Chapter 65 Four Changes Say It All

The emotions when I returned from the three-day visit were in sharp contrast to those when I set off on the first day.Depressed silence is replaced by excited talk.They started talking as soon as they entered the cell, talked about meals, talked during group meetings, talked after the meeting, and talked the next day, all talking about visiting.What you can hear over and over again in the discussion of various issues is this sentence: "It's changed! The whole society has changed, and the Chinese people have changed!" This is really the most general statement. "It has changed!" This is a fact that we have often come into contact with in the newspapers, from the speeches of the institutes, and from correspondence over the past few years, but some people who are experienced in the world know more indirectly, and the more they want to check it directly. Let’s see, the veteran in our group is such a person.This time, he accepted it too.

That night, we talked about the cakes in the worker’s health canteen, which we personally tasted, the workers’ meals, which we saw with our own eyes, and the gas stoves in the workers’ dormitories. , I didn’t see what kind of rice was being cooked, at this time the old man said: “I looked instead.” Everyone was surprised at first, he was walking with others, how could he see it?After he talked about it, he realized that others paid attention to the furnishings in the worker's dormitory, but he went to the back of the house and looked at the trash cans.He found fish bones, egg skins, and other things in it.

Lao Nan, the "Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture" who used to be a small grain and fodder officer in the Northeast Army, usually spoke very little, and today he appeared to be more active than usual. September 18th was rare before. I was born as a clerk..." Lao Zheng, who was raised by the Japanese since he was a child, said frankly: "I used to read newspapers and study documents. Sometimes I believed them, and sometimes I doubted them. I always thought that the Northeast industrial base was not left by the Japanese What? This time I saw the factory attached to the technical school, with the old Japanese belt-type lathes pushed aside, and the brand-new domestic equipment everywhere, I believed that the Chinese really turned around. This has really changed!"

changed! ——This sentence resonates with me, and I have my own feelings. I was forgiven by the people, for being so unexpected, I kept thinking during my three-day visit: Is this true?They have suffered so much from the traitors, are they willing to pull them down?Did they believe in Chairman Mao's policy of reforming criminals to this extent?What is the reason? The past and present of Fang Surong and Taishanbao are also the past and present of the Northeast people.It can be seen everywhere in Fushun, which marks this change from misery to joy.The martyr's monument and the new forest on the mesa, the dust and smoke from the fire area around the open-pit mine and the newly built electric train track, every old pit log and every new concrete roof in the more than 150 kilometers of underground mine roadways , the remnants of the "stinky oil house" on the former site of the open-pit mine and the workers' dormitory building newly built by the People's Government, as well as the worker's nursing home remodeled from a Japanese high-end hotel in the urban area, the nursery school remodeled from a Japanese senior staff dormitory, and the new mines. Health canteens, sun lamp rooms, etc., in short, every street.Every building, every machine, every string of numbers and even every stone tells me the blood and tears of the past and the happiness of today, and tells me what earth-shaking changes have been experienced here.Everything made me think, why did Mrs. Liu say "let the past pass"?Why did that disabled youth say that he believes we can transform? ...

Change says it all. changed! ——This sentence contains the blood and tears of the Fushun miners in the past! Fushun, Qianjin Village (now the site of the open-pit mine), which was famous in the Guan, had a ballad describing its richness more than half a century ago in the Guan: "It is said that the outside of the Guan is good. Gold and silver can’t be dug.” However, since 1901, the “gold and silver” dug out are not the miners’, but to the miners, it is life in another song: “When you arrive at Qianjinzhai, take Bedding is sold, new ones are exchanged for old ones, and old ones are exchanged for sacks.” In 1905, Imperial Russia failed in Liaodong, and this place became the pocket of the Japanese.It is estimated that 250,000 to 300,000 Fushun miners were tortured to death during the entire forty years.

