Chapter Forty-Four

  Good books are read every day, good websites are visited every day, good posts are topped every day. Good books are read slowly, and there is a beauty like Jade in the book. This is the Golden House, this is the Rice Flower Bookstore.

  The sky had not yet brightened, and Professor Wang Hongbin had already lit the lamp, got dressed and gotten out of bed. In fact, he had hardly slept all night. What day was it? This was an extraordinary day in his life! He, a scholar over fifty years old who had devoted himself to study all his life, had also come up with such an unusual idea - he wanted to personally participate in the parade and demonstration like young people, to personally participate in "December 16th", this day when the Chinese nation rose up to save the country from crisis and fight for national freedom.

  Before he came up with this idea, he was of course not without contradiction. He thought of the tyranny of reactionary rulers; thought of how many patriots were imprisoned and even beheaded for fighting for basic freedom and democratic rights; he thought that he might lose his job as a teacher, or even be arrested and thrown into prison. So his wife and beloved daughters would lose their husband and father; and he himself would suffer hardships he had never experienced before. But these concerns, these worries, were no match for the fire of justice burning in his chest, and he finally took action. Wang Hongbin had always been a loyal and unyielding person, dedicated to democracy and devoted to his country. He had never knelt down in the face of violence. Although in those years, due to his closeness to Hu Shi, he was influenced by him and did not understand many issues; but later, with the help of progressive colleagues, and the encouragement of his daughter and young students, he finally clarified his thoughts through dialectical materialism and Marxist-Leninist theory, liberated himself, and armed his mind.

  Now he has come to realize the direction of world trends and the great momentum of humanity, communism will ultimately triumph in the whole world and among all humanity. The great spirit of those communists who are unyielded and willing to sacrifice their lives for the people and the country makes him even more yearnful. He despises his own cowardice and selfish thoughts, he does not acknowledge his old age and weakness. If a person is mediocre and only lives for their own small existence, then what value and significance is there in living to be 100 years old? What true happiness can be spoken of? Therefore, he not only donated money and mobilized others to donate to support the "December 9th" movement, but also decided to participate in the actual action of the "December 16th" movement. He also invited his good friend Wu Fanjiu and other progressive professors to join him, although some people did not participate due to various reasons, he was excitedly waiting for the dawn of "December 16th" without sleep all night. He got dressed before it was light, and his wife woke up from another bed. She asked her husband in a timid voice while getting dressed: "Hongbin, can't you change your mind? Do you know how old you are this year? - 59!"

  "Ah, I know! I know!" Professor Wang hastily poured some water from the thermos and wiped his face, saying, "Xiu, you don't know that there are 90-year-old young people in this world, and also 20-year-old old men. My mind is made up, please don't say any more!" He picked up a pair of glasses on the table and wiped them with a piece of velvet cloth. After wiping twice, he suddenly felt uneasy again and hastily told his wife, "This pair of glasses is no good, not sturdy enough. Based on the experience of 'December 9th', I'm afraid we'll have to fight. Go get me that tortoiseshell-rimmed one, it's more stable when worn. What if my glasses break? How can I walk with my 1200-degree nearsightedness?"

  Madam Wang stood still on the ground, staring at her husband with a worried expression.

  "Hongbin, you're really becoming more and more like a child! Is this some kind of joke? Xiaoyan - we've already given her up to the revolution, let her go. But you, you... Hongbin, think about it, I'm almost 50 years old this year, Lingyan, they're still young. At your age, in this cold weather, what if..." She couldn't continue, this gentle wife, this kind mother, couldn't help but wipe away tears with her handkerchief.

  "Haha!" Professor Wang burst out laughing. He patted his wife's shoulder with a big hand and laughed, "You women are really busy! If everyone was like this, no one would dare to take any risks, wouldn't the world be destroyed? Go on, hurry up and make something for me to eat, eat my fill, and let's have a competition with the young men!"

