The most virtuous wife, the most talented woman: the biography of Yang Jiang

Chapter 10 Xiang Tianya·Going to England and France for Study (1)
Impression of England
If you want to be a couple, a trip before marriage is necessary.This is the conclusion drawn by Qian Zhongshu's characters in "Fortress Besieged". The trip should not be short, at least one month, so that they can see through each other. If you don't separate, you can get married, so honeymoon and marriage should be reversed.But he himself came to this realization later.

The bell to leave had already sounded, and the two accompanied each other on board the ship to England. Because of the long distance, the journey would take more than a month.Fortunately, the two of them have endless words and poems to talk about, looking forward to the next life together, and the sweetness of the newlyweds, which makes the wandering time not so difficult.

This is the first time they have lived together for a long time. Although they are divided into two cabins, Yang Jiang also found many problems with this famous "scholar". Before, he always said that he was "clumsy", but now It does not seem self-effacing.For example, he doesn't know how to tie butterfly buckles on shoelaces, he can't even distinguish between left and right feet when wearing shoes, and he doesn't know how to use chopsticks.She knew in her heart that she would have to take care of him for the rest of her life, and that's what the so-called "depending on each other" meant. She was also glad that she was studying abroad with her, at least she could take care of him.Although Yang Jiang herself was a charming lady before, she couldn't do anything.

Among the luggage going abroad, most of Qian Zhongshu’s boxes are books. His love for books is fanatical, and he wants to buy the books he likes when he sees them.There are a lot of books brought to the UK from China, and they even carry Dr. Johnson's dictionary with them, and they read them together when they have nothing to do.

The first stop when they arrived in the UK was London. Before coming here, both of them were full of yearning for London. The scenery and stories in the book made them know this city for a long time, so after arriving in London, the two We decided to stay for a few days. Fortunately, there is still some time before the start of Oxford University. The two of us went out early, so we still have free time.

Qian Zhongshu’s cousins, Qian Zhonghan and Qian Zhongwei, came to study in London before him, and several brothers reunited in a foreign country. Qian Zhongshu did not forget to compose a poem titled “Meeting Wenwu Second Brothers in London” , to commemorate this rare reunion.

Seeing me arrive from my hometown, I am as happy to return home as you are.

Watch the frequency, doubt and dream, and ask about homework in miscellaneous language.

Since he respects his relatives, he does not leave his servants behind.

Youth is worthy of companionship, and it is not necessary to be busy.

Accompanied by their relatives, the two were also arranged to visit the British Museum and several famous local galleries. After some fun, the two decided to go to Oxford University to go through the admission procedures.

All the affairs of Qian Zhongshu have been arranged properly, because he came here through the examination and enjoys the study treatment at public expense. According to the professional arrangement of the previous examination, he entered Exeter College to study for a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Yang Jiang went to school at her own expense, so she had to deal with a lot of things. She originally wanted to study her favorite literature direction, but the student quota was full, so she had to choose history as the next best thing. I can find my own place to stay.

Yang Jiang once said: "If I go to Tsinghua University's Department of Foreign Languages ​​as an undergraduate, if I take drama as an elective, maybe I can write a small script, and maybe the dean of the department will take me as a training object. But my interest Not in drama but in novels. At that time, I was young and didn’t know how to play tricks on people, so I just felt very unconvinced. Since I didn’t have the chance to go abroad at public expense, I went abroad with Zhong Shu, and borrowed his light to save some living expenses.”
As soon as he arrived in Oxford, Qian Zhongshu staged a "good show". Yang Jiang recalled: "When he first arrived in Oxford, he kissed the floor of Oxford and knocked out most of his front teeth. He went out alone and did not get off the bus. When he stood still, the car started. He fell heavily on his face. At that time we were tenants in Lao Jin’s house. In addition to our husband and wife, there were two tenants living in a single room, one surnamed Lin and the other surnamed Zeng, they were all visiting medical experts in Oxford. Zhong Shu fell down and walked back by himself, covering his mouth with a big handkerchief. The handkerchief was full of blood. When he shook the handkerchief, half a broken tooth fell out, and his mouth was full of blood. I am anxious I don’t know how to replace the broken tooth. Fortunately, there are doctors in the same room. They taught me to accompany Zhong Shu to find a dentist quickly, pull out the broken tooth, and then install false teeth.”
Qian Zhongshu and Yang Jiang have a common hobby, which is reading, and they love libraries equally.And the university they are in has a world-class library——Bodleian Library, and they also gave it a nickname: "Steaming Building".Compared with the library of Tsinghua University that Yang Jiang loved before, the collection of books here is even higher. In addition to a large number of foreign classic books, it also collects a lot of Chinese literature. The British Book Company has been printing and producing since [-]. Every new book will be donated to this library as a storage book.