Farmers cheated from Shandong and Hebei and local bankrupt farmers from the Northeast come to the Fushun mining area in batches every year. Most of them live in "big houses" with one or two hundred people per room. Working more than 12 hours a day, the limited salary they get has to be stripped by the big cabinet and the head several layers.The miner said: "The devils eat our meat, gnaw their heads on the bones, and walk sideways with their legs. It is difficult for workers to raise their heads." Workers with families lived in "stinky oil houses" and lived a life of little food and no clothes.Some children are born and grow up naked until they are several years old; when they starve to death, they are still buried naked.

More people can't afford to get married. Before liberation, 70% of the people in Longfeng Mine were single. There is no safety equipment in the mine.Explosions, roof falls, and film gangs are commonplace.Workers said: "If you want to eat coal, you have to sacrifice your life." In 1917, a gas explosion occurred in a large mountain pit. In order to reduce the loss of coal, the Japanese closed the pit mouth, and 917 miners were killed alive. Burned inside.In 1923, a fire broke out in the old Wankeng, and sixty-nine workers died in it because of the same measures.In 1928, the Dashan Pit flooded and drowned 482 workers.

The Puppet Manchukuo regime has made statistics: from 1916 to 1944, the total number of casualties was 251,999. Every time an accident happened, the families of the miners flocked to the well from all directions, crying loudly... The miners who were killed by bombing, burning, freezing, starvation, and disease, except for those who were buried in coal piles and sand in the well, were all thrown into a ravine north of a place called South Garden.This ravine has long been filled with dead people, so it has the name "mass grave". In addition to leather whips and stinky oil houses, the Japanese set up a place called "Happy Garden" for the workers, where there were thousands of prostitutes, casinos, opium dens and morphine shops, and Laojun Temple.

In Fushun, there are not only gorgeous residences of the Japanese, towering rolling pagodas, but also piles of beggars by the Laojun Temple, dead cats and babies by the Yangbai River and in the stinking ditch.In winter, new corpses appear under Yangbai Bridge every day. This is the place where unemployed workers who have been deprived and have nowhere to go live. Its nickname is "Grand Official Hotel".The person who sleeps here tonight may be a new "road man" tomorrow morning. During the Puppet Manchukuo period, Fushun added an institution: Correction and Guidance Institute.This is a concentration camp for miners who "anti-Manchurian and anti-Japanese". Those who entered were beaten with bayonets and machine guns.Slave labor surrounded by police dogs.They live together like livestock, and people often freeze to death on the kang in winter.

"Changed!" How many earth-shaking events are contained in this sentence!What exciting joy! In the open-pit mine, there are relics of the 3,500-square-meter stinky oil house built by the Japanese for workers in 31 years, and there are also 170,000-square-meter dormitory buildings newly built in the seven years after liberation. On the third day of my visit to Longfeng Mine, I saw the living quarters of workers' families in the workers' dormitories.This one may be the one in the 70% of the previous ones.On the double shadow photo on the wall, the middle-aged man is smiling cautiously, probably he is one of the 80% married after liberation, right?

