However, the two sides only chatted for a moment, and then they went their separate ways and left.

When parting, Meng Li invited them to take refuge in the Liao family's apartment, but Wen Jianning refused, firstly, because she still had to go back to settle Aunt Zhou, and secondly, Liao Jingqiu had not yet spoken, so they would not come to the door to disturb without interest.

When they rushed back to the Feng Mansion, Aunt Zhou and the others were sitting in the living room discussing countermeasures, and when they heard that she was back, they hurriedly came out to greet her.

Seeing that she really came back as promised, Aunt Zhou's eyes flashed with a little tear, but she still said, "Oh, Miss Wen, why did you really come back." A few of us old guys are guarding the house, but it doesn't really matter......"

The other aunts were also a little moved, but they didn't expect Wen Jianning to come back to accompany them.

Wen Jianning smiled slightly: "Now that I am also a member of the Feng family, don't say such kind words to me." ”

After that, she and Jianxiu had entered the living room surrounded by everyone.

Although the second uncle is gone, the Feng family still has a few aunts and a large number of servants to resettle.

Wen Jianning had already planned everything on the way back, and after sitting down, he spoke: "I'll call the Repulse Bay Hotel to book a room in a while, and you can take the other aunts to stay there for the time being." If any of the servants are willing to go with you, bring them with them. If not, we will pay them more and let them flee for their lives. ”

Although she is the youngest one present, she has gradually become the person in charge in the Feng Mansion these days, and everyone is used to obeying her orders, even Aunt Zhou, who is in charge of family affairs, although she hesitated, she did not raise any objections at the first time.

Wen Jianning looked at everyone and explained: "The British army is only afraid that they will not be able to hold Hong Kong Island, and if the Japanese army enters the city, we are afraid that it will be difficult for a group of women to hold this place." It's okay to say that things are lost, but the most important thing is to save everyone's lives. The Repulse Bay Hotel was home to a large number of high-ranking British officials and high-ranking people, and even if the Japanese army wanted to go on a killing spree, they would have to be scrupulous there. Aunt Zhou, please explain the benefits and disadvantages to everyone, if anyone is dissatisfied, let them come to me. ”

After everyone heard this, they dispersed one after another, and went to their respective busyes as she said.

Jianxiu asked, "Jianning, is there anything I can do to help?"

Wen Jianning shook his head and smiled at her reluctantly: "There's nothing else, you can go to the Repulse Bay Hotel with them later." ”

Jianxiu was keenly aware of the abnormality in her words: "What about you, where are you going?"

Wen Jianning smiled: "There are still so many antique books and belongings left at home, I want to take inventory and find a good place for them to settle down." When I take care of the Feng Mansion, I'll go and meet you. ”

Seeing Xiu looked at her face carefully, she said, "Okay, I'll stay with you." Don't want to refuse me, even if you want to find a way to transfer the Feng family's collection of books and antiques, you must always have a helper. ”

Wen Jianning opened her mouth, she wanted to persuade her, but her expression was calm and firm, and in the end she still couldn't say anything to refuse.

Half a day later, the entire Feng Mansion had been roughly cleaned up.

Most of the servants were willing to follow their aunts to the Repulse Bay Hotel to wait for the results, only a few of them offered to follow Wen Jianning and them, and none of them were willing to take the money and try to escape on their own. In addition to their own loyalty to the Feng family, these servants also judged the situation more often, knowing that in this time of chaos, it was more likely that they would flee with their masters.

The gold, silver, and most of the deposits were taken to the Repulse Bay Hotel by Aunt Zhou and them, and only a few were left to Wen Jianning and those who had to stay in the Feng Mansion for the time being, just in case.

Before getting in the car and leaving, Aunt Zhou persuaded: "Miss Wen, you should go with us." ”

Wen Jianning said with a smile: "When I take care of the things at home, I will go to meet you immediately, and please take care." ”

Shortly after Aunt Zhou and the others left, Wen Jianning called the Zhong family.

The person who answered the phone happened to be Zhong Hui himself, and their family also failed to escape from Hong Kong Island, and they were also looking around for news.

She also heard about the last flight, but unfortunately although Father Zhong had some connections in the cultural world, he couldn't compare with those dignitaries, so he didn't try his luck at the airport.

