Chapter Ten

  On a snowy Sunday, just before the Lunar New Year, Yu Yongze brought back many delicious things from outside - including roasted duck from Bianyifang, braised meat from Tianfuhao, exquisite pastries and a bottle of brandy. Dao Jing took these things and curiously asked: "What did you buy all this for?"

  Yu Yongze gave Dao Jing's face a gentle peck, excitedly saying: "Today we'll invite some esteemed guests to eat and drink. Come on, let's quickly tidy up the house and these things."

  Dào Jìng pouted and looked at Yú Yǒngzé without moving, unhappily saying: "What noble person? I won't 'serve' that noble person!"

  Yu Yongze took Dao Jing's hand and put it on his own face, saying: "Look, my face has frozen into an ice stick from buying all this stuff. You don't feel sorry for me at all - come, warm me up!"

  Dào Jìng smiled and withdrew his hand, asking: "Who is it that has come?"

  "You'll know soon enough." Yu Yongze seemed to be intentionally teasing Dao Jing, "This person will bring great benefits to us. You must take out the host's enthusiasm and entertain him well... Come on, let's arrange these dishes nicely, you go heat up the buns... Wait! Go get those two beautiful Song Dynasty porcelain cups, today we can use these antiques."

  Two people had just arranged their food and cleaned up the house when they heard someone outside shouting, "Is there a Mr. Yu from Yang Village staying here?"

  Dào Jìng quickly opened the door. There stood a frail old man with tattered clothes outside the door, brushing off snowflakes and dust from his body while stammering to ask Dào Jìng: "Y-y-you... Master Yú is living here, r-r-right?"

  "Come on in!" Dao Jing was about to let the old man in when Yu Yongze walked up to the 'door' and looked at the old man, asking: "Who are you looking for?"

  The old man, upon seeing Yu Yongze, immediately came forward with a smile on his walnut-like face full of wrinkles: "Young Master, you're staying here? It's so hard to find!" The old man said, not waiting for Yu Yongze to invite him in, and carried the bundle of cloth on his shoulder into the doorway.

  "Who are you?" Yu Yongze didn't let him in and blocked the doorway.

  "I, I am your Wei San Da Bo of the 'door', you...you don't even recognize me?" The old man looked somewhat disappointed, his thin and wrinkled face staring blankly at Yu Yongze.

  "Oh, Wei Lao San!" Yu Yongze seemed to have just remembered, and with a wave of his hand, he invited Old Wei into the house. At the same time, he nodded towards Dao Jing: "This is our family's old tenant."

  Dào Jìng saw the old man's dusty and hungry appearance, and quickly found a stool for him to sit by the stove. She asked, "Haven't eaten yet? Let's have some together..." Before she could finish saying "eat", Yú Yǒngzé had already given her a signal with his eyes. She nodded, looked at the table of exquisite food, and remembered that an important guest was about to arrive. She went outside and bought a package of baked buns, handing them to the old man, saying: "Old sir, have some of these."

  "No, no!……" The old man awkwardly declined while quickly taking the pancake and devouring it in big mouthfuls. Yu Yongze walked into the inner room separated by a curtain, leaving Dao Jing alone to accompany the old man. The old man wolfed down the pancake in one breath, then pulled out his tobacco pouch, smoked, and narrowed his eyes as he looked at Dao Jing with excitement, saying: "You are Mr. Lin who used to teach in our village, aren't you?"

  "Yes. Old Master. Do you still recognize me?"

  "How can you not recognize me! My big grandson Dog Er even went to school with you. When he comes home, he often mentions that Teacher Lin is good, and Teacher Lin teaches him Japanese."

  Old man Wei and Lin Daojing were talking about family matters in the outer room, Yu Yongze walked out with a few books, he interrupted old man's words, asked: "Wei San Da Bo, what can I do for you? Speak up! I have class now."

  The old man's nerves suddenly tensed up, and his hand holding the tobacco pouch shook slightly. But he restrained himself, slowly knocking out the ash and putting it away with the tobacco bag, storing it in his waist, then said irrelevantly: "Young master, you're a scholar, what don't you understand?... I cultivated the land in your family's east field, for three consecutive years there was flooding, no harvest, my wife starved to death; Your fifth uncle's brother starved and ran away to join the army; only I, Dog Mother, Little Dog, and Fifth Uncle's sister 'Yu' were left at home - she, she called me heartless and sold her to someone, who knows where in the south of the mountain or north of the sea?..."

