Bao Ruide and Xie Weisi looked at everything in Yan'an curiously. This was the heart of the Chinese Red Party. Whether it was the traffic in Yan'an or the military agencies in Yan'an, there was a sense of mystery in the eyes of Bao Ruide and Xie Weisi.
"Jiang, this is Yan'an. It's a little different from what we imagined." Ruide Bao said while looking at the street.
Jiang Cheng turned around and asked with a smile, "Oh? I'm curious, what does Mr. Bao Ruide imagine Yan'an is like?"
Ruide Bao stroked his beard and said, "Before I came to China, I had a premonition that I was coming to Yan'an, so I first read Mr. Snow's "A Journey to the West". Based on this book, I learned that Yan'an is a place that hates shabby people.
The small city, the nearby countryside also looks like the Middle Ages. From time to time, wolves and wild beasts attack passers-by and villages in the wild. The civilization is backward and the people are ignorant." As he spoke, Ruide looked around with some sigh and said, "But what I see now
But it is an orderly countryside and city. The roads are cement roads. Children carrying schoolbags can be seen everywhere. Even children are not afraid when they see me, a foreign devil. It is really different from what I thought.
"
Speaking of Snow, Ruide asked Jiang Cheng, "I heard that Snow returned to Yan'an after that. Is he still in Yan'an?"
Jiang Cheng nodded and said, "Yes, he went to many battlefields to report after the war between China and Japan. It was probably in 1939. He returned to Yan'an and found that the place had changed a lot, so he stayed. I heard that he was writing a book
This new book is called "Continued Journey to the West", also called "The Inside Story of the Red Zone", but he himself said that no matter how he wrote it, he was not satisfied, and no matter how he wrote, he felt that it was lagging behind the reality. So, he is still running around in the three major border areas, each
I'm looking around and writing articles. I don't know if you can see him this time."
Ruide said regretfully, "That's really a pity. I also brought a copy of his book, thinking that if I see him, I can get an autograph."
Jiang Cheng smiled and said, "Well, he is also an American like you. I think he was very happy to see his compatriots in his hometown. In fact, you are right. When he wrote "The Journey to the West" four or five years ago,
The entire border area is pretty much what you think. I remember they had statistics at the time. Less than 5% of the people in the entire border area could read and write. Those who could read were bureaucrats and squires. Culturally, the Northwest at that time was probably
It is one of the darkest corners in the world, did you know? Due to the lack of water in the northwest, the local people are uneducated, so they try not to wash up. There are more people with braids here than in other places, but in the Red Party
After that, everything changed."
Jiang Cheng pointed at the pedestrians on the road and said, "Actually, ordinary people are the most practical and reasonable. As long as you explain the truth clearly to them, they will change their habits if they find it is indeed beneficial. You see, young people today are all
My hair is short, and although I can’t say that my clothes are good, they are clean. As far as I know, there are literacy classes in towns, factories, and the army. Mr. Mao told me that the goal of their Red Party is to wait for war.
Twenty years after the end, the literacy rate of Chinese adults exceeded 60%, and forty years later, it exceeded 80%. This is an ambitious goal that has not been achieved since the beginning of mankind."
Xie Weisi listened from behind and quickly calculated. This basically means that all Europeans can read. This is simply incredible. You must know that even in the United States at this time, there are still a large number of people who cannot read and write. In fact,
What even Jiang Cheng didn’t know was that in 1988, the United States conducted an adult literacy survey. The result was that 21% to 23% of American adults had severe dyslexia, reaching only level 1 or even lower than level 1.
The standards for level 1 are: being able to write your own name, being able to find the name of a country from an article, being able to find the expiry date on a driver’s license, and being able to understand the total amount of deposits when making bank deposits. Of course, this is also in line with the characteristics of English.
Relatedly, it is easy for people to suffer from dyslexia, so if you can't learn English, don't feel bad, because you probably have dyslexia.
At this time, Jinshan pointed forward and said, "Boss, we are coming."
Ruide asked, "Is this where Mr. Mao lives? It feels very ordinary."
Jiang Cheng replied, "They don't pay much attention to this, and naturally they can't live as well as the Chairman and others. You don't know, when Snow interviewed Mr. Mao, it was not as good as it is now. Come on, Mr. Mao heard that you
He was very interested, so he asked us to come directly to his place for lunch, and Mr. Zhou, Mr. Dong and others are also accompanying him."
