Chapter 55: Cultivating Good and Accumulating Virtues
At this point, I'm afraid someone will ask again, why did Chen Deyuan disregard his bright future and take risks to stand up for Hong Jiaqiang?
This is a long way to go, and we have to go all the way to Chen Deyuan’s father, Chen Laoshi.
In fact, before the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, Chen Laoshi, who was employed at a coal shop, had been delivering coal and firewood to Yanmei Building and Yanmei Zhai. Because he was as his name suggests, he was simple and kind, worked hard and never argued with others.
The shopkeepers in charge of these two old shops have a good impression of him.
However, the reason why the Chen family had a grudge with Hong Lucheng was not because of this extremely ordinary employment relationship. Instead, the reason was because of a disaster that came from the sky.
To say that things in the world are indeed unfair, an honest person would not cause trouble, but trouble would come to provoke him.
One day in 1946, Chen Laoshi came to deliver coal to Yanmei Building as usual. However, a company commander of the Kuomintang Army drank too much and wanted to go to the back of Yanmei Building to urinate. As a result, he was half-unloaded.
The coal truck was blocking the road, and the red-faced company commander was so angry that he was about to set fire to the coal truck.
Chen Laoshi was almost scared to death at the time. If the coal truck really caught fire, he would have to pay for it, including the coal. But how could he afford to pay for it? So no matter how honest, introverted, cowardly, or arrogant he was,
I couldn't kick him, so I had to bite the bullet and stop him at this time.
But how can the company commander be easy to talk to? When he saw that Chen Laoshi dared to stand in the way, he gave Chen Laoshi a big mouth without waiting for a word, and then he took out his gun and fired. When the orderly heard the noise, he came out from the restaurant.
After running out, the company commander burped again and said that Chen Laoshi was a deserter. Then he asked his men to tie up Chen Laoshi and take him to the street government.
Someone kindly reported the news to the Chen family, but Chen Laoshi's wife became anxious when she heard it. If a deserter is caught, he will be shot, which is terrible! Besides, her eldest son had just died of typhoid fever at the time, and he still owed a debt.
The money for the pen delivery has not been paid back. If Chen Laoshi never comes back and the whole family loses their livelihood, then she and her only youngest son will have to jump into the river.
Frustrated, Chen Laoshi's wife grabbed eight-year-old Chen Deyuan and immediately went to the coal shop to ask the shopkeeper for help. But the shopkeeper's heart trembled when he heard that he was a soldier, and he became a coward. Mother and son were helpless.
, so he had no choice but to ask the shopkeeper of Yanmei Building to save him.
The shopkeeper of Yanmei House couldn't bear to stand by and watch, but he felt that he was unable to do anything, so after thinking about it, he took his mother and son to ask Hong Lucheng, the boss who had just taken over the family business.
At this point, this was the last glimmer of hope for the mother and son. So when they saw Hong Lucheng, they knelt down and cried out for help, fearing that Hong Lucheng would also give up.
But he didn't expect that after Hong Lucheng heard the whole story, he remembered that Chen Laoshi had devoted his life to the Hong family for twenty years, and took a car to clear things up without saying a word. In the end, he spent twenty yuan and took a taxi.
I bought two seat tickets (in the past, the famous restaurant specially printed and sold seat tickets with different values for the convenience of old customers to give gifts or banquets. Generally, they cost four yuan per seat. This ticket needs to be purchased with cash, and any ticket holder
People can go to the store at any time and enjoy the banquet shown on the ticket without cash, just like today's meal coupons), and the person was bailed out that night.
As soon as Chen Laoshi came out, he was very grateful and said that it was a small thing to suffer a lot in there. However, if he was not rescued today, he would have to be taken to the Northeast battlefield to work as a porter tomorrow.
When the Chen family heard this, they thought that this was a narrow escape. So excited, they kowtowed to Hong Lucheng again.
After this incident, Hong Lucheng regarded it as a trivial matter and soon forgot about it.
But the Chen family kept it in mind. From then on, every year on the first day of the New Year, Chen Laoshi would dress neatly and bring Chen Deyuan with him to the Hong family's door early to pay New Year greetings. This pattern continued until the public-private partnership
when.
After that, Yanmei Zhai and Yanmei Building were closed down, and the Hong family also moved out of their old residence. However, the Chen family still dared not forget the kindness of the Hong family, and they have not forgotten it at all.
In 1962, Chen Laoshi and his wife, who returned to their hometown in Dingxing, both suffered from liver disease due to severe malnutrition. However, before they died, they still repeatedly asked their sons to repay the Hong family's life-saving efforts if they had the opportunity.
kindness.
Chen Deyuan was a filial son, so he naturally followed his parents' last wishes and still kept the Hong family's kindness in his heart. But besides that, there was actually another thing hidden in his heart, which also made him have a deep love for Hong Lu.
Deeply grateful.
Perhaps this incident seemed trivial to others, but to him when he was just a child, it did have an extraordinary impact.
It was October 1948, and Chen Deyuan, who was already ten years old, was old enough to help pull the coal cart. So, from then on, he often followed his father to deliver coal to Yanmei Building.
But that day, just as Chen Laoshi entered the house to reconcile the monthly accounts with the shopkeeper, Chen Deyuan, who was staying in the alley to look at the cars, was attracted by the persimmon tree protruding from the wall of the side courtyard of the Hong family's old house.
The persimmon tree in the Hong family's old house grew tall and strong. It was also the season when persimmons were ripe, and the bright yellow fruits could hang down to the eaves, making it look very appetizing.
How many boys are not greedy? In addition, it was Chen Deyuan's time to be naughty, so the boy stepped on the coal cart, grabbed the courtyard wall, and jumped up like a monkey with both hands.
