【Lou Cheng】 How easy is another day

In 1939, New Year’s Eve was on a Saturday, and there were many people entering and leaving Paris. Mingcheng was afraid of being blocked on the road and making guests wait, so he deliberately chose the De Beer Hakeem Bridge to cross the river.When passing the Eiffel Tower, he caught a glimpse of Minglou looking out the window thoughtfully, and asked him, "What are you looking at?"

"I don't want to see anything." Minglou looked away, "I was thinking about what happened when we went to the World Expo together the year before last."

Mingcheng was taken aback for a moment, and then realized that they were passing by the site of the 37th World Expo.

When Ming Lou returned to Paris after finishing his study visit to Cambridge, the World Expo had come to an end.But because he kept hearing about this World Expo in the correspondence with Mingcheng, he went directly to the venue with Mingcheng who came to pick him up when he got off the train.Different from the square that has been restored to lawn and open space now, under the Eiffel Tower in those days, the German Pavilion and the Soviet Pavilion faced each other: on one side was a huge steel sculpture, and a pair of young men and women held up the sickle and hammer that symbolized workers and peasants, as if in their hands. Holding a huge torch.On the other side is the same huge eagle and vulture, ready to fly.The lines of the pavilion are so rigid and straight, full of endless authority and discipline, which is the best proof that these two countries have entered the industrial power.

Steel can be used for automobiles, ships, agricultural tools, building materials, and can also be used to cast swords, guns, swords, tanks, planes, and bullets.

Minglou never entered any of the two exhibition halls that day.He first went to the China Pavilion. The motherland, which was poor and weak during the war, was unable to participate in the exhibition. Ambassador Gu Weijun led all the staff of the embassy to mobilize the overseas Chinese in France and worked together to complete the exhibition.

Then, they went to the Spanish Pavilion.

Their friend died in the war that started in '36.No bones.Minglou heard that Picasso had painted a painting for his compatriots who died in the war, so he wanted to take a look and mourn his lost friend.That day, he and Mingcheng stood in front of "Guernica", staring at the painting for a long time, and they didn't leave until the museum was closed.

That is, on the same day, under the watchful eyes of "Guernica", Mingcheng looked into Minglou's eyes and said to him, brother, I have never been ashamed of being a communist, and I have committed the evil of centralization in her name Those who are worthy of shame.There is no savior in the world, what kind of world do I want, then I will build her.

This sentence came without warning, but Minglou understood: the answer that was not found on the banks of the Neva River was found two years later.

He is happy for Mingcheng to see the new world, and he is also proud of him.But at that time, none of them thought that in December of the same year, something even more heartbreaking happened in Nanjing.

Mingcheng probably knew what Minglou was thinking of, he first took a deep breath and said, "How fast. Another year is going to pass."

Ming Lou nodded: "What year will it be next year? It's been too long since I've been out, so I'm too confused."

"I checked. It's the year of Jimao." Mingcheng smiled softly, "After today, you will be in your thirties."

Minglou seemed to have thought of this for the first time, and was taken aback: "Oh, so fast."

"We came out in 31 years, and this year is the eighth year."

"Too."

Minglou adjusted his sitting posture and stopped talking.

The car drove along the river, and it didn't take long to turn onto the Boulevard Saint-Germain.Mingcheng took the time to look at his watch, it was still early, and the guests should not have arrived yet.At this time, Ming Lou, who had been silent for a while, opened his mouth without warning: "Ah Cheng, I want to go to the office."

"Now?" Mingcheng looked at him in surprise.

"I want to check my email."

"Huh?" Mingcheng's surprise turned into vigilance after hearing this sentence, "What's wrong? Are there any new instructions?"

"It has been two months since Wang Zhaoming sent out the pornographic report. There should be some movement."

"Is that Chongqing or Yan'an?"

Minglou pondered for a while: "It should be Chongqing. But it may not be Chongqing, nor Yan'an."

"Neither?" Mingcheng was puzzled again.

"Anyway, let's take a look. Those who should come will always come. Those who don't come can't wait." Minglou smiled.

