Chapter 59 Section 5 Wu Mi's death

It is also about to come to the end of life. Not long after the letter to the Revolutionary Committee of Sun Yat-Sen University was sent, Wu Mi, who was still living alone in Liangping, Sichuan, fell into a dark hell with no end in sight. .According to the regulations of the rebels, before the three meals, "reactionary academic authorities" should stand in front of the erected statue of Chairman Mao with their bowls and chopsticks and sign up for "pleading guilty". For example, my name is Wu Er, or my name is Ma Liu, and I am not A good thing, always opposed to Chairman Mao's revolutionary line, is a bastard and so on.If you are slightly slow or can't speak clearly, you will be beaten severely. Not only will you be free of food, but you will not be allowed to drink cold water.A few months later, Wu Miyuan's eye disease worsened, and his right eye was suddenly completely blind. His left eye suffered from severe cataract, and he was about to become blind.Faced with such an unfortunate fate, Wu Mi lamented that "I really can't cope with life, it is better to die quickly".

In 1972, at the age of 79, Wu Mi, who was about to die, was allowed to return to Chongqing from Liangping to recover from his illness, and lived in a small black room of 9 square meters on the third floor of the old building of the former school culture village.Since 1970, Wu's salary has been withheld by the school, and he is only given 30 yuan a month for living expenses, which includes taking medicine and healing injuries. Life is extremely difficult.After Wu Mi returned to school, due to a broken leg and blind eyes, she was unable to take care of herself, so she had to ask someone to hire an old woman from the local area, Granny Zeng, to take care of her. The letters were read by Cao Mufan, a teacher from the Chinese Department of the school. Life became more and more difficult.In desperation, Wu had to rely on debt to survive.On July 12 of this year, Wu sent someone to write a letter to ask for help from his old friend Yao Wenqing. The letter said, "A special withholding of 234 yuan is "deducted" when the monthly salary is paid (the withheld money will be stored separately). One hundred yuan", "Gu Mi loves to help others all his life, but he has never accumulated a single yuan", "Because of Mi's financial difficulties...now I beg my brother to help Mi with 10 yuan (as the repayment of Mi's previous payment of 10 yuan, Mi is also happy to accept it). I am very grateful Looking forward to it."At this time, the dictatorship personnel in charge of the control and the remnants of the Red Guards, from time to time, used the name of "donating money to atone for crimes" to defraud him of money.According to Tan Youxue, a professor at the same school who was imprisoned in the "cowshed" with Wu Mi, if Wu Mi needed money in particular, he could report to the school and get approval from the school to withdraw a small amount from the deducted wages. Once the Red Guards talked with Wu Mi, 200 yuan was squeezed out at one time, and perhaps this money was Wu's "donation" after he obtained the special approval in a special report.At that time, the Western Division had a slogan of "Don't worry about borrowing money", which was circulated in the "cowshed", that is, if the dictatorship personnel and Red Guards borrow money from "reactionaries", the borrowers must "donate", otherwise you will be fined without discussion, and the crime will be added. Wait a minute, fuck you to death.

In such a difficult situation, Wu Mi's younger brother, younger sister and the son of his good friend Wu Fangji often send some small change to help, but life is still difficult.The left-behind staff of the school once contacted Wu’s daughters, hoping that Wu’s sisters would come to Chongqing to take care of their blind father with a broken leg, but they replied: “Our mother divorced him before liberation, and we have no obligation to support him! "Under such circumstances, the school could only agree to allow Wu Mi to get in touch with his sister Wu Xuman from his hometown in Shaanxi, and ask the other party to find a way to prevent the funeral from being left unattended and the body stinks in the house.

