After five days of waiting, the second phase of registration mentioned by the officials of the Huangpu Military Academy Preparatory Committee was not implemented, and it was not until the seventh day, that is, April 1, that an announcement was posted on the bulletin board in front of the preparatory office:

The first phase of the Huangpu Military Academy's enrollment work is being carried out in an intense and orderly manner, and the list will be announced on 28 April, and the second phase of enrollment will be postponed, and the application date is set for 1 May. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

The candidates were helpless about this, some took refuge in relatives and friends and waited patiently, some returned home in disappointment, and some spent all their money and coiled up, and lived in groups of low-end hotels with poor and crowded conditions, and had to go to No. 2 Nandi Road every day to inquire about the news, and then ask everywhere where they could work part-time to earn food expenses.

In the face of such a reality, the lonely Zheng Yi was helpless, and the repeated setbacks did not shake his confidence, let alone that he was plotted by others, and after thinking about it, he could only blame himself for not getting the recommendation of the party-state veteran or a real power figure, but in such a situation, where did he go to get a crucial recommendation?

Zheng Yi did not want to emulate Hu Zongnan, so he did not hesitate to ask the hotel owner about Mr. Liao Zhongkai and the rest of the members of the Preparatory Committee of the Military Academy.

Late at night, Zheng Yi, who was depressed in his heart, put down the "Theory of War" in his hand, tightened the cap of the Parker fountain pen, took out a Swiss pocket watch with a sterling silver chain in his jacket pocket, looked at the time to change his shoes and went out, and came to the familiar snack stall by the river to sit down.

Because he spent sixty-four yuan to buy this exquisite antique pocket watch with infinite appreciation, he regretted it for the past two days, and he didn't dare to eat dinner, so he could only come to a cheap familiar stall late at night to fill his stomach, which was considered to be dinner and supper together.

"Tonight's rice shrimp and snails are very fresh, let's fry a plate of river fresh leek rice for you, and give you a bowl of bone soup for boiling fish balls, and you won't be charged any money."

The little boss's name is Su Minde, and he is already familiar with Zheng Yi, he is two years older than Zheng Yi, but he has a pair of babbling children, plus his parents and three younger siblings can't survive in the countryside of northern Guangdong, and the family runs to him, and life is very difficult.

Ade, who was hard-working and hard-working, worked as a partner in a trading house during the day, slept for four hours after dinner, and then ran with his wife to the night snack stall by the river embankment to change his parents and go back to sleep, and worked until dawn before closing the stall and going home, and then hurriedly washed and changed his clothes and rushed to work in the trading house.

There are usually no guests close to midnight, and a large number of off-duty boatmen and workers from several shipyards around Baietan, so after Ade fried a large dish of river fresh fried rice for Zheng Yi, there was still time to sit down and chat together.

"My wife came over with a bowl of soup and added a plate of spiced peanuts."

After Ade finished speaking, he suddenly conjured up a bottle of unpackaged rice wine, and placed two rough small porcelain cups: "Please have a drink, my old bean's self-brewed rice wine is very smooth." ”

Zheng Yi slowly put down his chopsticks: "I see me every night, I don't eat much and you add ingredients for free, when I speak, I speak Chinese, you speak Cantonese, in the local dialect is purely chicken and duck, you don't bother me?" ”

Adeha laughed, and after laughing, he sent a glass of wine to Zheng Yi: "Actually, I like your character very much, you don't talk much and are very real, I used to think that northerners were rude and difficult to deal with, but I knew that I made a mistake when I got acquainted with you......"

"Also, I was surprised when I saw you the night before yesterday, he will look at the face, very accurate, he told me early this morning, saying that Zheng Sheng you will be rich and rich in the future, so I don't dare to snub you, haha!"

"Why are you looking at me with such strange eyes? Don't believe it, my old bean looks really accurate, come on, drink! ”

Zheng Yi was happy, raised the wine glass to the end, exhaled and put down the wine glass: "Thank you!" One day I am really developed, I will definitely fry a plate of river fresh leek rice and invite Brother Ade to taste. ”

Not only did Ade laugh at this time, but Ade's wife behind the stall also laughed non-stop.

