Free Yourself Chapter One

                         1

In the complicated Shanghai city, there is an unobtrusive alley. This alley has an elegant name called "Jingxingli". It was a story that took place from the 1950s to the mid-1960s. In the patio of the Shikumen Tower in the superstar, they are scattered against the roots of the wall. One of the bamboo chairs, which has basically faded out of the bamboo color, has broken off the right leg in front, and tied the wooden stick with a thin wire Barely supported. Sitting on the small bamboo chair was a thin woman, skilled in sweaters. She was in her early fifties, her face was sallow, her body was thin, and there was an obvious black mole under her right eye. Her large and expressive black eyes, slightly collapsed eyes, are a pair of unique eyes of women in southern countries. Her ancestral home is Zhongshan County, a genuine Cantonese. She can speak pure Cantonese, but she doesn't want to teach good children. She hates Shanghainese for insulting her flesh for Cantonese. She is my mother.

    My maternal grandfather is a hard-working accountant of Yongan Company. My mother has three younger siblings, all university graduates, and each has her own achievements. Her eldest brother is a manager of an international travel agency who understands foreign languages ​​and Cantonese. She is an old cadre who has beaten foreign devils. Her eldest daughter-in-law is a professor at the university. Her sister married a soldier after graduating from college. Her brother-in-law is the deputy chief of staff of the Air Force Command of the Jinan Military Region. Her younger brother, who was not interested in politics and the military, was immersed in studies and changed from a graduate student to an engineer. You must expect that my mother was also highly educated in the metropolis of Shanghai, but it is not the case. She grew up in the nurturing of women in streets and lanes.

My sister has a lot of research on family history. She always asks the adults about the family's changes. My sister told me that my grandmother lived in Hong Kong as a child. My grandmother's grandfather was originally a wealthy and wealthy man who had been in business for generations. Later, his family broke down. He sold sugar cane and opened a chicken and duck blood store. Both the grandmother ’s parents live in Hong Kong, and a photo of the grandmother ’s mother in Hong Kong is still kept in her family.

Why would my grandmother marry my grandfather living in Zhongshan, Guangdong? It turned out that foreign justice at the time was ready to immigrate to the United States. They all wanted to move to the United States, and they got married early. That year, they were all 18 years old.

The grandfather's father has been living in the United States. He was adopted by his uncle and immigrated to Hawaii from Zhongshan, Guangdong. The grandfather is the boss, and has a younger brother and younger sister. My grandfather's brother is my second uncle, and my grandfather's sister is my aunt. The second uncle and aunt both live in Hongkou, Shanghai, which is a beautiful small building.

At that time, my grandfather sought employment at Hong Kong Wing On Company. The Hong Kong-based Wing On Company was founded in 1907 and was originally established in Sydney, Australia, known as Wing On Fruit Bar.

My grandfather and grandmother gave birth to my mother in Hong Kong the second year after marriage. Unexpectedly, the second year after my grandfather gave birth to my mother, my grandfather's mother was about to have a baby. The result was a difficult birth. The grandfather's mother died while giving birth, but left a younger brother to my grandfather.

The grandfather's younger brother was taken to the United States by his father. Soon, the grandfather's father married his wife again. The grandfather ’s father opened a Chinese restaurant in the United States, which is not a financial problem, but because he newly married his wife, the three children born to the original wife also lost the opportunity to live in the United States.

However, my grandfather ’s stepmother is very kind, and often asks people to bring some clothing from the United States to give to stepchildren and other juniors.

My grandfather, who lost his biological mother and was separated from his father by the ocean, was already thirty years old. The grandfather's father asked him to bravely and vigorously provoke the family.

My grandfather's father was in the same country as Guo Le and Guo Quan, and he was also a business friend. Hong Kong Wing On Company was the most famous department store at that time. After Guo Le and Guo Quan made their fortunes in Australia, they planned to expand the business of Hong Kong Wing On Company to Shanghai, and set up Shanghai Wing On Company on the most prosperous Nanjing Road in Shanghai.

