The word "fiancée" made Jing Mingchen blush.
Chen Zui was stunned for a long time, and then she asked with trembling lips: "Is Liang Tingyue dead?"
Jing Mingchen was also stunned, but soon she realized that in Liang Tingyue's memory, the home address was still the old address, so the death notice must have not been delivered to Chen Zui.
Jiang Gubei sighed and patted Jing Mingchen on the shoulder: "I'll talk to her."
Jing Mingchen glanced at him, nodded, and watched Jiang Gubei support Chen Zui into the house.
She walked around the yard in boredom for many times and waited for a long time. Congwen sat on the wine jar like a frightened baby bird, staring at her with his big eyes blinking.
The door finally opened, and Chen Zui and Jiang Gubei walked out. Chen Zui walked straight to Congwen, she squatted down, touched Congwen's little face hard, then stood up, took Congwen's hand and walked to Jing Mingchen, pushing the child into her arms: "I'll leave the child to you."
She turned and walked back into the house, slamming the door.
It took Jing Mingchen a lot of effort to bring Congwen back to the base. After Chen Zui closed the door, he leaned on the door and pounded for a long time, crying for his mother, but Chen Zui didn't say a word. Finally, Jiang Gubei took out a chocolate and coaxed him that his mother had some things to pack and would come to find him in two days. Only then did Congwen get on the car, looking back every few steps.
He was tired of crying and fell asleep as soon as he got in the car. In his dream, he was still smacking his lips and savoring the bitter-sweet taste of chocolate. Jing Mingchen asked Jiang Gubei: "Why are you here? Thank you, otherwise I would have been disfigured. And you are amazing, you brought chocolate."
Jiang Gubei did not answer her first question. He just said, "The best way to coax a child is to give him some sweet treats."
He looked at Jing Mingchen with a smile on his face. Jing Mingchen suddenly thought of the bag of sugar-roasted chestnuts. Her face turned red and she quickly changed the subject: "What did you tell her? Why did she suddenly agree to let us take the child away?"
Jiang Gubei shook his head and smiled mysteriously: "This is a secret, not to be told to outsiders."
Jing Mingchen said "Oh" but angrily pulled the thread on his clothes with his hands. Humph, it turns out that she is an outsider!
Jiang Gubei sent her and Congwen back to the station. Along the way, they saw people on the street with their families and carrying boxes and bags. Kaifeng was in great trouble, and countless people who had lived here for generations had to leave their homes to find a way to survive. Jing Mingchen asked Jiang Gubei hesitantly, "Mr. Jiang... I want to ask you for a favor."
Jiang Gubei didn't look back, but just said "hmm" with a heavy nasal tone.
Jing Mingchen said: "Kaifeng looks like it can't be defended. When the Japanese enter the city, the people left in the city will probably be in trouble. I think Chen Zui, a young widow, has no relatives to rely on. She is the widow of my friend. I want to invite her to Wuhan, but this time I am here on official business, and it is not good to trouble the government with personal matters..."
What she meant was that she wanted to ask Jiang Gubei to take Chen Zui back to Wuhan.
Jiang Gubei smiled faintly: "Do you think I can't think of this? I tried to persuade her in the room just now, but she didn't want to. She said she had her own place to go and asked us to take good care of Congwen."
Jing Mingchen said "hmm" and his face felt a little hot. It was true that Jiang Gubei had always been a thoughtful and considerate person. There was no need for him to remind him of such a small matter.
After finding Congwen, Jing Mingchen put his heart at ease and devoted himself to the work of rescuing the child. With Kaifeng about to fall, their persuasion work became easier. The people were no longer hostile to them, and some even brought their children to them and begged them to take them in. During the more than a week that the nursery had been in Kaifeng, it had taken in hundreds of children, and Congwen was the last one.
At a meeting in the evening, the person in charge decided to set off back in the next two days. To ensure safety, they first took trucks and cars to Zhengzhou, which was relatively safe at the moment, and then took the train from Zhengzhou back to Wuhan.
With the help of all parties, a car was quickly contacted. However, on the morning of the departure day, Jing Mingchen discovered that Congwen was missing!
She searched the entire base but couldn't find Congwen, and then she realized that Congwen had secretly run away. The child still remembered Jiang Gubei's words, that after so many days, he still hadn't seen his mother come, and he heard the rescue team say they would leave Kaifeng tomorrow, so he secretly ran back to find his mother.
The team was ready to go, but Jing Mingchen didn't care. She told her colleagues that she would go find Congwen by herself, and if they were late, they should go first and not wait for her. Then she turned around and ran towards Chen Zui's house.
As she ran, she dodged the debris flying all over the sky. The Japanese were attacking the city with artillery fire. The whole city was filled with smoke and stray bullets. The buildings that had been there for thousands of years were reduced to pieces by the shells. Jing Mingchen was driving against the flow of open trucks on the street. The trucks were full of refugees who wanted to escape the city. They stared at this petite girl with wide eyes. What was she going to do? Was she crazy? She was still running to the city at this time?
