Chapter 23 Chapter Twenty Two

Hearing that his father was ill, Ma Shengli, who hadn't been home since the Cultural Revolution, found time to go home. The dilapidated bicycle ran as fast as a skinny horse under his strong body. In a blink of an eye, he passed the Baishi Bridge and passed the zoo. In front of him was Xizhimen, and Xinjiekou was his home a few stops away.The broken car creaked under his body, as if it couldn't bear his weight.Every time he rides it, he feels that the car is too big for a person, and the car is like a toy caught in his crotch.Riding and riding, he thought of the thin Li Daiyu from the thin car.Li Daiyu's frail appearance definitely can't help him to ride, but he likes to bully the weak, just like this skinny bicycle. , and took advantage of his strength to push away with one foot before the other foot left the ground and stepped on the pedal.If he didn't take advantage of his strength and slide with one foot on the pedal like ordinary people, and then lift the other foot to turn over and get on the car, this small broken car might not be able to bear his weight.

Taking advantage of his strength, he turned left and right, and rode to the bustling Xinjiekou Street.After another turn, you entered a straight alley. There are two small restaurants with mutton steamed buns at the entrance of the alley. It is not far to go in. When you turn your right hand, you enter a small winding alley, which is the chestnut alley.The high walls on both sides are sandwiched, walk up a section, and arrive at the gate of the courtyard, No. 1 Lizi Hutong.It is only tens of meters away from Xinjiekou Street in a straight line, but it has been cut off from the hustle and bustle of the business district.

There are two gates inside and outside the courtyard. Between the gates of the two courtyards, there is an old locust tree that has been around for many years.There is a small dilapidated room under the locust tree. Before liberation, it was a guard room, and soldiers guarded the compound inside.It is said that this compound used to be one of the real estates of Shanxi warlord Yan Xishan in Beijing.Now, there is also a family living in the dilapidated guard room, an old man called Si Ye and his family of three generations and five members.The old man poked his head out of the window, a lively old man with a pointed head and a narrow chin.He greeted Ma Shengli, and Ma Shengli also greeted back.The fourth master lived in the gatehouse, so he obliged to play the role of the gatekeeper.Whoever comes in or out of the gate, he will stick his head out of the small square window to look around and say hello.Every night when the hour came, he would lock the courtyard door.The red-painted wooden door is closed all day long, and the red paint on it has long been mottled and peeled off. Rows of door nails the size of small steamed buns are rusty, like rows of buttons on the large wooden door.On the big wooden door is another small door with a width of one person for people to come in and out in the morning and evening.The narrow aisle between the two doors is as narrow as a chicken's neck, and the big locust tree takes up more than half of the remaining width of the concierge.The locust tree has long grown higher than the courtyard wall, spreading into a large canopy, covering it gloomyly.The fourth grandpa's house has to turn on a small lamp all day long to be able to look for small jobs at home.

Pass through the narrow aisle, step into the high threshold of the second gate, and enter the outer courtyard.The so-called outer courtyard has houses on the side near the door and the east and west sides, and the north side is a high wall.There are more than a dozen families densely living in the outer courtyard, almost every household has a room. Each of them built a small kitchen on the open space at the entrance, lit a fire for cooking, and piled coal for firewood.Surrounded by the outer courtyard, there is a boxy inner courtyard.Neat green brick walls, dignified and elegant red lacquered courtyard gate.The opposite inner courtyard door is usually closed, and a family of cultural people with status lives inside.I heard that the man is a writer and the woman is the leader of a cultural institution.The family only opened the door of the inner courtyard when they went out, and when passing through the outer courtyard, the residents in the outer courtyard also nodded kindly.For many years, the well water in the inner and outer courtyards did not interfere with the river water, and there was no communication.

Ma Shengli's family lives in the second house near the entrance in the outer courtyard.As soon as you enter the courtyard, you feel small and dark. During the Kuomintang period, the outer courtyard was where servants lived, and sometimes mules and horses were raised.Now, the superior people still live in the inner courtyard aloofly, while the inferior people still live in the outer courtyard aggrievedly.Almost all the people living in the outer courtyard are workers, deliver coal briquettes, pull flatbed carts, and one and a half households are primary school teachers. Living in the courtyard of the lower class is naturally the lower class.

