One

During the Spring Festival of 1943, the organization called Qingyuan and his uncle to take a few pigs, dozens of chickens, and cabbage vermicelli to the "friendly army" defense area to offer condolences.

Because of poverty, there have always been three kinds of people in this area: bandits, soldiers, and refugees. Many people fled from their hometowns to Guanwai, and when they could not find another way to make a living, they joined the warlords as soldiers. After a few years of being a soldier, I didn't get up, but I learned to use a gun and a knife, and I contacted some friends who were soldiers, once they were defeated by another warlord, they pulled up the mountain to be bandits, these people returned to their hometowns, and they couldn't break the autumn harvest after a temporary pole, and went to Jiaodong and other rich counties to rob him twice, and went home to spend a fat year. When spring begins, he wraps his gun in oilcloth and buries it behind the house, and drives the cattle to plant his wheat. As soon as the "77 Incident" began, the Kuomintang Central Army ran away, and before the Japanese soldiers arrived, it was like dog urine moss after rain, and dozens of "regiments" were pulled up in a few neighboring counties. More than a dozen people with seven or eight guns are also called "regiments", and the leader is self-proclaimed "commander". What "black half a day", "Sanjiang is good", "fat arhat" is noisy and noisy, and the miasma is smoky. "Killing the rich and helping the poor", "resisting Japan and protecting the people", "doing the right thing for heaven", "guarding the land and defending the home", and carrying any flag. In fact, there are also people who kill people and sell goods, there are also prostitutes and gamblers, and there are also people who sit on the ground to collect taxes. They also had friction and annexation between them for three days. Later the Japanese army came. Defeated a batch, surrendered a batch, and ran south. Later, the Eighth Route Army arrived. Eliminate a batch, incorporate a batch, and finally leave the "Eight Kings" one.

The surname of the eight kings is Bian, and they are called Bian Yuanyuan. He is a native of the north of P County. The family used to be a medium-sized family. So he went to school for a few years and finished his elementary school. His mother died early, and his stepmother was a gangster, and she went back and forth with a cattle trader in the village. When Bian Yuanyuan was living in the city and going to school, his father fell ill. The stepmother discussed with the cattle dealer and took advantage of the situation to put red alum in his father's bowl and turned the old man to death. The people of their own tribe went to the city to send a letter to Bian Yuanyuan, asking him to go home for the funeral. He didn't go home, and stomped his feet to become Zhang Dashuai's guard. Zhang Zongchang came back in Jinan that year. At this time, the stepmother had officially married the cattle dealer with the family property. He found a small shop and stayed first. In the middle of the night, he returned to the village and jumped over the wall into the cattle dealer's house. Without saying a word, he took out the box and shot the panting one, killed the cattle dealer's family of five in one go, and then set fire to the house, and flew away from then on. After the "77 Incident", he ran back from nowhere and pulled up a regiment. It is called "Bian Yijun".

Under the banner of "defending the land and reassuring the people," the "Bian First Army" set up camp in the west of P County. After several ups and downs, by 1943 it had expanded to more than 300 guns. Bian Yuanyuan can hold on to the situation in this chaotic situation, and he has his own set of methods. The first is that he really resisted Japan. The Japanese army pulled out a brigade to go to Dongxiang to sweep and fight the Eighth Route Army, and he concentrated to attack the strongholds on the edge of the city and burn the warehouses at the station. Some of the puppet army also wanted to resist Japan, but they couldn't stand the hard and poor life of the Eighth Route Army. Bian Yuanyuan wooed, rebelled, and absorbed them into the shares. The second is to reassure the people according to his "policy". His "policy" was that rabbits did not eat the grass around the nest. Every year, he went to Jiaodong and Hebei to rob him twice, and tied up a few big tickets to raise military salaries. In his hometown, in addition to collecting grain and grass, extorting the necks of the rich to ask for "anti-Japanese money", and collecting "road expenses" from passing merchants, he was able to do not steal or rob the poor and small people, and bought and sold them publicly. Naturally, this is also relatively speaking, and there is an essential difference from the "Eighth Route Army". The third is that he has also engaged in a "united front". Whether it is the Central Army or the Eighth Route Army, as long as he does not fight him, he will never provoke. If these teams pass near his area, they must be contacted in advance. Once he was ventilated, he placed wine and meat on the side of the road, baskets of eggs and bags of steamed buns. Even the red envelope was filled with condolence money and handed over to the official who led the team. But you will never be allowed to step into his borders. Two hundred paces away, the condolences were equipped with a skirmish line, the bow was wound, the knife was unsheathed, and the muzzle of the machine gun was aimed at the passing guests.

He doesn't occupy much territory and has little energy. The Japanese devoted their main energies to dealing with the Eighth Route Army. The Central Army has withdrawn to Luzhong and Luxi, and can only restrain him and cannot attack him, while we have implemented a united front policy against the Japanese forces, so he has room to live.

In 1942, the Japanese army also sent a force to sweep him away. He didn't have time to transfer, so he had to fight on the edge of the reed pond. The casualties were significant. He hung up the lottery himself. The Japanese saw that he did not have many guns left, so they stopped the fire and sent people in to persuade him to surrender, promising to give him the position of commander of the Imperial Association. He killed the man who had come from him, hung his head around the horse's neck, poured a bottle of gun oil on the horse's buttocks, and set it on fire. The horse was startled and ran out of the reed pond. This trick naturally frightened the Japanese devils, but it also caused a fire in the reed pond. Just as he was in a desperate situation, a team of Eighth Route Army soldiers was passing nearby. Knowing this, they thought that they should fight the enemy together. Just fire from behind the Japanese troops. and sent someone to bypass the line of fire and pick up the eight kings, and the captain of the martial arts team was Song Guibin.

After the eight kings escaped, they reorganized their teams. Song Guibin was wounded in the leg in a battle and was captured by the Japanese army. The Japanese used a lot of punishments, but Song Guibin didn't have any chickens. No matter how much the Eighth Route Army tried, they couldn't rescue him. He sent someone to contact the Eight Kings and asked him if he had any way, and the Eight Kings said, "If you don't repay your kindness, you are not a gentleman!" Lao Song's life is wrapped in me. "His approach is also very simple. It's just that when the puppet county magistrate went to the provincial capital to do business, he sent a few neat brothers into the city and jumped over the wall to enter the county magistrate's house, and used the method of kidnapping tickets to gag the old lady and the eldest lady of the puppet county magistrate, tie their hands, put them in grain pockets and push them out of the city in a small car. Two days later, someone was sent to the puppet county magistrate to send an ear with a gold ring and a thumb with a jade spotted finger. attached a letter: "If you don't let Song Guibin go within seven days, you will be given your old and young heads." "I don't know what method the pseudo county magistrate used, anyway, he sent someone to send Song Guibin out in the first five days.

Because of this karma, Song Guibin was called as a representative. asked Song Qingyuan to be a temporary orderly, because he was born in Tianjin Wei and grew there until he was twelve years old. It is easy to observe the situation and deal with complex scenes.

Two

Between the Eight Kings Defense Land and our guerrilla zone, there is an arid sand river. Song Qingyuan and his uncle Song Guibin changed into civilian clothes, a long robe and felt hat, a bag tied around their waists, pretending to be a trader, and a short dress, wearing a sheep's belly handkerchief on their heads, pretending to be an accompanying boy. With four trolleys and several sets of burdens. They set out in the middle of the night and were escorted by a squad of fighters. When they came to the edge of the sand river at dawn, everyone stopped, and saw someone on the sand hill on the other side of the river shaking a white handkerchief according to the code. Song Guibin returned the code and asked the soldiers to stay where they were. Untie your pistol and the two grenades that Qingyuan brought with you and hand them to the squad leader. The shouting car walked towards the opposite bank, and at this time, several cars and several pairs of cars also came to the opposite bank. The two sides stopped in the middle of the river, and an adjutant surnamed Xia came over to exchange orders with Song Guibin. The adjutant of Naxia wore a green cloth pants. Two boxes with diagonal backs, hung with red silk of a ruler length. After the password, raise your hand and make a military salute on the top hat. He said: "Your army is as righteous as a mountain, the commander welcomes it wholeheartedly, and also asks me to bring some things to press the car, so that he can change the load." So he who pushed the cart on both sides, and the one who carried the burden unloaded his own things and loaded them on the other's cart. The Eight Kings sent paper cigarettes, foreign wine, and more than 100 catties of sea salt—salt was a precious item when the base was blocked.

