Chapter Thirty-Six

  A week has passed.

  Hou Rui arrived at Dao Jing's residence early, just as Dao Jing was getting out of bed. As soon as he entered the door, he grabbed Dao Jing's hand and said: "I have some great news to tell you! - Several departments have established student autonomy associations!" He was so excited that his words were a bit stuttered.

  "Really? Several departments?" Dao Jing laughed, still somewhat disbelieving.

  "The student unions of the departments of Chinese, Geology, Economics and Foreign Languages have been established, all with progressive elements in control." Hou Rui sat on the quiet 'bed', rubbing his frozen red face, smiling and saying, "Actively mobilizing the masses, grasping the psychology of the masses' grievances to inspire and guide them... This is our work experience over the past few days. Your words are extremely valuable to us."

  "But what about students from science and engineering departments? And isn't the history department, the largest stronghold, also hard to conquer?" Dao Jing said softly, looking at Hou Rui.

  Hou Rui's smile faded, and he sank for a moment before responding: "These classmates who study science and engineering are always buried in the lab and equations. It's not easy to get them to participate in political activities or leave their desks and labs for a while. However, recently some students from the chemistry department, physics department, biology department, and four or five other departments have approached us, and they are now engaging in separate activities. I think setting up autonomous associations for these departments won't be a big problem."

  "But, Hou Rui, this time we can't be like last time!" Dao Jing said in a low voice, sitting on a small stool. "The establishment of the new student autonomy union - the unified student union for the whole school - is related to the development of the entire student movement at Beida from now on, and it's related to whether the Party can lead Beida students onto the path of resisting Japan and saving the nation. So our task is still very arduous..." Dao Jing's voice became lower and lower as she spoke, clearly her worries exceeded her excitement.

  Hou Rui also sensed this, so he continued: "Lu Fang, I said it's not a big problem because I have a basis for saying that. Since we last talked, first of all, the core has started to move - our three Party members have all started to move; next, the second layer - progressive elements, sympathizers, and those patriotic and concerned about the country's fate classmates have also started to move; as for the third layer - ordinary students are also starting to show signs of activity under the new situation, with the active elements leading them. I haven't told you yet..." He smiled again, his two eyes wide apart, "Li Huaiying suddenly changed! She found Liu Li and cried, saying she must change her attitude and asked for help from now on. She suddenly started hating the Japanese with gritted teeth. So yesterday's re-election work in the Foreign Language Department went very smoothly due to her transformation. And even Deng Yunxuan, an old gentleman, has started paying attention to newspapers. In the Chinese Department's class meeting, he raised his hand for the first time in his life to support the re-election of student union members."

  "What's the reason for Li Huaiying becoming like this so quickly? Was she stimulated by something?" Dao Jing asked curiously.

  "I think so too," said Hou Rui, "However, what 'stimulated' her she didn't say, you can also go and talk to her."

  "How is Wang Xiaoyan doing?" Dao Jing didn't want to mention her, but still had to ask about her.

  "Day by day, they became more and more disheartened, nobody paid attention to them, and no one spoke a word."

  "Look, when the history department changes its selection, let her see which side the truth is on..." Dao Jing said this, and only then did she realize that she was standing barefoot on the ground, her two feet already frozen red. She smiled as she put on her socks, saying: "Hou Rui, thank you, our work has really taken a turn for the better. However, the situation in North China is even more tense now. Tonight, we will hold a party member meeting to study and discuss what to do next. Xu Hui will come to help us, she may also attend this meeting."

  "Is it still at Liu Li's house?"

  "Xu Hui is coming? That's great!" Hou Rui said with a smile, "At Liu Li's house, no problem."

  Hou Rui left, and Dao Jing hurriedly finished washing up, read for a while, and then rushed out to start her busy and complicated work. She not only managed Beida but also took charge of the Sino-French University. There were a few more people in individual contacts. On this day, she also met with Li Huaying and Deng Yunxuan for an afternoon.

  That night.

  Liu Li's small house had five people sitting in it - Han Linfu was originally a party member who had lost his relationship, but through the introduction of the higher-level organization, he had restored his relationship. There was also another 'female' comrade Mei Hui who was in the same situation. The meeting hadn't started yet, and someone was reading an article:

  Since the capital was established, the suffering of young people has been reported in newspapers to be as many as 300,000, and those who have disappeared are too numerous to count. Killing them is not enough, they are also buried alive; suppressing them is insufficient, and they are further subjected to cruel punishments; hell on earth, what kind of world is this? ... In the past, it was possible to use "rumors" as a pretext, now again it is possible to use "obstructing international relations" as a crime...

