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

Chapter 13 Mourning Jiangnan · The Hometown of the Dead (1)
Sadly hope that Jiangnan Fu will not be completed
It was a turbulent era, the whole world was shrouded in the haze of the Second World War, and most parts of the motherland were affected by the war. Countless Chinese people threw their heads and blood on the battlefield, shouting "give me back my country", ringing Cheshanhe.The Chinese who are thousands of miles away are also concerned about the domestic war through various channels. Many of them have returned to China, and Qian Zhongshu's family of three is among them.

After Yang Jiang came back, she found out that the year before her mother died, the Japanese air raided Suzhou for the first time, and there were only elderly parents, elder sister and younger sister at home.The Yang family's house is larger than ordinary houses, and the plane circled around the Yang family, thinking that some government wanted the land and needed to focus on it.The family could only hide back and forth. The younger sister later recalled: "It's strange, I would have diarrhea when I was scared." When fleeing, the whole family had diarrhea, and later hid in Xiangshan, Suzhou.

In the autumn of the following year, my mother contracted "falciparum malaria". During the war, she couldn't get effective treatment, and she had a high fever all the time, and died before the fall of Xiangshan.The war was in full swing. In order to let his wife have a good "safety place", the father exchanged several loads of white rice for a coffin, and buried his wife in a coffin.On the day of the burial, it was drizzling, as if weeping for this era and what happened to this family.

There is no cemetery belonging to the Yang family here, so we can only temporarily borrow a cemetery, and there is no tombstone. My father wrote his mother's name all around where he could write, on the ground, tiles, trees, and stones. Feeling sad and missing.Yang Jiang's third aunt, Yang Yinyu, was also buried together.

Yang Jiang always calls her "Uncle Three".Normally, Yang Jiang rarely recalled her, and rarely talked about her, because the third uncle didn't like her very much, and she didn't like the third uncle too much.Uncle San died protecting several students when the Japanese captured Suzhou.

This third uncle is six years younger than Yang Yinhang. Yang Jiang commented on her appearance as "she is not beautiful, but she is not ugly either". She has big piercing eyes and dimples when she smiles. When my parents were chatting, my grandmother once mentioned a picture of her in front of the third aunt and said, "Look at her, with her nose pointing to the sky." She was very angry when she heard this, and shouted loudly : "It was born by you! It was born by you!! It was born by you!!!" It was a joke in the family at that time.

The third aunt later married an "imbecile" young master".Father Yang described the eldest young master as very unbearable, saying that he was always smiling, showing his purplish red gums, and the corners of his mouth were still drooling.Just because the other party was in the right family with her own family, she asked the third uncle to marry him. Yang Jiang's mother had heard about the situation of the other party's "eldest young master" before, and opposed the marriage with her grandmother, but only received a reprimand, and the marriage was still done. .

Yang Jiang didn't know what happened after the marriage. I only heard that the young master's face was scratched by the third uncle. After the third uncle returned to her mother's house, she insisted on refusing to go back. When they arrived at her mother's house, the third uncle hid in Yang Jiang's mother's room, and her mother-in-law also rushed in to arrest her. Later, she said that she would never go to Jiang's house again, so she tore up with Jiang's house. The reputation is very bad, they called the third uncle a "wife who killed the family", probably because they didn't give birth to children for their family.

At that time, Yang Yinyu was not very old, and Yang Yinhang let her go to school because of the situation.Later, she went to Japan to study in [-] and graduated from Tokyo Women's Higher Normal School (the predecessor of "Tea Women's University") in Japan. It is said that the third aunt is very proficient in Japanese complicated etiquette.Around [-], Suzhou City even invited Third Aunt to negotiate with the Japanese about the Japanese concession in Qingyang, and both sides seemed to be very satisfied with her.

Later, Yang Jiang's third aunt worked as a "supervisor" at the Women's Higher Normal College in Beijing. At that time, the third aunt liked Yang Jiang very much and thought she was smart, and she would bring Yang Jiang with her when she returned to school for activities.In [-], the third aunt was sent by the Ministry of Education to study in the United States.

On the day the third aunt went out, Yang Jiang went. She remembered that many students came to see her off that day, including the teacher who taught Yang Jiang at that time, and a few older students were crying. Yang Jiang didn't understand why. My aunt also wiped her tears on the train. It was the first time Yang Jiang saw the train, and it was also the first time she saw so many people seeing off, and she cried. Later, she thought back, that should be the most proud and proud day of the third aunt .

In [-], Yang Yinyu became the president of Beijing Women's Normal University. She was the first female university president in China.The third aunt was very sensitive and felt that the children didn't like her, and that Yang Jiang might be the leader among them, so she began to dislike Yang Jiang.

