One day at the beginning of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, after work on National Day, she saw her mother sitting under the shade of a tree in the courtyard. She had prepared a basin of washing water and placed it in front of her, waiting for him to come back. Guo Qing brushed off the dust on his body and squatted in front of the washbasin, about to wash his face. His mother stared into Guo Qing's eyes with a smile and asked,""There's a female classmate of yours in the Li Village called Li Zhen?”
"Yes, why?" Guo Qing asked.
"Someone came to propose marriage today and said that Li Zhen agreed to your proposal.”
Guo Qing heard his mother mention Li Zhen's name and his face immediately turned red. This name was too sensitive to him.
Li Zhen was his female classmate from County No.1 Middle School. Today, his mother suddenly mentioned her name and said that she agreed to marry him. However, he was not prepared at all and did not know how to answer this important question that his mother suddenly raised. He was perturbed,'Is this really Li Zhen's intention?
Li Zhen was stubborn, upright, honest, honest, and good at studying. When they were in school, he had a good impression of her, but he had never dared to think about dating her or even getting married to her. Until the end of the high school graduation exam, they were still normal classmates. There were no hints or confessions between the two of them. In addition, the school had a clear rule that students were not allowed to fall in love or get married. Their very serious form teacher, Mr. Chen, was very strict with his students in this regard. He was afraid that young students would abandon their studies because of falling in love too early, affecting their future studies. Therefore, he had repeatedly emphasized in class that puppy love was not allowed. He had repeatedly advised his classmates,"Now is a good time to learn knowledge and grow skills. I don't dare to delay my studies because of other things.”When he said " other things," the students all understood. Of course, they knew what the teacher was referring to. He even warned everyone from the bottom of his heart,"There are many good people in the world! How many have you seen? It won't be too late to find one after you graduate from university."
Guo Qing and Li Zhen were honest students who followed the rules. They had such thoughts, but they did not have the courage to cross this line!
According to his mother, the person who introduced him had already come. It seemed that he had to take it seriously. As Guo Qing thought of this, his calm heart suddenly felt an uncontrollable excitement. Li Zhen's dignified, friendly, and smiling face immediately appeared in front of him. Two classmates who had studied together and lived together for six years, knew each other well, and had a good impression of each other, if they could really get together and live together for a lifetime, it would be a beautiful thing. This was much better than the words of matchmakers and the orders of parents.
But how should he answer his mother's sudden question? He wanted to test his mother's attitude first. He lowered his head and said very seriously and hesitantly,"Mom, I'm afraid that female classmate of mine you mentioned just now won't do!”
"Why not?" His mother frowned.
"She's good in everything, but that person is too stubborn and has a sharp mouth. I'm afraid she won't be able to get along with you after we get married and make you angry.”
"As long as the two of you get along. What was there to be afraid of? You can eat me? If you're willing, set a date for us to meet and talk.”
"I'm fine. You see." National Day told his mother the truth. When her mother heard this, her face immediately broke into a smile. The stone that had been hanging in her heart for a long time finally fell to the ground.
After lunch, her mother rushed to the aunt's house at the east end of the village to report the good news to her sister. Guo Qing's aunt was Guo Qing's father's only sister. Guoqing's father lost his mother when he was thirteen years old. It was his sister who helped him grow up, marry a wife, and start a family. Everything in the family was handled by his sister. Even now, when the family encountered major and difficult matters, they would always look for their sister to decide. On National Day, their parents had long treated this sister as their mother, and her sister was their backbone.
Guo Qing's aunt's house was not far from Guo Qing's house. She lived at the east end of the village and was only a step away.
After listening to her sister-in-law's story, the elder sister was so happy that she slapped her thighs and asked,"Is that girl called Li Zhen really our National Day classmate?”
"That's right! According to Guo Qing, they had been in school together for six years. The person who introduced her also said that ever since Li Zhen graduated and returned home, she had been refusing to marry into the family. Her mother had forced her to say that she had taken a fancy to the National Day holiday.”
