Chapter 10 ten

On the second night at Nanquanquan, Japanese planes bombed Chongqing again.The Fang family, together with the townspeople, stood on the street and listened. That night, Baoqing couldn't sleep.How is his library?Was it bombed?Has everything he had turned into ashes? The family members were still sleeping, so he went out early, first took the bus, then crossed the ferry, and returned to Chongqing.He wants to see his library.He also wanted to inquire about the whereabouts of the Tang family.If he could do art in Nanquanquan, he had to find Qin Zhu and Xiao Liu. There was hardly anyone in the bus.All the people were running out of the city, and no one was going back.Those who rushed to beat Chongqing and ran out all looked at him and thought he was crazy.He held his head high, smiling all over his face, and felt that he was quite a hero.

At noon, he arrived in Chongqing.The sun hung high in the sky like a big red brazier.Rows of houses were bombed again, and unburied bodies piled up again.The streets were empty.The pavement was black, wet, and bloodstained.The sun above the head bakes everything on the earth.Baoqing felt that he was walking in the underworld.The city had never been so hot and never had such a bad smell. He wants to go home.How stupid to run away from South Hot Spring!What are you doing here? "I'm the only living person in this underworld," he thought as he walked.Among the charred and empty trusses of a house, a kitten was meowing.Baoqing walked over and touched the little furry thing.The kitten snuggled up to him and meowed affectionately.He wanted to take it away, but what to do with it?Poor little thing.It has seen tragic scenes, what will happen to it?If a person is very hungry, will he take it to the soup pot? ——He didn't dare to think about it any further, and stepped up his pace.In a back street, he saw three dogs gnawing on something.If he really wanted something, he could get some to feed the kitten.He stopped abruptly to see clearly what the dog was gnawing on.Howling viciously, they tore at a corpse.Nauseous, he turned and ran.

There was another creepy smell of burnt meat.He wanted to throw up, and his stomach was churning.He turned his back to avoid the unpleasant smell, but the smell coming towards him was even worse.He looked at the houses on both sides and wanted to go in and hide.But the houses were nothing but shells—the walls were standing, the windows were empty frames—and the fire inside had not been extinguished.He could not see where he had come.He suddenly panicked.He got lost in the deserted, smoky underworld. Finally, he finally took to the street.The cross streets are bare and smooth.There was a patrolman standing in the middle, and there was no traffic to direct.As soon as he saw Bao Qing, he just saluted, obviously treating him as a big shot.Bao Qing nodded with a smile and continued on his way.The policeman seemed very happy to see him, just as Baoqing was also happy to see him.In this world of the dead, it is indeed a pleasant sight to see a living being.

Baoqing quickened his pace.He dared not stop and look, for fear of seeing what he dreaded seeing.One corpse is fine, but a charred corpse is much more terrifying. Hundreds of charred corpses are really unbearable.Just looking at the ruins made him tremble.He had an idea that in the midst of this destruction, it would be a sin to live with all hands and feet.He suddenly felt guilty.He came to this city of the dead to take care of his property and think about his future.And all these individuals were massacred. He consoled himself again.I worked hard to earn money to support my family.I started a bookshop - of course I wanted to see how it was doing.I hope the bookstore is safe and sound.This hope fluttered in his heart like a bright little flag.He hurried away, thinking in his heart, I earned it with blood and sweat, maybe it didn't get bombed.

When he reached the intersection of Shuchang Street, he stopped involuntarily, losing all energy.All the familiar shops were burnt down.In the middle of the street was a pile of smoking logs.There is only a door frame left in a shop.A brass signboard was hung on the pillar, still so bright, so golden, and the sun shone on it, glistening.Is this a good omen?He dared not look towards his library.He stood there blankly like a man possessed by a demon.The bookstore was right behind him, all he had to do was turn his head to look, but he didn't have the courage.His brows were furrowed, and streams of sweat trickled down the bridge of his nose.He ran all the way here, and went back without looking at what he wanted to see, what a coward!

It took him a lot of effort to turn his head.The library is still there.His heart was pounding into his throat.He wanted to cry, but couldn't.He strode over, ran again, and arrived at the locked door in no time.The walls are still intact, it's just that the place looks so desolate.The poster with gold letters on red paper fell to the ground.The one at his feet reads: "Fang Xiulian".He picked up the poster carefully, rolled it up, and put it under his arm. The lock on the door was untouched, but the chain had snapped.He opened the door and walked in.A damp breath rushed towards him.Although the lights were off when he left, the hall was brightly lit.Only then did he see what was going on.The roof has been taken off.Broken tiles and broken rafters spread all over the floor.His precious tureens were all shattered.The screens and scrolls he had left behind looked like faded and torn wallpaper.

He walked slowly through the sad ruins.He almost wanted to kneel down and put the pieces of broken porcelain together.But what good is that.He sat down sadly in a small chair.After a while, he raised his face and whispered to himself: "All right! All right!" The bookstore was destroyed, but he was still alive. He came out, found a brick as a hammer, and sealed the door with nails.The sound of knocking nails is like a reassurance.He finally had something to do again.Work can cure all diseases.He thought to himself: "Change the roof, and buy some new tureen bowls. If it is the best, it will be able to open again. The tables and chairs are not broken." He looked across the street at the sad piece of rubble.He was lucky.But even those shops can still be rebuilt.When the fog season comes, the shop can open again, and the business will flourish again.