When the Japanese invaded, the third aunt’s family lived in Panmen, surrounded by small families, and the Japanese often came to search. The third aunt went to the local Japanese officers many times, accusing them of conniving in her troops to rape and plunder.The Japanese military officer really asked his subordinates to retreat. At that time, some timid people hid in the third aunt's house, feeling relatively safe.

On January [-], [-], two Japanese soldiers went to the third aunt’s house. They didn’t know what they said, and the third aunt followed her out. As a result, when they were walking on the bridge, one of the Japanese soldiers opened fire. , another person threw her down the river.Later they found out that the third aunt was still swimming in the river and she was not dead, so they fired a few shots and stopped watching the red splashes in the water. The third aunt passed away like this.

Later, Yang Yinyu was buried with Yang Jiang's mother. Because of the rush of time and the shortage of supplies at the time, the coffin was not even polished. Yang Jiang felt that it also symbolized the rough life of the third aunt.

In fact, after Yang Yinyu came out of Jiang's family, she could remarry completely, but she no longer bothered to marry and have children. She even forgot that she was a woman. She didn't mention love and marriage any more, she just wanted to concentrate on her work.Yang Yinhang once said: "If Shen Guan (Yang Yinyu) marries a good husband, she will be a good wife and mother."
I can only lament the misfortune brought to her by the times!No matter how brilliant and tragic it is, it will eventually be buried under this loess.A few years ago, a young scholar Chen Yuan wrote to Mr. Yang, wanting to chat with her about Mr. Yang Yinyu. Mr. Yang replied: "I don't want to talk about the past, forget it."
After 40 years of husband and wife, with the flick of a finger, Bai Ju was too old to look back. Yang Yinhang was reluctant to leave his wife here alone, so he took his family back to his hometown in Suzhou. At this time, the house was in a mess, and most of the things had been burned. Everything was lost, and there was only some food left, which was only enough for the few members of the family to survive, and they would not die of hunger.

The Japanese aggression was far from over. A group of Japanese soldiers ransacked from house to house and arrested "flower girls". The sisters of the Yang family were terrified. When the Japanese soldiers came, they hid in the woodpile and endured day after day in fear.

Qian Zhongshu's poem entitled "Sorrow" describes their sad mood at that time:
The mountains of bones are full of Baicheng, and the cries of defeated ghosts are swallowed.

Who knows that valuing death is better than ignoring death, even predicting that others will cherish this life.

When the body turns into ashes, there is still hatred, and the sky is ruthless because of the accumulation of energy.

Aizhi's jades are all returned together, and I hope that Jiangnan's Fu will not be completed.

Yang Jiang took Yuanyuan to Shanghai by boat, and it was Qian Zhongshu's younger brother who came to pick them up.He first took the two of them to Qian's house, which was Qian Zhongshu's uncle's house. Yang Jiang called him the little uncle because the little uncle and Qian Zhongshu's father were twins.

At that time, the Qian family spent a lot of money to "buy" a few houses. Because of the war at that time, Shanghai was a rare refuge. People from all over the world came to Shanghai for refuge, and houses became the most scarce resource.This house is not big, but there are many people living in it. Yang Jiang can only share a room with Qian Zhongshu's second brother's wife and son.

At this time, Shanghai has become an "isolated island" in the vast ocean. Even if it survives, it is always in danger of being swallowed.After the Kuomintang withdrew from Shanghai, Japan invaded Shanghai in an all-round way, stationed a large army, and set up checkpoints everywhere. Only a few places in Shanghai were relatively safe, and that was the public concessions of Western countries such as Britain, the United States, and France. Surrounded by Japanese soldiers, the isolated island is even more isolated!
Although the situation outside was dangerous, Yang Jiang missed her father and didn't want to stay. She took Yuanyuan to see her father the next day. At that time, her father lived in the house of the third sister who lived in Shanghai. The place was relatively spacious. She finally met her. When I arrived at my father, the third sister was giving birth in the hospital that day.

At the moment of reunion, it seems that the sea has changed. Yang Jiang felt that his father seemed to be getting old all of a sudden, his eyes were not as energetic as before, and his expression was very tired. Later, Yang Jiang knew that his father had been taking a lot of sleeping pills. It must be that his father could not fall asleep after his mother passed away. .But seeing his favorite daughter come back with his granddaughter, the father's joy is beyond words.Seeing the vicissitudes of his father, Yang Jiang felt very uncomfortable, and couldn't help thinking of his mother.