After the gifts on both sides were exchanged, Song Guibin told the porter to go back. Adjutant Xia led two horses, let Song Guibin and Qingyuan ride on, and headed towards the opposite bank. As soon as I got to the sand gang, I saw a team of people carrying guns lined up neatly, leading the team to shout "Salute!" "They each raised their guns, and it turned out that they were rehearsing according to the Japanese drill code. It's a pity that the gun brands are too miscellaneous and the length is uneven. Everyone's dress is different. There are cotton jackets with bulging bags on the outside of the kit to spin silk gowns, and there are breeches with a large placket cotton jacket on the top. Japanese military uniform, regimental dragon horse coat. Fight to win.

The adjutant shouted: "Go!" ”

The leader saluted and gave the order: "Turn right, let's go!" ”

The man in the padded jacket took out a horn from his bosom, and the man in the Japanese military uniform lifted a large drum from under the tree and hung it on his chest, and began to blow it.

"Dada Da ......"

"Knock knock! Knock knock ......"

When the wind struck the road, the drumming stopped. Adjutant Xia and Song Guibin walked side by side and gossiped some gossip. As soon as they entered the village, they began to blow again. Groups of fellow villagers were drawn out, close to the root of the wall. Crowded together, looking at the team with a look of amazement. They did not enter the village like a group of devils, and fled so that they could not even see a human figure; It's not like passing through the team in the base area, and people are affectionately squeezing to both sides of the team to talk and laugh. They neither approached nor dodged. Say that you are affectionate or not affectionate, and you are not afraid when you say that you are afraid. Maintain a cold awe. If the team stops, its own office staff will send tea and cigarettes, and the people will still watch from afar.

At midnight, I arrived at the headquarters station.

Originally, there was only one landlord's house in this horse circle, and more than a dozen tenants lived, and the Zhuangzi was not large. The chief of staff wore a tweed military uniform and led a line of people to welcome him, and he lined up from the entrance of the village to the entrance of the headquarters. This row of people is all short dressed up, short guys. The one-color black cloth cotton jacket and tweed top hat look neat from the top half. Song Guibin dismounted as soon as he saw it from afar, and bowed to the chief of staff. The Chief of Staff stretched out his hand and asked him to walk ahead of the parade. He saw the bottom half of the line. The second half of this is full of colors. The trousers include tweed breeches, leg clippers, and large satin pullovers. Shoes include kicking dead cow sprinkle shoes, Japanese riding boots, pointy scalp shoes and old man music with clouds. There were two sentries at the entrance of the headquarters, but they were neatly dressed in gray cloth military uniforms and leggings. Two large covered guns, and bayonets.

The courtyard is divided into two levels, and there are only three south houses in the outer courtyard, and two large logs with peeled skin are placed along the wall. On the log sat five or six men in civilian clothes carrying boxes of guns. As soon as he saw the chief of staff accompany Song Guibin into the door, he stood up all at once. Some stand upright and salute, and some go in to make reports. The chief of staff pointed at Song Qingyuan and said to those people: "This is a brother of a friendly army, you should entertain them well." As soon as the words fell, a follower took Song Qingyuan's hand and let him into the south room.

At this time, there was a stack of calls from the inner courtyard:

"The commander is out to greet him, and the commander is out to welcome the Song representative of the Eighth Route Army."

The guards who entertained Song Qingyuan and Song Qingyuan all turned around and looked into the Moon Gate. Six or seven people came out of the hall, led by a short and fat figure, who was not outstanding in appearance. Wears a pair of tortoiseshell crystal goggles and a mustache. He is in his fifties. The upper body wears a small leather jacket of a windy lynx. The second button wore a gold bracelet on it, dark blue lake silk cotton pants underneath, a pair of finger-wide black water chestnut belts tied around the hem, white socks under his feet, and black woolen camel saddle cotton shoes. If it weren't for the leather holster of the Bai Langning pistol faintly exposed on his waist, it would look like the second shopkeeper of "Ruifuxiang". The few people who followed behind him were all dressed in long clothes. Some wore horse coats on the outside, some wore shoulders, some wore open buttons, rolled up cuffs, and deliberately exposed their fur.

Song Guibin took off his hat and nodded his head a few times. The person wearing a short dress and a mustache shook his fists with both hands, immediately grabbed a few steps and walked off the stage, took Song Guibin's hand and said, "Long time gone, long time gone." Hard, hard. Thank you to the head of the Eighth Route Army. Then he asked the chief of staff, "What about the brethren who came with the delegates?" The chief of staff said, "Just one of my personal entourage, let me rest at the adjutant's place." Yizi Hu immediately said: "Tell the subordinates to be entertained well, and don't neglect the guests." ”

So a group of people greeted each other and entered the hall.

Here Qingyuan asked the guards who entertained him: "The one in the middle is the Eight Kings?" ”

The guard said: "It's our commander, you see that he is kind and angry, and he doesn't blink when he gets angry and kills." That marksmanship is simply a god, raising his hand to hit the bird, saying that he will not touch the tail when he hits the head. ”

Song Qingyuan said: "I look familiar with this look. ”

The guards said: "The Japanese painted pictures everywhere and offered him a reward for his head, and his photos were published in Jinan newspapers. ”

Song Qingyuan said: "By the way, I probably saw it in the newspaper. ”

At this time, all the officials entered the hall, and the guards in the outer courtyard crowded into the house to see the Eighth Route Army.

These three south houses have two paved kangs along the north wall. There were grenades and bullet casings on the windowsill, and about twenty wooden pegs nailed against the south wall. Hanging from the rifle cartridge belt, there was only a small table full of grease and two long benches in front of the door. When the guards came in and saw Qingyuan sitting on the bench, they all sat on the edge of the kang facing him. Someone handed Qingyuan a cigarette, and Qingyuan said, "Thank you, no." The other said to the cigarette giver, "People are disciplined, they don't smoke or drink!" ”

The one who saluted the cigarette said: "When you are a soldier and eats food, you want to be comfortable and happy, you don't move to smoke or drink, what fun is there to live?" You are not allowed to play with the, right? ”

Another soldier said: "It's easy to come to a brother from the Eighth Route Army, let's inquire about some serious things over there, you ask if you are allowed to play with girls!" I'm not afraid of people's jokes! ”

Some of these soldiers were in their thirties, and some were in their teens. There are those who are full of gangsterism, and there are also those who still have the simple appearance of peasants. Everyone asked this question and that, and Qingyuan took the opportunity to publicize the Eighth Route Army's anti-Japanese proposition, rent and interest reduction, and the three major disciplines and eight points of attention. A few people listened inappropriately and hummed lewd tunes and wiped their guns on the side. Some of them just lifted their butts and left. The smoker was in high spirits, standing aside and listening with a smile, interjecting a foul word from time to time, which made everyone laugh. Suddenly, a soldier standing guard at the door broke in and scolded loudly: "Little Liuzi, your mother is selling her mouth here with a × light, whether you can change the guard!" I lent you this leg, and I always stand for you? ”

Xiao Liuzi said: "It's almost the same if you rent me the lower half!" ”

The man standing guard put down his gun and came to arrest Xiao Liuzi. Seeing that the fight was about to start, Adjutant Xia shouted at the door of the hall: "The commander invites that brother from the Eighth Route Army to come to the upper room." ”

The fire was temporarily suppressed. Qingyuan tidied up his clothes and strode into the upper room.

