Liberate yourself Chapter 40

1

My elder brother and I live in the three-story loft in the Shikumen, which is the world I remember. This small loft, which can only fit a double bed and a small writing desk, has left me with an unforgettable experience. Later, this small loft was actually a new house that my big brother and I used. After the big elder brother transformed and built this small loft, it became my little sister's new house. The story of the small loft is both bitter and memorable.

In addition to a door less than one meter high, the small loft is dark. To this end, my brother opened a tiger skylight. Tiger skylight, in Shanghai colloquial, refers to a skylight opened on the roof, also commonly known as tiger skylight.

Why is this kind of window called "tiger window"?

It turned out that after the opening of Shanghai, many British people came to live in Shanghai, and they also brought British-style buildings. The British climate in Northern Europe is cold and snowy. In order to avoid the pressure of the snow on the buildings, most of their houses are of high slope and spire style. In order to increase the lighting and ventilation, many roof windows are opened on the roof. The English roof is "R00f", and its sound is close to the Shanghai language "tiger", so this kind of window opened on the roof is read as "tiger window" by Pidgin English.

After the 1920s, with the intensification of housing difficulties in Shanghai, the Shanghai people took advantage of the high space on the second floor of the Shikumen residence and the characteristic of pitched roofs to build an attic between the second floor and the roof. Lighting and ventilation also open windows on the roof, so this kind of window is also called "tiger window". Therefore, now "tiger windows" generally refer to roof windows in Shikumen residences in Shanghai.

Since the big brother opened this tiger window, the small loft is much brighter. In order to increase the light source, Big Brother opened a small window on the north wall of the stairway.

2

I lived in a small attic and it was very cold in winter. Big Brother likes to raise tropical fish, so he made a big fish tank himself, and placed charcoal-burning heating equipment under the fish tank. He will take care of those tropical fish every day. Under the influence of Big Brother, I still like fish farming, but it is almost a kind of killing. Tropical fish and goldfish have almost no chance of survival in my hands. Only small turtles that do not need careful care can survive on their own viability.

I have loved collecting stamps since I was a child. It was influenced by my father and my aunt. I have many stamps. But after three hardships, my mother gave all my stamps to my neighbors when I went to the countryside.

I also collect cigarette brands and cigarette shells. Cigarette shells are actually the outer packaging of cigarettes.

Candy paper was also a collection of children at that time. I have a lot of candy paper, including candy paper printed on cellophane. The most valuable confectionery paper at that time was the wrapping paper for Big White Rabbit Toffee. The predecessor of Big White Rabbit Toffee can be traced back to 1943. That year, the owner of Shanghai Apixi Candy Factory tasted British milk candy and was full of praise. So he had the idea of ​​imitation. After six months of hard work, he produced his own brand of domestic toffee. The original candy paper pattern was red Mickey Mouse, so it was also called "ABC Mickey Mouse Candy". I collected this candy paper. At that time, "ABC Mickey Mouse Candy" was cheaper than imported candy, so it was very popular. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the owner's confectionery company was nationalized and renamed "Shanghai Aimin Candy Factory." It can be said that no one in Shanghai at that time had eaten the candy produced by this factory.

When I was ten years old, "Mickey Mouse Candy Paper" was gone, saying that using Mickey Mouse as a trademark was a fascination for foreigners and propaganda for American imperialism. In order to greet the 10th anniversary of the National Day, Mickey Mouse candy paper was redesigned and changed to the big white rabbit. Since then, the big white rabbit toffee, fragrant floating at home and abroad.

Interestingly, the Chinese are very political. During the Cultural Revolution, red and white were opposite colors. "Big white rabbit", that represents white terror, we need red, red represents revolution, and represents the era of fiery red, we want to promote "red terror", and even someone published an article "Long live the red terror". So, in order to draw a line with the bourgeoisie, the big white rabbit became a big red rabbit. The "Big Red Rabbit" toffee of the "Cultural Revolution" was born, and the "Big White Rabbit" representing surrenderism, like all bull ghosts and snakes, was defeated. However, this big white rabbit revolution is not complete. Although the manufacturer used red as the main color of the new candy paper and replaced the original quiet and cute white lying rabbit with the cheering red standing rabbit, the manufacturer worried that the "big red rabbit" was mistaken for a new breed, and it was still added to the sugar paper. Printed the familiar "big white rabbit" pattern.

This small loft also left memories of the change of the old candy paper thin.

3

I have to climb a small wooden ladder every time I go in and out of the attic, and there are five steps in total. But at the bottom of the steps there is always a small old bamboo basket with old newspapers and magazines. The owner of the East House, converted from a balcony, is the owner of these old newspapers. The new leader ordered a "Xinmin Evening News", a "Reference News" and a "Branch Life" magazine. I don’t know what this family does, but I know that these newspapers are confidential, and others can’t touch them or read them.

The more this is, the more curious I am. When the owner is not at home, I will always peek at these newspapers, of course I can't understand anything. But I was hooked on the cartoons in the newspapers, including political cartoons, current affairs cartoons and life cartoons. I began to cut out comics from newspapers and magazines secretly and made my own small newspaper clippings. As a result, I fell in love with the creation of comics, and until today, my interest has not diminished. The habit of reading newspapers and periodicals may have begun at this time.

