In the Gao family, in this big mansion, Mingfeng's death and Wan'er's marriage were quickly forgotten, and these two simultaneous events did not have any impact on the Gao family's life. Everyone only knew that there were two maids missing, and the masters immediately bought new ones to replace them, Qixia replaced Mingfeng, and Cuihuan replaced Wan'er, and there was no change in the number of people. (Qixia is a girl who delivers food, and her home is in the countryside.) Cui Huan was the same age as her young lady, Shuying, and was the only relative who died, her father who was later sold. For a short period of time, Mingfeng's name was not mentioned. Only in the hearts of Xi'er, Qian'er, Huang's mother and a few others, the name often evokes a painful memory.

Jue Hui never mentioned Mingfeng's name again, he seemed to have completely forgotten her, but in his heart she still left him with an incurable scar. However, he also did not have time to mourn her, because another incident had happened outside.

Previously, after the sixth issue of the Dawn Weekly was published, rumors circulated outside that the government was going to ban the weekly. Naturally, this news made the general Juehui excited, but they didn't pay much attention to it because they didn't have this kind of experience yet, and they didn't believe that Commander Zhang would let his subordinates do it. The seventh issue of the weekly newspaper was published safely. There has been a new increase in the number of subscribers. The site of the weekly newspaper has also been rented. They rented a shop on the upper floor of the commercial mall, and the members of the club went there freely every night, and it was not open during the day (except Sundays), so even Juexin, who served in the commercial mall, did not know that Juehui often went there.

The main business of the commercial mall is downstairs, and there are only twenty or thirty shops upstairs, and most of the houses are empty. The weekly newspaper office stood alone in the middle of some empty houses. Every day, in the evening, two or three young students come to remove the planks one by one, turn on the electric lights, and tidy up the furniture a little, and after ten minutes the lively party begins. There are not many people who come every night, only six or seven often come, and occasionally there are women, such as Xu Qianru, who has also come twice. They don't have meetings here, but they talk casually, and there is no limit to the topics, they talk about anything, and they talk freely here if it is inconvenient to talk about it at home. They were talking and laughing, and it seemed like their club.

Juehui sometimes came with Juemin. However, he didn't come every night, and Kyawmin came even less. Every Tuesday night, Juehui always goes to the weekly newspaper office, because the weekly newspaper is published on Wednesday morning, and they have to compile the manuscript here on Tuesday night. Zhang Huiru and Huang Cunren both came to see the draft.

On the evening of the eighth issue of the weekly newspaper, that is, the night after Mingfeng's death, Juehui went to the weekly newspaper office as usual. He saw Xu Qianru take a newspaper and read it to a few friends. She read a notice from the National Police Agency prohibiting women from cutting their hair. He had already seen this notice, and he heard that it was drafted by a former Qingxiu. However, as far as the content is concerned, not only is the thinking very shallow, but even the writing is not smooth. So Xu Qianru read a sentence, and everyone laughed.

"I don't know what I'm talking about!" Qianru said, angrily throwing the newspaper on the floor, then sat down on a wicker chair.

"It's better to put it in the 'what' of the eighth issue of the weekly report," Mr. Huang suggested with a smile.

"Good!" Xu Qianru was the first to shout.

Everyone agreed. However, Zhang Huiru also said that he should write an article to refute this notice. This opinion was agreed. Everyone pushed Huang Cunren to write this article, but Huang Cunren pushed it to Juehui again. Jue Hui wanted to find a chance to vent because she was full of complaints in her heart, so she sat down at the desk without refusing. He took a piece of manuscript paper, picked up a pen and wrote.

He first wrote a title, "Reading the Notice of the Police Department Prohibiting Women from Cutting Their Hair", and then continued to write, sometimes holding the pen in his mouth while flipping through the notice. The crowd gathered around the table and stood watching him write. He finished it in no time. The article was not long, he read it by himself, and everyone said that it could be used, and Huang Cunren changed a few more words, and decided to compile it on the first page of the eighth issue of the weekly newspaper. Only Wu Jingshi, an older and more cautious member of the club, once said: "I'm afraid I'll beat the drum this time." ”

"Don't be afraid of it, the louder the better!" Zhang Huiru said excitedly.

The eighth issue of Dawn Weekly was published on Sunday morning. In the afternoon, Juehui and Juemin went to Juexin's office as usual. They sat there for a short time, and Juehui secretly ran to the weekly newspaper office alone. Zhang Huiru, Zhang Huanru, Huang Cunren, and two or three other people were there, and he asked them about the sales of this issue of the weekly newspaper, and they said that it was okay, and they had just asked at one or two agency offices, and it was said that as soon as the newspaper arrived, many people went to buy it.