  It seems that the old man is not finished yet, Yu Yongze tapped his hand on the table and interrupted the old man's words: "Third Uncle, what brings you here? Nothing, you stay, I'm leaving."

  "Wait, wait! Just a minute! I'll be done in just a few words." The old man quickly stood up and stretched out his hands, as if he wanted to hug Yu Yongze from afar, and lamented, "The poor can't make ends meet! Your family's rent hasn't been paid for two years, your father is urging..." The old man shook his head and sighed, suddenly began searching all over his body, searched for half a day, before finally pulling out a crumpled envelope from his waist. He held the envelope with trembling hands and handed it to Yu Yongze. "Look! This is a letter from your brother Wu Fu after he joined the army. The whole family was overjoyed, he said he's stationed at Changxin Store in Beiping, I...I came looking for him."

  "What's the use of looking for him?" Yu Yongze understood and smiled slightly.

  "You're right!" The old man hastened to reply, "Several hundred miles, it was easy to beg people for four dollars' worth of travel expenses, but when we arrived there, he had already left, and I don't know where he went. ... We, our whole family, were still hoping to find him and ask for some money to survive."

  If he were to make a fortune or something, it would be even better if he could pay the rent for your family's fourth old master.

  But heavens, the heavens didn't open their eyes, and Wu Fu was gone again, who knows where he went! In these chaotic times, with a single gunshot... Alas, my poor child!..." As he spoke, the old man suddenly sat down on the stool and began to sob. Lin Daojing listened to these words and couldn't help but feel heartbroken, watching the old man use his dirty hands to wipe away tears, she quickly handed him a towel. But before it reached the old man's hand, Yu Yongze had already gently taken it away. He smiled and nodded at Daojing, then turned back to the old man and said: "Wei San Da Bo, don't be sad. You don't have enough money to get home, right? Don't worry, I'll chip in some cash for you, you can go somewhere else and think of a way, hurry up and go home!"

  As he spoke, Yu Yongze took out a one-yuan note from his pocket and placed it beside the old man, giving Lin Daojing a faint smile, as if to say: "Look how generous I am."

  The old man was initially pleased to hear Yu Yongze's words, but in an instant, upon seeing the one-dollar bill meant to send him away, his face suddenly turned stern. He glared at Yu Yongze and then looked at Lin Daojing standing beside him, stuttering with his lips, speaking disjointedly: "Young master! Have a heart, my family is on the verge of starving to death! One dollar... one dollar isn't even enough for the fare back home! You have a kind heart, in the past you often gave me five white steamed buns. Today... His dim old eyes were filled with tears, "Today, help me out with ten or eight dollars, don't let my little dog and its mother go hungry!"

  The old man's tears came out, but Lin Daojing's eyes were filled with warmth and affection for the university student Yu Yongze, who suddenly became rough and cold, saying: "Third Uncle, your tenants don't pay rent, what money does my father have to send me?

  "I'm just a student, and I don't earn money, it's not easy for me to give you this one dollar!" As he spoke, he glanced at Lin Daojing, but didn't know that Jing had already turned around and walked out the door. Yu Yongze wanted to say something else, but the old man was already shakily standing up, laboriously shouldering his tattered carrying pole - as if it weighed a thousand catties. He stumbled towards the door, muttering indistinctly: "It's okay! It's okay! When people are in trouble, that's just how it is!"

  Yu Yongze saw that the old man didn't take his money, so he casually put it back in his pocket. The old man went out the door, and he didn't see him off either.

  "Hey, old man, wait a minute!" The old fellow walked to the gate, and Dao Jing called out to stop him.

  She hastily handed him a banknote: "Old man, this is ten yuan, it's not a big deal. However...". She glanced inside the 'door' and said, "Do you know the train station? Be careful! There are pickpockets on the train, take good care of your money."

  The old man's tears flowed again. On the snowy street, after receiving the money, his two hands fumbled around like a blind person. After a while, he muttered: "There are good people everywhere, thank you... My whole family will kowtow to you!"

  Seeing this miserable scene, Dao Jing's tears also flowed down uncontrollably. In an instant, she suddenly thought of her white-haired great-grandfather. Poor people, tenants, how many people in the world are suffering! ... She stood at the door with a heavy heart, watching the old man walk slowly back, step by step, before returning to the house. But as soon as she entered the room, she saw anger on Yu Yongze's face.

