Chapter 43 Resend Little Reader Newsletter 11

Dear children: By the time you read this letter, it will be Children's Day.First of all, I would like to extend my warm congratulations to you! Children's Day is really a good day!In the four seasons of the year, at the turn of May and June, the weather is neither cold nor hot, wearing thin clothes, the body looks so light.As for our surroundings, the trees and crops are all green; the rivers and springs are rushing; although the spring is over, there are many bright flowers blooming on the branches. It is in full bloom; the sky above is blue, and when you are running and jumping, with the warm wind blowing on your face, how happy and happy you feel in your heart!

On this day, in such a happy and happy weather, everyone thinks of you especially, the teachers in the school, the aunts in the kindergarten and nursery, your parents, and many people who love you... By the way , and Chairman Mao! I didn't wait for you to add, so I hurriedly said it first!Children, when it comes to the happy life of children today, who would forget Chairman Mao?Chairman Mao cares most about you and cherishes you the most! Having said that, it is the people around you who love you, prepare new clothes or shoes, fun toys, and delicious candies for you; they also take you to lively gatherings and watch performances specially for you. Movies, puppet shows, plays, going to parks, zoos, ... and many other interesting and interesting things that I have never seen or known.All in all, I know that you have been looking forward to this day since May 1st. On the night of May 21st, you must be full of joy and prepare clean or brand new clothes, shoes and socks by the bed. Climb into bed and go to sleep.On the night of Children's Day, I must be tired and excited, hugging a new book or a new toy, and lying on the bed.I don't think you'll fall asleep right away, will you?Because in your excited minds, many images of splendor and activity that you saw during the day are still flying like a revolving lantern!

Children, how happy you are, besides being cared for and cared for you all year round, everyone is still on June 1st, arranging your own festival for you, so that you can have fun and play to your heart's content.This year's Children's Day has passed, and next year's Children's Day will come again, as if it is very easy.But you may know that ten years ago, before the founding of the People's Republic of China, we did not have such a happy festival; not only did we not have such a festival, but the lives of our children were also very miserable! Let me just give one example: when I went to Zhengzhou, Henan Province in March this year, I visited the Dongfeng Canal in the northeast of Zhengzhou, and the Huayuankou Irrigation Center by the Yellow River six miles away from the canal.Speaking of Huayuankou, we must first talk about the Yellow River: the Yellow River is a famous harmful river in our country. Its flow is not too large, but it often bursts. That is, when the water is heavy in spring and summer, the water in the river often The embankment was swollen and the river flowed out, drowning many people and livestock, and damaging many houses and crops.An old man who went with me told me that the Yellow River is also called the Xuanhe because the sediment in the Yellow River washed from the mountains and plateaus gradually deposits in the Central Plains when the water flow slows down. As the river bed became higher and higher, the river flowed in all directions, and the residents on both sides of the river quickly built dikes to prevent it.For thousands of years, the sediment on the river bed has accumulated higher and higher, the river has risen higher and higher, and the embankment has also become higher and higher. This river is like a ditch hanging in the air, and it has become the most dangerous and harmful river!

In 1938, twenty years ago, it was the time when the Japanese imperialists invaded us. They were advancing step by step from North China. At that time, the decadent Kuomintang government led by Chiang Kai-shek was not only unable to resist In order to maintain their rule, the Japanese invaded, and in the name of preventing the advance of the Japanese army, they opened the embankment at Huayuankou, and floods like thousands of wild beasts poured into Henan, Anhui, and Jiangsu. More than 890,000 people were drowned in the 14 million mu of land in 64 counties of the three provinces, and their houses and farm animals were also wiped out.

But today, under the leadership of our party and our dear Chairman Mao, our industrious, brave, and intelligent people have broken the Yellow River embankment, built the Dongfeng Canal for the benefit of all people, and turned the sandy and muddy land into fish. The hometown of rice crackers.When we walked that day, the trees were green on both sides of the flat road, and the wheat fields in the distance were as neat as a green carpet. On the north side of the road, there was a lake of accumulated water, shining golden light in the setting sun. It is said that there were hundreds of thousands of tails in it. fish.A North Lake Park will be built here soon, so that working people and children can come to row boats and relax after work and school, and the life of the people here will be happier....

When the big car we took was speeding towards the Huayuankou irrigation center, we passed a large yard, which seemed to be a kindergarten in the countryside. It's a beautiful garland!The scene passed quickly, but this string of beautiful garlands left a deep impression on me.I thought, what a happy child in the Mao Zedong era!Twenty years ago, they were at the entrance of hell on earth, and today they are living in a paradise in heaven. They would not know how painful the children here were twenty years ago; How many revolutionary martyrs paid their blood and lives. Children, your happy life is not easy to come by, and not every child in the world is as happy as you.In our country, children in Tibet have just started a happy life after the rebellion subsided; children in Taiwan are still in dire straits.In capitalist countries, such as the United States, there are still many children who are out of school and starving, not to mention a happy Children's Day.The bright future of the motherland belongs to all of us, and especially to you.Your predecessors opened up a road to happiness for you, and you must also open up this road to be smoother and wider, so that your descendants and all children in the world can live happier lives than you.

Children, what should you do? You must listen to the Party, teachers, counselors, and parents. What they call on you to do is to make everyone's life happier and better, and to strengthen your mind and body.You must do what they say, and do it well. You are our successors, and the successors are always better than the predecessors. I believe that you will definitely do better than us in the cause of building socialism. it is good. Well, let's talk about it next time, and I wish you a happy holiday!Your friend Bing Xin May 11, 1959, Beijing. (This article was originally published in No. 11 of "Children's Age" on June 1, 1959, and later included in a collection of novels, essays, and poems.)