The young lord of the declining bourgeoisie
The schedule of Jiang Yi Middle School is very tight, for example, there are only twenty minutes after the evening study session until the uniform lights out.
When the lights out bell rang, the cadres of the student union dormitory pulled down the main gate and all the lights in the male dormitories of Jiang Yi Middle School went out. “Hurry! Go back to bed!” The teacher on duty was making a final inspection from dorm room to dorm room, and there were a few students running around in the hallway. Soon, every dormitory door was closed from the inside and the whole building was quiet. The teacher on duty also left.
Ten minutes later, the dormitory door of senior six six (2) class quietly opened, my classmate Fang and I barefoot, tiptoeing out of it, quickly out of the boys’ building, down a slope of about a hundred meters to the highway outside the school gate, and then walk along the highway aimlessly while chatting up.
I can’t remember how many times I took such a walk with Fang, and I can’t remember what I talked about during the walk. I only remember that once Fang said that if he had money in the future, he would wear two pairs of leather shoes and two pairs of socks on his feet at the same Time, which was his complaint when his bare feet were painfully topped by small stones on the highway. I went on to say that if I had money in the future, I would buy two mosquito nets to hang at the same time. We just walked aimlessly and talked endlessly. Walk! Walk! Until we can not open our eyes, talk are not talking backwards, walking want to fall down, only then began to walk back.
Every year in early summer, strictly speaking, from the mosquitoes out, from Sunday to Friday every week, Fang and I basically will play this scene. At first we would often walk toward the town of Shuitu, then wander around the Jialing River, or lie in a big line on the beach, chatting while counting the stars in the sky, or thinking about what was on our minds, or simply going down to the river to take a bath until we were tired and weary, then go back to school. But soon we didn’t dare to go back to the town. It turned out that the young faculty members of the first middle school often went to town at this time to drink or eat late at night, and our whereabouts were soon discovered by them, and discipline does not allow resident students to go out at night. So we went in the direction of the outside of town instead, in which direction we would not meet people at night.
I remember one day when I returned to my dorm room after the evening study, because I was going out later, Fang and I did not wash our feet (we were barefoot in the summer), and a little while later the lights out bell rang. I sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for the teacher on duty to leave. At that moment, someone pushed the door and came in. I knew it was the teacher on duty, so I quickly pretended to lie down, but at the same time I was afraid he would see that I hadn’t washed my feet, so in a panic I pulled the covers off and covered them. But I was afraid that my feet would get too dirty and stain the blanket, so I bent my knees and arched the blanket to keep my dirtiest feet from touching it.
The teacher on duty, whose surname was You, was particularly loud and spoke like thunder. As soon as he entered the room, he seemed to sense some kind of movement and opened his flashlight to shine on my bed, which was right next to the door, so it shone right on my bed. The thunder sounded: “Who, it is so hot and still covered with such a thick blanket?” After saying this, he lifted my quilt and the flashlight was shining on my black and dirty feet. “Look, you don’t even wash your feet! You’re not afraid to get the cover dirty! It’s not like you to be lazy!” I can’t remember how I reacted in a panic. I only remember that after Mr. You left, some students were muttering in the dark. “What a bourgeois young master, feet are not even washed, silent up still like before the liberation of someone to serve!”
The next day at breakfast time, Mr. You announced his findings from last night and said without naming me that I was a fallen bourgeois young master style. Now I am a fallen, unattended bourgeois young master is ironclad evidence. Fortunately, I was sick that morning and did not go to breakfast, otherwise I was really ashamed of myself. This was told to me afterwards.
No one would know that it was all because of the damn mosquitoes.
Damn mosquitoes
In the town of water and soil, the river a high school’s fame can not be small. One is that it was the highest school in Jiangbei County at the time, the second is because the river is the most beautiful place in Shuitu Town: green trees, insects and birds chanting, lotus ponds reflecting the moon. Four seasons flower fragrance. But people do not know that it is because of this beauty, summer and autumn a middle school has become a haven for mosquitoes.
Morning okay, but in the afternoon, the mosquitoes will be more, people in the shade, the grass is difficult to get peace; in the evening, can be more bad, as if the mosquitoes in all directions have come to the same: the air mosquitoes are simply covering the sky, by hand to the air to grab a handful can catch a few. Inside and outside the house, all the mosquitoes of the world.
The classroom is good, the mosquitoes tend to scattered work, if you stay alone in the classroom, it is enough to suffer: countless mosquitoes to you, you just keep flapping the fan, keep hitting with your hands, keep twisting your body, but also can not resist the attack of mosquitoes.
In the dormitory, then the dormitory is crowded, a class of boys (or girls) are living in a dormitory, there are generally 20 to 30 people, so before going to bed is okay. If the night after lights out, students are into the mosquito net, only one or two people left, then it is enough for you to suffer. Mosquito legions blowing trumpets, one after another to attack you, so you simply can not fight.
This kind of attack until the next morning dew, the day began to cool before slowly stop. Do you think you can stand it? If it is a day you may grit your teeth and still be able to hold on, if it is every day? Can you still hold on? I tell you, Fang and I are in this situation.
No mosquito nets.
Yes, the only boys in the class without mosquito nets were Fang and me.
Every late spring and early summer, Jiang Yi Middle School would lend mosquito nets to students who did not have them.
I remember in the fall of 1962, I was in junior high school, the school forced us to live in school. By late spring and early summer of the following year, there began to be mosquitoes. Class teacher Mr. Cai announced that students without mosquito nets can apply to borrow from the school, but only two people a bed. At the same time, he said specifically about me, that I am not good health, two people sharing a bunk easy to get sick, so a separate bed. Soon I heard that some students objected, and even reflected to the school leadership, saying why I can one bed, others can not, clearly unfair. I didn’t care, I thought it was understandable, in fact, I didn’t want to accept this kind of offer, but at the same time I also felt a little uneasy.
