Chapter 53 The fifty-third section gets a belated blessing at the 60th Daqing

On August 30, 1947, it was Du Yuesheng's birthday.Prior to this, he suffered from shortness of breath, lived in an 18-story building, and couldn't easily leave the house. Moreover, the civil war between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party was raging, and the country was full of wars, and there were serious floods in Guangdong, Guangxi, Sichuan, and northern Jiangsu.Du Yuesheng didn't want to be extravagant in his home and be criticized by others, so he shook his head and refused to those who proposed to hold a birthday. When he couldn't force it, he would even pant and say:

"Forget it, why am I in the mood to celebrate my birthday now?" But friends, apprentices, and grandchildren all said that this sixty-year-old celebration must be done, because Du Yuesheng's 50th birthday coincided with the outbreak of the "August 13" Shanghai War. At that time, many people wanted to celebrate his birthday. Du Yuesheng once said: "In the face of a national crisis, where is the interest in celebrating your birthday? Do it, and wait until you defeat the Dongyang people, and then you will be 60 years old!" So someone said: "Mr. Du, just say something, this is a 60-year-old event, of course there is no exception!"

Friends from all walks of life plus Du Yuesheng's apprentices and grandchildren formed the Hengshe organization disciples, and organized a "Preparatory Committee for Celebrating Du Gong's 60th Birthday" without any explanation, and launched a preparatory committee of 23 people.Preparations have already begun. On August 29th, the first night of Du Yuesheng's 60th birthday, at Gu Jiatang's home, all friends of Du Yuesheng jointly hosted a banquet to celebrate his birthday. .Old friends such as Huang Jinrong, Yang Hu, Wang Xiaolai, Zhang Shizhao, Qian Xinzhi, Xu Jiyu, Fan Shaozeng, Liu Hangchen, etc. Friends from the party, government, and military circles such as Hong Lanyou, Zheng Jiemin, Pan Gongzhan, Xiao Tongzi, Cheng Cangbo, Chen Fang, etc. The crowd came one after another, and the scene seemed lively and relaxed. Unfortunately, the birthday star Du Yuesheng couldn't be there because of another asthma attack.Therefore, Hong Lanyou delivered a congratulatory speech at the warm birthday banquet, and then Pan Gongzhan, the mayor of Shanghai, delivered a speech on behalf of Du Yuesheng.

On August 30th, when Du Yuesheng was in her 60s, the Lido Garden Ballroom on Taixing Road was closed for one day. The spacious main hall was decorated as a birthday hall surrounded by gardens, with red candles burning high and cigarettes lingering around; The flower baskets were placed from the outside of the auditorium along the corners of the walls on both sides to the screen wall. It is almost impossible to count the number of thousands.Chairman Jiang of the Nationalist Government, a plaque inscribed as a gift long ago, hangs high in the middle with an exquisite frame, and the congratulatory message goes:

"Jia Le Yannian". On the left and right hatchbacks, there are birthday scrolls inscribed by the heads of various departments of the Central Committee.A total of more than 800 gifts were received that day, all of which were displayed publicly on a long series of coffee tables, including gold shields, silver tripods, jade stones, and utensils.Among the various gifts, there are three that are particularly precious and admirable. One is the picture of a hundred years of life made by the postal union using various postage stamps. A giant statue of Du Yuesheng embroidered with a kind of wool is said to be the third work of the company after the embroidered portraits of Truman and MacArthur. The third piece is a traditional Chinese painting of figures. The Eight Immortal Lu Dongbin in the painting is actually Du Yuesheng. Good prayers.

