The Japanese army was heavily guarded at the gate of Peking University, and people had to be searched when they entered and exited. Wen Jianning didn't dare to approach, only glanced at the neighborhood for a few times before leaving quickly. However, although she can't go to school, she can ask the surrounding restaurants for news.

It didn't take much effort for her to learn about the school from the shopkeepers.

Less than a week after the occupation of Beiping, the Japanese army marched into the major colleges and universities in Beiping, and the three schools of Peking University, Tsinghua University, and Yan University were the key objects of Japan's care, and each school was guarded by Japanese garrisons, and the property, precious equipment, and books of the teachers and students in the schools were looted, and even a large number of people were arrested.

After the resumption of the railway, it became a serious question whether the teachers and students in the school would remain in the fallen Beiping.

The professors had different opinions on this, some advocated going south to preserve the fire for the anti-Japanese resistance, and some advocated staying in Beiping to preserve their integrity. However, it has become a general trend for more teachers and students to flee from Beiping. However, it is impossible for Japan to watch these people flee in large numbers, and the inspection at the railway station has become more and more stringent, and some students and professors who have access to the road can still escape, but one after another ordinary students have returned in vain.

Worst of all, I am afraid that in the future, the investigation will only become more and more strict.

After Wen Jianning inquired about the news, he went back and told Zhong Hui about the situation.

Zhong Hui lowered his head and listened, and suddenly said, "Jianning, you should also find a way to leave." ”

In the past few days, she has been thinking about how to tell Jianning about this, but she didn't find a suitable opportunity, and now she finally said what was in her heart. By now, she is no longer afraid that she will be trapped here in Beiping, but she is only worried that she will accompany Jianning to continue to endure hardships. Although looking at the current situation, she is afraid that she has become a burden to Jianning.

Wen Jianning was stunned for a moment, and quickly smiled: "What stupid things to say, how can we run away now." ”

At the time when Peking had just fallen, or when a large number of teachers and students had moved away, I hadn't had time to seal the periphery, maybe it was still too late, but now it was not so easy to escape.

Zhong Hui quickly debunked her clumsy excuse: "The little couple in the West Wing are just teachers in primary schools, and they don't have a family background. Since they can all escape, if you go to the school and ask the professors for help, you will definitely be able to leave. ”

Wen Jianning said with a smile: "Those professors are too busy to take care of themselves, how can they care about me as a student who came out of nowhere." Even if they want to transfer students, they will give priority to their own schools. ”

Zhong Hui lowered his head and muttered, "I know that you are refusing to leave because I am still sick, and I will not leave because I can rest assured." But Jianning, you don't have to do that. This time it's not that you waited for me to pack up my textbooks after school in the past, but a life-threatening matter, you listen to me, you hurry up and find a way to leave Beiping, this is not a place for people, the sooner you leave, the better. ”

Wen Jianning put down the basin of water heavily: "Then what do you want, you let me leave you here alone?"

Zhong Hui was ruthless and nodded: "Yes, you go alone, I will figure out my own affairs, and you don't have to worry about it." You don't owe me anything, you can't afford to spend it here with me. ”

Wen Jianning smiled: "Who said I don't owe you anything, if you hadn't helped me escape from Hong Kong with Uncle Zhong, I might have been thrown by her to some old man as a concubine." Zhong Hui, this is what I should do. ”

Zhong Hui choked up and said: "This is different, the risk I took for you at the beginning is not as big as the risk of you staying here and continuing to accompany me." ”

At the beginning, she helped Jianning escape from Hong Kong, although she knew that she might cause trouble for her family, but she also knew very well that her father was also a member of the Wen family, and it was impossible for her to do anything to their family. What she did for Jianning was just a gesture, and now that Beiping has fallen, Jianning still has to stay here to take care of her as a patient, almost putting her entire life here.

