(The Woman Who Told History – No. 1668)
Because Zhou Enlai's condition became more and more serious, he had to be admitted to the 305 Hospital for treatment. Therefore, Chairman Mao Zedong consulted with Zhou Enlai in order to reassure Zhou Enlai and finally decided that Deng Xiaoping would come out to preside over the relevant meetings and the daily work of the Central Committee. They were full of expectations for Deng Xiaoping, and Mao Zedong said to Deng Xiaoping:
"You're going to get the job done!"
Of course, Deng Xiaoping cherished the opportunity and immediately expressed his position to the chairman:
"In this regard, I am determined."
It was the year Deng Xiaoping came out to work— 1975. From May 12 to 17 of that year, at the invitation of the French government, Deng Xiaoping led a delegation from the Chinese government to pay a state visit to France.
French President Destin held a grand banquet to welcome Deng Xiaoping and his entourage, and in his welcome speech, French President Destin said:
"I hope your trip to France will evoke memories of France."
This sentence is critical and important. Because, as French President Déstan said, France did have a very important significance in Deng Xiaoping's life, or a very memorable memory — because Deng Xiaoping studied in France in his early years for five or six years.
It was also during these five or six years of studying in France that Deng Xiaoping grew from a 16-year-old innocent teenager to a mature 21-year-old youth, from a passionate patriotic youth to a communist with a firm heart, and it was here that he and Zhou Enlai met and established a very strong and beautiful revolutionary friendship.
Deng Xiaoping went to two places during his visit to France:
The first place is a street on the edge of place d'Italie in Paris called Rue De Godefroix.
Why did Deng Xiaoping come to this street, because this street has the most special memories for him. He came to this street, asked the staff to help buy a cup of coffee in a very ordinary small coffee shop, and while drinking it, he recalled the old events to the curious staff around him - he said: The upper floor of this ordinary small coffee shop is the location of the party organization during our stay in Europe!
Deng Xiaoping arrived in France in 1920 and began to study and work in France. In the summer of 1922, Deng Xiaoping joined the Young Communist Party of China in Europe in France, and the name was later changed to the Chinese Communist Youth League in Europe. In 1923, Deng Xiaoping officially began professional revolutionary activities in a foreign country. Later, this important European party group founded a publication called "Red Light", which is a semi-monthly magazine with 12 pages. With the direct help and impetus of Zhou Enlai and other Communists, Deng Xiaoping entered the editorial office of Chiguang, and initially he was mainly responsible for the printing and engraving of the magazine.
At that time, like the young Communists in Europe, everyone was very hard working, and they had to carry out revolutionary activities while working. Deng Xiaoping was no exception, he worked during the day, and at night he went to the editorial office of "Red Light", and Zhou Enlai would hand over the manuscripts that had been reviewed to Deng Xiaoping, who would engrave the manuscripts on wax paper, and then use the relatively rudimentary printing press at that time to print out the manuscripts and bind them, so that the magazine would be baked.
But in reality, their work is very hard, at least not in time. In particular, Zhou Enlai had many visitors and activities, so after dealing with these matters, he often sat down at his desk to write articles or revise the final draft, often very late. But for the sake of revolutionary ideals, in order for the magazine to be published as scheduled, Zhou Enlai stayed up late to rush to the manuscript, while Deng Xiaoping waited on the side, Zhou Enlai finished a piece, he carved one, the two often worked overnight, and when it was finished, it was often daylight, the two were very tired, so they had to make a bunk in the narrow space of the editorial department to sleep.
Because of Deng Xiaoping's conscientious work, he left an extremely deep impression on the Communists in Europe at that time, and it was not until a few decades later that Zhou Enlai and others could clearly recall: "Comrade Deng Xiaoping was responsible for the editing and publishing of "Red Light" ... His writing is neat and beautiful, and the printing is clear. Because of this, at that time, everyone also gave Deng Xiaoping a nickname, called "Mimeograph Doctor"!
Deng Xiaoping recalled the past of that year, quite emotional, and told the staff around him that we lived here while working and carrying out revolutionary activities, often going to this coffee shop downstairs to drink coffee.