This upper room is a pattern of two bright and one dark. There is a white curtain at the entrance of the inner room. The newly hung ceiling outside, the four walls are white to the ground. On the facing wall hangs a central hall, which depicts a "picture of a horse herding in the autumn suburbs", in which two people wearing ancient clothes and felt hats ride on two horses and drive a few horses to wander through the valley. The two sides are accompanied by a gold-sprinkled couplet, the upper couplet reads "The prancing horse crosses the spear to resist the stubborn enemy thousands of miles away", and the lower couplet is "in the midst of the odds of winning the candle discussion". The inscription reads, "Remote Commander Bian's Command." The Spring Festival Mao Shuwen respects the book". There is a coffee table along the wall. The red lacquer round table in the middle was full of wine and food, and the group of robes were accompanying the Eight Kings to entertain Song Guibin.

Qingyuan stood at the door, and the chief of staff stood up and said, "Brother, the commander orders me to toast you with a glass of wine. You've worked hard all the way. ”

Qingyuan looked at Song Guibin, bowed and said, "Thank you, Commander, but I don't know how to drink." ”

At this time, the eight kings who wore a beard and a leather jacket said loudly:

"I know the rules of the Eighth Route Army, which talks about the equality of officers and soldiers. I haven't gotten used to it here, so I haven't had time to set up your seat. A toast to you shows respect for your army's egalitarian style. Little brother, make a face! ”

Song Guibin said: "In this case, Comrade Qingyuan should drink less. I wish our anti-Japanese soldiers sincere unity. ”

"Good!" The Eight Great Kings stood up and said, "Let's all drink together." ”

Qingyuan took the cup from the hand of the chief of staff, took a sip lightly, and made a spicy "ha", and his face immediately turned red. Everyone laughed. The Eight Kings stared at Qingyuan for a long time and did not sit down. Qingyuan found that the Eight Great Kings were paying attention to him, and he couldn't help but glance at the Eight Great Kings as well. The Eight Kings suddenly left the throne and said, "Your surname is Song, right?" ”

Qingyuan said: "Yes! My name is Song Qingyuan! ”

"Gentlemen! What a coincidence! The Eight Kings left the table, took off their glasses, and walked up to Qingyuan, "You really don't know me?" ”

Song Qingyuan laughed: "No wonder I felt familiar when I looked at it from a distance just now!" It turned out to be Uncle Cheng! ”

"Set the chairs, set the chairs!" While calling out to the heralds, the Eight Kings said to the people at the table, "This is my eldest nephew!" We stayed on the opposite side in Tianjin. He's a classmate with my dog, and he's still a kid! ”

Adjutant Xia grabbed the flask, filled it with wine one after another, and said, "Have another drink, and congratulate the commander on his happy meeting with this brother!" ”

At this time, there was a quarrel in the outer courtyard. Grandma's ancestors scolded all the time. The Eight Kings asked, "What's going on outside?" ”

Adjutant Xia went out to have a look and came back to report: "Two brothers have started fighting on time because of the change of guard!" ”

The Eight Kings said, "Come in!" ”

Song Guibin and Qingyuan exchanged glances, both a little uneasy. There was a sound of footsteps outside, and then it fell silent again. The Eight Kings ignored it. Adjutant Xia waited for another round of wine before he reported:

"Bring people here, wait for the commander's orders."

"Pants are peeled, prepare military sticks."

There was another rush outside. After a while, Adjutant Xia invited a square and round military stick with both hands, and the eight kings rolled up their sleeves and said to Song Guibin humbly: "The family law is not strict, so I will make you laugh." And he took his baton and went out of the house. Those who sat with them hurriedly went out. Song Guibin and Qingyuan had no choice but to follow to the door. At this time, a soldier was sitting on the back beam of the little sixth son and holding his hands. The Eight Kings picked up their sticks and slammed them on the pants-stripped buttocks. Every time he hit, the little six sons shouted: "Commander Kai Grace, Commander Kai Grace." ”

There were more than two dozen military sticks, and the buttocks were red, swollen, and bloody. The accompanying talents interceded one after another.

"Commander, spare him, don't let him mess with the good days."

Song Guibin followed up and said, "Commander, spare him for my sake!" ”

The Eight Kings stopped and said without changing their faces, "Thank you, Representative Song." ”

Xiao Liuzi said: "Thank you Representative Song for interceding. ”

The Eight Kings said, "What about the other one?" ”

The soldier standing guard was already frightened, and he knelt down and kowtowed to the eight kings. The Eight Kings said: "Pull it down, rush at this bear, and ask the company commander on duty to beat him with a few more sticks." After saying that, he took the lead and went back to the house, washed his hands, and then drank alcohol. Song Guibin and Qingyuan had long lost their interest in eating and drinking, so they had to reluctantly accompany them.

After eating, Adjutant Xia sent Song Guibin and Qingyuan to the guest room to rest.

When there were two people left in the house, Song Guibin asked Qingyuan: "How can you still have an old friendship with this bandit commander?" ”

Qingyuan said: "The friendship is not old, but it was three or four years ago. ”

Three

In 1940, Song Qingyuan's family lived in a small alley in Hebei, Tianjin. After his father lost his job, he went to Yingkou Wharf to look for a job, and only his mother took him to Tianjin.

Qingyuan's house is diagonally opposite the door, and there lives a neighbor surnamed Cheng, the man is doing business in other places, and there is only one woman in the family with a child. The child's name is Cheng Guandong, and he is the same age as Qingyuan. And in a small school, a grade classmate.

Qingyuan's father worked as a footman in Yingkou, and only came back every year after the Liaohe River froze, and he didn't live for more than a month, and he had to go back to his hometown in Shandong to visit his grandfather. Then take a boat back to Yingkou from Qingdao. Guandong's father came back after the beginning of spring and left before the Mid-Autumn Festival. So although the two families are quite familiar, the men on both sides have never met.

Qingyuan's father is an illiterate hard-working man. As soon as I returned to Tianjin, I stayed in the house and didn't go out again. In the school, there are "parent-teacher meetings" and "parties", and he always asks Qingyuan Niang to go, but he never shows up. Qingyuan pulled him away, and he always said: "Dad has been too tired this year, and he hasn't been tired, let me rest." In fact, he felt that he was clumsy and could not speak. and there are no decent clothes. I am afraid that I will attract contempt for my son in front of everyone.

Every time Cheng Guandong's father came back, he went out early and returned late every day, running around, and was rarely at home. But the school held "parent-teacher meetings" and "parties" but he must be there, he is a very conservative and honest person, with a mustache on his mouth, and his face always has a loyal and peaceful smile. In summer, he has always been a gray cloth gown, white socks and shoes, wearing a gauze hat and wings (Tianjin people call the melon skin hat hat a hat wing), and he never spoke at the "parent-teacher meeting", but just listened to the teacher's introduction respectfully. At the "party", he sat in the back row and watched the children perform with joy and devotion. And no matter what will come to the end, he will find the principal and teachers, take off his hat wings, bow deeply and thank him, and say very shyly: "I am not at home all the year round, and the children are not sensible, so the gentlemen are more worried, more worried." Probably because of his good impression of his parents, Cheng Guandong's academic performance is also stronger than Qingyuan. The teachers are a bit partial to Guandong. Not only is he indifferent to Qingyuan, but he often scolds and ridicules him because of his unqualified hygiene and poor academic performance. Qing was angry with the teacher and affected his classmates, and he often quarreled with Guandong. The quarrel became fierce, and the two fought. Although Guandong is smarter than Qingyuan, he is not as strong as Qingyuan. Once in a fight, he was kicked by Qingyuan in the crotch, and he squatted on the ground in pain for a long time and couldn't stand up, only holding on to the wall and howling. Qingyuan saw that things were not good, and ran home with a smoke and didn't dare to go out again. His mother found that the child was abnormal, and instead of sneaking out to play after eating, she obediently helped to do this and that. After finishing the work, no one needs to urge you to spread out the imitation paper and write it in large letters. It just felt a little wrong. Ask him, "What's wrong with you today?" What's naughty? ”

"Nope!"

"No, you're honest. If you don't tell the truth, I'll find out and smash your ass! ”

"I ......"

"Got into a fight? With whom? ”

"Guandong, he hit me first......"

