Chronicle of the Republic of China

In 1980, Fang Wuyu and Meng Xisheng bought a TV, becoming the first family in Yuncheng to buy a TV.

That night, Fang Wuyu prepared sweet snacks, Meng Xisheng boiled a pot of good Biluochun, and the two old people solemnly pressed the switch button together, sat in front of the TV, and watched the children dancing on the screen. The vivid and vivid figures on the screen seem to have opened a corner of a new era.

In 1982, Meng Xisheng resumed writing, and his articles received rave reviews, some of which even appeared in Beijing newspapers.

On Fang Wuyu's 1984th birthday in 67, the two went to a photo studio to take a set of photos. After they were developed, Meng Xisheng put the photos in a frame and stood them on the table, and Fang Wuyu put away the negatives in a safe place.

In 1986, Meng Xisheng's old disease relapsed again. Fang Wuyu took him to Beijing to see a doctor this time. He stayed in Beijing for three full months. Meng Xisheng also underwent the third major operation in his life.

The operation process was considered a success, but it only lasted for half a year.Half a year later, on the night of early winter, Meng Xisheng coughed up blood, Fang Wuyu called the ambulance and sent him to the hospital again.

Fang Wuyu also wanted to take Meng Xisheng to a better city to see a better doctor, but Meng Xisheng's condition did not allow him to travel any longer.

In 1987, Meng Xisheng's health deteriorated, and he was no longer able to undergo surgery. What the doctor could do for him was to minimize his pain.He stayed in the hospital for two months, and the doctor sent Fang Wuyu many critical illness notices. Fang Wuyu signed and signed so that everyone was numb, but Meng Xisheng survived time and time again. The doctors said in amazement in the office It's a miracle.

Fang Wuyu stayed by his side throughout the treatment process, watching him lose weight, and shared the same bowl of porridge with him.Later, Meng Xisheng couldn't eat anything, and even fluids became a burden, so he could only rely on infusions to maintain his life.

The miracle lasted for three months. On a night where the temperature was suitable and the wind was warm, Meng Xisheng was sent to the emergency room again.

The fortune teller said that Meng Xisheng had suffered many hardships in his life, but he always managed to save himself from danger.This statement was verified. He couldn't remember how many times his life was hanging by a thread in his life.

However, there is always the hurdle of death to cross, and Meng Xisheng's end will always come.

This time Meng Xisheng failed to come out of the emergency room alive, and he passed away on that night intoxicated by the spring breeze.

Fang Wuyu signed the death notice. Seeing that the shroud covered Meng Xisheng's head, he dragged a chair over and sat next to Meng Xisheng, saying his final farewell without saying a word, with tears streaming down his face.

Outside the window, the half-arc moon hung on the treetops, surprisingly clear, just like the night they first met.

After Meng Xisheng passed away, Fang Wuyu's life suddenly became empty. He blankly took care of Meng Xisheng's funeral, and blankly started to go to and from get off work again. Every scenery and cloud was the same, but it was difficult to get into his eyes again.

One year later, in 1989, Fang Wuyu withdrew his savings from the bank, resigned at the Red Cross, packed his luggage, and bought a train ticket to Nanjing.Before leaving home, he put all the manuscripts written by Meng Xisheng neatly into the suitcase, wearing Meng Xisheng's gold chain and the watch he gave Meng Xisheng on his two wrists.

Fang Wuyu didn't have a clear destination, he just wanted to have a look around, to retrace the path Meng Xisheng had walked.

He himself didn't expect to leave, so he left for several years.

Starting from Nanjing, I went to find Andre, but found that the clinic had been demolished and replaced with other buildings. Andre's whereabouts were unknown, and he might have returned to his hometown.

From Nanjing to Beijing, from Beijing to Shanghai, and then following the route that Meng Xisheng took when he joined the army, the road was bumpy. When he ran out of money, he stopped to make a quick turnaround, found a job to save up for half a year, and then continued on the road.

When Fang Wuyu boarded the train for countless times, he couldn't help but think of Helian. He thought that Helian was more accurate than a fortune teller. Could it be that the old fortune teller was Helian in disguise.Fang Wuyu couldn't help but smile, he actually didn't believe in fate, but his whole life was inexplicably foretold when he was a teenager.

Ups and downs, ups and downs.Outrageously accurate.

Fang Wuyu finally believed that what Helian said was right, he was a bird that couldn't stop, and now the only branch that could perch on him was gone.

In 1994, Fang Wuyu came to the bank of the Nujiang River in western Yunnan to see the majestic waves of this natural moat beneath the strange peaks.He walked along the route of the Chinese Expeditionary Army back then, crossed Gaoligong Mountain, rented a local tricycle and rode the Yunnan-Burma Highway and Longling County, and found a narrow tombstone on a mountain called Songshan, which reads: Expeditionary Casualties, 7763.

