Reborn Bao Guowei, I really didn’t want to be a great writer!

Chapter 480: Bao Guowei's New Year's Couplet? The Beginning of All Things!
"That young woman has not been to the study room, and she has not thought about how to contact the outside world. Last time, I followed her to a suit shop in the concession, which seemed to be the Japanese intelligence base. The rest of the time, this woman hid in the room, saying that she was not feeling well. Master, you know that Master's family is kind. Since she said she was not feeling well, I asked her to have a good rest and even found a doctor to visit her.

The doctor just said it was caused by overwork."

In the study, Cao Yanhai briefly introduced Liao Yaquan's recent itinerary and the information he had obtained.

But...it seems to have no value at all.

Bao Guowei could not help but say speechlessly: "I gave you so many days off and asked you to follow Liao Yaquan the whole time, and you got this much information for me?"

"Master, swear to heaven and earth!" Cao Yanhai suddenly became anxious and couldn't help but explain. "Last time this woman packed her bags and tried to run away, I informed you immediately!"

"But didn't she leave in the end?" Bao Guowei said with narrowed eyes.

If Liao Yaquan planned to run away or go to other places to carry out espionage activities.

Bao Guowei doesn't mind letting this person disappear from the world.

But he is not an indifferent person after all.

During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, there were still Japanese in the Soviet area who assisted the Chinese in resisting aggression. Not all Japanese were bad people.

If Liao Yaquan wants to come back, Bao Guowei doesn't mind giving her a chance. After all, she still has great value.

But judging from the other party's current performance, it seems that he has been in a state of indecision?

After thinking about it, Bao Guowei couldn't help but ask.

"What about the suit shop? Did Liao Yaquan tell the Japanese about No Longer Human?"

Whether the information was passed on or not also largely proves Liao Yaquan's current attitude.

Cao Yanhai thought about it carefully and replied, "Probably not. I followed the Japanese owner of the suit shop and it seems that he didn't get the news."

Speaking of this, Cao Yanhai chuckled.

"It might be because we were in the Japanese concession. They didn't seem very careful. After I sneaked in, I was able to find a lot of information easily. Of course, I used the methods you taught me, Master."

He hesitated.

"Master, it seems that Liao Yaquan is not that bad. She has not done anything bad to us, nor has she passed on any useful information.

I have been following her these days, and I feel a little sorry for her.”

When saying this, Cao Yanhai hesitated, as if he was afraid of being blamed by Bao Guowei.

Bao Guowei narrowed his eyes. He didn't care about Cao Yanhai's "intercession".

In this world, people always have a much greater liking for those with good looks than ordinary people.

In later generations, some heinous criminals would often gain sympathy from the crowd because of her beautiful appearance.

This mentality was reflected in Cao Yanhai.

Bao Guowei remained calm. The more he knew about the Japanese, the more cautious he became.

"She has been staying in the room these days?"

"Yes." Cao Yanhai nodded and said, "Recently, this woman has been hiding in her room and not going out. From what I've observed, she's either reading a book or daydreaming by herself all day, as if she's thinking about something."

Bao Guowei fell into deep thought and did not respond for a long time.

"Master, what should we do?" Cao Yanhai was impatient and just wanted an answer.

"Don't worry." Bao Guowei answered concisely. "Who knows, she will tell us the answer herself."

"She can do it herself?"

Cao Yanhai was a little confused.

But he had a simple mind and didn't want to think too much.

Then he said with a smile.

"Master, I have been doing my job very hard these days. Can you show me the sequel of The Return of the Condor Heroes? And how did you write the Toad Kung Fu? I really want to practice it."

Bao Guowei said somewhat speechlessly.

"How many times have I told you that there is no such thing as Toad Magic in this world."

During the Republic of China period, the ancient city of Suzhou still had a strong New Year atmosphere.

Especially after the end of the Central Plains War, this land finally ushered in a brief period of peace.

After experiencing a whole year of bumps and fears, the people finally have the opportunity to calm down, rest well and reunite with their families.

Even the poorest people would buy some New Year's goods and put up a few pairs of Spring Festival couplets on their homes around the Spring Festival.

Naturally, the national government was extremely opposed to celebrating the Lunar New Year.

Even a few days before the Spring Festival, the National Daily published a special issue titled "Down with the First Day of the Lunar New Year", a series of cartoons and texts in the newspaper that belittled the Lunar New Year as worthless.

At the same time, he also wrote an article claiming: "If anyone is found selling door god paper flowers, we will give him a reward and tear it up; if anyone plays with dragon lanterns and lions, we will ask him to have a taste of prison; as for those who shout happy new year and wish you good fortune, we will regard them as rebels."

The Nationalist government took the matter to such an extreme that it even sent police stations to go deep into the streets of ordinary people to destroy offerings and arrest vendors selling lunar calendars.

Several violent incidents have occurred one after another, but the people still continue to persevere despite repeated bans.