In late September 1973, Wu Xuman, who worked in a flour mill in Jingyang County, Shaanxi, came to visit Wu Mi's residence in the Old House of Wenhua Village, Southwest Normal University, Chongqing.When brothers and sisters meet each other, they have mixed feelings.At this time, Wu Mi was already bald, with only a few sparse white hair and white beard, with a haggard face and a melancholy expression, showing the decadent appearance of dying years.Looking around the room, there is dust everywhere. In addition to a single bed, there is a three-drawer desk, a small bookshelf and an old wicker chair. On the bookshelves are a pile of Chinese and foreign books that are also covered with dust.The only possessions that belong to me are a camphor wood box and a small leather suitcase on the ground.The daily necessities are only a thin quilt, on top of which is a rotten quilt piled on the head of the bed. There are only two or three sets of clothes. There are more than 30 stitches on a blue cotton padded jacket, which shows the age.Another mosquito net, said to have been purchased in 1938, is covered with holes and patches of sticky paper.When asked about the necessary cloth certificates and cotton tickets for buying clothes, the answer was nothing.Wu Xuman couldn't help crying when he saw the trembling look of his lame and blind elder brother and the lonely look in his eyes asking for help. At the beginning of October, Wu Xuman returned to Jingyang, and immediately collected some cloth tickets and cotton tickets from his colleagues to buy cloth, sewed cotton-padded clothes, cotton trousers, quilts, sweaters, woolen hats and other clothes and sent them to Wu Mi for the winter.

In the spring of 1974, the "Criticism of Lin Biao Confucius" movement gradually reached its climax in Southwest Normal University. The dictatorship team remembered that there was an "old antique" cat in Room 317 on the third floor of the first building of Wenhua Village, and this "antique" was always proud of promoting Chinese studies. , Confucius and Lin Biao are both advocates of "restraining oneself and returning to the rites". Wu Mi is naturally their filial son and grandson. The yellow sorghum dream of "returning the rituals" must be criticized and reformed.So, Wu Mi was dragged out of the dormitory by a group of dictatorship personnel, first "asked for instructions" in front of the huge statue of Chairman Mao in the school gate, scolded herself as a bastard, and then was put on the " Ghost Fighting Platform" began to criticize.On this day, Wu Mi seemed to be a little abnormal, and his stubborn character was revealed again like a flashback, and he said with a strong attitude: "Only criticize Lin, not Confucius", "Without Confucius, China is still in chaos" and so on.When asked, "What do you think of Lin Biao's practice of 'restraining oneself and returning to the rituals'? Did you fall into his poison?" Wu Mi raised her lowered head and said loudly, "'Self-restraining and returning to the rituals' is very high. According to cultural standards, Lin Biao is a counter-revolutionary, and he is not worthy of 'restraining oneself and returning to ritual'." A few words made the critics furious, and they upgraded him to an "current counter-revolutionary element" on the spot. Then he put on a high paper hat and was dragged by a few big men in a parade.

After several times of criticism and severe beatings in the "Criticize Lin BiaoConfucius" movement, Wu Mi's body became more decrepit, her mind became more fragile, and she became afraid of everything in the outside world.Wu Xuman's eldest son-in-law, Lu Yusheng, was on a business trip to Wuhan and stopped by to visit Wu Mi in Chongqing. On behalf of Wu Xuman, he invited Wu Mi to return to live in his hometown so that he could take care of him.Wu agreed, and exchanged letters with Wu Xuman to discuss the details of returning home.But in May, Wu Mi suddenly sent a letter to Wu Xuman, saying that he would not return to his hometown, and would like to live in Shiyuan Cultural Village for a long time until his death. .Regarding this change, Wu explained: "There are many reasons why I made such a decision, the most important of which is Article 5... Listening to people's stories, there are many 'high status' (factories, institutions, schools) in Sichuan Province. A person with a great reputation and a huge salary goes home after retirement and lives in the provincial or county towns, where he is managed by the neighborhood committee and the sub-district office. He is still treated very well and respected, but the In the small streets and alleys, some hooligans (similar to robbers) suddenly broke into the door in the middle of the night, calling him a "landlord remnant", a "reactionary academic authority", a "bourgeois and counter-revolutionary element", and He slashed with a knife, and robbed his money and utensils, leaving nothing behind."

After reading the letter, Wu Xuman was at a loss, not knowing how to reply or explain.Later, I gradually learned that according to the instructions of the superiors, the Southwest Normal University had rumors that Wu Mi had been deducted from wages in the past. In 1972, more than 5,000 yuan was deducted, so by 1974, more than 10,000 yuan should be repaid.This was an astronomical figure at the time, and it was beyond the reach of ordinary workers and staff.Because of this, Wu Mi began to fall into the double siege of the dictatorship team and the Xiao Xiaoxiao inside and outside the school. The fifth article mentioned in the letter was the result of deception and intimidation by the Xiaoxiao Xiaoxiao. Then it shattered.Wu Mi, who has been honest and pure all his life, really fell into the trick, and the tragic ending in the future seems inevitable.