This trip to the Sorbonne was a waste of time, and there was not even a postcard in the teacher's mailbox, let alone a letter.Minglou laughed at himself saying "suspicious", but Mingcheng didn't laugh, but looked at him worriedly: "You haven't slept well lately."

Minglou asked him back: "After July [-]th, will you have another day of restful sleep?"

Mingcheng stopped talking.

The school is very close to home, only a few minutes drive.When getting off the car, Mingcheng took a book from the back seat of the car. Minglou saw it and asked, "Huh? Did you buy a new book?"

"Orwell's Homage to Catalonia. I've been to Shakespeare and Company several times, but I can't find it. Just got it yesterday."

"Don't leave your things in the car next time." While speaking, he caught a glimpse of the back collar of Mingcheng's coat that was not turned properly, so he tidied it up for him.

When she got home, the servant hadn't left and was making some preliminary preparations for the evening dinner. Seeing that she was struggling to prepare Chinese dishes, Minglou simply gave her a vacation and gave her a red envelope according to the Chinese custom.

Without a servant, Mingtai was sent to the United States by them for half a year. This was the first Spring Festival with only two brothers after all three of them went to France.The two felt a little fresh about this, but also a little emotional. After changing their clothes, they went to the kitchen together and worked together to prepare the New Year's Eve dinner.

In the end, the meal was not good or bad for them: mixed mushroom chicken soup, grilled salmon, roast leg of lamb, steak, vegetable salad made indiscriminately, pasta and baguette, the red wine came from Burgundy, but the white wine was Mingcheng A bottle of Moutai given by a colleague at the embassy.

From five o'clock, their friends came to the door one after another. Most of them were single men, and there were also a couple of married couples. They all married foreign wives after arriving in France and brought them to Ming's house for Chinese New Year.They brought food and drink, a mishmash of things.A man who lives in the Northeast heard that the building did not prepare dumplings. He sighed and shook his head. I didn't expect the pork belly to be used for anything, so I called another Shanxi native into the kitchen and assigned him to chop the meat stuffing.Minglou looked at the kitchen that was instantly occupied by a northern accent, smiled and shook his head, pulled Mingcheng out of the kitchen, dried his hands, and went drinking with the others.

After July 37, many Chinese students studying abroad with public funds suddenly fell into a dilemma: the country has no spare power to support their further studies, and they are always a little unwilling to return to China.Later, as the war escalated step by step, the self-supporting students also became embarrassed. Maybe when they woke up, the iron hoofs of the Japanese invaders had stepped over their hometown.

At that time, the situation of the Ming family was better.One is that Ding Spiegel has transferred part of its family business to Europe, and the other is that Minglou and Mingcheng already have jobs with good salaries.Seeing that their compatriots are in distress, they take part of their own income. Those who want to stay and continue their studies lend them money to make ends meet. If they are determined to go back, they can buy them a boat ticket and make up for the travel expenses.Later, some international students whose family background had not been affected by the domestic war situation saw them doing this, they were inspired, and simply pooled some money together, and handed it over to the French Students Association for unified handling.So while helping their compatriots, Minglou and Mingcheng also made many new friends.

Now these friends, come to their home to celebrate the New Year with them.

This isn't actually the first time they've done this. After the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 36, a large number of international volunteers went to Spain from all over the world to support the Popular Front. Paris was the most important transit point in Europe. For several months, they lived in this house on Boulevard Saint-Germain every day. There are different people staying.They only stayed for one night, at most two nights, and then took their bags and rushed to Spain to join the anti-fascist war.Some people have no news since then, and some people see their names on the death list.

Many people left precious things in this house before they left.As a result, many strange things appeared in their apartment, and they were piled up in this luxurious big apartment.The servant complained many times, but Mingcheng never let her deal with it——

"Their owners will come back. They're just kept with us temporarily."

Minglou and Mingcheng kept them carefully all the time, not even Mingtai was allowed to touch them.The only exception is a huqin.

