August is the harvest season in northern Shaanxi, with golden rice grains, red sorghum, and white cotton. Only in this season does northern Shaanxi temporarily hide its original desolate and barren character.
The entire Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia base area was enveloped in the joy of the harvest. The Eighth Route Army's large-scale production movement has achieved initial results, which has also reduced the burden on the people in the base area.
Zhou Weihan rarely lived a leisurely life after returning from Xi'an. However, due to the rush to harvest, schools such as Kangda University and Ma Yuan also temporarily suspended classes. On the 1st, he called on all teachers and students to go out of the school and go to the fields to help fellow villagers in production work.
Every day before dawn, when the weather is still cool, people have already appeared in the fields. Even if Zhou Weihan swung out sparks with the sickle in his hand, his efficiency was not half as good as that of his fellow villagers.
Zhou Weihan, Li Yunlong and several other generals studying in the Ma Yuan were assigned to a piece of land. It was about ninety o'clock, and the sun gradually became hotter, and the light seemed to become distorted.
Anyone who has worked in the fields knows that this is the most difficult time to endure. Not to mention the soreness of the waist and back, the sweat-soaked clothes often make the whole body itch. If the exposed body is in skin-to-skin contact with the crops, it will feel really amazing.
A comfortable one.
"When Li Yunlong was in the Dabie Mountains, he was also an expert in farm work in eight villages across ten miles. Whenever he went to work in the fields, his body would light up, which would definitely make the girls working nearby widen their eyes. I always
The threshold of the Li family was almost stepped down by the matchmaker!"
A few people sat under the shade of a tree to enjoy the cool air. As soon as Li Yunlong sat down, he started bragging at the top of his lungs, while Yang Xiuqin gave everyone a jar of cold water just drawn from the well.
The fellow holding the cigarette pole in his hand bared his big yellow teeth and said: "Comrade Li, you look like a cropper at first glance. He is better than I was when I was young!"
Yang Xiuqin knew the nature of her men and was not dissatisfied with Li Yunlong's bragging and showing off. Instead, she wiped the sweat off Li Yunlong's body with a towel.
This move made Li Yunlong become shy, as if there were nails growing on his butt, and he shrank his neck but did not dare to get up.
Everyone burst into laughter, and the brigade commander joked: "It's true that one thing kills another. You, Li Yunlong, finally have someone who can cure you. Comrade Xiuqin must take good care of this guy in the future!"
In the eyes of everyone, Li Yunlong was really lucky to have married a woman like Yang Xiuqin who knew both coldness and warmth in his thirties.
Since marrying Yang Xiuqin, Li Yunlong has been taken care of in every possible way, and Li Yunlong has become much more agile, and his whole person looks a little younger.
Unlike Wen Qiang, a young lady from a wealthy family, Yang Xiuqin possesses the unique characteristics of hardworking and simple Chinese women, and she can still hold up half the sky in this war-torn era.
A few people were chatting and laughing when a blond and blue-eyed foreigner came along the field path in a carriage, and the originally cheerful atmosphere suddenly cooled down.
Since the book "Red Star Shines Over China" was published in Western countries, Yanzhou has attracted a lot of attention. Originally, in the eyes of Westerners, Yanzhou was a place where bandits gathered.
However, in Snow's book, Yanzhou is a place where a group of people of faith gather. The people here fight for the great revolutionary cause. Since then, Westerners have come to Yanzhou for interviews one after another, thus revealing the true situation of Yanzhou.
Report it out.
The reason for the calm atmosphere was not that they were hostile to these foreigners, but that they were somewhat nervous. The Eighth Route Army had already figured out that these foreigners were visiting Yanzhou on behalf of the U.S. government. Perhaps it would be more appropriate to call them exploratory contacts.
The leader is Caspar Weiner, who is considered to be the most powerful person in the observation group and is known to the outside world as a photographer.
"Chen, I didn't expect to see you again. I want to interview you, can you?" Casper spoke in English, but he was accompanied by a translator, so there was no barrier to communication. After speaking, he looked at the comrade in charge of the translator.
The comrade in charge of the translation is very young. He is a college student from the rear and is studying at the Anti-Japanese University. His English is not very fluent, but he can still communicate easily.
He only knew Zhou Weihan in the crowd, but the old comrade who could sit with Zhou Weihan obviously had a different identity, so he seemed a little embarrassed.