In 1975, Wu Xuman received a letter from Wu Mi, describing his physical condition and loneliness: "Recently, I have dizziness, brain fever and tinnitus from time to time... Few people around me come to talk, and there is no one to accompany me when I go out... After reading the letter, the younger sister imagined how hard it would be for her elder brother to live alone, so she decided to go to Chongqing again and persuade him to return to his hometown to live.In August of this year, Wu Xuman once again came to Wu Mi's residence in the cultural village of Southwest Normal University. It was obvious that Wu was more and more aged than the last time the siblings met, and the god of death might knock on the door at any time.

It was midsummer, but the windows and small windows on the door of Wu Mi's living room were all sealed with nails. The small hut was like an airtight steamer. Wu Xuman asked why it was so?Wu Mi replied that she was afraid that someone would break into the door at night and kill herself with a knife to rob her property.Wu Xuman asked again who told him to do this?Wu Mi replied that Yang Zongfu, a worker at the No. 5 Heavy Steel Factory, came up with a good idea.At this time, Wu Mi was not afraid of the god of death knocking on the door, but afraid of living ghosts coming through the window. It can be seen that the fear of these living ghosts in Wu Mi's heart is far greater than that of death.Wu Xuman saw a small alarm clock on the table again, and asked when did he buy it?Wu Mi replied that Yang Zongfu bought it in exchange for his watch.Wu Xuman was startled, and asked puzzledly: "You are a famous brand watch imported from abroad, worth a few hundred yuan, and this small alarm clock is only a few yuan. This kind of exchange is too unequal!" Wu Mi was silent. After a while, he said, "Yang Zongfu said that he needs a watch for work. This alarm clock can not only make an alarm, but also has large characters, so I can read it clearly." Wu Xuman shook his head, sighed, and stopped talking. He already understood in his heart why his elder brother was afraid of going back to his hometown in Shaanxi The reason for being robbed by "rogue masses".But with further understanding, it becomes more and more clear that this reason is indeed the result of the Xiao Xiao boys intimidating and blocking it.

The next day, Wu Xuman helped Wu Mi to withdraw some money from the savings office of the college, but the salesperson told Wu Mi that all the deposits had been withdrawn.Wu Xuman was puzzled by this again, and went back to his residence to ask why his salary of more than 10,000 yuan was spent so quickly.Wu Mi frowned, and said intermittently: "Some relatives, friends and students are not well-off now, and I have to help them from time to time. Last time, there was a girl surnamed Ling who used to have a job now. To go to Shanghai for medical treatment, I urgently need 2,000 yuan, so I gave it to her."

