Chapter 165 Beijing Suburb Night Before National Day

It was a quiet and mellow night.We sat on a bench under the shed of the taxi stand at the Xijiao Zoo, waiting for the bus. The night is so quiet, so soft.On the right, a row of lush willow trees outside the zoo wall, shrouded in the night, looks dark green.In the dim light, there was a long line of people waiting for the bus.They obviously visited the park or watched a movie, and the breeze sent them sporadic laughter... On the left, the tall planetarium is also shrouded in night, and the milky white gate wall is more vivid.From the secluded path, we heard the crisp chirping of insects. The moon is coming up behind us.On the square in front, there was a layer of light and shadow immediately.

At the end of the day, Xishan slowly turned from dark gray to lavender... At this time, a few more people came outside the window of the taxi stand. We heard their accents, and we looked back. It turned out that there were three foreign student.The two women have fairer skin, and the one man has dark skin.They didn't sit down, just leaned out of the window, talking in French, I guessed they were young people from Cameroon and Algeria. Suddenly, from the treetops in the far west, bursts of splendor spouted out, red and green, and bright white sparks burst out continuously in the middle. "Flowers!" We yelled happily, and then one after another, the sky was brightly reflected... A female student wearing a flower headscarf came over and asked in very proficient Chinese: "Today is a Is it a holiday?"

I said: "Today is not a holiday, I think they are trying to set off the fireworks on the National Day night." She nodded, smiled and walked back to their group. I saw that female student in dark clothes walking alone into the moonlight, looking up at the fireworks, then lowering her head, standing there, motionless for a long time.Seeing her independent figure in Moon Shadow, many memories of living in foreign countries when I was young suddenly came to my mind.What is she thinking?Thinking of her country trampled by the imperialists?Thinking of her relatives who are struggling for their own freedom and happiness?She saw our sparks of joy, how did she feel in her heart? ...My sympathy and gratitude, like a rushing spring, has been flowing to these young people who are guests in our "home"... Two very bright car lights are coming straight to us from the West Avenue , stopped in the square.The dispatcher came out of the house, walked to the car, smiled at us, but greeted the three foreign youths and said, "The car is here, you go."

They quickly pointed at us and said: "They came first." We also quickly said: "We are not busy, please go ahead!" They thanked with a smile, got on the car, and we watched the speeding car , and carried them to the direction of the luminous sky. The sparks were still going up in bursts, and the dispatcher and we all stood and stared, neither of us saying a word.Gradually the fireworks went down, the moon had risen very high, and in the tall grass around the square, the sound of chirping insects was heard again.The night on the outskirts of Beijing before the National Day was so soft and peaceful, but in my heart, I was moved like undulating waves... (This article was originally published in "Beijing Evening News" on September 29, 1961, later Included in the collection of essays "Xiaozha Gleaners".)