The second place Deng Xiaoping visited during his visit to France was an authentic French bakery. He came here to do a very ordinary little thing, but there was a deep revolutionary friendship in it, and the so-called courtesy was light and affectionate. When Deng Xiaoping was basically finished visiting France and preparing to leave France, he went to the bakery to buy bread, and he bought all the newly baked French stick bread with only a dozen dollars of pocket money.
The staff who followed Deng Xiaoping at the time were very curious, not knowing why he bought so many very ordinary French stick bread at once. Deng Xiaoping said to them: "Premier (Zhou Enlai) loves this kind of bread the most, so buy some and bring it back to him and ask him to taste it." ”
With that said, the staff understood. As mentioned earlier, during the period of studying in France, Deng Xiaoping and Zhou Enlai spent the most beautiful period of bloody years together, and they established a very deep friendship between them, which included a like-minded revolutionary friendship and a personal friendship of mutual concern and respect. It is said that friendships that have undergone baptism of blood and fire are more indestructible, and the friendship of Deng Xiaoping and Zhou Enlai should be a model of this friendship. It is said that the gold content of friendship can be seen in the subtleties, and in such a busy affair as visiting France, Deng Xiaoping did not forget the food that Zhou Enlai loved to eat, and also took time to buy it. This friendship is admirable. In fact, here, we can say a digression, we often go out to travel, when traveling in different places, we often bring small gifts to our relatives to express some kind of love, and Deng Xiaoping's behavior of bringing French stick bread to Zhou Enlai has long exceeded friendship, they have been like relatives!
On the day Deng Xiaoping returned from his visit to France, he came to the hospital to visit Premier Zhou Enlai, and when Premier Zhou Enlai saw the gift that Deng Xiaoping had brought back, The French-style Stick Bread, he was not only moved, but also couldn't help but recall the unforgettable years of the past. According to the recollections of the staff around Zhou Enlai at that time, the gifts brought back by Deng Xiaoping's visit to France made Premier Zhou Enlai's body suffer from illness, but his mood was much better, and he told the people around him a lot about the past during his stay in France. In addition, I also returned to the West Flower Hall with a good mood. However, at this time, Premier Zhou Enlai was very thin due to work fatigue and illness torture, according to the memories of Zhou Enlai's eldest niece Zhou Bingde, she did not see her uncle for a year, and when she saw it, she found that her uncle Zhou Enlai's face was thin, his hair was more gray, and his walking speed was not as fast as before, the most obvious thing was that his uncle's eyes had become dark, at that time she looked at her uncle's appearance very distressed, wanted to take a picture with her uncle, but (the doctor said) it was time to go back to the hospital, Zhou Enlai had to look at Zhou Bingde and everyone and said:
"I'm tired today, next time."
However, no one expected that Zhou Bingde never waited for the next time, because the next goodbye was already a farewell that "could not cry"!
A dozen dollars of French stick bread is just a small episode, representing the strong family affection between Deng Xiaoping and Zhou Enlai, representing that their love has long been upgraded in the baptism of war to a belief, an invisible force, and a lasting vitality that is stronger than gold and more solid than a rock. It is precisely because of this indestructible sentiment that people are touched, and it is precisely because of this kind of comradeship between life and death that Deng Xiaoping has one more obligation and responsibility, that is, to complete the final mission: to send off comrades-in-arms.
After Zhou Enlai's death, at the memorial service, it was Deng Xiaoping who delivered the eulogy, and at that time he spoke with an incomparably heavy heart and a very painful tone:
"Today, it is with great sorrow that we mourn ... Comrade Zhou Enlai, the outstanding party and state leader who has been tested for a long time by the people of Chinese..."
Deng Xiaoping's voice was full of feelings of farewell and sorrow, and all those present shed tears!
There are many things between Deng Xiaoping and Zhou Enlai, and we can get a glimpse of one or two from the above two or three things, and I will not list them here.
References: "Biography of Zhou Enlai", "You Are Such a Person - Memories of Zhou Enlai's Oral Records" and so on.