Wen Jianning said apologetically: "At that time, the matter was in a hurry, and I couldn't find a way to inform you and my godfather and godmother." ”

Zhong Hui said with relief: "Okay, why do you and I have to say such a thing, don't you yourself be able to get away? It's not the first time we've encountered this kind of thing, if Hong Kong Island really falls this time, let's slowly figure out a way together." ”

But in any case, the current situation is at least much better than when they were trapped in Beiping. Compared with the panicked self back then, the two of them are now much more mature, and they are accompanied by relatives and friends, and they are no longer isolated. Because it was inconvenient to talk in detail on the phone, she asked Jianxiu to stay in the Feng Mansion temporarily, and she went to Zhong's house in person.

Father Zhong went out to inquire about the battle, and the rest of the people were staying at home waiting for him to return. Worried about being affected by the war, Zhong Hui also took Jiang Xuwen's family to settle down at home, and the whole family was complete.

Wen Jianning originally wanted to come to Zhong Hui to say a few words and talk about the current situation, but he didn't expect that it would be dark as soon as he sat down, so he hurriedly got up and said goodbye. Although Zhong Hui kept repeatedly, Wen Jianning still insisted on going back to the Feng Mansion, after all, they were still waiting for her to go back, so Jiang Xuwen and Zhong Hui had to send her to the door together.

When parting, Zhong Hui suddenly sighed lowly: "At this time, it would be nice if Feng Yi could also be there." ”

In her opinion, if Feng Yi was there, Jianning would not be so hard, and everything had to be supported by herself. Now that the war has broken out on Hong Kong Island, the days ahead will only become more and more dangerous, and she has no reliable person to accompany her, and she has to take care of others, how can she rest assured.

Wen Jianning was silent for a moment before he said slowly: "He's not here, it's really good to me." ”

On the way back, she sat alone in the back seat, looking out the window at the receding street.

It was winter, and the long street was a depressed and cold scene, and because of the outbreak of war in the past few days, there were many refugees from other places on the streets, and the streets looked even more dilapidated.

She got out of the car, raised her hand to tuck the collar of her coat for herself, and hurried into the gate with her head down.

The Feng Mansion, where servants used to come and go, was deserted at this time, although it had not been long before everyone had moved away, and there was a faint sense of depression in the entire courtyard. Fortunately, there are still a few warm yellow lights on the small building, so as not to make people

The living room was brightly lit, and only Jianxiu was waiting for her to come back on the sofa.

Seeing Wen Jianning come in, the anxiety on her face turned into a relaxed smile, and she came up to help her take off her coat: "Why did it take so long to come back, I thought something happened to you on the way." ”

After Wen Jianning sat down, he only drank a cup of hot tea, and called everyone who stayed behind to count the remaining supplies.

The Feng family has a deep heritage, even if the treasures in the Hong Kong Island Feng Mansion are only a part of it, it is enough to make people busy for a while. There are too many antiques on the Duobao grid, ancient books in the study and other precious objects in the room, and their inventory work is until midnight, and they see that the embroidery is weak, and they really can't stand it, so Wen Jianning asked everyone to stop and sleep first, and then continue to sort it out tomorrow.

She went back to her room, tossed and turned on the bed without sleep, and simply got up and sat down at the desk, and raised her hand to pull on the lamp. Next to the inkwell was a wad of manuscript paper, on which was "Winter Thunder", which she had just recently written. Originally, I wanted to write about the current situation on Hong Kong Island to remind the public to be wary of the possibility of war at any time.

The manuscript had just begun, and I never thought that this thunder had exploded, and it came with endless slaughter.

Thinking of this, she let out a long sigh.

Next to it was a thick envelope of brown paper, which was the letter she had written to Feng Yi the night before the war began.

Yesterday, when she sent her second uncle to the airport during the day, she was in a hurry, and she didn't remember to bring this letter and let Feng Ling hand it over on her behalf. Therefore, the last words she had people pass on to him were actually hoping that he would forget her a year later.

Wen Jianning slowly lost his strength, and bent down, his forehead resting on the cold edge of the table.

In the dimly lit room, only a lone lamp in the corner was on, and the people at the table were lying in the shadows by the wall, as if they were going to be sculpted.

One year was too short for her to be sure she would be able to escape within that period. All the composure is pretended to be shown to others, and this was the case in Beiping at the beginning, and it is also the case these days.

She was lucky enough to escape, and this time, will she be able to run away?

When she was at the airport, she shouldn't have said that to Feng Ling. If she really wanted Feng Yi to forget her, she shouldn't say something like that, but if she didn't want him to forget her, why say something like that.