"Aiya, National Day Mom, this will definitely work. There was an 80% chance that it was because these two kids were free in school.”As he spoke, he patted his head. I only know how to suffer all day long. Why didn't I think of this? Would my honest National Day get a wife in school?! I'll go to Li Jia Village tomorrow to meet the matchmaker. If it's suitable, we'll quickly settle this matter.”
In the first year of junior high school, Li Zhen and Guo Qing were in the same class. At that time, Guo Qing was the study committee member of their class. Not only was he good at studying, but he was also very united with his classmates. He had a lot of prestige among his classmates. After the storm of the Cultural Revolution swept into the school, every class had set up a revolutionary leadership group. Guo Qing was born in a poor peasant family. His parents did not have any political or historical problems, so he belonged to the "Red Five" children at that time. He was usually kind and shy, but he was elected as the leader of the revolutionary leadership group in his class. He and several other students in the class were responsible for the leadership of the class in the early days of the "Cultural Revolution".
As soon as the "Cultural Revolution" began, the school was instantly involved in the black storm of the ruling party, the revolutionary academic authorities, and the anti-party and anti-socialistic gangs. The secretary, principal, and vice principal of the school were all dragged out by the Red Guards and became capitalist roaders, revisionists, and anti-triad elements. Many teachers were also dragged out to denounce them. On the night of August 6th that year, the school's criticism contest reached its climax. Even now, the scene of that night was still vivid in his mind, making him shudder. Every time he recalled the thrilling scene that night, the shadow of National Day would naturally appear in front of Li Zhen.
It was an unusually hot day. After dinner, there was a sudden thunderstorm, and the weather immediately became cool. At this moment, the lights in the square in front of the school cafeteria suddenly lit up, and the school's tweeter sounded. After the song " Sailing the Sea by the Helmsman " was played, it was the notice of the school's " Cultural Revolution Committee ". All the revolutionary rebels were to go to the square outside the cafeteria to convey the revolutionary experience of the Red Guards from other places.
Soon, a large crowd gathered under the bright lights. Li Yongge, the deputy director of the school's Revolutionary Committee and a third-year student, stood on a table and read out a letter from Pingyang City. The writer of the letter was a student who had graduated from this school in the past few years. The words of the letter were mixed with fiery revolutionary words and touching battle slogans. It was full of gunpowder. Li Yongge recited the words in an impassioned manner,""…Revolution is innocent, but rebellion is justified! We want to create a rebellion against the capitalist roaders, a rebellion against revolutionary revisionism and all the revolutionary academic authorities! He had to be willing to cut himself into pieces and dare to pull the emperor down from his horse! We must carry forward the spirit of beating the drowning dog, and knock down the capitalist roaders, counter-revolutionary revisionists, chameleons, small reptiles, and all the other rebels. Then we will step on them and make them unable to rise again…Comrades, the revolutionary situation here is very good. The revolutionary rebels have never been so full of fighting spirit and so proud! Not only do we have to beat down the capitalist roaders, put paper hats on them, hang signs on them, and make them lose their prestige, but we also have to dig deep and find out the counter-revolutionary revisionists, the new and old anti-revolutionary elements, the right-wing elements, and the revolutionary academic authorities who ride on the heads of the teachers and students, and let them taste the iron fist of the dictatorship of the class…"
The letter was read twice. More and more teachers and students went to the square. Listening to those fierce, ear-piercing, and provocative words, some people were scared out of their wits and hid quietly at the side. Some were hesitant, not knowing what to do. However, most of them were young students who had been incited by the so-called revolutionary 'heroic words.' Under the influence and coercion of this intense atmosphere, they could not help but imitate the actions of the 'revolutionary generals' in the provincial capital and immediately put them into action. First, someone pulled out the principal, secretary, and vice principal of the school one by one and hung wooden tags such as "capitalist roaders","revisionists", and "new anti-three elements" on their necks. Then, two teachers who had been labeled as right-wing in 1957 were found out. They couldn't find a sign at the last minute, so they found a paper box with ink bottles about the size of their heads and put it on their heads. A long piece of white paper was pasted on the back of the box, with the words "right-wing" written on it. The fluttering white paper looked like the curtain behind the Japanese soldier's hat in the movies, making people not know whether to laugh or cry.
