Sharpening the Blade Against the Red Wall: From Hong Kong to Handong

In the autumn of 1977, the wind in Kyoto carried the dry scent of ginkgo leaves, blowing across the bluestone streets and into the alleys of the southern part of the city.

Five-year-old Zhou Jin, carrying a faded canvas backpack, walked at the front, his steps steady beyond that of a child. Behind him followed his ten-year-old cousin, Su Mingzhe, whose upright figure already showed the beginnings of a young soldier—he was the son of his maternal uncle, Su Weidong, and had grown up in a military compound. His maternal grandfather, Su Tian (commander of the Kyoto Military Region), often personally taught him combat, making him far more skilled than his peers. At the very back was three-year-old Chen Panpan, with two pigtails, her little hands tightly clutching Zhou Jin's clothes like a clingy little tail.

As arranged by their grandfather Zhou Jianguo, Zhou Jin and Su Mingzhe did not attend the special school for children of cadres, but instead went to a regular primary school in a mixed neighborhood; Chen Panpan was too young, so she was sent to the Yuhong Class (a major form of preschool education in the 70s, similar to kindergarten) next to the school. The old man's original words were: "Those with good family backgrounds should understand the hardships of ordinary people. Only by growing up with ordinary children can they know what ordinary people want."

Zhou Jin understood his grandfather's intentions and was happy to keep a low profile. However, his photographic memory and composure far beyond his peers made him a "special case" in the first grade—he ranked first in the class in the placement test, could always answer the teacher's questions fluently, and could even explain the solution to difficult problems from higher grades with just a glance.

The reputation of the "child prodigy" quietly spread, attracting many envious people, but also quite a few jealous ones.

Zhao Lei, a student in the class, was one of them. His father was a propaganda official in the district, and relying on his family's small amount of power, he acted like a tyrant at school, and no one dared to mess with him. Seeing that Zhou Jin was more popular than him and was always praised by the teachers, Zhao Lei's jealousy had long been burning fiercely.

That day after school, the setting sun cast long shadows. Zhou Jin had just come out of the elementary school when she saw Su Mingzhe waiting at the entrance of the preschool class. Chen Panpan had already run out with her little schoolbag and rushed to his side. Just as the three of them were about to head home, they were blocked at the alley entrance by Zhao Lei and two of his followers.

"Zhou Jin, stop right there!" Zhao Lei stood with his hands on his hips, his triangular eyes slanted sideways, and said arrogantly, "You think you're so capable? Just because you can solve some simple problems, you think you can be the boss?"

Chen Panpan shrank back behind Zhou Jin in fright, her face pale, her little hands gripping Zhou Jin's pants tightly. Su Mingzhe stepped forward, shielding the two behind him, his brows furrowed: "Zhao Lei, we didn't do anything to you, don't block our way."

"Didn't provoke me?" Zhao Lei sneered, reaching out to shove Su Mingzhe. "Around this school, only I'm in charge! Why is Zhou Jin surrounded by everyone? Today I'll show him who's in charge!"

The two henchmen joined in the commotion: "Make him kneel down and admit his mistake! Otherwise, he's not leaving!"

Zhou Jin stopped Su Mingzhe from making a move, his eyes calm yet carrying a hint of coldness. In his previous life, he had witnessed the deceit and treachery of the international financial market, and dealing with a small fry like Zhao Lei who bullied others was not worth his time. But he was a child of a powerful family, and the blood in his bones would not allow him to back down, nor would he allow anyone to bully those he protected.

"If you want to be the boss, you have to have real skills." Zhou Jin's voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly to everyone's ears. "How do you want to compete?"

Zhao Lei was taken aback when this kid, two years younger than him, dared to accept the challenge. He paused for a moment, then arrogantly declared, "Let's fight! Whoever wins is the boss! If you're too scared, crawl between my legs!"

Su Mingzhe immediately said, "Jin'er, you take Panpan and step back, I'll fight him!" He grew up in a military compound, where his father, Su Weidong, personally taught him fighting skills, and his grandfather, Su Tian, ​​often took him to the shooting range to hone his courage. Dealing with someone like Zhao Lei, who was a self-taught fighter, was no problem at all.