  "Have you given the old man money?" He frowned, full of reproach.

  Dào Jìng lifted his head and stared at Yú Yǒngzé for a moment before nodding and saying, "Given."

  "How much?"

  "Ten bucks."

  "What does it mean by 'taking my money and pretending to be a good person'?" Yu Yongze was angry at Lin Daojing for the first time.

  "Ah!" Dao Jing couldn't believe that Yu Yongze would say such a thing. She suddenly stood up, her eyes blazing with anger as she stared at Yu Yongze: "You, who always speak of righteousness and morality, treat poor people like this! I...I will pay you back!" She burst into tears. She ran to the bed, covering her head with the quilt, crying so sorrowfully. What made her even more heartbroken was that Yu Yongze - the person she deeply loved - was actually such a selfish person. Her beautiful dreams were starting to shatter, and how could she not cry bitterly?

  Seeing Lin Daojing's really hurt, Yu Yongze became flustered, he couldn't care about his previous anger and dissatisfaction, he hugged her neck tightly and pleaded with her tenderly. In an instant, he had become so affectionate and kind again!

  "Quiet, forgive me. I was wrong. It's all for our livelihood. I'm not a selfish person. Why did the old man come to borrow money from me? Because I'm different from Father... Quiet, don't be angry anymore, even if it means giving him ten bucks, or even the fifty bucks Father just sent us, as long as you're happy, I'll never say no again."

  Although Daojing didn't respond to him, her complexion gradually improved and she stopped crying. He then helped Daojing tidy up her hair, applied some powder on her face, and said with a smile: "Even Zhang Jiao's painted eyebrows can't compare to this! Come, don't be angry, I'll tell you a joke. When I was young, I was very close to my father's son Wufu, we lived opposite each other and often jumped into the big pit together to play. My father didn't have me until he was fifty years old, so I was treated like a treasure and wasn't allowed to swim. But I secretly went swimming anyway. Wufu and a group of kids would cover for me. When our family members came looking for us, they would stand in the water and surround me, and the people searching wouldn't be able to see me. I was so excited that I would sneakily give the kids steamed buns to eat. One day, when the cook had just opened a basket of steamed buns, I quickly snatched them all from the open window and ran away with them in a cloth bag. The cook turned around and shouted 'The fox spirit has come!' Isn't that funny?"

  "It's interesting!" Dao Jing said coldly, "But why didn't you want to give the buns to others today? That table of delicious food, why didn't you want to give it to the old man?"

  "How can you not give it!" Yu Yongze said with a straight face and a loud voice, "If my father died, I became the head of the family, I would give all the land to the peasants like Tolstoy."

  "Handouts?" Dao Jing narrowed his eyes and snorted, "The blood of the peasants has kept you alive, yet you're their savior!"

  Yu Yongze didn't make a sound. He was anxiously thinking about the "noble person" he wanted to find, and he hadn't heard what Dao Jing said at all.

  After a while, the wind and snow subsided a bit, and the "noble person" finally arrived. This man looked like an athlete, wearing lantern-like pants and sneakers, robust and sturdy. But a pair of big eyes was very spirited. After entering the door, Yu Yongze hurriedly introduced Dao Jing enthusiastically: "This is Luo Dafang, our classmate from the history department." He then turned around and introduced Dao Jing to him, "This is Lin Daojing, my lover."

  Lu Dafang stretched out his big hand and grasped Dao Jing's hand, smiling kindly: "Good, let's get to know each other. You're not in school now? And you don't have a job?"

  Dào Jìng's face turned red with embarrassment. But she thought that Lu Dàfāng was a straightforward person, very concerned about others' lives as soon as they met. He treated people like friends, not like some noble. So she smiled and quickly poured water for the guests, while busying herself with this sumptuous dinner, listening to their conversation.

  "Old Ruan, you're now getting into textual research?" said the guest.

  "Yes, it's Chinese Literature Department after all, so we have to delve into the pile of ancient books. I'm really interested in these now. How about you? Still busy with national salvation work?"

  "No." Luo Dafang evaded the topic and continued from where he left off, "You guys are good at 'digging up' evidence and organizing national affairs. That's also necessary. But whatever you do, don't fall into Hu Doctor's trap and get stuck in the 'reading books to save the country' hornet's nest. Ah, that would be...". His clever big eyes suddenly turned around, his head shook, and he burst out laughing at Yu Yongze and Lin Dao, "Hey friends! How about I recite one of Hu Doctor's masterpieces for you?"

