Chapter 18 (fourteen)

The office is not big, and it is also used for eating, drinking, relaxing, relaxing and sleeping.The hallway at the west end is our kitchen and briquette pile.The neighboring rooms are all similar to ours, a family with one room; the corridor is the kitchen of each family.The women's restroom is adjacent and the men's restroom is at the east end.Zhongshu definitely had no ability to walk through the long corridor full of sundries.He can only "stay at home". But the room also has unexpected benefits.The library and reference room of the Literature Institute is in the No. 6 building in front of us.Zhongshu used to be the director of the Library and Documentation Committee of the Institute of Literature. Selecting and buying books were his specialty.He buys all the rare and unique books in Chinese.Classic works in foreign languages ​​(including English, French, German, Italian, etc.) as well as modern and contemporary mainstream works are available.Foreign guests who came to visit were amazed at the precision and perfection of the library materials of the Literature Institute.And a young man who manages the books and materials is Zhongshu who often came to care and help when he was in exile at the Normal University.The Institute of Foreign Languages ​​is not far away.The young people living in the foreign language institute are also within easy reach.

We were in Normal University and were taken care of by many of Ah Yuan’s friends; when we moved to the seventh floor of the Admissions Department, we were taken care of by many young people from the Literature Institute and the Foreign Language Institute.So we can live and work in peace and contentment in this humble room.Zhongshu's "big tongue" returned to normal at the earliest, and gradually he could write with his hands, but he could not walk with his feet.He continued to write his "Guan Zhubian", and I continued to translate "Don Quixote".No matter how difficult the situation we are in, we never stop studying and working, because this is also our pleasure.

When Qian Yuan was both sent to the cadre school, he even helped an old lady who was forced to sweep the streets by the Red Guards at that time, and helped her solve some difficulties.The old lady is highly educated, smart and capable, and is the wife of a famous chief engineer.She was grateful to Ah Yuan, and after getting acquainted with her, she took a fancy to her as her daughter-in-law and coaxed Ah Yuan to her house.Ah Yuan couldn't be coaxed.The old lady waited for us to come back to Beijing from the cadre school and come to see me in person.She let me and Zhongshu meet her son; she asked her son to make friends with Ah Yuan.We all agree.But Ah Yuan said to me: "Mom, I'm not getting married anymore, I'll stay with my parents." We didn't want to force her.I just said: "In the future we will all leave, can we rest assured that we will leave you alone?" Ah Yuan is a filial daughter, and we couldn't bear to use such words to put pressure on her.But the old lady made unremitting efforts, and finally in 1974, the same month we moved into the Office of the Admissions Department, the old lady married Ah Yuan into her home.We know that Ah Yuan has a beautiful home, and even though he lives in a shabby room, he feels at ease.My son-in-law still has the letters between Zhongshu and the old lady, which I attach as Appendix 2 at the end of this article.

"This is a humble room", but Zhongshu's work of translating Chairman Mao's poems was done in this room. In the winter and November of 1974, Comrade Yuan Shuipai visited and said: "Comrade Jiang Qing said that the 'group of five' has not been disbanded, and Comrade Zhongshu should finish the work." I still don't know about the "group of five" Which five people are they?All I know is that this work started in 1964.Comrade Qiao Guanhua often took Zhongshu home in his car, and he often came to our house to chat and gossip. Work was suspended during the "Cultural Revolution", and we completely lost contact with Comrade Qiao Guanhua.Mr. Ye Junjian is one of the members.The other two don't know who they are.I thought this matter was led by Premier Zhou.But I didn't ask. I just felt that Jiang Qing was "grabbing the top and acting like a good boy" and rushing to lead this work.I immediately replied to Yuan Shuipai and said, "Qian Zhongshu is ill. He is lying on the ground. He can only stay in this room and cannot go out."

The other party said: Qian Zhongshu can't go out, the team can come to work in this room.I have nothing more to say. In our room, the two walls are borrowed iron bookshelves, but there are no horizontal grids.The young people used the broken wooden boxes they brought back from the cadre school to form a grid for us, and put the books and notebooks in the wooden grid.Against the west wall, two camp beds are placed horizontally.There is a relatively complete wooden box in the middle, which can be used as a bedside table and a wardrobe.A medium-sized desk is placed under the north window, which is used by Zhong Shu for his work.Near the south window, against the west wall, next to the bed, is a small desk for my work.I was translating, and the table only accommodated a stack of manuscript paper and a book, and many kinds of large dictionaries were spread out on the bed.I have nowhere else to live except in this room, so I am also an object that cannot be moved.There is a washbasin near the door, and there are buckets and small water tanks beside it, which are used as sewers.Put a wooden board on the top of the iron shelf to put pots and pans.The radiators were insufficient for heating, and an empty space was found in the house, and a coal stove was built, with a few briquettes stacked next to it.There is also a bamboo curtain hanging at the door to keep out mosquitoes in summer and wind in winter.

Ye Junjian was not too shabby, so he happily ran over every day and sat foot-to-foot with Zhongshu across the desk.Yuan Shuipai had no choice but to sit on the side, with no place to kneel.Zhou Jueliang sometimes came to represent Qiao Guanhua.He squeezed into the chair next to Zhongshu.It is said: "Comrade Zhongshu doesn't understand poetry, please come and give pointers to Comrade Zhao Puchu." Zhao Puchu and Zhou Jueliang didn't come at the same time, they only came two or three times.Fortunately, none of the people is fat, and they can walk in the narrow passages full of houses.The translation of Chairman Mao's poems was done in this humble room.