On the eve of New Year's Eve, it is still a hundred times more lively than the Western New Year, and the sound of firecrackers continues all night long.

The extremely inhumane ban on violence has also been criticized by many scholars and celebrities.

They have come forward one after another to say that the Kuomintang government was using the name of "abolishing the Spring Festival to squeeze the people's money," and various disputes have become a hot topic.

In addition, the government’s control over various regions is very limited.

So even with the extensive publicity, the Lunar New Year in various places is still held as scheduled.

On the eve of New Year's Eve, the most important thing for the Zhang National Studies Society is naturally to write Spring Festival couplets.

Old Zhang specially assigned a task that every student in the society must write a pair of Spring Festival couplets, and he would select the best one to post on the door.

The students showed off their talents, all wanting to perform in front of their master.

Even Zhang Nianyue wanted to join in, but her abilities were limited, especially in literature, which was terrible.

After seeing her couplet, Zhang Taiyan almost lay down on the bed again on the spot.

Fortunately, Zhang Taiyan still has a group of disciples, and the young disciples are quite promising, especially the young disciple Zhu Jihai.

He wrote an article titled "The sound of firecrackers bids farewell to the old year, and the plum blossoms herald the new year." He became the best among his disciples and was very popular for a while, which attracted the infinite love of Zhang Taiyan.

Zhang Nianyue was naturally unconvinced. She pulled Bao Guowei, who was writing a novel, out of the study, and forcefully stuffed the pen into Bao Guowei's hand and said.

"Bao Guowei, you must have some ideas in your head. Hurry up and write a couplet to show this old man what a real couplet is!"

Bao Guowei has been busy with a lot of things these days. On the one hand, he has to complete "No Longer Human", on the other hand, he has to follow up on the matters concerning the industrial base and penicillin, and on the other hand, as it is the end of the year, he also has to worry about distributing donations to the victims.

There's a mess in my head.

But when the Spring Festival came, looking at his fellow juniors with eyes full of expectation, he felt embarrassed to reject their expectations.

I could only pick up the brush and start writing on the rice paper.

He used the official style. Ever since his Slender Gold style was criticized by Lao Zhang as "the extravagant style of the kings of a fallen country", he never used the Slender Gold style again. This kind of calligraphy is used for showing off in later generations.

I wanted to write something like that.

"The plum blossoms are happy with the snow all over the sky; the jade sky is clear of dust for thousands of miles."

"The poems are written in the new Jiazi year; the wine cup is worthy of the old Tusu."

These excellent and festive Spring Festival couplets are suitable for the current season.

But as soon as I picked up the brush, I thought of the countless people whose lives were affected by the government's tyranny some time ago.

I thought of the ordinary people who were displaced in Gusu City and Shanghai, and the ordinary workers who were barely making a living in the factories.

It's really hard for him to be happy.

Therefore, even though he knew the consequences, Bao Guowei still couldn't help himself and wrote two lines of words on the Spring Festival couplets.

"Every year is hard, but every year passes; there is no home anywhere, but home is everywhere."

As soon as these words came out, all the students in the venue fell into silence.

Only Zhang Nianyue couldn't help but pat Bao Guowei on the shoulder and said.

"What did you write? Why did you write such a pessimistic couplet on this day? Rewrite it again."

But halfway through, she seemed to think of something, and her expression became heavy. Zhu Jihai had grown a year older, and like a little adult, he stared at Bao Guowei's two lines of words with his hands behind his back, sighing continuously.

After a long time, he murmured to himself.

"Brother, your literary talent is beyond my reach!"

Zhang Ping'an, as Bao Guowei's apprentice, also mingled among the children. When he saw his master writing, he curiously leaned over to look at the words.

But the moment he saw it, the expression on his face suddenly froze, as if he was thinking of something from the past, and his eyes suddenly turned red.

The originally happy atmosphere in the yard suddenly became quiet.

Bao Guowei, the culprit of all this, not only did not feel the slightest bit of guilt, but instead threw the brush down casually.

He exhaled, his dark circles a little heavy, and said with a cupped hand.

"My fellow brothers, I still have some things to do. I will go to the study to continue my work."

He turned around and bowed to Zhang Taiyan again, then left on his own.

Only a group of people were left, staring at the two lines of words on the Spring Festival couplets, silent.

In the end, it was Zhang Taiyan who had to step forward.

He walked forward, tore up the rest of the festive couplets, and casually swept them off the table, leaving only the one written by Bao Guowei.

Zhang Taiyan looked serious and looked around at the students present.

"Today your senior brother taught you a lesson, that is, don't be blinded by the joy and wealth in front of you and forget the hardships of the common people in the world. We have clothes to wear and books to read here, but there are still countless people starving on the streets because of war and famine."

There was a gleam in the students' eyes, and they would never forget today's scene.