The father misses his daughter. He hasn't seen her for three years. He seems to have endless words. He holds Yang Jiang's hand and looks at Yuanyuan with kindness in his eyes.Because he was living with his third daughter at that time, it was inconvenient for him to keep Yang Jiang and Yuanyuan permanently, so he spent a lot of money to rent a house temporarily, hoping to keep Yang Jiang and his granddaughter by his side for a longer period of time.

Although Yang Jiang wanted to be by his father's side all the time, under Cheng Huan's knees, she was the daughter-in-law of Qian's family after all, and it was not good to live in her mother's house all the time. The sensible Yang Jiang took Yuanyuan Qian's house to live for a few days, and stayed at her own house for a few days.

In [-], Qian Zhongshu returned to Shanghai from Xiangxi, and Yang Jiang began to live in Qian's house.The Qian family has a large population and they all live together. In the small space, there are three generations of old, middle and young people living. Yang Jiang had to transform from the previous fourth lady and foreign student to a daughter-in-law.

Being a daughter-in-law is not that simple. The so-called seniors and juniors have to learn a lot of housework, and there is also her own daughter who needs to be taken care of. Yang Jiang was a little difficult during that time.She herself didn't have much in common with the Qian family to talk about.

When there were too many people in the family, Yang Jiang would feel a little embarrassed. Later, she got a sewing machine and hid in a corner to make clothes for Qian Zhongshu and Yuanyuan, so that she had something to do.

At home, Yang Jiang seldom reads in front of everyone. She is afraid that everyone will think that she is deliberately posing as a young lady, and will look down on others after studying abroad.She is like this, taking care of the feelings of everyone around her, although she really wants to have alone time to read books and chat with Qian Zhongshu, the simplest life abroad has become the most extravagant hope now.

One day before studying abroad in Oxford, when Qian Zhongshu was taking a nap, Yang Jiang was on the sidelines. It was easy to get sleepy at noon, and Yang Jiang fell asleep unconsciously.Qian Zhongshu woke up and saw that Yang Jiang was asleep, so he drew a "big painted face" on her face with thick ink.Yang Jiang woke up as soon as the pen was written, but I didn't expect Yang Jiang's face to be very "ink-eating". After washing it many times, it couldn't be washed off. The face was almost torn and still had color. Qian Zhongshu on the side seemed to have made a mistake. The child stared blankly. Since then, he has not dared to draw Yang Jiang's face anymore, but he only drew a portrait of her from time to time, adding glasses and a beard to it, just for fun.

Then one day, when his daughter fell asleep, Qian Zhongshu became very interested and scribbled on his daughter's belly again. This time he was severely reprimanded by Yang Jiang, and he never dared to do anything recklessly again.

Qian Zhongshu had many ways to coax Ah Yuan to play, all of which were created by him. The father and daughter had a great time playing, and outsiders could not participate. Sometimes even Yang Jiang could only watch from the sidelines.At that time, before going to bed every day, Qian Zhongshu "buried landmines" in his daughter's quilt, but he buried everything that could be stuffed into the quilt layer by layer, including toys, mirrors, combs, and inkstones. , and even a writing brush, after stuffing it, I waited for my daughter to discover it.

After a long time, Ah Yuan became a "pioneer in demining". She would search again and again, layer by layer, and then laugh at Dad. Dad was not discouraged, and continued to bury the next day. Such a boring game, how many times did the two of them play? Never tired, laugh every time.

When Shanghai fell, everyone lived in extreme depression and panic. An incident happened at that time. When Yang Jiang later described this incident, he used a very funny way.At that time, the kitchen was on fire, and all three of them were there. The father and daughter reacted like this: "Suddenly Yuanyuan came out of the kitchen in a panic and shouted: "Mom!mother!Oh no! ! !Quick, quick, quick, quick, quick! ! ! "Then Qian Zhongshu also shouted in panic: "Mother!Hurry up hurry up! ! !
Yang Jiang hurriedly extinguished the fire, and then looked at the father and daughter who were not nervous or afraid at all, and were "joyfully laughing and laughing".That day, Yang Jiang "eat a small bowl of porridge, stuck in his heart, and fell asleep after tossing and turning in the middle of the night."She always followed the two of them to clean up the battlefield.

During that time, Yang Jiang did well in all aspects. After the lady from a scholarly family got married, Wen could write poems and "Wu" could cook. Serving her parents-in-law was unanimously approved by the Qian family, even her aunt praised her as "a good wife who can go up to the living room and go down to the kitchen; she can swim in the water and jump out of the water; the maggots in the salt bowl are also salty maggots (a good wife)!" "
Yuanyuan was a little confused when she arrived in a new environment. When she was learning to speak, she was surrounded by a wife who spoke French, parents who spoke Wuxi dialect, and people who spoke Mandarin. She began to say something here and there. to learn.The first sentence she said to Yang Jiang was "The (grandfather) said that I am Du (big) that (forehead) corner building (head)", which made Yang Jiang bend over with a smile.