Finally he ran to Chen Zui's house. As soon as Jing Mingchen opened the door, he heard loud crying. It was Congwen!
She pushed open the door and was stunned by the scene before her. Her blood froze instantly.
Chen Zui committed suicide.
The skinny young woman was hanging from the beam, dangling in the air like a piece of paper. Congwen hugged her legs and cried loudly, calling for her mother incoherently. Jing Mingchen walked over stiffly. In the simple house, Chen Zui, who was hanging in the air, had her eyes closed and her expression was peaceful, as if she was sleeping in a good dream. She was wearing a pear-blossom white cheongsam, which looked a bit old but was kept in good condition, as if she had only worn it once many years ago and then kept it away. She was also wearing makeup, with crescent-shaped eyebrows.
Jing Mingchen reached out and covered Congwen's eyes: "Good boy, don't look."
She half-carried and half-dragged Congwen out, holding him in her arms and running out of the city. She didn't know that behind her, the city wall of the ancient capital Kaifeng had been blasted open by continuous artillery fire.
Kaifeng fell and the Japanese entered the city.
In her arms was Congwen's heavy body, in her ears was the sound of gunfire and the crying of children. Jing Mingchen staggered as she ran, and accidentally twisted her foot and fell to the ground. Congwen also rolled out of her arms.
She struggled to get up, but was suddenly grabbed by the wrist and lifted up. She struggled to look back and saw a hideous face with middle-parted hair, wearing a black silk coat, rat-like eyes, and an obscene smile: "Oh, there are such pretty girls in Kaifeng City."
Jing Mingchen stretched out her hand to slap him but was held down. The stinky mouth came towards her. Jing Mingchen struggled and shouted, "The Japanese are about to enter the city!"
The Japanese were about to enter the city, so how could there be such evil people who would take advantage of the situation to loot? The man laughed and said, "I'm not afraid. I work for the Imperial Army. Once the Imperial Army enters the city, I'll be rich."
It turned out that he was a traitor, and Jing Mingchen was disappointed.
Seeing Jing Mingchen being humiliated, Congwen climbed up, threw himself on the man's legs and tried to bite him with his teeth, but was kicked away by the man and lay motionless on the ground.
Jing Mingchen cried out "Congwen" heartbreakingly, and was then pinched by the neck and pressed to the ground. She looked at the smoke over Kaifeng with grief and anger. Was she really going to die here? Died at the hands of a traitor.
The air was getting thinner and thinner. She thought of a person - Jiang Gubei. She remembered the faint light on his lips. Where was he? Every time she needed help, he would come down from the sky, like her patron saint. But where was he now? Tears welled up in her eyes, and she shouted his name with all her might: " Jiang Gubei!"
As if God heard her call, she suddenly felt lightened and opened her eyes. She really saw Jiang Gubei. He was fighting with the traitor. He was holding a wooden stick he had picked up from somewhere and was beating the traitor hard.
She quickly crawled to Congwen, picked him up, and patted his face. Congwen coughed and opened his eyes.
Jiang Gubei finally defeated the traitor. He took the child from Jing Mingchen and said simply, "Get in the car."
He came by car, and no one knew where he got the car from. The car was very old and even the windows were broken.
As soon as he got in the car, he stepped on the accelerator to the bottom: "I went to the base to look for you, and I just caught up with them leaving. Your captain told me that you went back to the city to look for Congwen. The Japanese have already entered the city. There is no time. We must rush out of Kaifeng City immediately, escape to the countryside first, and then find a way to go to Zhengzhou."
The car rushed all the way and finally got out of the city before dark. As soon as the car left the city, it was scrapped. They abandoned the car and walked into the village.
There was also a desolate scene outside Kaifeng City. Those who could escape had already fled south. Nine out of ten houses in the village were empty. It was pitch black at night, like a huge desolate tomb.
Just in case, they did not dare to stay in the villagers' homes, but found a dilapidated temple.
As soon as she settled down, Jing Mingchen couldn't help crying. She thought of Chen Zui, the Chen Zui who hanged herself in a white cheongsam with pear blossoms. She couldn't forget the lonely look of Chen Zui swaying in the wind. She choked and said, "I killed her. She committed suicide because I wanted to take Congwen away. If the child was still with her, she would want to live no matter what..."
Jiang Gubei interrupted her: "It's not you, it's me. I should have realized long ago that she didn't want to . The real reason she gave the child to us was that she didn't want to live anymore. She was entrusting her child to us."
Jing Mingchen looked at him with tears in his eyes: "Why?"
Jiang Gubei fiddled with the bonfire in front of him: "Didn't you ask me what I said to her that would make her agree to let us take the child away? I tell you, I didn't say anything, I just answered her questions and then listened to her."
The bonfire jumped, and Jiang Gubei's face was more melancholy and serious than ever before under the light of the fire. Jing Mingchen asked, "What did she ask?"
Jiang Gubei sighed: "She asked me how Liang Tingyue died and whether she left any last words before she died. I told her that Liang Tingyue died for his country on the battlefield in Xuzhou. I also told her that Liang Tingyue left a last word, saying: 'My wife, my seven-year-old child.' She cried and then told me the story of her and Liang Tingyue."