Qingyuan's mother remembered that she had just heard a cry in the courtyard of the opposite gate, and immediately changed color, and immediately tidied up her clothes and went to Cheng's house, and as soon as she entered the door, she heard the cry of oops. There were three or four neighbors around the house. Hu Lao Niang, who can deliver the baby, is rubbing the roots of Guandong's legs with yellow table paper dipped in burning liquor. Qingyuan Niang looked at it, and the child's scrotum was swollen like a small eggplant. He was so anxious that he said in a loud voice: "What do you say?" What does this mean, auntie? My brute came back without saying a word, and I didn't even know how to beat the child like this! ”

Guan Dongniang's eyes were already crying like peaches. Ke also smiled and said: "He Song Niang, children are like puppies and kittens, today is annoying, tomorrow is good, what do you recognize!" It must be Guandong who provoked him, if he doesn't mess with him, can he start fighting, don't care! ”

Guandong shouted in bed: "I didn't mess with him!" When he saw that I was better than him, he was red-eyed and always bullied me......"

"Don't talk nonsense, be careful that your dad comes back and beats you!"

But the neighbors counted down Qingyuan's no. It doesn't matter if you hit it, you shouldn't even send a letter, if it weren't for Grandma Hu meeting her on the street, Guandong didn't know how long he would squat on that wall.

Qingyuan Niang apologized repeatedly, went home to bring Qingyuan to compensate Guandong, and went to the street to buy a large bag of food and send it to Guandong. Take out a few yuan and ask Guan Dongniang to ask Mr. to grab the medicine. Guandong Niang said that she would not take this money for anything. Only half of the food was collected, and the other half was taken back to Qingyuan to eat. Qingyuan Niang saw that the decorations and clothes of the owner of the crown were rich, and she didn't take this expense seriously. said a few more words of reparation, and resigned apologetically.

Four

After the Dragon Boat Festival this year, Qingyuan's father didn't send a letter, and except for receiving money once before the festival, he didn't come for a month or two. Qingyuan Niang is beating today, and tomorrow her ears are ringing, and she is getting more and more suspenseful. I hired a few blind fortune tellers. Some say that the wealth star is not going well, and some say that the villain is guilty. Only the blind man held the handle in his hand and said: "Don't worry, if you don't see the letter on July 15, you will see people on the first day of August." I'll come to please the money then! If you don't say it, pat my horse. ”

On the fifteenth of July, there was no letter, and no fortune teller came to ask for money. Qingyuan Niang didn't keep her mind, so she hit the window frame with a broom in her hand in the morning and evening, and shouted: "Qingyuan Dad, come back!" "——Passed down from generation to generation, so that when you call your relatives outside, you will be homesick.

It was early in the morning on the first day of the eighth month, Qingyuan's father pushed the door and came in. Qingyuan Niang glanced at it for the first time, thinking that someone had come in to ask for food. I just wanted to say, "How can I get into someone's house if I want food?" Qingyuan's father sighed and said, "Buddha bless, I'm finally home." Only then did she recognize him by the voice. As soon as she saw this skinny and tattered appearance, she softened into a mess of mud, and it took a long time to hold back a sentence:

"Villain father, what's wrong with you?"

"Japan was asked to arrest laborers, and I jumped out of the train. I didn't dare to get close to the railway line again, so I walked back outside the gate. ”

Qingyuan Niang asked: "Haven't you met an acquaintance in the alley with this appearance?" ”

Qingyuan's father said: "It's just dawn, who can you meet?" It's just that I met a person wearing a coat and a beard at the mouth of the alley, I haven't seen it, it doesn't look like a neighbor! ”

Qingyuan Niang said: "That's good." Don't go out yet. I made needlework for others, and only then did I collect some handiwork money, and today I went to pull the cloth and rush to make bodypants. You boil two pots of water at home, and wash them inside and out. Waiting for the head shaving picker to come over, he asked Qingyuan to come into the house and shave his head. It's all dressed up and goodbye. Tianjin Wei is a shallow place, and he wants to see our down-and-out face and mutter. Whoever loses something thinks about us. The tongue crushes people to death, and once it falls on that point, we can't live here. ”

Qingyuan Niang was busy all night and put on the pants for half a day. But I haven't come to shave my head yet. Qingyuan's father was trying on new clothes, and the sound of three strings sounded outside the door. Sanxian played "The Singer of the End of the World", and shouted as soon as he was at the end: "Count the spiritual hexagram!" ”

"Yo, it's Zhang Xian'er!" Qingyuan's mother said: "It is the one who calculated that you didn't believe on July 15 and was allowed to see people on the first day of August." ”

Qingyuan's father said: "Believe him nonsense, let him happen by chance." ”

At this time, the blind man shouted at the door again: "Grandma in this courtyard, am I not spiritual?" Do you give money or pout? ”

Qingyuan Niang hurriedly said: "Sir, I borrowed your good words, and I have already prepared tea money for you." ”

Qingyuan Niang stuffed two zero tickets in the hands of the blind man. The gentleman thanked him, and immediately began to play the strings again. This time it was the "little couple shopping for the lamp", shouting while playing: "Count the spiritual hexagram, it's not so spiritual!" Batch eight characters, push the flow of the year, and realize the dream of the bones......"

In the evening, Qingyuan's mother ruthlessly bought two catties of white noodles and a handful of leeks to make dumplings for Qingyuan's father. Before the stuffing was mixed, there was a voice outside the door: "Is anyone home?" ”

Qingyuan Niang was stunned for a moment, exchanged glances with Qingyuan's father, and asked Qingyuan's father to hide in the back room. On weekdays, she is at home with her children, and there are few male guests who visit. This man came from a strange place. Seeing that Qingyuan's father was hiding, he replied: "Who?" ”

"I'm the door crown east his father! Let's take a look at Brother Song. ”

"Oh, Uncle Cheng, come in and sit."

Qingyuan Niang hurriedly let Guandong's father into the house. As soon as Qingyuan's father heard that he was looking for himself, he also came out of the inner room. Qingyuan Niang said to Qingyuan's father with a red face at this time: "A few months ago, Qingyuan was naughty and injured Guandong, and the small egg bag was swollen to such a big size, how can I send medicine money, his aunt won't accept it!" ”

"And this?" Qingyuan's father said, "What did I tell before leaving?" Tell you to take care of the child! You see......"

"Brother and sister-in-law, don't mention it." Guan Dong's father put a box of snacks and a new school bag on the table, and said, "That's why I'm here." My kid is a troublemaker, I know it. The child is together, who does not touch who at once. Guandong himself was injured, how could he rely on Qingyuan? It's a lot of money for my sister-in-law, and I'm ashamed to know it. When the festival came, I bought some small things for the child. I wanted to send it for a long time, but it was inconvenient. Knowing that my eldest brother is back today, I have the cheekiness to ask for ......."

Qingyuan's father remembered that it was this Lao Cheng who met at the mouth of the alley.

Qingyuan's parents hurriedly excused themselves. Guandong's father turned red, and said: "I know that I can't take things out of my hand, but the old neighbor, can you not appreciate your face?" ”

As he spoke, Qingyuan came in. His father said: "You beat Guandong, Uncle Cheng has sent you something!" That makes sense! Thank you not yet. ”

Qingyuan said: "I was playing with Guandong just now, and he told me. Thank you Uncle! ”

Uncle Cheng patted Qingyuan's head and said, "Good boy." Remember, don't fight in the future. The loser is long, understand? Since you were a child, you will inevitably get into trouble when you grow up, and it is up to you to be a law-abiding citizen at that time, do you know? ”

Qingyuan took the new schoolbag to the back room to fiddle, and Qingyuan Niang still went to mix the stuffing. The two men talked, and Qingyuan's father said, "Brother Cheng, I heard that your accent is not far from my hometown." ”

Guan Dong's father said: "I am from the south of P County. ”

Qingyuan's father said: "Look at it, I'm Dongxiang." We are a county, how many years have you been out? ”

Guan Dong's father said: "I escaped from the desert in the ninth year of the Republic of China, and I haven't been home for more than 20 years, how is our area?" ”

Qingyuan's father said: "I went back last year. Bitter wow! Our area was the base of the Eighth Route Army. The Eighth Route Army is good, rent and interest reduction, reasonable burden. But the Japanese devil's sweep is too powerful, so you can't live in peace! Around the castle circle, large and small strongholds, it is the world of the Japanese. It's a dead country, and you can't even mention it! ”

Guan Dong's father asked, "How are we doing over there?" ”

"The border with us is the Northwest Township, where the Bian First Army is occupied, and this Bian First Army does not belong to Japan, nor to the Eighth Route Army, nor to the Kuomintang."