Xie Weisi asked from the back seat, "Mr. Zhou? Could it be Mr. Zhou Guansheng? Who is Mr. Dong?"
Jiang Cheng nodded and said, "Yes, Mr. Dong is Mr. Dong Biwu. He is one of the founders of the Chinese Red Party. He once studied in Japan and the Soviet Union. He is a legal expert. Many government laws in the border area came from him.
Handwritten."
Bao Ruide and Xie Weisi nodded, expressing that they were satisfied with the specifications. Soon, the group arrived at the chairman's courtyard. When Xiao Wang saw Jiang Cheng and the group raise their hands, they saluted. After the salute, they found something was wrong and opened their mouths.
Zhang Cai said, "Mr. Jiang, you are here. The chairman and other leaders are waiting for you in the room. I will go and inform you."
Jiang Cheng waved his hand and let him go. Bao Ruide asked Jiang Cheng, "Speaking of Jiang, you seem to know a lot of people in the Red Party. They all respect you very much, whether in Lianyungang or Taiyuan or...
In Yan'an now, you are regarded as a distinguished guest."
Jiang Cheng said with a smile, "If you can provide an army with enough medicine and save the lives of countless soldiers, I believe you will be regarded as a distinguished guest." Jiang Cheng patted himself and said, "
Look at what I'm saying, isn't what you two are about to bring them more precious than my medicines and supplies?"
Just as he was talking, a burst of hearty laughter came, and the chairman and his party were seen walking out, namely the chairman, Zhou Guansheng, Dong Biwu, Ren Chi and a white man whom Jiang Cheng did not recognize.
"Chairman, Mr. Zhou, Mr. Dong, Mr. Ren, and who is this..." Jiang Cheng pointed at the white man and asked.
Zhou Guansheng introduced, "This is Tillerson, the technician representative from the United States. These two are Lieutenant Colonel Bao Ruide and Consul Xie Weisi, right?"
After the two shook hands and paid tribute to the chairman and others, Reed asked Tillerson curiously, "Are you an American?"
Tillerson is a white man with a big beard and a reddish complexion. He is wearing a gray and white work uniform. He looked a little frightened, but still said, "Yes, I am from Washington. My comrades and I have been here for a few years."
Years have passed, but this is the first time I have met an envoy from my hometown. If possible, I hope you can go to our residence to meet with my comrades. I think they are all willing to meet you."
"Comrade?" Xie Weisi asked, "Are you a member of the Red Party in the United States?"
Tillerson waved his hand and said, "No, no, I am not a member of the Red Party. I say comrade because I have the same ambition as them."
Bao Ruide asked curiously, "What ambition?"
Tillerson took a breath and pointed outside and said, "China is a great place. The people here are very nice. We hope to build this place without hunger, poverty and war. We hope that people here can have enough to eat."
, dress warmly, many of us have found the meaning of our lives here.”
Ruide Bao and Xie Weisi looked at the American in front of them in shock. They even doubted whether the American was a fake.
"Okay, everyone, please come in first. Our lunch is ready. We Chinese have a culture called food culture, which is also called wine table culture. You can relax while chatting with strangers while eating.
Let’s talk.” Zhou Guansheng stretched out his hand and said.
Dong Biwu also said, "Yes, let's go in, eat and chat."
In order to take care of Bao Ruide and Xie Weisi, Dong Biwu and Zhou Guansheng both spoke English. Jiang Cheng stepped forward and wanted to translate for the chairman, but he did not expect that the chairman also said in English: "Let's go, come in quickly, otherwise outsiders will
Everyone will say that we don’t know how to treat guests.”
Bao Ruide and Xie Weisi stared at the chairman with wide eyes. Next to them, Zhou Guansheng and Dong Biwu were holding back smiles, while Ren Chi looked outside as if they didn't know anything. Bao Ruide slowly said in broken Chinese.
"Mr. Mao, do you speak English?"
This sentence immediately made everyone unable to hold back anymore and burst into laughter. It turned out that although the chairman learned English earlier and started learning English as a student, he never learned it well. He even gave up studying abroad because of language problems.