"She liked Liang Tingyue. She said that when she was a child, Liang Tingyue often helped her father buy wine at Chen's wine shop. She liked him at that time. Later, when she heard that they were engaged, she was very happy. But then she heard that Liang Tingyue had a girlfriend in the military academy, and his family tricked him back by saying that his mother was critically ill. So Chen Zui felt that it was boring. It turned out that she was the only one who was happy in this marriage."
"She said that she didn't read many books when she was young, but she remembered a sentence: 'This love should be long-lasting. If you don't have any feelings, I will give up.'"
"Later, out of self-esteem, she pretended to be cold to Liang Tingyue. Later, Liang Tingyue returned to the army and did not come back for two years. Chen Zui felt that Liang Tingyue was avoiding her, and she moved out of spite after her mother-in-law died."
"She would rather Liang Tingyue knew an outdated address. That way, if he never came, she could convince herself that Liang Tingyue didn't know where she was."
"Didn't you ask me why I could find her but you couldn't? That's because you found the wrong person. You were looking for someone with the surname Chen, but Chen Zui has always said that her surname is Liang. She is Liang Chen, and she is Madam Liang."
Jing Mingchen was stunned after hearing this.
She never expected that there was a huge misunderstanding between Liang Tingyue and Chen Zui. Chen Zui loved Liang Tingyue deeply, but what about Liang Tingyue? Did he love Chen Zui? He was still talking about her before he died, so he must have had feelings for her, right?
Jiang Gubei's sudden groan interrupted her wild thoughts, and she became nervous: "What's wrong with you?"
Jiang Gubei pressed his shoulder and frowned: "I was stabbed in the shoulder by that man when I was fighting with him. I was in a hurry to leave the city during the day, so I didn't dare to tell anyone."
Jing Mingchen was startled and pulled his clothes without saying anything: "Then bandage it quickly!"
Jiang Gubei held her hand and unbuttoned his shirt with one hand. The atmosphere was a bit weird and Jing Mingchen turned his head away.
Jiang Gubei took off his coat to expose his shoulder. The cut was very deep, and the skin was turned inside out. The shirt he took off was soaked with blood. Jing Mingchen carefully touched the skin around the wound. She was terrified and couldn't help blaming herself. She should have noticed Jiang Gubei's pale face earlier.
The wound was very long and spread under the vest. Jing Mingchen stammered, "Take off the vest too."
Jiang Gubei wanted to raise his hand to take off his vest, but pulled the wound and cried out in pain. Jing Mingchen helped him take off the vest without saying a word, but was stunned by the criss-crossing scars on his back.
There were many scars on his back, all of which were old injuries. She asked him quietly, "Why do you have so many scars?"
Jiang Gubei replied nonchalantly: "It's nothing, it's just a mistake made when I was young and ignorant. Hurry up and apply the medicine, it's cold."
Jiang Gubei was a meticulous person. He carried a medicine box in his car. While Jing Mingchen was applying medicine to him, he thought, he was really amazing, like a treasure bag. He had everything you needed.
After applying the medicine and bandaging the wound, Jiang Gubei put on his clothes. It was already late, so he poked the fire and said, "Go to sleep. We will leave for Zhengzhou at daybreak. The longer the night, the more troubles we may have. The sooner we arrive, the better."
Jing Mingchen nodded obediently, hugged Congwen, leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.
That night, Chen Zui and Liang Tingyue appeared in her dream.
In the dream, it was vaguely like the time before the smoke of war. Chen Zui was still very young, about fifteen or sixteen years old. She lay in front of the window listening to the sound of rain. The spring rain was filled with the scent of peach blossoms. She was bored and blew her bangs on her forehead for fun. Suddenly, a clear voice came faintly: "Two catties of pear blossom white as usual, thank you."
Her face suddenly turned red, as red as the peach petals that were blown off the branches by the wind.
A gust of wind blew in a trance, and Chen Zui's appearance changed. She turned into a young woman with a bun. She was wearing a plain cheongsam and lying in front of the window, as if she was waiting for someone, but also as if she knew that person would never come.
Jing Mingchen looked at Chen Zui in front of the window and felt very sad. She wanted to tell Chen Zui that he would not come back and that he died on the battlefield in Xuzhou, but she could not utter a syllable.
The wooden door behind him suddenly creaked. Jing Mingchen turned around and saw the wooden door of the yard was pushed open. A soldier with a gun walked in. He walked through Jing Mingchen's body and walked straight to Chen Zui, saying to her, "I'm back."
He held her hand.
When Jing Mingchen woke up, his cheeks were filled with cold tears.
She looked around at the dimness; the bonfire had gone out at some point. This dilapidated temple had been abandoned for a long time, and the paper pasted on the window drawers had long since torn into pieces. The May wind from the northern suburbs was still cold, blowing in and snatching away the little heat from people's bodies.
She turned to look at Jiang Gubei and found that his face was abnormally flushed and his brows were furrowed.
She touched his hand; his palms were moist but his fingertips were cold, as if he had a fever.