The former owner of Huqin was surnamed Qiu, from Tianjin, and came to France as a laborer. He first worked as a coal worker in Alsace, and later went to a steel factory in Lorraine, where he joined the French Communist Party. In October 36, he and Comrades from several steel mills decided to go to Madrid together.

Mingcheng entertained them all night.That night, the two brothers had a drink with Lao Qiu, and Lao Qiu played the piano well. He heard that Ming Lou also liked Boss Tan, so he proudly said that he had heard him sing in Beijing, and then he simply ended up doing it for him. Accompanied by Minglou, a piece of "Dingjun Mountain" came.

Early the next morning the group took the first train to Spain.The Huqin was originally in Lao Qiu's luggage, but when he was about to leave, it was put away again: "I'd better leave it here with you first. I'll get it from you when I come back. Don't get wet or exposed to the sun, and regularly apply oil, preferably raw lard. Oh, be willing to use it!"

Mingcheng put the piano together with the Christmas gift he received in 35 years—a Spanish guitar—and took it out to play a tune from time to time.

This evening, it was brought out again.

At that time, everyone was full of wine and food, and when the wine was hot, the friends knew that their family had a good piano, so Yang Minglou took it out, saying that it was for the brothers to sing a few songs, and the New Year's Eve would also want to have fun.

Minglou and Mingcheng looked at each other, Mingcheng was a bit reluctant, Minglou smiled and went to get it by himself.

In the beginning, it was Su San, Youlong Xifeng, and Matchmaker.Because they are all reversing roles, it is inevitable to sing and laugh at the same time, but it is also very lively. Later, I don’t know who drank too much and started an Erhuang Adagio, but it was paired with "Wen Zhaoguan":

A round of bright moon shines in front of the window, and the heart of a worried person is like an arrow piercing through.

I really hope that the state of Wu will borrow troops to turn around, but who knows that there will be obstacles in Zhaoguan.

Fortunately, it was convenient for Mr. Donggao to go, so he hid me in the back garden.

I kept my brows still for several days, how could I sleep peacefully every night?

My Wu Yuan is like a bereaved dog, who is full of grievances?

I am like a wild goose mourning in the sky; I am like a dragon swimming in the shallow sand;

I am like a fish that swallows the hook line; I am like a boat that loses its rudder in the waves.

After thinking about it, my heart is broken, how can I look forward to tomorrow tonight?

This time, no matter how strong the wine was, no matter how noisy the atmosphere was, it would not be able to shake off the nostalgia I was full of.

When they sang this passage, Minglou happened to leave for a while, and when he came back, seeing so many people's eyes were red, he frowned and grabbed the erhu: "You are all literate and reasonable people. In terms of Chinese studies, I can't compare with ten Minglou Do you still want me to deliver Wang Dao Xinting's words today!"

The whole audience fell silent for only a second, and suddenly someone said, "Hey! Professor Ming University, you sing well, come on!"

Minglou thought about it for a while, but didn't refuse: "Okay, then let's have a "Knife Club"."

He didn't want an accompaniment. He sang "New Water Order" first, and then "Zhuma Listening". The living room crowded with nearly twenty people was silent, and they all held their breath. It's so hot, it makes me feel miserable", and then I almost invariably answered "Good water!"

All of a sudden, what appeared in front of everyone's eyes was the blood of heroes that flowed endlessly in the mountains and rivers of the motherland.

After Minglou finished singing, it took a while for everyone to recover. The applause and applause finally lifted the heavy frustration brought about by "Wen Zhaoguan".In the midst of the commotion, someone knocked on the door suddenly. Ming Lou didn't know who else was coming at this time. When he opened the door, he found that it was a neighbor who lived downstairs.

He thought it was their trouble, and the neighbor came to protest, but he didn't expect that the other party just said: "Mr. Ming, I have a letter from you, it may be delivered by the postman by mistake. I was away for a week, and I checked the letter today and found it. Take a look." , I hope I don't miss your business."

Minglou grimaced, and took the letter.The handwriting is a bit familiar, but more is still unfamiliar. Judging by the postmark, it is from Shanghai.

