Friend Li Zailan
Author: Zou Kunshan
(1)
Li Zailan is my high school classmate, I am always grateful to her! Small and thin, she sat in the front row, and she sat behind me. We were so close that we could talk to her as soon as we turned around. Back then, her family was relatively wealthy, and my clothes were shabby, but she could wear leather robes; watches were a luxury for adults, but she wore them on her wrists. Her wealth not only aroused everyone's envy, but was also envied by others. Some people secretly denounced it as "petty bourgeois sentiment", called her a "bourgeois lady", and looked at her with strange and discriminatory eyes, especially the secretary of the Youth League Committee. She is also the head teacher of my class, and she is even more prominent, often sarcasm with barbed language, which makes her embarrassed. Once, because of a misunderstanding of the word "inferiority", when she couldn't bear it, she went out and quarreled with the teacher in charge of the class, which made the class teacher "hard to get off", lost his prestige, and could not end it. Later, the head teacher called me over, thinking that I had a good relationship with her, and asked me to persuade her not to contradict the teacher at every turn! I nodded in agreement, but I sympathized with her in my heart. I persuaded her that a strong dragon can't beat a local snake, and wrote a sentence on the blackboard, "Dragon swims in the shallows and is attacked by shrimps, and tigers fall in Pingyang and is bullied by dogs". Also look at it differently, and often give us small shoes to wear. At that time, when we ate in the school cafeteria, we always ate standing around the table. In the school by the Dongting Lake, dried shrimp was a common dish. I didn’t like to eat shrimp heads because they had sharp spines, which made my stomach hurt. So I spit out all the shrimp heads. The strange thing is that Li Zailan didn’t know why, she didn’t eat the shrimp tails, so she spit out all the shrimp tails. After making a small report, the head teacher criticized without naming names at the class meeting: "There is such a table that does not cherish the fruits of labor of the working people, and wastes all the heads and tails of the shrimp!" Fortunately, this hat is not too big , we laughed it off.
When I was studying, I often like to come up with some crooked ideas. Once, just after my physics class, I turned around and said to Li Zailan: "Lend me your watch." She asked strangely: "What are you doing?" I expressed my own thoughts: Because the physics class just talked about fluid mechanics, I want to use the relationship between flow and time to test how much can be peed at a time. At that time, watches were valuables and were generally not borrowed, but she lent them to me. I took the watch and measured the time of peeing in the toilet, and then unscrewed the tap to make the flow rate and flow roughly the same as peeing. I used the cup to catch the water according to the peeing time, and I could intuitively see a pee from the cup. How many milliliters of urine was collected? This is obviously just a boring game. When I returned the watch to her and told the measurement result, she smiled and praised: "You, you can really apply what you have learned! This watch, Only you are the only ones I am willing to borrow!" Her words touched me very much, I regarded her as my older sister in my heart, and she really cared about me like an older sister treats her younger brother, the weather was cold, and I was shivering with cold , She gave me the new fleece she bought for me to wear, because the food expenses were not paid enough, and the cafeteria notified that my meals would be stopped, so she donated money to help me tide over the difficulties. After graduating from high school, we took the college entrance examination in Changsha. After the exam, she returned to Yueyang, and I wanted to go to Xiangtan to pay respects to my father's grave, because I wanted to go to university, and I didn't know where I would be in the future. Then I came to my father's grave I'm afraid it's difficult to sweep before the sacrifice, so take advantage of the free time and do your best to be filial. It was the night of the full moon, and the bright moon was in the sky. I first sent her to Changsha Railway Station, and after buying the ticket, she sent me in the opposite direction. She was afraid that I would have no money, so she forced me to give me six yuan and shouted for me. I got a rickshaw and asked the driver to take me to Xiaoximen Ferry Pier. When I got in the car, she told me to buy her a box of Liuli chicken toys for her younger sister Li Zaihui when I got in the car. I passed through Changsha on my way back from Xiangtan, traveled all over Changsha city, and finally bought it. When I got off the train in Yueyang, I went straight to her house. Her mother was so happy that she rewarded me with a big bowl of watermelon.
