Chapter 64 63

After burying his father, Ruixuan fell ill for dozens of days. With the death of God Bless, the Qi family is not in good shape.Although he did not live at home while he was alive, it seemed to everyone that he was always with them.Whenever the family gets some good tea, or makes some seasonal food, everyone will either send it to him immediately, or set aside some for him to enjoy when he comes back.The same is true for him, even if he buys some cherries or a few pieces of pastries, he must take the time to run home for a while, dedicate those things to his old father, and then the old father will distribute them to everyone.

Especially because he doesn't live at home, so everyone pays special attention to him.Although he was only three or four miles away from them, this distance made everyone seem to have a small space in their hearts, thinking about him and talking about him all the time.In this way, whenever he comes back, he will show affection to everyone, turning everyone's anger into joy, and silence into laughter, if everyone is making a little awkwardness or quarreling a few words. He has no style, can't puff his beard and stare.When he entered the house, he did not make everyone feel that "father" had returned.He was just so quiet, like a warm breeze, that made everyone feel a little soft excitement.At the same time, everyone knows his contribution and importance to this family, and knows that besides Old Man Qi, he has the highest status and generation, because knowing this, everyone respects and loves him very much.They knew that once Old Man Qi passed away, he would of course be the representative of the family, and he is so easy to serve and never loses his temper, isn't it everyone's blessing?No one expects the old man Qi to die soon, but unfortunately once the old man dies, and Tianyou supplements it, the Qi family may be more harmonious and bright.He is the wind and sunshine of the Qi family, and he will illuminate the descendants of the Qi family for several generations.Old man Qi only got the honor of four generations under one roof, God bless, maybe there may be five generations under one roof!

Such a man died, and so badly! In the hearts of Old Man Qi, Mrs. Tianyou, Ruifeng, and Yunmei, they are all somewhat superstitious.If it was not God Blessing, but someone else, who threw themselves into the river, they would definitely feel uneasy, fearing that the dead ghost would come and cause trouble.However, it was God Bless who threw himself into the river.When people think about his gentleness and honesty, they can only think of his kind face, but they can't imagine his possible transformation into a ghost.Everyone only felt that there was one person missing in the family, the loveliest person, and they couldn't think of anything else.

Therefore, after the funeral, the Qi family was eerily quiet every day.When Ruixuan fell ill, Old Man Qi would often lie on the kang, not saying anything, while his bearded mouth moved slightly.Mrs. Tianyou was so skinny that she wore a fat and bulky filial gown, she didn't make a sound, and she went in and out to help her daughter-in-law operate.She should have been lying down to recuperate long ago, but she refused.She knew that she didn't live long, but she had to show Ruixuan that she could still do things and wouldn't die for a while, so that he could rest assured.She knew that Ruixuan would have nothing to do if the family got into trouble again.She was sick, and she was full of grievances, but she neither shed tears nor would she lie down.She has to support the family on behalf of her husband so that it does not collapse immediately.

Ruifeng still hangs out with a group of rascals all day long.No one dared to advise him. The "dead" air sealed everyone's mouths, and no one wanted to make a sound, let alone a few words. It's hard for Yunmei, she has to try to win everyone's favor, and at the same time, don't show excessive activity, so as not to make people say that she is heartless.She is most concerned about her husband's illness, but she also wants to keep her grandfather and mother-in-law from feeling indifferent.She didn't like Ruifeng's actions, but she didn't dare to talk about him; everyone was still wearing hot clothes, so she couldn't be the leader to quarrel.

