zhou Weixin was leaning on a half-dismantled lathe, looking down at the ground.Tang Jicheng was still marking those parts as if nothing had happened.Zhang Qiaoling rested her chin in her hand, and sat quietly beside her first-aid medicines and tools. On the right rear wall of the workshop, in a dark corner, Xiao Changlin was squatting, and beside him, the fuel tanks of the five gasoline lamps were lined up. "Chang Lin, the kid's plane arrived early today." It was Shi Quansheng, a sand foundry worker with a crooked face who was talking, but now he was assigned to the packing team.Boxing is heavy work.A wooden box weighing 100 to 200 jins was pressed on the back, and the waist was bent, one step at a time, and it took more than a hundred steps to get to the truck and get the wooden box onto the truck.He is also a veritable "air defense lookout post". Whenever an enemy plane comes over his head, he will take the initiative to observe the movement of the enemy plane carefully outside the small corner door on the right behind the factory. "How many planes came?" It was Xiao Changlin's voice, and he moved his tall body to the small corner door. "It's only one or two," said the voice with crooked faces, "I can't see clearly....Ah, why, there is a red light in the southeast!...Ah, there is a fire somewhere!" Xiao Changlin carefully lowered his head, leaned his upper body out of the small corner door, and looked around. Sure enough, there was a red light in the southeast, and it gradually expanded.In front of the red light, the outlines of two or three large chimneys and a cluster of factory buildings gradually appeared.Xiao Changlin knew that this was Luo Renfu's Dahua Manufacturing Factory, two or three miles away, with a small bang in between.Apart from this, the sky was gloomy, with no stars and moon. The roar of the enemy plane was still above the head, but the roar was indeed getting smaller and smaller. In the factory, Zhou Weixin was still leaning against the half-dismantled lathe.The enemy plane was circling overhead, he heard it; the enemy plane seemed to be far away, and he heard it too.Following the sound of the enemy plane, his thoughts also rose and fell.Some random thoughts that had never been here before suddenly came to haunt him.He has always been very responsible, but now the more he thinks about the boundaries of "responsibility", the more confused he becomes. "Preserve these machines," he thought distressedly, "of course it is my responsibility, because I am the chief engineer; but it is not my responsibility to help Yan Zhongping deceive the workers. However, if we want to preserve the machines now, we must encourage the workers They took the risk of working under the bombing of enemy planes. To encourage the workers, they had to help Yan Zhongping lie and spread the truth about saving industries for the war of resistance. Then, the scope of my responsibility is not even for things that do not belong to engineering. Included; then, my position is not only the chief engineer, but also the work of Cai Yongliang and Yao Shaoguang, but these two, one belongs to the government, the other belongs to the management, and the workers say they are also lackeys!" Thinking of this, Zhou Weixin's self-esteem was greatly hurt.Zhou Weixin has great ambitions, and he is not willing to call himself a "technician" for the rest of his life; if he becomes a capitalist and is called a vampire, he may be angry when he hears it, but he may not feel that he is humiliating himself; He felt so sorry for himself. He sighed, and looked up around the workshop.Under the aperture, all kinds of machines that have been disassembled in half, those that have been dismantled, and those that have not been dismantled all seem to be sneering at him with big crooked mouths.His eyes moved to the position of the packing group. There are wooden boxes, wooden boards, straw, and hemp silk piled up full, and some wooden boards are stained with blood. Zhou Weixin remembered that this was the truck that brought the wooden boards the night before yesterday. The enemy plane strafed and seriously injured a worker's blood.From those blood-stained wooden boards, Zhou Weixin's gaze caught Tang Jicheng and Zhang Qiaoling.Tang Jicheng is still working hard.Zhang Qiaoling clasped her hands in front of her chest, lowered her head, but her raised leg was swaying slightly. Zhou Weixin suddenly felt that this young