"Your monthly donation should have been paid," Huang Cunren, who works as an accountant, suddenly said to Juehui with a smile.

"I'll send it to you tomorrow, I don't have any money on me today," Jue Hui replied with an apologetic smile as she touched her pocket.

"It's not okay if you don't send it tomorrow," Huang Cunren said with a smile.

"He's so good at asking for money! I was also forced by him to have no choice," Zhang Huiru interjected, with a smile on his triangular face, and he pointed his finger at Huang Cunren. "I did a funny thing today. When I came out this morning, I found a thin cotton robe made from last year in the box and put it on my body. Wear a cotton robe at this time! What a joke! My sister would probably suspect that I had a nervous disorder. I said I was cold and had to go out in my clothes, and my sister couldn't help me. Haha...... "He made everyone laugh. He smiled and continued, "I walked out of the house in a cotton robe. It's so hot! …… It's so hot. Luckily, the pawnshop wasn't far from my house, so I went in and left my robe there. It was very relaxed and comfortable when I came out, and I had the money to pay the monthly donation. Even if I didn't go home today, I just met him on the road and told him, and he couldn't help laughing," he said and laughed with the crowd.

"Then what are you going to say to your sister when you go back?" Juehui asked suddenly.

"I thought about it a long time ago. He said that he felt hot later and took it off at a friend's house. She wouldn't be suspicious. If you really can't hide it from her, it doesn't matter if you tell the truth. She might pay to get it back for me," Zhang replied proudly.

"I really ......" Jue Hui was about to say "I really admire you", but he stopped after only two words because he saw two policemen walking in.

"Is there any newspaper for this issue?" The bearded policeman asked.

Huang Cunren took a copy of the newspaper and handed it to them, while saying, "Yes, three copper dollars a piece." ”

"We don't buy newspapers, we came on orders from above," the young policeman snapped, "and we'll take the rest of the newspapers with us." He took all the two bunches of newspapers that were left here.

"You're going to have to go with us to the hall, not all of them, just two people," the bearded policeman said gently.

The people looked at each other in astonishment for a moment, and then they all came forward and said that they would go with them.

"That's too much, I said two people would be enough," the bearded policeman said, looking embarrassed, shaking his hand. Later, he pointed out Zhang Huiru and Juehui and asked them to follow him to the hall. Sure enough, they followed the two policemen, and the rest of the people followed.

They had just turned the corner and were about to walk down the stairs when the bearded policeman suddenly turned around and said to Juehui, "Forget it, don't go." Let's go back. ”

What is the reason for this? What reason do you have for confiscating our newspapers? Zhang Huiru asked angrily.

"We were ordered from above," said the young policeman, who had taken the newspaper downstairs, and the bearded policeman who walked behind him replied to them in a gentle voice. He was about to go downstairs when he suddenly stopped, turned back to them, and said, "You young people are not sensible, I advise you to study hard in peace, and not to run a newspaper and meddle in your affairs." With that, he walked slowly downstairs. They also went back to the newspaper office to discuss how to deal with it.

Everyone talked angrily, and each of them put forward different opinions. They talked for a long time and still didn't come to a conclusion. Another policeman came, and he sent an official letter. Zhang Huiru opened the letter and read it aloud in public. The words in the letter are very obvious: "Your newspaper's remarks are too extreme and will greatly hinder the country's social peace and order, so please stop publishing it immediately." ......" is worded with a sense of severity and politeness. Such a ban on newspapers is unique. The life of Dawn Weekly was cut off in this way.

And so came a mournful silence. This letter is a big blow to those who treat and love the weekly newspaper as a newborn. They have a sincere heart and a spirit of sacrifice, and they are eager to do something good. With their naïve experience and shallow vision, they saw the glimmer of light ahead, and they used their weak strength to point out to the average person where that glimmer of light was. Through the weekly report, they got to know the hearts of many equally enthusiastic young people. In friendship, in trust, they also find comfort. But now it's all over. In just eight or nine weeks, it seemed like a strange dream. What a nostalgic dream!

"I only now know that everything new is fake! What Commander Zhang, it's not the same! Zhang Huiru scolded angrily.