Funerals are easy.However, it almost doubled the cost.Budgets for weddings and funerals are never reliable.There seems to be no limit to small change, but Ruifeng buys good cigarettes, good wine, and good tea for everyone, hires cars for everyone, and adds food, teaching this unlimited pocket money to become random squandering.Ruixuan was in debt.The Qi family has never had much savings, but they have never been in debt.Old man Qi will never allow everyone to credit a catty of charcoal, or owe someone a dollar.Ruixuan didn't dare to tell his grandfather how much money he had spent in total.Mrs. Tianyou knew, but she didn't dare to ask more questions when her eldest son was ill.Yunmei knew everything, and she felt that she had to tighten up her responsibilities immediately. Although saving a penny from oil, salt, sauce and vinegar would not help, it showed her sense of responsibility after all.However, if the hands are tight, it is easy to arouse dissatisfaction from everyone, especially Ruifeng. His tobacco and alcohol consumption cannot be reduced. If he is reduced, he will make noise and make the old people anxious.Her big eyes are no longer so bright, but are far away from the light, as if they have lost their way.

Yunmei discussed with her mother-in-law if it would be good for her old man to move into the house of the third child and rent out the south house so that she could earn two rents a month.It is hard to find a house now. Even if the south house is dark and cold, it will be rented out immediately, and the rent will not be very low. Mrs. God Bless is willing to do so.Ruixuan didn't object either.This broke Old Man Qi's heart.At the beginning, when he bought this house, because of the small population, there were neighbors.But at that time, his eyes were on the future, and he knew that once the population increased, he would drive out the neighbors, and his own children and grandchildren would completely occupy the houses in the courtyard.At that time, he was a tree that was growing taller, and he could figure out that soon his branches and leaves would spread out.Now, his son died, and he was about to rent a house again. He knew that it was his own branches and leaves that had fallen.Why not die?he asked himself.Why don't you die when you are all beards and tails, but wait for your house to be rented out by others?

Although so sad, he did not firmly object.Of what use is personal opinion in these desolate times?With tears in his eyes, he went to tell Fourth Master Li: "There is a suitable family, please distract yourself to greet him, those two south rooms..." Old man Li promised to help, and told his old friend not to say anything, because as soon as the news got out, Japanese people would move in. Peking had already added 200,000 Japanese people. Squeeze out more than half of the people in Peking!Yes, the Japanese have started to build a new Beiping in Balizhuang outside Pingzemen, so that the people of Peiping can live in it, and the houses in the city will be allocated to the Japanese.The Japanese seem to have settled on Peiping and never let it go.

On the same day, Fourth Master Li replied that there was a family who had just moved from outside the city, a middle-aged couple with two children, who were willing to come and go. Elder Qi wants to take a look at the tenant first.He is careful not to rent the house to dubious people casually.Fourth Master Li quickly brought them here.The family name is Meng.From Xiyuan to Xishan, they have a lot of fields.The Japanese built the airport in Xiyuan, which took up many acres of their land, and they could not find people to cultivate the fields near Xishan, and they only needed to pay taxes and pay the grain as usual, so they decided to give up the land and hide in the city. hide.Mr. Meng is very old and shrewd, and his behavior is a bit like Chang Erye.Mrs. Meng lost one of her front teeth. She is a rather strong middle-aged woman, and she doesn't look dishonest.Both children are boys, one is fifteen years old and the other is twelve years old.

Seeing that Mr. Meng looked a bit like Second Master Chang, Old Man Qi nodded immediately, and kept talking about everything about Second Master Chang to the guests.Although Mr. Meng didn't know who Second Master Chang was, he still spoke his grievances smoothly.Adversity makes people's hearts easy to touch and sympathize with each other. Old man Qi quickly became friends with Mr. Meng.Even so, he did not forget to tell Mr. Meng that he is a decent and clean person.Mr. Meng heard the old man's subtext, and immediately promised that he would not allow the children to spoil the yard, and that the whole family was honest and thrifty, and they didn't even have a single dubious friend.