I don't know how long it took for Wen Jianning to prop up his body, pull out a new pile of manuscript paper, and write a letter as usual.

During these months, although they were separated, their letters were frequent, and there seemed to be endless words to be said every day. But at this critical juncture, she only felt that her mind was blank, and she didn't know what to write to him for a while. When I held the pen again, I felt that the cold air of the winter night invaded the room from the window at some point, making the tip of the pen in my hand tremble slightly.

Still, she persevered in finishing the letter and putting it in another envelope.

After writing this letter, she opened her diary again, wrote down today's diary, and sandwiched the newspaper clippings of the past few days in it. When she worked as a part-time clerk for the library in Kunming, she already knew the importance of first-hand materials for historical research, and perhaps in a few years, she would no longer be in the world, but these newspapers and the words she wrote might become ironclad evidence for the study of the Japanese war of aggression.

The next day, in addition to inquiring about the battle situation, Wen Jianning and the others continued yesterday's inventory work.

After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, in order to protect the family's remaining collection of books and antiques, the Feng family divided these things into four batches, one batch was buried in the ancestral house in the mainland, two batches were shipped to Chongqing and abroad, and one batch was left in the Feng Mansion on Hong Kong Island.

Wen Jianning followed his second uncle a few days ago and read many precious books. There are unique books handed down from the Tang and Song dynasties, and rare books from the Ming Dynasty. She knew the significance of these precious ancient books, and she didn't want them to fall into the hands of the invaders.

She had originally planned to seal these precious antiquities in the basement of the Feng Mansion to prevent them from being destroyed by the war. But after thinking about it repeatedly, she still felt that it was inappropriate, the basement in the Feng Mansion was not built to be hidden, in case the Japanese army attacked the city, she was afraid that the first thing to be looted was the garden houses in this area.

After inquiry, Zhong Hui helped contact a church, and the nuns there offered to keep the supplies on their behalf. When Wen Jianning heard this, he hurriedly moved with a few other people, and spent a few days one after another to transfer several large boxes of books and antiques to the church at night, sealing them all in a hidden cellar.

Originally, after all this, Wen Jianning should go to the Repulse Bay Hotel to meet Aunt Zhou and them.

But she didn't mean to leave for a long time, but only persuaded Jianxiu to take refuge in Repulse Bay as soon as possible. Seeing that Xiu was suspicious, she wanted to stay in the city alone, so she refused to leave, and after repeated questioning, Wen Jianning confided the truth.

If the Japanese army really captured the entire Hong Kong Island, as long as they gained a firm foothold, they would soon be free to hunt down anti-Japanese people. She, an anti-Japanese writer who has been targeted for a long time, will definitely not be able to escape at that time. She has always refused to go to Repulse Bay with Aunt Zhou and them, in addition to the task of transferring supplies, she is mainly afraid that in case, her identity will directly affect them.

But as soon as she said this, she saw that Xiu was more and more unwilling to leave her alone.

After repeated persuasion to no avail, Wen Jianning could only let her stay. It's just that the two of them have to find a new place to stay.

Shortly after they finished transferring the collection, a cannonball fell into the courtyard of the Feng Mansion. In the past few days, the area has been the hardest hit by the bombing, and they can no longer stay, so they have to find another place to live. It's just that where they want to go is also a thorny question. The Zhong family obviously can't go, she doesn't even want Aunt Zhou and them to be involved, let alone the Zhong Hui family.

Wen Jianning thought about it left and right, and simply asked the nuns of the church if they were willing to take in the two of them.

After hearing Wen Jianning's identity, the elderly nun Theresa happily expressed her willingness to keep them, and arranged a room for them to live in the attic. It's just that the layout inside is really simple, and the attic has been uninhabited for a long time, although it has been cleaned, but there is still a faint musty smell. There were only two single beds, a shared beech table, no electric lights, only candlesticks for lighting.

Wen Jianning said that when he lived in the school building in Kunming, he also came from a hard life, and it can be seen that Xiu has not suffered a little bit in ordinary clothing, food, housing and transportation since he was born. She was only afraid that she would not be comfortable with the embroidery, so she said in a relaxed tone as much as possible: "There are fewer things here, but it also saves us the time to clean." When we went back, we went outside to find some wooden boxes, which could be stacked as wardrobes, desks, and stools, which was very convenient, as was the case when I was in Kunming. ”

Jianxiu was very interested when he heard it: "Then you can tell me about your time in Kunming." ”

(End of chapter)