Guan Dong's father asked, "Who does he belong to?" ”

Qingyuan's father said: "He belongs to their commander, the Eight Kings. ”

"Are these eight kings a good person or a bastard?"

"It's hard to say. said that he was okay, robbed the house, and arranged for prostitutes to gamble. When a soldier encounters a pedestrian crossing the border, he scolds when he opens his mouth and beats him when he raises his hand. Don't think about going over without paying for the road. Let's call him bad, but he really fought Japan. ”

"How about the Eighth Route Army?"

"How can it be compared, the Eighth Route Army is a real revolutionary army!"

"My brother, you really dare to speak, this is the world of the Japanese!"

"Huh! Isn't this room full of Chinese? ”

Qingyuan's father looked at the neighbor suspiciously and shut his mouth.

Speaking of which, the dumplings are cooked. Qingyuan Niang left Uncle Cheng to eat dumplings, and he even said that there was something at home and resigned.

Ten days passed. I heard the noise of people outside the door. Qingyuan Niang pushed the door to take a look. There was a platoon car parked. Guan Dong's father stood in the local area, pointing to the east and looking at a few people packing furniture and luggage. She came back and said to Qingyuan's father: "The Guandong family seems to be moving!" Qingyuan's father said: "Live your own life, what are you doing with so many idle things?" However, Lao Cheng's family is very loyal, and it is not easy to catch up with him if he changes neighbors. ”

At noon, Qingyuan came back from school. When he entered the door, he said, "Dad, the Guandong's family has moved away." Uncle Cheng said that he would resign in a while. ”

Qingyuan's father said: "You go and tell Uncle Cheng, it's strangely busy, don't miss it, I don't have it on me, and I won't send it." ”

But Uncle Cheng still came in the afternoon. He has a jar in his hand. When he entered the door, he said, "Folks, I've moved away, come and quit." I forgot to load the remaining half of the jar of rice, and I don't want to take it, it's weird, so keep it for Qingyuan to boil porridge. ”

Qingyuan Niang asked, "Where did you move in?" ”

"No. 2 Hepingli, Japanese Concession, I have time to visit the door."

Since then, the Guandong family has not seen each other again. This half jar of rice is reluctant to be eaten by the Song family. It wasn't poured out until the Chinese New Year to make dry rice. With a bang, twenty silver dollars rolled out from the bottom of the jar. Qingyuan Niang thought that the Cheng family had forgotten it by hiding inside. Qingyuan's father dug out again and took out a note. Qingyuan's father asked Qingyuan to read what words. Qingyuan looked at it and said, "This is for me!" Qingyuan's father said: "Is it written on it?" Qingyuan said: "Big brother, this is the tuition fee for Qingyuan." ”

Qingyuan's father said: "Foreign wealth is not rich and poor people. We can't take it. He took the money and went to the Japanese concession to look for it for a long time. People said that he misremembered the name of the place, there was no peace there, and peace was in the French Concession. Qingyuan's father found the French Concession. Hepingli was not a small alley, but a large row of red brick western-style buildings. There is a small garden in front and a monthly car at the back door. The green iron door of Number Two is closed. He tapped on the door. A small window opened in the door, revealing a man's face.

"What for?"

"Lao Jia, let me ask, does Mr. Cheng live here?"

"Let's go, there's no one surnamed Cheng here!" The door slammed shut. Qingyuan's father is angry and no longer looking for it.

Soon, Qingyuan's father found a job at the Dalian Wharf in Tianjin, and the family life improved a little. But within half a year, there was an unexpected change. On the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, a ship from Shanghai offered a high price to unload the goods on the same day. Wrapped up his head for money. forced the coolies to work from dawn until midnight. By the time he got off work, Qingyuan's father was so tired that he fell apart, and his stomach was so hungry that he was close to his heart. I want to have a drink, the pub is closed, I want to have a meal, and the restaurant is on the board. I'm in a hurry to get home and I don't have a car. was burning with hunger, and ran into a dumpling cart home with a dumpling seller, and there were still about 20 zongzi left. He took it all down and devoured it. Before I entered the house, my stomach hurt like a knife. When she got home, she planted her head on the kang, and the sweat beads of soybeans rolled down her head, and Qingyuan Niang was frightened. Roll brown sugar ginger water for him, and find a neighbor to get big soot, but it won't be used. Before dawn, he hired a car and pulled him to the doctor. Before the doctor's family was pulled, he lost his breath. After the funeral of Qingyuan's father, Qingyuan's mother fell ill even when she was tired. stayed up until the seventh day of the eighth month, and I also swallowed my breath. Qingyuan was left alone, so he had to go to his uncle. My uncle's family lives in Qiandezhuang. Living on old shoes is also a bitter person. Qingyuan is not good at sitting and eating ready-made meals. Every day, I go to the street to pick up some broken paper, pick up some cloth, help the cart that delivers coal, collect the bowls for the rice seller, earn eight cents, and mix a cake nest. It had just snowed heavily that day, and the road was wet and slippery. He helped a cart delivering briquettes to get on the road. When I walked to the gate of Li Shanren's garden, I was greeted by a student riding a bicycle. Dressed in a trendy suede jacket, an aviation leather cap, and a pair of bright skates hanging from the handlebars. On the back shelf, a leather schoolbag is tied with straps. The coal cart hurriedly threw to the left, leaving a narrow road on the right. The student hurriedly got down and pushed the cart and passed by Qingyuan. Qingyuan recognized it as Guandong. His face was hot for a while, and he quickly turned his face and rushed to the wall, Guandong walked over, stood up again, looked back for a while and said, "You are Qingyuan, right?" ”

Qingyuan couldn't hide anymore, so he turned around and said, "Yes." I didn't recognize you just now. ”

Guandong asked sadly: "Why are you like this?" ”

Qingyuan said that his parents have passed away and are now living at his uncle's house. Guandong said: "Don't be embarrassed, I'll go back and talk to my father, can I help you find a place to work?" He is out doing business, and there may be a place for useful people. ”

"Then dare to be kind, if you can find me a place to make money, I will not forget your benefits. But where can I find you to reply to the letter? ”

Guandong thought for a while and said, "Don't go to our house. My dad had a weird temper and wouldn't let me bring my friends into the house. Come to Yew Wah Secondary School in front of the church in a few mornings to look for me. I went to school there. ”

The church is only two miles away from Qiandezhuang, but the scene seems to be halfway around the world. There are no low mud houses, muddy alleys, ragged beggars, or filthy poor children. Even the police are taller and burlier than the "Chinese land", and this is the concession. On both sides of the asphalt road are garden houses, evergreen street trees, and streamlined cars, "three guns" and "Philip" bicycles run on the street. At one end of the road stands a Renaissance building with three domes and a cross, and is known as a French church. "Yew Wah Secondary School" is diagonally opposite the church, with a red brick building and a castle in the style of a European medieval. Seeing this Western-style building, Qingyuan was already a little timid, and then he saw that the students who went in were all dressed freshly, proudly, and a little disgusted. He made up his mind not to look for white eyes in front of these young masters, so he stood on the other side of the road and waited, and after more than ten minutes, groups of students entered the school gate one after another, and then he saw Guandong riding a bicycle from the British Concession. On the left side of the concession, he happened to pass in front of Qingyuan, and Qingyuan stopped him.

"I'm looking for you too!" Guandong said, "I told my dad about you. ”

"How?"

