Early the next morning, Wen Jianning went out alone.

In fact, in recent times, she has almost never been willing to go out unless she has to.

Nowadays, the main roads in Beiping City are full of sentry posts and checkpoints, and the Japanese army has strictly investigated them, and all men, women, and children must be searched behind them before they can be released; if they are not satisfied, they will be scolded and beaten, and pedestrians will be ordered to kneel down and insult them. Although Wen Jianning was not so unlucky, it was not a pleasant thing to see her compatriots being slapped and punished to kneel, so she didn't want to see anyone every time she came back, and locked herself in the study alone for a long time and didn't come out.

But today, Wen Jianning had to go out.

She asked for directions, all the way to the street where a newspaper office was located. After she came to Beiping from Shanghai in March, she published two or three essays in the "Beiping Daily" published by this newspaper under the pseudonym Qi Husheng. Tan Liwen, the editor-in-chief of the newspaper, praised her article, and the two sides had an appointment, and the other party was a little surprised to see that she was a young female student.

And this editor-in-chief Tan is the most likely person Wen Jianning has contacted in Beiping.

Just as she turned into the street, a group of Japanese soldiers happened to come towards her aggressively, almost startling Wen Jianning. She retreated to the side of the road and waited for the group to pass before going to the newspaper office again.

As soon as she entered the newspaper office, she realized that Fang Cai's gang had rushed here. It was as if a catastrophe had just struck the inside of the newspaper office, and many of the staff inside were beaten and swollen, and they were packing up their things in frustration.

Wen Jianning found the editor-in-chief's office under their guidance, and found that it was not much better, not only the documents and newspapers were scattered all over the place, but even their editor-in-chief was still sitting on the ground in a daze, and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses were scattered not far away, and the frames were broken.

Tan Liwen squinted, and saw through a blurred vision that someone was standing at the door looking at her, and then slowly touched the broken glasses and put them on. He got up from the ground and patted the dust on his robe: "It's Jianning, we are in a mess here, so I won't invite you to come in and sit." ”

Wen Jianning bent down and helped pick up the books and documents scattered on the ground.

The two of them roughly picked up all the papers scattered on the floor before they sat down to talk.

Tan Liwen asked, "You came to me today, but if there is anything you need my help with?" ”

Being seen through at a glance, Wen Jianning was suddenly a little embarrassed, but he still explained his situation sincerely.

The other party still didn't seem surprised, and sighed when he heard the words and said: "It's not a secret, I also have plans to leave Beiping, if you need help, you don't need to find someone else, just come with me." As you can see, my newspaper can't be opened, and I told us to stop it, and we can only stop it. I'm already planning to go to the Shanghai Concession later to see if I can start a business there. ”

Wen Jianning didn't expect the other party to leave, so he could only smile bitterly: "But I'm just afraid that I won't be able to leave now, and I'll wait for a while." ”

Zhong Hui's illness was not yet cured, and she didn't dare to take her sick out of the city. If she were to leave, it would only be possible if Zhong Hui's physical condition improved.

Editor-in-Chief Tan was very sorry after hearing this, but he also left her the contact information of a few newspaper friends he knew, so that she could come to the door for help when she planned to leave in the future.

Wen Jianning thanked him before leaving the newspaper office and returning to the courtyard.

Afterwards, Wen Jianning successively looked for the friends mentioned by Editor-in-Chief Tan, and it was not surprising to find that the other party had either left with the family a long time ago, or had been arrested by the Japanese himself, and his whereabouts are still unknown. Only then did she realize that the situation was changing faster and faster day by day, and it was useless for her to plan early, instead of putting her hope on this person and that person, it was better to wait for Zhong Hui's body to completely improve.

Fortunately, Zhong Hui was also very competitive, and by the end of August, her physical condition finally began to show signs of improvement, and she was gradually able to get out of bed and move, and her cough was not so bad. Occasionally, in the evening when the weather is good, Wen Jianning also asked her to go to the yard alone to talk to the children of the Qi family, so as not to get sick alone.

Zhong Hui has no interest in talking to children, she just wants to sit quietly alone in a daze.

Too many big things have happened during this time, and although Wen Jianning has blocked a lot for her in front, she still has a great impact. She put on her coat, moved a stool, sat on the steps, and held her face for a long time, not even knowing that the two children in the east wing had returned from school, until the sound of tearing paper woke her up.

As soon as she looked up, she saw two children sitting on the floor tearing up their textbooks.