"Teacher Zhou, Mr. Casper was originally going to Nanniwan for an interview, but when passing by, he insisted on interviewing an old friend, so he changed his itinerary!"
The brigade commander usually looks serious, but in fact he is a familiar person and can get along with anyone. On the way back to Yanzhou, he established good relations with several foreigners early in the morning.
"Casper, I didn't expect you to have such good eyesight that you could see me from all the way. I was wondering who was coming over!" The brigade commander stepped forward and warmly invited a few people to sit down, and also motioned to Zhou Weihan to translate.
.
Casper was half-fluent in China. He could understand Chinese vaguely, but he was not very good at speaking it. However, he did as the Romans did and sat down on the ground. Yang Xiuqin hurriedly gave him a bowl of water.
"Chen, the weather here is so hot that my skin is almost cooked. It's hard to imagine how you can endure working in the fields?"
Zhou Weihan and the brigade commander looked at each other and decided that it was right. Nanniwan was in the south of Yanzhou, at least hundreds of miles away. The foreigner must have disliked the weather being too hot, so he decided to find someone nearby to interview.
After thinking that Casper might not be able to reach Nanniwan today, Zhou Weihan immediately asked the student in charge of translation to go back and tell his superiors that the comrades at Nanniwan would be anxious when the time came.
Li Yunlong never cared about this kind of thing, so he put a hat on his head and lay in the shade of a tree, looking very uncomfortable.
"Mr. Casper, I remember you told me that you are an adventurer with an adventurous spirit. How can you be intimidated by this difficulty?" the brigade commander joked.
"No, no, no, Chen, you misunderstood. After I saw you, I thought it would be more appropriate to interview you. I was just curious about how a general who commands thousands of troops works in the fields?"
"Then you have seen it now?" The brigade commander opened his hands and turned around in front of Casper. His face was dark, there was dirt between his fingernails, and there were barbs on his trouser legs.
"If you hadn't seen it with your own eyes, you wouldn't believe it. You really seem to be a farmer!"
"What's wrong with farmers? In our country, it is the hard work of farmers that supports this country. We, the Eighth Route Army, can survive in northern Shaanxi because we eat the food grown by farmers!"
"However, this war has torn apart wives and children of our compatriots and destroyed their families. If possible, most people are still willing to take care of the few acres of land at home in peace!"
After listening to Zhou Weihan's translation, Casper gritted his teeth and said: "These are the damn Japanese. They despicably attacked our seaport. The government mobilized a large number of people to join the army. I hope this damn war will not endanger the mainland."
!”
"So, our goals are the same, right? We hope for world peace and never war!" the brigade commander laughed.
"Yes, I hope there will be peace in the world and no war!"
For the people of most countries in the world, they yearn for peace. In peacetime, personal destiny may be decided, but once a war breaks out, the people at the bottom will be dragged forward, and few will be spared.
In fact, the government and the people of a country should be treated separately. The U.S. government cannot represent the wishes of the American people, and the American people cannot decide major decisions in the United States.
Although the Pearl Harbor incident made the United States decide to step down and intervene, the United States appeared like a savior, supporting China in its fight against Japan in Asia, and supporting Britain and France in their fight against Germany in Europe.
But before that, the United States had always been a speculator. In 1937, when the All-out Anti-Japanese War broke out, the United States' trade exports to Japan almost reached their peak, and oil, steel, rubber and other material resources continued to enter Japan.
A large number of machine tools were sold to Japan in the name of civilian supplies. However, after arriving in Japan, they enriched Japan's military production, which undoubtedly helped increase Japan's strength.
So why do Americans continue to "fund" Japan?
First, because of its unique status, the United States has the capital to watch the fire from afar. It pursues "isolationism" domestically, and when it is beneficial, it tries its best to export various materials to stimulate the domestic economy.
Secondly, Japan, an island country with scarce resources and a sparse population, has never been regarded as an opponent by the United States. The United States' biggest opponent has always been Big Brother. Therefore, the United States also provided assistance to Germany before World War II in order to curb Big Brother's influence.
Things expand.
It's just that Japan's little brother is restless and doesn't want his lifeline to be choked by the Americans all the time, so he tried to pull the big brother down.
On the other hand, the United States has been coerced by the powerful and capitalists, and has even begun to "raise its own self-respect" in the pursuit of interests. The lives of the people at the bottom have not improved much.