Jing Mingchen rubbed his hands and thought that it would be better if he had brought the suitcase with him when he ran back to find Congwen. There was a fur coat among the clothes he brought from Wuhan. If the coat was still there, he could use it to cover Jiang Gubei to keep out the cold wind and chill.
After thinking for a while, she carried Congwen to Jiang Gubei's side, sat down beside him, and let the two of them lean against each other. She took off her coat and covered them with it, tucked them in tightly, and turned around and ran out of the ruined temple.
She ran for half an hour, one step deep and one step shallow, and finally found the abandoned car. She opened the door and got in. After searching for a long time, she found nothing useful. There was only a large, dirty velvet curtain hanging on the rear window. She pulled the curtain down, shook off the dust, and ran back carrying it.
Running back to the dilapidated temple, Jiang Gubei and Congwen were still sleeping, but their sleep was very uneasily. Jing Mingchen carefully wrapped Jiang Gubei and Congwen with velvet curtains, and sat down beside them, letting Jiang Gubei's head rest on his shoulder.
When she woke up the next day, Jiang Gubei had already woken up, but he still looked listless, leaning against the wall listlessly. When he saw Jing Mingchen wake up, he handed her a bag of biscuits and said, "Let's leave now."
Jing Mingchen was a little worried. She reached out and touched Jiang Gubei's forehead: "You are still sick, do you want to rest more?"
Jiang Gubei grabbed her wrist and said, "The Japanese may arrive at any time. We should not delay any longer."
The car was scrapped, so they had to continue on foot.
Perhaps because the fire in Kaifeng City had ceased, the village in the early morning looked completely different from that at night. It was late spring, the grass and trees were lush, the sun was rising, and the morning dew had not yet dried. Jiang Gubei was holding Jing Mingchen's hand, and Jing Mingchen was holding Liang Congwen's hand, and they were trudging towards the south in the morning light.
After walking for a day and a night, they finally encountered a bullock cart that they could take. Jiang Gubei was obviously exhausted, so Jing Mingchen helped him sit under a tree and ran to the middle of the road to stop a cart. The old man driving the cart stopped the car and asked her with a thick accent, "What's the matter?"
Jing Mingchen tried hard to recall the accent of his Henan classmate in his mind, and said while gesturing like a parrot: "Uncle, we want to take your car."
The old man glanced at Jiang Gubei under the tree and asked: "Is your boss sick?"
It took Jing Mingchen a long time to realize what "head of the family" meant. Her face flushed and she said in a mosquito-like voice, "Yes, my head of the family is sick. We are from Kaifeng and want to rush to Zhengzhou. Please give us a ride and we will pay for the ride."
The old man promised to take them to the nearest county town and asked them to find a way to go to Zhengzhou from the county town. The old man who was driving the cart was a farmer. While driving the cart, he asked them about the situation in Kaifeng City in a thick Henan accent. Jiang Gubei leaned on Jing Mingchen's shoulder listlessly, listening to her chatting with others in awkward Henan dialect all the way.
After eating some dry food and drinking some water, Jiang Gubei felt a little better when he got off the bus. He forced some money on the other party and told him, "You can't stay in your hometown for long. Make plans to go to the southwest as soon as possible."
They rested in the county town for one night, and the next day they took a bus to Zhengzhou, which only came every few days. The bus stopped and bumped for two days before finally arriving in Zhengzhou.
Zhengzhou was also in chaos. Those who could afford it tried to find ways to leave. The train was crowded and noisy, but Jiang Gubei fell asleep.
Jing Mingchen held Congwen in his arms and sat beside him, looking at him sideways. He must have been exhausted from running around with injuries these days. On the train to Wuhan, he was so handsome and well-dressed. On the train back to Wuhan, not to mention his clothes that looked like rotten vegetable leaves, his cheeks were so thin that they were sunken, and he looked out of shape. However, Jing Mingchen couldn't get enough of looking at him, thinking that he seemed to be more handsome than when she first saw him on the dance floor .
She took off the new coat she had bought in Zhengzhou city and gently covered him with it.
I don’t know how long the car drove, but when the hot and humid wind blew in from the car window, we finally arrived in Wuhan.
As soon as the train arrived at the station, Jing Mingchen looked out and saw his father, mother and elder sister Minglang on the platform.
Her heart trembled, she felt a little scared and a little sorry. How could her family know when she would return to Wuhan? They must have been waiting here for several days.
She said goodbye to Jiang Gubei: "I saw my parents. I'm going home. Goodbye, Mr. Jiang."
Jiang Gubei nodded: "Goodbye. I'll make a phone call and wait for someone to pick me up."
Jing Mingchen jumped out of the car and ran towards his parents: "Mom and Dad! I'm here!"
As if she had not expected Jing Mingchen to be in the car, her mother looked at her in disbelief. After a long while, she ran over, grabbed her into her arms and started beating her: "You little evildoer, you ran away from home, you are so capable..."
After the fight, she hugged Jing Mingchen and cried, "Fortunately you are okay. The people from your club came back a few days ago, and when I saw you were not there, I wanted to run to Kaifeng to find you."
