Chapter 278 Traveling back from the modern times to the 33rd

year of the Republic of China It was late in the human world, and the mountains and rivers were entering autumn.

Soon after Ye Heqi and his companions arrived in Peking, it was time to report for the start of school.

Ye Heqi and Shen Runshu both chose the Department of Philosophy, and Li Su studied in the Department of Mathematics.

After reporting, the next day was the opening ceremony.

At the opening ceremony, Ye Heqi met the president of Peking University, the heads of various departments of Peking University, and many other celebrities who left their marks in the history books of later generations.

Among these people, there were teachers, seniors, and students of the same grade as her.

She stood among them, and finally had a clear sense of reality: she was also one of them.

The last person to speak on the stage was the initiator of the vernacular movement, Chen Jiayou, the head of the Department of Philosophy at Peking University.

Speaking of which, Ye Heqi and Chen Jiayou have a lot of connections.

When "Fire Phoenix" was serialized to the finale, Chen Jiayou once wrote an article to support Yao Rong.

And this time, Chen Jiayou was in charge of the Shanghai test site.

The article written by Ye Heqi on "Female Awakening" was bold and sharp, which just hit Chen Jiayou's aesthetic taste, so she got full marks.

She was also the only one who got full marks in all the test sites in this entrance examination.

***

The opening ceremony ended with warm applause.

Chen Jiayou bowed to the crowd and left the auditorium with the crowd. As

soon as he left the auditorium, he was stopped by several freshmen with young faces.

The freshmen were excited to ask Chen Jiayou to sign for them. Chen Jiayou touched the collar pocket of his Zhongshan suit and found that his pen was missing.

The pen was a gift from his wife and had a special meaning to him. After borrowing someone else's pen to sign his name, Chen Jiayou quickly returned to the auditorium.

There were not many people in the auditorium. Chen Jiayou walked up to the podium and saw that his pen had accidentally fallen there. He secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

He put the pen back into the collar pocket and glanced at the audience. He saw that there was a girl sitting in their philosophy department seat.

Peking University did not recruit many girls this year. There were only three people in the philosophy department.

Among these three people, only Ye Heqi came from the Shanghai test center.

So Chen Jiayou thought for a moment and recognized Ye Heqi: "Aren't you leaving yet?"

Ye Heqi looked up and stood up awkwardly: "Teacher Chen, I'm waiting for someone."

Chen Jiayou smiled slightly, and his aged eyes reflected a gentle color: "Waiting for classmates?"

Ye Heqi said: "It's a senior I met before, and they said they want to treat me to dinner."

Chen Jiayou smiled again and was about to leave when he saw a man and a woman walking in from the front door of the auditorium.

The girl didn't notice Chen Jiayou and said as soon as she entered the door: "Heqi, long time no see. Hahaha, I did

n't expect you really applied to Peking University." "That guy Cang Zhixing looked for it on the admission list of Tsinghua University for a long time. He would rather suspect that the people in the admissions office of Tsinghua University missed your name than believe that you didn't apply to Tsinghua University."

The boy also smiled and said, "Don't mention Cang Zhixing, we didn't expect it either."

As he was speaking, the boy glanced and noticed Chen Jiayou's figure: "Hey, Teacher Chen, the opening ceremony has ended for a while, haven't you left yet?"

His name is Chai Tao, also a student of the Department of Philosophy. He has taken several classes of Chen Jiayou, so his tone of voice is very familiar.

Chen Jiayou made a joke: "I was about to leave, but when I saw you come in, I was not in a hurry to leave."

Chai Tao pointed at Ye Heqi and introduced her enthusiastically: "Teacher Chen, this is the junior sister I told you about who single-handedly made many universities open to females."

Ye Heqi didn't dare to take credit: "Senior Chai, you are over-honoring me. This is not just my credit."

Chen Jiayou was a little surprised: "No wonder I heard you talking about Tsinghua University just now. I remember your name is Ye Heqi, right?"

"Teacher Chen actually remembers me." Ye Heqi was surprised.

Chen Jiayou said: "I still remember that you are the author of "Fire Phoenix."

Ye Heqi was even more flattered.

"Okay, you guys go and have fun." Chen Jiayou said goodbye to them and walked out of the auditorium.

Chai Tao and another girl named Wu Zhenzhen took Ye Heqi to Tsinghua University for dinner.