In the Yan'an period, he only knew some simple English words, but he always insisted on learning. He often read aloud with English textbooks, but his extremely strong Hunan accent made people laugh, like this
It's okay for people like Nuo or Smedley who are used to it. Rude had never heard English with such an accent before, and he immediately made a joke.
This smile also made everyone feel a lot closer. The chairman led a group of people to the yard and saw a large round table already placed in the yard. The chairman smiled and said, "We are not like Chongqing here, there is nothing like that."
The conditions are good and the weather is also suitable now. How about we have a meal under the shade of the trees?"
Ruide Bao nodded with satisfaction to Xie Weisi and said to the chairman, "This is very interesting. I believe we will have an unforgettable lunch experience."
Soon, the food started to be served. While watching the food, the chairman said to Ruide Bao, "Lieutenant Colonel Bao Ruide, the conditions here are not as good as those in Chongqing, and they are not as good as those in the United States. Our scientists predict that we will
There will be natural disasters in terms of food next year, so our meals will be simpler, don't mind, we are definitely not neglecting you."
Tillerson also nodded hastily to testify and said to Bauer, "Yes, the red party government here has recently been engaged in production and conservation movements. You see, I have lost so much weight. These dishes are really good."
"
But looking at the dishes, they are "braised pork, mushrooms and cabbage, braised wild duck, cucumbers, fried peanuts, spicy spicy soup, warm shredded kidneys, white-cut mutton and meat buns, in addition to gourd chicken, bread
and butter and milk"
Jiang Cheng smiled slightly. Needless to say, this braised pork must be what the chairman wants to eat. Warm shredded kidneys, white-cut mutton and grilled buns are northwest dishes, probably to reflect the northwest flavor. Braised wild duck is Hubei cuisine, made for Dong Biwu.
Yes, the spicy spicy soup was made by Gao Yu (Chairman Chef) who I ate last time and said it was delicious. Mushroom and cabbage sum can be said to be a type of Cantonese cuisine, probably for Ren Chi. Gourd chicken is actually fried chicken.
A kind of dish, plus the bread, butter and milk, it must have been made for Bao Ruide and others. The only thing missing among these dishes is Zhejiang cuisine. No need to ask, it must have been arranged by Zhou Guansheng, but it also cost too much.
thought.
I only saw the chairman picking up a meat bun and saying to Ruide Bao, "Lieutenant Colonel Bao Ruide, I heard that you Westerners like to eat sandwiches and hamburgers. This is our Chinese hamburger. You can try it."
Bao Ruide picked up a meat bun, looked at it, and took a bite. His mouth was filled with the aroma of meat, and he let out a sigh of satisfaction and was speechless.
Xie Weisi looked at the dishes in front of him and recalled the state banquet he had in Chongqing. He suddenly felt that the meal he had in Yan'an was much more plain than the one in Chongqing.
Ruide Pao observed while eating. He found that the Chairman, Zhou Guansheng and others were relatively reserved, but Tillerson ate with all his might with red eyes, almost snatching it away. Ruide Bao couldn't help feeling that he had lost the United States.
With a human face, he said to Tillerson, "Tillerson, don't you usually get to eat meat?"
Tillerson finally swallowed it and said with a smile, "No, in fact, as long as we have money, we can all buy meat, and our income as workers is not low, but I adopted three orphans, and most of my money is spent on
It's on their bodies, so the food they usually eat is a bit worse."
Xie Weisi asked curiously, "Have you adopted orphans? Who are they? Why do you want to adopt them? Are there any conditions for adoption?"
Tillerson took a long breath and said, "They were orphans from the war zone. We felt sorry for them and adopted them. As long as they are older than 20 years old, we can adopt them. Their parents were killed by the Japanese. Damn it."
Japanese devils, Lieutenant Colonel Bauer, please go back and tell our president that we can no longer support the Japanese. The Japanese are bad people. They invaded innocent China. Those who support bad people are also bad people, and we in the United States should not be a
Bad country."
The extremely simple words and truth made both Ruide and Xie Weisi feel ashamed. Ruide quickly said, "I will tell you."
Tillerson suddenly looked at the chairman and others proudly, as if showing off his achievements.
While eating, Ruide asked the Chairman, "Mr. Mao, I am very curious, do you really believe that you can defeat the Japanese? You must know that Japan is much more powerful than China, and the Soviet Union has already negotiated peace with Japan. If the Soviet Union wants to negotiate with Japan,