In the 5th year of the Republic of China, the Guo brothers rented 8 acres, 15 cents, 1 cents and 8 millimetres of land at the intersection of Nanjing Road and Zhejiang Road from Hatong at a high rent of 50,000 two silver per year to build an English-style 6-storey towering Yongan Building Opposite the Xianshi Company across the road, all the mosaic floors of the pavement malls are covered with waxed floors upstairs, and the business area is up to HK $ 10,000. In the 21st year of the Republic of China, Yongan Company bought a new new stage built close to Zhejiang Road in the late Qing Dynasty. A new 19-story streamlined Yongan new building was built. Two closed flyovers were erected on the fourth floor to connect with Yongan Company on the west side. Personnel in East and West can travel from the "air channel".

The 19-story building of Yongan Company is the second tallest building on Nanjing East Road after the International Hotel. At that time, the neon lights on the tall building of Yongan Company were particularly dazzling at night. The red English characters and green Chinese characters alternately appeared, adding a bit of scenery to the night Shanghai. Since the boss is Cantonese, the more than 1,000 employees of Yongan Company are almost all Cantonese.

My grandfather's father recommended his eldest son to Guo Le and Guo Quan to work in Shanghai Yong'an Company. This eldest son is my grandfather. My grandfather read four books and five classics, and he is proficient in English and good at business. At that time, my grandfather was the finance manager of Hong Kong Wing On Company, and Guo Le and Guo Quan arranged their grandfathers to be the financial directors of the low-rise area of ​​the mall of Shanghai Yongan Company. This is a pivotal job.

My grandfather sold all his family property, including housing and mahogany furniture. He took my grandmother and my mother to leave Hong Kong and went to Shanghai together. That year, my mother was only ten years old.

Soon, his grandfather took his brother and sister to Shanghai. My second uncle, 6 years older than my mother, was 20 years old, and my aunt was 16 years old.

My aunt's aunt has a daughter who died of lung disease shortly after marriage. The aunt ’s aunt did n’t want her son-in-law to marry someone else, so he married his niece to his son-in-law. This niece is my aunt and my mother's aunt.

We call my aunt ’s husband her aunt. The daughter of the aunt's ex-wife is our grand cousin.

2

My grandfather knew Guo Quanshuang, son of Guo Quan. Guo Linshuang (1896-1974), also known as Qi Tang, was born in Xiangshan County (now Zhongshan), Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, with his grandfather. Guo Linshuang graduated from Lingnan University in 1921 with a bachelor's degree in agriculture. Soon, he was sent to Europe and the United States to investigate business conditions. After returning to China, he officially served as the supervisor of Hong Kong Wing On Company in 11 years in the Republic of China and assisted his father Guo Quan to manage the enterprise. My grandfather and Guo Linshuang used to be colleagues.

During the 12-16 years of the Republic of China, Guo Linshuang went to the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, Japan and other countries to purchase commodities, learn the experience of foreign commercial enterprises and understand the international market trends. In the 18th year of the Republic of China, he was assigned to Shanghai Yongan Company as deputy manager by his uncle Guo Le, the general supervisor of Hong Kong Wing On Company, and was promoted to general manager in 22 years.

My grandfather himself worked as a clerk at Yongan Company. With his friendly relationship with Guo Quanshuang's son Guo Linshuang, he introduced his brother, sister and brother-in-law into Yongan Company. His younger brother, my second uncle, became a manager in the rain gear department of Yongan Company. The uncle also arranged to work in Yongan Company, mainly responsible for the business of the Southern Goods Department and the Cardigan Department. My grandfather's family has been inseparable from Yongan since then.

At that time, the middle department of Shanghai Yongan Company's shopping mall was divided very finely, there were more than forty. There are also large-scale sideline businesses, such as Qizhongtian, Dadong Hotel, dance hall, tea room, Tianyun Building and so on. Seventh Heaven was Shanghai ’s premier restaurant at that time. It was named because it is located on the seventh floor of the building. The Seventh Heaven is equipped with the same-color train seats, spring chairs, and red lamps on each table. There is also a small dance floor attached to the restaurant. At that time, it was very attractive to the wide lady and the younger brother.