At Oxford University, self-funded students will have a black vest with two black streamers on the back. Qian Zhongshu is also considered a self-funded student at Oxford University, so he also got one and often wears it to class.In the vicinity of Oxford University, students wearing black vests can be seen everywhere. It is a special scenery in Oxford. Yang Jiang is very envious. At that time, his father was in China, his health was not good, and there was a large family to support. Yang Jiang couldn't bear to tell his father Asking for money to pay the expensive tuition fees at Oxford University.So she can only be an auditor, without this black vest.She treasures Qian Zhongshu's black vest, which symbolizes Oxford University in her heart, and the vest is well preserved.

At the beginning of [-], the National Museum wanted to prepare an exhibition of cultural relics about the history of studying abroad for a century. Mr. Yang Jiang provided a group photo with the overseas students of Nanyang Public School at that time, and also provided this black vest. The land and the house moved again and again, but it was still well preserved. In the end, the vest remained in the National Museum.

Oxford University also has another "characteristic" regulation. Students who go to school here need to eat in the school cafeteria four or five times a week, so as to prove that they really live in the school and have not left here for a long time. It is said that eating is more important than going to class.At that time, school meals were relatively expensive for them. Fortunately, because Qian Zhongshu brought his family to take care of Yang Jiang, he ate relatively less in the cafeteria every week, just two meals a week.

During the two years at Oxford University, in addition to completing courses, the two of them spent most of their time in the library, like hungry sponges, tirelessly absorbing the water in the ocean. Their reading was not limited to literature, philosophy, psychology. Studies, history, etc. are all within their scope of absorption.In reading, Yang Jiang has largely consolidated her foreign language reading ability and literary knowledge, which provided a good foundation for her subsequent writing.

The life of studying abroad is wonderful, especially for Yang Jiang.There is a lot of time here for them to allocate for themselves, because the place where they live provides four meals a day, and Yang Jiang does not need to do anything, and the room is also cleaned by the family.She is not a formal student, so she does not have a fixed class schedule. She has never had such a privilege since she was a child, free and comfortable.

In terms of literature, Yang Jiang has always believed that she is lacking, so she arranged a reading list for herself, read the books listed on the list one by one, and took notes carefully. A fixed location, and go there whenever she has time. At that time, there were not many people reading in the library, it was very clean, and the books she wanted to read were right by her hand. It was like heaven to her.

Oxford University has three semesters a year, and there are six weeks of vacation for every eight weeks of study.When the two of them were studying abroad, there were many dudes who graduated from aristocratic high schools. They seldom studied hard and spent most of their time slacking off. School rules.Qian Zhongshu and Yang Jiang never violated similar school rules during their school days. Even their moral advisors praised them for their hard work, and occasionally invited them to drink tea at home.

The Jin family where the two lived arranged a room with a good view for them. The garden was outside the window. When the two were free, they would go out for a walk, breathe fresh air, and give their brains a rest.They call this daily arrangement "exploration". There are too many things they have never seen before in this strange country waiting for them to discover. Compared with familiar places, they prefer to take strange roads. The new discovery, which made both of them very happy.

The memories of those days are always quiet and beautiful.They love the streets and alleys there, and also like the friendly way of the locals.