The next day, the Meng family moved in.Although Old Man Qi was quite satisfied with his tenant, he couldn't help but miss his dead son even more.Watching the Meng family moving things in and out in the courtyard, the old man said in a low voice, "God bless! God bless! Don't go to the wrong house when you come back! Your south house is rented out!" Mrs. Ma, wearing clean clothes, came to see Old Man Qi very shyly.She is not a person who likes to drop by, the old man guessed that she must have something important to discuss.Mrs. Tianyou also hurried over to talk with her.Although they are all close neighbors, firstly, they don't see each other very often, and secondly, because of the troubles caused by the Japanese, every family has a hard-to-recite scripture, so when they meet occasionally, they talk a lot.Everyone talked for a long time, pouring out some of the grievances in their hearts, before Mrs. Ma got to the point.She came to ask Old Man Qi's opinion, if Chang Shun really married Mrs. Cui, would everyone laugh at him or not?Old man Qi is the oldest and most virtuous person in the whole alley. If he had no criticisms about this matter, Mrs. Ma would have the courage to do it. Old Man Qi encountered a problem.He could barely speak.If he objected, it would be destroying other people's marriages. As the saying goes, if ten temples are demolished, one marriage will not be broken!On the contrary, if he agrees, who knows whether this marriage will be good or bad?First, Mrs. Cui is a widow, which is not very auspicious.Second, she is older than Changshun, which seems inappropriate.Third, even if they decide to get married, it won't solve everything; what about the big money? His small eyes were almost closed tightly, and he couldn't decide anything.He has to be responsible for what he says, and he can't talk nonsense.After thinking about it, he just remembered: "This year, this year, nothing can be done!" Mrs. Tianyou couldn't think of an idea either, so she called Ruixuan over.Ruixuan's illness has improved a bit, but his complexion is still very ugly.After he understood the matter, he immediately thought: "A bomb will blow up the big red bag, Gao Yituo and the gang of dogs and men!" However, he stopped this sentence, which is the most joyful, the simplest, and the most effective. if.If he didn't dare to throw the bomb himself, he couldn't expect Mrs. Ma or Changshun to do so.He knew that only a bomb could solve everything, but he also knew that even if the bomb was at hand, he, Mrs. Ma, and Chang Shun would not dare to throw it!He himself was imprisoned, and his father was forced to throw himself into the river by the Japanese. What did he express?He only vomited blood, punched his father, and borrowed money for his father's funeral, but he didn't dare to touch a single hair of his enemy!He only knew that he had fulfilled his responsibilities as a son according to the traditional method, but he did not dare to look directly at the source of the disaster.His education, history, and culture only taught him to perfunctory, to bow his head, to uselessly sacrifice himself, and to regard revenge as too risky and too intense. After being silent for a long time, he tried to suppress the embarrassment and shame like suppressing a mouthful of hot blood, and then said in his usual soft tone: "As far as I can see, Mrs. Ma, this marriage may not be possible." People ridicule. You, Chang Shun, and Mrs. Cui are all decent people, and you won't invite gossip. The whole problem is that the two of them got married, which gave the Guan family a lot of excitement. Maybe they I will try my best to make trouble!" "Yes! Yes! The Guan family shits on everything except human shit!" Old Man Qi said with a sigh. "But, why don't we do this, Mrs. Cui will soon become, become..." Mrs. Ma's mouth was as clean as her clothes, and she refused to say a bad word.Look at this, look at that, she lost her usual quietness and composure. There was no sound in the room, as if the shadow of death walked in gently.It's just past five.The days are short, and it is already a bit like dusk. Madam Ma was about to leave when Ruifeng, sweating profusely, ran in as if being chased by a ghost.He didn't care about greeting anyone, he sat on the chair all of a sudden, gasping for breath with his mouth open. "What's the matter?" Everyone asked in unison.He just waved his hands, unable to speak.Only then did everyone understand: Xiaogan's face was bruised several times, and the back of his robe had a big tear more than a foot long. Today is the first day of the Charity Relief Fair, and a theater in Xidan Pailou is performing voluntary plays.The drama is quite hard, the third is Wen Ruoxia's "Qi Shuanghui", the finale is "Red Luan Jubilee" by Zhaodi, and the main axis is "Daxi