Zhong Hui looked at it and hurriedly shouted: "What are you doing, you are not allowed to tear up the book." ”

The two children stopped their movements and looked at her timidly: "This is what the teacher asked us to tear." ”

Zhong Hui walked over and picked up the pages they had torn off, and when he saw that they had been painted with ink, he was even more angry, and was about to teach them a lesson, when he suddenly caught a glimpse of the text that was not covered by ink, and stopped talking.

The two children were a little afraid of her, and when they saw that she was silent and did not dare to speak, they obediently stood in place and waited.

Wen Jianning came out of the back room and saw it, and quietly waved them to hurry up, and the two children quickly slipped away as if they had been pardoned.

She flipped through it casually, and soon understood the reason why Zhong Hui was depressed.

These texts, which have been smeared off and torn off by ink, are all sensitive topics about serving the country and resisting the invaders, and there is even a text about a patriot fighting against Japan himself. After the initial occupation of Beiping, the Japanese army began to plan how to control the Chinese people ideologically, and last time Wen Jianning heard from the owner of the restaurant that the primary and secondary schools in Peiping had planned to offer Japanese language classes, and even the textbooks had to be rewritten to meet the needs of the Japanese himself.

Wen Jianning knew that Zhong Hui was sick and couldn't withstand this kind of stimulation, so he should persuade her to relax. But when she looked at the pages that had been inked and torn off, the words of comfort stuck in her throat, and she couldn't spit out a word for a long time.

She silently picked up the scraps on the ground and went back to the house.

Zhong Hui was alone in the courtyard for a while, and waited until the feeling of depression in his heart eased a little, then he got up and returned to the house, and found Wen Jianning squatting on the ground in the study next door to pick up newspapers and magazines.

Both of them love literature, although they have not been in Peking for a long time, there are not a lot of newspapers and periodicals bought in the study, and there are even some patriotic books and periodicals. If they are searched by the Japanese themselves, they may cause them trouble.

Although Zhong Hui knew Wen Jianning's intentions, he couldn't help but be even more depressed after seeing it, and he turned his head to the wall and sulked.

Wen Jianning didn't care about her, and was still busy with herself.

After a while, Zhong Hui silently came to help clean up.

The two of them worked together to pick out the books and pile them on the ground, and Zhong Hui went out the door and found an iron basin to come in.

Wen Jianning glanced at her: "I just want to pack these up, but I didn't say that I want to burn books." According to her plan, she wanted to put the books in a box and bury them under the old pomegranate tree in the yard, so that she could take them out later if she had the chance.

But this time, it was Zhong Hui who insisted: "It's better to burn it, I have everything I should remember." ”

Seeing Zhong Hui's insistence like this, Wen Jianning thought about it for a while, and no longer hesitated. If they were going to bury something in the yard, the movement would not be too small. If they are noticed by someone with a heart, they will still cause trouble in the future, so it is better to simply burn them to the ground.

The two of them threw the paper into the basin and lit it with a match.

The red tongue of fire licked the burnt edges of the page, and soon spread, curling and turning into a pile of ashes.

The two friends watched the papers turn to ashes side by side, looking solemn, as if they were attending a funeral.

The books they bought were just ordinary books on the market, and they wouldn't be too distressed to burn them. But those people in Peking who have a huge collection of books don't know how to spend the next few days.

When the fire had subsided, the two men smashed the paper ashes with sticks, carried the iron basin into the courtyard, dug a pit under the old pomegranate tree, and filled it with earth. Most of the strength work was done by Wen Jianning alone, and Zhong Hui could only help bury it beside him.

When the ashes were buried, the two of them didn't care about their image, so they sat on the mud floor and rested.

It was autumn, and the old pomegranate tree had passed its best time, and there were no fiery red flowers in summer, no heavy and full pomegranates, and the leaves were almost gone, and only the bare trunk was left, reaching out to the roof.

Zhong Hui suddenly sighed: "In ancient times, there were Daiyu burial flowers, and today we have buried ashes under the pomegranate tree." ”

Although it is a different state of mind in different periods, it also makes people feel bleak.

Wen Jianning whispered beside him: "Luohong is not a ruthless thing, turning into spring mud is more protective of flowers, and it will be good to wait for spring." ”

Zhong Hui was a little distracted when she heard this, and saw that Ning's personality seemed to be negative and indifferent, but she never saw her hesitate and be confused in some important matters. On the contrary, it is himself, and if he suffers a little blow, he will be sad.

She smiled self-deprecatingly, and was pulled by Wen Jianning to the back room, and soon stopped thinking about what she had or didn't have.