"What's the difference," Wen Jianning wrung out the hot towel and wiped the tears from her face as she said, "In my opinion, it's all the same." You don't have to worry about fleeing, I've heard that some schools will organize student transfers privately. It's just that we don't know many people, and we won't be able to find a way for a while, so when you get better, we'll slowly figure out a way together. ”

Her attitude was so resolute that Zhong Hui knew that she couldn't persuade her, and finally stopped mentioning that she was going to leave alone, and could only hope that her condition would improve quickly and stop bothering her friends.

……

After it was determined that they would not be able to leave Beiping in the short term, the real test had just begun.

As the days went by, the Japanese army, led by traitors, deepened their grip on Beiping and further began large-scale searches. It is better to say that it is a search, but in fact, it is better to use the word search. Whether it is the antiques treasured at home or the new gadgets of the moment, they will take away everything that is valuable, and even the house where they live will be occupied.

It can be said that everywhere the Japanese army went, there were crying and grabbing the sky and land, and families were ruined.

Wen Jianning and the others have been worried, and they don't know when the search will come back to them.

At noon that day, Wen Jianning and her family suddenly received news in this alley, saying that they were about to come to their area to search.

When the messenger came, Wen Jianning was choosing vegetables in the yard with his sister-in-law of the Qi family, and when he heard it, he immediately panicked, and hurriedly walked around the yard, and quickly discussed a way.

Zhong Hui, who didn't know anything about it in the house, was still lying on the bed looking at a book of poems, Wen Jianning rushed in from outside the door, pulled her quilt open, put thick clothes on her, and said quickly: "Zhong Hui, listen to me, I am about to come to search." But don't be afraid, for in a moment I will hide you in a pile of coal under the corner of the empty house. ”

Hearing that Ri was coming, Zhong Hui was already scared, his fingers grabbed her sleeve, and he refused to let go: "What about you? Where are you going, where are you hiding? I want to go with you." ”

Wen Jianning comforted her and said, "Don't worry, I will hide on the back slope of the roof with my sister-in-law of the Qi family." ”

Zhong Hui was stunned for a moment before he realized what was going on.

The roof of the courtyard is divided into two slopes, the front slope is facing the courtyard, and the back slope is facing the path between the alleys. In case they were seen on the roof by Japanese soldiers on the road or elsewhere, they would probably be shot and killed before they could even escape.

Zhong Hui said in a panic: "No, it's too dangerous for you to hide there." ”

"It's too late, I won't tell you more. ”

Zhong Hui was so sick that she couldn't exert her strength, and her legs and feet were weak, Wen Jianning simply put one of her arms on her shoulder and helped her get out of bed and come to the utility house behind the courtyard.

The two brothers, Wang Li and Wang Yong, had lived here for a period of time before, but after they left, the house was empty. In the corner of the house against the wall was a pile of coal, which had been hollowed out by the men of the Qi family. The sister-in-law of the Qi family had already let the two children get in, and Wen Jianning also pushed Zhong Hui hard to let her get in, so that she could stay with the two children.

Before covering the sack skin, Wen Jianning repeatedly told Zhong Hui and them: "No matter what sound you hear later, don't make a sound." We're watching you from the side, and we'll be fine. ”

Zhong Hui huddled in the corner with the two children of the Qi family, biting his lower lip and nodding vigorously.

After everyone had entered, the three of them started to build coal outside. It wasn't until the coal pile was like a hill that the human figure could not be seen from the outside, that Wen Jianning poked it in a few times with a branch, and his heart was still bottomless.

She was about to move some more miscellaneous items to cover up, when she suddenly heard someone shouting outside: "I'm here, hide quickly!"

The three of them panicked, hurriedly cleaned up the cinders on the ground, and hid according to the original agreement. The man of the Qi family climbed over the wall first, and ran along the road between the alleys and ran out of nowhere. The sister-in-law of the Qi family and Wen Jianning stepped on the edge of the water tank under the wall and climbed to the roof one after another, Wen Jianning had not done such a thing as climbing high for several years, but at the critical moment, she held the eaves with her hands and feet, and reluctantly followed behind the sister-in-law of the Qi family.