In the summer vacation when I was waiting for the admission notice of the college entrance examination, I was homeless and still lived in the school. Principal Wen Jiaju cared for me like a father and provided me with meals. Li Zailan often took his sister to Yueyang Tower from Taqian Street. Accompany me to wander in front of the building, talk about my ideals, and look forward to the good news of the college entrance examination. We all finally got the good news: I was admitted to Wuhan University, and she was admitted to Zhongnan University of Finance and Economics. We went to Wuhan together and started our university life.
(2)
A total of eight people from Class 13 of Yueyang No. 1 Middle School were admitted to Wuhan universities. When I first entered university, everyone was full of high spirits and confidence. The classmates communicated frequently. On New Year's Day in 1956, we invited to meet at Zhongnan Institute of Finance and Economics. Li Zhenhuang and Li Zailan were naturally the hosts. After all, they were studying economics, and they arranged it in an orderly manner. At the New Year's Day dance, amidst the music of Caiyun Chasing the Moon, Li Zailan said to me quietly: "I borrowed a room from the teaching assistant and prepared it for you alone. You can go to sleep there tonight." Very restrained, I had no choice but to say that Li Zhenhuang had already arranged for me. After the dance party and supper, she escorted me all the way to Li Zhenhuang's dormitory. When we parted the next day, she told me again: "If you have any difficulties, just tell me, I will do my best if I can help you." I said, "I am fine now, and besides food, I enjoy a first-class living allowance. There are three yuan a month, and I can get a little subsidy by attending evening classes for employees two nights a week." Not long after, I learned that the Hubei Theater was performing a new play "On the Camber Grassland", and that the Hubei Theater was at the Yuemachang. It is very close to Zhongnan University of Finance and Economics. I just learned "Introduction to Drama Studies" and wanted to "apply what I have learned", so I immediately sent a letter to Li Zailan, and included one yuan and sixty cents in the letter, asking her to buy two tickets , I wanted to invite her to watch it together. On the appointed day, I rushed to Zhongnan Finance Institute, and she picked me up at the gate. Unfortunately, I only bought one ticket. When she handed the ticket to me, she asked me , Is there really any money in the letter? She only received the letter, and there was no money in the letter. It was obviously taken away by someone, damn it! Turning my back and thinking again, fortunately, the robber's conscience has not been completely wiped out, so I delivered the letter, otherwise, I will definitely miss the good opportunity to watch the play, and take a wrong trip for no reason. I can only thank Lee Jae-ran for paying for the tickets and meeting my needs. So I immediately took out the 80 cents and took the opportunity to hand over the six yuan I had prepared to her. I said sincerely: "Thank you for your help, this money should have been returned to you long ago." Said: "You are so kind to me, you should respect my self-esteem!" She reluctantly took the six yuan money that embodies deep friendship. The next day, I wanted to treat myself, so I asked her to accompany me to the street to buy a coat, and we walked around Jiefang Road in Wuchang, wearing it in and out of the clothing store. Poor students, they dare not care about high-end clothes, and look down on those that are too bad. Women are naturally sensitive to clothes. In every clothing store, she can always pick out one or two pieces, and gesticulate on my chest generously. , At that time, I was extremely shy, because I only had the experience of my mother gesturing in front of me to try on clothes when I was a child. My uneasiness naturally attracted the surprised eyes of the merchants. I could read that 80% of them thought we were a couple of college students. After picking and choosing, she finally decided to choose a blue denim jacket, which is a bit like denim in today's fashion. I've worn this pullover for several springs and autumns, and I still can't bear to throw it away until it's hung with thorns.