"Don't you see that the old forces are still so deeply entrenched in this society?" Huang Cunren stood up, scratched his short hair and said distressedly. "Don't say one Commander Zhang, even ten Commanders Zhang is useless!"

"Anyway, I said his new is a fake!" Zhang Huiru continued, "His so-called new is just to hire a few foreign students as secretarial consultants and ask a few female students to be his little wives." ”

"However, when he was stationed in Waizhou County last year, he also invited some new people to give lectures in Shanghai, Nanjing and other places," Huang Cunren said casually.

"That's enough," Zhang Huiru sneered, "You forgot again, right?" His speech at the welcome party! …… The secretary prepared a draft for him, but I don't know how he just reversed the meaning when he memorized it. Welcome is not welcome, and it is not to make those so-called new characters laugh and angry. There must be a lot of jokes like this! ”

Huang Cunren was silent. There were bigger questions on his mind waiting for him to consider. As for Zhang Huiru, when he said these words, not only did he not help the current big problems, but even his anger could not be alleviated. His heart and mind were still hot, and he felt that there were many, many things to say, so he spoke angrily again:

"I said to change the name immediately, and the content will not change at all, see how they deal with it?"

"Okay, I'm for it!" Juehui, who didn't speak at these times, opened his mouth and agreed.

"But we also have to discuss a proper solution first," Huang Cunren, who was immersed in thought, raised his head and said in a deep voice. This led to a long discussion, and finally reached a final decision.

The final decision was to discontinue the publication of Dawn Weekly, to issue a notice to all subscribers, and to prepare for the launch of a new weekly newspaper. They also decided to turn the current weekly newspaper office into a newspaper reading office, and all the new books and newspapers of the members were displayed here for free reading. It's also a great way to spread a new culture.

After this decision was made, the people were no longer as bitter and angry as before. They've found a way to cope, and they're starting to get on with it right away.

What a beautiful thing to be zealous! It allowed a few young people to overcome all the difficulties in a very short time. The next day, they set up the Liqun Newspaper Reading Office. In two days' time, preparations for the publication of Liqun Weekly were also in place.

There are no classes on Tuesday because the big exams are about to start. Jue Hui and Jue Min went to attend the opening of the Liqun Newspaper Office together, and went home just in time for lunch. This day's life gave Jue Hui a good impression, he had never been moved like this. Laughter, friendship, passion, trust,...... Never before has it been so beautiful. This tea party of more than a dozen young people was simply a gathering of friendly families. But the people of this family are not bound together by blood and property; What binds them is the same good intentions and the same ideals. In this environment, he only felt heart-to-heart contact, and it was all sincerity, completely free from the shackles of interest. He felt that here he was not a stranger, a lonely person. He loves those around him, and he loves those around him. He understands them, and they know him. He trusted them, and they trusted him. At first, he was as enthusiastic as everyone else in arranging everything, but then when it was ready, when the tea party began, he also ate refreshments like everyone else, and shared the joy of the reunion to the fullest. They talked about all sorts of pleasant things. All those dark and painful things seem to be gone at this time.

"If only there were regular gatherings like this!" Juehui excitedly told Juemin that he was almost crying with joy. Juemin nodded movingly.

However, the tea party finally ended. On the way back, Juehui talked to Juemin about various things, and Juehui's heart was still hot. But as soon as he got home and entered the hall, loneliness struck him unexpectedly. It was as if he had landed in a cold abyss, or on an uninhabited desert. There were shadows flickering in front of his eyes, all of them of the old times, and he could barely find a modern person, someone to talk to.

"Lonely! Embarrassing loneliness! Jue Hui sighed bitterly. His distress increased. At lunchtime, he saw traces of distress on the faces of everyone at the table. The stepmother is telling the strategy of the fourth and fifth aunts. In the back, the voice of the fourth aunt scolding Qian'er sounded, and soon the fifth aunt and Aunt Chen's scolding began in the patio. He ate in a hurry, and as soon as he put his chopsticks down, he ran outside, as if something terrible was chasing him after him.

Then Juemin also came out. The two brothers went out for a walk together.

"Let's go to 'Jinling Gaoyu' to have a look, how about it?" Juemin suggested with a smile.

"Okay," Jue Hui replied briefly.

They walked silently down the street, and soon came to that secluded alley.

