CDJMM – Volume 1 – Chapter 28 Writing in the Republic Era (27)

To be honest, ever since arriving in Beiping, Le Jing hadn’t thought about the original body’s useless father and stepmother for a long time.

When he had first come to this world, he used to think that once he had grown strong enough, he would definitely take revenge. 

But now, that thought had long since faded.

Compared to the vast world slowly unfolding before his eyes, the original parents were nothing more than dust brushed aside—unworthy of leaving the slightest mark in his heart.

It wasn’t until he received a reader’s letter from Li Jingliang that he realized his “cheap younger brother” had also come to Beiping. From Li Jingran’s memories, he dug out what he knew about Li Jingliang: an arrogant, self-serving schemer, obsessed with fame and profit, ambitious yet adept at fawning before parents and elders—a two-faced hypocrite.

The naive Li Jingran had suffered plenty of silent losses at his hands, so naturally he hated him to the bone.

If Li Jingliang were to learn that the author he fawned over with excessive praise in his letter was actually the “useless older brother” he had always looked down upon, who knows how he would feel?

Li Jingliang’s letter, however, stirred no waves in Le Jing’s heart. As long as Li Jingliang didn’t provoke him, he couldn’t be bothered with the grudges between the original body and his family.

Right now, he had manuscripts to write and library work to do—he was far too busy. He had already taken a long sick leave this time; if not for the fact that he asked for very little monthly pay, the curator would have fired him long ago.

Besides, now that he had clarified his own aspirations and glimpsed how vast the world truly was, the original family grievances seemed nothing more than trivial scraps—not worth wasting energy on.

So, Le Jing quickly set Li Jingliang’s letter aside and returned to his daily routine of library work and writing.

The librarian’s job was easy for him—not only did it give him convenient access to references, but the quiet environment also helped him shape ideas for his stories.

Through his tireless effort at the writing desk, The Last Person Who Didn’t Take Drugs was finally completed.

By then, summer had already passed. The early autumn weather was still unbearably hot, with the lingering heat of the “autumn tiger” no less fierce than midsummer.

When Yang Jinglun came to collect the installment of Looking Down on Humans Through a Rat’s Eyes, Le Jing handed The Last Person Who Didn’t Take Drugs to him as well.

Yang Jinglun was in high spirits these days. After all, the relationship between an editor and an author was one of shared glory and shared loss.

With “The Watchman’s” series Looking Down on Humans Through a Rat’s Eyes and Memoirs of a Courtesan becoming sensational successes, his own standing as an editor had risen accordingly.

Though still not on par with the veteran editors, no one in the editorial department would ask him to fetch tea or run errands anymore.

He knew full well that his current status was all thanks to Mr. Li. Now, with Mr. Li even giving him a brand-new work, he was naturally overjoyed and could hardly wait to start reading.

Excerpt from The Last Person Who Didn’t Take Drugs

One

I haven’t left my house for ten days.
This is normal.
Because whenever I go out, I must be extremely careful.
The world has grown more and more confusing to me.
They want to harm me—I know it—because I am the last man who doesn’t smoke opium.

…

Four

Today, when I went out, I saw him again.
His face was sallow, and he was lying on the ground.
All around him was that poisonous smoke.
Holding his opium pipe, he greedily sucked it all into his stomach.
I don’t know if he can still be called a man—his gaping shirt revealed a chest that was nothing but a skeleton.
Although I was being extremely cautious, he still spotted me.

He cackled, drooling, raising the opium pipe at me: “Come… come, smoke!”
He wanted to harm me too!
I fled in terror.

…

Eight

Today, Father came looking for me. He wanted me to go home with him.
I was so terrified that I started trembling.
They had finally found me!
I shouted, “I’ll go back if you want, but I will not take opium!”
Father scolded me angrily: “What nonsense are you spouting! If you don’t smoke, you can’t pay the tax. If you don’t pay the tax, you’ll be breaking the law, and the police will arrest you!”
I froze for a moment, and only then noticed that Father’s face was tinged with a sickly greenish-yellow.
I finally realized—
Father was no longer my father.
He too had become one of those skeleton demons!
I turned around and ran.

 …

Ten

There’s no moon tonight. I lay in bed, unable to sleep. There are some things I must think through.
Ever since the British arrived, the world has gone more and more insane.
The other day, Old Wu actually pulled out all his crops and replanted the fields with opium poppies. When I asked him why, he said it was an order from those “above.”
But who are these people above? I never could figure it out.
So yesterday I went to ask Old Wu again, but he didn’t answer my question. Instead, he kept persuading me to plant opium too. “Planting this makes far more money than farming grain!” he said with a smile.
Why is it that planting opium is somehow more profitable than growing food? That only confused me more. I puzzled over it all night without understanding, and decided that tomorrow I would go ask Mr. Zhao. After all, Mr. Zhao is the most learned scholar in all the nearby villages!