Later on, more and more people were caught. Someone secretly counted that there were a total of 18 classes in the school, and the form teachers of 15 classes were caught. There were also more than 50 other teachers and employees. Some of the radical pranksters were ingenious and gave the teachers who were caught many humiliating nicknames. They wrote these nicknames on paper hats, and some even wrote them on the snow-white shirts they wore. One of the homeroom teachers was wearing a black silk short-sleeved shirt. It was difficult for him to write, so he ordered him to go back to the dormitory to get a white shirt. After he obediently put on his beloved white shirt, he had the other party write the words "Old Perverted Dog" on it before he was let off. Even the school doctor had been pulled out. The words "pest" were written on his shirt. The old school doctor bent over, his head almost touching the ground from the pressure, and his butt sticking up high. He groaned and wanted to straighten up, but was forcefully pressed down again. At this time, he suddenly felt uncomfortable in his stomach. He wanted to scream, but he did not dare to shout, so he quietly said to the person beside him,"My stomach hurts badly." He struggled to straighten up. However, someone shouted,""Ignore him. Do doctors have stomachaches?”He pressed him down and knelt on the ground.
That night, the criticism of the school leaders and teachers did not end until late at night. However, the matter was not over. The situation became more and more intense. That night, the school's revolutionary committee received a notice from the county's "Four Purities Work Group", asking the teachers and students of the school to attend the meeting in the county auditorium the next day, saying that it was to convey the central documents. After some research, the leaders of the school reform committee assigned the school leaders and teachers who had been caught that night to various classes. The next day, when they went to the county auditorium to listen to the report, the students from each class separately escorted them to the streets to protest.
The next morning, at around eight o'clock, a majestic parade poured out of Dragon City No.1 Middle School. They carried red flags, shouted slogans, and distributed mimeographed flyers along the way. At every interval in the team, there were a few so-called "capitalist roaders" and "counter-revolutionary revisionists" with signs hanging on their chests or paper hats on their heads. Some ingenious rebels dressed them up like neither humans nor ghosts. When the students 'parade appeared on the streets of Longcheng County, it immediately caused a strong reaction. The shocked crowd and onlookers surrounded the parade in layers, trying to figure out what was going on. What were these people holding flags, shouting slogans, and escorting these people with signs and paper hats going to do?
The rebel factions of the various departments and units on the streets were immediately inspired by the students 'actions and followed suit. In less than a cigarette's time, the " capitalist roaders " and " counter-revolutionary revisionists " of the various organs of the county party committee and the county government were also like the so-called " capitalist roaders "," counter-revolutionary " and " gangs " who wore paper hats and hung signs in Dragon City No.1 Middle School. They were also dragged out by the rebels of their own units and paraded through the streets. Some of the "rebels" in some units imitated the students 'methods and spent a lot of effort to create many new tricks. The rebels of the Longcheng County Pu Theater Troupe made the leaders of the troupe wear the costumes of the clowns on the stage and the official hats with pointed and round hat wings of the treacherous officials on the stage in the past. They dressed up as treacherous officials and muddle-headed dog officials who were hated by everyone. There was a rebel in one unit who asked the capitalist roaders in their unit to carry a copper gong in their hands and wear a paper hat on their heads. With every step they took, they would hit the gong and shout,"Everyone, come and see. I'm a bad person with sores on my head and pus on my feet! Everyone, quickly step on me and make sure that I will never be able to turn over a new leaf!”; Some people made a thick wooden plate weighing dozens of pounds, tied it with thin iron wire, and hung it on the neck of the so-called capitalist roaders in their unit. After a while, blood flowed down the neck of the person wearing the wooden plate.