The eldest sister tried to comfort him: "Okay, it's good that you're alright, let's go home and talk about it later."
When Jiang Gubei got off the train, he saw Jing Mingchen's back as he left, surrounded by his mother and sister. He looked at her with a smile, with a hint of melancholy in his eyes, and then he walked into the office at the train station to call A Da.
When he came out, he unexpectedly saw someone: "Didn't you leave?"
Jing Mingchen stood outside the office waiting for him, with a silly smile on his face: "I thought, since we left together, we should return together."
This time the nurseries achieved great results in Kaifeng and Zhengzhou. The nurseries suddenly became extremely crowded, which was certainly gratifying, but there were also some very embarrassing things.
For example, Jing Mingchen.
One night, she was telling her mother and sister about what she had seen and heard in Henan. Suddenly, her scalp felt extremely itchy, so she reached out to scratch it. Her mother quickly grabbed her hand, pressed and pinched her scalp with her fingertips, and screamed, "Lice!"
It was so unfortunate. Maybe she was infected by the homeless children in the nursery, maybe on the train, or maybe when she was squeezed into a bus. In short, Miss Jing was infected with head lice.
Mrs. Jing was as if facing a formidable enemy: "No, you can't keep your hair like this, go cut it quickly, or else the lice will grow more and more."
Jing Mingchen covered his head with his hands, his eyes full of tears. His elder sister laughed, "Don't you like short hair? Last year, I cut your hair like a little boy. Why do you think cutting your hair now is like asking for your life?"
Jing Mingchen didn't say anything. What did he want her to answer? Could it be that she envied Fu Qiudi's black hair and wanted to grow it longer so that she could braid it into a pigtail?
In the end, Jing Mingchen was dragged to the barber shop by his mother unwillingly. Before leaving, his mother said happily: "It's better to cut your hair short. If you cut it to look like a dog's bite, I wonder if you still have the nerve to run around."
My father, who was always silent, suddenly spoke up: "Madam, this is wrong. You are also a woman. Don't you know that a bad haircut can give a woman an excuse to buy ten hats?"
Jing Mingchen's hair was indeed cut into a dog-bitten look, and then she angrily bought ten hats just as her father had said.
It happened that today was the birthday of the eldest sister’s son. After cutting his hair, Jing Mingchen went to the eldest sister’s house with his mother and second sister.
As soon as she entered the door, she saw Uncle Zhou and Aunt Zhou sitting on the sofa and chatting. Uncle Zhou was a friend of her father, a colleague of her father when he was teaching at the university, and one of her eldest brother-in-law's teachers. The couple watched Jing Mingchen grow up and were Jing Mingchen's godfather and godmother. Jing Mingchen was very close to them.
Now he is also a barrister and very rich.
Jing Mingchen rolled his eyes and greeted them with a sweet smile: "Godfather and Godmother! Long time no see. I heard that you recently won a lawsuit and earned a lot of commission. As the saying goes, it's hard to get fat by eating alone. Would you like to donate money to our nursery?"
The nursery has had a large population increase recently and is facing financial difficulties. Jing Mingchen has become a debt collector, asking for money from everyone he meets.
The godmother teased her: "You want money? Fine, you have to sing a song for the godmother like you did when you were little."
Jing Mingchen blushed. She loved singing since she was a child. When she was young, the adults always used their pocket money to tease her to sing. The eldest sister smiled and said, "There's no one else here, so sing a song."
For the sake of the children, I risked everything. Jing Mingchen cleared his throat and began to sing.
She sang the excerpt of the balcony meeting in the opera "Romeo and Juliet". She didn't have a sharp voice like a soprano, so her singing was not very good in terms of the music itself, but it was fresh. She didn't know why she chose this song. Before singing, she was thinking about singing the recent popular "Song Girl at the End of the World", which would definitely please the adults, but she ended up singing this.
She always felt embarrassed to perform in public at such an age. She didn't dare look at the audience. Her eyes wandered aimlessly while she sang. Suddenly, a pair of feet appeared on the stairs, followed by neat trousers and a suit. Jiang Gubei came down from upstairs, looking at her as he walked, with surprise on his face.
Under the soft light of the crystal chandelier, he really looked like Romeo walking down the spiral staircase.
Jing Mingchen panicked and reached out to grab the hat on his head.
Mrs. Jing's plan to cut her hair into a dog-bitten style so that she would be too embarrassed to go out did not work. Even with her dog-bitten hair, Jing Mingchen's enthusiasm was not dampened at all. She put on a hat and ran to the nursery as usual every day.
But enthusiasm alone is not enough, what the nursery lacks most is money.
The government has allocated funds, and the public has donated money, but it is still not enough. In addition to resettling the children, the country currently has many other things to do, including military expenses, education expenses, construction in the southwest, and roads in Yunnan... In the end, when it comes to the children, there is not much left. Money is something you have to ask for, and you have to make a big fuss to make people notice that there is still a corner that needs help.
The orphanage then decided to hold a charity sale to raise funds.