Zhou Jin nodded, pulled Chen Panpan back two steps, and whispered, "Don't be afraid, Brother Mingzhe is very capable."

Chen Panpan pursed her lips and nodded, but still held Zhou Jin's hand tightly.

"Okay." Su Mingzhe cracked his knuckles, his eyes sharp as an eagle's. "But let's make it clear, no dirty tricks allowed. The loser has to apologize to Panpan and is not allowed to bully anyone again."

Zhao Lei assumed Su Mingzhe was just an ordinary fourth-grade student and didn't take him seriously at all, patting his chest and promising, "No problem! I admit defeat!"

Before he could finish speaking, Zhao Lei charged forward, swinging his fist at Su Mingzhe's face. Su Mingzhe easily dodged to the side, grabbed Zhao Lei's wrist, and gently twisted it using Zhao Lei's own strength. "Ouch!" Zhao Lei cried out in pain, his arm aching from the twist, and his body involuntarily bent over.

"You cheated!" Zhao Lei shouted, struggling.

"Fighting is about technique, not brute force," Su Mingzhe said calmly, but his grip remained firm. "Do you submit?"

Zhao Lei, stubborn by nature, gritted his teeth and refused to admit defeat, still trying to launch a sneak attack with his other hand. Su Mingzhe's eyes flashed, and with a sweep of his foot, Zhao Lei lost his balance and fell to the ground with a "thud," landing face-first in the mud, his face covered in dust.

The two henchmen were too frightened to step forward and stood trembling to the side.

Chen Panpan peeked out from behind Zhou Jin and whispered, "Brother Mingzhe is so amazing!"

Zhao Lei lay on the ground, his face flushed red, filled with shame and anger, tears welling up in his eyes, but he forced them back down.

Su Mingzhe stepped forward, looking down at him condescendingly: "Are you convinced now?"

Zhao Lei stubbornly tried to argue, but Zhou Jin's gaze swept over him—there was no malice in her eyes, but a kind of authority beyond her years that made him inexplicably afraid.

"I...I give up," Zhao Lei said softly.

"Apologize," Zhou Jin said calmly, her gaze falling on Chen Panpan's pale face.

Zhao Lei looked at Chen Panpan and stammered, "I...I'm sorry."

"Anything else?" Su Mingzhe added, "You're not allowed to bully your classmates anymore, and you're not allowed to cause trouble for us."

"I understand," Zhao Lei said, then got up and was about to run away.

"Wait a minute," Zhou Jin called out to him.

Zhao Lei stopped and turned to look at Zhou Jin, his eyes full of vigilance.

Zhou Jin looked at him, her tone calm yet carrying an undeniable force: "Zhao Lei, your father is a cadre; he should have taught you to unite with your classmates and respect others. I can pretend today's incident never happened, but if you dare to bully others again, don't blame us for being impolite."

He paused, then pointed to the area enclosed by a high wall not far away, lowering his voice slightly: "Do you know who lives in that compound not far away?"

Zhao Lei paused for a moment, then shook his head. He only knew that the compound was heavily guarded and no one dared to approach it normally, but he didn't know who lived inside.

Su Mingzhe picked up the conversation, a hint of barely perceptible pride in his voice: "That's where my grandfather, Su Tian, ​​lived. He was the commander of the Kyoto Military Region." He then pointed to Zhou Jin, "His grandfather was Zhou Jianguo, who worked in the State Council. Our family has never told anyone about this because our grandfathers taught us to be humble and down-to-earth."

"But being low-key doesn't mean we're easy to bully." Zhou Jin's eyes turned cold. "We don't cause trouble, but we're absolutely not afraid of trouble either. If you dare to cause trouble for us or other classmates again, we won't even need to lift a finger; someone will teach you a lesson."

Zhao Lei turned pale with fright, and his body began to tremble. Although he was young, he knew what the words "commander" and "state administration" meant. His father was just a minor official in the district, and compared to these people, he was insignificant.

"I...I'll never do it again," Zhao Lei stammered. After saying that, he took his two followers and ran away without looking back, looking extremely disheveled as he scrambled to his feet.