"He said he didn't learn that business. But it's not a way for you to mix alone in Tianjin. He told me to persuade you to go back to your hometown. Your hometown is better now than before, so I'll tell you to go find your grandfather. ”

"My uncle also told me about this idea, but I can't make up for the travel expenses."

"The travel fee is easy to handle, you can go and tell me a word, and I will send you a train ticket."

Qingyuan went back to tell his uncle, and his uncle naturally agreed. A few days later, he received a train ticket and two yuan from Guandong and returned to Shandong. I farmed with my grandfather in my hometown for a year. Catching up with the expansion of the Eighth Route Army, he joined the army as a traffic officer.

Five

At three o'clock, Adjutant Xia came to invite Song Guibin to the headquarters to talk. At the same time, the guard who received Qingyuan in the morning was also ordered to play with Qingyuan. The guard said, "The commander told me to walk with you." There's nothing fun about this place. It just so happened that a few people from Xixiang came to sing a small opera, singing a small opera in the courtyard of the Quartermaster Department, and I will take you to see it. ”

The quartermaster office lived in the temple in the west of the village. The guards led Qingyuan through the alley. Passing by a field house and hearing the noise of people in the house, Qingyuan asked, "What's going on here?" ”

The guard said, "The reconnaissance platoon lives here, and they are playing Bo, can you take a look?" ”

Qing originally had the task of observing the situation of friendly forces, so he said, "I have seen and seen. ”

There are two kang bunks on the opposite side of the house. Only two men and a woman sat cross-legged in a circle on a kang. A small oil lamp was lit in the middle. Each of them carried a tin foil from a cigarette case, and a small trumpet rolled with paper in their mouths. Take turns to mix a little pink powder from an oiled paper bag and put it in the tin foil. A bearded man lifted the foil to the oil lamp and roasted it, and the powder became a small bead of oil, which turned in the center of the foil. He put the small horn in his mouth on top of the oil beads, and inhaled vigorously, and the oil beads turned into green smoke and entered the horn. He immediately held his breath, rolled his eyes twice, and it took a long time for him to let out a breath, which was fishy and smelly. The guards enter the door. He had just finished his breath. Just asked: "Xiaoxi, is there something going on above?" ”

"Yes!" The guard said, "The commander said that a sow ran away from Zhang's house last night, and asked Chacha to drill into someone's pen!" The beard smiled. The woman replied: "Get into your father's circle, or you will be such a private child!" ”

At this time, accustomed to the darkness in the room, Qingyuan saw that this woman was not ugly, but she had her hair scattered, and her cotton jacket was not buttoned, but she was just holding it in her arms. On the lower body, he wore a pair of sweaters that were rare and expensive in the countryside.

Only then did the guard introduced: "This is a brother of the Eighth Route Army, and the commander asked me to lead him to play." ”

The beard was very polite. He politely moved his buttocks, pointed to the oil lamp and said, "Don't you have a mouthful?" ”

Qingyuan blushed and said, "I don't understand this. ”

Talking nonsense; "Lao Hai! Long spiritual! ”

Qingyuan said: "Don't dare to come. ”

The woman sighed twice and said, "Look at how well-behaved this team is, like you Qiuba, all of them are bad!" ”

The guard grinned and said, "How do you know we're bad?" ”

The woman slapped him. The guards were satisfied. Said to Qingyuan: "Don't you want to watch the game? Let's stand on the kang and take a look. ”

On the opposite kang, there were a lot of people around. There were four people sitting in the front circle, seven or eight kneeling in the second circle, and a dozen people in the third circle. There is a kang table in the middle, and the center of the table is stacked with ebony Tianjiu cards and a pair of dice. There are various bets on the sides of the table all around. The dealer was a pockmarked man, sweating profusely, his eyes were red, and he was shouting loudly: "Bet, bet." ”

The three people at the table put the tickets first. With the back one, they reached out and put it up, some put two boxes of guns and bullets, and some put a pack of Lao Hai; Some shouted "three ways", and some called "lonely ding". The dealer rolls the dice, and immediately there is no sound. A point of cards, but shouted in a piece, more fiercely than when betting. First they scramble to see the cards, and then they rush to come up with ideas to match. The proposition of the lone Ding is balanced before and after. Bet a few then require a small and then large, scramble and scold, mixed together, the dealer flopped, which was hurriedly matched with the place. When all the lights were up, those who laughed, scolded, complained, and applauded shouted into a pot of porridge. The dealer clears the bets, and the winner grabs some and throws them into a small basket in the corner of the table.

Qingyuan asked: "This bet on the bullet to pay for the bullet, to press the old sea to pay for the old sea, the dealer is ready for anything?" ”

Xiaoxi said: "No, it's all converted into money." Two pieces of fire and one piece of medicine for one packet. ”

Qingyuan asked, "What are you throwing into that little basket?" ”

Xiaoxi said: "Tap! The first money goes to the platoon commander and the company commander. ”

Qingyuan didn't look interested, and urged Xiaoxi to take him to watch a small play.

They turned out of the alley, crossed the street, and came to the temple in the west of the village. There is only one entrance to this temple, and there is a shadow wall painted with Wei Tuo behind the mountain gate. As soon as I arrived at the temple gate, I heard laughter. Turning the shadow wall, I saw that the courtyard was full of people on three sides. Except for the tight inside, there are a few benches in a circle, and a few people in leather robes and coats are sitting. In front of them, melon seeds, sugar cubes, teapots and bowls were placed. The people behind were all standing. Although there was not a single one in military uniform, everyone had a gun. Hubei strips, old sleeves, single big one, soil pouts, shotguns, fire guns are complete. The dress is the same as this gun. From large satin cotton robes, cocoon silk coats to homespun jackets, there are all kinds of bare sheepskin. Xiaoxi separated the crowd and led Qingyuan into the circle. Sitting on the stool was the leader who welcomed the group by the river in the morning. As soon as he saw Qingyuan, he immediately asked him to sit in front of him. At this time, he was singing "Little Upper Grave".

This troupe, a total of three people. An old man pulls four hu. Two young people, a man and a woman, sang, and the two actors only had two outfits in total. No matter what she sang, the woman was wearing a red skirt and a shiny braid like an ordinary crop girl, and the man was wearing the tights worn by Wu Song in Peking Opera. However, there was no Luo hat, and only a sauce-colored felt hat worn by a farmer was worn on his head. The feet of the two are all home-made cloth shoes. The man's heels have been separated from the soles of his shoes, and he has been scraped as he walks. The woman's front was open, revealing muddy cloth socks.

"Yo, I said official, what kind of business are you riding!"

"I'm riding a horse!"

"Other people's horses have four legs, why does your horse have an extra leg!"

“……”

The spectators laughed! Someone shouted yes, and someone shouted: "Good Nizi, ask down!" ”

Qingyuan has seen Bangzi opera in Tianjin, and he has seen Yangge opera in the Eighth Route Army, but he has never seen such a play. He asked Xiaoxi what this play was called? Xiaoxi said: "This is called donkey play!" But this class is too poor. Don't take advantage of the donkey, this little thing will be picked up with a flat pole. Qingyuan said: "This Nizi is only a teenager, why don't you be ashamed to speak the village dialect!" Xiaoxi said: "This is a kid pretending to be a kid with a fake braid." ”

These two people are not bad at singing, they have a board and an eye. It's a pity that as soon as I heard the taste, Adjutant Xia came and said that the commander told Qingyuan to go back.

Qingyuan went to the headquarters and recklessly entered the hall. Seeing that the meeting was still in session, Song Guibin was speaking, and hurriedly walked out. The Eight Kings stopped him: "Gentlemen, don't go, the meeting will be dismissed immediately, you can sit on the side for a while, and please listen to the drum book later!" ”

Qingyuan found a chair from afar to sit down and listen to Song Guibin's speech. Song Guibin said something to encourage the Eight Kings to resolutely resist Japan. At the end of the sentence, the word "hope" is added. He said: "Our chief hopes that the commander and the officers and generals can cooperate more closely with the local people, and only with the support of the people can we persist in the long-term war of resistance behind enemy lines." Specifically, it would be better to lighten the burden on the people and restrain the military discipline of the brethren. The common people have made many sacrifices for the anti-Japanese resistance, and as anti-Japanese soldiers, we should be sympathetic to the people's hardships. ”

The Eight Kings nodded deeply, and several robes and horse coats applauded. Then he laughed and dispersed. The herald immediately came in and moved the table and bench, and brought in three artists who sang drums.