In Tsinghua University, one or two pretty girls could be seen occasionally. They were the first batch of female students admitted by Tsinghua University, a total of nine people.

Cang Zhixing came out to greet them, his tone was particularly sad: "I thought that Junior Sister Ye was also one of them, but I didn't expect..."

Chai Tao pretended to kick Cang Zhixing: "Go away, stop shouting, is that your junior sister? This is our junior sister from the Department of Philosophy at Peking University."

Cang Zhixing repeatedly accused: "Chai Tao, when you usually ask me to treat you to a meal, you don't look like this." Ye

Heqi smiled and admitted his mistake: "There is indeed a misunderstanding in this matter. So, I will treat you to this meal as a gift and apology to Senior Cang."

Hearing the title "Senior Cang", Cang Zhixing glanced at Chai Tao proudly, then waved his hand and said: "No need to apologize, it was my misunderstanding. Come on, let's go to welcome you back."

***

It took Ye Heqi a month to completely adapt to university life.

As the birthplace of the May Fourth Movement and the first national university in the country, Peking University has an exceptionally strong academic atmosphere. Under the shining light of democracy and science, various clubs have sprung up like bamboo shoots after rain.

Chai Tao is a backbone of the Debate Society, and Wu Zhenzhen is the president of the Literature Society. The two have been inviting Ye Heqi to join their clubs.

Ye Heqi did not give an immediate answer, but only said that he wanted to take a closer look.

However, Ye Heqi was not quite sure what to look at specifically.

With such confusion, Ye Heqi returned to the courtyard.

"Miss, you're back." As soon as she entered the door, the doorman greeted Ye Heqi with a smile.

When she lived in Shanghai, her home was small and she could manage without hiring a maid. Now that she had moved to Beijing and lived in a courtyard house, Yao Rong hired a doorman and a kitchen maid.

"Has my mother come back?" Ye Heqi asked.

"My wife just came in."

"Then I'll go find her."

Ye Heqi walked quickly into the main hall.

Yao Rong was sitting in the main seat, holding a cup of tea in his hand.

Peking was getting cold quickly. It wasn't even October yet, but his breath was already filled with white mist.

"You're in such a hurry. Are you worried about something?" Yao Rong waved at Ye Heqi and handed him the tea that he hadn't had time to drink.

Ye Heqi took a sip of the tea and calmed down a little before he spoke, "It's not a big deal."

Yao Rong said, "It's not a big deal, but I'm definitely worried." Then he asked about Ye Heqi's campus life during this period.

Ye Heqi spoke slowly and told Yao Rong everything that had happened during this period.

When Ye Heqi talked about the clubs, Yao Rong asked, "Why don't you want to join the Debate Club and the Literature Club?"

Ye Heqi subconsciously said, "Mom, I didn't say I didn't want to."

Yao Rong said, "From what I know about you, you didn't agree on the spot, which means you are not keen on joining the Debate Club and the Literature Club."

- Even though the scale of these two clubs is very large.

Ye Heqi thought so too.

She lowered her eyes and carefully analyzed her thoughts: "These two clubs are good, but I don't think I can get a good exercise by joining them."

Yao Rong asked, "What about other clubs? Are there no clubs that you are particularly interested in?"

Ye Heqi nodded.

Yao Rong said: "Since none of you are interested, then don't join. Who says you have to join a club when you go to college?"

At this point, Yao Rong looked at Ye Heqi's expression carefully: "Do you have any other plans?"

Ye Heqi shook her head: "I can't really explain it."

Yao Rong touched Ye Heqi's head. Unknowingly, this once thin girl has grown taller than her.

Her hair is soft and black, and there is always a fearless courage in her eyes, just like a bright and shining begonia blooming in this heavy and dull world.

This begonia is no longer willing to limit her battlefield to Shanghai.

She wants to seek a bigger world, wants to stir up more storms, and wants to make the biggest career in the shortest time.

The times belong to the young people after all, but some things cannot be rushed, and she still needs to continue to grow.

Peking University is the best soil to nourish her growth.

"Since you are still not very clear, it means that the idea in your heart is not mature enough. It is better to put this idea aside for now."

"Peking University has strong faculty. In addition to various clubs, it often invites celebrities from all walks of life to hold various lectures."