  "Hey, don't get ahead of yourself, I'm asking you!" Yu Yongze hastily interrupted Luo Dafang's words, a very unnatural smile floating on his face. "Your father isn't close with Hu Shi, is he? ...I mean, how busy has Hu Shi been lately?"

  "Ask my father and Dr. Hu about them? A pair of sworn brothers! They studied Mr. Dewey's experimentalism together, then sold it to the Chinese people, so that the Chinese people would happily acknowledge 'having milk is having a mother', in order for imperialism and feudal warlords to enslave China. How about it? Old Yu, you ask what Hu Shi's busy-ness means?"

  "Don't be in a hurry, have some food and wine first." Yu Yongze smiled and arranged for Luo Dafang to sit down.

  Guests and Yu Yongze sat down at a small round table with white tablecloths to eat, Luo Dafang said in surprise: "Old Yu, you are so extravagant, why bother with these wines and dishes?"

  "Old classmate, I should treat you well. You just asked me why I wanted to find Hu Shi," Yu Yongze said with a smile, "I read the works of Wang Guowei and Luo Zhenyu [Wang Guowei and Luo Zhenyu were both Chinese modern scholars-----original note], there are some problems that I don't quite understand, I want to ask Hu Shi about them——although he has 'diseases' in some places, many people scold him, but in my opinion, he is after all a Chinese modern scholar. His attitude towards academic questions and his profound knowledge still have something to learn from. So I wanted to ask him about these problems. But he is a famous scholar, and we are poor students, it's not good to find him directly. Because your father is familiar with him, so I thought of asking you..." Yu Yongze put a large piece of roasted duck into Luo Dafang's plate, his face showing an extremely eager smile.

  Lu Dafang burst into another loud and clear laughter. He shook his head like a peddler's drum, eating while saying: "There are many knowledgeable professors, why single out Hu Shi? I think it's settled!"

  I can introduce you to others, but I won't introduce Dr. Hu.

  Yu Yongze suppressed his disappointment and dissatisfaction, shouting to Lin Daojing: "You come and eat too!" He turned to Luo Dafang with a smile and asked, "Hey, Old Luo, where have all of you southern *** national salvation representatives gone? Why haven't we heard any news about your activities? What about Li Mengyu? --- That's really an extraordinary talent."

  "You've been buried in old books, of course you wouldn't know the news outside." Luo Dafang put down his wine cup and stood up from the small stool, looking around the small house. As he observed the interests of the two owners of the house, he casually replied to Yu Yongze, "After our students were tied up and sent back to Beiping, on December 17th, the Nationalist Party suddenly launched a big raid on Nanjing students, did you hear about it? Because the Nationalist Party tore off its fake mask, things got very intense, so for now, our student movement to save the country can't help but be temporarily quiet. Li Mengyu became the commander-in-chief during that incident and after returning to school, he was constantly visited by the military police, he had no choice but to run away, I don't know where he went."

  He stopped, his eyes fixed intently on Yu Yongze, then turned to look at Lin Daojing, and his tone suddenly became very serious. "Old Yu, you two are both young people, don't lose the vigor of youth! You can move around, participate in some outside activities. When we went south that time, Old Yu, weren't you also very 'passionate' in Beiping?"

  "Yes." Yu Yongze said, "Now, I am not 'radical' either. But shouting slogans and waving fists, I think it's useless. I'm taking my own way to save the country. Come on, Old Luo, have some more food." He still kindly urged Luo Dafang to eat.

  "Your form has changed from Western-style clothes to traditional Chinese attire; from a school uniform to a long gown and cloak." Dao Jing suddenly interjected with a smile. For some reason, although it was her first meeting with Luo Dafang, she felt sympathetic towards him. She thought he had something in common with Lu Jiaxiang, whom she had met at Beidaihe.

  Yu Yongze used to wear short school uniforms, but since he got close to ancient books, his fashion interest has changed to purely "national form". In the summer, he wears silk robes or bamboo cloth robes and thousand-layered sole shoes; in winter, it's a silk cotton-padded jacket with a blue cloth robe on top, a wide-brimmed hat on his head, and surprisingly, he wears thick and fat "old man" boots that look like small boats. Dao Jing doesn't like him dressing up like this, saying it's old-fashioned and not youthful. But Yu Yongze says this is patriotism. Sorting out national essence and national costumes is a concrete manifestation of patriotism, which often appears in Yu Yongze's words.

