Zhou Dezhang, the principal of Kaiming Middle School, was reading a newspaper. As he was reading, he exclaimed.
His wife asked him, "What's wrong?"
Zhou Dezhang pointed to an article in the newspaper and said with a smile: "This article is quite interesting."
The old wife leaned over and said aloud: "How can a rat look down on others?"
Zhou Dezhang stroked his beautiful beard and praised: "The author is quite creative. He actually thought of using a mouse as the protagonist. It is interesting to observe people and things from the perspective of a mouse. It is very interesting!"
My wife also showed some interest, took the newspaper, and quickly finished reading the article. She nodded in agreement, "The topic is novel and the idea is profound. It's a good article."
She glanced at the author. "Night Watchman?" She looked at her husband. "Have you heard of him?"
Zhou Dezhang shook his head. "Judging from the sophisticated writing style, this should be a new pen name given by an old author." He shook the newspaper. "This article should be a series. I wonder what his next story will be about? I am really looking forward to it."
…
It was a rare opportunity to go out, so Le Jing planned to take Li Shuran for a good stroll.
The little girl now studies all the time. If she doesn’t go out to play, she will be locked up and turned into a nerd.
Passing by a Western pastry shop, noticing Li Shuran's curious gaze, Le Jing asked her, "Do you want to go in and take a look?"
Li Shuran shook her head in shock: "No, no, the snacks here are too expensive!"
Le Jing smiled indifferently, but was interrupted when the words came to his lips: "Li Shuran, I thought you were so pure and reserved, but now it seems that you are just a fickle woman!"
Le Jing paused, looked up, and saw a young man of about fifteen or sixteen. He had an ordinary appearance, his clothes were clean and tidy, and he didn't look like a rich man. His resentful eyes lingered on the two people's faces.
Li Shuran's face turned pale. From her expression, she obviously knew this person.
Le Jing stood in front of Li Shuran and said, "What nonsense! Who are you? You defamed my sister's innocence in public like this. Please apologize!"
The boy's expression changed slightly, and he looked at Le Jing with a bit of surprise: "Sister? Are you her brother?"
"That's right, apologize to my sister!"
The resentment in the boy's eyes faded away, and he explained nonchalantly: "I'm sorry, it's all a misunderstanding. I'm Shuran's boyfriend, and I just saw that my brother and Shuran were close, so I misunderstood."
"You are not my boyfriend!" Li Shuran screamed, "Don't spit blood on me!"
Le Jing's expression also turned cold. "I don't know you. A girl's reputation is so precious. Please stop talking nonsense."
The young man said calmly, "May I ask for your permission to talk to me, Brother?"
Le Jing glanced at Li Shuran and asked, "What do you think?"
Li Shuran shook her head vigorously, grabbed Le Jing's sleeves tightly, and her cheeks flushed with anger: "Brother, don't get entangled with him, let's go."
The young man's face changed, and a ferocious look appeared in his eyes: "Don't be shameless! My family works in the Tang Mansion. It's your blessing to be favored by me!"
Le Jing sneered, "So what about the Tang Mansion? Can people from the Tang Mansion molest decent girls in public? If you keep pestering me and saying dirty words, I will call the police!"
The young man curled his lips, his eyes were full of disdain: "You can go ask around in Peking, our Tang family is a guest of the police department, and we often hang out with the adults during festivals. You can call the police, and then see whether the police will arrest me or you."
Le Jing asked calmly, "Is your last name Tang?"
"...My family works for the Tang family, and my father is the person Mr. Tang trusts the most..."
Le Jing interrupted him: "Oh, so you are just a lackey. You keep mentioning our Tang family. If you don't know me, you would think you are the eldest young master of the Tang family."
"You are not the young master of the Tang family. Why do you think the police won't arrest you? Please stop making trouble.
The young man's face flushed with anger, and he shouted loudly: "Why don't you take a piss and see what kind of character you are! She is just the daughter of a small merchant from another place. I like your sister because I am giving you face. Don't be ungrateful!"
This was originally a busy street, and the boy's sudden loud voice naturally attracted a lot of discussion.
Le Jing also raised his voice, "What a bully! You are doing evil under the banner of the Tang Mansion, molesting decent girls on the street. If I were Mr. Tang, I would call the police to arrest you and get rid of the family!"
After that, he ignored the boy's dirty talk and grabbed Li Shuran's hand, "Let's go."
On the way, Le Jing learned the whole story from Li Shuran.
Mr. Tang from Tang Mansion is a wealthy businessman. He not only does business with the British, but also with the Japanese. He is well versed in human relations and has a lot of face in the police station.
The young man was called Wang Defu. His father was Mr. Tang's driver and his mother was Young Master Tang's wet nurse. He grew up with Young Master Tang. He was a bully who feared the strong and despised the poor.
Li Shuran never talked much about her family affairs at school. When others asked her about it, she would say that her parents were doing business abroad and sent her to Beijing to study.
After a while, Wang Defu started to keep an eye on her.
"My classmate said that he was the son of a servant, and the master would assign him a maid in the future. He was proud and arrogant, so he was naturally not happy. Although my family was not well-off, I was still a young lady, so..."
