Literary Master 1983

Chapter 163: Han people all speak Hu language

As he was about to climb to the top floor, Yu Qie finally had time to explain to everyone what he saw and thought:

"In Kowloon Walled City, a strange order has been formed. Residents have lived and grown up here for generations. They have their own social network. Most of their close friends and neighbors are in this small place, so they don't want to go out... It's like some people who have been in prison for a long time and can never get out. They are afraid to go out."

"It was a wonderful adventure for us, but it was a lifetime for the people inside."

He asked these people: "I saw a news report when I came to Hong Kong. It said that a few years ago, the government expressed its intention to demolish this place, but it was widely opposed by residents. Now I want to test you. Do you think that this opposition mainly comes from the real public opinion or is it fueled by vested interests?"

This is really exciting.

Sirindhorn was the first to answer. She was crowned the Crown Princess by the King of Thailand and could keep pace with her brothers in all aspects.

Historically, the Thai king's lineage has not been prosperous, so Sirindhorn actually became a backup candidate. If her brother cannot give birth to a child, it is possible that Sirindhorn's child will become the King of Thailand, and Sirindhorn will become an uncrowned female king.

However, on the contrary, in Yu Qie's impression, Sirindhorn remained unmarried throughout her life and even showed signs of mental disorder in her later years.

This turned Sirindhorn from "the most beautiful girl in the Thai royal family" into an unkempt crazy woman.

Sirindhorn said: "I think it must be related to the triads, because apart from Kowloon Walled City, there is no other place in Hong Kong that is so suitable for hiding filth."

Yu Qie did not deny her answer, but asked others: "What do you think?"

The two bodyguards who had protected him earlier gave their answers. One said, "The residents are oppressed," and the other said, "The residents may miss the life here."

But Yu Qie asked him: "Pick only one main factor, is it that the residents don't want to leave, or that the triads want to stay here."

The answer he gave became the Triad.

Obviously, people who have not experienced it are always unwilling to believe that people can be so nostalgic for the previous order. The reason why Yu Qi could ask this question with such confidence is that he has watched some documentaries and information about the later demolition of Kowloon Walled City.

Surprisingly, the triads had been persuaded, but the real obstacles were the ordinary people living in the "dirty place". They seemed to have been ignited with the spark of opposition and expressed their belief in coexistence and death with Kowloon Walled City.

The British Hong Kong government provided good compensation for the demolition and dispatched demolition machines several times. Dozens of tons of iron balls were standing next to the dangerous buildings, ready to hit them at any time, but the residents did not move at all.

Yu Qie still did not give an answer, but said: "Let's ask the locals what they think about this question."

There are countless satellite antennas pointing to the sky in Kowloon Walled City, like slender tombstones standing upright. The rooftops under these antennas are connected into one piece, or of varying heights, allowing people to walk from one side to the other at any time.

On the top floor, where Yu Qie and his friends were, there happened to be a pirated bookstore. A bunch of kids gathered there reading books. They didn't pay for the books, nor did they buy them. The bookstore owner was very annoyed and had to drive these kids away every few minutes.

The children would pretend to buy a book, return the original book to the owner, and then turn to the next book to read for a few minutes. In this way, they read the text voraciously.

This reminded Yu Qie of the poem “A Secret Book Reading” written by the writer Lin Haiyin: “Remember, you grew up by eating, and you also grew up by reading!”

Yu Qie walked around for a while and found that his novels were not available, which was a bit disappointing. Of course, how could a children's bookstore have his books? They didn't even think about pirated copies. He paid for a few books suitable for children, including "Three Character Classic", "Three Hundred Tang Poems" and "Selected Chinese Poems", and distributed them to the children, but he also made his request:
“If the Kowloon Walled City is demolished, do you want to live outside?”

"After you answer these questions, I will give you the book."

The children asked curiously, "What is Kowloon Walled City?"

Got it!
He is so innocent that he doesn't even know where he lives.

"Kowloon Walled City is where you live!"

The children suddenly flashed confused looks, which soon turned into resistance. They didn't want to go out. They were born and raised here. This place is only two kilometers away from Victoria Harbor. From the high enough rooftop of the dilapidated building, you can see the yachts of the top ten richest people in Hong Kong parked there all year round, as well as the commercial buildings of international financial institutions. The lights are so bright at night that the starry sky is eclipsed.

The Hong Kong Airport is not far from the Kowloon Walled City, so close that the Hong Kong Airport is one of the "most dangerous" airports in the world. After the pilot finishes taxiing, he must pull up the plane as quickly as possible, otherwise he will crash into the increasingly tall concrete buildings of the Kowloon Walled City.

While Yu Qie and the others were talking, a plane was flying over the airport. The huge roar of the engine made the whole building tremble, but those who needed to play cards continued to play cards, and those who needed to get a haircut continued to get a haircut. Everyone was already used to it.

So these kids don’t envy those places, their answer is “I don’t want to go outside.”

The adults all had serious expressions on their faces. If the children who were most likely to complain were like this, why would the old men and women want to leave?
Yu Qie bought another copy of Selected Chinese Poems and Lyrics, and turned to the part with the parallel prose Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng, which reads, “Yuzhang is the old county, Hongdu is the new capital. The stars are divided into Yi and Zhen, and the land is connected to Heng and Lu… Who has heard of this article?”

The children all shook their heads.

"You don't even know about "The Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng"? What does your textbook teach?"

The children immediately clapped their hands and sang: "God bless the Queen, may she live forever, God bless the Queen! May she always be victorious and glorious; may she be trusted and happy; may she rule the country and have a long reign; God bless the Queen!"

Yu Qie clenched his fist, loosened it, clenched it again, and finally loosened it again. This is really a Han child speaking the language of a Hu child.

"I'll give you this book as well, but you have to listen to me read and explain the contents to you. Come, to the rooftop. There's nothing blocking the view over there. You can look toward the north."

Another plane took off from the airport. Its huge belly seemed to be able to brush past Yu Qie's head. The plane drew a beautiful arc. Under this plane, between countless antennas, in addition to these children, there were many residents who came to watch the excitement.

A highly educated member of the Triad who was proficient in several foreign languages ​​was also present. He already knew that Yu Qie was a famous writer from the mainland, and that the woman was even more terrifying, as she was a royal princess from Thailand. Such a deity must not be offended.

Just send them away.

Now it seems that the princess was dragged here by the writer, mainly because the writer wanted to "explore". After the Kowloon Walled City was exposed, reporters and foreign explorers often came to pay homage to the holy land and wrote articles about it.

But nothing they wrote could change Kowloon Walled City.

It is even more impossible for this writer to read a few words to children.

(End of this chapter)