It is said that the Guo brothers took great pains when choosing the construction site for Yongan Company. In order to find out which side of Nanjing Road was crowded, they personally sat in the Wulong Rishenglou Teahouse, and then assigned two men to each guard on Nanjing Road From north to south, every pedestrian passing by will see a bean in his pocket. At night, he will count the beans in his pocket to compare the flow of people. After several days of measurement, it was concluded that the south side of Nanjing Road has a higher pedestrian flow than the north side. As a result, the Guo brothers gave each other high-five and decided that the Yongan Building would sit south to north, just opposite the Xianshi Company.

The “Announcement on the Opening of Yongan Company” was continuously published in the “Declaration” business for half a month. The advanced planning of the Guo Brothers brought Yongan Company a rush to buy from the public. Originally prepared to sell the goods for two months, it was out of stock after only 20 days, and the company had to urgently call Hong Kong.

There is also a cloud behind the success of Yongan. The Jewish Hartung leased the land to the Guo brothers in 1916. The conditions were extremely harsh: the annual rent was 50,000 sterling silver, and the land must be returned together with the Yongan Building after the 30-year lease. In order not to lose Yongan, the Guo family built a 19-storey Yongan new building on the east side of Yongan in 1930, ready to be used as a new Yongan in the future. A chic air corridor between the two floors, today ’s Seventh Heaven Hotels and overseas Chinese shops. In 1945, Guo Linshuang (the second generation successor of the Guo family) negotiated with Hatong ’s adopted son, George Hatong, and bought back Yongan for 1.125 million yuan. The Guo family also paid up to 1.5 million yuan to Hatong for 30 years. Silver rent! In the end, Guo Linshuang said, "We Yongan and Hatong family have been host and guest for 30 years, and today it is considered to be a complete virtue!"

In the 23rd year of the Republic of China, the establishment of a Chinese goods shopping mall in Yongan Company lasted more than half a year. In the following year, he prepared again and published an advertisement for solicitation of domestic products in the newspaper. More than 1,000 companies were recruited, and the abortion occurred due to the outbreak of the August 13 Anti-Japanese War.

Due to his grandfather ’s superior family conditions, his eldest son, my uncle, studied at Shanghai Saint John University. Uncle received education from the CCP's underground party while in school, and later secretly joined the New Fourth Army and joined the Communist Party.

The May 30th Movement boycotted foreign goods, and Yongan Company opened up the source of domestic goods and participated in the strike; "8 · 13" Anti-Japanese War, although Yongan Company was shattered by Japanese artillery shells, all doors and windows were still donated to support the Anti-Japanese War.

On the eve of the liberation of Shanghai, Guo Linshuang often discussed the future with his grandfather. Because of the influence of his uncle, his grandfather talked to Guo Linshuang about the Communist Party.

The liberation of Shanghai and the tycoons of wealthy merchants fled one after another. The then operator Guo Linshuang rejected his father's charter and insisted on staying in Shanghai. On May 26, 1949, instead of going home, Guo Linshuang stayed in the office on the 15th floor of Xinyong'an Building. Early in the morning, he heard some noise outside the window, and found a row of lying PLA soldiers lying on the street, holding a gun in his arms and wearing a gray cloth uniform.

When Shanghai was liberated, Guo Linshuang and his grandfather cooperated with the CCP underground organization to protect the enterprise and handed it over to the people. The grandfather submitted all operating books on behalf of the company.

Since 1949, Guo Linshuang has served as the chairman of the Shanghai Global Commodity Trade Association for several consecutive times. In February 1951, he was elected as the first executive committee member of Shanghai Federation of Industry and Commerce. In January 1956, Yongan Company was the first public-private partnership in the Shanghai department store industry. Guo Linshuang served as the general manager of the public-private partnership Yongan Company. My grandfather has also been with Yongan Company.