  Han Linfeng, with a gentle and refined demeanor, softly recited this passage. His voice was not loud, but his expressive eyes and tone drew in everyone in the room, who were all preparing to continue listening to his recitation, but he stopped. He blinked at the other four people and said: "This article from the Sixth National Congress of the Kuomintang is really well-written. I don't know which comrade's great pen it was that forcefully exposed the Kuomintang's hypocrisy."

  "Hmph, I still have something to say!" Liu Li solemnly refuted Han Linfu, "Why go to the enemy to make demands? The Nationalist Party's esteemed gentlemen manage our poor students with what 'manifestos', 'petitions'! They have time to go and hug their mistresses instead."

  "Little Liu, you still haven't grasped the 'essence' of the Party's policy!" Hou Rui chuckled and interjected, "With Lu Fang's help, I figured it out - we can go to the enemy to demand *** because this is also a strategy. This is the new 'essence' of the Party Central Committee. The Nationalist Party talks nonsense in their laws, we should expose them. If they don't give us ***, that's just them slapping themselves in the face. Our Pingjin Ten Schools' manifesto is absolutely correct and powerful!"

  "You two are on good terms as soon as you meet." Wu Yuping, who had been quiet until now, suddenly chimed in and said, "Guess who wrote this article? I think it was Huang Cheng from Tsinghua University. He's currently a leader in Beiping***. His talent, willpower, and work ethic are all top-notch, I've heard. The magazine 'Dongfang Ji Bao' he edited, which introduced dialectical materialism, is also very popular. Just the other day, a classmate copied out a poem he wrote for me to see. It's really good. I've memorized it. Do you want me to recite it for you?"

  "Alright, recite it." Little Liu commanded. The room was a bit hot, she took off her half-old blue cotton-padded jacket, only wearing a red sweater.

  Wu Yuping took out a pen and recited with his mouth, writing down a seven-character poem on a small notebook:

  The vast night 'desires' where to go, the Milky Way hangs low and dawn is still delayed.

  Scratching my head and pacing back and forth, I feel more and more guilty. I touch my heart, firm and resolute, putting an end to hesitation!

  Safety and danger are no longer what I care about now, blood and tears will be shed to defend this land.

  Don't say the journey is difficult and the day is far away, the village corner shows the morning glow with the crowing of a rooster.

  Hou Rui and Mei Hui, Han Linfu, the three of them, surrounded Wu Yuping, listening to him reciting with emotion in a low voice. Little Liu poured water for them, also listening to his recitation. This poem indeed immediately attracted these young people, because it also deeply portrayed their mood at that time.

  "'The village of Chicken's crowing corner shows the morning glow' is so good! This is really 'what everyone means but can't say'..." Little Liu was holding a tea cup and hadn't finished speaking when Dao Jing and Xu Hui walked in.

  The party branch meeting began immediately without any unnecessary words.

  Hou Rui said a few words, and Dao Jing continued. She deliberately lowered her voice and slowed down: "Comrades, the situation is this: With the establishment of the 'Hebei-Shandong Anti-Communist Autonomous Government', the traitorous government of Hebei-Chahar Political Committee is brewing again. The great disaster of national subjugation and extinction is getting closer and closer every day. This has raised new questions for our party, for the Chinese people's *** struggle. The party's anti-Japanese policy requires us to unite all possible allies to resist Japan and stop the civil war to face the outside together. Therefore, we must quickly mobilize the people on the front line of national defense. Specifically, talking about Beida, this school with a glorious tradition of 'May 4th', has been lagging behind in recent years. Reactionary elements such as Trotskyites have been active, and although the situation has changed recently, it is still far from enough. According to the needs of the situation, we must quickly think of ways to change this situation. Now that we have reached the critical moment of victory or defeat, we are holding this meeting to study..."

  Xu Hui sat against the wall in a corner, her thin face showing a faintly excited smile. She thought: after not seeing him for several months, Lin Daojing had become quite different. Listening to his speech and watching his mannerisms, she recalled how he used to be on the square commemorating "March 18th" a few years ago - awkward and uneasy, standing at the edge of the crowd, not even daring to shout slogans. She smiled.