girl was cute and pitiful.Zhang Qiaoling used to work as a nurse in a private hospital in the French Concession, but Tang Jicheng encouraged her. She lost her stable job and was willing to take risks here. Such a lovely spirit! "She gets 20 yuan a month over there," Zhou Weixin thought dazedly, "it's also 20 yuan here, and she didn't come here for the money, she thought it was really to save industrial equipment for the war of resistance, even at the risk of her life. The danger is worth it. Poor thing, she was cheated!" Thinking of this, Zhou Weixin couldn't help but blurted out: "Miss Zhang, you should go to the air-raid shelter!" Startled, Zhang Qiaoling raised her head and looked at Zhou Weixin, wondering why the chief engineer gave such a frightening warning.Tang Jicheng, who was engrossed in his work, also stopped writing. The sound of the enemy plane can be heard clearly, but it is not close. "I thought you didn't need to take this risk." Zhou Weixin explained. "Then," Zhang Qiaoling asked disapprovingly, "Mr. Zhou, what about you? Do you need it?" "Me? I'm responsible for—" Zhou Weixin paused suddenly, and retracted the word "responsibility" below.He shook his head with a wry smile, but he said to himself in his heart: I don't need this anymore!What responsibility?Fighting with one's life but protecting property for the Yan brothers? The sound of the enemy plane suddenly got closer and closer, Xiao Changlin hurried in and reported to Zhou Weixin from a distance: "Someone is launching a rocket outside!" "Is it close to our factory or far away?" Zhou Weixin asked, his attitude was still calm. Before Xiao Changlin answered, the voluntary "air defense lookout post" with a crooked face also came to him, and he shouted nervously: "Traitors, there are traitors! Fire rockets. It's over there!" Tang Jicheng also stood up at this time.Zhang Qiaoling panicked, picked up a medicine bag and wanted to run out, but Tang Jicheng called her. The sound of enemy planes was already overhead.A fierce and sharp whistling sound pierced the air, getting louder and louder as it got closer.The sound was so terrifying that it made people's blood chill when they heard it.This is the enemy plane diving!This is the enemy plane has taken a fancy to the target. "Go! It's not worth the sacrifice!" Zhou Weixin gave such an order by accident, and turned around to run outside. Tang Jicheng couldn't stop him, but stopped Zhang Qiaoling. "Don't move! The outside is not as good as here!" Just as Tang Jicheng said these words, two bangs came one after another.The whole workshop seemed to jump, and the five gasoline lamps flew in the same direction like meteors, emitting dazzling glare, but suddenly they all went out.Something heavy touched Tang Jicheng's head, and Tang Jicheng couldn't help shouting "Oops!" and felt dizzy for a while, but he could still hear loud noises (I later found out that it was the window of the upstairs office. All the glass of the window was shattered, and Zhang Qiaoling's panicked cry was sandwiched between them, and then he saw a white light sweeping around in the workshop, and finally the white light fell on his face, and he heard a voice asking: "What's the matter, Mr. Tang?" This is Xiao Changlin, at this moment, the third bombing attack came again, more powerful than the first two, Tang Jicheng felt as if someone slapped his ear hard, and he couldn't hear anything. When he could hear it again, there was a buzzing sound first, and he didn't know if it was an enemy plane circling in the sky or his own tinnitus.Not far from him, next to the overturned wooden boxes and messy planks, under a small circle of white light, squatted Zhang Qiaoling and another person in white clothes.Tang Jicheng heard a voice say angrily: "It's all done by traitors!" This is Xiao Changlin's voice again.Tang Jicheng came to him and saw his crooked face lying on the ground, Zhang Qiaoling was busy applying medicine to him.The injury was on the waist, probably because of the collision with some hard thing when the factory was shaken so violently.Xiao Changlin moved the light of the flashlight to Tang Jicheng's face, and exclaimed in surprise: "Mr. Tang, there is a big bruise on your head!" Tang Jicheng only smiled wryly, then walked away, groped to his desk, groped for a chair, and sat down.At this time, he began to feel pain in the corner of his left forehead, which was hot like a needle prick.