Chapter Eleven Snowy Flight

  Although the doctor issued a critical illness notice, Yu Xinhe and Yu Xinmin brothers did not give up.

  For three whole days, they didn't leave his side for a single step, and hardly closed their eyes, constantly guarding the professor. Yu Xinhe gave the professor acupuncture at regular intervals, and from time to time, he would use a needle to prick the professor's fingers and let out a few drops of black blood. Yu Xinmin personally decocted medicine and fed it to him drop by drop. On the third night, after Yu Xinhe took the pulse, the two brothers both let out a long sigh of relief.

  They had Yu Yueyue cook millet porridge for him, and indeed, at dawn, the professor finally woke up slowly. Although the professor was still not fully awake, his face already had a hint of color. Yu Yueyue, who hadn't closed her eyes for three days and nights and was almost exhausted, hugged the professor tightly and burst into loud sobs.

  Yu Xinhe said, "Auntie, this is not the time to cry. The professor urgently needs nourishment. She can't speak yet, quickly feed the professor half a bowl of millet porridge!" The professor finally managed to eat slowly and after being fed half a bowl of millet porridge, she fell asleep again.

  The sky was almost bright, and Yu Xinhe said to Yuetian, who was like a wooden person, "Auntie, the professor is fine. You don't have to exhaust yourself either, go sleep for a while. Let Shu Tong accompany you, and just call you when you wake up."

  When the moon heard that the professor had already arrived, she felt a little relieved. But still had to hold on, was forced by Qian Wenfang and Qian Wenshu to go to the inner room to sleep for a while. Qian Wenfang and Qian Wenshu took turns to care for the professor.

  Yu Xinhe and his brother arrived at Wang Feng's home again.

  When rescuing the professor, Wang Feng also decocted the medicine that Yu Xinmin had grabbed back from Chen Laoshi into a medicinal soup and gave it to Chen Laoshi at regular intervals. After several days, he slowly began to show signs of improvement. The Yu Xinghe brothers came over from time to time to visit and administer acupuncture, and their coughs were greatly alleviated, especially the fact that they no longer coughed up blood.

  Yu Xinhe and Yu Xinmin took turns feeling the pulse, and both let out a long sigh of relief. Wang Feng asked urgently, "Big brother, little brother, quickly tell me, how is it now?"

  Yu Xinhe said, "After all, the body has a foundation. Old Chen is newly afflicted with wind and cold, which triggered an old injury to recur. With some adjustments, it can be overcome!" Upon hearing that there was no major problem, Wang Feng's heart, which had been hanging in the air, finally put down its guard, and she burst into loud wails of tears.

  "Brothers, you saved Professor and me!" Teacher Chen said with tears streaming down his face.

  "A family doesn't speak two different languages, first adjust and get along well, then thank you will create a gap." Yu Xinhai said.

  Yu Xinmin also said, "Your previous injury was too severe, it's an internal injury, and it hasn't healed yet. This big snow is a once-in-a-century event. The cold weather has frozen you and the professor every day to shovel snow, and your injuries have been exacerbated. I discussed with my brother, according to this prescription, take a few more doses, slowly nurse back to health, must persist for half a year, can't be careless."

  Seeing that the two brothers Yu Xinhe and Yu Xinmin were unharmed, they returned to catch up on their sleep.

  Heavy snow seals the door, the professor is critically ill, Teacher Chen is seriously ill. Every day's "four kinds of elements" sweep the snow, but it's a political task. Asking for leave due to illness is absolutely impossible, as long as you haven't stopped breathing, you must participate. Otherwise, you're faking illness, and the nature changes, you'll be subject to struggle.

  What to do, and the adults are not allowed to lend a hand. After careful consideration, Yu Xinhe and his brother thought that they could neither resist the movement nor ignore it. So, She Wenfang ordered Yu Songyuan to take three younger brothers to replace Professor and Teacher Chen in shoveling snow.

  For two weeks, four little kids, representing Professor and Teacher Chen, were sweeping the snow. The other "four kinds of elements" had opinions: we also have children, we also have illnesses, why can't we let the kids sweep the snow for us? The militiaman in charge of supervising the obligatory labor of the "four kinds of elements" was at a loss and could only report this matter to Zhou Kun.

  Zhou Kun was shocked when he heard the words while playing "three hits one" with his subordinates. Never before had a "four-class element" dared to refuse compulsory labor, dare to resist labor reform, this is unbearable. With extremely high political sensitivity, he immediately threw down his cards and led the militia to arrest people, preparing to hold a village-wide criticism meeting.

  He ordered his son Zhou Xiaolou to gather the militia and prepare to capture people. He himself opened the broadcasting station and personally broadcast the notice of preparing to hold a mass criticism meeting.

  Militia commander Yu Songchun walked into the team office, explicitly opposing the militia's door-to-door arrests. "Commander Zhou, we can't go and arrest people. The professor has been bedridden for a week now, it's uncertain whether he'll make it through this winter, and Old Chen is constantly coughing up blood. At this time, going to arrest people isn't equivalent to sending them on their way?"

  "Don't you have any political awareness? I'm telling you, intellectuals are no good, they're so cunning and deceitful. This is just an excuse to avoid labor duty. Why didn't he fall ill earlier or later, but only when it snowed heavily?"

  Militia commander Zhou Kun was the political instructor and first-in-command, with more power than Yu Songchun. Although Yu himself refused to carry out Zhou's orders, Zhou set off with a few armed militiamen amidst great fanfare.

  Yu Songyuan, who was shoveling snow with the "four types of people", suddenly heard the loudspeaker broadcasting:

  "The enemy will never voluntarily admit that they have thoroughly failed, and are still making a dying struggle. Today, two 'four-category elements' in my village refused to undergo labor reform, attempting to feign illness to get away with it - this is a serious new trend of struggle. The village has decided to hold an all-village denunciation rally this morning, to wage a resolute and mortal struggle against their frantic counter-attack!"

  Yu Songyuan's brain suddenly exploded, this time it's all over, Professor and Teacher Chen are in big trouble now!

  Zhou Kun didn't dare to provoke Professor Chen easily, and would definitely go to grab the professor first. He bullied them, a widow with an orphaned child, and estimated that the militiamen were almost at the professor's house by now. The brothers were so tense that their faces turned pale, and they all looked at Yu Songyuan with expectation. Shu Tong was even more anxious and started crying directly.

  Forget it!

  Thinking of Professor Nai's coma a few days ago, looking at Shu Tong's pitiful tears, the young Yu Songyuan's wildness was instantly ignited.

  He quickly made arrangements, "Shu Tong rushed back to report to the big and small masters, and moved to rescue. Chen Lan and 'Pang Duan' attacked the militia with snowballs along the way, hindering their actions. I'll go straight ahead to intercept, then everyone will gather in front of Shu Tong's house and establish a defensive line!" As soon as the order was given, the brothers quickly followed it.

  Yu Songyuan himself held a broom upside down, and on the snowy ground, he only used his toes, running as fast as flying, constantly jumping over houses, walls and other obstacles, flying eaves and walking on walls. Finally, with one jump from above the heads of the militiamen, he finally opened up a formation in front of the professor's thatched cottage before the militiamen were about to break in, establishing a defensive line.

  The militiamen arrived afterwards, Chen Lan, "Pang Duan" and "Xi Shi" also almost simultaneously arrived, holding brooms, with Yu Songyuan together, resolutely blocking the militiamen outside the defense line.

  Zhou Kun led five or six militiamen to rush over, seeing four thirteen- or fourteen-year-old mischievous children holding brooms and forming a battle array, actually trying to stop the militiamen from entering the house to catch people. He couldn't help but get angry. He knew that these mischievous children were Chen Laoshi's apprentices, but he really didn't believe that a few little devils could practice much skill. So, he loudly ordered the armed militiamen to break through the blockade and enter the house to catch people.

  The professor who was knocked down by the cold wind and snow is still in a coma. Yu Yu had just fallen asleep for a while, but she couldn't rest assured and got up again. Just then, she heard the loudspeaker broadcasting that the militia would come to arrest people, and she was frightened, anxious and at a loss. "Sister, what can we do?"

  Shi Wenfang, who was taking care of the professor, also heard the broadcast and lost her mind. She comforted Yu Yu by saying, "Auntie, don't worry. They must have heard this broadcast too. They won't let them be caught, you can rest assured!"

  Actually, Wen Fang said this when she had no bottom line in her heart. The movement is not a joke. In recent years, Zhou Kun has been plotting against Yu Yueyue, but unfortunately, he hasn't succeeded yet and has long held a grudge. This time, it's clear that he's taking revenge. But she couldn't think about that much anymore. If Zhou Kun really didn't care about life or death and came to grab her by force, she would take action and absolutely wouldn't let the professor be taken away for criticism.

  The professor's life hangs by a thread, this one fight, one toss and turn, that's death!

  Yu Yuemei felt as if the sky was about to collapse, Zhou Kun and his militiamen were about to rush over, if before Yu Xinhe and his brother arrived, the militiamen forcibly took people away, her seriously ill, still drowsy, still in danger mother-in-law would definitely not make it. The professor had always been her mainstay, if the professor was beaten to death, how could she and Shu Tong's orphaned children cope?

  Since there's no way out anyway, it's all going to end in death sooner or later. She gritted her teeth and steeled herself for a desperate struggle.

  Shi Wenfang closed the door tightly, holding a small stool upside down in her hand. She believed that with just herself, several militiamen would not dare to enter this door. Yu Yuer put the scissors firmly in her bosom and stood behind Shi Wenfang. The two women were like heroes in movies waiting for execution, holding a desperate belief, nervously waiting for the arrival of a certain moment.

  But at this moment, outside had already "ping ping pong" hot fire up. She Wenfang opened the door, and the two were shocked to see that outside the snowflakes fluttered, people's shadows flickered, and her son Yu Songyuan was leading three little brothers, with six or seven adult militiamen entangled together, and the more they fought, the braver they became.

  Although the four Yu brothers were fewer in number and slightly smaller than the adult militiamen, these four young men were agile and nimble, flipping and dodging with their brooms as if they had eyes, occasionally striking the faces, legs, and hands of the militiamen. Especially Yu Songyuan, who fought one against three without falling behind, and Yu San Kui, Yu Long Gao, and Zhou Xiaolou, three adults, were knocked to the ground one after another, unable to fight back.

  These militiamen, who were holding steel guns and looked very powerful, were no match for the four 13- or 14-year-old kids holding brooms. They were quickly overwhelmed and beaten until they fled in disarray, their tails between their legs, and hid among the onlookers, too ashamed to show their faces.

  Zhou Xiaolou was the most miserable, he was Zhou Kun's son. Lying on the ground, he didn't dare to move, and Yu Songquan stuffed several large snowballs into his down jacket. Then, together with Shu Tong, they lifted him up, shouting slogans, like throwing a big sack, and threw him far beyond the defense line.

  There is another reason why the militia was defeated. These people were ordinary farmers in the village, and they had no conflict with Yu Yue's mother-in-law. As fellow villagers, the simplicity of the peasants made them unwilling to push these widows and orphans to the end of the road. At the same time, although these naughty children were hateful, they were all children from the village, and they were still the children of Yu Lao Da and Yu Lao Er. They did not want to, nor did they dare to take drastic measures against these children.

  Zhou Kun's face turned red with rage, holding a loudspeaker in his mouth, shouting loudly: "Rebellion! Rebellion! The descendants of the 'four kinds of elements' have rebelled! As the political team leader, I solemnly order you to surrender immediately and hand over the 'four kinds of elements' who resisted reform. Considering your youth and ignorance, the revolutionary masses can forgive you for past mistakes, otherwise, you will bear the consequences, bear the consequences!"

  But his set was all bluffing people. The naughty kids didn't buy it and nobody took him seriously at all.

  Yu Songyuan stood with his broom, like the heroes in a model opera, head held high and chest out, striking a very cool pose. Then, like an adult, he sternly asked:

  "Director Zhou, Professor is seriously ill for a week now, the doctor has issued a critical illness notice. Teacher Chen has been coughing up blood, his condition is getting worse. My parents and my younger uncle and aunt have not slept for three days and nights to rescue them. My younger uncle even braved the heavy snow in the middle of the night to walk to the county town to grab medicine. But you don't care about life or death, you want to come and arrest people, where is your sympathy?"

  The most righteous and severe interrogation left Zhou Kun speechless.

  "You're just a naive and ignorant kid, you don't understand these principles. The professor and Teacher Chen are 'four types of elements', objects of dictatorship. You beat up the militia, help the 'four types of elements', resist the movement, it's a serious crime. I'll spare you because of your youth and ignorance, but if you don't stop immediately, don't blame the people for turning against you mercilessly!"