 …

Eleven

Sure enough, Mr. Zhao knew the reason. But his words weren’t easy for me to grasp.
“‘Those above,’ of course, refers to the ones who govern us.”
“Because the British sell opium and take away all our money, we have to plant opium ourselves to take back what belongs to us.”
What Mr. Zhao said sounded quite reasonable, but I still wasn’t convinced.
“But opium is poison. It makes people addicted, turns them into walking skeletons. I even heard that some men can no longer be with women because of it.” I added, “And I haven’t seen anyone actually get rich from smoking opium. On the contrary, I’ve seen many who, after wasting all their money on it, ended up pawning off their ancestral homes, even their wives and children. If one day there’s a drought, and all the land is filled with nothing but opium, won’t people starve to death then?”

Mr. Zhao’s face turned bad, and he looked at me with a fierce look. I knew he saw it, because my face was white, different from his, and I was stronger than him and could sleep with women. He would definitely not tolerate me.
Sure enough, he rushed towards me, yelling that I was breaking the law and that he would report me to the police to have me arrested.
I pushed him down easily and ran out.

…

Thirteen

The police from the government office came today and said I had broken the law and wanted to lock me up.
It’s them! It’s the higher-ups! They’ve finally found me. But now there’s nothing I can do, I just have to accept my fate. But I’m not completely hopeless, because I’ve never been exposed to such poisons, so I’m healthier than them and will live longer. Once they’re all dead, I can get out.

…

Fifteen

I don’t know why the people at the government office released me so quickly, and Dad took me home. I have to say that this time Dad and Big Brother were very affectionate with me. I didn’t understand what they were thinking, so I could only emphasize to them: “I don’t do drugs!”

For some reason they all started laughing, and then my sister-in-law handed me a mirror. I looked down and saw a green and yellow face in the mirror!

The eldest brother hugged his father and said happily, “My little brother’s madness is finally going to be cured. From now on, he can be a normal person and go out and play with us and smoke with us.”

…

Seventeen

I decided to commit suicide.

After reading the entire article, Yang Jinglun was silent for a long time, feeling mixed emotions: sadness, indignation, fear, and admiration. The heavy emotions weighed on his heart, making him not know what to say.

This is a good article, there is no doubt about that.

But this is also a very unusual article. The issues it touches on are so sensitive, complex, and dangerous that they have been kept off-limits for so many years.

After a long silence, Yang Jinglun finally raised his head and mustered up the courage to meet the young man’s clear eyes: “Sir, this is a good article.”

Le Jing nodded and asked, “Can it be published?”

Yang Jinglun’s breath hitched, and he spoke with difficulty, “Sir, have you ever thought about the consequences of publishing this article in the newspaper?”

Le Jing smiled faintly, “I’ve thought about it. It’s just a few barking dogs in the woods, why bother?”

Yang Jinglun smiled bitterly and shook his head. “Sir, this matter is not as simple as you think. Their power is beyond your imagination. You might be banned or even arrested.”

Le Jing’s expression remained unchanged. “I just did what I believed was right, and I also have the courage to bear all the consequences. Their attacks and retaliation against me only made me more determined that I was right.”

Yang Jinglun stared at him and said, “Even if you will be insulted and slandered by countless scholars, and ostracized and hostile by the people you want to protect, thus leaving a bad reputation for eternity?”

Le Jing met Yang Jinglun’s sharp gaze openly, and for the first time, his smile was filled with the youthful vigor and fearlessness that befitted his age. “My merits and demerits will be judged by future generations. Even if I’m cursed after my death, I won’t regret my choice at this moment.”

After his failed guerrilla war in the Third World, Che Guevara, a central figure in the Cuban Revolution, told his fellow locals: “After I leave, they will give you a raise, build hospitals and schools. This is not because they have become better, but because I was here.”

It is precisely because of the unremitting efforts of generations of pioneers that the world will not slide completely into the abyss, and people can accidentally discover the footprints of stars in the dark night.

In the current of the times, Le Jing knew that his actions at this time were no better than trying to stop a chariot with a mantis arm, and would soon be crushed by the tide of the times. Le Jing did not think that he could change anything with just one or two articles.

He just wanted to tell the world through his articles that he had been here.

He just wanted to tell the people as much as possible through his articles who was the culprit causing famine and poverty!

Through his articles, he wanted to tell future students who would read history that in the long, dark night, there were people who tried to shine.

Yang Jinglun looked deeply at the young man in front of him. He was not yet seventeen years old, but he was braver and more fearless than many adults.

He knew that within the frail body of the young man before him resided the soul of a powerful warrior with a will of steel. Yang Jinglun had no idea what fate awaited him, but one thing he knew: when the wheels of time rolled over the young man’s body, he, like Don Quixote, bravely charged forward against his fate.

Perhaps he was infected by the boy’s bravery and passion, or perhaps it was because he still had some of his youthful innocence and ideals, Yang Jinglun felt that the blood that had been dormant in his body for a long time was burning, and he had never laughed so heartily!

“Alright, then I’ll risk my life for you!” Yang Jinglun waved his hand generously. “If the government wants to ban you, just change your pen name and start over. If the government wants to arrest you…” He raised his eyebrows and smiled nonchalantly, “Then I’ll buy you a boat ticket to a foreign country!”