"You can listen more, see more, and think more." Although the conversation between

***

and Yao Rong did not completely solve Ye Heqi's confusion, it also made her understand a lot of things.

After school the next day, Ye Heqi went directly to Chai Tao and Wu Zhenzhen and declined their invitation.

Chai Tao and Wu Zhenzhen felt a little sorry, but they both respected her choice.

After that, Ye Heqi devoted herself to study. She would attend classes when she had them, attend lectures that interested her, and stay in the library if she had nothing to do.

In this way, she integrated the insights that transcended her time in her mind with the knowledge of this era.

Sometimes she was so busy that even Shen Runshu and Li Su could not find her easily. She

was so busy that she was busy until the end of the first semester, and she became the first in the philosophy department.

Looking at her grades, Ye Heqi laughed and said to Shen Runshu, "What can I do? I love studying more and more."

Shen Runshu raised his forehead and said, "I think you are becoming more and more obsessed."

Ye Heqi snorted and refused to compete with his defeated subordinate.

During the winter vacation, at Yao Rong's suggestion, Ye Heqi went to the Women's Daily with Zhou Qihuai's favorite cakes, Chen Wan's favorite tea, and her camera.

Zhou Qihuai hadn't seen Ye Heqi for a long time. Seeing her carrying so many things to her door, she smiled and said that she must be "a man who comes to visit for no reason."

Ye Heqi made a begging gesture: "You

can't hide anything from Aunt Zhou." Seeing this, Zhou Qihuai stopped teasing her: "Your mother has already informed us that you want to come to the Women's Daily as an intern editor, and we will definitely welcome you. But the salary is not high, can you accept it?"

Ye Heqi said: "Yes."

Zhou Qihuai said: "Okay, then you will start working from tomorrow."

The two agreed.

Knowing that Ye Heqi came to Women's Newspaper mainly to train herself, Zhou Qihuai and Chen Wan liked to take Ye Heqi with them whenever they went out for interviews.

They were responsible for the interviews, and Ye Heqi was responsible for recording and taking photos.

Following Zhou Qihuai and Chen Wan, Ye Heqi was exposed to more things. These things were things she could not learn from books.

After the one and a half month internship was over, Ye Heqi plunged back into her busy studies.

It seemed as if in the blink of an eye, Ye Heqi had ended her freshman year.

This semester, she still sat firmly on the throne of the top student in her grade.

On the day off, Sang Peizhen came to Peking University to find the three of them.

Shen Runshu and Li Su held Ye Heqi on the left and right, and said to Sang Peizhen: "If you hadn't come, she would still be sitting in the library now."

Ye Heqi was speechless: "Don't believe them, they are exaggerating."

Li Su said: "How can you exaggerate? I often hear people mention you in the mathematics department. They say that there is a freshman named Ye Heqi in the philosophy department who is very hardworking. She is seen in the classroom or in the library."

Sang Peizhen laughed.

Ye Heqi ignored the two boys and chatted with Sang Peizhen, asking about her recent situation.

Sang Peizhen planned to stay in Peking this summer vacation. When she heard that Ye Heqi would continue to intern at the Women's Newspaper during the summer vacation, she was also a little tempted: "Is the Women's Newspaper still short of people?"

Ye Heqi said, "You can go ask."

After lunch, Shen Runshu and Li Su went to do their own things, while Ye Heqi and Sang Peizhen took a rickshaw to the editorial department of Women's Newspaper.

After hearing about Sang Peizhen's purpose, Zhou Qihuai smiled and said, "What a coincidence."

If she had asked earlier, it would probably not have worked, but during this period, an employee of Women's Newspaper was pregnant, and the pregnancy was not very good. She planned to take a leave of absence for a while and come back to work after the baby was pregnant.

This gap could be filled by Ye Heqi and Sang Peizhen temporarily.

With the foundation laid before, Ye Heqi could occasionally be responsible for interviews independently, and Sang Peizhen would help record and take photos.

The two cooperated with each other and completed the work in a decent manner.

Sometimes there were omissions, but as long as Zhou Qihuai gave some pointers, the two of them would be able to make up for it immediately, and they could guarantee that they would not make the same mistake again next time.

That morning, Ye Heqi arrived at the editorial office of Women's Newspaper, poured himself a glass of water, and was just about to start today's work when

a familiar figure walked into the editorial office breathlessly.

