April 18, 1934, was Yu Peichen’s first day as Zhou Hexuan’s secretary.
Early in the morning, Yu Peichen came to the "Ta Kung Pao" newspaper office to summarize and sort out some manuscripts from "Ta Kung Pao", "Popular" supplement and "Fei Gong" magazine. These manuscripts required Zhou Hexuan's personal intervention. In fact, they are not that important, but
The content of the manuscript is relatively sensitive and requires Zhou Hexuan's signature and approval.
Many times Zhou Hexuan was not in Tianjin, so Hu Zhengzhi made the decision on his own. Hu Zhengzhi was basically responsible for the affairs of Ta Kung Pao in Tianjin. As for Zhang Jiluan, he had already focused his work on Shanghai, cooperating with Hu Zhengzhi from south to north.
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There were not many manuscripts that required Zhou Hexuan's intervention, but the number of letters from all over the country was spectacular. There were letters from readers, letters from scholars, invitations from institutions and private individuals, and even letters of love from female fans.
Especially those letters from readers, which have been piled up for several months without being processed, filling two sacks.
Yu Peichen picked up the phone and dialed Zhou Hexuan's home, saying, "Mr. Zhou, how do you deal with the backlog of letters?"
"It's up to you." Zhou Hexuan simply replied.
"Then...Okay." Yu Peichen felt that Zhou Hexuan was a bit unreliable. How could he deal with loyal readers like this?
After hanging up the phone, Yu Peichen first put aside the letters and invitations from scholars in the past two days, which needed to be sent to Zhou Hexuan to open and read in person.
Next came letters from readers. Yu Peichen opened one and read it carefully.
This letter was sent from Hubei on November 3, 1933. The first paragraph of the letter was filled with words of admiration. At the end of the letter, the student said that he was about to graduate from college, and his parents
He was forced to marry a woman he had only met three times, and then worked as an assistant manager (deputy manager) in his own factory. But he had a girl he liked, and he wanted to pursue free love, and he also wanted to go abroad to study advanced Western science. After
After repeated struggles, his parents agreed to send him to study abroad, but the condition was that he must first marry the daughter of a family friend, otherwise they would not provide study abroad expenses. He asked Zhou Hexuan how to choose.
In Zhou Hexuan's opinion, there is no need to reply to such a letter, and he is not a close sister who specializes in solving life problems.
However, Yu Peichen felt that she must reply to the letter because it was related to a young man's future. She immediately wrote:
"Hello, classmate Liu, I am Mr. Zhou's secretary Yu Peichen. I am very happy to receive your letter and thank you for your support to Mr. Zhou. Since Mr. Zhou is busy with daily affairs, I will reply to you. Young
People should have high aspirations, set lofty goals for themselves, and work tirelessly for this goal. I have no intention of discussing your family affairs, because this kind of thing should be your own choice. But you have to remember that China has reached a critical stage of life and death.
At this critical moment, at this time of national crisis, good men should contribute to the country. If you choose to stay in the family factory and work, then please contribute to China's national industry and use your own financial and material resources to support the anti-Japanese comrades. If you choose to go abroad
If you want to study abroad, please study hard and use your academic knowledge to support the construction of the motherland. If you want to study abroad, but your family does not provide funds, you can apply for a study abroad fund..."
Throughout the morning, Yu Peichen only wrote a dozen replies, and it was already noon. Looking at the remaining two sacks of letters, she suddenly felt like her head was heavy, and the workload was really too much.
Yu Peichen finished her lunch quickly, then took a rickshaw and went straight to Zhou Hexuan's home with the invitation letter and the scholar's letter.
"Miss Yu, please come in!" The servant led Yu Peichen inside.
Although Yu Peichen came from a wealthy family, her family fell into poverty when she was young, and she never enjoyed a wealthy life. She observed the spacious garden all the way, and after entering the house, she looked at the luxurious decoration, and she couldn't help but secretly curse:
He is indeed a generous capitalist!