Ma Shengli had been vaguely hostile to the difference between the inner and outer courtyards since he was a child. The inner courtyard was not only exclusive, tall and tidy, but also several steps higher than the outer courtyard.There are four or five stone steps up to the entrance of the inner courtyard, which is the red lacquered gate that opens opposite.While the people in the inner courtyard came in and out, he could occasionally catch a glimpse of the inside. The houses on several sides were very beautiful, and even the bricks in the courtyard were much neater than the outer courtyard.

The floor tiles of the outer courtyard have long been incomplete, and the area is staggered with the soil. The bricks are covered with rust and moss, and there is a sewage ditch in the courtyard, with messy grass growing.The inner courtyard is an exclusive courtyard, and it is said that several faucets are used.More than a dozen houses in the outer courtyard share an open-air faucet. Every morning, they line up to receive water, at noon to wash vegetables, and on Sundays, they line up to wash clothes. This is the most common sight in the outer courtyard. My father was panting and coughing on the bed, and Ma Shengli's aunt was taking care of him.When Ma Shengli walked into the dark room, his father coughed loudly.It took Ma Shengli a while to get used to the darkness in the room. His father's dark and thin face had a pair of protruding eyes that blinked. There was a bed on the wall facing the door in the small room, and his father was lying on that bed. On the bed, there is a bed against the wall on the left hand side of the door, which is where Ma Shengli used to sleep when he came home. The right hand side of the door is against the wall, and there is a crumbling old-fashioned table, dark, with several rickety tables. The top of the drawer is under the window.Then there are two or three chairs, two or three small benches, and an old wooden box in the corner, which is where the father and son put their clothes.The box has long since been cracked, pasted with kraft paper and painted, and has been in use until now.There is a very small window on the facing wall, with two iron railings erected, and the chestnut alley outside the gate of the courtyard is outside the window.In summer, the small window and door of the tofu block can have a little north-south convection, which can somewhat dissipate the heat.

The eldest aunt is a kind-hearted old lady. Ma Shengli's mother died when he was a child. Thanks to the eldest aunt who took care of her from time to time, seeing her is like seeing a half-mother.As soon as Ma Shengli got home, he went to the tap to fetch water, filled the small water tank in his small kitchen, and then got busy inside and out.His father kept coughing, and every time Ma Shengli stepped into the house from the bright light of the yard, he always saw his father's eyes shining first.In the dimness, he could smell the damp and rotten smell from the hut where the father and son had lived for many years.The roof often leaks, the walls often have damp marks, and the old tables, chairs and benches emit moisture.The bricks under the feet have long been infiltrated with the soil due to years of dampness. When you step on it, it looks like a block of hardened soil. If you twist it vigorously with the soles of your feet, you will feel that each brick may be soft and turn into powder.

Looking at his thin father, Ma Shengli couldn't figure out why he was so big.His skin is dark like his father's, his cheekbones are high like his father's, and his temper is big like his father's. However, his father is thin, only half the width of his body.It is a bit of luck for me to grow up to this physique from eating steamed buns and eating pickles.He went out to buy food, vegetables, and medicine, and when he got home, several neighbors had already gathered in the house.Ever since he was admitted to Beiqing University, the neighbors in the outer courtyard have looked at him differently. When he came home, they would greet him and talk to him. Even the neighbor who was a primary school teacher took the initiative to get close to him.Their daughter is in middle school, and it is the family's ideal to be admitted to Beiqing University.