It was Zhang Nianzhao.

"Teacher Zhang?" Ye Heqi stood up in surprise. Zhang Nianzhao was also a teacher at Peking University, so it was normal for her to call him that.

Zhang Nianzhao took two breaths before saying, "I came to you because I heard about something. Old Madam Ye passed away a few days ago, and the Ye Mansion will hold a mourning hall tomorrow."

Although Ye Heqi and the Ye family had broken up long ago, since Zhang Nianzhao had heard about this, it would be bad for him not to tell Ye Heqi.

Ye Heqi was slightly stunned, and at first she didn't react to who "Old Madam Ye" was.

But soon, her mind emerged with her long-gone girlhood.

"I know, thank you, Teacher Zhang." Ye Heqi thanked calmly, poured a glass of water for Zhang Nianzhao, and asked Zhang Nianzhao to sit down and rest for a while.

Not long after, Zhou Qihuai arrived. She

was quite surprised to see Zhang Nianzhao.

After learning the purpose of Zhang Nianzhao's visit, Zhou Qihuai immediately said: "I will grant you two days of leave. You go to your mother first and tell her about this. She must not know about it yet."

Ye Heqi thought about it and did not refuse. This matter should indeed be told to her mother as soon as possible.

After asking for leave, Ye Heqi took a rickshaw, arrived at the factory, and found Yao Rong.

Yao Rong thought for a moment and said, "Tomorrow I will take you to burn incense and send a wreath to the old lady."

No matter how they broke up, they could not communicate with each other during their lifetime, but they could not ignore each other after their death.

If the mother and daughter were in other places, it would be fine. They

are both in Peking, and if they did not make any statement, it would be easy for people to talk about it.

Just consider it for the sake of Mr. Ye's face.

***

The Ye family was once prominent.

After Mr. Ye's death, the Ye family was no longer as good as before, but a skinny camel is still bigger than a horse, and the family background of the Ye family is still not something that ordinary people can match .

Until the "Fire Phoenix" incident, Ye Fuguang was ruined and the Ye family could only live on their old capital.

In fact, if Ye Fuguang could save face, he could still go to some tabloids to continue to be an editor based on his previous resume.

But Ye Fuguang couldn't let go of this face, couldn't afford to lose this person, and didn't want to see some people who were not as good as him now live better than him, so he chose to lock himself in the Ye Mansion and drink every day to drown his sorrows.

After a long time, the pen in his hand that he used to fight became blunt, and he could no longer write beautiful articles.

Wen Cui tried to persuade him many times, but after persuading him too much, she gave up and put all her thoughts on her son.

When Madam Ye died, to be honest, everyone in the mansion was relieved. Not to mention the saying "There is no filial son in front of a long-term sick bed", Madam Ye's temper is not something that ordinary people can bear.

Ye Fuguang, the head of the family, forced himself to cheer up and handle Madam Ye's funeral step by step, so that the old lady could pass away more decently.

Many close relatives came to see Madam Ye off.

Ye Fuguang and Wen Cui were greeting people at the gate of Ye's house.

Ye Fuguang was talking to the housekeeper about matters of concern when Wen Cui suddenly froze and showed an embarrassed look on her face.

Ye Fuguang followed Wen Cui's line of sight and was also stunned.

He had long forgotten what Yao Rong looked like. It was not until this moment when Yao Rong reappeared in front of him that her figure overlapped with his memory, and was more vivid than his memory, as if several years had not stopped on her.

Beside Yao Rong stood a tall girl with a braid hanging down at her side. Even though she was wearing plain clothes and had a very solemn expression, there was still an unconcealable agility flowing from her brows.

Even though he didn't know the mother and daughter's current situation, Ye Fuguang could see that they had lived very well in the past few years.

"...Why are you here?"

Yao Rong handed over the wreath in her hand and said calmly: "I brought Heqi to burn incense for the old lady."

Ye Fuguang hesitated for a moment, but still took the wreath from Yao Rong and said hoarsely: "Please."

Yao Rong and Ye Heqi entered the mourning hall smoothly, each burned three incense sticks for Old Madam Ye, and then turned around and left the Ye Mansion.

Neither Ye Fuguang nor Wen Cui called them, as if they were ordinary guests.

