Chapter 44: Departure The two looked at their watches. It was 10:20...
Chapter 44: Set off
The night before departure, Yan Jiuru and Chen Yin were called by their father-in-law to talk.
Secretary Chen also gave some old advice about safety, and emphasized that the political situation was complicated, and that small-timers like them should be cautious and avoid getting involved.
Finally, he handed the two men a letter and some small yellow croakers, and solemnly instructed them, "...He was my old leader when I joined the revolution. He was extremely loyal to the revolution and the Party, generous and righteous, and a very good fighter.
... A bullet hit his lungs, and he kept coughing up blood but still insisted on commanding the battle... I heard that such an old general was persecuted a while ago.
I received word that even the guards and medical staff had been withdrawn, the supply of medicine had been cut off, and the access to the upper levels had been completely severed. Someone was now struggling to get the message down there."
He sighed and said, "I was just an insignificant cadre in the team back then, but I couldn't just stand by and watch such a hero die not at the hands of the enemy, but at the hands of his own people."
"Here's the address and contact person. If possible, find a way to go check it out and take care of it. No matter what, save your life first."
Yan Jiuru looked at his father-in-law, who was both angry and sad. Seeing him stroking the letter, he finally said to the two of them, "Do it within your ability. This matter is too risky. Your own safety is the most important."
Yan Jiuru took the letter, put it in his pocket, pushed Xiao Huangyu back, and said, "Dad, don't worry. As long as he's still breathing, we'll definitely find a way."
He didn't say anything more.
Lord Demon chuckled. No matter what realm it is, whether it is human, god or demon, many things are similar.
It's ridiculous. It's obviously a struggle for power and profit, but they have to use some high-sounding name. In essence, isn't it the same thing?
There is nothing wrong in wanting to seize power, but it is wrong to harm meritorious officials.
Yan Jiuru and his friend declined the small yellow croaker, but his father-in-law shook his head and said, "I was also entrusted by someone, so please accept it."
Chen Yin also said: "Take it, otherwise I'm afraid I won't feel at ease when I entrust it to you."
***
Secretary Chen took the two of them to the cowshed overnight.
The so-called cowshed was not actually a real cowshed. Cows, horses and other livestock were very valuable in the brigade. The people who were sent there were actually placed in a few drafty thatched houses next to the cowshed.
Chen Yin had already told Yan Jiuru the origins of these people.
There was a couple with two children. The man was a mathematician, and his wife came from a family of scholars. After being sent down to the countryside, the family remained together, determined to stay together no matter what. Someone from above recommended him, and he was sent down to the Red Star Commune. These scholars had little labor, and the brigades were reluctant to accept them, but Secretary Chen took them in.
There was also a professor couple who had studied abroad and returned to China to serve. As you can imagine, their background was also arranged here.
The remaining two were old revolutionaries who had made great military achievements, and one was a big capitalist who had not run away. Secretary Chen had taken the initiative to invite them.
Needless to say, he is an old revolutionary and was also the division commander and political commissar in Secretary Chen’s former team. He must be protected.
After the victory of the revolution, many of the survivors in the team went to the city and became officials. Only he thought twice and returned to his hometown in the countryside to become a village secretary.
At that time, many people laughed at him for being the lowest-ranking official.
Now it seems that this lowest-ranking official is the most useful one. So many people above him have entrusted things to him, and he has saved some people's lives.
The other person is a very famous capitalist.
Not to mention the counties and cities, even many industries, shops and houses in the provincial capital belong to his family. After the victory, he donated a lot of industries to the country, but he still ended up in this situation.
***
This person naturally has some connection with Secretary Chen.
When he joined the revolution, the revolutionary team often faced a shortage of funds. Soldiers and cadres had to eat wild vegetables, and their clothes and shoes were in tatters. Not to mention that they were being chased and encircled by Chiang Kai-shek and the Japanese invaders. Life was extremely difficult.