Jing Mingchen tidied her room and took out things that could be sold for charity, books, clothes, toys, jewelry... She packed a full box, but when her eyes fell on the bracelet in the jewelry box, she hesitated.
This was her favorite jewelry. Last year, it was hit by Jiang Gubei's car and fell to the ground and broke. Jiang Gubei asked someone to repair it. Now there are two pieces of gold on the bracelet, one with the original peony pattern, and the other with the later peach blossom pattern.
She took it out and put it back three or four times, and finally put it in the charity sale box, and then closed the box with a "snap" as if she was afraid of regretting it.
A bracelet may save one more life.
However, on the day of the charity sale, after one morning, half of the things in front of her were gone, but no one was interested in the bracelet.
Jing Mingchen felt a little relieved but also angry. What kind of taste do these buyers have! This bracelet is so beautiful but they don’t buy it!
Finally, at dusk, a hand reached out and picked up the bracelet: "How much is this?"
Jing Mingchen looked up and saw Jiang Gubei holding the bracelet and looking at her in the afterglow of the setting sun.
Jing Mingchen hurriedly stood up and stammered out a price.
Jiang Gubei frowned: "It's a bit expensive. It's not worth selling a bracelet like this at this price after it's been broken twice."
Jing Mingchen was a little angry and tried to grab the bracelet: "If you don't want to buy it, return it. I only sell this bracelet to the right person."
Jiang Gubei pulled his hand back: "I didn't say I won't buy it, I'll go with the price you said."
He took out his wallet, counted out a considerable amount of money and handed it to Jing Mingchen. Jing Mingchen looked at the bracelet in his hand eagerly, reluctant to part with it. Jiang Gubei took the bracelet but did not leave immediately. He asked, "Is this your favorite thing?"
Jing Mingchen nodded.
Jiang Gubei looked at her thoughtfully: "If it is something you love, why do you want to sell it?"
Jing Mingchen sighed: "You may think I'm funny when I tell you this... I always feel that only when I donate my beloved things can God see my sincerity."
Jiang Gubei smiled slightly: "Then if you fall in love with someone, wouldn't that person be miserable?"
Jing Mingchen straightened his back and refuted him righteously: "No, people are independent and have feelings. How can they be compared with objects? If I love someone, I will respect him and do my best to protect him. I will never treat him as a sacrifice."
Jiang Gubei smiled and put the bracelet back on the table: "A gentleman does not take away what others like. Since this is your favorite thing, I will give it to you."
Jing Mingchen was surprised: "Why?"
Jiang Gubei smiled slightly: "It can be regarded as a commemoration of Kaifeng's life and death together."
Jing Mingchen's face flushed. Her mind suddenly echoed with the words she had said that night.
Live and die together, support each other...
Jiang Gubei took off his watch and put it in the basket: "Joining your charity sale is my contribution."
He turned to leave, but Jing Mingchen stopped him and said, "Mr. Jiang, I recently heard a rumor that the war is about to reach Wuhan, and everyone is trying to leave Wuhan and go to Chongqing. Is that true?"
Jiang Gubei turned around, his face full of regret: "Yes, Hefei and Xuzhou have already fallen, everyone is preparing to move south, and your nursery will also leave."
Jing Mingchen looked into the distance with melancholy. In the dusk and under the sunset, there was the towering Luojia Mountain, the tall Jianghan Customs, the endless Yangtze River, the crowds of people coming and going on the streets, and the countless ships crossing the river. This was her hometown, the thousand-year-old ancient Chu. Would all its prosperity be dissipated in the blink of an eye under the gunfire?
She couldn't help but confide in Jiang Gubei: "Mr. Jiang, do you know what happened in Nanjing at the beginning of the year? Before I was ten years old, my father worked in the Legislative Yuan, and our family lived in Nanjing. I also went to university in Nanjing. I am familiar with every tree and grass in Nanjing. I have seen the water of Xuanwu Lake and the lights of Confucius Temple over and over again. I can't imagine that those familiar things and people were destroyed like that, and now everyone says that Wuhan will become like that..."
Jiang Gubei squatted down in front of her: "At least, we still have hope."
She followed his gaze and looked back. The children in the nursery were singing, and their childish voices echoed in the June sky of Wuhan.
"Beyond the endless white clouds, beyond the invisible mountains..."
The day Jiang Gubei came to visit the nursery, the nursery was in chaos.
The reason was that another child had snatched Congwen's lunch. On that day, the tragic news of the fall of Anqing came. Jing Mingchen walked into the cafeteria with a heavy heart, and saw Congwen sitting at the table crying loudly. It was lunchtime, but there was nothing in front of him, not even a bowl.
Jing Mingchen walked over and asked him what was going on. He cried and gestured to complain to her, saying that Brother Xiaowu had taken away his job.
Jing Mingchen had a headache. This "Little Brother Wu" was a bully among the children. He was picked up from the streets of Wuhan. After he came to the nursery, he caused a lot of trouble for the teachers.
She walked towards "Brother Xiaowu" and saw him holding a bowl of rice on his left and another on his right, looking at her proudly and provocatively. Jing Mingchen squatted down and said to him in a friendly manner: "Xiaowu, you are brothers and sisters, you should love each other, how can you take your brother's job?"