Guo Linshuang, who is in charge of Shanghai Yongan Company, is fully aware of the "difficulty in starting a business and not easy to maintain", and pays attention to the quality of dealer products, making sales and profits the highest in the industry for decades. In 1918, Shanghai Yongan Company opened and established a management policy focusing on the operation of global department stores. It also has a hotel, restaurant, tea room, playground and banking department. Later, it set up offices in Britain, the United States, Japan and other countries to organize souvenirs and purchase department stores to organize the export of local products. In the 1930s, Yongan Company ranked first among the four major companies in Shanghai (Xianshi, Yongan, Xinxin, Dah Sing) and enjoyed a good reputation in China and the world. Yongan Company attaches great importance to purchase and capital accumulation in management, pays attention to operation and service, takes the "customer is always right" as its creed, and pays attention to selling domestic products. Wing On Department Store and Wing On Textile Printing and Dyeing Company together constitute Wing On Capital Group. The public-private partnership of Yongan Department Store in 1956, the state-owned operation in 1966, and the name was changed to Shanghai Tenth Department Store in 1969. In 1988, during the reform, advanced technology and equipment were introduced, the mall was completely renovated and renovated, and it was renamed as Shanghai Hualian Commercial Building. The company was founded in 1918, after Shanghai Yongan Company, Shanghai Tenth Department Store, Shanghai Hualian Commercial Building, it is Shanghai's leading high-end department store.

3

My maternal grandmother is a kind-hearted and passionate woman. She is the same age as my maternal grandfather. They are all rats. The grandfather was born on April 11, 1900. The grandmother was one month older than the grandfather and was born on March 11 of the same year. The grandfather's ancestral home is Cuixiang Village, Zhongshan, Guangdong.

My grandmother was born in a famous Chinese medicine world in Hong Kong. I still keep the photos of her younger mother and the half-length photo of her grandmother's mother. The photo was taken when photography was first introduced to Hong Kong. It can be seen that the grandma's family's living conditions are very good. The grandmother ’s younger brother ’s family opened a “Zheng Rong Pharmacy” in Hong Kong.

When his grandfather was 10 years old, in 1910, his father traveled across the oceans and settled in the United States ever since. My mother moved from Hong Kong to Shanghai when she was 10 years old. The mother was born on October 1, 1920. My mother didn't recognize the date of birth, always said that my father deliberately changed her birthday to National Day. After investigation, the mother's birthday is August 18, the third day after the Mid-Autumn Festival, but according to the Gregorian calendar, the father is not wrong.

The grandfather's character looks soft and elegant. He usually pays attention to grooming his hair, eyebrows, and clothing. Even his behavior is very gentle and polite. My grandfather respected the readers very much and valued knowledge and learning. Otherwise, in my grandfather's desk case, the "Ci Hai" printed by the China Bookstore will never be shelved. It was a "Ci Hai" preface by Mr. Li Jinxi. In addition to traditional Chinese culture, because his grandfather has lived in Hong Kong for a long time, he can speak English fluently due to business and social relations.

However, my maternal grandfather has another personality. He likes to practice stick dance, of course, all for fitness. He is a frequent visitor to People's Park, where he taught others to practice martial arts and took me there. During the Cultural Revolution, it was forbidden to practice martial arts in the park, and the Red Guards kept pushing him and roaring at him. My grandfather seemed to be pushed to and fro by these red guards and was humiliated. He no longer went to the park to practice martial arts. But he said angrily to me: "These stinky guys think that they have taken advantage of it, and they must vomit blood after returning home!" At this time, I only learned that my grandfather must have done a great job. In fact, they are giving lessons to these Mao children.

At home, my grandfather walked peacefully while walking, talking softly. I often take me to the famous Dasanyuan restaurant in Shanghai to eat Guangdong breakfast and drink morning tea. But the maternal grandmother failed to stop the maternal grandfather's alcohol abuse, and eventually the maternal grandfather died in the glass.

    The grandmother was very petite, and she was outstandingly beautiful when she was young. She once won passers-by to look back. But she adhered to ancient traditions, devoted her loyalty to her grandfather, and managed housekeeping in accordance with Jiuzhou customs. She never allowed children and adults to eat on a table, especially not to be dazed by overeating. This family rule also followed my mother, including my siblings, who could only sit on the small bench and dine around the big bench.

In the maternal grandmother ’s housekeeping, girls only have the responsibility of taking care of housework and taking care of their younger siblings, and only boys are the pillars of revitalizing the family. Of course, boys must study hard to be on the list and take off.