Du Yuesheng was unable to attend the ceremony due to asthma, so he ordered his eldest son Du Weifan to lead his younger brothers and sisters, brothers-in-law and brother-in-law to separate the ceremony stage to thank the guests on behalf of Du Yuesheng. Total hospitality. At 8 o'clock in the morning, the first batch of people who came to celebrate the birthday were the Shanghai Garrison Commander and Police Chief Xuan Tiewu and his wife, followed by Wu Guozhen, the mayor of Shanghai. The important candidates from the central government included Wu Tiecheng, Wu Dingchang, Wang Chonghui, Song Ziwen, Mo Dehui, Zhang Daofan, Dong Xianguang, etc. Sun Ke and Bai Chongxi, who were far away from other places, also sent representatives.More than 5,600 guests came to congratulate them within one day, and the car drivers rewarded more than 1,500 people.

The Du mansion borrowed the Lido Garden for birthday celebrations. There were running water seats. A table was full of 10 guests, and the dishes were served immediately. Guests are offered a bowl of plain noodles. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, except for a short period of time when Du Yuesheng lived in Gu Jiatang's house, in order to facilitate his recovery, he always stayed with Yao Yulan.Because the 18-story building is relatively compact, unlike the old house on Huagegao Road, which has a large scale, a large population, and a small house, it can be taken care of in all directions. It is more suitable for Du Yuesheng, the "head of a big family" patient.Du Yuesheng is a sick person. He is afraid of annoying, noisy, and people coming and staying, and the constant flow. At the same time, he is even more afraid of running up and down, working hard and getting sick.What's more, in 1947 Du Yuesheng's 8 sons and 3 daughters, Weifan, Weiyuan, Weiping, Weixin and Weining were all married, and five young couples lived on Huagegao Road.

Du Yuesheng was not able to attend the feast of birthday warming and birthday hall congratulations in person, which made him feel ashamed and melancholy.This time when the sixtieth birthday is celebrated, most of the brothers of the older generation are old and withered, or the elders are old, and most of them can’t preside over the grand event and take care of everything on his behalf; the ones answering the gift at the birthday hall are his children, and the younger generation are in charge of handling affairs. Nephews, disciples, and grandchildren, Du Yuesheng has always been the most concerned about occasions, and even though he was panting on the sick bed, he was always concerned about the Shoutang, fearing that he would neglect the guests and be ill-mannered; therefore, the Shoutang The phones on both sides of the building and the 18th floor kept ringing.

Du Yuesheng was already satisfied that five or six thousand distinguished guests came to congratulate him in his sixtieth birthday.At this moment, when he thought back to the group of old brothers who took risks and suffered hardships and were born and died together, he was filled with emotions. Boss Huang Jinrong is getting old. He doesn't care about world affairs at all, and concentrates on supporting the elderly.When Du Yuesheng returned home victoriously, he went to the west station to greet Du Yuesheng. Du Yuesheng called Brother Jin Rong, and he couldn't say a thousand words to this old brother. The old brother parted ways and parted for too long. people of the world.Brother Xiaolin's haunted house Zhang Dashuai was sold to Shen Lianfang by his son Zhang Fayao. Du Yuesheng also knew this man well, but he didn't have the courage to step into Zhang's house.

To Du Yuesheng's comfort, it was Meng Xiaodong who came south. Meng Xiaodong and Yao Yulan are like sisters, very affectionate, they are inseparable from each other, especially inseparable.When Meng Xiaodong arrived in Shanghai, Yao Yulan immediately welcomed her to the 18th floor. Du Yuesheng and Meng Xiaodong hadn't seen each other for 10 years. For her painstaking learning and such brilliant achievements, I love her very much. A sense of admiration. Meng Xiaodong worshiped Yu Shuyan as her teacher in December 1938. Yu Shuyan died of illness in 1943. She spent 8 years of loneliness and bleakness in Beiping, the occupied area in the dark.With a weak nature, wandering around the world, when she was respected by Du Yuesheng, Yao Yulan's love, warmth and warmth made her feel grateful.In the early years when Yu Shuyan was dying of illness, Meng Xiaodong personally served the decoction and medicine, and his clothes were untied for more than a month.Therefore, if we talk about "care" for patients, Meng Xiaodong is considerate and considerate, he has long been experienced, and he is a level higher than Yao Yulan.Since she lived with Du Yuesheng and Yao Yulan on the 18th floor, she also naturally assumed the responsibility of Yao Yulan's sickness. Thinking that in his sixtieth year, which was plagued by old age and illness, he still had this belated blessing.