Le Jing suddenly understood.
It turns out that Wang Defu's idea was to cross the class barrier through marriage.
He saw that Li Shuran was pretty and looked like a young lady, and when he learned that her parents were not around, he naturally had some bad ideas.
Li Shuran was unhappy and blamed herself: "It's all my fault. I got my brother into trouble. If I had behaved more carefully, it would have been better..."
Le Jing: "What does this have to do with you? It was Wang Defu who had bad intentions. If it weren't for you, he would have entangled someone else. If you blame yourself, you will do what he wants!"
Le Jing comforted Li Shuran a few more times and finally made the little girl happy.
He also asked Li Shuran if she wanted to transfer schools, but Li Shuran refused.
Li Shuran said, "Just like what you said, brother, he was wrong, not me. Why should I hide from him? There are teachers watching at school, he dare not do anything to me! If he pesters me again, I will call the police!"
Le Jing thought about it and it was true. Zhang Defu was just a servant's son after all, and the Tang Mansion would not work hard for him.
In addition, there were many things to do during this period, so Le Jing put the matter aside.
Le Jing's article being published in the "Literary Newspaper" is just the beginning. His top priority now is to concentrate on writing the next series of "Rat Eyes Look Down on People".
After all, "Rat Eyes Look Down on People" is a series of articles, just like the online serials of later generations. If you want to keep it hot, you have to keep updating. Of course, the writing environment in the Republic of China is still very relaxed. He doesn't have to update every day. Le Jing sets a requirement for himself to update at least weekly, which is his current limit. First, he is not in good health now, and second, the works he writes are not the brainless and refreshing works of later generations. He writes tragedies, which tend to be serious literature, which is a heavy burden on his brainpower.
That day, Le Jing was carefully working on his second article when Yang Jinglun rushed in excitedly, waving a newspaper in his hand and shouting, "Sir, sir, you are famous!"
Le Jing put down the pen in his hand and glanced at him, "What?"
Yang Jinglun's face flushed red, and he pointed to a spot on the newspaper and said excitedly, "Sir, look, it's Mr. Zheng, Mr. Zheng wrote a comment on your article!"
Le Jing's expression was slightly stagnant.
Mr. Zheng...is he the Mr. Zheng he was thinking of?
His eyes eagerly looked in the direction of Yang Jinglun's finger. The moment he saw the name, even though he was as calm and composed as Le Jing, his brain went blank for a moment.
Mr. Zheng, it really is that Mr. Zheng!
Mr. Zheng, whose full name is Zheng Yiliang and pen name is Xiaoyao Sanren, is a famous revolutionary and scholar in history. He was amazing in his fighting ability during his lifetime. He used his pen as a weapon to fight against all the dark social phenomena at that time. He was one of the best warriors in the world of verbal attacks. However, it was his death that made him be deified and admired by all people.
He was assassinated.
He had offended too many people in his life, and too many people wished he would die. Even a hundred years later, the murderer behind the assassination of Mr. Zheng was still a mystery.
Regarding Mr. Zheng’s death, there is only this cold line of text in the history textbook: On October 5, 1928, the famous scholar Zheng Yiliang was shot in his bedroom and died at the age of 35.
This revolutionary fighter who advocated freedom and equality throughout his life ultimately died before the dawn of the new world.
It is now April 25, 1925. There are still about three and a half years left before the despicable assassination. There is still plenty of time. Le Jing doesn't know whether he can stop this despicable assassination, but if he has the chance, he will always stop it.
But these are all later stories. What he needs to pay attention to right now is the book review written for him by Mr. Zheng and published in the newspaper!
"Reading "The Rat's Eyes Look Down on People" - How long will the world where people are worse than rats last?" Yang Jinglun read the article softly: "Recently I saw a very interesting article in the newspaper. It actually talked about the society of the Republic of China from the eyes of a rat from the future..."
"...Looking at people through the eyes of a rat, one finds all living things ridiculous..."
"… Although Snow White is a rat, it lives up to its name, with a heart as pure as snow, much cleaner than many people in this world. However, such a pure Snow White cannot survive in this era where people are worse than rats. It must become a pet of the rich and wag its tail to beg for mercy from the rich in order to survive…"
"…Why are our people so callous? Why are our people so despicable and cruel? As the author Night Watchman said, it is because the terminal disease called poverty has infected the entire country. Poverty has taken away the people's emotions and reason as human beings, and made them degenerate into irrational beasts…"
Mr. Zheng Yiliang then changed the subject and moved on to criticizing the darkness of society and the inaction of the country. He took this opportunity to once again advocate his consistent revolutionary proposition - total Westernization.
Finally, Mr. Zheng concluded: "Today, we must admit that if our country wants to be prosperous and strong, we must learn all the advanced systems of the West. The government must vigorously develop industry and commerce, vigorously run education, and improve basic medical services... Only in this way can our China become the new China that Bai Xue said will be free, equal, bright, and prosperous a hundred years later!"
