At its peak, Southwest Associated University had a total of more than 8,000 students, but now, still in 1939, the number of students on campus is less than 2,000.
Sun Yongzhen and Zhu Guozhen helped the school staff carry the boxes. The pens and notebooks inside will be distributed to students tomorrow. There will definitely be some gifts left that can be given to the school's professors.
Mei Yiqi accompanied Zhou Hexuan to visit the school. As he walked, he said: "The final exam is coming soon, and the students are taking the time to review."
"Then don't disturb them. Let's go check out the cafeteria and dormitories first." Zhou Hexuan said.
The dormitories are also bungalows with mud walls, but they are worse than the school buildings. The roofs are directly covered with thatch. Moreover, each dormitory is large and has a large bunk bed, which can sleep 40 people. There is no dormitory administrator, so you can choose the bed and sleep as you like.
There are even cases where people from outside the school come to sleep here for several years.
The most embarrassing thing is that the student dormitory doesn't even have a door, it's open for anyone to come and go at will.
There are three-layer cardboard boxes on many beds. Mei Yiqi explained: "Those are soap packaging boxes bought by students. Books and clothes can be placed in the boxes, which are regarded as students' bookcases and wardrobes. The upper layer of cardboard boxes is padded with newspapers.
, it becomes a desk and you can write on it.”
"The conditions are very difficult." Zhou Hexuan nodded.
Although he had seen related descriptions in books before, seeing it with his own eyes at this moment still made Zhou Hexuan's eyes sore.
I remember that there was a very famous Spring Festival couplet in the student dormitory of Southwest Associated University.
The first couplet is: Hey! Where are the cannons fired?
The second line is: Oh! People are celebrating the New Year!
Zhou Hexuan walked around the dormitory, and it was almost lunch time. Mei Yiqi took Zhou Hexuan to the cafeteria to eat.
Before I even reached the cafeteria, the bell rang for the end of get out of class, and the students rushed over like runners.
When some students saw Mei Yiqi, they stopped and shouted: "Chairman!"
Southwest Associated University actually does not have a president, only the chairman of the school committee, but later generations generally regard Mei Yiqi as the president.
Before Mei Yiqi could nod in response, a student recognized Zhou Hexuan and shouted: "Mr. Zhou is here, Mr. Zhou is here!"
"Where is Mr. Zhou?"
"Which Mr. Zhou?"
"Mr. Zhou is really here!"
"..."
Zhou Hexuan instantly turned into a giant panda and was surrounded by students. He smiled and waved: "Let's go eat together, don't be stunned."
Students crowded around Zhou Hexuan to the cafeteria, chatting while queuing, and many asked him for advice.
There are only tables and no benches in the cafeteria. Students prepare their own meals in wooden buckets and then eat while standing around the table. No one dares to fill their bowls because they have to finish them quickly before they have the chance to add a second bowl.
If the speed is too slow, the second bowl of rice will be gone.
"Dangdangdangdang..."
Sharpening knives and chopping firewood, the first thing the students did when they picked up their rice bowls was not to eat, but to knock the bowls. There was a tinkling sound in the cafeteria, as if there was a concert or a land and sea event.
Dojo.
Why knock the bowl?
Because the rice contains a lot of gravel and even mouse droppings, it is nicknamed "Eight Treasure Rice" by students. If you want to eat quickly and comfortably, you must knock out the debris in the rice with a certain force and rhythm and push it aside.
This is a technical activity.
Zhou Hexuan also received a bowl of eight-treasure rice, and he followed the same example by knocking the bowl together. But his bowl knocking skills were very poor, and it was of no use after knocking for a long time. He could only swallow it down, all kinds of sand, barnyard grass, etc.
There are pellets mixed in, and if you eat rat droppings, you can only continue to swallow them.
Today's dish is boiled kidney beans, which are cheap. The taste is hard to say. They are boiled in plain water and have no oily flavor. They are not even salty enough.
China's proudest people did not dislike the food at all. They devoured it one by one, for fear that they would be too slow to eat the second bowl. This was also true for female students. In an era when there were no snacks and no meat, girls had no right to be pretentious.