He thanked him and opened the letter directly by the door.It is a thick stack of eight lines of paper, and the first line reads: Ming Lou's beloved disciple.

He didn't read any more, but stuffed the letter into his coat pocket, and walked into the study quietly while his friends were getting lively again.

Unexpectedly, this letter came first.

When the letter was read, the door of the study was pushed open silently.Minglou heard the sound of Mingcheng's footsteps, so he didn't look back, and continued to read the letters from Wang Fuqu, and handed one to Mingcheng after reading, asking him to read it too.

The letter is not long, but the words are twisted and euphemistic, which is very moving.Minglou thought, even the most brazen person who instigates people to become traitors must speak more tactfully, and more tactfully - the truth in this world is often straightforward and short, and lies need to be embellished repeatedly.

After they finished reading, they looked at each other, Mingcheng put a hand gently around Minglou's shoulder: "Are you waiting for this letter?"

"Not waiting. Frankly, I didn't expect that."

But no matter how unexpected it was, the moment after reading the letter, Minglou had already predicted the next fate.

He concentrated and smiled: "After 37 years, I have been thinking about how I will end the silent mission and return to China in what capacity. It seems that I am still thinking wrong."

There was some astonishment in Mingcheng's eyes: "...Brother? This..."

"Tomorrow is Sunday. The telegraph office is closed. Wait for Monday and accompany me to send two telegrams."

Mingcheng nodded: "Okay."

In fact, he didn't need to send a telegram, he already knew the content of the reply.

On the side of the military command is: push the boat along with the flow.Approved.Report back to Chongqing.

The Southern Bureau is probably more complicated.But in any case, the outcome of returning home has already been written.

Minglou shook his head with a smile, stood up, walked to a small table on one side, poured himself a glass of whiskey, and poured another glass for Mingcheng.

"Ah Cheng. We are going back to China."

Mingcheng's astonishment lasted only a second before he regained his composure: "Okay."

"After we go back, we will be out-and-out traitors. We are the minions of tigers, commit all kinds of evil, have no conscience, and are ashamed of being human."

"I know."

"Are you scared?"

Mingcheng closed his eyes and shook his head lightly.Opened it again, fixedly looked at Minglou, and smiled: "For the final victory."

Minglou laughed silently.He handed the wine glass to Mingcheng, clinked the glasses and drank the wine in one gulp.The cold liquid fell down the throat into the stomach, burning it quickly.

He looked at Mingcheng carefully, at his young face, handsome, fearless, and honest.He loves him so much, and he loves him so much.

At this moment, Ming Lou didn't have any pride in his heart to rely on the sky to defeat the enemy, nor did he have the determination to risk his life. He was very calm - like every person who can predict the fate.

The next moment, he stretched out his hand and hugged Mingcheng, who was his relative, his friend, his lover, and his comrade.

"My dear brother, let's go to hell together."

Mingcheng hugged him back tightly, and said softly, "Quisiconvien lasciareognesospetto, ogneviltà convienchequisiamorta."

Virgil led Dante into hell, and the poet said to another poet, here, you must abandon all doubts and fears, and you must also eliminate any cowardice.

The sentence that appeared in front of them without warning many years ago should be here.

Minglou laughed out loud, he was fearless.

On one side of the door, there are the laughter and laughter of his compatriots, and outside the window is the brightly lit night of Paris.At this moment, the year 1939 in the European Gregorian calendar has already arrived, and the year of Jimao in China has not yet arrived.

But in the farther east, the Year of Jimao has already begun.

Permesivane lacittàdolente,

permesivanel'etternodolore,

permesivatralaperdutagente.

Dante Alighieri, Inferno, Canto III

1 In the long run, we are all going to die.

2 Okay, don't embarrass yourself, let's still speak Mandarin?

3 You tyrant!

4 Who is he?

5 I thought I had already introduced it.It's my brother.

6 Even if we are British, we would not look at a man like this, even if he is our own brother.

7 So what is wrong with you British people?

8 Cheers!

9 This translation refers to the translation of Douban Visin&Vemor, with slight text changes.Hereby note.

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