A year later, I was shot while lying down, she got the news, wrote a comforting letter, and asked me to meet. As the summer vacation approached, we met at Snake Mountain opposite Zhongnan University of Finance and Economics. I was disturbed and depressed, and she kept enlightening me. When I passed Baobingtang, I felt like I had fallen into an ice cave. She took advantage of the topic and encouraged me to face the ups and downs with the greatest courage with "the cold spring embraces the ice, and the summer heat embraces the fire". Then she changed the subject and said: "I am getting married." Married? I was suddenly shocked! At that time, I had just finished reading "The Biography of Xiao Hong", and the emotional entanglement between Xiao Hong, Xiao Jun and Duanmu Hongliang immediately emerged in my mind: Xiao Hong, a poor and sick talented woman, lived on Snake Mountain I walked and talked with my favorite boyfriend with a lot of worries, and walked a sad road. In the winding path of Snake Mountain, she told me that her object was Li Li, a military officer stationed in Hengyang. She was originally a neighbor, and her parents made decisions. She agreed and planned to go to Hengyang to get married in the summer vacation. She invited me to accompany her to Hengyang. To attend her wedding, how should I answer? I can only look around and talk to him, congratulate Yitong, and say: "Today I will be the host, and I will see you farewell." So we sat down at a restaurant called Dazhonghua on Pengliuyang Road. In the middle of eating, she suddenly said to me: "When you sent a box of glass chicken to my house, my mother kept you for dinner, but you insisted on refusing. After you left, my mother scolded me to tears." Hastily explained, I don't understand, you took your younger sister Li Zaihui to Yueyang Tower to accompany me for a walk, and I didn't listen to you.
bid farewell to Li Zailan, I went back to Luojia Mountain, when I was bored, I decided to go back to Yueyang and visit President Wen’s houseVisiting, it was the summer vacation in 1957, on the train bound for Yueyang, there was a girl in blue Bragi that brought a smile to my face. At the end of the summer vacation, Li Zailan and I met again in Snake Mountain. The newlyweds, she was very excited, with a happy smile on her face. I asked nonsensically, "Is it fun to be married?" She nodded and smirked: "It's quite Interesting." So she took out a wedding photo and gave it to me, and said sincerely: "Let's keep it as a souvenir!" I took the photo, and while I was congratulating her, for some reason, the image of Xiao Hong on the Snake Mountain trail suddenly appeared in my mind. The figure on the road...
After meeting this time, I have lost a lot of freedom. Next, I can only attend classes in the morning at Luojia Mountain, and in the afternoon I will become a glassworker in the repair team. A small county town, started a chalk career. The eight students in Class 13 of Yueyang No. 1 Middle School who were studying in Wuhan all dispersed, and there was no news for a long time.
(3) During the special period of the 1960s and 1970s, my only choice was to be a carefree person, staying at home most of the time, and occasionally walking on the street. One afternoon, I met Li Zailan’s mother on Xianfeng Road, Yueyang, I hurriedly greeted her, and learned that Li Zailan joined the army with her husband after graduation, and then moved to the third front of Sichuan with the army. In that age when everyone was in danger, it was inconvenient for me to ask more questions, but I often missed her in my heart. After the special period was over, my situation was getting better day by day. In the early 1980s, a colleague in our unit got leukemia and was transferred to Changsha Xiangya Hospital for hospitalization. The leader of my unit sent me to the hospital to visit and express condolences. I walked into the reception room of Xiangya Hospital, looked through the ward registration book of inpatients, opened the cover, and the first line that jumped into my eyes was "Li Zailan"! I was blindfolded, God knows how to joke , it has been more than 20 years since we parted in 1957, how could we meet again in such a scene? Is this "Lee Jae-ran" the "Lee Jae-ran" I always miss? I couldn't believe it, but I hoped to meet her again. I wrote down the ward number, and after I visited my colleagues, I hurried to the target ward. As soon as I opened the door, I heard a familiar call: "Zou Kunshan, why are you here?" Before I could react, she eagerly said to the young man accompanying the hospital bed: "This is the Uncle Zou I often tell you about." The young man immediately got up and greeted me , Li Zailan immediately introduced: "This is my youngest son. He is a graduate student in Wuhan Institute of Water Conservancy. He asked for leave to take care of me." It's not very real, but from her enthusiastic and sonorous voice, I can fully imagine her excited expression when an old friend is reunited, especially for those who have been bedridden for a long time, it is no less than winning the gospel from heaven!
After the hasty meeting, I made an appointment with her to see her again in the evening.
