There was a sadness in Chen Ying's smile, and he asked: "Do you know that the Chinese labor camp outside the town of Noyelle, apart from work sheds, toilets, kitchens, hospitals and prisons, what other buildings did it have?"
"What building?" Zhou Hexuan asked.
"Crazy Man's Square." Chen Ying replied.
Zhou Hexuan asked in confusion: "Madman's Sifangyuan?"
"It's a lunatic asylum. It's built in a square shape like a camp. It was a building built by the British specifically for Chinese workers. There are countless lunatics living in it, hahahahaha..." Chen Ying laughed so hard that he could not stop laughing.
She shed tears, "It's nothing to be discriminated against and beaten by British officers. German planes always come to bomb. If a shell falls, it will kill more than ten or twenty Chinese workers. We build railways and fortifications despite shell bombing."
, dug trenches, and were forced to use their bodies to walk through minefields at gunpoint. They worked more than ten hours a day, and were beaten severely if they were even the slightest bit lazy. Many brothers were driven fucking crazy."
Zhou Hexuan recalled an article he had read before traveling through time. It recorded that on a transport ship from France to Qingdao after the war, one-third of the Chinese workers on board were suffering from mental illness.
"Why didn't you return to China?" Zhou Hexuan asked.
Chen Ying shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Why go back? My parents are dead. If there is no war in France, life is actually quite peaceful, not as chaotic as in the country. Moreover, most French people are quite kind. My ex
Two years ago, I visited the town of Noyelle and offered incense to my brother who died there. The residents in the town knew that I was a Chinese worker aiding France, and they all respected and sympathized with me. The locals even gave the Chinese worker a title.
, called 'Sons of Heaven' (French ils_du_ciel, Sons of the Sky), I like this name very much. But I don't like another title. Some locals call us 'suffering war slaves' out of sympathy."
Zhou Hexuan said with a serious face: "You are neither sons of heaven nor slaves, you are heroes. With your sacrifice, China can legitimately become the victor in the European War." Zhou Hexuan suddenly stood up and raised his glass, "To all those who died,
A living Chinese worker!"
Li Shizeng also stood up and said: "Respect the Chinese workers!"
The international students who were listening to Chen Ying's account of his experiences were either angry, sad, or sentimental. At this time, they all stood up collectively: "Respect the Chinese workers!"
Chen Ying's eyes suddenly turned red, and she wiped her tears and said, "Thank you, thank you."
Zhou Hexuan turned to Li Shizeng and said: "Mr. Shizeng, I want to build a cemetery and monument for the Chinese aid workers in France. Can you help contact the embassy in France and the French government?"
"No problem, I'll take care of this!" Li Shizeng said, patting his chest.
Chen Ying suddenly pushed away the stool, knelt down with a bang and said: "Mr. Zhou, on behalf of the brothers who died, I want to thank you for your great kindness! After they died, many of them were buried casually outside the town without even a tombstone.
, let alone return your soul to your homeland, you can only be a lonely ghost in France!"
"Get up quickly." Zhou Hexuan quickly helped Chen Ying up.
That afternoon, Zhou Hexuan didn't go anywhere. He stayed in this restaurant and discussed with Li Shizeng and Chen Ying the construction of the Hua Gong Cemetery.
Since so many years have passed and no tombstones have been left, it is difficult to find out the circumstances of each person.
All Zhou Hexuan could do was to build a cemetery at the camp of the Chinese laborers at that time, and bury the scattered bones together. Then he would find relevant organizations in France and the United Kingdom, check the list of Chinese workers who died in that year, and provide information to those Chinese laborers whose bodies had not been transported back to the country.
Erect a monument and build another monument to engrave the deeds of the Chinese workers.
Perhaps in the eyes of some people, Zhou Hexuan's move was purely redundant. If he had some spare money, it would be better to use it to help the people in the country. But Zhou Hexuan believed that certain people and certain things must be remembered by the world.
Zhou Hexuan asked: "Where can I find the most complete information about the Chinese workers aiding France?"
Li Shi thought for a while and said, "I'm afraid I have to ask Li Jun about this. He was formerly the Secretary of the Legation in France appointed by the Beiyang Government and also served as the Supervisor of the Chinese Workers in France."
"Where is this person now?" Zhou Hexuan asked.
Li Shizeng said: "He is now the deputy consul of the Consulate in Canada (he has just been promoted to consul general. Due to lack of information, Li Shizeng did not know)."
Zhou Hexuan asked again: "Who is the current minister to France?"
Li Shizeng smiled and said: "Gao Lu, he is an old friend of mine, and he will definitely be willing to help me with this."
Zhou Hexuan inquired carefully and found out that Gao Lu, the current minister to France, was a purely academic bureaucrat.
You would never guess that such an important diplomatic post as Minister to France would be held by an astronomer.
Gao Lu is one of the founders of modern astronomy in China. He initiated the construction of the Purple Mountain Observatory, participated in the site selection, and personally calculated the longitude and latitude of the observatory. Before the Purple Mountain Observatory was completed, Gao Lu was sent to France.
Served as Minister to France.
By the way, Gao Lu is also an inventor. Just six months ago, he invented the "Tianxuan Chinese Typewriter", which improved the efficiency of Chinese typing a little.
The next morning.
Li Shi once took Zhou Hexuan to the Embassy in France to formally pay a formal visit to Gao Lu, the Minister in France.
Gao Lu's appearance is very awkward. He has a slender face, a pair of black round glasses, and a gray goatee that reaches his collar. If he puts on a long gown, he will look exactly like a former Qing Dynasty scholar, but at this time he is wearing a suit.
, seems a bit nondescript.
Li Shizeng smiled and said: "Brother Shuqing, I'm here to trouble you again."
"Brother Shi Zeng!" Gao Lu shook hands with Li Shizeng and then looked at Zhou Hexuan, "This is Mr. Zhou, right?"
Zhou Hexuan smiled and greeted: "Hello, Mr. Shuqin."
Gao Lu smiled and nodded: "You are indeed a talented person, young and promising. I often hear old friends mention you in China."
Gao Lu only came to France as a diplomat last year. He is good friends with Cai Yuanpei, Li Shizeng and others. After the fall of the Qing government, the Qintian Prison was changed to the Central Meteorological Observatory. Gao Lu served as the Central Meteorological Observatory on the recommendation of Cai Yuanpei.
The first director.
Strictly speaking, Gao Lu belongs to the British-American faction, Cai Yuanpei's group. But factional struggles are factional struggles, and it does not affect the personal relationship between Gao Lu and Li Shizeng.
Li Shi once explained his intention: "Mingcheng wants to build a cemetery and monument for the Chinese workers in France, and hopes that the Embassy in France can help."
"This is a good thing, I will try my best." Gao Lu said seriously.
Zhou Hexuan said happily: "Thank you for your work."
The matter was settled in this way. With Gao Lu's help, the French government was quickly contacted.
However, the French government seems not to care about this. Although it is willing to help find information about Chinese workers, it has been dragging its feet and has not taken this as a serious matter at all.
On December 15, the Nobel Prize for Literature began to be awarded, and it had nothing to do with Zhou Hexuan. What had to do with him was the Goncourt Literature Prize. After repeated discussions, the French finally decided to award the highest honor in French novels to Zhou Hexuan.
Zhou Hexuan had someone specially order a set of clothes, including canvas work clothes, cheap boots, and a work hat. He carried a shovel and went to receive the award.