In particular, the person who wrote this pair of Spring Festival couplets was Bao Guowei, the idol in everyone's heart.

"Students take note."

All the students bowed and saluted.

Zhang Taiyan sighed. This pair of Spring Festival couplets obviously brought back bad memories for him. The life during this period also seemed to have made him forget these suffering people.

But Bao Guowei still remembers.
Then, Zhang Taiyan led the students to the door and pasted the couplet neatly on the entrance of the National Studies Society.

Zhang Taiyan also wrote a horizontal banner for this couplet himself.

“National crisis”

As a warning.

There are still many people visiting the Zhang Mansion. Whenever someone passes by, they will stop at the door to take a look.

Many scholars, politicians and officials were surprised that the Zhang National Studies Association would hang such an unlucky couplet. However, they also praised the calligraphy skills and intention of the couplet.

But it is not known how many people can remember it in their hearts.

In the blink of an eye, it was New Year's Eve.

The New Year's Eve in Suzhou is not much different from that in other places. It is nothing more than eating New Year's Eve dinner and staying up all night, which are activities that are done almost all over the country.

The only difference is that the New Year’s Eve dinner of people in Suzhou usually has a few essential dishes.

For example, there must be a dish of stir-fried green vegetables, called "Anlecai". In Gusu dialect, "green" and "le" are homophones.

There are also soybean sprouts that are shaped like a ruyi and are called "Ruyi vegetables", spinach that has long stems is called "Changgeng vegetables", and so on.

These are some simple allegories created by ordinary people's expectations for a better life.

On New Year's Eve, everyone in the Zhang family gathered in the yard.

A stove was lit in the yard, and then a variety of food was placed on the table, while the old people and children chatted and laughed.

The happy scene makes people forget the pain of this era for a moment.

Zhang Nianyue took Bao Guowei's arm and pointed to the sky not far away and said.

"Bao Guowei, look! Look! There are fireworks over there!"

"Bang~"

The gorgeous fireworks exploded in the sky, forming a sharp contrast with the dark sky.

"I see." Bao Guowei held his fiancée's head in his arms, and the light and shadow of the fireworks on his face flickered.

The students in the yard were also excited and pointed at the sky and shouted.

"It's fireworks!"

"How can there be fireworks? Didn't the government ban it?"

“There are always people taking risks.”

"Fireworks are necessary to make the New Year feel festive. The government is just messing around."

"I hope the gentleman who set off the fireworks will be alright. If the government arrests him, we will write an article to support him like Master did!"

"Count me in!"

"Me too!"

The students were discussing enthusiastically, but Old Zhang turned his attention in another direction.

Bao Guowei with a smile on his face.

He suddenly laughed out loud.

Tang Guoli couldn't help but ask curiously: "What's wrong, old man? What funny thing did you think of?"

Zhang Taiyan burst out laughing, shook his head and said, "I guess the fireworks must have been set off by Bao Bingwen."

"How can you be sure it's Bingwen?"

Zhang Taiyan gritted his teeth and said, "Don't I know this kid? He always likes to do these things. It really makes me worry!"

Tang Guoli looked at the two people snuggling together, smiled and shook her head.

"Let him be. He is much more successful than your master now."

Zhang Taiyan was immediately unhappy.

"Hey~ old woman, why do you arrange this for me?"

Tang Guoli covered her mouth and smiled.

Not far away, Cao Yanhai saw his master and his mistress walking together. Even his master's uncle and his wife were unusually warm and cozy. He was the only one watching the fireworks alone, and he couldn't help feeling a little sad.

I wonder if "Xiao Cui" in the alley of Gongchen Bridge in Hangzhou still remembers me, her brother.
Don’t forget about me, your awesome brother, just because you’re entertaining other guests.

Everyone has their own troubles.

During the Spring Festival, Liao Yaquan, who was hiding in the room, was also attracted by the fireworks.

She rushed to the window in a hurry, staring at the brilliant fireworks with burning eyes, and no one knew what was going on in her head.

At this moment, he seemed to have made up his mind.

"It's time to end it, Mr. Bao."

Liao Yaquan muttered to himself.

At the same time, in Jinling.

After Song Ziwen spent New Year's Eve, he lit the first incense at the largest temple in Jinling, the Pilu Temple.

After finishing work before the New Year, I immediately boarded the train and rushed to Suzhou.

If Chiang Kai-shek hadn't forced him, he would never have chosen to go on a business trip at this time.

But Chiang Kai-shek said that during the Spring Festival, Bao Bingwen would definitely not refuse him face, so he insisted on going there himself during the next few days.

"Damn it! Chang Kai-shen!"

Sitting on the train, looking at the lights of thousands of homes, Song Ziwen couldn't help but curse inwardly. He didn't dare to speak too loudly, so he could only say a word or two when there was no one around.

After thinking about it, he added another sentence.

"Fuck Bao Bingwen!"

(End of this chapter)