Wuchang, one of the three towns in Wuhan, the land of Jingchu, is a waterway fortress on the Yangtze River. It has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times.
When I was a child, I heard my father say that during the road protection movement, my grandfather was one of the people who participated in the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty. The prelude to the Revolution of 1911 was the vigorous Wuchang Uprising. So to put it mildly, I still have some connection with this city, even though this is my first time here.
When the ship docked in Wuchang, I was fascinated by the huge bridge in front of me. It is said that when the bridge was completed, Chairman Mao once wrote the famous saying "A bridge flies to the north and south, and a natural chasm becomes a thoroughfare." Before landing, the middle-aged man who had been sleeping in the cabin with me also started to pack his things, so I learned that he also landed here. So just to be on the safe side, I asked him about the situation of the local revolutionary struggle.
This middle-aged man is a native of Wuhan. He told me that the three towns in Wuhan now, Hankou, Hanyang, and Wuchang, are actually shrouded in large and small conflicts, but behind these conflicts, there are still two major factions. . The form of this faction is almost the same as the original "August 15th Movement" and "Reverse to the End" in Chongqing. In Wuhan, known as the "Million Army" and the "Confederation of Workers," one faction is the pro-military faction with the numerical advantage, and the other is the royalist faction with radical ideas. Like Chongqing, their common purpose is to defend the city. leader.
The middle-aged man told me that he travels back and forth between Wuhan and Chongqing all year round. He has actually seen these battles, but he did not expect that the form in Wuhan would be more severe and sensitive. After all, at the beginning of the revolution a few years ago, it almost happened. The vicious incident of kidnapping the leader, so although this incident was later pacified, it made more people become more and more lawless.
Before disembarking, the middle-aged man patted me on the shoulder and said, "Little brother, this is a chaotic situation. If you don't have to leave, you'd better stay home." If you must leave, be very careful. After saying that, he patted me three times on the shoulder, taking it as a warning and a farewell.
So I have been on guard since I got off the boat, telling myself all the time that I was just here to find Master and I must not attract anyone else's attention.
Since it was already afternoon when we arrived, it was obviously unrealistic to find someone with so much luggage at this moment. So I followed the address provided by Mr. Mo and asked a local person first. Since I landed in Wuchang, but the address given to me was in Hankou, this meant that I needed to first cross the Yangtze River to Hanyang, and then cross the Han River from Hanyang to Hankou. Because at the current time, if I want to cross the river directly to Hankou, I need to walk to another pier to find the boat, and at this time, the boat has stopped running.
So I plan to find a place to stay for one night, have something to eat, and then set off to look for it early tomorrow morning.
Walking up the pier, on the winding path near the river, we found a guest house with a red five-star on the door. Due to the political environment at that time, private business was not allowed. Of course, I am referring to the slightly larger, private vendors such as grocery stores. As long as they are not expected to make a lot of money, generally Still relatively tolerant. Otherwise, we will become capitalist roaders and undermine socialism. Therefore, the vast majority of hotels and guest houses are opened under the direct control of the government or the military. The sanitary conditions of the rooms in the hostel are worrying, but for a traveler like me who is staying for one night, there is no need to worry so much.
After opening the room and putting down my things, I started looking around for food. Although the political environment in Wuhan sounds much more severe than that in Chongqing, among ordinary people, it seems that the impact and damage are not serious. There were not many people on the street, and many residents facing the street had boarded up their doors and windows or covered themselves with quilts. But overall, it was quite peaceful. I neither heard the sound of gunfire nor looked at it. There were people arresting and criticizing people all over the streets. So when night fell, I walked on the winding street and found a supply and marketing cooperative canteen not far from the guest house.
Because of its proximity to the pier, even though the streets were a little deserted, the cafeteria was still bustling with people. After rocking on the boat for several days, I could only rely on box lunches to satisfy my hunger every day. I really needed to eat something good. Although I am not a wealthy person, the money and tickets I have accumulated over the years are actually enough for me to spend very happily. But when I saw the price list of "Wuchang Fish", I shrank from this idea.
So that night I randomly cooked a few vegetables and a soup, then went back to the guest house and went to bed early.