Secretary Chen had worked as a servant to this wealthy capitalist for several years in his youth and knew he was a good man, otherwise he wouldn't have had the chance to learn to read. When the revolution encountered difficulties, he bit the bullet and secretly asked to borrow a few dollars, sometimes a few hundred, sometimes two or three thousand.
At that time, the team also wrote a promissory note and stamped it.
These dollars were said to be borrowed, but in fact not a single dollar was returned until the victory of the revolution.
People like this will be persecuted and fought against. Secretary Chen, as the person who came forward to borrow money, was the first to refuse.
Even though he doesn't like to fight or say much, he is a survivor on the battlefield after all, and he will explode if his bottom line is touched.
He took a gun and went to the Municipal Revolutionary Committee in person to ask for the person.
You don’t want to give it to me, right?
Are you trying to be tough with him?
How could he, a barefoot man, be afraid of people wearing shoes?
According to insiders, Secretary Chen grabbed the head of the Revolutionary Committee and dragged him to the square in front of the municipal government. In front of many onlookers, he ripped off his clothes, revealing more than a dozen scars.
He held a box-type rifle in each hand and fired two shots at the man's head. Then he said, "I was so poor that I went to fight the Japanese and start a revolution. You dare to act tough with me?! Son, I'm not afraid of anyone!
The devils must be beaten, and the people must be punished! We revolutionaries are as firm as a nail!
What's going on? The revolution was victorious, the devils were driven away, and now you're turning your back on us?! Most of these IOUs were borrowed through my own hands, totaling thirty-seven thousand eight hundred and fifty yuan!
Come on, whoever pays back the money with interest now, I will leave without saying anything!
Otherwise, whoever criticizes or fights him should first challenge me to a duel!"
How could those people in the Revolutionary Committee dare to compete with those who came out of the hail of bullets in shooting?
Moreover, there are a few serious people in there. The most important thing is that those who are barefoot are not afraid of those who wear shoes. They have already returned to the countryside to farm. What else can you do to them?
In the end, they had no choice but to compromise and let him take the child to the countryside to be re-educated by the poor and lower-middle peasants. Life in the countryside was hard anyway.
***
The biggest breakthrough in Secretary Chen's life was that he saved his former "creditor" and settled him in his own village.
Although life in the brigade has been a bit hard in recent years, it has been stable enough.
Their brigade basically did not engage in criticism and struggle. At most, they would go to the brigade headquarters for political study every few days. Everyone read newspapers and wrote book reviews on old newspapers, which was considered as practicing calligraphy.
There was a stove in the brigade headquarters, so it was warm and bright, much more comfortable than staying in a thatched hut.
Someone from the commune or above?
Haha, people, no matter who you are, are afraid of those who don’t care about their lives.
Ever since Secretary Chen exploded, everyone from top to bottom knew that this quiet secretary was not someone to be trifled with.
How dare you start trouble on someone else's property? Aren't you afraid you won't be able to come back?!
Didn’t you see that one time a group of Red Guards went there shouting and yelling, but many of them had their legs broken and were thrown into the mountains to fend for themselves, while the rest ran away screaming and howling.
They were so poor that they couldn't even afford a chicken, and from then on no one went to the Xinghua Brigade to cause trouble.
***
Yan Jiuru and his wife came here because these people knew that he was leaving tomorrow and they had some requests for help.
The couple with the child took out a thick letter and said, "If it's convenient, please help send a letter of safety to the child's grandparents and grandparents. The address here is the original one. I wonder if they are still there in the past few years and how they are doing..."
In addition to the letter of safety, the couple who were studying abroad also provided a contact address and phone number, saying, "My childhood friend is Liu Changyi. We grew up together wearing open-crotch pants. If it weren't for him trying to find a solution, we wouldn't have the chance to come here and live in peace.
He may seem a bit out of place, but he's a very righteous person. He's a local resident, so if you need any information or help, you can look for him."
Others are not from the capital, so they can only give some suggestions.
Even though they are in such a miserable state, they all know what's going on.