The two of them stepped on the crumbling tiles, leaned against the edge of the roof, and while carefully hiding their figures, they kept adjusting the angle to let them see as much as possible the situation in the yard, in case the two children or Zhong Hui accidentally made a noise in the middle of the way, or the Japanese soldiers wanted to open the coal pile, they could also react in time to lure people away.

Not long after they had climbed up, they heard a loud murmur of footsteps, and a dozen or so men were approaching this way. The heavy leather boots made a dull sound, each of which was like a hard fist pounding on a person's chest, making people gasp.

They are going from house to house slamming doors, shouting in Japanese from time to time, or simply breaking in.

The sister-in-law of the Qi family was about to poke her head out to take a look, when the gate of the courtyard was suddenly kicked open.

She was so frightened that she shrank back, and she didn't dare to take a breath.

Wen Jianning listened carefully to the footsteps, and it seemed that two or three Japanese soldiers had broken in to search.

While they were rummaging through the house, she carefully shifted her body and glanced into the courtyard, and at a glance she saw the Japanese himself in military uniform with a bayonet in his hand. The daylight shone on the bayonet, reflecting a cold, sharp light that dazzled her.

Wen Jianning only felt that beads of sweat appeared on the tip of his nose, and the breath he exhaled was hot. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and she had never been so worried that her heart would beat too loudly, for fear of being discovered by the people below.

In the past few days, the soldiers did not find any trace of them, and they did not seem to have found anything of value in the house, so they walked to the backyard in some disappointment. One of the soldiers even walked near the coal pile, which made Wen Jianning's heart pound.

Fortunately, the Japanese soldier just stabbed his bayonet into the coal pile a few times, and then walked away without much interest.

Although the Japanese soldiers were gone, they did not dare to go down for a while, for fear that they would turn around and come back.

The two of them stayed on the roof and didn't dare to move, nor did they dare to speak, so they could only wait for the time to pass by minute by second. Until a long time later, the man of the Qi family came back, pushed open the door and shouted to the roof: "Come out quickly, the sun outside has already left." ”

They came down from the roof and scrambled to pick up the coal.

Fortunately, the soldier's bayonet did not pierce the coal pile, and the big and small ones huddled in it unharmed, but their faces were stained with soot, and their eyes were full of tears, and when they came out, they cried and pounced on them.

The two children hugged the thighs of the sister-in-law of the Qi family, and Zhong Hui hugged Wen Jianning tightly and refused to let go.

As soon as she got out of the coal pile and returned to the house to close the door, Zhong Hui cried and threw herself into her arms: "Jianning, don't leave me alone next time, I was so afraid that something would happen to you just now." If anything happens to you, I'm alone. ”

She has never left her parents since she was a child, and she has never suffered this kind of hardship. Now the only person she can rely on is Wen Jianning, and the two of them are hiding separately, she hid in the coal pile without saying a word, and the fear in her heart can be imagined.

Wen Jianning also hugged her tightly, and also choked up: "It won't be in the future, it won't be." ”

Don't say that Zhong Hui was afraid, and when she was lying on the back slope, she couldn't stop regretting it in her heart.

How could she let Zhong Hui hide alone in the coal pile, in case the soldier's bayonet accidentally poked her body, in case those children were afraid to make a noise, her so-called kindness would hurt Zhong Hui instead. What's more, in the now fallen city of Beiping, the only person she and Zhong Hui trust the most is each other. Rather than being separated from the bullet by a bayonet, it is better for two people to die together.

The two friends cried for a long time, and Wen Jianning wiped away the tears on his face and went to fetch water to wash their faces.

Zhong Hui was a little frightened by Fang Cai's search, and his forehead was a little hot.

Wen Jianning saw that she had taken the medicine and fell asleep, so she sat on the edge of her bed, planning for the future of the two of them.

Today, my own search dispelled the last trace of luck in her heart.

Zhong Hui's illness will get better sooner or later, Beiping is not a place to stay for a long time, and they will have to leave sooner or later.

But the further it drags on, the tighter the control of the surrounding areas of Beiping, the more difficult it is to get out of the city. But when the time comes, how can they break through the locks and go to a safe place?

(End of chapter)