In the UK, afternoon tea is an important part of life.A lot of social life and human relations are carried out in the afternoon tea. At that time, they just came to the UK and didn't know much about this English tea.A kind classmate taught them how to do it: "Warm the teapot first, each person uses a full teaspoon of tea, four teas use five teaspoons, three people use four teaspoons. Boiled water can be added one at a time, and the tea is always strong enough ."
Later, Qian Zhongshu had the habit of starting with a cup of black tea with milk every morning. Unfortunately, after returning to China, it was difficult to buy that kind of Indian black tea. Yang Jiang tried to use several kinds of tea to make a similar taste. After several experiments, She mixes three types of black tea: Dianhong for its fragrance, Huhong for its bitterness, and Qihong for its color.

Qian Zhongshu likes the taste of the black tea developed by Yang Jiang very much, so until now, some of the remaining tea are still kept at home. Yang Jiang said that these things can remind her of the good time in England, but things are people No, I can't go back.

The food prepared by the Jin family was not bad, but Qian Zhongshu was not used to the local British taste, so he ate relatively less. Yang Jiang felt sorry for him, fearing that he would lose weight if he didn't have enough to eat.And after a while, they felt that the taste of the Jin family was not as good as when they first came here, and it would be inconvenient to live together, so Yang Jiang wanted to rent a house for just the two of them.

At first, Qian Zhongshu didn't support Yang Jiang's idea, because he knew that Yang Jiang didn't know how to cook, and at least he could have ready-made meals when he lived in Jin's house.But Yang Jiang had already made up her mind, and began to pay attention to the rental information in the newspaper.

I looked at a few times in a row, but I was not very satisfied. The location is too far from the school, and it is inconvenient to go to school. It was a waste of time on the way, so I continued to search. Fortunately, I was not in a hurry, and I had plenty of time.

One evening, she and her husband went out for "exploration" as usual. When they passed by a high-end community, they saw an advertisement for rent posted there. The two of them didn't go directly. there.Yang Jiang was a little disappointed, but unwilling, so she bravely knocked on the door of that house.

It was a lady who opened the door. Yang Jiang thought that the other party would be angry, but the lady didn't. Instead, she looked at the oriental girl in front of her repeatedly, and she could see that Yang Jiang was a little nervous.Then she took Yang Jiang upstairs to look at the house. This lady was her later landlord, Ms. Da Lei.

This house on the second floor is the "home" they rented later. It has two rooms, one is the bedroom, the other is the living room, and there is a large balcony, from which you can see a large area of ​​grass and gardens. Not inferior to the Jin family.

The other conditions are a little crude. An electric stove is needed for heating, and an electric stove is also used for cooking, and the kitchen is small. The bathtub here has also attracted Yang Jiang's attention. The water pipe that heats the bath water is a coiled water pipe, which can be seen from a long time ago. The water needs to be heated through the coiled pipes, so that it has temperature when it flows out.

Yang Jiang glanced at the basic situation before going back. She wanted to ask her husband to take a look at the conditions here.After seeing it, Qian Zhongshu liked it very much. It was very close to the school, just across the street, and it also avoided all the problems of living in Jin's house before.

Yang Jiang cherishes the time of studying very much. When Qian Zhongshu’s friends or classmates came to visit, there was only one room before, and she had no other place to go, so she had to socialize with her. Not only wasted time, but also suffered from their smoking. No need, now the room is very spacious, and there is no need to share the toilet and bathroom with other people.

However, the new house also has its troubles. The rent is definitely higher than that of living in Jin’s house, and Yang Jiang has hardly been in the kitchen before, but she is very confident that at least she can still achieve the food level of Jin’s house before. .

According to Yang Jiang's previous budget range, the two of them could afford this house, so they quickly signed a rental agreement and prepared to move.

When a daughter is a mother, she knows how to repay her kindness

Life advances in groping, no one is born a master, troubles are rain flower stones on the road, maybe sometimes not so smooth, but it can prevent you from slipping on the road.And happiness is like flowers on the side of the road. As long as the direction is right, the scenery along the way will be intoxicating.

Around the New Year of that year, the two moved to the later house, feeling extremely excited.On the day of moving, the two of them had been busy for nearly a day, and there were a lot of things. Fortunately, the storage space in the new house is sufficient, and the drawers can be fully utilized.Because I didn't cook before, so I didn't have tableware, so I borrowed from the landlord and had a simple dinner. Both of them were very tired. Qian Zhongshu fell asleep early, but Yang Jiang couldn't fall asleep for a long time.