There are more than 7000 corpses buried under this stele, which is the site of the Songshan Battle of the Expeditionary Army.

Fang Wuyu burnt incense and kowtowed in front of the stele. He thought there might be a person who saved his life that Meng Xisheng told him about lying in it.

Fang Wuyu climbed mountains and ridges in western Yunnan, his aging body did not hinder his footsteps, he was in good health, and felt that he still had inexhaustible vitality, and even his once bewildered heart was gradually enriched while walking.He kept two sets of light change of clothes, a bottle of water, and Meng Xisheng's manuscript in his suitcase. Every time he went to a place, he read an article written by Meng Xisheng, and then burned it locally.

For some reason, Fang Wuyu fell in love with this place and temporarily settled down in Tengchong.

He found a job in a private clinic. At first, people thought he was too old and didn't want to hire him. In the end, Fang Wuyu used his professional knowledge and eloquence that didn't deteriorate even when he was old to convince the other party.

Fang Wuyu worked during the day and slept in a simple stone house at night, arguing with the young doctors in the clinic, grabbing candy from the children who came to see the doctor, and going to the National Cemetery to visit the graves of the martyrs of the expeditionary army.

In 1995, Fang Wuyu had been in Tengchong for a year.During this period, he suffered from presbyopia, so he went to get a pair of reading glasses, but he was reluctant to wear them because he thought they were ugly.He had a cold once, and the fever reached 41 degrees. When he was given antipyretic injections, he screamed like a butchered pig.I fell down once, not because of walking, but because of poor sleeping position at night, and rolled out of bed.

This year has passed smoothly, and the people in the clinic have gotten used to this eccentric and cute old man, and even the people living nearby know Fang Wuyu's name.

Everyone thought that Fang Wuyu came to Tengchong to retire. This city with a suitable climate for health care is indeed suitable for people of Fang Wuyu's age.

But no one expected that Fang Wuyu would resign after the New Year's Eve in 1995.He even packed his luggage and bought his tickets, as if he had planned everything in advance.

Asked where he was going, Fang Wuyu didn't say, because he didn't know, he had no destination, and wherever he went was where.Everyone was amazed that this old man still had such energy to travel all over the world.

In 1996, Fang Wuyu continued to set off like a bird that could not stop.

In 1997, when Hong Kong returned to the motherland, Fang Wuyu happened to come to Shenzhen and visited a handover party by the Shenzhen River.

The handover ceremony was shown on the big screen, and the Mizi flag, which had been waving in the wind for more than a century, finally descended slowly from the sky over Hong Kong and was replaced with a five-star red flag.The people on both sides of the strait rejoiced together, and the fireworks were set off a dozen after another, painting Fang Wuyu's old face brightly.

Fang Wuyu stayed in the hotel that night because of the sound of firecrackers outside and couldn't fall asleep. He leaned on the bed to read Meng Xisheng's manuscript, and was taken aback when he opened the box of the manuscript.It's a thick stack, and now there are only the last two pages left.Fang Wuyu finished reading the last two pages, and when he took out the lighter and burned it, he was inexplicably terrified.

As if he could sense something, he booked a ticket back to Yuncheng the next day.

After so many years, Yuncheng has been developed and expanded, and it is now Yuncheng.The structure of the entire city has undergone tremendous changes.When Fang Wuyu got out of the car, he hardly recognized the place where he was born.

He wandered around Yunshi for a long time, and finally found the home he and Meng Xisheng bought together.But now it has turned into a tall office building, with rows of clean and tidy glass windows inlaid on the silver-gray walls, shining brightly in the sunlight, blinding Fang Wuyu's eyes.

Fang Wuyu stomped his feet angrily, cursed at the office building, and then rushed to the city hall, demanding an explanation.

He even took out the real estate certificate of the year from the suitcase. After careful comparison, the staff found that it was not forged, but actually real.Fang Wuyu just sat in the city hall as usual, crying and begging them to return his home to him.They had nothing to do with him, so they had to coax him first, arrange a temporary residence for him, and then contact the relevant personnel to see what to do about this matter.

Home must never come back. The stone walls that have been overthrown, like the history that has been taken away by the torrent, remain in the past forever.

Fang Wuyu understood this truth, but he felt uncomfortable if he didn't make a fuss.

After the quarrel, Fang Wuyu wiped away his tears and nose, and asked the young man on the opposite side who had just started working for a few days: "Is the Fang family still there?"

When the young man first entered the society, he was exhausted by Fang Wuyu's crying, making trouble and hanging himself. Facing Fang Wuyu's sudden emotional change, he said blankly, "Huh?"

"Red Cross." Fang Wuyu changed his words.