It was a nice sunny day, the weather was clear and there was not a single cloud in the sky. The moon rose from the treetops, gradually gilding the evening street with a silver hue. There are no voices. On the branches of the trees inside the wall, they cried intermittently. They stepped on their faint shadows, gently moved their steps on the cobblestone road, and walked to the door of the "Jinling High Apartment". The two black-lacquered doors were still tightly closed. They pushed, but there was no movement. So they walked past here, and when they came to the alley, they turned back again. This time they walked under the locust tree, and heard the cry of a bird above, so they stopped and looked up, and it turned out that there was a crow's nest on a big branch of the locust tree, and they seemed to see two little crows raising their heads and crying outside the nest.

This very ordinary scene greatly moved the two young men. The two of them unconsciously leaned closer. The elder brother stretched out his slightly trembling hand to clasp his brother's hand, and said in a mournful voice: "We are like these little crows who have lost their mothers. His tears fell. The younger brother didn't answer, but just squeezed his brother's hand tightly.

Suddenly the crow of a crow sounded above their heads, followed by the sound of flapping wings, and a dark shadow flashed in front of their tears. The crow quickly flew into the nest. The two little crows snuggled up to him affectionately and cried at him, and he lovingly cared for them and bit their mouths. The nest was filled with joyful, harmonious cries.

"They have mothers now," said Kyaw in a bitter voice, and buried his head at his brother standing beside him. Jue Hui's eyes also glistened with tears.

"Let's go back." Juemin said.

"No, let me stand a little longer," Juehui replied, looking up at the crow's nest again.

Suddenly, a flute sound came out of the courtyard, blowing a small tune of acacia. The voice is tactful and mournful, and there seems to be a sorrow in it that has nowhere to confide. In front of their eyes, a scene seems to unfold: a woman leaning on the windowsill looking at the half-round moon, thinking of her lover who traveled far away, and placing her nostalgia in this slender small bamboo tube, making such a moving lament, which contains a mournful love story, which ripples with the sorrow of a lonely existence. This popular folk tune, they are very familiar with it. Because in their mansion there were also people who used to call the blind man who sang in and sang this kind of minor tune in his falsetto. The words are vulgar, but this is the cry of life, and now it is in such an environment.

"Someone's coming!" Juemin suddenly said vigilantly, pulling Juehui to leave. He knew who was coming.

Juehui turned around and saw that it was Keding's sedan chair man who had just turned the corner with the sedan chair and walked towards them from a distance, and Gao Zhong was also running beside him. "Afraid of what he does! We stood with our backs to him and pretended not to see it! Juehui said that he would not leave, and Juemin had to stay there.

Soon the sedan chair passed by their side. They heard Gao Zhong running to call the door, so the door opened, and the footsteps of the palanquin man disappeared into the courtyard. The door was closed again, and the sound of the whistle was suddenly interrupted.

"Go back now," Jue Hui said, turning around.

The two walked slowly, and before they got out of the alley, they saw a sedan chair approaching them. They looked at the palanquin with surprised expressions and walked over. The sedan chair was followed by Ke'an's servant Zhao Sheng, who also ran angrily.

"It's strange, is the fourth father also going there?" They walked out of the alley, Kyaw Min said in surprise.

"Why didn't he go?" Juehui sneered. "Don't you look at him for his good handwriting, and he can make a serious appearance, hasn't he made a lot of jokes at home?" So all kinds of stories about Ke'an appeared in his mind, starting from having an illicit relationship with a maid, until he got Danjiao Zhang Bixiu to come to his house to take pictures in disguise. "They're all the same. I say they're all the same! And yet they still put up the shelves of our elders in front of us, saying that we don't have the politeness of our children and nephews! He said angrily. Only the eldest brother is afraid of them, and only the eldest brother is perfunctory with them. I'm not afraid. ”

"But the eldest brother also has his own difficulties," Juemin explained lightly.

When they returned home, Juemin began to review his homework and prepare for the big exam. Juemin's temperament is like this: he is often optimistic, sometimes forgetful, although there have been unsatisfactory things, but quickly forget, he can spread out the book and put his heart on the book. But this is not the case with Juehui. He was more enthusiastic and impatient than his brother. He also planned to review his homework, but when he spread out the book, his heart became more irritable. The embarrassing loneliness began to torment his heart. Nameless distress also came to surround him. The chair seemed to be on top of the fire, and he could not sit for a moment, so he sighed and closed the book and stood up.

"Where are you going?" Juemin asked with concern.

"It's very annoying to go out for a walk."

"Okay, come back quickly, the big exam is coming up the day after tomorrow, and you should also study your homework well," Juemin said gently.