This hostess treated me very well, she supported me cutting newspapers, and told me, know

You have to accumulate more and more knowledge and be happy with life. There is a comedy show every day in my house near the intersection of Yan'an. The hostess is a fan. Every time she plays a new play, she always wants to watch it. Sometimes, she saw half of it, and suddenly ran home and gave me the ticket: "Go and watch the show, and half of it hasn't finished yet." I don't know where she went all night. Give me the ticket and don’t let the money go to waste Under her influence, I have watched many Shanghai comics, such as "72 House Tenants" and "Three Sons-in-law". My sense of humor may also be related to her early guidance to me. It's a pity that this tenant came and went in a hurry, and moved away shortly after staying, and nowhere to be seen again.

4

Big Brother doesn't like to watch dramas, but likes to watch movies. He is an absolutely authentic movie fan. He has to watch all the newly-released movies, and he has developed a habit of collecting movie manuals. The movie manuals he collected can be bound into a book.

Big Brother also took me to the movies. I remember that under his leadership, I went to the first-class Daguangming Cinema in Shanghai. The movies I watched were "Tao Li Jie", "Song of Midnight" and "Two Acres". What impressed me most were the cartoons "Proud General", "The Fat Sister-in-law Goes Back To His Mother's House", and "Troublemaker". Children's movies mainly consist of Xiao Muke and Hei Xiao, and the title of the film is forgotten.

Big Brother and his elementary school female classmates are very good, can also be said to be the first girlfriend. But because the woman's parents thought my family was poor, Big Brother fell in love. Big Brother has a second target, and the result is that the parents of the female party hindered and failed to form a good relationship. However, I know that they have always been in contact with each other, and maybe fate has decided everything about Big Brother.

Big Brother once took me to watch a documentary, that is the story of Gagarin of the Soviet Union flying into space.

In October 1959, the selection of the first astronaut in the former Soviet Union began throughout the Soviet Union. Gagarin stood out from more than 3,400 air force pilots under the age of 35, became one of 20 candidates, and was sent to Moscow in March 1960 to begin training at the former Soviet astronaut training center. During the training, Gagarin became the first astronaut in the former Soviet Union with his firm belief, excellent physique, optimism and extraordinary wit. In 1960, Gagarin joined the Communist Party.

At 9:07 am on April 12, 1961, Moscow time, Gagarin set sail from the Baikonur launch site in the Orient 1 spacecraft, orbiting the earth in a circle with a maximum altitude of 301 kilometers, which lasted 1 hour and 48 hours. Minutes, return safely at 10.55 am, land in the village of Smelovka in Saratov region, completed the world’s first manned space flight, and fulfilled the desire of human beings to enter space. The Orient 1 spacecraft he piloted became the world's first manned spacecraft to enter outer space. During his 108-minute flight, Gagarin was promoted from captain to major.

After Gagarin completed an unprecedented space flight, the world paid tribute to him. Moscow welcomed the triumphant space hero with an extremely grand ceremony: the salute was roaring, the jubilant crowd was shouting, and the luxurious escort team was for Gagarin. Coronation of national medals of all sizes. After this historic flight, Gagarin was awarded the Lenin Medal and was awarded the title of "Soviet Hero" and "Soviet Astronaut", and has traveled abroad many times, visited 27 countries, and 22 cities awarded him the title of honorary citizen .

Gagarin's deeds also inspired all Chinese. Gagarin has become an aerospace hero in my childhood. I have a big dream: I can't fly into the blue sky, nor can I lie on the ground. As a man, I have to be a person who dares to stand up to the ground and dare to challenge the limits.

5

Big Brother didn't think as much as I thought, he just stepped in step by step, moving forward cautiously. Recently, he seems to have something in mind, and finally told me under the tiger window in that small attic: "I'm going to see my dad recently."

Really? Is my father still in Anhui?

Big Brother is going to see his father, I am very excited and excited. I have my own father, he is still alive.

The eldest brother told me that my uncle, that is, his father's younger brother, sent a letter. The letter stated that his father was working in a brick kiln factory on the outskirts of Hefei, Anhui, and his leg broke.

At that time, with the help of Big Brother, my mother found a job and worked as a mason's helper in the house management office of the same unit of my Big Brother, that is, carrying a mud bucket. At that time, cement was needed to repair the house. Mother shoved the cement into the bucket with a spade and sent it to the plasterer. Not only did her mother carry heavy buckets of cement on the flat ground, but sometimes she had to climb to the roof to transport the bucket.

Big Brother told me that my mother scolded you a few words, you can't worry about it, you must know that the mother has paid a lot for this family.

Big Brother taught me that my mother often resented her father, but why didn't she remarry after divorce? She still cares about her father. His mother had decided to let him visit his father. He had planned to go long ago, but the unit had a lot of work, and the leader was allowed to leave today.

Uncle's letter provides the address of his father's Anhui Hefei Brick Kiln Factory. With the consent of his mother, Big Brother decided to visit his father in Anhui.

That night, Big Brother and I climbed from the small attic's tiger window to the roof. We sat on the roof ridge. We didn't have stars for days, because the sky after the storm was dark. Occasionally I heard wild cats yelling in the distance, which was terrifying. Big Brother grabbed my little hand and said, don't be afraid, the cat won't eat people.

But somehow, I always think cats will eat people. People will praise cats for eating mice, cats are for the people to eliminate harm. In fact, cats will also eat humans, more fiercely than mice, otherwise, how can cats become masters of tigers?