Just like that, a black storm of the masses fighting against the masses and cruelly criticizing the old officials immediately blew wildly in every corner of Longcheng County.
August 7th was the hottest summer of the year. The heat was unbearable and people were irritated. Late that night, Zhang Yunxiang, the head of the Longcheng County Party Committee Organization Department, was beaten to death by a group of so-called " revolutionary masses." Wen Yucheng, the respected old principal of Longcheng County No.1 Middle School, could not stand the repeated criticism and jumped off the seven-story teaching building. His flesh was badly mutilated and it was a tragic sight.
After the storm subsided a little, when the teachers and students of the school recalled the scene of that night again, someone said in surprise, Wasn't Teacher Chen Weilai at school that night? He was also a homeroom teacher, but why wasn't he affected at all?
Actually, only a few students in Teacher Chen's class knew about this. That night, when the fight in the square in front of the big restaurant reached its climax. Guo Qing and a few of his classmates from the " Revolutionary Leading Group " were also standing in the crowd. Although they were also shocked by these fierce actions, they did not forget themselves. They still tried their best to remain silent and calm. Seeing so many homeroom teachers being dragged out, Guo Qing suddenly felt a little worried. He was afraid that if someone was hot-headed and dragged Teacher Chen out, what would happen? Although their form teacher, Teacher Chen Weilai, was weak by nature, he was upright and loved his students like his own children. He wished that he could give all his knowledge to his students. Teacher Chen was their good teacher. The students loved him from the bottom of their hearts. No matter what, they couldn't drag him out and let him suffer. He quietly pulled Wang Kui, who was standing beside him, and said,""Let's go to Teacher Chen's place to take a look.”As he spoke, he quietly left the crowd with Wang Kui, Li Ping, Li Erxi, and Shi Zhiqiang and came to Teacher Chen's window. Through the glass window of Teacher Chen's office cum dormitory, he saw Teacher Chen holding a cigarette between his fingers. He was pacing back and forth in the room thoughtfully, with deep worry hidden between his brows. Guoqing asked his friends,"Do you think anyone dares to come and fight with Teacher Chen?"”
"Whoever dares to come and arrest Teacher Chen, we'll drag him out and show him to the public!”His companions said in unison.
They quietly squatted on the steps in front of Teacher Chen's door and did not disturb him until the crowd in the square had completely dispersed.
Later, those who knew about this situation, although they were full of respect for the students in Teacher Chen's class, no one told this secret. Everyone knew that if this situation was made public, then these kind students would definitely be beaten up as " royalists " and immediately become the target of the rebels.
From then on, Li Zhen had fallen in love with National Day.
However, when her classmates went to various parts of the country to make connections, there was a small unhappiness between Li Zhen and National Day. However, she loved him even more after that.
Just as the wave of fighting the capitalist roaders subsided, a new wave of revolution rose everywhere. The " revolutionary young generals " of Dragon City Middle School also fanatically threw themselves into this new and exciting torrent. The school's first big meeting was organized by the school reform committee. Four "revolutionary generals" were selected by the students from each class to go to Beijing to learn the experience of the "Cultural Revolution". As the leader of the Revolutionary Leading Group, Guo Qing was naturally selected. A total of 80 teachers and students went to the school. They lived in the Central University of Finance in the western suburbs of Beijing. On September 15th, 1966, they were received by Leader Mao in Tianamen Square. Later on, the connections were more casual. As long as they had a recommendation letter from the school reform committee, they could take a free ride, eat for free, and connect all over the country. However, there was an unwritten rule at that time that students who were classified as the children of the "Black Five" were not allowed to "privately" go out and make connections. Although this rule was absurd, no one dared to disobey it at that time. National Day saw that a few students from poor backgrounds in the class were treated unfairly. He felt very upset, but he could not change it. He quietly asked for their opinions and asked them where they wanted to connect. Two students said that they could go anywhere as long as they could go out and connect. One of them was called Wu Xianbin, and the other was called Zhou Haiyun. They were both good students in the class, but because their family backgrounds were landlord and rich peasants, they were slandered as the children of the " five black categories." When the two heard that National Day volunteered to take them out to connect, they were overjoyed and immediately decided to go to the hometown of Mao's leader, Shaoshan.
