Back to the 60s: The Struggle Career of a Charmed Wife

The cowshed had limited space for accommodation, so the two teachers from the big brigade and a few scholars from Huaibei City shared one large common sleeping area, while Wenyue and Mrs. Xu had a room to themselves. The remaining space was for Lu Jiang’s father and the elderly from the Capital to share a room.

Therefore, when Feng Qingxue sought advice from Wen Ruyu, all the elders from the Capital were present, except for Wenyue. Naturally, Lu Jiang’s father was also there, and Lu Jiang himself had come over with his daughter in tow to accompany his wife, making for a full gathering.

Hearing Wen Ruyu’s words, Huang Qinghong, who had been silent until now, raised her head and said softly, "It burned for a very long time!"

What followed was a heavy sigh from the elderly, their eyes brimming with tears.

"Isn’t it the same with our family? The books and paintings I’ve collected were all piled up in the yard and burned to ashes!" Jin Ruochu also spoke up, "They even pressed my head to the ground and asked if I was willing to submit. What else could I say but ’submit’? Submit, submit, submit to those bastards! Just the paintings I had collected weighed over two hundred pounds. If they had been confiscated by them, regardless of whether they were misappropriated or ended up in the waste station, at least there might have been a glimmer of hope that they would be preserved in this world. But they were all burned, completely incinerated!"

Zhu Ling sighed, "Who’s to say otherwise? But what can we do? We’re lucky to still be alive."

He and his wife, both translators and writers, had their collections of famous books from both home and abroad burned as well. Moreover, they had been subjected to insults and beatings and had almost been beaten to death. Had it not been for their good relationship with Wen Ruyu and Jin Ruochu, and with Cui Shaoyuan’s help getting them to this place quickly, they would have succumbed to the torment and taken their own lives long ago.

Jin Ruochu stamped his foot, "I just don’t understand, what does revolution have to do with the academic world? It came so suddenly, so fiercely, with no mental preparation at all, and just like that, it’s over. If only they’d given me some time to hide the books and paintings first!"

Huang Qinghong’s tears turned to laughter, "If there had been time, you think you would be the only one? I would have done the same. Such a pity!"