area51novel Chapter 245 The lively courtyard
Chapter 245 The lively courtyard
In the winter of 1966, the courtyard was filled with a restless atmosphere. Every day before dawn, Song Ming, a young worker who lived by the front gate, would wear a brand new blue cloth uniform with a shining Mao badge on his chest and read aloud the latest instructions in the courtyard. His loud voice startled the sparrows on the locust tree and flew away, and also disturbed the whole courtyard, young and old.
"Xiao Song, can you keep your voice down?" The third uncle rubbed his temple and pushed open the window, "It's only five o'clock in the morning..."
Song Ming glared at him: "Uncle! Do you have any objection to studying the highest instructions?" Hu Feng behind him immediately raised the Little Red Book: "We must fight against selfishness and criticize revisionism!"
The third uncle was so frightened that he quickly drew his head back. At this moment, there was another "bang" from the room in front of him - Wu Fanxing and Chao Tiangang were writing big-character posters in the room and knocked over the cabinet. Black words on red paper flowed out from the crack of the door, and it read "Down with all monsters and demons."
The rising sun brought a touch of golden light to the courtyard. Bang Geng, who had defeated "all evil forces" in the work-study school in the middle courtyard, turned his home into a temporary headquarters for the work-study school revolution with the joy of victory, and took several backbones of the work-study red team to practice in the courtyard. Liu Chong shouted slogans with a tin horn, and Wu Dacheng turned the clothesline into a "rope tactics" training ground, and all the sheets hung to dry fell to the ground.
"Little ancestors!" Auntie wanted to pick up the quilt, but was stopped by Banggeng: "Auntie, now we are talking about 'breaking the four olds', these embroidered quilt covers have to be burned!"
Yu Li hid at home holding Qiyi, looking out through the crack of the window. Sha Zhu squatted at the kitchen door sharpening the knife, which made a harsh sound on the whetstone. Although he was still the canteen director, he felt that his power was pitifully small in such a wave. He was no longer in a state where one person could feed the whole family. He had a wife and children to take care of, so he could only watch the chaos and sharpen the knife in frustration.
"Zhu Zi, don't you want to do something about it?" Yu Li asked worriedly.
Sha Zhu didn't even raise his head: "Why do you care? Don't you see how powerful Xu Damao is now?" The blade flashed coldly in the sunlight, "Let him jump around first."
The worst off were the old Yan family in the front yard. Song Ming and Chao Tiangang insisted that the flowers raised by the third uncle were "feudal, capitalist, and revisionist", and smashed the flowerpots and flowers. Broken pottery pieces mixed with dead branches made the snowy ground dirty and messy. The third uncle squatted on the ground, picking up the fragments with tears in his eyes, but he didn't dare to say a word.
Even at night, there was no peace. The young workers organized a rehearsal of the "loyalty dance", and their hoarse voices made the whole hospital headache. Liu Guangtian led people to collect "revolutionary donations" from house to house, and even the money saved by the deaf old lady for eggs was not spared.
Only Shazhu's family was the one that no one dared to mess with. It wasn't because they were afraid of Shazhu - but when Yu Li stood at the door with Qiyi in her arms, the boys left in embarrassment. After all, they had all eaten Uncle Zhuzi's "big sesame cake" and "stir-fried pork with buttocks" when they were young.
On the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, the conflict finally broke out. Xu Damao and the young workers from the steel mill wanted to demolish the screen wall in the courtyard, saying that the flowers and birds carved on it were "four olds". The third uncle could no longer tolerate it and stood in front of them with a kitchen knife: "Who dares to touch it! This is left by our ancestors!"
Banggen came out from the yard with the Red Team and immediately surrounded the Third Uncle. As they were pushing and shoving, a sharp kitchen knife came flying and stuck firmly into the snow pile in front of the screen wall.
Everyone turned around and saw Sha Zhu walking towards them slowly. He pulled out a kitchen knife and rubbed it on the sole of his cotton shoes: "If anyone wants to touch this screen wall today, ask me about this knife first."
Xu Damao swallowed his saliva and said with all his strength: "Silly Zhu! You, you are hindering the destruction of the Four Olds!"