In the kitchen of this family, I saw the blue flame of the gas stove... This flame that gives people a sense of stability and warmth, how terrifying it was originally, how many families it has destroyed, how many wives have cried to death!It has given people warmth and happiness today, but when people talk about the struggle to conquer gas, the warmth and happiness in people's hearts is even greater! We walked in the tunnel of Longfeng Mine, where the air was fresh and there was a slight breeze. Under the endless fluorescent lights, Director Wang of the Mine Office told us the following touching story while walking. Gas has always been the most ferocious enemy in the history of coal mining in various countries, and it has claimed the lives of many miners.The three mines of Longfeng, Shengli and Laohutai are all super gas mines.In the early days of liberation, the three mines were still under the serious threat of gas, especially the Longfeng Mine, which was destroyed by the Japanese devils and the Kuomintang successively. Dare to use explosive and electric equipment.In order to quickly eliminate the threat of gas and ensure production safety, the authorities in the mining area have adopted various measures, relying on experienced veteran workers to fight unremittingly against the gas, and achieved initial victory. Sixty-four eight cubic meters down to thirty-six cubic meters.Later, with the continuous efforts and struggles of the workers in the mining area authorities, new miracles appeared. In the autumn of 1949, a new record movement was launched in the industrial sector of Northeast China. An engineer from the former Longfeng Mine proposed to the party committee an ideal that was ignored in the old days and that the workers had dreamed of for many years. The ideal with scientific basis is to open up underground gas roadways, and according to the principle that gas is lighter than air and can rise through the coal seam, a large amount of gas in the coal seam will be automatically accumulated in the roadway, and then lead to the ground with iron pipes. Using gas for welfare has also found a way to solve the problem of gas damage. This suggestion immediately received the attention of the party committee of the mining area. The party believed in this suggestion and gave the engineers the greatest encouragement and support.This ideal has also aroused the enthusiastic support of the workers, especially the old workers and their families. Experienced old workers have expressed their willingness to contribute all their strength to the realization of this ideal.So under the organization of the party committee, the engineer and a group of brave workers conducted a great experiment.The workers and party members were at the forefront of the battle, fighting day and night in the thick gas lanes.At first, they encountered many difficulties, were surrounded by strong gas many times, and were also hit by the cold wind of timid and conservative comments, but all difficulties were overcome, and finally in July 1950 The test project was completed on the eve of the day. On the day of the "July 1st" test, more and more workers' families and Oban workers gathered around the gas outlet pipe, and countless government officials and school children also came. People have to watch themselves How dreams become reality.When a match caught a violent blue flame at the spout, cheers resounded through the mines and shook the mine.People congratulated the engineers and brave workers.Later, their eyes moved away from the blue flames, and they all focused on the radiant red star on the windlass.At this time, the old workers and the old women were all in tears, and the young workers shouted: "We have won again!" This story immediately reminded me of the disabled old man I saw in Fushun Workers' Nursing Home.This is a survivor of a gas explosion.He escaped death, but not the fate of being crippled and driven out of the mine.He lived a life of begging until he was liberated; he almost became a "road feller" under the Yangbai Bridge several times.The old man has worked hard all his life, has never been married, and has no relatives in the world.Above his bedside, this is the usual place to put photos of relatives. The old man also has a photo framed with exquisite mirrors, which is also a photo pushed in his room: Chairman Mao. This story immediately reminded me of a song sung by a child wearing a snow-white scarf in a kindergarten in the morning: "Without the Communist Party, there would be no new China..." From these associations, I got a unified answer from the elderly and children.I understand why Aunt Liu wants to let the past go, and I understand why her son believes that we can reform... We followed Director Wang in the alleyway and continued to move forward.A small shop with dazzling lights appeared at a corner—there were fruit snacks, towels, handkerchiefs, and wooden comb soaps—Director Wang stopped here, pointed to the small shop and said: "In Manchukuo, there was a long stinky ditch from here. There were mice running everywhere in the ditch, but no one dared to touch it, because many workers were very superstitious at that time, saying that it belonged to the old gentleman. Ma. The workers are all people who have lived through today and don’t know if they will be able to survive tomorrow. Therefore, some of them respected the old gentleman for peace. At that time, we were angry with the devils and the second-in-command. I also have to be angry with the rats. Of course no one has the old gentleman now, throw away the old gentleman, and every family hangs a portrait of Chairman Mao." Pointing to the clean and flat concrete ground, he continued: "At that time, there was water everywhere, and the shallow part was about a foot. Workers had to wade through the water barefoot when they stepped out of the well. In the 'hands', the workers did not wear any clothes at all. A little clothes, all naked. There are many questions and heat in the pit, and besides, there is only a whole body of tatters, and no one