After he finished speaking, Yang Jinglun's clear voice was choked with sobs. He asked Le Jing in a hoarse voice, "Sir, do you think China can stand up again?"
Facing the young man's confused eyes, Le Jing nodded heavily and said, "He will definitely stand up. Before that, we just need to wait."
Waiting for that great man to emerge, that declaration on the tower of the Great Wall finally resounded in the East, dispelling a century of darkness and pushing this country and nation towards a brand new tomorrow.
The influence of celebrity effect is huge, and this is the same in any era. With the big shot Zheng Yiliang writing articles to praise it, all kinds of book reviews for "Rat Eyes Look Down on People" appeared in major newspapers one after another, and the pen name "Night Watchman" became a little famous in the cultural circle.
Many bigwigs have heard that a newcomer recently published a very good article in the newspaper, which attracted Zheng Yiliang to write a review. The pen name "Night Watcher" was also briefly remembered by many people, but many people just forgot it after seeing it. After all, he is just a newcomer, and it is still unclear whether he will be a dragon or a snake in the future. Few people will be like Zheng Yiliang who lost his temper and died prematurely.
Then in the second week, the second story of "The Rat's Eyes Look Down on People" appeared in the newspaper.
The protagonist of this story is a ten-year-old prostitute.
A little girl who was sold to human traffickers by her parents in exchange for the money to survive her family.
This little girl has a prototype, that is, the daughter of the maid family that he took in who was sold before. The daughter of the Zhou family is eleven years old this year. After being sold to a brothel by her parents, she would often come back to see them and use her own prostitution money to subsidize the family.
It sounds incredible at first, but it is very normal in today's era. Many of the sisters who worked in the same brothel as Zhou's daughter were sold by their husbands, parents, or even children. These poor women used the money they earned from their bodies to subsidize their families and support their families.
Although many progressives have begun to call for women's liberation, for most people of this era, women are family property, and it is a normal choice to pawn women when the family is short of money. Even these women think so.
Zhou Da's daughter did not resent her parents at all. She was even considerate enough to save the money she earned from prostitution for her younger brother to use for his future marriage.
Of course, Zhou Da and the others are not the kind of people who completely disregard their daughter's life or death - if they were really that kind of people, Le Jing would have kicked them out long ago. He would not waste his kindness on such scum.
Zhou Da has already made an agreement with his son that he can only marry a wife after redeeming his sister, and he must provide for his sister in her old age and till the end of her life.
When Le Jing asked his family about the whole story for the sake of his writing, Zhou Da's eyes turned red and he told his son fiercely: "After I die, if you dare to ignore your sister, I will turn into a ghost and come looking for you!"
Of course they know that forcing women into prostitution is worse than beasts, they just... have no choice.
For poor people like them, just being alive is a struggle. As a certain literary giant said in his work: "Dignity and morality are what the rich say to others. For the poor, filling their stomachs is the greatest truth."
According to the standards of this era, the prostitute Zhou was already a happy poor girl. After all, her parents still cared about her life and wanted her to live.
The prostitute in Le Jing's story was not so lucky. Her name was Bai Xiang. When she was five years old, she was sold to a brothel by her gambling-addicted father. When she was seven years old, she was deflowered by a male client in the brothel and became a prostitute.
Because she was young and her customers were all people with sexual fetishes, Bai Xiang was tortured in various ways. Soon she contracted a sexually transmitted disease, and her lower body became ulcerated and covered with acne. The madam first used tongs to burn them off, but when even the tongs didn't work, she took away all her belongings and drove her away.
It was at this time that Bai Xue and Bai Xiang met. This was the beginning and the end of the story.
A rich mouse who lived a life of luxury met a poor prostitute who was suffering from a disease, and then heard about her life from the sick and dying girl.
Bai Xue is just a mouse, so it can't do anything. The only thing it can do is to be a qualified listener, silently recording the short and unfortunate life of a prostitute named Bai Xiang in its heart.
Another story of a rat looking down on others.
Just as Le Jing expected, this article touched the sensitive nerves of many people and caused an uproar.
Because in the Republic of China, prostitution was a legal profession, and brothels would pay taxes according to the law. And for many men in the Republic of China, visiting prostitutes was an elegant thing.
Didn't Le Jing stir up a hornet's nest for some people when he published this article?
As a result, the overwhelming praise for "The Rat's Eyes Look Down on People" in the newspapers immediately turned into a series of criticisms.
The author has something to say:
The author is afraid of being locked up, and dares not speak. I wanted to popularize some obscure historical facts with you, but forget it, let's all go.
My gay friend said that although the content of my article is extremely politically correct, the situation is very tense now and we cannot talk about any politics. My gay friend said that I am walking on the edge of a high-voltage line and asked me to be more restrained.
This is not the first time I have been locked out for political issues. I wrote "The Bookstore" and it was locked out again and again after repeated revisions. I was really scared (the funny thing is that my bookstore was locked out because I talked about American politics...)
OK
From now on I will dance with shackles, and you can also read the article with shackles.
But even if I am locked in a coffin, I will use my last voice to shout: TG is awesome (screaming at the top of my lungs)
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