Comrade Yuan Shuipai wanted to improve the working environment several times, but Zhongshu and I were very stubborn.He first said that the house was too small and had to be changed.Zhongshu and I spoke in unison: one said "it's very comfortable here"; the other said "it's very convenient here".We explained how convenient it is to borrow books, how someone can take care of them, and so on. Anyway, we were determined not to move them.After Yuan resigned, Zhongshu and I grinned and made faces and said, "We want Jiang Qing to give us the house!" Then came Jiang Qing's words: "Comrade Zhongshu can live in Diaoyutai, Comrade Yang Jiang can also live, take care of Zhong Comrade Shu." I said bluntly: "I don't know how to take care of people, I still need my aunt to take care of me." One day later, Jiang Qing sent another message: "Comrade Yang Jiang can take my aunt to live in Diaoyutai." The two of us had no psychology Ready, both of them stayed silent, without saying a word.I don't know how Yuan Shuipai replied.

On National Day in 1975, Zhongshu received an invitation to a state banquet, and he took sick leave.In the afternoon Yuan Shuipai said: "Comrade Jiang Qing has specially prepared a car for you to take the two of you to the garden." Zhongshu said: "I couldn't go to the banquet in my country." Yuan said: "Comrade Zhongshu can't go, Comrade Yang Jiang can go." I said, "Auntie is on holiday today, and I have to cook dinner and take care of patients." I am really sorry to Comrade Yuan Shuipai, I don't want to offend him, but he introduced Between Jiang Qing and the two of us, we have to feel sorry for him.After the translation of Chairman Mao's poems was completed, it is said that a celebration party was held and he flew to all parts of the country to solicit opinions.Anyway, Qian Zhongshu is no longer an indispensable person; what will happen in the future, we only hear about it after the fact.Qian Zhongshu's illness was completely cured immediately.

This winter, Zhongshu and I were almost suffocated to death by gas.We didn't notice a clogged chimney pipe outlet.I took sleeping pills before going to bed, and I smelled the smell of gas, but I couldn't wake up. I was struggling to wake up, when I suddenly heard the sound of Zhongshu falling to the ground.This heavy sound helped me wake up.I quickly dressed and got up, went over to wrap Zhongshu on the ground in a thick cotton coat, and opened the north window immediately.He also smelled gas in his sleep, so he hurriedly got up and opened the window, but he fell dizzy, knocked his forehead on the radiator, and fell to the ground again.I put him on the bed and opened the south window again.Then he capped and scarfed him, and wrapped him up tightly; dressed himself as if he were spending the night in the open air in the middle of winter.We sat together and waited for dawn.The north and south doors and windows are open, the room is small, and the gas will dissipate after a while.Zhongshu didn't catch a cold and asthma.Fortunately, he fell that heavily and helped me wake up.Otherwise, both of us will be poisoned to death.There was a small scar on his forehead that disappeared after a few years.

In 1976, three party and state leaders passed away one after another.The Tangshan earthquake occurred in the early morning of July 28 of this year, and the aftershocks continued, making us feel that the death of a great man shakes the earth, and the common people are in a precarious state. The room we live in is a dangerous room, because it was originally used as a storage room. During the closed years, the heating was generated in winter, and the accumulation persisted.However, there is still plaster on the outside of the wall, so there is no air leakage.We know that the house is made of concrete, which is very strong, and the roof is not prefabricated. It is only two stories high, and it is not dangerous.

But the young people in the institute are not at ease.The building of the Institute of Foreign Languages ​​is the weakest, so the people living in the building are advised to avoid the safest dome dining hall.The young people from the foreign language institute moved our two camp beds and daily necessities into the big dining hall, and occupied the safest place for us.Our aunt stopped cooking, and we took turns to eat meals from young people's families, "every family eats the future".Zhongshu has never been able to return to work in the Foreign Languages ​​Institute, but the young people in the Foreign Languages ​​Institute love him very much.On the one hand, I am grateful to them, and on the other hand, I am also proud of Zhongshu. Our daughter and son-in-law all come to take care of us.They took more security measures and took us to live in their home.The young friends in the institute escorted us all the way to our daughter's house because there were shock absorbers living all over the street.When I recalled the period of the earthquake, my heart was very warm. On October 6th of this year, the "Gang of Four" was arrested. The messengers only dared to write on the toilet paper, and tore it up casually.So exciting news! On November 20, I finished translating the first and second volumes of "Don Quixote" (a total of eight volumes), and finalized all of them.The first draft of "Guan Zhui Bian" written by Zhong has also been completed.We happily went to our daughter's house together, stayed for a few days, and then returned to the shabby room of the school.Because in that room, it is very convenient for Zhongshu to look up books and materials.When revising "Guan Zhui Bian", you need to check the book at any time, and you can solve the problem immediately. "Guan Zhuian" was written after returning from the cadre school. The first draft was completed in this office, which is a product of the "Cultural Revolution" period.Some people criticize the author for using classical Chinese instead of vernacular Chinese, and for using difficult classical Chinese instead of simple classical Chinese.At that time, various types of Red Guards of different ages were running amok. Do they allow works like "Guan Zhui Bian"?Zhongshu simply told them not to understand.He is just fighting for the freedom of speech, he does not need to show off his knowledge. "Sigh, I beg for the voice of my friend." The voice of a friend can be thousands of miles away, or hundreds of years later.Zhongshu is a low-profile student, and his knowledge is also low-profile.He once said to me: "To be famous is to have more people who don't know each other." We hope to have a few confidants, not to be famous. Zhongshu's leg strength gradually recovered. After work, he often walked with me in Ritan Park.We still call it "expedition".Because we are together, we can explore new things everywhere.We are still as excited as we were when we were young, and we are interested in everything.