will refill you if it rots." We continued to walk forward and walked to the side of the tramway. The train carrying glowing coal passed by. The driver in dark blue overalls greeted Director Wang with a smile and drove past.Director Wang continued: "At that time, there were roads for trams, and roads for no one. Trams often hit people and killed people in this place. But compared to explosions, that is nothing. Miners used to have a saying: they said they were 'four yuan' A piece of meat between stones'. After working in the well for more than ten hours and returning to the well, even if this day is mixed up again. Outside the wellhead, there are a group of women and children waiting every day when they get off work. If they can’t wait for their own people, That's the end. Even the corpses may not be found, either under the rocks, or buried under water and sand. Here," he stopped, pointing to the side of the road, "I personally saw four people crushed to death here. .I went down the well when I was fourteen, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had dealings with Lao Tzu Yama.” Only then did I know that this young director who is proficient in business was originally a miner.He is a bright and lively person, and he said the last sentence with a smile.I never expected that the laughing man standing before us had such a miserable past that it is hard to imagine how he got through it.In order to make a living, this fourteen-year-old boy had to work for more than ten hours a day. When he was sick, he dared not lie down, because he was afraid of being regarded as having an infectious disease and isolated.The big houses where the workers live, there is no fire in winter, most people have no bedding or roofing, a sack is good enough, and there is not enough food. Every day, each person only has eight honeycomb-like cornbreads. Therefore, infectious diseases are very easy. occurring.In 1942, an epidemic occurred here, and the workers still have lingering fears when they mention it today.What is terrible is not the epidemic, but the poisonous hands of the Japanese. The Japanese once sealed off the residential areas where the epidemic occurred with layers of gill nets, and they were not allowed to go out to seek medical treatment. The Japanese devils nailed up the gate to lock people inside.If a disease is reported, no matter what the disease is, it will be filled with cholera and sent to the isolation center.Once a person enters the isolation center, he doesn’t have to think about coming out. There is an electric grid outside, guarded by foreign dogs, and everyone eats a bowl of porridge. In the mass grave. "The worker on the coal truck you saw just now." Director Wang's smile disappeared. "His name is Xing Fushan, and his father was buried alive." We walked slowly, and there was a breeze in the alley, which was a fresh and warm air, but my heart was frozen by the past.After a short period of silence, Director Wang continued: "In the past, the air here was turbid. If you don't work, you can make the world sick. Once I just came up from the well, and I asked to death. I got sick. Two The head had to tell me to go down again. If I didn’t go, he raised his leather whip and beat me. I was the youngest in the big house, and everyone loved me. When someone came to kill the second head, the boy scared away when he saw it. Japan The devils and the second commander are most afraid of special workers—this is the name the devils gave to the captured Eighth Route Army prisoners of war. The devils escorted them to work in the mines. They rioted many times, and the devils had to give in, give them better food, and be more polite. The devils and the second leader are afraid that ordinary workers will be affected by special workers, so they always try to isolate them, but we also know After their struggle, I also got to know the bottom of the devil and the second leader, so the second leader had to throw down his whip and run away, really like a mouse in a stinking ditch. From that day on, I can see that these people will not last long... ..." I understand how this boy, who was living with explosions, roof falls, and two scalp whips, survived, and my question was answered once again.What a strong confidence in him!In such a difficult and precarious life, he had already seen through the details of the devil and the second leader, but what was I like at that time?He was tired of eating meat, lost all his dignity, took injections and medicine every day, and his heart was full of doomsday emotions.What a sharp contrast between this and the mood of the boy back then!In those days, he regarded people like us as rats, insignificant, but what about today? I remembered the story of the victory in the gas experiment, the tears of the elderly workers and their families in the story, and the words shouted by the young workers in the story: "We have won again!" Proud and confident!In their eyes, all the mysteries of society, human beings, and nature can be debunked, and everything can be transformed!What is an emperor?The future is theirs!This is another reason why Fang Surong, Aunt Liu and his son were able to forgive me. Everything has changed!Change is reflected in everything.From the young jungles on the mesas to every stone in the mines, there is a change.The changes are also reflected in the various people we see: the old people who are healthier and live longer in nursing homes are changes, the gas stoves and wedding photos in the workers’ dormitories are changes, and the young Director Wang is also a change...everything changes. The most fundamental thing is the change of people. The reasons for all these changes are the photos on the old man's bedside, the song sung by the children in the kindergarten, and the star on the lifting tower of the Longfeng Mine... All this happened under that red star - a great heart, unlimited faith in the leader, and self-confidence that sees through everything.With all these, there is the forgiveness that sounds like thunder and shines like lightning.

---

Notes: