Chapter 2 May's Fresh Flowers (Grade 6, Volume 1)

  "What are they waiting for?!" As soon as Peng Xuewen and Fang Guoqiang were mentioned, Han Qiu felt a huge headache. The words exchanged between Peng Xuewen and Fang Guoqiang over the past two days, he couldn't pretend he hadn't heard any of it. Every sentence seemed to make perfect sense, yet every sentence was also diametrically opposed. It made one feel extremely uncomfortable, extremely desperate. It was as if two barbaric doctors were standing in front of a patient who had been tortured by illness to the point of exhaustion, and they were loudly debating the severity of the condition without any reserve, while also proclaiming that they had no grasp on the treatment plan.

  "Is it still a matter of going south or north?" Lu Ming frowned and pouted, looking extremely helpless. "You can't even settle your own affairs, yet you have to drag others into it!"

  "Didn't Zhou's team promise to give them half of the donated money? Why is Peng still clinging to us?" Tian Qingyu said with a few hints of disdain, extremely disgusted by Peng Xuewen's behavior.

  "It was originally nothing. Da Zhou agreed to give half of today's donations to the person with the surname Peng. The person with the surname Peng also knew that their reason was not necessarily sufficient, and they were prepared to retreat. But just then, Zhu, the owner of the restaurant, ran up and reported the news that the cart driver had escaped! Lu Ming shrugged his shoulders and sighed lightly, "Now it's done, the person with the surname Peng heard this and gained momentum, saying that since even our hired cart driver knows that Beiping is a big fire pit, we continue to head north, it's just recklessness, it's being irresponsible to ourselves and others..."

  "This guy, what's it got to do with him!" Tian Qingyu shouted loudly before Lu Ming could finish his sentence.

  "Then block J started arguing with him again. He said that if he wanted to be a deserter, he could always find an excuse. I saw the situation was not right, so I quickly came down to find you!"

  "What's the point of looking for us?!" Tian Qingyu suddenly became anxious, speaking somewhat recklessly. "You're looking for Big Zhou! He's the leader, and Peng is mainly targeting him."

  "Big Zhou, Big Zhou seems to be very hesitant at this moment! He just stood there without saying a word!" Lu Ming couldn't help but sigh again, lowering his head and explaining in a very small voice.

  "How can Da Zhou be like this?!" Han Qiu, who was listening on the side, got more and more angry, raised his eyes and complained. "Isn't he a very decisive person? How come at the critical moment, instead...instead became timid!"

  "Dazhou's personality has never been strong! In the student union, we all knew he had this problem." Tian Qingyu was both angry and helpless. "But he's older than us, and his grades are also the best. He usually treats everyone like an elder brother. So..."

  So, he was chosen as the leader, and it was a natural thing to do. However, no one had expected that this small team would encounter so many things along the way. Considering Zhou Ju's face, Tian Qingyu didn't finish his sentence, but clever and sensitive Han Qiu completely understood what he meant. Smiling slightly, she said in a low voice, "Then what about you? Are you going to turn back south or continue north?"

  "I'm definitely going north. Even if what Peng said was true, it only proves that Song Zheyuan is not up to the task! But for now, the 29th Army brothers and the classmates from the training camp are doing the right thing. And you, Xiao Qiu, if Da Zhou also drops out halfway, where will you go?"

  "Of course I'll be with you!" Han Qiu's face lit up with a smile as he made his choice without hesitation.

  "Then I have nothing to worry about!" Tian Qingyu grasped Han Qiu's hand in his thick palm and said loudly, "Let's go back to our respective rooms to change clothes. Then let's meet at the dining hall. I don't believe that everyone else will be like Da Zhou, having their morale crushed by a few words from Peng Xuewen!"

  "I don't believe it either!" Han Qiu, although a girl, had a hint of hot-blooded chivalry in her heart, and she tightened the five fingers grasped by Tian Qingyu, smiling in agreement.

  Two people left Lu Ming with a face full of envy, laughing and going upstairs. Before long, they changed into clean clothes and came to the dining hall together. Everyone was still sitting in the same position as last night's dinner, surrounded by two tables. The difference is that there were several male and female classmates from Beiping who sat together with Fang Guoqiang. Li Di and Zhang Xiaorui of the Blood Flower Society sat at one table with Peng Xuewen.

  Lu Ming and Liu Jing were originally inseparable, but now they're also apart. One has a pale face, while the other is hanging his head low, with clear signs of having just cried on his face.

  "I'm really sorry, everyone's big luggage has been lost! However, as long as you still have some spare clothes on hand, it's fine. We're not far from Beiping now, and once we arrive at our destination, I'll compensate anyone who lost something at the original price. The horse carriage was arranged by me, so if anything happens, I'm responsible!" Tian Qingyu noticed that everyone's seating arrangement seemed strange, but he pretended to be oblivious.

  "It's nothing, just a set of bedding, it's not worth much money!" Li Di didn't dare to meet Tian Qingyu's gaze, and instead looked away with his head tilted, speaking in a low voice.

  "Anyway, once we get to the army, they'll issue us a uniform set of luggage. If it gets lost, it's not our problem, and we won't have to carry anything heavy! You guys think that's right, don't you?" Fang Guoqiang was still as domineering as ever, not even asking anyone else before making the decision for them.

  "Ah, ah!" Lu Ming nodded in advance, deliberately avoiding looking at Liu Jing, his facial expression extremely stiff.

  "Everyone, don't be polite to me. My father has some old friends in Beiping, even if we didn't get along well in the 29th Army, I'll take you all to visit them and they won't just watch me sleep on the streets!" Tian Qingyu carelessly pulled over a chair and sat down across from Fang Guoqiang. Then he pretended to be surprised and looked around, laughing as he invited: "Zhou, why are you still standing? Sit down, everyone's tired today, let's have a good drink. Tomorrow I'll go out and hire some horse-drawn carriages, with my skills, I guarantee we can get them for the same price!"

  "Hey, Zhou team, why are we all seated and you're still standing there?! You've got to choose a table, can't just stand around!" Han Qiu smiled slyly as he glanced around, his words laced with hidden meaning.

  Big Brother Zhou Ju was made to blush by her, took a few steps forward, and said cautiously, "Tian Pang'er, Han Qiu, you two have come just in time. There's something I need to explain to everyone. These past few days, Peng Xuewen and Fang Guoqiang's words, I'm sure everyone has also heard. Honestly, my heart is very confused right now..."

  "Zhou team, at this critical moment, it seems that your heart can't be chaotic!" Han Qiu smiled again, his tone of speech was pressing and urgent.

  Zhou Ju's face turned even redder, with fine beads of sweat already visible on her forehead. "After all, it involves everyone's lives, I...I can't make the decision alone. I've already told them earlier, and as for me, I will definitely go to Beiping in the future to take a look, to see what Song Zheyuan and the 29th Army are like with my own eyes, only then can I be at peace! But...but..."

  He hesitated, seemingly feeling extremely ashamed of his own weakness and finding it difficult to speak. Peng Xuewen saw this and was about to intervene when Fang Guoqiang suddenly stood up and loudly added, "Alright, let me continue from here. I'm the one who caused all this trouble, so if you want to scold someone later, scold me, don't blame Big Zhou. Neither of us could convince the other in our argument..."

  "It's my fault, I should have made a decision at the right time, but I didn't dare to take responsibility!" Zhou Ju suddenly regained his courage, took a step back, and bowed deeply to everyone. "Sorry, I really don't fit to be the leader. But since I've taken on this role, I shouldn't shirk from it. Da Fang and Xue Wen couldn't convince each other just now. So let's put it to a vote! If most people want to go to Beiping, then we'll all go to Beiping. If most people want to go to Nanjing, then we'll all go to Nanjing! I think this is also a good way, at least in the future we won't regret today too much!"

  "This is how..." Tian Qingyu instinctively wanted to stand up in opposition, but was quietly pulled back by Han Qiu and slowly sat down again. His gaze fell on the others, and he saw that most of them had expressions of relief on their faces. Knowing that the voting decision was a collective one made just now, he shook his head and let out a soft sigh.

  Voting is not an unfamiliar thing for every student present. In recent years, Western learning has been flourishing. Whether it's the newspapers run by the Nanjing Central Government or the radio stations run by local warlords themselves, they often mention "Mr. Democracy" and "Mr. Science". Even if the owners behind the newspapers and radio stations do not necessarily sincerely hope that Messrs. Democracy and Science have a place in their own rule.