When Wu Xuman asked how the girl's condition was, Wu Mi thought for a while and said that he had never seen her face again, but then argued like a child: "It is always a good thing to help others in difficulty." When asked In a hurry, Wu Mi also felt incredible about some things. For example, the 26 copies of "Wu Mi's Poetry Collection" published by Shanghai Zhonghua Book Company in 1935 were "stolen" by someone in less than half a month. At that time, someone took a collection of poems and asked Wu Mi to pay for it to be redeemed. A collection of poems was charged for dozens of yuan.These dozens of collections of poems were preserved by Wu Mi after eight years of anti-Japanese war and three years of civil war, crossing thousands of mountains and rivers, and overcoming countless difficulties and obstacles.What's more, this collection of poems also contains the touching poem "Wu Mi loves Mao Yanwen bitterly"?So Wu Mi took the money and redeemed them book by book.When the collection of poems was basically returned to its original place, other books in the house began to be lost again, and soon someone sent them to ask for money to redeem them.Seeing that this method is very easy to obtain, some school colleagues simply dug out the books that were borrowed and not returned in person a few years ago from home, and sent them to Wu Mi to ask for money to redeem them. Some of the books in Chinese and foreign languages ​​that cannot be completed are redeemed at a high price.But within a few days, the manuscripts, diaries, etc. were "stolen" again and had to be redeemed again.This cycle went on and on, and about half of Wu Mi's salary was spent on redeeming his books, manuscripts, and diaries.In "Wu Mi's Poetry Collection", which has been redeemed at high prices again and again, there is a poem "Fei Yang hates people for being weak, and Li Luo ends up pitying my lonely way". Thoughts are also a sad portrayal of his life's encounters and half-life bleakness. Poetry collections, books, manuscripts, diaries and other props to defraud money were almost all gone. The group of young people grasped that Wu Mi had been intimidated, criticized and cruelly tortured for a long time. For props and tricks, you can directly ask for them at the door or cheat them with empty words.Every time the wages came, some people would come to ask for loans. As long as they were coaxed and intimidated, Wu Mi's nerves could not be restrained, and he would quickly give them all.One day, a few young students who looked like students came suddenly, holding a letter to read, to the effect that one of Wu's students was in urgent need of a sum of money due to an operation in the hospital, and asked Teacher Wu for help. Bring Yun Yun back.At this moment, Granny Zeng, who was taking care of Wu Mi, was packing up her things in the house, and she felt something was wrong. When she went over, she saw that what the young man was reading was a blank sheet of paper with no words on it.Grandma Zeng knew that she had met a scammer again, so she hurried out to the next door to call Teacher Liu from the school to check.It happened that Teacher Liu was not at home, and her daughter came in with Granny Zeng. She asked for the piece of paper and saw that there was no word there. She asked her what was going on.The believers hesitated and couldn't tell. Teacher Liu's daughter hurriedly called people from the security office to take the young people away.Later I heard that the leader, surnamed Zhang, wanted to defraud Wu Mi of a sum of money, but because of his overly confident and straightforward performance, he showed his flaws and was spotted by Granny Zeng, so he failed. Even so, when Wu Xuman asked him to go back to his hometown in Shaanxi, Wu Mi still refused. The reason was still that he was afraid that "hooligans" would break into the door with knives in the middle of the night and kill him for money.This can be seen from the fact that the rumors and intimidation that the gangsters inflicted on him are "deeply rooted in the hearts of the people".Wu Xuman had no choice but to return to Shanxi alone. In 1976, the "Gang of Four", which claimed to be a disaster for the country and the people, was overthrown, and a new era is coming.In December of this year, Wu Xuman received a letter from Beibei, Chongqing, from a friend, saying that Wu Mi had been ill in bed for many days, and was in dire straits. Once, he rolled out of bed and slept on the ground all night, and was released the next day. Granny Zeng found out that she was in a terrible state, and asked her hometown to send someone to visit as soon as possible.Wu Xuman was so worried that he hurriedly asked for leave from the unit leader and flew to Chongqing on December 30.At this time, Wu Mi was lying on the bed and could not move anymore. His body was extremely weak, his face was haggard, his eye sockets were sunken, his mind was a little confused, and he showed mild dementia symptoms, which made his nose sour.When Wu Xuman wiped away the sad tears and proposed to take him back to his hometown for recuperation again, Wu Mi finally said "Okay, go back! Go back!".After hearing this, Wu Xuman was very pleased and excited. After obtaining the consent of the school leaders, he immediately called his eldest son-in-law Lu Yusheng and his eldest son Wang Gan to come to Chongqing quickly, and asked the college to go through relevant procedures and help buy train tickets.At this time, Wu Mi's savings of more than ten thousand yuan had already been redeemed, and all the money was actually only the seven-cent coin under the pillow. On the morning of January 8, 1977, the rain and snow filled the air, and the Wu family carried Wu Mi downstairs in a sedan chair tied like a slider with a cool chair, and left Wenhua in a jeep sent by the school in a blizzard and snow. Village, Southwest Normal University, where Wu Mi devoted 17 years of painstaking efforts and left painful memories, disappeared in the wind and snow. When Wu Mi returned to his hometown of Jingyang, he first lived in a dormitory allocated to Wu Xuman at the flour mill, and then rented a private house across the street outside the factory to live in peace three days later. The wanderer who had wandered for more than 60 years finally returned to the embrace of his hometown.During this period, some old relatives and friends came to visit, which comforted Wu Mi's soul.However, after long-term criticism and torture, the trauma and fear deep in my heart are difficult to eliminate, and my mind is still a little trance.Every time he said hello to dinner, Wu Mi, who was almost blind, would ask in a humble voice, "Do you still want to ask for instructions?" tableware.Sometimes startled at night and shouted: "turn on the light, I am Professor Wu Mi, I am very hungry, give me a bowl of porridge, I want to drink water..." In the early morning of January 17, 1978, in the lonely Wu Mi, who was exhausted in fear and fear, finally came to the end of his life.A lone star carrying a huge amount of national academics crossed the sky and the earth in the darkness of dawn, and disappeared without a breath.