Du Yuesheng was fond of spinning all his life, and he was famous in the acting world for his willingness to support roles.Therefore, everyone in the acting world respects and loves him. He is a respectable and amiable elder in the eyes of the acting people. Whether they know him or not, the people in the acting world have a special affection for Du Yuesheng. There are very few actors in Shanghai who have never received Du Yuesheng's help.Meng Xiaodong also accepted Du Yuesheng's money many times. The two fell in love because of their mutual gratitude. From mutual respect to mutual love with Meng Xiaodong, I feel that this pure and sincere relationship is quite precious.Now Du Yuesheng is already sick and dying, as long as there are things in the world that can make him happy, Yao Yulan is willing to let him enjoy it to the fullest. The ten-day church meeting was unprecedentedly grand.Jin Tingsun served as the general manager of Shouqing. For this reason, he went north to the old capital several times to invite actors.Although Cheng Yanqiu, Shang Xiaoyun, and Xun Huisheng, the third of the four famous actors in Peking, were unable to come to the south due to their entanglements, other big-name actors such as Youcuihua, Ma Fulu, Zhang Junqiu, Furongcao, Liu Binkun, Tan Fuying, Han Jinkui , Li Duokui, Yan Shishan, Li Shaochun, and Ma Shenglong were all present, plus Mei Lanfang, Ma Lianliang, Qilintong, Zhang Yuyun, Qiu Shengrong, Ye Shenglan, Ye Shengchang, Jiang Miaoxiang, Yang Baosen, Ma Sili, and Gai from the south. Three provinces, Wei Lianfang, etc., the camp is unprecedentedly strong, plus a private letter from Yao Yulan invited Meng Xiaodong, an old student from the Yu school and the aura of Lu Dian, the momentum was huge, and in the Pingju performances all over the country before and after the victory , there is no second one. Most of the famous actors from the north lived in Jin Tingsun's Nanyang Bridge "Lao Jin Mansion". The expenses of the famous actors in Shanghai were paid under the box office income of charity performances, and the actors were not paid at all.They sang purely voluntary plays, and all ticket sales proceeds were transferred to disaster relief across the country. After the 7-day public ticket sales voluntary play was performed, Du Yuesheng probably raised a huge sum of about 10 billion.This amount was quite considerable even in 1947 when prices were rising day by day. The charity performance lasted 10 days. Due to Du Yuesheng's illness, he hadn't seen a single women's show. Many famous actresses from the north went up to the 18th floor to visit the sickness. Du Yuesheng apologized to them repeatedly on the sick bed, and agreed As long as his asthma recovers slightly and his mental and physical strength permits, he must spare time to get together with everyone. The most eye-catching pair of famous actors in Du Shoutang's performances are Meng Xiaodong, the descendant of the Yu faction, and Mei Lanfang, the actor king who had a beard and refused to perform during the enemy and puppet era.These are two famous names Xusheng and Qingyi who are second to none in the whole country.Meng Xiaodong made an exception and appeared on the stage, which already made Du Yuesheng's face shine brightly, and Mei Lanfang sang eight songs in a row within 10 days, only avoiding two performances with Meng Xiaodong. Xiao Ke is extraordinary.If it weren't for the deep friendship between Mei Lanfang and Du Yuesheng, and the reason that it would be inconvenient to perform with Meng Xiaodong at the same time, he would have more reasons not to participate in the benefit performance of Duke Du's birthday than Cheng, Xun, and Shang. Because, Acting King Mei Lanfang and Donghuang Xiaodong were once a loving couple. As early as 1926, Meng Xiaodong married Mei Lanfang. This was a well-known affair in the Liyuan. It turned out that Meng Xiaodong came from a family in Liyuan, but she grew up in the south. She was only 13 years old and performed at the Shanghai Great