This old friend’s surname was Zhong, and his given name was Zhong Shi. He was a student studying abroad, and also a national capitalist. Now, in addition to depending on his elderly wife, only a few old friends such as Mr. Xu and Mrs. Xu were willing to interact with him.
Seeing him come forward, Mrs. Xu said, "Old Zhong, don’t you have enough food at home?"
At this, Zhong Shi hesitated briefly but then replied, "No."
"No? Then what are you doing here in this icy weather? Aren’t you afraid it will freeze your old legs?" At the time when Zhong Shi and his wife were first criticized and denounced, they had suffered a great deal. To protect his wife, Zhong Shi had been beaten many times and had sustained quite a few injuries. Mrs. Xu was fully aware of this. Not long ago, when Feng Qingxue came to send a letter and some things to Lu Jiang, she even asked Feng Qingxue for two bottles of medicinal oil that Feng Qingxue had prepared for Lu Jiang.
Smiling faintly, Zhong Shi glanced at the open door.
Mrs. Xu said, "Don’t bother, with this weather, everyone is freezing. There aren’t many out loitering."
Zhong Shi nodded and took a sip of his hot water.
"Old Zhong, what brings you here? If there is something on your mind, just tell us." Mr. Xu sighed, no matter how brilliant their pasts were, none of it could withstand even a single policy change from above. Was it unfair? Of course it was, for who does not feel wronged?
If they had committed grave offenses, they would have accepted their fate. However, they were all innocent!
But because they were capitalists and intellectuals, they now faced much discrimination and were often criticized and denounced.
Zhong Shi said softly, "I came to bid you farewell."
Mr. Xu and Mrs. Xu looked at each other, asking in unison, "Where are you going?"
Zhong Shi corrected them, "Not just me, but Awan and me." Awan was his wife, with whom he had spent over thirty years.
"So, where are you going? Have you found a way out?"
Upon hearing Mr. Xu’s question, Zhong Shi revealed a hint of a smile free of worry. "Yes, we’ve found a way. Awan and I have obtained our paperwork to go abroad. We’ll set off for Shanghai tomorrow morning, then head on to Hong Kong from there."
Mr. Xu asked in surprise, "You managed to get it done? You have been abroad before."
He was lucky to have not been suspected of being a spy all these years.
"I am going under the pretext of lecturing in Hong Kong. Two of my classmates have been teaching in Hong Kong all along. When they found out about my predicament, they worried for my safety and feared I might even lose my life in the future. After much effort, they managed to get me an official invitation to lecture in Hong Kong. It was only after I received this invitation that Awan and I were able to sort out our overseas documents."
Mr. Xu breathed a sigh of relief. "If you can leave, then leave. Don’t return until everything has calmed down."
"I know, Awan and I are thinking the same. However, I’m only telling you two this. I did not dare to disclose this matter to our other two friends nor do I intend to bid them farewell. Could you tell them for us instead? The more people know about this, the riskier it becomes. I’m worried something might happen."
In reality, Zhong Shi was in a more difficult situation than Mr. Xu. While Mr. Xu was merely a "class enemy", Zhong Shi had been labeled a revisionist years ago. Moreover, because his field of study abroad was related to mechanical manufacturing, he attracted quite a lot of attention which made things even more difficult for him.
Mr. Xu and Mrs. Xu understood this perfectly. "Be careful not to let anything slip through your actions or words. Be extremely careful."
Zhong Shi nodded, "I understand, even when I go abroad to Hong Kong, there will definitely be people following me. Once we get there, Awan and I will change our identities. You mustn’t fail to recognize us if our names and identities are different when we meet again!"