After three cups, Ade gave Zheng Yi a few peanuts with a spoon: "Take your time, let's talk while drinking, my wife cooked it, this is the only one, haha!" By the way, I saw you running before dawn these days, is it that the registration qualifications have been completed, and you have exercised in advance? ”

Zheng Yi shook his head: "No, I don't know any of those big people, and I can't let go of my face to ask others, it is estimated that it will be difficult to get recommendations no matter how hard I work, I have thought a lot in the past two days, and I feel that I thought about things too simple before, and I don't know if it is too passive to wait so long?" If you spend all your money and still end up being turned away, it will be bad if you don't even qualify for the exam. ”

Ade poured a glass of wine for Zheng Yi, and didn't know how to comfort Zheng Yi, but after thinking about it, he still had the courage to say:

"Actually, I don't think this newly opened Whampoa Military Academy is good, in the past two months, our merchants in Guangzhou have donated a lot of money, even a small person like me has donated an ocean, I heard that the overseas Chinese over there in Nanyang donated more, I heard our boss say that in order to open the Whampoa Military Academy, the money donated at home and abroad adds up to at least five million oceans, but until now the school building of the military academy has not been repaired, and the Generalissimo's Office and the municipal government continue to call on Guangzhou businessmen and people to donate money for the military academy, alas! It feels like the warlords from other provinces who occupied Guangzhou, and the world is as black as a crow. ”

Zheng Yi was quite surprised, and when he thought about it, he was relieved, looking at the development process of the Kuomintang Party, from beginning to end, there is no one who is not greedy or corrupt, and I am afraid that it will be a hundred times more powerful in the future.

"What? You don't believe my words? Ade asked.

Zheng Yi replied very seriously: "I believe your words, the eyes of the people are bright, and whoever is good and bad can see it in their eyes and keep it in their hearts!" ”

"It's just that I want to correct you, the opening of the Whampoa Military Academy is of great significance, in any case, this is China's first military academy with advanced ideas, with a large number of teachers and students who are willing to sacrifice for the country and the people, these people are different from those hypocrites at the top of the Kuomintang Party, they really put the interests of the country and the nation in their hearts, it can be said that the newly opened Whampoa Military Academy pins the hopes of countless people, otherwise there will not be so many enthusiastic young people gathered from all over the country, so it can't be because some high-ranking officials in the Generalissimo's Mansion and the city government are greedy and corrupt, If you are involved in the military academy, isn't it because you have hope that people live? ”

Ade stared at Zheng Yi as if he didn't understand, and only after a while did he burst out of his sentence: "I don't understand the big truth, if you haven't been able to get the exam qualification, will you continue to wait?" ”

"Yes, I will continue to fight for it, at least until May 1st." Zheng Yi replied solemnly.

"What if those people in the Preparatory Committee of the Military Academy still reject you, are you still waiting?" Ade asked.

Zheng Yi motioned for him to raise his wine glass, and after touching it, he drank it in one gulp: "If that's the case, I can only leave, but I will not give up my ideals, and I don't want to spend this life in obscurity." ”

Ade nodded admiringly: "You will definitely succeed, I believe in my own vision." ”

Zheng Yi laughed: "Thank you for your encouragement, Brother Ade, and thank you for the wine." ”

Ade grinned: "We don't drink rush wine, you eat some food to fill your stomach first, and when it's over, we'll drink slowly, and I'll be busy for at least half an hour." ”

Zheng Yi nodded and picked up the fried rice and ate it slowly: "Well, it's so fragrant!" It's very fresh and delicious, and this craft can be used to open a hotel. ”

Ade was very happy, grabbed a peanut and threw it into his mouth: "Zheng Sheng, do you know English?" ”

Zheng Yi replied truthfully: "I grew up in a church school run by the British, and I only graduated last year, and I have studied English for ten years, and I feel that my English is not bad. ”