World Qiankun Theater, singing "Tan Pai Xusheng". Ling Gongfen chrysanthemum performed on the same stage. In 1925, she went to Peiping and performed in Sanqing Garden, only singing at night. At this time, Peking Opera was in its heyday in Beiping. Yu Shuyan, Yang Xiaolou, Chen Delin, and Xun Huisheng formed the "Double Victory Troupe". Meng Xiaodong, a little girl who came here, was able to stand out between the two kings of opera, and changed the Peking opera world from a confrontation between two heroes to a tripartite.Meng Xiaodong's talent is overflowing, and Mei Lanfang can't help but look at him with admiration, and love grows from admiration. But when Meng Xiaodong was popular all over Beiping, I don't know how many young men fell under her pomegranate skirt.Among them was Wang Weichen, the son of Jing Zhaoyin Wang Da, who was unrequitedly in love with Meng Xiaodong to the point of madness.He heard that Meng Xiaodong was marrying Mei Lanfang, so he hid a pistol in his sleeve, went to Mei Lanfang's house in the alley of Wuliang adults, and threatened that Mei Lanfang had taken away his "fiancée" and that he wanted to find Mei Lanfang. Fang settles the score, wanting to take Mei Lanfang's life for a while, and claiming 100,000 oceans for compensation.At this time, Mei Lanfang was taking a nap. A frequent visitor to his family was nicknamed "Chamfer Zhang San." After waking up, he rushed in hastily, and the "enemy" met him, which shocked Zhang Hanju, so he had no choice but to wink at him and say: "This Mr. Wang is here to borrow 50,000 yuan from you." At this moment, Mei Lanfang saw Wang Weichen's expression was wrong and the pistol in his hand. He was taken aback, and hurriedly said: "I'll call." Then he turned around and slipped out of the side door. After he left the living room, he immediately called around to ask for help. Therefore, Wang Huaiqing's Gyeonggi Garrison Commander-in-Chief Deng, Xue Zhiheng's Capital Police Department, and all the Beiping Army, Constitutional, and Police units sent a large team of horses to rescue Mei Lanfang's building. The courtyard is surrounded by water. When Wang Weichen heard Mei Lanfang's words "I'll call", he was already aware that something was wrong, but he was just a 20-year-old law student at Chaoyang University. , still froze, with a look of being at a loss and unable to make a decision. He waited until a large number of military police arrived, and then he remembered to use Zhang Hanju as a shield to shoot all the way out. The tragic consequences can be imagined. All together, five steps of blood flowed in the yard, two corpses were buried, Wang Weichen lost all reason, he shot the chamber pot Zhang Sanyi to death, and finally he himself died by drinking the bullet. This bloody incident broke Mei Lanfang's heart, and he was frightened by it. He soon moved south with his family, but because of this scene, Meng Xiaodong was caught by Mei Lanfang's first wife, Fu Zhifang, as an "excuse". Mei Lanfang's family was restless.Fu Zhifang entered Mei's house first, and she kept saying that she was concerned about Mei Lang's life and forced him to break up with Meng Xiaodong.Meng Xiaodong has been more arrogant than Bingshuang since she was a child, and now she is popular all over the north and south. How can she compete with Fu Zhifang, who has no education and nothing, and only lives by catching Mei Lang for food.However, Mei Lanfang loved Meng Xiaodong deeply, and he never wanted to break up lightly. However, he could not subdue Fu Zhifang's quarrel. Therefore, when Mei Lanfang's reputation was in full swing, she was deeply troubled by family disputes. , Dilemma, almost to the point of being overwhelmed with anger. Mei Lanfang's close relatives and friends really couldn't bear to see it, so they decided to hold a discussion and discuss it, intervene in it, and help Mei Lanfang make this important decision. Feng Gengguang, the Prime Minister of the Bank of China, is Mei Lanfang's backer. Mei Lanfang has never stopped