Several neighbors asked him about the Cultural Revolution, and the Beiqing University movement was now a national topic.Ma Shengli sat on a small bench and talked eloquently.Since he entered Beiqing University, every time he returned to this courtyard, he had a good feeling of returning home.Now, talking about the Cultural Revolution at Beiqing University is more like revolutionaries from the Holy Land of Revolution. Most of the neighbors are used to the darkness in the house, and every family is like this.At this moment, the group of people listened to Ma Shengli's story with shining eyes.Facing Ma Shengli was the semi-bald Master Wang, a worker of Xinhua Printing Factory, named Wang Wenxiang. He stared at Ma Shengli with big, energetic eyes.He drew a conclusion from Ma Shengli's narration: this is a revolution of the proletariat, to overthrow those in power who are taking the capitalist road.Hearing the exciting part, Master Wang's forehead shone even brighter.Next to him was a young man named Dabao, the buyer of the hotel. He kept nodding while listening, and said with insight that he had gone to Beiqing University to read the big-character posters twice, and he talked about it vividly. What I saw and heard at Beiqing University.Ma Shengli waited politely for a while, then stretched out his hand to interrupt his words, and continued to talk mainly about me.Dabao has a pair of upside-down eyes. When he looks at people, he looks like a stage singer who raises his eyes and shows his energy. In terms of age, he is in his twenties, and he looks like he is in his thirties and forties. Instantly lit the cigarette again.Ma Shengli pointed to Dabao's father lying behind him, signaling that he would quit smoking.Dabao packed his cigarettes and began to talk about the Cultural Revolution in a thoughtful manner.Opposite Dabao was Boss Ding, a cart puller who had been friends with Ma Shengli's father for many years. He was frowning and thinking about it leisurely.