  Mrs. Wang made a big bowl of egg drop soup and brought over several pieces of fried dough, watching her husband devour them with gusto. Her heart grew even more uneasy. This old man had really suddenly turned into a child. He moved quickly and nimbly, as if he were a young man on his way to a dance party.

  He finished his meal, poked his head out to take a look, and under the unusually bright light in the house, he rummaged through his pockets and drawers. He found his beloved Parker pen, a few pages of names and addresses, a thick stack of notebooks, and several keys. Once everything was found, he carefully placed them all in his hands and respectfully handed them over to his wife, saying: "These are my treasured possessions, I'm entrusting them to you. In case..."

  "If I can't come back, you must be careful to keep it for me. The results of my decades of hard work and research are all here..."

  Madam Wang, who had been staring at her husband without blinking, suddenly burst into tears after taking these things. After a while, she suppressed her pain and wrapped all the things in a bundle, then lifted her head and said to her husband in a resolute tone that she had never used before: "Hongbin, I'll go with you!"

  "How can that be?" The head of the family was shocked. He could not imagine that his wife, who had been gentle and weak all her life, would suddenly want to participate in this bloody struggle.

  "How can you go, if I can go too!" Mrs. Wang's firm and decisive voice left the professor speechless. After a moment, he spread his two big hands and smiled: "Alright! Alright! Go ahead. The anti-Japanese war front has gained another old female warrior. But who will take care of these things for me?"

  "Give it to Ling Yan." Madam Wang said resolutely, then went to prepare food and clothes; and like she was going out on a long journey, handed over the household chores to her second daughter, and together with her husband walked out of the house in the morning mist.

  An elderly couple rushed to the female dormitory of Peking University in the cold wind to find Wang Xiaoyan. Not finding her, others told them that Xiaoyan had gone to Dongzhai. Wang Hongbin took his wife and rushed to Dongzhai again. As soon as they arrived, Professor Wang's eyes suddenly became confused! His heart, which was hot with excitement, suddenly felt like it had been attacked by the cold, shrinking in an instant. In the large courtyard of Dongzhai, a crowd of male and female students were gathered, making a loud noise. People were chattering, shouting, and discussing. Suddenly, his student Wang Zhong stood up in the middle of the crowd and began to speak loudly. He waved his thin arm, and the weak sunlight that appeared on this winter morning shone on his pale monkey face. He said loudly: "Fellow students! What a fellow from the Student Union just said was right in one respect - that is, our Peking University should wake up and fight without fear of sacrifice! But then again, who are we fighting against? What kind of people are our fighting targets? I want to warn everyone, let's not be captives and tools of certain surrendering parties anymore! We can't spill our hot blood in the toilet anymore! Does everyone know that some people shout about the anti-Japanese united front, but in fact, it is a united front of surrender. In name, it is a union with the Nationalist Party, but in reality, even traitors and national scoundrels are included...

  "On December 9, many of us were deceived. They said it was a protest, they said it was opposition to the betrayal of North China, but in reality, this was just a trap, using the heads and blood of our young students as political capital for their own promotion and wealth. We must not be deceived again! Our truly patriotic youth are not only fighting against Japanese imperialism, but also against all imperialism. We must not be deceived! If we want revolution, let's have a thorough one - shouting slogans on the streets is useless!" The skinny monkey Wang Zhong hadn't even finished speaking when the enraged students began to shout "Boo! Boo!".

  The murmurs of "nonsense" spread among the crowd. However, some classmates shook their heads uncomfortably and some began to take a step back.

  Professor Wang looked over here, anxiously glared at his wife beside him, and stuttered: "Xiu, what to do? This kid is really, really bad!" Just as he was saying this, he saw that some classmates had indeed thrown away the small flags in their hands and shouted "Not going!" before turning around to run back.