, the delicate girl can also eat two big bowls.
Seeing that Zhou Hexuan was in pain after eating, Mei Yiqi advised: "Mr. Zhou, if you can't swallow it, don't swallow it. Come to my house and cook some home-cooked dishes for you."
"It's okay, can't waste it." Zhou Hexuan gritted his teeth and finished the remaining half bowl of rice. He ate cleaner than the students, at least the students would have left a lot of gravel and mouse droppings.
The fast students had already finished their second bowl and came to talk to Zhou Hexuan. At this moment, the air raid siren suddenly sounded in Kunming City.
"Run the alarm!"
The students have become very proficient and have even become accustomed to it. Some even run with their rice bowls in hand without even leaving the food bowls behind, and they eat and laugh while running.
Mei Yiqi's expression suddenly changed, and she pulled Zhou Hexuan and said, "Mr. Zhou, run quickly, the Japanese plane is coming!"
After the fall of Guangzhou, Kunming began to be bombed continuously by the Japanese army, and the Southwest Associated University was one of the main targets of the Japanese bombing.
Zhou Hexuan ran like crazy with the crowd. From the back gate of the school, across the railway, there was a wilderness. He could just find a grave in the woods to take shelter. There was no air-raid shelter built on this side of the school.
Jin Yuelin greeted and introduced his friend as he ran: "Mingcheng, you are here too. This is Wen Yiduo."
Zhou Hexuan didn't expect that his first meeting with Wen Yiduo would be in this situation. He smiled and said: "Hello, Mr. Wen."
"Hello, Mr. Zhou, when did you come to Kunming?" Wen Yiduo asked.
"This morning." Zhou Hexuan said.
Wen Yiduo was originally very weak, but he participated in the "Hunan, Guizhou and Yunnan Tour Group" last year and has become black and strong.
At that time, teachers and students from the three schools moved from Changsha to Kunming and marched in three directions.
Wen Yiduo's group has a total of 11 teachers and 267 students, as well as 4 military instructors and team doctors. The whole process is under military management. The team is led by a lieutenant general. They span the three provinces of Hunan, Guizhou and Yunnan, and travel across the country.
The 3,600-mile walk through Xuefeng Mountain, Wuling Mountain, Miaoling Mountain, Wumeng Mountain and other lofty mountains was called a "Civil Army Long March".
Teachers and students are not only rushing, but also practicing the teaching practice of "society is school, life is education".
When passing by Wuling Mountain, Wen Yiduo taught the original meaning of the place name Peach Blossom Spring, and guided the students to collect folk songs and study local languages. Professor Li Jitong introduced the social conditions of rural areas to the students, and Professor Yuan Fuli explained the structural deformation of river landforms...
After running for a while, Zhou Hexuan met several acquaintances. He asked, "Where are Sicheng and Huiyin?"
Jin Yuelin explained breathlessly: "They are inspecting ancient buildings in Sichuan and Kangxi, not in Kunming. Huhu, don't run away, just this tomb. The tombstone looks quite strong."
Why choose a graveyard to avoid bombing?
Because there are tombstones as a barrier.
Wen Yiduo said quickly: "Run forward. There is a cave ahead, which is safer than the cemetery."
Zhou Hexuan could only keep running, and soon he arrived at the cave Wen Yiduo mentioned. This place could only accommodate seven or eight people. It was said to be a cave, but in fact it was just a big pit on the mountain wall.
Zhou Hexuan took out his cigarette and spread it around. Using the light of the matches, he saw a few lines of words embedded in stones on the ground. They were probably used by a student to relieve his boredom when he was hiding from the bombing last time.
If you look closely, you will see that there are actually two couplets.
The first picture should be the masterpiece of a sullen science student.
The first couplet is: What is the geometry of life?
The second line is: Love triangle.
The second couplet is a realistic portrayal, probably made by a liberal arts student.
The first couplet is: act according to circumstances.
The second line is: Peace in the grave.
They came to the cave to hide from the bombing, weren't they just acting according to the situation and settling in their graves?
