That year, the plague swept through the entire city of Beiping, and all students in Qiantang Town were forcibly isolated in classrooms, and parents were not allowed to send any supplies to avoid infection.

At that time, everyone ate and lived together, and I didn't know what was going on outside, and some of the children were homesick, but their classmates were all around, and they didn't cry.

At night, while everyone was asleep, three figures quietly slipped out from the back of the classroom, and I followed out of the classroom, Jiang Sheng saw me coming, and whispered: "Jiang Rong, don't come with me, Xiao Wu and I will go back to Tunzi to see what happened, and we will rush back by tomorrow morning." ”

"Yes, Jiang Rong, don't come with me, this one is tired and tired for more than 20 miles, there is the sea to accompany you at school, and we can take care of each other if there is anything outside." Xiao Wu said.

I pouted, a little reluctant, Jiang Sheng touched my head and said, "Go back to sleep quickly, I'll bring you buns to eat tomorrow." ”

"Hmm!" I nodded obediently. "Brother, come back early, Mr. will be strict, and he will beat you when it's late."

Jiang Sheng responded, and ran to the wall with Xiao Wu, the two went up to the wall first, and then pulled Wang Hu to the wall, Jiang Sheng waved to me before jumping down and asked me to go back.

Wang Hu's house was very close to the school, so the three of them went to Wang Hu's house first.

When the three of them walked to the street of Qiantang Town, the bright moon was shining, the streets were empty, some people's shops were hung with white lanterns, and the ground was full of paper money and paper horses.

"Shouldn't all the shops be closed at this point, why are there no people?" Wang Hu was a little frightened and looked at the dark alley.

"Let's go to your house first, Wang Hu." Jiang Sheng said.

Wang Hu nodded, and led Jiang Sheng and Xiao Wu towards the house, the doors of the surrounding houses were closed, and occasionally I saw the people with the doors open, and there were mourning halls inside, for the white candles to be lit on the table.

Wang Hu knocked on the door of his house in fright, and the lights were soon lit up in the door, Wang Hu's father and mother went out to check, and saw Wang Hu, Jiang Sheng and Xiao Wu standing at the door, looking suspicious, and asked, "Huzi, why did you come back at this time?" ”

Wang Hu said: "My classmates and I sneaked out, and Mr. Zhang locked us up in school for a week, why didn't you come to see me?" ”

Wang Hu's father looked at our faces by the light, and then led us in, he said: "Now that the plague has broken out, the whole city is on alert, everyone must be quarantined, the school should be the only place that has not been infected, and all the police forces in Beiping City have been dispatched to search for the infected homeless, and I don't know how many people have died." ”

"The plague?" Jiang Sheng frowned and asked, "Isn't the plague already treatable, why are there still dead people?" ”

Wang Hu's father said: "How can the plague be so easy to treat? Even people who have been vaccinated against plague may not survive if they are infected, it is now the period of the civil war, the medicine in the pharmacy pharmacy is almost sold out, even the medicine in the Western medicine clinic has been used up, the well water and river water are full of dead rats, and I don't know how many people have died outside, and now the whole city is exterminating rats and fleas, since you are out, don't go back, our house is safe. ”

"I was vaccinated against smallpox and plague when I was a child, and I have to go back to Sanlitun to see it." Jiang Sheng said.

"Sanlitun?" Wang Hu's father was puzzled. "The surrounding villages seem to be locked down, and I heard that a rat fell into the well shared by one village, and the whole village was gone......"

Jiang Sheng heard Wang Hu's father say this, turned around and ran out, Xiao Wu followed Jiang Sheng, the two ran for a long time, sweating profusely, Xiao Wu watched Jiang Sheng's figure get farther and farther away from him in the night, panting and shouting: "Jiang Sheng, wait for me!" ”

Jiang Sheng stopped and walked with Xiao Wu to Tunzi, the two of them were silent, and they were still standing far away when they saw the bright light coming from Sanlitun.

At the entrance of Tunzikou in Sanlitun, two villagers were guarding, and when they saw Jiang Sheng and Xiao Wu coming back, they hurriedly got up and stopped them.

"Jiang Sheng, Xiao Wu, why did you run back from school in the middle of the night?" One of the villagers asked.

Jiang Sheng looked at an independent courtyard in the tunzi, where several military vehicles were parked and brightly lit, and Jiang Sheng asked, "What's wrong with my family?" ”

The villager said: "Our people in Sanlitun were quarantined in time, and the rat fleas were eliminated thoroughly, and no one was infected, but Lao Jiang was ...... when he went to the town to see a doctor."

Jiang Sheng didn't listen to the villagers' words and ran to the courtyard where Lao Jiang lived, and the courtyard was full of flowers and plants that Lao Jiang usually planted, and at this time, several military vehicles and police station cars were parked at the door.

Lao Jiang's courtyard was full of town leaders, Jiang Sheng squeezed into the crowd, and saw Lao Jiang lying on the hospital bed from a distance, with two medical staff next to him, his mother standing beside him, and me standing in front of the bed.