Later, the cousin of Yang Jiang’s third aunt’s family vacated a room in Xiafei Road’s house for Yang Jiang’s father and brothers and sisters to live in. The place was quite spacious, and Yang Jiang also had a stable place to live without having to live with the Qian family. up.

When Yang Jiang first married into the Qian family, the Qian family originally planned to let Yang Jiang stay at home and do housework like a traditional woman, and only care for her husband and children instead of going out to work.Yang Jiang's father said: "The Qian family is very extravagant. The daughter I have spent so much time cultivating will be a free mother for your Qian family!"
If you don't live together, you don't have so many chores to do.Later, Yang Jiang was recommended to a wealthy businessman's daughter to make up lessons for her high school courses. Before that, she occasionally went to Qian's house to buy some things for her in-laws. After having this make-up lesson, she arranged lessons all day long and didn't have much time. past.Yuan is taken by her father, who calls himself "grandfather". Yuan likes "grandfather" very much and always has a good time.

During the three years of studying abroad, Yang Jiang always felt ashamed of her father's upbringing. After her mother left, Yang Jiang secretly made up her mind to take care of her father as she did when her mother was there.The residence on Xiafei Road has become a place where everyone gathers. The third sister and the seventh sister often come back, and everyone is lively.Yang Jiang is very careful and tries her best to think of everything for her father. She takes him to have a haircut, buys clothes, shoes, and even buys his favorite snacks.

The daughter is a caring little padded jacket, this sentence is vividly reflected in Yang Jiang.In order to know what kind of candy or snack her father likes to eat, she sorts and fills up all the jars on her father's bedside table, and then secretly sees which jar is lacking more and which jar contains the things her father likes, and then fills it up immediately.Every time, she went to look at the pot quietly, thinking that her father didn't know, and she felt that she was doing it "tightly", and she was secretly happy.

After his father died, Yang Jiang saw a bundle of his father's diaries when he was tidying up his father's room. In the diary during that time, his father clearly recorded all this. His father saw the children's heart-warming actions and became How can a father with such a heart be disrespectful to the "little trick" performed by family?Seeing these words, Yang Jiang burst into tears.

Old times on the "island"

Days are advancing with difficulty in the background of national disasters. On this day, an "old acquaintance" suddenly visits, that is, Mr. Ji Yu, the former principal of Zhenhua Girls' School, Yang Jiang's alma mater.Yang Jiang was very surprised by her teacher's visit. The two hadn't seen each other for many years. Yang Jiang had been promoted from a girl to a mother, and Mr. Ji Yu's temples had gray hair, showing a lot of vicissitudes.

Yang Jiang said excitedly: "How dare I let you come to see me?"
Principal Ji Yu directly stated the purpose of this trip, and she wanted Yang Jiang to help her, saying: "Zhenhua, Zhenhua, revitalize China!" Yang Jiang looked at the old principal with tears in his eyes, and was very moved , but didn't know what she could do to help, she thought she was going to teach at school, so she said, "Maybe I can teach a class or two...only half a year."
The old principal didn't explain anything. He said that he had something to do today and that he would discuss it in detail tomorrow. After leaving his address and an appointment time, he left in a hurry, leaving behind Yang Jiang who was full of doubts.

Yang Jiang went to the appointment on time. She thought it would be a gathering of some alumni of Zhenhua Girls' School, but she only saw Mr. Ji Yu alone.Mr. Ji Yu told Yang Jiang that the board of directors of the school wanted to invite her to dinner and make her the principal.Hearing what Mr. Ji Yu said, Yang Jiang hurriedly waved her hands, saying that she couldn't do it, that she had little qualifications, had never been a principal, and there was someone more suitable.

Principal Ji Yu overturned everything she said, and concluded that if you do it, you have to do it, and if you don't do it, you have to do it.He said that he would help Yang Jiang and teach her how to be the principal.Before Yang Jiang could say anything more, the car that came to pick them up arrived at the door, so she had to get in the car.

Another inconvenient reason for Yang Jiang's reluctance to be the principal is the influence her father had on her since she was a child: don't be an official in whatever you do.For so many years, Yang Jiang saw how much injustice his father suffered as an official, so he always listened to his father's advice, not to be an official, not to be an expert, not even to be a department head in a university, it is best to study with peace of mind, this is the principal The story of my father echoes what my father said before: "Dogs plow the field, cattle keep vigil!"
(End of this chapter)