Xiao Wu snorted coldly and said sarcastically, "What kind of brothers and sisters are we? Liang Congwen is the young master, and we are all followers! Don't think I didn't see you secretly giving candy to Liang Congwen alone!"
Jing Mingchen's face turned red. She said nothing and turned away in shame.
However, as soon as she stood up, she felt a chill on her head. She turned around in shock and saw Xiao Wu smiling at her with a crooked mouth, spinning her hat in his hand, and laughing at her: "Mother Jing is a little bald head!"
Jing Mingchen reached out to grab the hat, but Xiao Wu dodged nimbly, whistled and threw the hat away.
He had considerable prestige among the children, and this soon turned into a farce. The hat flew back and forth among the "Little Five Party". Jing Mingchen was chasing after it to grab it, but he was tripped by someone and almost fell to his knees.
Fortunately, a pair of hands grabbed her waist in time, lifted her up, and gently placed her on the ground.
She turned around and saw Jiang Gubei looking at her with a frown.
Somehow, Jing Mingchen's eyes were filled with tears.
The two of them sat on the steps, chatting in the sun. Jing Mingchen felt very aggrieved: "I don't understand why they treat me like this. I disobeyed my parents, gave up my job at the newspaper, and came to take care of them. I took them from the streets and the occupied areas to a spacious and warm house, fed them, clothed them, and taught them to read. How did I let them down that they had to tease me like this?"
Jiang Gubei said gently, "You didn't. You did very well. The problem lies with them. Children living under someone else's roof are always more sensitive and fragile."
He took out a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to Jing Mingchen: "When I was young, I lived with my mother and sister in my uncle's house. That was the most unhappy time for us. Living under someone else's roof, we had to look at other people's faces. If we drank one more cup of hot water, we would worry that my aunt would nag about how much firewood cost and that the price of coal had increased. Every time my aunt complained about something, I suspected that she was complaining to us. I wanted to leave, but I was afraid of making my mother sad, so I was suffering like that. Later, when my mother passed away, my sister and I moved out of my uncle's house. We would rather live in a cheap, leaky apartment than live under someone else's roof..."
This was the first time he mentioned his past to her. Jing Mingchen asked in a low voice: "After your mother passed away, you and Nan Qiao must have had a hard time."
Jiang Gubei hummed, "It was very hard. When I first lived with my uncle, my mother had some money, but later she lent it to my uncle for his business, and he squandered it all. When we moved out, my sister and I didn't have much money. My sister and I were both studying at the time, but I secretly dropped out of school without her knowledge, and went to join a gang as a student and work at the docks. I did a lot of wrong things and learned a lot of lessons."
Jing Mingchen suddenly remembered the scars on his body that he had seen in the dilapidated temple in the rural area of ​​Kaifeng. Perhaps those scars were what he called "lessons".
Jiang Gubei suddenly changed the subject: "I have lived under someone else's roof before, and I understand what children living under someone else's roof are thinking. All their aggressive behavior is actually just bluffing for self-protection. They have no hostility towards you, but now they are too young and this place is too unfamiliar to them. In time, they will understand."
Jing Mingchen muttered softly: "But what Xiaowu accused is not wrong..."
She spoke too softly. Jiang Gubei raised his eyebrows and leaned closer to her: "What did you say?"
Jing Mingchen sighed: "I said, Xiaowu is right, I did secretly give Congwen some candy."
She frowned and looked distressed: "Normally, they all call me Jing Mommy. They are all my children, and I should treat them equally. But when there is something good that cannot be shared, the first person I think of is Congwen. I am so partial, am I not qualified to be called Mommy by them?"
Jiang Gubei burst out laughing. Jing Mingchen was still a child herself. "What's the matter? People are biased. Congwen is the child of an old friend. You and he have lived and died together. It's normal for you to favor him."
He paused and continued, "Partiality is not the same as being unfair, nor is it a bad thing. Think about it, why did you come to the nursery? Wasn't the most direct reason for coming to Congwen? At first, you just wanted to save Congwen, but later you saved many people. Love is like this, like a morning star. Isn't it a beautiful thing to love the whole world because of loving one person? Why should you blame yourself?"
Jing Mingchen burst into laughter and said, "Mr. Jiang, you should be a teacher."
A gust of cold wind blew, Jing Mingchen touched his head and suddenly asked Jiang Gubei: "Is it ugly?"
Jiang Gubei felt puzzled, and Jing Mingchen asked again in a low voice: "Is my hair ugly?"
Before Jiang Gubei could answer, a charming smoky voice interrupted and broke the quiet world of the two: "Hey, you are here."
Jing Mingchen looked up and saw that it was his second sister Ming Huan.
It's been almost a month since I last saw her, and Ming Huan is still as gorgeous as ever: "The government is moving south soon, and I have to go with them. I came to see you before I leave, and I'll donate a child to you."
"Pledge" is a way for the outside world to provide funding to the nursery. Pledge a child means bearing all the expenses of the child during his/her stay in the nursery.