These three people are two men and one woman, this girl is a real girl, she is only seven or eight years old, with a pair of pigtails, wearing a floral cotton jacket, large velvet pants, and embroidered cotton shoes. One player is in his fifties, and he is blind. One was in his thirties, neatly dressed, but with a smoky face.

The blind artist takes out the three strings from the cloth cover. I felt the chair and sat down, and the final tone was set. The man put on the drum, bowed deeply to everyone, and said, "Thank you, Governors, for the meal." Then he said to the girl, "Sing a little song to the grandfathers, and then they will be pleasing to them, and give you a piece of flowered clothing." ”

The boy timidly bowed to all sides, and stood against the drum rack. The three strings played a minor tune that was circulating in the barracks. The little girl sang softly: "First cup of tea, respect my mother, I will be a soldier and you are at home......"

At this time, the herald approached Qingyuan and said to him, "The commander called you, and he is in the inner room." ”

Qingyuan walked along the root of the wall to the door of the inner room, and went in with the curtain. The room was very quiet, the eight kings were crooked on the kang by the south window, with a cigarette lamp and cigarette tray in front of him, and he was holding an ivory-mouthed gun and smoking a big cigarette. Seeing Qingyuan come in, he pointed to the empty bunk opposite with his finger holding the cigarette drill. Qingyuan sat down on the edge of the kang. After a bubble was drawn, the Eight Great Kings got up and took a sip of tea from the small teapot before speaking.

"Look at Uncle doing this useless thing, are you laughing in your heart?"

Qingyuan didn't know how to answer.

"You see my team?" The Eight Great Kings smiled self-deprecatingly, "You understand why I didn't bring you here to learn how to trade in the first place, right?" ”

Qingyuan said: "Guandong didn't tell me that you made this deal. ”

The Eight Kings said, "He doesn't know. Even your aunt doesn't know I'm in this business. My account in Tianjin is written about the silk business. ”

Qingyuan said: "You have been hiding from them all these years? ”

"Let Guandong know that his father is pulling the pole, and he looks good on his face? Not to mention that my head has to move as soon as the wind comes out! ”

Qingyuan said: "Then why do you bother? If you want to resist the Japanese, you can go over there and become a real revolutionary soldier! ”

"I can't bear that suffering! I'm not afraid of losing my head, I can't afford two dollars of oil and two dollars of salt a day. Besides, I have to support my family! ”

"But what about the future?"

"I'm over 50 years old, I've been doing this for half my life, can I still change careers! Let Guandong run for a future! I saved enough money for him to graduate from college, and my mind was settled. China's society will not be peaceful for ten or eight years. Chiang Kai-shek can't wipe out the Communist Party, and the Communist Party can't eliminate the Central Army, it's enough for me to mess around for a while. ”

"But your team ......"

"What is this team called? I know it in my heart. With me, they can still go around with the devils and do something that is beneficial to the Chinese. I'm leaving, so it's hard to say. You go back and talk to the chief over there, these people must not be traitors with me, so that they can rest assured. But don't expect to be able to adjust like the Eighth Route Army. If you really want to control them from robbing or cheating, they will run out in less than a month. If you can't get it, you will shoot my black gun first! People are rushing to share the fat! ”

The Eight Kings smoked another bucket of cigarettes. The chief of staff came in. He changed the subject. Ask how is the life of Qingyuan's family, is grandpa still there? Then he grabbed a roll of tickets from the wallet hanging on the belt and brought it back to Qingyuan to supplement his family. Qingyuan does not accept it. He was unhappy: "What, think my money is not clean?" ”

Qingyuan said: "Don't be angry, I am now the Eighth Route Army, and I am under the control of military discipline!" ”

The Eighth King nodded and said, "Okay, Chief of Staff, you ask Xiaoxi to take off the branch box he brought and give it to my eldest nephew!" Even those two rows of fire. ”

The staff officer said, "Is it appropriate?" ”

"Outfield point." The Eight Great Kings glanced at the Chief of Staff. The chief of staff went out. The eight kings said, "Take a gun with him." Let's talk about it here, and go over there and say a few more kind words for me. ”

Back in the guest room in the evening, Qingyuan reported all this to Song Guibin. Song Guibin said: "When I negotiated with them today and mentioned that they were not allowed to harass the masses anymore, I almost got into a stalemate. This Eight Kings has a complex personality, and he can't figure it out at once, but on the whole, it seems that he still has a sense of justice. ”

Before dawn the next day, the two of them set off to return to the base area, and had already said that they would not say goodbye, so they were escorted by a group of people sent by the chief of staff. The two of them approached, and the eight kings greeted him, took Song Guibin's hand and sent him a hundred and ten steps, and when they parted, he said solemnly: "This person is Sun Bin's leg, and he was born." However, he will never be ungrateful and will not be embarrassed by the Eighth Route Army. I admire your hard-hearted dedication to the country. Also remember your saving grace. ”

Since then, Bian Yijun has been in contact with us. A year later, Qingyuan went south with a unit and was incorporated into the sequence of the New Fourth Army, and since then he has been far away from Shandong, and has never inquired about the news of the Eight Kings.

Japan surrendered, the War of Liberation, fought Nanjing, entered Shanghai, and established the People's Republic. In the blink of an eye, the teenager became a young man, and the young man stepped into the realm of not being confused. At the end of the fifties, Song Qingyuan took advantage of a business trip to return to his hometown, and unexpectedly met the Eight Kings near the county seat.

He didn't recognize him when they first met. It was before dawn. As soon as he got off the train, he saw a starry sky and a waning moon when he got out of the platform, and he couldn't tell where to go for a while. I saw someone in the distance hunched over, holding a bamboo broom sweeping the street, brushing, brushing, this voice is not in a hurry, not in a hurry, not impatient, very lonely and desolate. He walked over and asked for directions, and the man showed him the way into the city. After walking away, Song Qingyuan felt that this person was a little abnormal, and he couldn't tell how abnormal he was. At that time, he was working as an assistant director in a film studio and was preparing to make a feature film on the negotiations between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party. There was a scene of the People's Liberation Army crossing the river, and some bureaucrats and politicians hurriedly got on planes and fled. One of the shots is of a citizen cleaning the street in front of his door, while coldly watching the plane hurrying south. He felt that this person's appearance and temperament were quite suitable for filming this flashing mass role.

When he settled down at the guest house in the city, he asked around for acquaintances he might meet. I inquired around, but I didn't find one. He was bored walking on the street, and stopped at any time to look at the city, listen to the local sound, browse the slogans and notices posted on the wall, and accidentally found that the name of the director was Song Jin on a notice issued by the Public Security Bureau! He knew that this was Song Guibin's scientific name, so he found the Public Security Bureau, and when he went there, it was Song Guibin. Both of them were overjoyed, and Song Guibin temporarily pushed some things away, and spent half a day talking to Qingyuan. Speaking of the Eight Kings. Song Guibin said that after 1943, the situation here has changed somewhat. Our army focused on developing to the east, and the hand of the Kuomintang stretched out to the northwest side, and the eight kings could not withstand the two-sided attack of the Kuomintang and the Japanese. He also had orthodox thoughts, believing that although the Eighth Route Army was a division of benevolence and righteousness, the legitimate Chinese government was still the "central government," and the head of state of the whole country should still be counted as "Chairman Chiang." Unable to resist the temptation of the Kuomintang's empty title, he accepted the letter of appointment from the Kuomintang Shandong Provincial Government and renamed Bian Yijun the "Third Security Regiment". In this way, as soon as Japan surrendered, he stationed in the county seat of P County under the name of "Baosan Regiment" and collected the weapons of the Japanese army. At this time, our army also received an order to march to the lines of communication and small and medium-sized cities, and liberated the vast areas on both sides of the Jinpu line. A year later, as soon as the Liberation War began, our first action was to besiege the county seat of P County. The Kuomintang ordered the Eight Kings to defend to the death, but they did not send reinforcements or pay for the arms. He also sent spies to supervise the war, because the eight kings had a promise not to be embarrassed by the eight roads. Song Guibin disguised himself into the city, negotiated with the Eight Kings, and mobilized him to revolt. He agreed without much hesitation. He personally ordered the arrest of the agents who were monitoring him. Took the lead in signing the declaration of the uprising. Then he said that he was not in good health, and handed over all the specific defense affairs to the chief of staff and the secretary general to make arrangements. Everything went smoothly. But when we entered the city, and the chiefs were accompanied by the officers of the Third Regiment to see Bian Yuanyuan, he was nowhere to be seen, and he did not move anything except for his personal softness, even the military uniform and pistol were intact on the side of the pillow. Ask Adjutant Xia where he went? Adjutant Xia said: "He said he had a headache and wanted to recuperate, and we were not allowed to go into the backyard." We dared to call him at dinner, but he was already gone, and the back window and door were open, and he was walking from behind. ”