Most of the courtyard houses in the capital are connected by rooms and courtyard walls. Chen Deyuan climbed from the courtyard wall to the roof smoothly.
He looked at the big persimmon hanging on the tree in front of him, and he was very happy. He stretched out his hand to pick one, and without caring about anything else, he tore the skin and stuffed it into his mouth to eat.
Wow, it was so sweet to drink honey, the little tongues in the thin skin penetrated into the mouth one by one.
Chen Deyuan just ate one and couldn't put it down. After a while, his face was covered with flowers, as lively as a cat eating glutinous rice.
But just as he was eating heartily, Hong Lucheng walked from the backyard to the side courtyard with a pot of tea and a book in his hand.
This was Hong Lucheng's habit back then. When the weather was nice, he would always read a book quietly on a recliner and bask in the sun. But this time, what Hong Lucheng didn't expect was that as soon as he walked into the courtyard,
I heard movement in the room.
At this time, the little naughty boy who was feasting on the food also spotted Hong Lucheng. The boy immediately threw away the persimmon skin in his hand, lowered his head and lay on the room, not daring to move.
Needless to say, Chen Deyuan was afraid. Hong Lucheng was the employer of the Chen family. He just picked a few persimmons without looking at them, but this was stealing.
Besides, he also knew very well that the people in the capital had always been most taboo about installing tiles on their houses. If one accidentally stepped on the tiles, the house would leak, and wouldn't that cause a blockage?
Therefore, no one treats the children who go to the house. Even if they meet the owner who is sad (sangbang - speaking unkindly and having bad cards), once he finds out, he will not only shame his face and curse, but also dare to go to the roof of the house.
Throwing bricks at you and slapping you, you deserve it.
But what Chen Deyuan didn't expect was that Hong Lucheng did not continue to walk towards him. Instead, he stood stunned in the courtyard for a while, then quietly turned around and left the courtyard.
But as soon as he saw that the danger was over, he didn't dare to pick any more persimmons, and immediately retreated. It wasn't until he got out of the house and stepped on the coal cart again that he let out a sigh of relief. It was really a false alarm.
A few days after this incident, Chen Deyuan came to Yanmei Building with his father again. But while he was waiting for his father on the unloaded coal truck, Lao Wang, the concierge of the Hong family house, unexpectedly went around to the alley to greet him.
he.
At this time, Chen Deyuan suddenly remembered what happened in the first two days. He wiped his head and wanted to run away. Unexpectedly, the sharp-sighted Lao Wang grabbed his arm and took him to a side courtyard with persimmon trees to see Hong Lucheng.
Chen Deyuan felt so guilty that he neither dared to look at people nor the persimmon trees when he entered the hospital.
Unexpectedly, Hong Lucheng, who was reading, didn't say a word to him. Instead, he put down the book and asked Lao Wang to bring a ladder from the corner of the courtyard and set it up on the wall. Then he asked Chen Deyuan to help pick persimmons.
Chen Deyuan and the concierge Lao Wang didn't know what was going on and were confused when they heard it. But since the boss had spoken, they had to listen.
So Chen Deyuan came to step up, and Lao Wang held the ladder and raised the basin. The two began to pick the big ones, and soon they filled a large basin with dozens of small ones.
When Hong Lucheng saw that it was almost done, he asked Chen Deyuan to stop and get down from the tree. When the concierge Lao Wang brought over the full persimmon basin again, Hong Lucheng first picked up a persimmon and gave it to Chen Deyuan.
"Is this persimmon sweet?"
"Um."
"Do you like to eat?"
"Yeah." Chen Deyuan nodded vigorously.
Hong Lucheng smiled and patted Chen Deyuan on the shoulder.
"If you like to eat, just take this pot of persimmons home and eat them. However, persimmons are cold in nature and eating too much will hurt your stomach. You can eat two or three at a time."
Chen Deyuan was dumbfounded. He never expected that Hong Lucheng would do this.
"Master, you..." He simply didn't know what to say.
Hong Lucheng looked at Chen Deyuan's stunned expression and knew that he still didn't understand, so he smiled and told the whole story.
"A few days ago, you were the one who climbed up my house to pick persimmons, right? Do you think I didn't see you? My eyes are fine and I can see clearly. I was afraid that you would fall from the house, so I didn't wake you up.
It’s so risky to climb a ladder for a few persimmons! Don’t do that in the future. There is no need to be sneaky if you want to eat the persimmon trees in my yard. You can come and pick them at any time, do you hear me?”
Chen Deyuan, who was originally frightened and a poor boy from a briquettes-shaking family, shed tears after hearing these words.
From now on, Chen Deyuan has been thinking about Hong Lucheng with all his heart, and this idea has never changed at any time. Even during the "movement", when he heard that the Hong family was criticized, he kept scratching his head. "Absolutely."
Where did I go wrong? The Hong family are good people."
When Chen Deyuan moved his wife and children to Furuli, met with Hong Lucheng, and mentioned this past incident again, he was still full of emotions, saying that he had never seen such a good boss as Hong Lucheng.
It saved the lives of his family and turned on a warm light in his heart.
At the same time, he also patted his chest and made a promise to Hong Lu, saying that since this is the world now, all the affairs of the Hong family will be taken care of by him in the future.
At this time, Hong Lucheng, who was in despair and suffering, saw Chen Deyuan, who was already full of beard, and felt even more mixed emotions, which was difficult to describe.
He recalled the little coal boy who stepped on the coal cart and ate persimmons many years ago, and then looked at the powerful coal plant director in his late thirties before him, and he couldn't help but sigh to himself sincerely.
In the endless cycle of cause and effect, good deeds and virtues will surely be rewarded!