He walked towards the bus station for a while, and suddenly remembered that there were some valuable things in the library.He must go back and have a look.You can take some to South Hot Spring.After a second thought, he laughed at himself again.This is like using a sieve to fill grains. The more you fill, the more you will leak.He continued on his way. He felt better.At least he already knew how big his loss was.Now he could take an objective look at the bombed city.Can you write a drum poem, "The Unbreakable City-Chongqing".It's totally true and sure to be a hit. He unconsciously and involuntarily walked towards the area where the Tang family lived.The hotel where they stayed is still there.The hotel sits behind a high wall that shades the interior from sunlight but stops the fire and saves the hotel.All the other houses burned down.The hotel looked like a good button on a tattered garment.

The Tang family is also fine.Seeing him, Fourth Master Tang's eyes welled up with tears. "My old friend, we all thought you were killed," he choked out. The fourth grandma dropped the scale.Strips of grayish loose flesh hung on her pale face.But her temper did not change at all. "Why didn't you come to see us?" She muttered, "It's just our family here. I almost died." "I'm not coming now," Baoqing said. gone." Qin Zhu came out of the bedroom.Her face was pale and sickly.His hair was loose in front of his face, and his eyes were dark circles. "Don't listen to my mother's nonsense," she said to Bao Qing, "take us away!"

"Nonsense? Wow!" Fourth Grandma said angrily.She kept asking why Baoqing didn't come to see them. Baoqing asked Xiao Liu where he had gone.No one answered.He was afraid that the little luthier would have been killed by the bomb.He looked at this, at that, eyes full of suspicion and fear.In the end, it was Tang Siye who said, "What a lazy bastard, I don't want to go to the air-raid shelter. I waited until the bomb fell, and I was still lying on the bed... I ran like hell when I was done." It's so evil," the fourth grandma interrupted, "the sound of the bomb falling is like a ghost screaming."

Baoqing's eyes widened, his hair standing on end with horror.Poor little Liu, his brother, his precious luthier! "That's what happened. As soon as the bomb fell, he ran as hard as he could," Tang Siye continued, "and he didn't even look at the bottom of his feet. He missed his feet and fell to the bottom of the building, knocking his head. His fists are swollen, he's really stupid." "Where is he?" Bao Qing asked, relieved. "It's not on the bed yet," said the fourth grandmother in a shrill voice, "he can't leave that bed." Baoqing told them that he wanted to start a new business in Nanquan Hot Spring.He told them that the town was small, and even if it could earn money, it was barely enough to make ends meet.The two families put together, and the money they earn will surely fill their stomachs.Return to Chongqing in the foggy season.He has already calculated the three characters: Qinzhu, Xiulian and himself.Fourth Grandma wanted to nag again.Bao Qing hurriedly said, "I'll keep the words in my head first. It's all about luck. Maybe I can't make it through a day of chewing grains. If I can't make it, don't rely on me. Right now, I shouldn't take it." Come with me." Fourth Master Tang didn't wait for his wife to catch his breath, and hurriedly said, "You are our lucky star, good brother, you have the final say." The fourth grandma said: "It doesn't matter where you go to sleep, even if you sleep in a pigsty, it's better than staying here." Nanquan Hot Spring is too small to support a full-fledged quyi troupe.Baoqing made up his mind, it was better to stay here in summer, and return to Chongqing to earn money in winter.He has already figured out how to arrange his bookstore. He brought the Tang family to town, and they were very grateful—but it didn't last long.They complained again: the town is too small, and the teahouse where Qin Zhu sings books is not satisfactory; she earns too little money, and the place she lives in is like a pigsty.They complained tirelessly to Baoqing, and it was all his fault. In the end, Bao Qing felt that he and the Tang family could no longer get along.He couldn't bear it, and his heart was broken. He was worried about Xiulian.He kept asking her if she wanted to move, whether she was happy or not.He kept asking, which made her suspicious.One day, he asked again, and she said to him, "Why do you keep asking me, what's wrong?" "That's the thing," he said bravely. "Neither you nor my grandparents were entertainers. Sometimes I want to quit. It may not be so suitable for us to do this." Xiulian opened her eyes wide and looked at him: "You don't want to talk anymore?" "I'd like to sing by myself, I mean..." He was so upset that he couldn't continue. "Well, if you're an artist, you have to be like other entertainers. I mean, get into their bad habits." Xiulian didn't understand what was on his mind. "I like it here and I'd love to live here forever," she said. "I'd love to live in a nice place. It's better than moving all the time." She held out her slender round arms. "Look how beautiful the mountains over there are. They are evergreen all year round, so green and so beautiful. It would be great if we could do the same!" Baoqing smiled.He likes to listen to Xiulian talk.It was as if she had opened a window on his soul by talking about such things.He understood that she was not the kind of person who liked to wander around.She wasn't born to be an artist. "Good girl," he said to himself.He also thought about the future, he had to save a sum of money for her; he also had to open an art school.He wants to teach a generation of artists.He and Xiulian must not be contaminated by the habits of entertainers.