After walking a few steps outside, Ye Heqi turned around and looked at the mansion full of white sails, which still exuded a sense of decay and desolation even under the scorching sun.

Until this moment, Ye Heqi finally confirmed that the Ye Mansion was really in decline.

She had been imprisoned in this cage for fourteen years, and her mother had also been trapped in this cage for twenty years.

Later, the mother and daughter finally jumped out of the quagmire and ushered in their own wonderful life, but someone was trapped in it forever, decaying and sinking along with the mansion. After the death of

the ***

, Ye Heqi threw himself into his busy life again.

Not long after, Peking University started, and Ye Heqi became a sophomore.

This semester, she has several more courses than her freshman year, and there are many more elective courses.

What surprised Ye Heqi the most was that one of the major courses in their major was taught by Chen Jiayou.

In order to grab the first row, Ye Heqi got up early on purpose, and didn't even have time to eat breakfast. He grabbed the fried dough sticks and ran out with his schoolbag.

"This child, does he really need to be so excited?" Yao Rong was amused and helpless.

But Yao Rong could also guess what the child was thinking.

In addition to having a very high status in the cultural, ideological and educational circles, Chen Jiayou was also a very great revolutionary and one of the future founding fathers.

The child who came from the future had a passionate and abundant emotion for the founding fathers.

When they arrived at the classroom, there were already several people sitting in the first row studying, one of whom was Shen Runshu.

Ye Heqi walked to Shen Runshu, pulled out an empty chair and sat down.

Shen Runshu glanced at her and smiled, "So early?"

Ye Heqi spread her hands, "Same here."

"Have you had breakfast?"

"Yes."

While the two of them were chatting for a few words, most of the people in the classroom were already sitting.

Ten minutes before class, Chen Jiayou walked into the classroom carrying a briefcase.

He glanced at the class and said in a warm voice, "You all came early. Is everyone here?"

Everyone laughed.

Chen Jiayou also smiled and stood on the podium to drink water.

When the bell rang, Chen Jiayou began his class.

As the initiator of the vernacular movement, Chen Jiayou taught the course "Ancient Chinese Culture."

Or it should be said that it was precisely because he was familiar with the historical and cultural process of China for thousands of years that he realized more clearly what this era really needs and what is most urgently needed to be changed and abandoned in this era.

After the class, Chen Jiayou did not leave directly, but announced a news-

he wanted to choose an assistant teacher in the class.

"If you are interested, you can come to me to recommend yourself--"

Before he finished speaking, Ye Heqi had already raised his hand high.

Seeing this, other people who were interested also raised their hands.

Chen Jiayou looked around the classroom and laughed, "Since everyone is so straightforward, then I will just choose you?"

After that, Chen Jiayou pointed directly at Ye Heqi and announced, "I am not very familiar with all of you, but I have seen your report cards. Ye Heqi is the top student in your grade, so she will be in charge of this teaching assistant."

After Chen Jiayou announced the end of class, Ye Heqi walked up to Chen Jiayou and asked what the teaching assistant position required.

Chen Jiayou told her what she was going to do, and then said, "Come with me to the office, I'll give you some information you'll need."

The two walked towards the philosophy department's office building.

Chen Jiayou could see that Ye Heqi was a little nervous and excited, so in order to make her relax, he asked her in a gentle voice what she had done in her freshman year besides studying hard, and whether she had signed up for any clubs or the like.

Ye Heqi said, "I interned at Women's Newspaper during both winter and summer vacations."

This answer was obviously a little unexpected to Chen Jiayou, but after thinking about it, Chen Jiayou smiled and said, "Young people are really ambitious. When I first read the essay you wrote, I saw from your words that you were ambitious to change the status quo."

Ye Heqi said embarrassedly, "But I haven't figured out how to do it yet."

Chen Jiayou became more and more interested in talking.

After arriving at the office, Chen Jiayou asked Ye Heqi if he had any classes next. Seeing Ye Heqi shaking his head, he immediately said happily, "Come on, sit down, let's talk more."

Ye Heqi's eyes lit up, knowing that this opportunity was very rare, and he quickly pulled a chair and sat down, talking about his ideals and confusions.

Chen Jiayou listened quietly, and suddenly said: "You don't join the society, is it because you think they can't train you, or because you think what they pursue is different from what you pursue."