In the strict tutoring of my grandmother, my mother did not complete the elementary school curriculum, so she brought her siblings at home and sewed the pants. In fact, the mother ’s primary school course is only the female red class, which is to learn embroidery, weaving, and tailoring. The mother ’s craftsmanship may be due to the enlightenment teaching of the female red class. Mother wandered in the pots and pans, and sent the young girl's life in the needle-cutting ruler. It is the belief of the family: "Women should learn to take care of housekeeping", so that for decades, mothers could not escape the circle of housewives.

The victory of the Chinese revolution shakes the grandmother ’s traditional housekeeping, prompting her to stop her little daughter from going to Beijing Renmin University for further studies, but her mother ’s teachings continue in accordance with the ancient traditions and customs of Jiuzhou. This is not entirely due to the stubbornness of the grandmother, but the reason is that the mother has become accustomed to nature, and she does not want to change her status. She was willing to stay in the family with peace of mind and stay in the heap of women who depended on her husband to support her family.

4

My mother told me that my father was born in 1920. When he was a child, his family life was not good.

My grandfather was a shrewd old man who opened a paper shop in Shanghai, specializing in making wreaths, foil and paper man paper horses, and carton paper cabinets and other sacrifices. His paper binding technique is very clever, and the paper people and paper horses are perfectly matched. Therefore, there are many people who buy sacrifices in the distance, but later, the society promoted "democracy" and "science", and people who bought sacrifices also I don't come to the door often. On one occasion, my grandfather suddenly saw a picture of the Lantern Festival with a poem by the Ming Dynasty painter Tang Bohu:

There is no moon without lights to entertain people, and no moon without lights is not spring.

Spring is like jade in the world, and the burning moon is like silver next month.

In the street, Zhu Cui stepped on the spring girl and sang the goddess of competition.

How to get rid of this good morning without laughing.

    The grandfather's spiritual opportunity, expanded the paper binding project of the paper binding shop, and started the lantern business.

    Since his grandfather expanded the operation of colored lanterns, his business has gradually flourished, and his production of colored lanterns has also become more and more colorful. Among them, the imitation of Fuzhou flower basket lanterns cleverly integrates the art of colored plastic, and the structure is very novel. The imitation Suzhou Yarn Lamp is engraved on the paper with flowers, bamboo, birds and other patterns, and is pasted with light silk inside and outside. The color is soft, delicate and beautiful, and it is very popular. In the production of grandfather's lanterns, customers particularly appreciated the goldfish wall lamp, which is the traditional lantern craft of Shanghai city. The wall lamp is dominated by goldfish playing in the water, surrounded by tender green yarn, so that the whole picture of the wall lamp looks like a place In the blue water rippling.

    Despite the grandfather's skill in tie-up lanterns, how can ordinary people spend Lantern Festival every day and buy lanterns? Without a prosperous long time, the paper bar shop is gradually going downhill. After his father graduated from elementary school, he had to be forced to drop out of school and follow his grandfather to help him live in the shop.

    My father is very clever and can learn the art of tie-lamps. He can also ride a lion, white elephant lamp, and choose large fresh oranges to make orange lanterns. There are many paintings and calligraphy in the lanterns that my father tie. Because his basic drawing skills are good, and he also has a good hand of brush characters. My father's silk lanterns, marquee lanterns, lions, tiger lanterns, and rabbit lanterns are really colorful and exquisite; Chang'e Lantern Lantern, Tiannv Scattered Lantern, Wu Song's Tiger Lantern, and Sun Wukong's clamoring Tiangong Lantern are more colorful and lifelike.

    But my uncle and uncle were unwilling to do the paper work, so they were often beaten. Grandfather loved my father especially, and sometimes secretly gave him a little pocket money.

    Speaking of it, you may not believe that my father had acted when he was young.

    There was a theater company near my grandfather's house, and I often played dramas. The father took the pocket money his grandfather gave him to buy tickets, and watched it again and again. He was fascinated by the drama. Over time, he became acquainted with the people in the troupe and started painting scenes for them. Soon afterwards, he also stepped onto the stage and played the drama. My father often said proudly: "At that time, I used to play with Li Qinian, Bai Yun, Shao Hua, etc." My father also showed me a still photo of him playing Zilu in the drama "Confucius". Unfortunately, this still photo Long lost.