Jue Hui said yes and walked out of the room and went out into the garden alone.

Entering the garden seemed to have changed realms, and he felt a little calmer in his heart. He walked slowly.

The silvery moonlight shone on the ground, and everywhere there was the mournful cry of crickets. The scent of the night fills the air, weaving a soft net that envelops all the scenery. All the eyes come into contact with is covered with this soft net, not a single plant or tree, it is not as realistic as in the daytime, they all have a vague, empty color, each of which hides its subtleties, and keeps its secrets, making people feel like a dream.

Jue Hui was gradually attracted by these scenes. He calmly admired everything around him, and he became interested in them. He walked along. He walked the old path they took when they swam the lake on the night of the Lantern Festival. But he didn't remember the scene and the companions he was with.

He walked up to the arch bridge, leaned against the railing for a moment, and buried his head to look at the water. A dark shadow of his head appeared on the water. He opened his eyes to see a blue sky in the water, and the half-moon was slowly moving there. Suddenly, unexpectedly, a beautiful face appeared in the water, which he had once cherished so much. His heart began to ache, and he missed her again.

He turned around and did not dare to look at the water again, and he hurried across the bridge.

He crossed the bridge and walked to the meadow, and stumbled upon the boat tied to the willow tree. It also reminded him of the past. He hurriedly avoided it and walked back to the opposite bank from the arch bridge.

He walked slowly along the path by the lake, and after walking through the pine forest, he turned in front of the water pavilion. He wanted to open the door of the water pavilion and go in to rest for a while, but suddenly he saw a fire behind the rockery in front of him. He was taken aback and almost screamed. He stood under the magnolia tree for a moment, quietly looking at the rockery. The flames were still coming out one by one, but not much. How can there be fire in this place at this time? I didn't hear anything! He could not answer this question, so he mustered up the courage and walked lightly to the other side.

Juehui turned around the rockery and didn't see anything. The fire was still behind a rockery diagonally opposite. He walked towards the rockery again, and when he turned the corner, he saw a woman squatting on the ground and burning paper money.

"What are you doing here?" He asked aloud in surprise.

The long-standing girl stood up in surprise, raised her head to look at him, and called out "Third Young Master".

He recognized that this was the girl Qian'er in the fourth room, so he said, "It turned out to be you!" It almost scared the hell out of me! Which money burn paper are you giving to? How did you get here to burn it? ”

"Third Young Master, please don't go out and tell anyone. Our wife knows she's going to scold me again," the girl begged, putting down the paper money in her hand.

"You tell me which money burner you give it to."

Qian'er lowered her head and said, "Today is the first seven of Mingfeng." …… I remembered that she died pitifully, and secretly bought some money paper for her to burn, and it was not in vain to have a good fight with her before her death. …… I just want to know that I won't be met here, how do I know that the third young master is coming! He also said: "Third young master, Mingfeng is also your girl, she has served you for eight or nine years, you can pity her, let me burn some money paper for her, lest she be frozen and starved in the underworld...... Her last words were almost uttered in a cry.

"Well, you don't have to say it to anyone else," he said gently, one hand pressing against his chest, and he felt something prick his heart. He watched silently as she burned paper money, without blinking. She wouldn't have guessed his mood at this time.

"How do you burn it in two piles?" He asked in a sad voice.

"This pile is for Wan'er to burn," she said, pointing.

"Wan'er? She's not dead yet! He said in surprise.

"She told me to burn her. When she got into the sedan chair, she said to me, 'Sooner or later, I'm going to die.' If you don't die, you won't have a good life in the future, and even if you live, it's better to die than to die. You think I'm dead. When you burn paper for Mingfeng, please burn some for me too. Treat me as if I were a dead man. ......'I'm really going to burn paper for her today.' ”

Jue Hui heard this miserable voice, and thought of those two sad stories, could he still laugh at the stupidity of this young girl? He couldn't laugh anyway, and he didn't want to. He struggled for a while before he said with difficulty: "You burn it, burn it well!" He staggered away. He didn't dare look back at her again.

"Why is there so much distress in the world?" He muttered to himself in a half-unconscious as he walked out of the garden stroking his wounded heart.

He walked under the window of Juexin, saw the bright lights, heard the gentle voices, and felt as if he had escaped from another world. He suddenly remembered what the French teacher Deng Mengde said in the lecture hall a few days ago: "French young people don't know how to be sad at your age. However, he, a young Chinese, was already overwhelmed by sorrow at such a young age.