Early the next morning, I asked around and found my way around. Around lunch time, I arrived at the busiest street in Hankou. Some of the houses here are different from those around them. Many of them are Western-style buildings. Later I learned that when the late Qing Dynasty was corrupt, Hankou was once an open port city like Chongqing, and several countries had established concessions here. The architectural style that was completely different from other places gave me a strange feeling, but I didn't have time to linger. I told myself to get down to business first, and when I found the master, I would take a few more days. Just take a good tour here.
The address Mr. Mo gave me was in a back alley far away from the bustling streets. Like all cities, behind the bustling, there are always gathering places for people who seem to hate poverty. Those people are the so-called market people, and for someone like me who is originally a member of the market, walking through such small alleys seems more appropriate.
According to the house number, I quickly found out where Senior Qin lived. In the middle of a small alley, I stood in front of his house and could see the entire alley from both sides. On both sides of this small alley, there are some small bungalows that look similar to this house, and they are located next to each other, quite compact. The road is paved with stones, and the distance is only about four or five steps horizontally, so this alley is definitely not open to traffic, but bicycles pass behind me from time to time. Looking at the people on the car, they must be in a hurry to get closer. Road guy.
The single-open wooden door painted dark green was tightly closed. There is a small window next to the door, and the glass on the window is also painted dark green. So I couldn't see what was going on in the house, and I didn't even know if there were lights on in the house. In front of the tight door is a stepping stone about two inches high. Perhaps because of the unique style of local houses, the foundation of the house is raised a little to prevent moisture. There were some potted plants on both sides of the stepping stones, but almost all of them were dead, except for a cactus and a pot of evergreen.
This is a small bungalow with a height of only about two meters. The roof is not even made of fired tiles, but wavy asbestos tiles made up of large pieces. Because Senior Qin was said to be a man with a perverse personality and mysterious whereabouts, I had imagined many ways to say hello before knocking on the door. In addition, his address was provided to me by Mr. Mo, an old man in the industry. Compared with many people in this industry, For seniors, I took a shortcut and found where he lived without much effort. However, I always felt that it was a bit too easy, so with anxiety, I started knocking on his door.
I knocked on the door three times each time, and knocked more than ten times in succession, but still no one came to open the door. I don’t know if it’s because he doesn’t want to see guests or because he’s not at home. After looking at the dust accumulated on the doors and windows, it didn't look like it had been inhabited for a long time. So I thought to myself, I probably went out to do some errands, and maybe I would be back in the evening.
So I found a place to stay not far from Senior Qin's house. After all, I believed that even if he was at home, there would be no reason for me to stay at his house. After hanging around in the room until night, I went to visit again. Because night falls, you can tell whether every household has turned on the lights through the cracks in the windows and doors, but Senior Qin's home still feels dark, as if he is still not at home.
I was a little disappointed. It had been two days since I came to this city. Apart from eating some local dishes and sleeping in a bed full of fleas, I couldn't do anything else. But I didn't give up. I thought to myself, who would be fine? Maybe I was too busy to go home, and maybe I would come back tomorrow.
So, I stayed in that guest house for three consecutive days, knocking on the door every morning, noon and night, but no one answered the door. I started to get a little anxious, and I didn't know how long the wait would last. So on the night of the third day, I wrote a note with my name, my master's name, and the place where I was temporarily staying. I told Senior Qin in a pleading tone, hoping that he would see the note. Finally, even if you don’t come to me, leave me a message.
But it was late at night, trying to find a gap in someone's door to clip the note. To outsiders, this move seemed a bit like a thief. Sure enough, when I was looking for gaps everywhere, a middle-aged woman's voice came from behind:
"Little duck, what are you doing sneakily?"
Hubei's dialect is relatively close to Sichuan's dialect, and they both belong to Southwest Mandarin. However, Hubei's dialect is faster, and the pitch of the tone seems to be a bit more exaggerated than that of Sichuan dialect. It's a bit like singing, and has the same lazy feeling as Sichuan dialect. It's still very different, but I can completely understand what others are saying, but I don't quite understand why she called me a duck.
Being asked such a sudden question in the dark was a bit frightening. So I quickly turned around and saw the figure of a short middle-aged woman standing not far from me in the darkness, looking at me suspiciously.
So I quickly explained, Auntie, you misunderstood. I came here to find someone. I searched for several days and couldn't find him, so I just left a note. But the aunt said, not found? There are people in this room every day, how could I not find them?
When I heard it, I was surprised.