    Later, his grandfather became seriously ill. My mother was worried all day long, and asked God not to worry. Soon after his grandfather died, his grandmother also left the world. Uncle left my father and my uncle and ran to Hongkou to open a grocery store. Only the father remained in the family to maintain this lifeless paper shop.

    When my father helped his grandfather with paper sacrifices, there was often a girl holding her younger brother in front of the store to play. The girl sometimes went to the store to see my father tie lanterns, and gradually they became good friends, and soon married, the girl is my mother.

My parents gave birth to my elder brother less than two years after they got married. My elder brother had tuberculosis in less than a month. Another year later, when my mother gave birth to my second brother, my father closed the paper binding shop and took my brother with my mother to live in my grandfather's house. In the future, for a long time, my father has not been able to find a job. The heavy burden and pain that cannot be rid of are always firmly pressed on his mind. What about my father? The right to live away from reality is no longer to be lifted.

5

    The Yellow River Road in Shanghai was covered by the dark curtain at night, and the roof, street trees, and even a little outline could not be seen. Only the night wind, in the dark city, in the small alleys, rushing to and fro, like a ghost, sobbing from time to time, making the dark slums even more sad and desolate!

    In this dark and lifeless midnight, my mother was awakened by a sudden knock on the door. She saw her father get up lightly and put the old gown out of the room. The whole family panicked, not knowing what happened. After a while, he heard his father leading in and talking in a low voice in the kitchen. My mother and grandmother timidly put their ears against the wall and listened. Then I was relieved when I heard the voice of my uncle. Uncle originally studied at St. John's University, and on the eve of graduation, for some reason, he suddenly never returned home. What is he doing here in such a dark midnight?

   "Are you going?" Uncle's voice.

   "I want to go, but don't you think it's too awkward ... I don't usually have the habit of making a hasty decision ... but with you ..."

    My father was a little bit nerdy. He reached out and took the bottle from the table, slowly unscrewed the cap, and took out a white magnetic bowl with a blue lace in the cupboard, slowly pouring the white wine in the bottle In the magnetic bowl: "Let me have more courage." My father said to his uncle with a smile: "Just I think, what should I do after I leave?"

    "Home? Big husband should serve the country. You know, what we are doing is the most meaningful thing for human beings. Don't be silent, and don't be bound by this future ..."

    "go!"

    The father made up his mind that the liquor he had just drank bolded, or he had other plans. Anyway, the father really made up his mind to go.

   "Okay, that's great, one word is final, you go to Yangzhou first, and then come to me ..." Uncle stood up.

    Uncle asked his father to call his grandfather again. My grandfather's head and hands were shivering with weakness, and he looked very ugly. A tangled malaria had made him breathless so far. The table was filled with his account books, letterhead, and paper bags, just like the grave hill of paper barriers. It can be said that my grandfather was buried in this grave hill all day. My grandfather was the financial manager on the first floor of Yong'an Company at that time. At that time, he was good enough for a good position. Now my grandfather was leaning on the table, leaning on the eerie grave graves without a trace of anger, raised his trembling right hand, and pointed to the uncle:

    "You, what the hell are you going to do? With a prestigious university, you can't study hard, and you break up the couple. Are you doing this? Just rely on you scholars and want to be Li Ying and Chen Fan? In the old days, who can manage the affairs of the country? You just need to maintain your net worth! "These words are actually for your father.

Looking at the spit from his grandfather's mouth, his father couldn't stop his heartbeat and stood aside, daring not to make a little noise. My father has always been weak in front of my grandfather since he lost his job. Although his grandfather has never ridiculed his father, his father ’s face was gray and his lips were often closed. Even if he was eating, he hurriedly filled rice into his mouth Neither dare to fill a few more, nor dare to keep your mouth open.

As a result, my grandfather asked, "Did you find a job recently?"

Father couldn't answer, he had to close his lips tightly and look at the gray dusty wall. Only when he was forced out of date, he replied sadly: "I'll try again."

     The whole room suddenly looked like frozen gasoline, although it was not loud, but it would burn at any time.

The next day, it was not yet dawn, but it was about to dawn.

The father said to his mother: "I'm leaving too, maybe I won't be back for a long time ..."