  As the group with the most understanding and enthusiasm for Western society in the whole society, university students are also the loyal followers of Messrs. "Democracy" and "Science". Not only are class cadres and department cadres entirely produced through elections, but even the university student union, a group with enormous influence that makes the authorities extremely wary, has quietly emerged like mushrooms after rain under the subtle promotion of people with ulterior motives.

  So when Peng Xuewen and Fang Guoqiang couldn't convince each other, and both wanted to pull people from the other's camp to their own side, voting became the best option. As the leader of the Blood Flower Society, Zhou Ju didn't want to take on the huge responsibility of "leading everyone to death", so voting was also the only way to escape.

  Then Peng Xuewen and Fang Guoqiang, surprisingly, reached a consensus. Vote! Neither of them thought they would lose, both believed they were the ones who could get the majority's support.

  Since most people have accepted this decision, Tian Qingyu no longer obstructed and instead lifted his spirits. He followed the two scholars from Beiping and, under everyone's supervision, quickly made the ballots and ballot boxes. Then, he carefully distributed the blank ballots to each person present.

  Although this move was far ahead of its time and looked extremely childish to outsiders, the students present were very sincere in their attitude, carefully writing down their own vote, folding it into a small square, and solemnly putting it into the ballot box. Each person could only write one "south" character or one "north" character. After each person finished writing, they never regretted it.

  Then, under the collective supervision of everyone, Han Qiu and another girl from Beiping sang votes, Zhou Ju was in charge of counting, Fang Guoqiang and Peng Xuewen were in charge of supervising. Neither of them would give in to each other, watching the strokes of the word "zheng" change while winking at each other.

  The results were quickly counted, and surprisingly it was 9 to 11! The North won by two votes. In the Blood Flower Society, some people indeed retreated. However, among the students of Beiping, there were also a few who accepted Fang Guoqiang's proposal and decided to turn back north and live or die with the Student Army.

  "You two..." Peng Xuewen pointed at the two students from Beiping who had obviously voted for "Bei", his lips trembling and his face ashen. This was clearly a public betrayal, he bellowed in his heart, although before this, he had already guessed that these two people might make different choices than himself.

  "You can't afford to lose, can you?" Fang Guoqiang suddenly became elegant and smiled mockingly. "The voting thing was your idea first. You're the leader of Beiping High School, don't lose and then regret it, or you'll embarrass your alma mater!"

  "Who says I lost, who says I lost!" Peng Xuewen waved his fist and loudly refuted, "Nine to eleven, only twenty votes! And there are two more people, my sister and Little Zhang classmate, they didn't vote! Where did they go?!"

  "Feifei and Er Baozi? Ah, where are Feifei and Er Bao now?" It was only then that everyone suddenly realized that the two smallest companions were not by their side. They quickly got up and searched around with their eyes.

  "They two, they two, just now, it seemed like they went to Feifei's room!" A girl from Beiping thought for a moment and said timidly.

  "This little scoundrel!" Peng Xuewen didn't dare to continue arguing with Fang Guoqiang about the selection results, and like a fire burning his buttocks, he rushed out and ran straight to the floor where his own sister was.

  Predicament, rainy day, young men and women, first love. One as beautiful as a flower, one with elegant demeanor. No time to think carefully, only fearing that Peng Xuewen would make some impolite move in his anxiety, Tian Qingyu, Zhou Ju, Fang Guoqiang and others also quickly caught up.

  Three steps, two steps, they chased all the way to the fourth floor, outside Peng Weiwei's single room. From a distance, they heard two slightly childish voices singing in turns: "The May flowers bloom all over the field, covering the martyrs' blood with flowers... In order to save this dying nation, they fought stubbornly without stopping..."

  "The enemy's iron hooves have crossed the Great Wall, but the Central Plains still sing and dance in peace; 'friendly neighbors'... Ah, the humiliating surrender, forgetting the country and even forgetting us..."

  "Raise your pitch a bit, don't always speak in such a low tone!"

  "I'll try again, you start again..."

  It was Peng Weiwei teaching Zhang Songling to sing, at this moment, only the two of them were here, unaffected by the disputes of others, their hearts still as transparent as crystal.

  Mr. De, Democracy; Mr. Sai, Science.