Watching their retreating figures, Chen Panpan breathed a sigh of relief and patted her chest, saying, "Brother Jin, Brother Mingzhe, you scared me to death just now."

Su Mingzhe patted her head and said with a smile, "Don't be afraid, we're here, no one can bully you."

Zhou Jin smiled and took Chen Panpan's hand: "Let's go home. Grandma will definitely have a meal ready for us."

On the way, Su Mingzhe asked, somewhat puzzled, "Jin'er, why didn't you just reveal your identity? That way, he wouldn't have dared to bully us in the first place."

Zhou Jin shook her head: "Grandpa said that one should be low-key and not flaunt one's family status. Today, he started the trouble, and we were just protecting ourselves. If we had revealed our identities from the beginning, we would have been at a disadvantage and would have gone against Grandpa's original intention of sending us to this school."

Su Mingzhe suddenly realized: "You're overthinking it. But what you said at the end was really powerful; it almost scared him to tears."

Zhou Jin smiled but remained silent. He knew that in this particular era, his family background was his source of confidence, but not his sole reliance. What truly allowed him to stand firm was his own ability and character.

Back at the Zhou family's old house, Zhou Jin told her grandfather, Zhou Jianguo, what had happened.

After listening, Zhou Jianguo did not criticize them. Instead, he nodded and said, "Well done. One should have backbone and not let others bully you, but one should not abuse one's power either. Today you protected yourselves and your classmates without abusing your family status. You handled things very well."

He paused, then added, "Jin'er, you must remember that children of the Zhou family must be responsible, have backbone, and, most importantly, know their limits. In the future, when you encounter situations like this, you should try to reason with them first. If the other party is truly unreasonable, then it's not too late to take action. But when you do take action, there must be a bottom line. You cannot take lives, and you cannot do anything illegal or disorderly."

Zhou Jin nodded emphatically: "Grandpa, I understand."

"And Mingzhe," Zhou Jianguo said, looking at Su Mingzhe, "You're the older brother, so you need to take good care of your younger siblings. You need to stay calm and not act impulsively. You acted very prudently today and didn't hurt anyone. You did a good job."

Su Mingzhe nodded quickly, "Thank you for the compliment, Grandpa. I will be more calm in the future."

During dinner, Su Qinghe, the mother, heard about the incident and said with some concern, "Jin'er, Mingzhe, in the future, if you encounter something like this, try not to fight with people. What if you get hurt?"

Zhou Chengbang put down his chopsticks and said, "Qinghe, boys are boys, they always have some backbone. As long as they know their limits, don't cause trouble, and aren't afraid of trouble, there's nothing to worry about. Our Zhou family's children can't be cowardly spineless cowards."

Su Qinghe sighed and fell silent. She knew her husband was right, and she also knew that her son and nephew were both principled children.

That evening, Zhou Jin sat at his desk, using the light of the desk lamp to peruse the "Zizhi Tongjian" that his grandfather had found for him. Although he had read much of the book in his previous life, rereading it and considering the context of this era gave him new insights.

He knew that his special identity meant he couldn't grow up carefree like ordinary children. He not only had to protect himself and those around him, but also had to study hard, accumulate knowledge, and lay a solid foundation for his future development.

In his past life, he carved out a niche for himself in the financial world through his own efforts, but he was unable to witness the rise of his motherland. In this life, he has better opportunities and stronger backing, and he is determined to seize this opportunity to contribute his strength to the country's development.

"Knock knock knock." A knocking sound rang out on the door.

"Jin'er, it's time to sleep." It was her mother Su Qinghe's voice.

"Okay, Mom." Zhou Jin closed her book and walked to the bedside.

Lying in bed, Zhou Jin closed his eyes, the scene in the alley earlier that day flashing through his mind. He knew this was just a small episode in his life, and that he would face many more challenges and difficulties in the future. But he was fearless, because he had a loving family, brothers who fought alongside him, childhood sweethearts, and above all, a heart set on serving his country.

Moonlight streamed through the window, illuminating Zhou Jin's face and reflecting the resolute light in his eyes. He was like a seed gathering strength, silently growing under the nourishment of the red soil, waiting for the day he would break through the earth and grow into a towering tree.

And he knew that day was not far off.