Of course, the peace Americans pursue is isolated. They only want peace in their own country.
Back to the topic, no matter how disgusted they are with the actions of the US government, from a personal perspective, Zhou Weihan, the brigade commander and others still welcome Casper.
Both parties were very satisfied with the interview. When it was about to end, Casper proposed to take a photo of everyone still sitting in the shade of the tree, with the golden crops not far away in the background.
In the summer of 1942, a photo recorded a beautiful scene. There were men, women, future generals, farmers, children with confusion, old people who were happy about the harvest, and even more promising people.
A pioneer in the revolutionary cause.
"Casper, don't forget to mail the photo!" the brigade commander reminded him. Casper said that after the photo was developed, he would take it back to the United States and publish it in the top American newspapers.
Time flies and the wheels of history keep turning. In the face of the general trend of the times, the power of individuals seems insignificant.
It was not until 1980, as Sino-US relations normalized, that a time-stamped photo was published in newspapers and periodicals by the holder's family. This photo recording the past with Chinese characteristics attracted the attention of many Americans.
After understanding the history, it can't help but make people feel a little sad. Most of the people in the photos are no longer alive. Of course, this is just a story.
The future is difficult to predict, and personal destiny is unpredictable.
The night on the northern Shaanxi Plateau was still a little cool. Zhou Weihan simply scrubbed his body and his fatigue was relieved.
Zhou Tainan, who was almost one year old, was crawling around on the kang. Zhou Weihan put his left hand on his son's buttocks and leaned on the kang table to write something. This move made Zhou Tainan scream and scream in anger.
Wen Qiang, who had just finished washing, couldn't help but feel a little angry when she saw this scene: "Why do you even bully your own son? Be careful when your son takes care of you when you are old!"
"We'll talk about it later. Now it's me who has the final say!" Zhou Weihan said, picking up his son and handing it to Wen Qiang.
Nowadays, Zhou Tainan is having a hard time. He can't wake up during the day and doesn't sleep at night. As a parent, he has no energy during the day.
Originally, the organization wanted Wen Qiang to work in a nursery, but since the nursery was dozens of kilometers away from where she lived, and considering that Wen Qiang had to take care of the children, Wen Qiang was finally arranged to work at the Lan Family, which is near the Central Station of the Communist Party of China.
Ping Nursery School.
Regardless of whether it is a nursery or a nursery, the treatment is excellent. Even during the period of strict blockade by the national army, the children can still enjoy four meals a day, seven days a week.
The food mix is also very reasonable. Vegetables, eggs, meat and various fruits are all available. The daily dishes are varied and rarely repeated.
It's just that most of the people responsible for taking care of the children are girls aged fourteen or fifteen. After Wen Qiang arrived, she became the backbone.
"Are you tired from working in the nursery? Children should be as tossing as their sons!"
After hearing this, Wen Qiang rolled her eyes: "Do you think everyone can be as energetic as your son? Three or four-year-old children have long been sensible and know how to care for others!"
After saying that, Wen Qiang sighed again, as if she was a little worried, and Zhou Weihan quickly put down his pen to show concern.
"You don't even know that some children are so pitiful. Their parents are not around, and some have even died. What will happen in the future?"
"I said, Comrade Wen Qiang, you are not aware enough. With an organization, how can you deprive the children of food? The parents are gone, and the organization is the children's parents. Besides, I have heard that the meals in the nursery
It’s better than the big ones!”
After Zhou Weihan finished speaking, Wen Qiang became coy and silent. After a long time, she said: "Let's adopt a little girl. Sister Deng said that as long as the two of us agree, it is allowed by the organization and we can take care of her together."
Go back to Tainan!"
Zhou Weihan did not agree immediately, but just said that he would go to the nursery tomorrow.
The next day, Zhou Weihan took a leave and went to the nursery with Wen Qiang.
The little girl Wen Qiang mentioned was only four or five years old. She did not play with the other children. When she saw Zhou Weihan walking towards her, she was so frightened that she hid in the corner.
This scene immediately touched Zhou Weihan's soft heart. After getting to know her, he found out that about half a year ago, the girl witnessed her parents being killed by reactionaries, and she has been like this since she was sent to the nursery.
Zhou Weihan knew in his heart that this little girl might have suffered from autism due to stimulation from the outside world.