When he learned that the three of them were going to Shaoshan on National Day, Li Zhen's heart was itching. He also wanted to go out with National Day. He wanted to take the train with him to go out and see the world. He wanted to broaden his horizons and see the world. She thought to herself,'If I go out on National Day, I'll be especially energetic when I walk.' When she heard that they were ready for National Day and were leaving the next morning, she was a little anxious. After dinner, Li Zhen and her roommate, Hao Aiying, went to contact National Day.
When the two of them found Guo Qing, he was lying on his bed, looking for the location of Shaoshan and the train station to pass through and transit on a large map. When he heard their intentions, National Day flatly refused. She said that it was too chaotic outside and it was not easy to take care of too many people. Moreover, it was not convenient to go out with two female classmates. After Li Zhen heard this, it was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured on his head. His heart turned cold, and he resentfully left the National Day dormitory, feeling very embarrassed and resentful. However, when she thought about how National Day could understand the difficulties of the persecuted students and take the initiative to lead Wu Xianbin and Zhou Haiyun out to connect, she could not help but admire him. Especially the excuse of " going out to meet two female classmates, it's not convenient ". Although it was too feudal, but thinking about it from the other side, this showed that he was not a frivolous person and would never do anything to flirt. Thinking of this, the resentment in Li Zhen's heart dissipated, and he loved National Day even more.
Li Zhen was the same as National Day. Walking out of the school gate and returning home, before he could settle down, there was an endless stream of matchmakers. However, even though those professional matchmakers had displayed all kinds of martial arts, Li Zhen always gave them an "iron bolt door" and did not agree. Although two of the in-laws introduced to her by the matchmaker had better conditions, and the man had a formal job outside and ate the food provided by the state, Li Zhen did not think much about it. She resolutely and decisively rejected it because her heart was tightly tied to National Day.
Finally, one day, her mother could not hold it in any longer and got angry with Li Zhen. This old woman, who was usually kind, smiling, and never quarreled with others, suddenly became angry and cried bitterly. She moved a chair and sat at the door of Li Zhen's room, blocking Li Zhen in the room. She sobbed and said,"My little ancestor, what kind of in-laws are you going to marry into? Give me a straightforward sentence today. You're so noble!”
Seeing her mother like this, Li Zhen was a little afraid, but she still kept her mouth shut. She refused to be outdone and said,"What era is it now?! Do you want me to marry her or do you want to marry her?"
"I won't do it! You are free to go! Then who do you like?"
After a while, Li Zhen's voice was as soft as a mosquito's,"My high school classmate Zhong Guoqing is better than those you mentioned.”
When her mother heard this, she immediately stopped sobbing. Her eyes widened as she asked,"Which village?"
"Green Pine Ridge."
His mother immediately moved the chair away and smiled through her tears. She scolded,"Damned woman! Why didn't you say so earlier?"
After Li Zhen told his mother the name of Zhong Guoqing from Green Pine Ridge, Li Zhen's father immediately hired his godbrother to go to Green Pine Ridge to mention this matter. When Li Zhen heard that someone had come to Green Pine Ridge to propose marriage to him, he immediately felt uneasy and unusually anxious. It was as if there were fifteen buckets of water in his heart, and he was in a mess. She didn't know how the National Day family would react to this matter, nor did she know what their first reaction would be when they heard the news. What would National Day think? Would he find it sudden? Does he love me? Is he willing to marry me? Would he laugh at my recklessness? At this moment, the square face, high nose bridge, big eyes, and thick eyebrows of National Day appeared in her mind again. She seemed to hear the hearty laughter of National Day again and felt his warm and friendly aura.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]