talking to this Feng Gengguang—Feng Liuye.Master Feng Liu said one thing, but Mei Lanfang absolutely did not dare to say the other. Not long after the Mei Zhai massacre, Yang Zhixiong, Du Yuesheng's good friend, happened to be a guest at his home, and heard with his own ears that Feng Gengguang opposed all the arguments and asked Mei Lang to give up Meng and stay in blessings. What is Feng Gengguang's reason?In a few words, very simple, he analyzed the characters of Meng Xiaodong and Fu Zhifang.He said that Meng Xiaodong is proud and arrogant, and she needs to be "served by people", while Fu Zhifang is easy-going and generous, and she can "serve people".Comparing "serving people" with "serving people", for the sake of Mei Lang's life happiness, he might as well give up Meng Xiaodong and stay in Fu Zhifang.What he said suppressed all the merits of the Winter Emperor listed by those who supported Mencius, such as the Liyuan family, the bright future, the perfect combination, and the good stories of the actress world, and it was inconvenient for everyone present to repeat them. Relying on Feng Liuye's influence on Mei Lanfang, a major marriage event involving three parties and a life-long happiness has been easily resolved since then.Meng was forced to divorce and broke up sadly, which made Mei and Meng opera fans shed tears of sympathy. Because of this affair, before and after the grand performance of Du Yuesheng's 60th birthday, Shanghai tabloids and magazines would not let go of the once-in-a-lifetime news that Meng Xiaodong and Mei Lanfang will be performing at the same time.As a result, various tabloids and square magazines in Shanghai have refurbished their tricks and did not hesitate to scare people. It is said that Meng Xiaodong and Mei Lanfang's "Southern Huahui" is an opportunity for their old love to rekindle and reunite with each other; Mei Lanfang keeps her beard and does not sing, while Fu Zhifang gambles with her heart to get rid of her loneliness. She has already lost all of Mei Lanfang's life savings. Suffering from severe neurasthenia, Mei Lanfang was just trying to get rid of it quickly, but now her sweetheart came from the south, and she was in front of her eyes... and so on, etc., all in all, all in all, the public opinion in Shanghai at this time seemed to be in unanimity They are all clamoring and shouting for the reunion of Meng and Mei. The tabloids and magazines spared no effort to match up good things, making Mei Lanfang unable to argue, Fuzhifang was frightened, Yao Yulan was worried, Du Yuesheng felt unspeakable, but Meng Xiaodong was able to take it calmly. The relevant text is completely ignored. However, the rumors of "Mei Meng reunion" became more and more popular, and the voices became louder and louder. Mei Lanfang, Fu Zhifang, and Du Yuesheng and Meng Xiaodong, a couple of lovers, all felt extremely uncomfortable in their hearts; so Meng Xiaodong, who was as smart as ice and snow, proposed to return to Peking to take care of everything. Knowing her good intentions, he couldn't bear to refuse. Sure enough, after Meng Xiaodong suddenly returned to Peiping, all kinds of rumors spread outside, and all of a sudden stopped. The wind stops and the dust settles down, the waves are calm, although Du Yuesheng is a little relieved, but thinking about Yi Ren is at the end of the sky, his mood gradually deteriorated again.At this time, the battle in North China was becoming more and more urgent, the Communist Party was taking important areas, and Beiping would be besieged.So, he sent letters and telegrams, and sent a special envoy, and finally rented a plane to pick up Meng Xiaodong. When Meng Xiaodong arrived in Shanghai, Du Yuesheng dragged his sick body to pick him up at the airport in person.Du Yuesheng was overjoyed and excited, treating Meng Xiaodong like holding a phoenix.Meng Xiaodong also felt the importance of his kindness, and from then on she devoted herself to serving Du Yuesheng just like she served her master Yu Shuyan.