Ye Heqi pondered for a moment and said: "It should be the latter."

Chen Jiayou smiled and completely understood Ye Heqi's confusion.

He did not give direct advice, but just gave a little hint.

"When the factory capitalists exploited the workers more and more, the workers gathered together to form a trade union in order to resist the capitalists and protect their rights."

Chen Jiayou silently added in his heart: Since the 1960s, there has never been a country like China that has tried almost all the existing revolutionary routes. Repeated failures made them extremely convinced that only socialism could save China. So these people with the same aspirations united together to establish a brand new political party.

A thunderbolt flashed through Ye Heqi's mind.

But before she could fully grasp the inspiration, the thunderbolt had dissipated without a trace.

Chen Jiayou saw the thoughtful look on her face and asked her to go back and think about it first, and come to him when she figured it out.

Ye Heqi stood up and said goodbye: "Thank you, Teacher Chen, I really bothered you today."

For the whole day afterwards, Ye Heqi kept repeating the three words "factory", "workers", and "union" in his mouth. He always felt that he had almost figured it out, but there was just a thread missing to completely connect these three words together.

Seeing her so absent-minded, Yao Rong stuffed a bowl of soup into her hands and tapped the edge of the bowl with a spoon: "This classmate has come back to life."

The warm temperature spread from the palm of her hand to her heart, and indeed called back Ye Heqi's attention.

While drinking the soup, Ye Heqi excitedly told Yao Rong about what happened today.

"I didn't expect that Teacher Chen has always remembered me."

Yao Rong smiled and said, "Teachers like excellent students. As the head of the department, he may not remember the names of other students, but he will definitely not forget the name of the top student in the grade."

Ye Heqi was very happy to be praised, but thinking of Chen Jiayou's last sentence, Ye Heqi's smile gradually withered.

"Mom, what step do you think I'm missing?"

"Since you're willing to learn from me, I'll show you a way forward." Yao Rong slowly drank a few sips of soup, put on airs, and said, "Tomorrow is Saturday, and I'm going to discuss cooperation with a big factory."

"There's a trade union in that factory, you can go and see for yourself how the trade union operates."

The

power of the workers was a very strong force during the Republic of China period.

However, individual workers cannot organize effective resistance, and their voices will not be heard by those above them.

Even if they are heard, they will not be taken seriously by those above them.

But when workers unite as one, when workers form a union, their power can be directed in one direction and become very strong.

They can negotiate with factory owners, demand a pay raise, and demand that the factory reduce overtime hours. They can also support students and participate in strike marches with them. The May

Fourth Movement was the beginning of the workers' power stepping onto the stage of Chinese history.

Ye Heqi knew this history and had been to the factory many times, but this was her first time to visit the union and understand how it operated.

When she listened to the union leader proudly recounting the union's contributions, Ye Heqi finally found a thread that connected everything.

This thread is called unity.

It's called organization.

Just like there are unions now, just like there are women's federations in the future...

If she remembered correctly, in this era, whether it was the state or the private sector, there had never been an organization established to rescue women and safeguard women's rights. In

this era, there is still a lack of an organization like the "Women's Federation" that can bring more female forces together and unite more people.

When Yao Rong finished discussing cooperation and signing the contract, she went to the union headquarters to find Ye Heqi. Ye Heqi was sitting on the stone steps beside the headquarters, hugging her knees with her arms around her, as if she was lost in thought.

The leaves of the sycamore tree fell rustling, playfully resting on the ends of her hair.

Behind her was the warm autumn sun, the breeze gradually rose, and the sound of summer gradually faded.

"Heqi."

A few steps away, Yao Rong spoke and called Ye Heqi softly.

Ye Heqi raised her head.

She was wearing a pink long dress today, with sycamore leaves scattered all over the ground, and the hem of her skirt spread out on the ground layer by layer, just like a begonia blooming in autumn.

"Mom, I understand."

She stared at Yao Rong, her eyes brighter than ever before, revealing a recklessness of a newborn who is not afraid of danger, and a courage to move forward despite knowing the difficulties.

"I have figured it all out."

She didn't want to join those clubs because the things those existing clubs wanted to pursue were essentially different from what she wanted to pursue.

Until this moment, she finally saw clearly the path she was going to.

She wanted to establish such an organization.

She wanted to set up a women's mutual aid association.