It would be fine if I didn't have the chance to repay someone's kindness, but I would try my best to repay them even if there was the slightest possibility.
Yan Jiuru thanked these people one by one, and tried to deliver the peace letter to them according to their situation.
***
The next morning, Uncle Zhang drove out on his ox cart half an hour earlier than usual, fearing that the road would be difficult to travel on and would delay their train boarding.
When we arrived at the commune, we changed cars.
Now that it is the slack season for farmers, more people are going out than before, and the cars are particularly crowded. Yan Jiuru still sits on the cover of the machine with his arms around Chen Yin, his buttocks feeling warm, as they bump all the way to the county town.
The two first went to the county armed forces department to find someone to pick up the train tickets. They were two hard sleeper tickets that would depart at 10:45 tomorrow morning and arrive in the capital at around 12:00 the day after tomorrow afternoon.
"Go to the station a little early. There are only passing cars here, so they don't stop for long and are often late. Please pay attention to the announcement..."
They were also given two pistols and a belt full of bullets, as well as specially approved gun licenses, letters of introduction, official letters of contact and other documents.
After a careful inspection, Chen Yin put the two men's weapons directly on their waists, fastened their pistols, and carefully put away the documents.
"Thank you, Minister Qi!"
Minister Qi nodded and, somewhat reluctantly, advised, "Your marksmanship is so good, try not to lose this strength. No matter how many things a person knows, his or her own strengths are still the foundation of life."
The guns, bullets and ammunition were specially approved for the safety of the two on the road, but these parting words were indeed his personal gifts.
Yan Jiuru and Chen Yin were both people who knew what was right and wrong, and they took it to heart.
***
The two still lived in the state-owned Dongfeng Guesthouse.
The receptionist, Sister Shen Fang, also remembers Yan Jiuru.
Chen Yin gave her the pecans, hazelnuts and other mountain specialties she brought with her, and the two of them quickly became familiar with each other.
Of course, Yan Jiuru did not forget the chef and others in the cafeteria. It was impossible to deliver to everyone, so he brought two large bags and asked the chef to share them with everyone.
Even the old man at the bathhouse window was cheerfully cracking hazelnuts, glancing at the vaguely visible shapes of the two people's waists, and admonished: "Take turns bathing, and one person will stay to watch things."
The state-owned guesthouse had heating at night and there were two beds in the room, so the two of them huddled together, talked, and slowly fell asleep.
***
The next day, after breakfast, the two checked out directly.
Yan Jiuru first took Chen Yin to visit the department store.
When the two of them went out, they only brought a handbag and two army green shoulder bags, so they bought a large wicker suitcase here and stocked up on some daily necessities.
Seeing that there was still enough time, Yan Jiuru took Chen Yin to the ready-made wardrobe counter to buy a woolen coat.
He had liked it the first time he came here, but unfortunately they had little chance to wear such fashionable clothes in the countryside. This time he could wear them in the capital.
Although it is a basic woolen coat, the material is real woolen, the quality is very good, thick and crisp.
Yan Jiuru pointed to a bright red one and said, "You will look good in this." But the price was also high, more than 100 yuan per piece.
Chen Yin rolled her eyes at him and whispered, "It looks good, but it's too conspicuous. I think the camel color is pretty good."
Yan Jiuru shook his head like a rattle, "No, it's too old-fashioned and not good-looking."
Yan Jiuru chose a long black dress for him, and Chen Yin shook her head, saying that he was not at that age and did not need to pretend to be mature.
In the end, they listened to Chen Yin and chose dark gray. She chose navy blue for Yan Jiuru. They were both tall, so they chose a long style that reached their calves.
Now that they had the coat, it was inappropriate to wear a cotton jacket underneath, so each of them bought two woolen sweaters. This time, Chen Yin chose beige and gentle light pink, and Yan Jiuru chose black and light blue.
Plus cotton leather shoes.
The two of them got their hair cut near the department store. They looked at their watches and arrived at the train station at 10:20.
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