Huangzhuang" by the famous actor Huichuan.Only "Red Luan Jubilee" was a bit softer, but Zhaodi was both beautiful and it was his first time on stage, and the play wasn't very long, so everyone wasn't too demanding. The Guan family was extremely busy.The outfit was given to her by the boyfriends who recruited younger brothers. She tried five times and changed it five times, and called a tailor to wait on her at home.Yi Tuo was busy looking for an expert in hair combing and makeup.Da Chi Bao was busy "collecting" flower baskets for her daughter, and she had to present eight pairs of flower baskets together when her daughter was about to come out of the curtain.Xiaohe was even more busy, busy finding the best drummers in Beiping for her daughter, Daluo and Xiaoluo; she was also busy calling journalists to take photos of Zhaodi in make-up and plainclothes, so that they could be published in the newspaper beforehand and on the day and magazines.In addition, he had to write poems and essays, so that Lan Dongyang could assign them to various newspapers and publish a special issue of Ms. Zhaodi.He himself thought he was a bit of a genius, but he still couldn't write a single word after drinking many cups of strong tea and coffee.He had no choice but to invite a table of guests, inviting people who he thought were talented in literature and art to write articles on his behalf.They did have literary talents, and they wrote sentences such as "petite and exquisite", "little bird clings to people", "singing with a clear voice", "a string of pearls", and "work without fire or fire".Lan Dongyang is the general director of the Charity Relief Entertainment Club, so he is very busy, so he can only find time to come here and grin at everyone.Fat Chrysanthemum is often here, but she is too lazy to move around, and only suggests playing a few rounds of cards when everyone is a little busy.Tong Fang followed closely to recruit her younger brother, always holding a coat for the young lady, lest she catch cold and lose her voice. Tong Fang also seized the time to go out to meet and discuss with Mr. Qian.Tickets were sold out in the first three days.The fourth and fifth rows of the pool are all reserved for the Japanese.The first, second and third rows and Xiaochizi were all booked by the recruiters and Ruoxia's friends.The price of black tickets has been three to five times higher than the original price.Ruoxia's friends felt displeased when they saw her appearing in front of recruiting younger brothers, and planned to withdraw as soon as recruiting younger brothers came out to embarrass her.Upon hearing the news, the group of slick brats recruiting younger brothers were also prepared to try their best to shout at Ruo Xia as a way of resisting.Fortunately, Xiaohe got wind of it, and quickly made an appointment with the heads of both parties. Ruoxia and Zhaodi came out to entertain them in person, and invited a Japanese rascal to attend the suppression, and then the matter was settled. Everyone shook hands and stopped the war.Ruifeng would like to see this excitement no matter what.He had friends who were spies, and the spies had to fill the theater before the play started, because many Japanese dignitaries came to the play.He went to wait outside the theater at ten o'clock in the morning, his mouth was open, his heart was beating fast, his eyes were looking around, and when he saw a friend, he went up to him in three steps instead of two steps: "Old Yao! Take me in." !" After a while, he greeted another person: "Old Chen, don't forget me!" After greeting a dozen or so people like this, he was still not at ease, and he was still looking here and there, ready to ask a few more questions. bit.It was still early to leave Luo, but he refused to leave there, as if he was afraid that the theater would suddenly move away.Slowly, he saw the ticket inspectors, the military police, and the theater box approaching, his heart beat faster and his mouth opened wider.He went to tell his friends again, but they said angrily, "Don't worry, I won't leave you behind! It's very early, what are you busy with?" Friends are perfunctory him.He almost wanted to ask them to take him in right away, even to watch the bare bench for an hour or two;It's not safe outside the door!However, he didn't have the nerve to speak, fearing that it would be unsightly for them if they were pushed too hard.He bought a piece of roasted sweet potato and chewed it facing Xi Yuan, looking at the sweet potato and Xi Yuan, wishing he could swallow Xi Yuan in one bite. According to the rules, he is still in the period of filial piety, so he should not come to the theater.However, he was willing to sacrifice his life just to watch the theater, not to mention the old rules.When it was past eleven