  "Don't listen to her nonsense!" Yu Yongze hastily took over Dao Jing's words and said with a smile to Luo Dafang, "She can't find a job and has nowhere to vent her anger, so she often takes it out on me."

  Such a society is really infuriating, I don't know how many legs I've run for her work, how much anxiety I've suffered, and in the end, I still have to keep her at home doing laundry and cooking for me. This society, 'graduation equals unemployment', not one bit false. Now I'm worried about my future after graduation. Old Luo, your career must be no problem, because you have such a prestigious father."

  "Never mind, I don't care about his cultivation anyway. We can't get along, so we'd better go our separate ways!" Luo Dafang said as he was about to walk out, "Thanks to you two, I'm leaving."

  Yu Yongze and Lin Daojing didn't stay with him either. As he walked to the gate, he turned his head back to say to them: "Just now, I wanted to recite Mr. Hu Shi's masterpiece but didn't finish it, let me finish reciting it before leaving."

  Can't you bear it? Can't you stand the stimulation outside? Your classmates have all gone to shout, can't you stand their temptation and ridicule? Do you feel embarrassed sitting alone in the library? Are you uneasy in your heart?... We can tell you one or two stories.

  Lu Dafang opened his eyes wide, scrunched up his face, shook his head and recited loudly. Yu Yongze picked up his handkerchief to blow his nose, not knowing if he had heard or not; but Lin Daojing was barely able to hold back her laughter. After a pause, Lu Dafang took a deep breath and continued: "Dr. Hu sympathized with the young people's frustration, then changed the subject and cited Goethe and Fichte as examples, telling them to be like those two: even when the enemy is at the city gate, you must still calmly read books! ... Now, Old Yu, don't be deceived, just reading books can't save the country!"

  He smiled and nodded, then left. Lin Daojing saw him off with a smile; Yu Yongze also forced himself to send him to the gate. But when he walked into the house, he fell onto the bed, staring at the ceiling without saying a word.

  Dào Jìng sat beside the table for a while, seeing Yú Yǒngzé remaining silent and sulky. She slowly walked to his side: "Since Ló Dàfāng arrived, why are you so unhappy? He advised you with good intentions." She still thought that Yú Yǒngzé was displeased because of Ló Dàfāng's sarcastic remarks.

  Yu Yongze lay on the 'bed' shaking his head: "Jing, it's not that. What is he, anyway? Why would I be sad for him?! My heart is indeed a bit stuffy, because, you see, I already have a family, I have you, and of course, there will be kids in the future. If it were for that dead yellow-faced woman from the past, I wouldn't be in such a hurry, but now it's you. There are only a few months left before graduation, but my career is still without any 'door' or prospects. When the time comes, my family won't be able to support me anymore, how can I make a living with you?!" He sighed and gazed at Lin Daojing with his worried small eyes, "That's why I spent four or five bucks on wine and dishes to invite Luo Dafang over for a chat, hoping that through his father's connections with Hu Shi, or maybe even asking his father for help, my career would get some attention. Who knew this guy would still be spouting that same old Marxist nonsense? Forget it, let's think of another 'door'! Jing, dear, come and comfort me!"

  He sat up from the bed and stretched out his arms to embrace Lin Daojing, but she took two steps back, looking at him painfully. After a day of treating two people with completely different attitudes, Daojing seemed to have seen through her lover's true face, feeling unspeakable disappointment and heartache.

  The enchanting love that had blossomed into a colorful rainbow gradually faded away its beautiful colors with time. Lin Daojing and Yu Yongze, two young people, were slowly awakened from their illusions by the whip of reality.

  Daojing lived in such a narrow world (because it was a secret *** , she didn't want to see her old friends, even Wang Xiaoyan had gradually become distant), her life was filled with trivial household chores: washing pots, doing laundry, buying groceries, cooking, sewing... She had less time for reading. Her dreams of a bright future were also slowly fading away. She felt suffocated and stifled.

  What pained her the most was that Yu Yongze was not as wonderful as she had thought. His knightly and poetic demeanor had completely disappeared in front of time. He was originally a selfish, mediocre man who only cared about trivial life. Ah, fate! Fate had pushed her to another dead end again!