Although it is a small world, Ma Shengli still feels that there is a long way to go to make trouble here.The aunt was busy with dinner in the kitchen, and the father pricked up his ears on the bed, not daring to say a word. The son had made a fool of himself during the Cultural Revolution at Beiqing University. It was an honor to be a father. Much better.Ma Shengli picked up the schoolbag on the bed and said, "I still have a few leaflets from Beiqing University. Please take a look at them later. They are all criticizing the crimes committed by the Party Committee of Beiqing University and the Beijing Municipal Committee." Boss Ding, who looked like a little old man, said, "You might as well read it to us." Ma Shengli said, "I don't have so much time, I can't read it. Let's do it." He suddenly had a revolutionary initiative, Go to the kitchen to scoop out half a bowl of leftover porridge: "I will create a bulletin board for you and post it for everyone to see. We have educated and uneducated people in our outer courtyard." He looked at Wang Wenxiang in the printing factory and said, "Master Wang has culture." , Teacher Lin over there is also educated, and Dabao graduated from high school, so I can read it to everyone." Dabao asked: "Where is it posted?" Ma Shengli pointed to the blue brick walls on both sides of the gate of the small inner courtyard diagonally opposite: "Just post it There." Someone asked, "Would you let me post it?" Ma Shengli said, "What era is it now? It's the Cultural Revolution! Who dares not to let me post it? If I can't guarantee it, I will be posted a big-character poster in the future." As he said that, he picked up a roll of leaflets and went straight to the outer wall of the inner courtyard. The red-painted gate and the green brick courtyard wall facing south were clearly green and red under the sunlight, very bright.He wiped the rice porridge on the wall with his hand, and after a while, he pasted dozens of leaflets in a long and rectangular form.The white paper was shining brightly on the green wall. He felt that it was not strong enough, so he went to Mr. Lin to borrow a brush and red ink, and used a red pen to outline the four sides of the bulletin board made of leaflets.A red border on the white paper is even more prominent.On the half-page blank paper of a leaflet in the middle, he wrote "the latest developments of the Cultural Revolution" with a red pen, and then stood in front of the newly opened propaganda column with great satisfaction and read it.Half a bowl of porridge was not enough, so he filled another bowl.Thinking of going home next time, I will bring back a bucket of paste from Beiqing University. Seeing that the blue brick wall in the inner courtyard was far from being fully occupied, Ma Shengli waved his hand vigorously, and said to the neighbors surrounded by the bulletin board: "Next time, I will bring more leaflets and big-character posters. Post it." Then, he said to Wang Wenxiang: "Master Wang, read it to everyone." Wang Wenxiang stretched out his hand to stroke the sparse hair on his head, looked at the red lacquered wooden door in the inner courtyard, and said slowly: "Don't Disturbing other writers' writing." Ma Shengli said: "What are you afraid of? Writers are all feudalism, and there are not many good ones now. Anyone who opposes the Cultural Revolution will be defeated." Wang Wenxiang still felt embarrassed, and Ma Shengli was impatient. He waved his hand: "What are you afraid of, I will show you a head!" As he spoke, he began to read aloud.His voice was very loud, as if he was making a critical speech, and his thick fingers were waving like thunder. The fourth master at the gate heard the sound and came over, and several families of men, women and children from the outer courtyard also came over. After a while, a dozen or twenty people gathered around, forming a microclimate of the Cultural Revolution.Hearing the creaking of the inner courtyard door behind him, Ma Shengli glanced back while reading, and a pale face appeared inside. The inner courtyard door was relatively high, and people all raised their faces to look there. Ma Shengli turned his head again, He continued to read the leaflet aloud without pausing, and after a while, he heard the courtyard door behind him close. He read it for a while, and said to Wang Wenxiang of Xinhua Printing Factory: "You continue to read." The middle-aged worker was still a little hesitant, but the young buyer Dabao said with a smile, "Let me try." In order to support new things, Ma Shengli stood by the bulletin board for a long time, until Dabao became hoarse, and the master Wang from Xinhua Printing Factory also cleared his throat, and read two pages before he returned. Take care of father at home.His father started to cough violently again, and he helped his father to take the medicine, and gently beat his back for him.Looking out from the hut, the crowd around the bulletin board has dispersed, only a few elementary school students who have just finished school are still pointing and reading. After a while, the elementary school students also ran home to eat.Under the midday sun, only a man and a woman wearing glasses stood there, looking up and reading the leaflets. They were the owners of the inner courtyard. Looking at their backs, one could imagine their frightened faces.He knew these people so well that they didn't dare to express their dissatisfaction with opening a bulletin board.They are very fragile, and the mud bodhisattva cannot protect himself when crossing the river. He suddenly decided to test his judgment, put down the lentils he was choosing, got up and left the hut, and came to the bulletin board.He stood behind the couple of high culture and status with his hands behind his back, and he was very satisfied to observe the frightened expressions of the two from the side.He deliberately moved his footsteps, letting his weight make a subtle but slightly weighty sound under the soles of his feet.The two people turned their heads immediately, the man was tall, the woman was short, both very thin, with slightly surprised eyes exposed behind two pairs of almost identical white-rimmed glasses.Ma Shengli stood there calmly with his hands behind his back, slowly pointed to the bulletin board on the wall and said, "Is it okay to post it here?" The couple nodded quickly: "Yes, yes, very good, learn about the Cultural Revolution for us." It provides convenience." The throat joints of the tall and thin man squirmed when he spoke, reminding him that writers are all rogue and bad elements.The short and thin woman asked politely, "Are you at Beiqing University?" Ma Shengli said, "Yes, Wu Keqin and I were involved in the Cultural Revolution together." Head: "Okay, you have done a good job. You have a high level of Marxism-Leninism, and you have set an example for the whole country." At this time, a middle school student-like girl walked out from the high red lacquered wooden door. She had a beautiful face and a short red and white checked skirt under a white shirt. She called, "Mom and Dad, it's time to eat." What are you looking at?" The girl replied, "Look at the latest news." The girl ran down the steps, looked at the wall, then glanced at Ma Shengli, and said, "These should be posted at school, why post them at home?" Come?" Ma Shengli choked suddenly.The father said: "It's good to stick it here." The girl flicked her short hair and looked back at Ma Shengli. The big bright eyes on the dark melon seed face showed dissatisfaction. She held her parents left and right, Said: "It's time to eat." They stepped on the steps together and entered the red lacquered wooden door. The door clanged shut, the red-lacquered wooden door like a silent notice in the blinding sunlight. As Ma Shengli walked back to the dark hut, he thought of Li Daiyu and her parents.The girl's dissatisfied glance when she turned her head just now made him very uncomfortable, and there was undisguised cold hostility in her big black and white eyes.He squinted his eyes and compared Li Daiyu with this girl in the dark, then he folded the lentils in his hand into two, and then into four, and dropped them into the basin with a hum.