……

On the second day, when the sister-in-law of the Qi family in the east wing met Wen Jianning in the courtyard, she really asked about the fact that they went to dig a pit under the pomegranate tree last night. They and the Qi family originally just met in the courtyard and nodded and said hello, but since the fall of Beiping and the departure of the little couple in the West Wing, they have taken care of each other these days, and they have become a little close.

Wen Jianning only said that she was playing with Zhong Hui, accidentally burned some books, and buried the ashes under the pomegranate tree.

The sister-in-law of the Qi family seemed to be a little unconvinced, but she still pulled Wen Jianning to talk to her for a long time.

She talked to Wen Jianning today about food.

Since the outbreak of the war, food prices in Peiping have been rising.

At first, the residents of Beiping consciously began to hoard grain, which led to higher and higher grain prices. After he entered the city, the stocks of grain in the major grain stores in Peiping were looted by them, and the price of grain increased several times. But the price of grain is expensive, and what makes people even more resentful is that under the forced intervention of the Japanese army, only the miscellaneous grain noodles distributed by various grain stores are sold in the market. Rice flour has become a luxury, and the occasional half-sack of beans is satisfying.

Originally, they had plenty of money on hand, but after these days, they were a little stretched. What's more, they don't know when they will be able to leave this land of right and wrong, but if they can save a point, it will be a point. Wen Jianning and the two girls who don't eat too much are still like this, not to mention the Qi family who still has two children below.

As she spoke, the sister-in-law of the Qi family couldn't help but turn the topic to the deceased Mrs. Qi.

"Mother, she must have thought that there would be such a day, so she will take the first step. ”

She cried so sadly, Wen Jianning didn't know how to comfort her, so she could only watch from the side.

However, there was no need for her to persuade her, the sister-in-law of the Qi family soon stopped crying, wiped her tears, and asked in a somewhat tentative tone: "Miss Wen, I don't know if you have any surplus food there." ”

Wen Jianning shook his head: "We don't have anything to eat here." ”

The sister-in-law of the Qi family suddenly showed a look of disappointment on her face, but she still reluctantly smiled and asked, "A few days ago, I saw that you bought food from outside and brought it into the house, but you should be careful not to attract mice." ”

Wen Jianning said politely: "I didn't think too much about it at that time, and I didn't buy much food, so I was afraid that the mice wouldn't be able to steal it." ”

After the two finished speaking, they went back to their respective rooms to work.

Wen Jianning thought that this was just gossip and chatted casually, but within two nights, she suddenly heard a noise outside when she was half asleep. Because Zhong Hui has been sick during this time, drinking water in the middle of the night is inevitably taken care of, she has developed a habit of waking up when she hears a little wind blowing grass.

Wen Jianning subconsciously asked in a daze: "Zhong Hui, do you want to get up at night?" I'll help you." ”

However, the room was silent, and there was no sound.

Wen Jianning waited for a while, but still didn't hear Zhong Hui's reply, but there was a rustling sound at the other end of the room.

Her consciousness slowly cleared up, and her heart gradually counted, put on her coat and crept up, quietly opened the door of the cubicle, and found that Zhong Hui had also gotten up from the bed in her nightgown.

The two of them looked at each other by the moonlight outside the house, picked up a stool and a feather duster nearby, and walked softly to the direction of the study together. When they reached the door, they saw through the crack in the door a thin shadow rummaging through the gap in the door.

Wen Jianning coughed heavily, and the small figure suddenly stopped, huddled in the corner with his back to her, and no longer dared to move.

This made Wen Jianning puzzled. She deliberately spoke out, in order to scare away the thieves in the house, so as not to fight between the two sides, after all, she and Zhong Hui are just two girls, in case of a real fight, they may not be thieves' opponents. But I didn't expect this thief to be so unfrightened, and he was so afraid that he didn't dare to move. Could it be that this man is still a thief on the first day?

Zhong Hui on the other side turned on the electric light and found that the thief who sneaked in in the middle of the night was the youngest daughter of the Qi family in the east wing.

Wen Jianning and Zhong Hui glanced at each other and saw the embarrassment in each other's eyes.

Wen Jianning went up first and asked softly, "Erya, it's so late, why are you here." ”

Despite her soft tone, Erya trembled with fear, and muttered, "I—I'm hungry." ”

The two looked at each other again, and came in the middle of the night to steal things, which was really not a trivial matter. But Erya is just a child, and they can't say anything, they just tell her to go back to bed early and not to go to the wrong house next time.

After sending the people away, the two closed the door more tightly, and then went back to the room to discuss the food.