  At this moment, the professor and his wife's eyes suddenly shone with astonishment - who was standing in the crowd, indignantly raising their head and waving their hand? Who was speaking so generously and forcefully? Wasn't that their beloved Xueyan, who had always been quiet and dignified?

  She sternly pointed at Wang Zhong's nose, and in a moving and impassioned tone, loudly said to her classmates in all directions: "Comrades! I painfully and with utmost shame request that you listen to me for two sentences! Firstly, I want to expose this, this history department's Wang Zhong, as a shameless Trotskyist, is a special agent who colludes with the National Party! I, I was once deceived by them! Some comrades know about my miserable experience. They use all sorts of deceptive signs to cheat and deceive some of our naive and ignorant comrades, leading them onto a terrible path of crime. I myself was fooled by them into doing many evil things without realizing it, but now I understand! I will no longer be deceived by them!

  "Fellow students, don't be deceived by them anymore! Today, after six days of boycotting classes, all the students in Beiping will launch a large-scale demonstration that will shock the traitors and make the cowards brave. We - young people with a conscience, who can bear to see our great rivers and mountains changing color one by one? Who can bear to see the enemy's running dogs roaming on the land where our ancestors have lived for generations without feeling pain? Only such people! Like Wang Zhong!" At this point, Wang Xiaoyan could no longer control her emotions. The feeling of being deceived and humiliated enraged her. She jumped up and slapped Wang Zhong's pale face several times with loud slaps. While hitting him, she angrily shouted: "Beat the running dog! Beat him!" Who could still recognize that this brave and bold girl was the same Wang Xiaoyan who used to be gentle and elegant, always burying her head in books?

  "Hit! Hit the dog!" Along with Xiaoyan's shout, the strong and powerful voices in the crowd also shouted together. The students who were about to throw away their small flags and leave came back. Immediately a big commotion erupted - Wang Zhong and his several followers were surrounded by the angry crowd, "Hit! Kill this traitor!" The shouts echoed through the cold courtyard at dawn. That small group of bad students was immediately beaten until they were bruised and battered. Professor Wang couldn't help but shout in praise to his daughter: "Xiaoyan, Xiaoyan, well done! Well done!..."

  A few rascals, seeing the situation was not good, shrunk their necks and broke through the encirclement, fleeing in a hurry. Professor Wang pulled his wife through the excited crowd that was preparing to gather and ran to his daughter's side. He looked at her as if he didn't recognize her, looking left and right, sizing up his daughter, then suddenly stretched out his thumb and laughed loudly: "Good, good, Xiaoyan, you've trained well! Trained well! This swift and fierce counterattack from behind has defeated these villains, making them flee in defeat. Wonderful! Wonderful!"

  "Dad, Mom," Xiaoyan said with a bright red face, looking at her parents in a low voice that was barely audible, "Dad, why are you shouting? It's so embarrassing. I...I was too foolish in the past..." Thinking of the sinful life she had been deceived into, she felt ashamed and wanted to cry. But seeing the eager eyes of her parents, she immediately smiled with joy. She held her mother's hand and asked intimately, "You, Mom, why did you come too?"

  Without waiting for his wife and children to speak, Professor Wang said: "Your mother has changed too! Of course she would change, her husband, daughter... so they're all coming. How about it, shall we set off now?"

  "Let's gather at the West Villa, and then assemble with the students from that side before setting off together." Wang Xiaoyan said as she was about to hurry away; but just then a fervent voice suddenly burst forth from the rapidly gathering crowd: "Salute Professor Wang Hongbin! Salute Professor and Mrs.! - Old Professor Wang is also joining our procession!" A wave of enthusiastic applause swept over towards the professor like a storm.

  For the first time, Professor Wang blushed like a young girl. He looked at the pure and enthusiastic eyes of these young students, and he couldn't help but be choked with sobs, his throat tight. He waved his hand frequently to the crowd, while holding his wife's hand, like a little student, slowly and shyly walking into the arranged queue.