o'clock, he was almost insane.He grabbed a friend and begged him to go in immediately.He could no longer speak a whole sentence, but only one or two words came out of his mouth.The veins on his forehead were bulging, his nose was sweating, and his palms were cold.The friend told him: "There is no seat!" He said ah ah twice, expressing his willingness to stand. He went in, sat on the top seat, looked at the empty platform and the empty garden, feeling very comfortable in his heart.He closed his mouth together, and there was a gust of sweet water in his mouth, which kept urging him to smile.he laughed. It was very easy, very easy, and he got through on the stage. Following the first drum sound, he opened his mouth again and stretched out his neck, concentrating on how to beat the drums and gongs in the stands.His body moved with the gongs and drums, and there was a little sweet, rhythmic, and happy feeling in his heart. After staying for a long time, "Heavenly Official's Blessing" came on stage.His neck stretched even further.Just as he was engrossed in watching, he was called up, and the "ticket" arrived.He kept his eyes on the stage and changed seats.After staying for a while, the "ticket" arrived again, and he changed seats again.He didn't feel embarrassed at all, because all his attention was on the stage, as if he was intoxicated.He changed an unknown number of seats, and when "Odd Shuanghui" was about to start, he felt a little bit that he was standing.He is not afraid to stand, he has forgotten that it is his own legs that are struggling.His mouth opened a little wider, and he often coughed when he was choked by the smoke, and he only moistened it with saliva. When the Japanese arrived, he looked up to the stage with his foot down, not caring to see which important people were among the Japanese.While changing the gongs and drums, he seemed to see Mr. Qian walking past him.He didn't bother to say hello.Xiaowen came out, sat down, and tried the sound of the flute.He was even happier.He likes Xiaowen, admires Xiaowen, how beautiful Xiaowen is in the theater every day!He also saw Lan Dongyang turning around on the stage.He should hate Lan Dongyang.However, he was not tempted; the important thing is to watch the theater.Fat Chrysanthemum and a beautiful lady held flower baskets and placed them at the entrance of the stage.With a slight movement in his heart, he only swallowed a mouthful of saliva and sent her away.Xiaohe poked his head out from the gap between the curtains, he was envious of Xiaohe! Although there are many supporters, Ruoxia has real skills and doesn't just rely on supporters to cheer her on.On the contrary, after a good meeting, the theater was very quiet.Her beauty, dignifiedness, poise, and proper every move make one unable to keep one's breath down.Her eyes seem to see everyone in the audience, making everyone feel comfortable and making everyone respect and love her.Even those who came here to support him did not dare to applaud casually, because that was not so much flattery as disrespect.She is so thin and slender, and she is so active, it seems that there is some kind of magical power in her, so that everyone can see her youth and beauty, and at the same time, they all feel the heat and joy of youth in their hearts.She controlled the entire theatre, although she didn't seem to be putting too much effort into showing off. Xiaowen seems to have forgotten himself.Leaning forward, holding the flute horizontally, his eyes were fixed on Ruoxia, and he played every sound perfectly and sent it home.He is not only an accompanist, but uses all his energy to put his life into the music. Every sound seems to carry emotion, electricity, and light waves, so as to lift Ruoxia's body and throat , so that she can be ecstatic without any effort. Among the two rows of Japanese, there was a Japanese officer who drank too much and fell asleep.In his occasionally opened eyes, he seemed to see a beautiful woman flashing back and forth in front of him.He closed his eyes again, but he also closed the eyes of the beautiful woman.When a Japanese soldier sees a woman, of course he can't think of anything else but the "use" of a woman.He opened his eyes again and rubbed them vigorously.He understood Ruoxia.His drunken eyes followed her, but never met her eyes.He is angry.He is a soldier of the Japanese Empire, the conqueror of the Chinese, and he should be able to ravage any Chinese woman.Moreover, he should give vent to his animal desires anytime and anywhere, even in the theatre.He wanted to drag the girl off the stage immediately, tear off her clothes and pants, and perform the unique skills of Japanese soldiers, so as to add a little honor to the Japanese soldiers.However, Ruoxia never looked at him.He half stood up and gave