Ade was surprised: "Then why are you still applying for the military academy..... Uh, no, no! I mean, aren't you worried about running out of money? In that case, why not go to Shamian & Co. to give it a try? The bulletin board and newspaper in Xiguan Qiaotou have recruitment notices for major foreign banks in the past few days, the monthly salary is very high, and the lowest technician has 60 oceans per month, if you can become a supervisor, it will be even higher, at least 90 oceans per month, and there will be dividends at the end of the year. ”

Zheng Yi nodded: "I also saw it in the newspaper, and the foreign companies in Shanghai are the same, if I can't get the qualification for the Whampoa Military Academy in the end, I will go back to Shanghai to find something to do, at least fill my stomach before I can talk about my ideals, right?" ”

"Zheng Sheng, you are a real person, I like to make friends with people like you." Ade smiled heartily.

"Then don't call me Zheng Sheng, call me Zheng Yi or junior brother, I would have called you Brother Ade a long time ago."

Zheng Yi grabbed the wine bottle and filled a glass for Ade, which moved Ade.

Starting the next day, Zheng Yi, who had a tenacious personality, carefully calculated the remaining oceans and felt that he could survive for a month, so he did not leave the Haizhu Hotel, which consumed a piece of five oceans every day, and got up and ran every day at dawn, ran to the Huangpu Military Academy Preparatory Office five miles to the east and then turned back, and then practiced boxing in a sparsely populated place by the river, returned to the hotel on time at seven o'clock, took a shower and changed into decent clothes, and went to the front to enjoy free morning tea.

After breakfast, go out immediately, walk on the bustling streets of Guangzhou, understand the local people and the current situation, buy the military books you are interested in, eat some snacks on the street at noon, drink a cup of herbal tea, return to the hotel room on time at two o'clock in the afternoon, first read the newspaper that the hotel gives away for free, and then open the book to study hungrily, write out the experience and perception in combination with the relevant knowledge in the memory, go to Ade's stall on time at eleven o'clock in the middle of the night for dinner, and talk about it happily.

On 28 April, the Preparatory Committee of the Whampoa Military Academy finally released the list, and 340 students who were taking the current exam and 116 students who were preparing for the exam were on the list, becoming the enviable students of the first phase of Whampoa, and the other 700 candidates were all unsuccessful, and nearly half of them insisted on staying and waiting for 1 May to continue to apply for the second phase of the Whampoa examination.

Zheng Yi stared blankly at the familiar names on the bulletin board, his heart was full of mixed feelings, extremely lost, and he couldn't read the book when he returned to the hotel room, staring blankly at the white ceiling and thinking hard.

At eight o'clock in the morning of May 1, Zheng Yi brought his resume and graduation certificate to No. 2 Nandi Road again to queue up for registration.

To Zheng Yi's great surprise, when the female officer took Zheng Yi's graduation certificate and resume, she raised her head and stared at Zheng Yi in shock, and only after a while did she transfer the resume and graduation certificate to the male officer next to her.

The male officer glanced at the name on the graduation certificate, immediately pushed the graduation certificate and resume out of the window, and told Zheng Yi with a calm face with a black face: "You don't use it, you don't meet our enrollment conditions." ”

Zheng Yi took a deep breath: "Sir, as far as I know for more than a month, there are many people who have obtained the qualification to apply for the examination without a letter of recommendation, many of them are not necessarily better than me, at least my graduation certificate and knowledge level are enough, why did you reject me without even looking at my resume?" Can you tell me why? ”

"I don't need to explain to you, unqualified is unqualified, get out of here immediately, don't get in the way of our work!" The young officer replied stiffly.

Zheng Yi could no longer suppress his anger, looked left and right, strode to the bulletin board on the left, and jumped to the long table that was placed alone.

The officer who maintained order immediately ran over, holding the pistol on his waist with one hand, and pointed at Zheng Yi with the other and shouted: "Come down!" ”

Zheng Yi was furious, and stared coldly at the officer who was full of expression: "If you have the fucking ability, shoot at Lao Tzu, come on!" Don't dare, do you? Let me say a few words, if a revolutionary is afraid of what others say, he is not a real revolutionary, but a hypocrite, a reactionary warlord in the garb of a revolutionary! ”