I hurried back to the Changdao Hotel. Back then, the ten-story hotel was considered a landmark building in Changsha. I looked out of the window at the Wuyi Avenue below, and remembered the scene of saying goodbye to her at the train station after the college entrance examination. It's hard to predict! Who would have thought that she would be seriously ill when they reunited after a long absence? On the window sill, there was an ant crawling. I looked at it in a daze. How much effort and how many gaps did it have to drill to climb up such a tall house? I gave up all my efforts, and I immediately withdrew my hand, hey, will there be an invisible hand on our heads, killing us when we are not on our guard? This may be fate! Who can predict, only God knows! After
dinner, I bought some fruit cakes and went to her ward, and talked with each other about the living conditions after the farewell. She moved back to Hunan from Sichuan early. Li Li changed her job to work as the secretary of the Xiangtan Iron and Steel Plant Children's School. She worked as an accountant in the Xiangtan Iron and Steel Education and Training Center. She was hospitalized due to breast cancer. She has been removed and is recovering.
Cancer is a disease that makes people look pale. My classmates who practiced medicine told me privately that after breast cancer treatment, the general survival period is no more than five years. Several breast cancer patients I know have developed cancer after Li Zailan, within a few years They all died one after another. It has been about seven or eight years since I met Li Zailan, and there has been no news of her. I thought to myself that she may have passed away long ago. Suddenly, on a sunny afternoon, she suddenly appeared in my home. I was extremely surprised , she was still as hot-tempered as before, enthusiastic and cheerful, and said loudly: "I am really alive. Over the years, Xiangya Hospital has often calledWhen I went to our work unit to conduct follow-up investigations, I always asked if Li Zailan was dead. I received it myself a few times, and I replied that I am Li Zailan. The king of hell forgot to check my book, and I will not die for the time being! "Seeing her optimistic and confident mental state, our whole family was very happy. The next day, she wanted to go to the grave of her parents to pay homage. I stayed with her all the time. What I said to me: Her mother doted on her very much, and she made leather robes for her when she was a teenager. This was a luxury in those days, and only the elderly from wealthy families were eligible to wear it. At that time, the tailor said casually: " Wear it to death! She was heard by her mother, who was crying and rolling on the floor of the sewing shop, causing the sewing shop to be severely condemned by the neighbors. I took her words and said: "You are recovering so well now, maybe it is your mother who blesses you , Rolling in front of the palace of the king of hell, protesting the injustice of the king of hell. She listened and responded with a knowing smile. A few years later, around the middle of the 1990s, my wife and I went to her home in Xiangtan for a return visit, and I met her husband for the first time. Li Li, a standard image of a political cadre, her daughter said to me enthusiastically: "Uncle Zou, although I have never seen you before, my mother often mentions you. "We stayed at her house for two nights, and they insisted on watching a movie with us. Her daughter took my wife with her bicycle, and Li Zailan also came over with her bicycle and said to me: "Come on, you sit in the back, and I will take you!" "When I stepped on the back seat of the bicycle and held her forward naturally, I was startled. Her blouse was empty. Obviously, the operation had cut off her front chest.
Entering the new century, I Settling in Changsha, our classmates often have gatherings. She overcomes various difficulties every time and comes from Xiangtan. I asked her, does Xiangya Hospital still follow up and return visits? She said heartily: "From the operation to now, it has Thirty years have passed, and there have been no phone calls to inquire about my death. However, now I am plagued by various diseases, such as coronary heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, high blood pressure, and even some kidney problems. I have become a frequent visitor to the hospital. "
now seems to be the year of the puppet, she is getting more and more optimistic, the more live and rigid. Hello! I am Li Xiaozhu, the granddaughter of Li Zailan. Both my grandma and my aunt have passed away. I wonder if you know?
Zou Kunshan: When did
happen? Is your aunt in good health? She bought it in Xiangtan Wanda House?
Li Xiaozhu:
My aunt passed away on April 25, 2018, and my grandma passed away on June 11, 2018.
Zou Kunshan:
Xiaozhu: Hello. Surprised to learn of the passing away of Zai Lan and Li Aixia. I’m sad, and I hope they are safe and sound in heaven.
About the author
Zou Kunshan, screen name Tiger Samsung, Han nationality, born in 1936, graduated from the Chinese Department of Wuhan University in 1959. He has been engaged in education for a long time, a member of the Communist Party of China, and a Hunan writer Member of the association, participated in the editing and publishing of modern communication series, author of "Speech", novel collection "Comet Light Traces" and essay collection "Landing and Rooting".