her a "hee".She still doesn't understand.Soon, he drew his gun.The gun went off, and Ruoxia shook her head twice, trying to cover her chest with her hands, but before she could reach her chest, she fell down on the stage.Upstairs and downstairs immediately cried, ran, fell, rolled around, like a crowd, ran out together.Before Ruifeng's mouth could heal, he was knocked down.He rolled, he crawled, his head, hands, and body were covered with shoes and boots; he stood up, fell again, rolled again, shouted again, and shook his fists again and again.His eyes were covered by clothes for a while, covered with a leg for a while, and saw a pillar for a while.He lost his way and couldn't tell which was his leg and which was someone else's.Rolling, crawling, bumping, beating, he rolled out with the crowd. The Japanese soldiers stood up and drew out their guns, aiming at every corner upstairs and downstairs. Tong Fang came out from the background.She was going to throw her grenade when she recruited her younger brother to play.Now, the plan was ruined, she forgot everything, and only cared about protecting Ruoxia.Drilling out, a bullet hit her ear.She climbed down, walked forward with her hands and knees, and walked to Ruoxia's side. Xiaowen dropped the flute and picked up a chair.As if some devil had possessed him, he leaped down the stage, smashing the man and the chair on the head of the assailant drunk, the brains of the drunk splashed out and splashed onto Xiao Wen's lapel. Xiaowen couldn't move anymore, and several pistols were stuck on his body.He smiled.He looked back at Ruoxia: "Xia! Die, it doesn't matter!" He automatically put his hands behind his back and let them tie him up. There are many special agents in the background.Those who put on clothes, those who are putting on clothes, those who have not yet put on clothes, fanciers and actors;Zhaodi has already put on his clothes, holding Yituo with one hand and Xiaohe with the other, trembling into a ball. The people upstairs haven't run away yet.There was only one old man, who sat still, his toothless beard moved his mouth, as if he was gritting his teeth, or as if he was about to laugh.His eyes were shining, as if he had some poetic inspiration.He knew that Tongfang was still on stage and Xiaowen was still off stage, but he couldn't care less.He only had eyes for the group of Japanese, and they deserved to die.He dropped his grenade and went. The next day, the limping poet bought a tabloid, and in a small teahouse in Xi'an market, carefully read the city's news: "The death of an actress: the city's famous ticket and the famous pianist Wen Ruoxia couple , colluded with the adulterous party, concealed weapons, and planned to assassinate the military attache of the imperial army at the charity relief entertainment. But what I saw was the living Xiaowen, Ruoxia, and You Tongfang.The old man didn't know Xiaowen and his wife very well, so he didn't dare to criticize them.But he thought they were lovely because they were dead; they were as dead as his wife and son, and they were just as lovely.He especially loves Xiaowen, Xiaowen is not only a talented piano player, but also a martyr - dare to smash the brains out of the enemy with a chair!For Tong Fang, he not only loves her, but also feels sorry for her!she!What a clever, brave little woman—must have died at his hands, a splinter from the bomb would have killed her.Had she been alive, she would have been his assistant, helping him to accomplish greater things.Her name may be passed down through the ages.Now, she only suffered a "death from accidental injury"!Thinking of this, the old man almost uttered a voice: "Tong Fang! I will always remember you in my heart, and this is your stele!" He looked down and saw the news again: "No military officer of the imperial army was injured." The old man read this sentence again and smiled slightly.Humph, no one was injured, really!He looked down further: "At the time of the assassination, the order of the audience was good, only the second and third elders were slightly injured." The old man nodded and praised the reporter's "creative" genius. "All background personnel will be sent to the headquarters for interrogation, and those who are not suspected will be released within a few days." The old man was stunned for a while, hum, he knew that ten or eight, maybe ten or twenty, would never come out of the prison gate !He was very sad, but he couldn't help but tell himself: "That's it! This is the struggle! Only death, death can produce hatred; knowing hatred can lead to revenge!" The old man took a sip of boiled water, left the teahouse, and walked slowly towards the east city, intending to go to the cemetery and tell his dead wife and son: "Sleep peacefully, I have avenged you a little bit!"