The young man personally drove the nearly eighty-year-old guy to the Red Cross on a moped.

Over the past few years, Yunshi has overturned countless walls and erected countless high-rise buildings. The road has been widened several meters, and the steps have been raised by more than ten floors. Only this former Fang family mansion still stands in place with its original appearance. .

It is still the local Red Cross Society of Yunshi. The structure inside has changed slightly, and many modern facilities have been installed, but the overall style remains the same.

Fang Wuyu went home again.This is the home he was born in, and unexpectedly it is also the home he is most destined for. He has had an inseparable connection with this home all his life.

Fang Wuyu pointed to his home and said, "I want to live here."

"Huh?" The young man scratched his head.

A few days later, Fang Wuyu was arranged to enter the Red Cross Society for the elderly.This gave the government personnel a step down, and they were afraid that they would be made things difficult by this old man.

Fang Wuyu became one of the very few elderly people in the Red Cross Society who owns a luxurious single room. Not long after, he was equipped with the latest Motorola mobile phone and a tape recorder. Begging for a desktop computer.

When the computer was brought into Fang Wuyu's single room, even the staff were attracted. The Red Cross has not been equipped with this high-tech gadget until now.

Fang Wuyu taught himself without a teacher, studied the instructions with reading glasses, and started playing local games on the computer the next day.Later, people from the Red Cross Society wanted to try it out, so Fang Wuyu shamelessly started to start a business, playing for five yuan for two hours and seven yuan for an afternoon, which earned him a lot of extra money.

In 1998, Fang Wuyu lived in the new technology of the new era, and regretfully thought that Meng Xisheng had no chance to see how strange the world has become now.

In 1999, Fang Wuyu had the idea of ​​traveling far again, but after all, he was getting older and a little bit powerless.

This year is approaching the end of the year, Fang Wuyu still plans to go to Nanjing again, and after returning, he will really retire in Yunshi.He packed his luggage and left after the New Year's Eve.

The New Year's Eve dinner was held grandly by the Red Cross Society to welcome the year 2000. Amidst the excitement of singing and dancing, Fang Wuyu was pushed onto the stage and sang a song.

He actually sang the old-fashioned "Taiping Lyrics". Many young people had never heard of it, but they also applauded him vigorously. Finally, after congratulating him with "Congratulations" and "Fat Cai", Fang Wuyu went back to the house to rest.

The noise could still be heard in the corridor, Fang Wuyu staggered as if he had been drunk.He went back to the house and drank a cup of tea, lay down on the bed and squinted his eyes, suddenly sleepiness hit him, and he fell asleep unconsciously.

Before his consciousness blurred, Fang Wuyu touched the gold chain and watch on his wrist strangely. He checked the time on the watch, it was exactly 12 o'clock.

"Happy birthday." He muttered, congratulating himself and Meng Xi, "Happy New Year, dear."

This time he slept very soundly, never had he slept so soundly in his life.

When he opened his eyes, he found himself standing under an orange lantern.The surrounding cornices and brackets prove that this is the Fang family, which has not been flooded by modernization, and is antique.Fang Wuyu, on the other hand, was wearing a suit made of high-end fabrics, an expensive Swiss watch, and a cream bun. His face was unbelievably young, unbelievably handsome, and his eyes were full of youthful arrogance.

He was a little dazed, as if he had forgotten many things, and stood blankly under the lantern for a long time.

A singing voice came from the closed door, "The lonely spring breeze locks the deep courtyard, how long will I be trapped in the mansion? Break the double wings of the colorful cage, like water flowing eastward and never return..." Fang Wuyu listened I recognized it, this is Hong Fu Chuan.He followed the sound to find the person, and he saw a beautiful figure in a white gown wearing a moon under a big tree.

The man twisted his fingers to raise his breath, and sang gracefully and movingly.Fang Wuyu walked over slowly, strung together the broken memories with every step, until he finally saw Meng Xisheng's face.

The 16-year-old Meng Xisheng has picturesque eyebrows and a cool and upright demeanor, like a ray of light that can cut through the darkness, not only brightening Fang Wuyu's eyes, but also brightening his entire life from then on.

That's right, Meng Xisheng is that luck in his destiny, his life that should have been decayed because he set foot on the right path again.

Ups and downs, ups and downs, these eight words are the prophecy of his life, but because of the light of Meng Xisheng, he walks in these eight words full of hope.

The boy under the tree walked towards him while singing "Red Fu Biography", smiling in his ear and saying hello.

On the first day of the new year in 2000, Fang Wuyu couldn't wake up again.His long-distance travel plan was broken, and when the sky was bright, he was found dead on the bed, without any illness or accident, he closed his eyes and smiled, and died in bed.

"Good night, dear."