A few days later my uneasiness was confirmed: the school issued mosquito nets, and not two people a bed but one person a bed, but I did not hear the Life committee read my name. I timidly asked the life committee, the life committee said no my name, and mosquito nets are also issued, told me to ask the class teacher. I did not go to ask the class teacher, I have understood everything, because my sister also did not receive the mosquito nets. We didn’t say anything, knowing that it was all because of the damn Family origin. Fortunately, a classmate named Zhou that year, took the initiative to share a bunk with me and let me get through that summer.
Then I was lucky enough to get into high school, and rightfully so, I still couldn’t borrow the school mosquito net. Neither I nor Fang could get such a deal. Then buy it, but at that time to buy a bed mosquito net is a big deal, one is to money, two is to cloth tickets. I and Fang’s family did not have this condition at that time. We also did not say to the family, because the family has enough trouble, can let the study is already quite good. With classmates bunk it, but the heat of the day, two boys crowded in a bed less than three feet wide, you can stand it? Even if you can stand it, people will be able to stand it? There is another important reason to sympathize with those of us who have problems with our family background, where did your class position go? Therefore, we can only endure.
But this long-term torture is really unbearable, so we began to think of ways.
Make an earthen mosquito net to try. I found a few bamboo strips, bent up to fix the two ends on the bed, and then the quilt is disassembled, the cover on the bamboo strips, just like the farmers’ vegetable shed. Who knows, after getting in: so the mosquitoes can not get in, but people in the inside but stuffy and hot, not long after sweating. Fan it with a fan, but no matter how hard you fan, there is no wind, only see the cover on the top of the quilt, with the rhythm of the fan downward concave.
After a while I understand: the fan can have wind, because the fan a fan, a low pressure, other places where the air is pressed over, it produced the wind. But my earth mosquito net sealing is too good, the air and the outside world is completely isolated, although the fan also produced a low pressure, but the outside air is blocked into the surface, so only see the surface of the concave down but no wind.
Earth mosquito nets do not work, find ways to drive away mosquitoes. So one night, when the students are asleep, we secretly ordered a small section of mosquito smoke to repel mosquitoes, then there is no mosquito incense. Mosquito smoke is a very thin long paper tube filled with a small amount of sulfur, six six six powder (a pesticide, has now been banned) of the sawdust (sawing wood when the fine wood powder) made, the point will have a pungent smell. The next day, someone protested, saying that his mosquito nets smoked yellow, and another reason is easy to cause a fire.
The second reason is sufficient, because the school has repeatedly spoken, not allowed to light mosquito smoke in the dormitory, for fear of causing a fire. Soon the class teacher found the party. In the dormitory mosquito smoke can not be lit, so we stared at the classroom. I remember that night, I and Fang in the classroom, sleeping on the “bed” put together with a table, close the door and windows, mosquito smoke, a beautiful sleep, that comfortable feeling really can not be mentioned. But the next day the class teacher somehow knew, he found the party again, and said that sleeping in the classroom at night is against the school discipline.
I can’t light mosquito smoke in the dormitory, nor in the classroom, so go Home and live. My home is in Shuitu Town, just a kilometer or so from the school. Fang’s brother’s house is even closer, only three or four hundred meters from a middle school, but also can not. One is because the school mandates that high school students must live in school, and the other is that we actually can’t go home to live. I have a mother, three sisters and a sister at home, they live in a room of more than ten square feet, crowded, has reached the house to go to bed, in and out of the situation have to give way, can still accommodate me as a big guy? Fang also, his brother’s house has long been overcrowded.
What to do? We had to go out in the evening to make ourselves as tired as possible, the more tired the better, and then go back to bed. In fact, the effect is not good, no matter how tired we are outside, a return to the dormitory, just lying down, there is no sleep, mosquito legions of attack began. No way, only boil, boil, boil, boil, until the mosquitoes are tired, I do not know when to sleep for a while. Just fall asleep, wake up the bell rang again, brace the tired body, rubbing reluctant to open the eyes, a simple wash, go to the morning study.
This approach is not good, but at least you can always let yourself suffer a little less mosquito torture.
Every Saturday, is my party and I holiday, because every Saturday there are students home and not back to the dormitory accommodation. Fang and I did not care whether the hosts allowed, they went to sleep in their empty bed, and will certainly sleep until dawn. Unfortunately, such happiness was only available one night a week.
There is another interesting thing worth mentioning. Sleeping in a classmate’s bed on Saturday, you can often find the next morning: the mosquito net into a lot of mosquitoes, they each ate a roll of melon round, bite in the mosquito net can not fly. I used the palm of my hand to shoot, blood to the entire palm of my hand is red. I was surprised, so many mosquitoes, last night I actually managed to sleep so well. Like to use my brain I soon found the answer: mosquito nets in the mosquitoes, but also limited, it will always stop after eating and drinking, and outside the mosquito net is the world of mosquitoes, you can feed them all?
Since 1963, I had malaria in the fall, lying in bed, shivering, sweating, talking nonsense, and suffering from both fire and ice. Every year until 1966, malaria was never a problem in the fall.
You may ask: What about your sister, didn’t she also have no mosquito net? Yes, she didn’t have one either, but she was luckier than me in that a classmate named Wang took her in. But this student surnamed Wang has always been called by some progressive students as a student with a strong sense of petty.
More than half a century later, whenever I heard the buzzing of mosquitoes at night, even if there was only one mosquito, I would immediately wake up with the thunderous voice of Mr. You ringing in my ears: the young master of the decadent bourgeoisie!
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