Although Erya's words sounded like they were hungry in the middle of the night, so they accidentally bumped into their house looking for food, but this kind of lie couldn't deceive Wen Jianning and them. Er Ya is also six years old, no matter how dazed she sleeps, it is impossible to run from the east wing to the study in the third room to find food. But if it was said that Er Ya was intent on stealing, Wen Jianning also felt that it was not right.

The sister-in-law of the Qi family is very strict with a pair of children on weekdays, and the second girl is even more well-behaved as a girl, and she never dared to touch their things when she occasionally came to their house to play, why is she suddenly so bold today that she dares to come to their house to steal things.

She remembered the conversation with the sister-in-law of the Qi family two days ago, and hurriedly told Zhong Hui about it.

Zhong Hui thought for a while and said uncertainly: "Is it possible that the adults of his family let the child come?"

Erya is a child after all, and she is still a girl, even if she is caught red-handed by them, they will not really treat her well.

Wen Jianning froze slightly, I have to say that this is not impossible.

But there is no evidence, and there is no way to confirm it with the other party, which is just their speculation.

Zhong Hui didn't have a good impression of the two adults of the Qi family, but he couldn't bear to be for the two children, so he gritted his teeth and said, "Or, why don't we lend them some food?" It's a big deal that I will eat less in the future than let the two children starve." ”

Wen Jianning was silent for a long time, and finally shook his head: "No, we can't borrow this grain for the time being." ”

The two adults of the Qi family will not talk about it for the time being, but the old lady of their family was the one who experienced the Gengzi Incident back then. Since the end of the Qing Dynasty, the people of Lao Beiping have been in turmoil for a long time, and every household will always be a little prepared at this time. If it is said that the other party has no food at all, Wen Jianning does not believe it. But even if there was really none, Wen Jianning didn't dare to borrow it.

The Qi family has four mouths, two children and two adults, but she and Zhong Hui are only two people, where can they afford to borrow. It's not that she's stingy and ruthless, it's just that she and Zhong Hui don't know how long they will stay in Beiping, and they don't know how long the current food embarrassment in the city will last, and every bite of food will maintain her and Zhong Hui's lives.

Although Zhong Hui was not determined to borrow the food of the Qi family, he was still hesitant after listening to her words.

Wen Jianning explained to her: "The days of starvation have just begun, and they can't be exhausted so soon. Now find a reason to borrow a little today and steal a little tomorrow, so that the food in our hands will not last long. If we can't buy new food when we're done eating, we'll only starve to death. At this time, we can only harden our hearts. ”

Zhong Hui looked at her face cautiously and muttered, "That'...... In case the time comes when people are about to starve to death, we can't just watch it. ”

Wen Jianning pursed the corners of his lips: "Saving the emergency or not the poor, let's wait until then." ”

Zhong Hui glanced up at her and stopped talking, as if he had silently agreed, and as if he was silently condemning her.

The room was so quiet that the pins could be heard, except for the sound of the two of them breathing and the burning of oil lamps.

Wen Jianning was also very uncomfortable in his heart.

Since the fall of Beiping, she has never felt that life is so difficult as at this moment. Everything after the fall of Peking has tormented everyone, and she is no exception. Zhong Hui has been sick before, but even if she is not sick, she has no idea at all in this situation, and she can't afford it, and now that the two of them are together, only Wen Jianning herself can really make up her mind when she encounters big and small things. Once she makes the wrong choice, she will only end up hurting two people.

But she had no other way but to ensure their own livelihood first.

The two were silent for a while, Wen Jianning barely cheered up, and continued to tell Zhong Hui: "Don't talk about the Qi family, we can't eat more in the future, it's almost enough to eat five or six minutes full at each meal, and there are some other small things, we should also pay attention to them." ”

She said this deliberately.

First, when everyone has begun to run out of food, they are still eating for nothing, which will only make people hit them with ideas, such as people like the sister-in-law of the Qi family in the East Wing. Second, the soldiers and ronins ran rampant in the city of Beiping, breaking into the homes of the people and looting them when they had nothing to do. These days, Wen Jianning heard that many girls in Beiping City had been insulted by the Japanese and hanged themselves by jumping into the river.

In this case, their youth and cleanliness will only bring them ruin.

Zhong Hui knew that her mind was not as calm and sober as her friend, so she would not easily question Wen Jianning's decision. Since Jianning had already thought about it, she did it. The two agreed on a methodology, which began on the second day.

The first few days were fine, but it didn't take long for Zhong Hui to feel that life was difficult.

(End of chapter)