  Only then did Jing continue to speak: "There is a piece of news that I want to share with comrades: Li Huaiying - our 'Queen' - has recently made great progress. The reason for her change - this is simply unbearable! Under the protection of the Japanese imperialist officers and the traitors in Beiping, she was humiliated. We can imagine her anger, it's like a mute eating bitter melon, unable to express her bitterness. Liu Li and I found her and told her that as long as society does not change for the better, it is impossible for individuals to be virtuous on their own. From then on, she drew closer to us. This person can prove that as long as we are good at guiding them, all our fellow students will turn to *** national salvation."

  At this time, Xu Hui looked at everyone and continued to say: "Comrades, the international and domestic situation is also very favorable for our struggle. The laboring masses of all *** nations in the world are rising up with great momentum, bravely fighting for national liberation. Like the anti-Italian war in Abyssinia and the anti-British struggle in Egypt, they have given us Chinese people a lot of encouragement and motivation. At home, Comrade Mao Zedong has successfully arrived in Shaanbei, and the convergence of several Red Armies and the change in party policy have all played a huge role in promoting China's current *** situation. The party recently also issued a letter to the people of North China, calling on them to take action and unite against aggression. From our students' corner, Beiping *** has already taken a big step forward from the stagnant situation of the past four years. Through the joint declaration of the ten schools in Pingjin, we expanded our activity range, promoted the establishment of the Pingjin Student Union, and in many universities and middle schools, our party's strength also began to become active. We united with broad classmates and are pulling them from the small circle of closed-door reading books into the anti-Japanese national salvation movement step by step. Now speaking of Beida, I was a student at this school before, I know that we suffered great destruction.

  As a result, many students have turned to the negative path of burying their heads in books and ignoring worldly affairs. However, today, they are gradually awakening in the face of bloody reality, so we must actively guide them, unite them, lead them out of this narrow circle, and lead them towards the sacred road of national liberation. The first step in doing so, I believe, is to establish a school-wide student autonomy association. We need to take control of this organization to coordinate with the city's student movement." Xu Hui's bright eyes scanned each comrade's face, then continued, "However, we must be careful; our current slogan is 'struggle for national liberation.' We don't want to scare off those who haven't yet developed class consciousness with overly radical slogans. In the past, our work suffered severe losses due to leadership problems. Today, under Chairman Mao's correct leadership, the situation is naturally much different."

  Everyone's opinions focused on how to break through the small strongholds of reactionaries in each class, analyzing various forces and studying how to further expand progressive forces. Finally, when it came to the re-election issue of the History Department Student Association, Wu Yuping took out a small piece of paper and smiled slightly, saying: "With this little piece of paper, we can make Wang Zhong and his reactionary gang reveal their true colors."

  "What's so mysterious about this note?!" Liu Li wanted to grab Wu Yu Ping's note, but Wu Yu Ping withdrew his hand and said: "Heavenly secrets cannot be revealed. I obtained it with great difficulty, now I'll give it to Hou Rui, he can use it as a weapon in the great battle."

  Hou Rui took a look at the note and smiled, saying: "This is Wang Zhong's receipt for receiving funds from the Kuomintang. This is indeed a good weapon. However, just having the receipt is not enough, we still need to set up a 'fierce' battle."

  "Let's take a look at what Wang Xiaoyan has become!" Liu Li couldn't help but add another sentence.

  Comrades of party members discussed the specific steps to struggle against reactionary students, and dispersed after a meeting filled with excitement and confidence.

  Dao Jing and Xiao Xiu walked together on a cold snowy night, Xu Hui said while walking: "The green comes out of the blue and surpasses the blue. Little Lin, why do you need to send me to help you? I think you're making progress much faster than me."

  Dào Jìng smiled awkwardly and said, "Xú Huī, what are you talking about? I'm still far from it. Because I don't have experience and my level is low, so the work at Beida only recently started to show some 'color'."

  Xu Hui looked at Dao Jing's face, held her hand and smiled, and after a long time said: "A *** party member will never be satisfied with his existing achievements. Xiao Lin, work hard, soon this volcano of Beiping will erupt in the heart of the enemy. Now, let's prepare all our strength to be the igniter."

  Dào Jìnggǎn stared at Xú Huī with a look of 'excitement', feeling an inexplicable warmth between comrades in his heart.