An hour ago, not long after Jiang Sheng and Xiao Wu sneaked out of the school, a military vehicle came into the school, Mr. Zhang turned on the lights, and let Jiang Sheng and I get on the military car and go back to see Lao Jiang for the last time, Jiang Sheng was not there, so I was the only one who was picked up.

Lao Jiang as a military doctor of the national army during the Anti-Japanese War, I don't know how many lives he saved on the battlefield, after he returned to Beiping City, although he was arranged a dispensable position, but his status in the army is extremely high. Because he was proficient in medical skills, often treated the family members of the leaders, got along with all the leaders, and never offended anyone, Lao Jiang was treated differently after being infected with the plague and reported to the Beiping City Military Region Center.

The medical staff of the plague prevention and control center injected Lao Jiang with the vaccine and used the best medicine, but Lao Jiang's condition did not improve, he had pulmonary plague, he was older, and he had experienced war, his health was not as good as before, he had heart failure that night, his skin was black, and the pulmonary plague was the most terrible black death of the plague species.

Lao Jiang's wish before his death was to return to Sanlitun and see the land where he grew up, as well as his granddaughter and grandson.

Lao Jiang was lying on the bed, barely opening his eyes, and when he saw me standing beside his mother with a frightened face, he asked weakly: "Jiang Sheng, why are you alone, girl?" ”

"My brother didn't come back." I whispered.

Mother said: "Jiang Sheng and Xiao Wu ran out of school ahead of time, they should still be on the way back, you can hold on for a while, Dad." ”

"No need." Lao Jiang's eyes were depressed, and his entire skin was purple-black, which looked particularly scary. "Actually, I know the date of my death, but I didn't expect to be infected with the plague, I went to the town at the beginning of this year to find Wu Daochang to calculate a hexagram, he said that in a few years there will be a famine in the world, and then Beiping City will be full of floating corpses, and our family will starve to death."

The mother wiped her tears and said: "You can't believe all the words of fortune telling, even if I starve to death, I won't let the two children go without food, so you can leave with confidence." ”

Lao Jiang said: "No, you can't die, if you want to die, you have to wait for the child to grow up before dying, I just want you to remember, the last bite of food must be given to Jiang Rong, I love Jiang Sheng again, he is not the seed of our Jiang family." ”

Lao Jiang said, suddenly grabbed his mother's hand, and asked fiercely: "Remember, if it is Jiang Rong who dies, you are the sinner of the Jiang family!" ”

Mother saw Lao Jiang's eyes widen and his face was hideous, she nodded, and said with tears in her eyes: "I remember." ”

Lao Jiang let go of his hand and gradually fell silent, and the medical staff next to him stepped forward to check, and then nodded to the leader at the door.

Several soldiers took off their military caps and saluted Lao Jiang.

They didn't notice Jiang Sheng, who was standing at the door, with a pale face, turned around and ran into the darkness, running towards the northern slope behind Sanlitun.

I vaguely heard Xiao Wu calling Jiang Sheng's name, and he ran out after Jiang Sheng.

Xiao Wu is Jiang Sheng's best friend, the two usually talk about everything, and Jiang Sheng has talked about Lao Jiang's good in front of Xiao Wu more than once.

Lao Jiang is used to Jiang Sheng, even better than his own granddaughter, he holds Jiang Sheng in the palm of his hand and carries it on his shoulder.

Jiang Sheng had never met his grandfather, Chen Zhimei, the governor of Guangxi, and even his father Chen Gongbo always had a sad face and was not close to him.

Back then, his father Jiang Zhengyang made a bet with Jiang Sheng, saying that after Jiang Sheng came to Sanlitun, it was only worth 500 oceans, and it was impossible to ask for another 500 oceans, Jiang Sheng didn't believe it, and he lost.

Chen Gongbo is romantic, his genuine wife is called Li Lizhuang, she talks elegantly, looks dignified, and is a talented woman of the country, not comparable to a rural woman like her mother Zhang Xiumei. Chen Gongbo had already distributed his property to the rest of his children before he fled overseas, and before he died, he wrote several letters in prison and sent them to his children, but not to Jiang Sheng.

When Chen Gongbo's body was sent back to the Shanghai Cemetery for burial, all the children were there, but Jiang Sheng was the only one.

Jiang Sheng pretended not to know anything, and never mentioned it to anyone, he was a person who would swallow grievances into his stomach.

He didn't even mention Uncle Li, who was used to him as a little master, and no longer mentioned his wet nurse. Jiang Sheng will show off to Xiao Wu like other children show off things, Lao Jiang took him to the Yangchun noodle restaurant in Beiping City to eat Yangchun noodles, if he wants to add beef, Lao Jiang will add it to him, he wants to wear Tang costumes, and Lao Jiang will buy it for him.

"Jiang Sheng." Xiao Wu caught up with Jiang Sheng and shouted Jiang Sheng's name.

Jiang Sheng's shoulders shrugged and he couldn't cry, he suddenly squatted on the grass with his head covered, and beat his head like crazy.