Sha Zhu grinned, and suddenly swung up the kitchen knife and chopped it on the screen wall. Amid the flying stone chips, he pointed at the freshly cut marks and said, "See? This is my 'revolutionary knife technique'! Now this screen wall is considered a revolutionary thing that I, He Yuzhu, have transformed!"
Sha Zhu looked at the two leaders Xu Damao and Bang Geng, waved his kitchen knife, and said, "You want to make a revolution, I don't care and I won't stop you. This is your progress and ideal, but there are many elderly people and children in the yard. You have changed everything that should be changed in the yard recently. Don't make a revolution in the yard anymore!"
As soon as Sha Zhu finished speaking, the yard fell silent. Xu Damao's Adam's apple rolled up and down, and Bang Geng subconsciously took a half step back. The shiny kitchen knife shone coldly in the sunset.
"Zhu Zi is right!" Yu Li came out holding her son in her arms at the right time, and said in a loud voice, "You want revolution, we support you. But the old lady has been unable to sleep well these days because of the noise, and the flower pots in the third uncle's house were also smashed. Isn't this inappropriate?"
"Yes, our family is also working class. My father-in-law doesn't grow flowers, but many of them can be used as medicine. He gives them away for free to several pharmacies." After hearing what Yu Li said, Liu Yuhua also echoed her, but she insisted that they were given away as gifts even though she had originally sold them to the pharmacy.
Old Ma from the middle court and the Cao family from the back court also spoke out in support of Sha Zhu's statement.
Xu Damao saw that everyone in the hospital had the same opinion, and his eyes rolled. "Everyone is right! We are blinded by revolutionary enthusiasm!" He turned around and waved to the people behind him, "From now on, we will carry out our activities in the factory!"
Bang Geng pouted, but looking at the kitchen knife in Sha Zhu's hand, he nodded: "Okay, we'll listen to everyone and move back to school tomorrow."
The crowd gradually dispersed. The third uncle came out of the house again, trembling, looking at the knife mark on the screen wall, tears streaming down his face: "Zhu Zi, this..."
"Uncle," Sha Zhu put away the kitchen knife and lowered his voice, "go find some red paint and paint a big red flower on the knife mark and write a quote. I guarantee that no one will dare to touch it."
The night was as dark as ink. Sha Zhu wrapped himself tightly in his cotton coat, with braised beef and fried peanuts wrapped in oil paper in his arms, and a bottle of Erguotou on his waist. He stuck to the wall of the steel mill, avoiding the patrol lights like a nimble wild cat.
Zheng Xi, who was on duty tonight, had already been waiting at the back door of the old warehouse. The light of his flashlight made three short and one long signals in the darkness.
"Zhu Zi, this way." Zheng Xi lowered his voice, and the iron door made a slight "creaking" sound. "Go in and see Secretary Yang quickly. I'll keep watch for you."
The warehouse was filled with rusty machine parts, and the musty smell mixed with the smell of engine oil rushed straight into the nose. In the power distribution room in the far corner, a kerosene lamp flickered like a bean. Secretary Yang sat on a wooden box, his originally straight back was a little hunched, but his eyes were still bright.
"Zhu Zi is here?" Secretary Yang stood up, his cotton shoes making a slight sound as they stepped on the wood chips.
Sha Zhu's nose felt sore and he quickly put out the food: "Secretary, I brought you some snacks to go with your wine." When he took out the wine bottle, the metal bottle cap made a "click" sound in the silence, startling Zheng Xi so much that he immediately looked inside.
Secretary Yang smiled, his wrinkles appearing even deeper under the kerosene lamp: "What are you afraid of? Now I am the one who is 'standing aside', they wish I was dead."
The two enamel pots gently touched each other. Sha Zhu noticed that there was a circle of bruises on Secretary Yang's wrist, which was obviously the mark left by the rope tied during the criticism.
"Zhu Zi," Secretary Yang took a sip of wine, "Are you still going to your old leader's place?"
"I just went there a while ago. The leader is in good health and he is also thinking about you. It is just inconvenient for him to come here, so he asked me to look after you."
"I know. Now...ah, let's stop talking and drink." Secretary Yang picked up the teacup and took another sip.
Sha Zhu also raised the jar and took a sip: "I'll drink less, you drink more, it's cold here, you..." Before he could finish his words, footsteps were suddenly heard outside.