The first dawn in the new house came. Qian Zhongshu woke up very early. He wanted to prepare breakfast for Yang Jiang who hadn't woken up yet. After he was done, he put it neatly in front of Yang Jiang. She looked at this man in surprise, Thinking of him saying that he was "clumsy and clumsy", he had such delicate thoughts.Up to now, Yang Jiang still remembers that breakfast was extraordinarily rich, with butter, jam, honey and the best sunshine.

Another new life begins, which is more like a real family, only two people decide everything, no one else is involved.Like other families, they are familiar with the surrounding environment and have ordered fresh milk and bread from nearby stores, and they will be delivered to the door every day, and they are all the freshest.

Qian Zhongshu likes to eat braised pork. After he had his own kitchen, he began to brew his own "magnificent work". Yang Jiang definitely couldn't do it, so he asked other Chinese overseas students for advice. Everyone didn't understand it. They all offered advice and suggestions, and studied together.

When I made it for the first time, two people guarded the pot and kept cooking the meat on a high fire. When the soup was dry, I added water to it. There was no ginger and soy sauce for making braised pork in Britain. Not chewable.Yang Jiang recalled that her mother used "slow fire" to process the dishes at home. In addition to the previous experience summarization, she replaced it with sherry wine when she couldn't find rice wine. The second time it tasted good. , Yang Jiang also has the unique sense of pride of a housewife.

Gradually, she also realized a lot of cooking knowledge, and the practice of braised pork can be extended to various ingredients. She has researched many unique dishes. Qian Zhongshu is very fond of these experimental products, and he always eats them with satisfaction .In a foreign country, two young people who depend on each other for life, although they don't have the guidance and leadership of their parents, they still live their lives "with relish".

Daily necessities are indispensable in life, and experience is also accumulated one after another. Yang Jiang regards every attempt as a new "adventure", sorting out every experience, no matter success or failure.

But there is one thing that Yang Jiang has never been able to control, and that is to clean up "live shrimp".When doing it for the first time, Yang Jiang watched her family do it before, so she said very well: "I have to cut off the beard and feet." But just after she cut it, the shrimp in her hand twitched violently, and she twitched it. The son threw away the scissors and the shrimp and escaped.Seeing her in distress, Qian Zhongshu asked her what happened. Yang Jiang said, "Shrimp, when I cut it, it hurt so much, let's not eat it from now on!" Qian Zhongshu explained to her that shrimps are not It hurts like a human, but he still needs to eat anyway, so he will cut it and Yang Jiang will do it.

In my first year at Oxford, my life was very fresh and I learned a lot.Yang Jiang said that it was the most relaxed and happy year in her life, but the feeling of homesickness was a bit bitter, but fortunately she was accompanied by her lover.

When the holidays came, the two were invited to be representatives of the "World Youth Congress" in [-] and held a meeting in Geneva, Switzerland.Afterwards, they went to Paris. After some consultation, they registered at the University of Paris. Because the University of Paris does not compulsorily live on campus, and there are requirements for learning experience, so when they were studying at Oxford University in [-], they were already at the University of Paris. Registered at the University of Paris.

Before the holiday, Yang Jiang communicated with the landlord, wanting the landlord to leave a house with better conditions. After returning to London, she found that Ms. Da Lei really left them a new house with much better conditions. moved over.

Next, cooking became Yang Jiang's daily project. Qian Zhongshu would not be a hands-off shopkeeper, but would also beat his hands. Although the two people's financial conditions are limited, their lives are a little tense, and they need to plan carefully, but the two have always been Support and accompany each other.

Yang Jiang doesn't like cooking every day. She thinks it's a waste of time and troublesome, and she even dreamily said that it would be great if she didn't have to eat.Qian Zhongshu once tried to find a prescription for taking "Bigu", and he could be "immortal and proud" like a fairy without eating, because he really loved his wife.

The days are peaceful and peaceful, and greater happiness has come quietly.Soon, Yang Jiang found out that she was pregnant. The two were both excited and nervous, and they were also guessing whether the baby was a boy or a girl.

(End of this chapter)