Cui Huifu personally made a cup of tea for Yu Peichen and said with a smile: "Miss Yu, please wait a moment. Mr. Zhou is writing a novel in the study and will be downstairs soon."
"Thank you," Yu Peichen quickly took the teacup and asked, "Who are you?"
Cui Huifu said: "I am Mr. Zhou's housekeeper Cui Huifu."
"But Miss Cui Huifu, a talented girl from Tianjin who is as famous as Lu Bicheng?" Yu Peichen asked in surprise. She lived in Tianjin for many years when she was a child and went to middle school in Tianjin. Naturally, she had heard of Cui Huifu's name as a talented girl.
Cui Huimu said: "Talented women don't dare to be talented, they just know some little tricks of writing and writing."
It’s really Cui Huifu who is willing to condescend to be Zhou Hexuan’s housekeeper!
Yu Peichen suppressed the shock in her heart and asked: "Sister Cui, I just became Mr. Zhou's secretary and I don't know much about him yet. Can you introduce him to me?"
Cui Huifu spoke very calmly and did not want to reveal any information at all. She only smiled and said: "It's nothing special. Mr. Zhou is a peaceful person. Just do your job well."
At this moment, Xiao Lingjun opened the door and ran in, shouting loudly: "Aunt Fu, Aunt Fu, look, I painted another painting. Everyone praised me for my good painting. Hurry up and praise me.
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Cui Huifu couldn't help but laugh. She picked up little Lingjun and said with a smile: "Hey, let Auntie Fu see what our little Lingjun has drawn."
"The drawing is a big train." Xiao Lingjun opened the drawing paper proudly.
Cui Huifu glanced at it and said: "The painting is really good. Xiao Lingjun is a genius. Remember to keep working hard in the future!"
Xiao Lingjun nodded solemnly: "Well, I want to be a painter when I grow up."
Cui Huifu said with a smile: "Didn't you say last time that when you grow up, you want to be a scholar like your father?"
Xiao Lingjun thought for a while and asked seriously: "Then can I be a painter and a scholar at the same time?"
"Of course." Cui Huifu stroked Xiao Lingjun's head dotingly. She was never married and she loved Xiao Lingjun as much as her biological daughter.
Yu Peichen asked curiously from the side: "Sister Cui, is this Mr. Zhou's daughter?"
Cui Huifu smiled and said: "This is the little princess of the Zhou family, Miss Zhou Lingjun, everyone's favorite."
Xiao Lingjun blinked her big watery eyes, tilted her head and looked at Yu Peichen and asked: "Are you the new aunt? All the aunts at home have babies, so hurry up and give me a brother.
"
"puff!"
Yu Peichen spat out a mouthful of tea and didn't know how to answer the question.
Cui Huifu said with a strange expression: "Miss Yu, don't think too much about it. Children's words are unbridled."
"Yes, I know." Yu Peichen said quickly.
Meng Xiaodong's voice suddenly came from outside the house: "Lingjun, where have you gone again?"
"Mom, I'm here!" Xiao Lingjun shouted.
Soon Meng Xiaodong came over and pushed the door open, and Zhang Leyi was holding little Wei Lie. The two women were dressed beautifully and seemed to be going out for shopping.
Meng Xiaodong quickly dragged her daughter away. Yu Peichen asked in a daze: "Sister Cui, who is Mrs. Zhou among the two?"
"They are all," Cui Huifu said. "The tall one is the eldest lady Zhang Leyi, and she is holding Mr. Zhou's son Zhou Weilie. The shorter one is Lingjun's mother Meng Xiaodong. She is a Peking Opera actress. You should
I’ve heard of it.”
Yu Peichen murmured to himself: "It turns out that the rumors in the newspaper are true. Mr. Zhou has more than one wife."
Yu Peichen was soon completely dumbfounded. Through the window of the reception room, she saw Liao Yaquan and Wanrong each holding a child, talking and laughing in the sun in the garden. And a foreign woman with a slightly bulging belly also
Let the servant come out with a chair, sit under the tree in the garden, hold a book and read quietly.