Qingyuan Lian said strangely and asked, "There has been no news since then?" ”

Song Guibin said: "No, after the liberation of Tianjin, we also went to Tianjin to inquire. His family members and neighbors have testified that the shopkeeper Cheng went out to do business a year before Japan's surrender and never returned. Not even a letter. The back room of his house does have Bian Yuanyuan's spirit card, and his relatives think that he died early, and incense is incense every day. ”

Qingyuan said: "Probably indeed dead! ”

However, Song Guibin continued:

Suppression of the counter-revolutionary movement in the later period. The reception room of the P County Public Security Bureau was deserted, and the officers on duty were left alone to watch the house. ”

The receptionist was about to doze off, and when he heard this, he got up and said happily: "Welcome, confess and be lenient, surrender is the only way out, what crime have you committed?" ”

"I have done murder, arson, extortion and looting. You put me in prison first, let me sleep, and I'll rest and explain slowly. ”

The receptionist looked at the old man's new cotton pants and jacket, and the three new luggage inside and out, full of kindness, and suspected that he was mentally ill. He said, "This is a dictatorial organ, don't mess around!" ”

The old man said, "What nonsense, my luggage and clothes are all newly made, and I am ready to come to prison, and I have already made preparations!" ”

"Since you have turned yourself in, you have to explain the crime, and you can't swallow dates."

"That's ready-made. I buried two people alive in Xianggongzhuang in the west of the city, one was Liu Qi, a landlord in Huang County, and the other was Sun Fulai, a trader in Ye County. In Jiaodong, I robbed He Laoju of Tantou Village in Huaixian County and Qin Shuanghao of Qingzhou Chengguan. You go and check, tell the truth. I have to confess my sins, and I have no reason to hide them. ”

The receptionist couldn't tell if he had a cold and burned his beard, or if the old man also had a fever and was talking nonsense. So I asked him:

"Who can prove this?"

"The bitter lord has offspring, check it and know it."

"Why did you turn yourself in here when you committed a crime in Jiaodong?"

"I'm from here, and I want to die back home."

"What's your name?"

"My name is Bian Yuanyuan!"

The usher shuddered. Busy said: "You sit down first, and I'll report to the leader." ”

"I won't run away and I won't make trouble, so don't worry!"

The receptionist stammered and made a report to Song Guibin, and Song Guibin went to the front to see that it was indeed the Eight Kings.

Song Guibin said: "Head Bian, where are you from?" ”

"From Xin'an Town, where I was doing small business, I turned myself in today."

"Have you been doing reactionary activities again since you left here?"

"No, I've washed my hands so easily, how can I do it again."

"What happened before the uprising is no longer to blame."

Bian Yuanyuan thinks that first, he has received the support of the Communist Party, but he voted for the Kuomintang halfway, which is too unrighteous and has no face to enjoy preferential treatment. It was in this way that he left P County alone after handing over the army and the county seat, and ran to the south. He calculated that the money he had accumulated was enough for Guandong's mother and son to spend half of his life, in order not to cause trouble to the child, he cut off the relationship with his family, and wanted to support himself and spend his last years incognito, but in the past few years, he participated in the study, and the more he studied, the more he felt that he was guilty. Then came the campaign to suppress the counter-revolution. I saw that one counter-revolution after another was discovered, and I heard the accusations and denunciations of the masses again and again. He felt that he was a man who stood up and took responsibility for his crimes, and it was too tasteless to hide and hide.

Song Guibin placed him in a guest house and reported to his superiors. The above asked them to investigate the real situation after Bian Yuanyuan left. Song Guibin sent someone to Xin'an Town to investigate according to what Bian Yuanyuan said. It is said that this person has been selling wine and cigarettes since before the liberation, and he is loyal and silent, and no one has ever suspected that he has a historical problem, and since his sudden disappearance, he has raised his vigilance .......

The county party committee truthfully reported the situation to the province, and soon the instructions were issued:

"The preferential treatment of the insurrectionists must be unwaveringly enforced. We should warmly welcome Bian Yuan's performance of recognizing his sins. For their lives, they must be taken care of. All treatment shall be handled as appropriate in accordance with the circumstances of other insurrectionary officers. ”

The county party committee officially hosted a banquet to entertain Bian Yuanyuan, conveyed the instructions of his superiors to him, and suggested that he reunite with his family as soon as possible.

Bian Yuanyuan cried. He repeatedly thanked him and refused to hold any position. He also refused to accept living expenses. He only agreed to issue a certificate to his family to prove his identity as an insurrectionist. And he himself has to live in his hometown and fend for himself.

His son studied aviation. Already working in the civil aviation sector. After receiving the supporting documents, he and his mother came to P County to thank the government, and at the same time mobilized Bian to return to Tianjin to retire for the elderly. Bian Yuanyuan said: "You have your work to do, I have my debts to repay, let's go our own way, the four words of the rebels are given by the Communist Party." According to the fact, your father is a bandit, remember this, and be cautious everywhere in your work in the future, don't work directly and feel that you are quite confident. ”

The old lady didn't leave, but stayed with her wife. Since then, he has set up a tea stall in front of the station. Sell wine in the winter and tea in the summer. By the way, I also serve as a volunteer scavenger. The government still pays him living expenses according to regulations, and this tea stall does not expect to make money, whether you know it or not, you can drink it when you sit down, throw two if you have money, and pat your ass and leave if you don't have money. Whoever doesn't have enough money to buy a train ticket, or who can't afford to stay in a hotel when he gets off the train every night, as long as he finds him, he will accept it. Never asks for names and doesn't keep accounts. If you come to pay it back, he will accept it, and if you don't pay it back, you will never ask. After a few years, the residents in front of the station also elected him as the people's representative.

After Song Qingyuan heard this, he felt that Bian Yuanyuan was a bit of a researcher. As soon as he got his free time, he walked to the station and sat down at his tea stall to drink tea. Deliberately inquired about his history. Bian Yuanyuan did not hide his pull on the pole, and said: "This line of evil is too deep, and there are few good deaths." Thanks to the Communist Party, I have a chance to atone for my sins calmly. Qingyuan quickly found the traces of familiarity on the Eight Great Kings. But after many years, Song Qingyuan grew from a teenager to an adult, and the Eight Kings couldn't recognize him. He was impulsive a few times, trying to explain who he was. Talking about old friends with the eight kings cordially, and thinking about everything, you should think twice about everything, and don't invite unexpected consequences, so I suppressed my enthusiasm. More than ten years later, he really got the benefits of this cold-eyed life, and he was secretly lucky. But after defeating "***", he switched to writing scripts. I regretted it again, and lost a good opportunity to investigate people's inner world and accumulate materials!

The Eight Kings have long since died. No one will remember the deformed people caused by the deformed society, and the deformed way of making a living!