The nursery always welcomes this kind of donation. Jing Mingchen took his second sister to the dormitory to see the children.
The second sister seemed very picky. She looked at them one by one with no expression on her face until she saw Congwen in the corner. Perhaps her love for him was inspired by his tear-stained face. She squatted down, took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped his face. She asked him in an unprecedentedly gentle voice, "What's your name?"
Congwen murmured his full name, "Liang Congwen". The second sister held his little hand and said, "No one has pledged to donate yet, right? Then I'll take him."
Congwen stared at her with wide eyes, as if he didn't know what she was talking about. The second sister turned around and asked Jing Mingchen with a smile: "Since I pledged his support, should he call me mom?"
Hearing the word "Mom", Wenshen shrank back, perhaps thinking of his biological mother, the thin figure hanging from the beam. He shook his head and shrank back, but his second sister did not give up, shaking chocolate to coax him, her voice almost sweeter than the candy in her hand, even pleading: "Good boy, call me mom, and I will give you foreign candy."
Congwen kept his mouth shut and said nothing. Jing Mingchen said helplessly to his second sister, "Second sister, forget it. Congwen's mother committed suicide in front of him. He can't say these two words now."
The second sister had no choice but to stand up. She didn't stand steadily and stumbled. Jiang Gubei hurriedly stepped forward and held her up with his hand.
The second sister turned her head to glance at him, with a look in her eyes as if she was evaluating someone, which made Jiang Gubei's heart tremble and alarm bells rang.
They walked out together, and the second sister instructed Jing Mingchen as they walked: "My ship is the day after tomorrow. My parents and eldest sister will leave in August at the latest. Your nursery also has a evacuation plan, so you'd better try to be one of the first to leave."
She turned to look at Jiang Gubei: "Mr. Jiang, I want to talk to you alone."
Jing Mingchen walked away, looking back every few steps. Ming Huan said, "Mr. Jiang, you like our Sansha."
Three Idiots? Jiang Gubei was stunned for a long time before he understood. He couldn't help but burst out laughing. Three Idiots, this nickname is really appropriate!
He did not refute, but just asked: "Why do you think so?"
Ming Huan looked at him and said firmly, "You were with her the whole time in Kaifeng. I asked Ming Yu, and he confessed that you were the one who picked up San Sha, sent her to the train station, and accompanied her to Kaifeng. You also came back on the same train. Ming Yu said that he accidentally told you about the family affairs that day, and you told him that you happened to be going to Kaifeng to handle business matters, and you could help him. But as far as I know, neither the Jiang family nor the Lin family has any so-called business in Kaifeng now."
"The Lin family did have business in Kaifeng, but that was before 1936. Since 1936, you have been persuading Mr. Lin to move his business to the southwest. Am I right? Then what business can you handle in Kaifeng? You are just going there to be a flower protector."
"Risking my life to go to a war zone to be a flower protector, I can't think of any other reason except that I like it."
Jiang Gubei looked at her coldly. The second daughter of the Jing family knew too much about her business. Jing Mingchen said that she worked in a government department. Could it be that...
Ming Huan smiled slightly, as if she had guessed what he was thinking. She said slowly, "Jiang Gubei, 27 years old, from Wuhan, drifted to Shanghai 20 years ago. After graduating from Shanghai Gezhi Public School, he failed to continue his studies and joined Lin's Lixingchang Customs Brokerage as a clerk. Eight years ago, he became an employee of Lin's Jinxing Bank. Six years ago, Shanghai's tung oil trade surpassed Wuhan's and became bigger. Lin then acquired another tung oil company to get involved in the tung oil business, and Mr. Jiang was in charge of the acquisition. Mr. Jiang's young talent was highly appreciated by Mr. Lin. After the battle of Wilson and the inheritance lawsuit, he not only became the head of the Jiang family, but also became a partner with Mr. Lin from master and servant... The war is coming, and we must keep the country safe while resisting foreign aggression. A big industrialist like Mr. Jiang is naturally under surveillance."
She stopped talking and changed the subject, bowing slightly to him: "Mr. Jiang, no matter what reason you like my Sansha, I believe that since you are willing to live and die together, you must be sincere to her. Our country is in trouble and the future is unpredictable, so I entrust Sansha to you."
Jiang Gubei said: "Second Miss..."
Ming Huan interrupted him: "Since you have already fallen in love with my little sister, just let her call me Second Sister."
Jiang Gubei said with a smile: "There is still a long way to go. Why is Second Miss so anxious to drink my glass of wine for her brother-in-law?"
Ming Huan looked at him and said calmly, "You and I may not have the chance to see each other again." After saying this, she bowed and turned to leave.
After hearing her words, Jiang Gubei's heart trembled. He looked at her back. The second young lady of the Jing family, known as the "Rose of Hankou", was wearing a bright red cheongsam today. Her back was graceful, like a cluster of flames in the wind.
It would be a very long time before Jiang Gubei would think back to this day, so long that most of his life would have passed, and he would suddenly realize that it was indeed the only and last time he met the Second Miss in his life.