One early morning, a small car sped along the mountain road toward the western suburbs of Beijing. Two men in the car put on their press cards, and there was a camera and a lot of material materials, most of which were newspapers.
Arriving at a modest new home, the car stopped, and the two hurried out of the car to see an old man looking at the door. The two young men panicked and greeted each other, and today they were going to interview Mao Zedong's daughter Li Ne, and the old man was her husband Wang Jingqing.
Unexpectedly, before they arrived, Wang Jingqing came out to greet them first, which flattered them.
Picture | Wang Jingqing
Wang Jingqing waved his hand and smiled kindly at them: "You are all the top pillars of the country, don't be rigid, just treat me and Li Ne as ordinary people." After saying that, he led the reporter into their home.
Before meeting Li Ne, the image of Li Ne in the minds of the two reporters was blank, but it was always the daughter of the chairman, and they both had a high respect, but they did not expect Li Ne to be so ordinary and simple.
On that day, Li Ne wore a sweater with loose cardigans and a printed vest jacket on his upper body, and his lower body was wrapped in washed white, fat and old black trousers, and a pair of old cloth shoes on his feet. Hun hun was dressed like an ordinary peasant old lady in the fifties and sixties, no, it should be said that she was a kind old lady.
Li Ne sat on the hole in the rattan chair listening to the radio, and saw that some guests quickly stood up and bowed their hands to welcome me, and her voice was very kind, she said: "I heard earlier that you were going to interview me, I don't think I have anything good to interview, but since you are here, you want to know something and ask." ”
When I first came to visit, I entered the main topic, which was obviously a bit strange. The reporter hoped to have in-depth communication with Li Ne, so he made a joke and said, "When we first arrived, your husband greeted us very warmly." I would like to ask, what is your evaluation of mr. over the years? ”
Li Ne didn't seem to expect him to ask this, and he was stunned and smiled reflexively at his husband, and it just so happened that Wang Jingqing had been looking at her all the time. The two looked at each other warmly, making people reluctant to interrupt the atmosphere, and suddenly Li Ne said, "He is my leg." ”
Picture | Wang Jingqing and his wife
This is not clear, and the reporter who has never learned about Li Ne's marriage to Wang Jingqing naturally cannot understand. But the reporter is not in a hurry to ask this answer, but according to the process to understand Li Ne's life, follow the footprints of history to explore the life of the old man, when they reach the end, they will know the meaning of this sentence.
Li Ne was born on August 3, 1940, and her and her sister Li Min's names are taken from the Analects, "Gentlemen want to be sensitive to words and sensitive to deeds", and Chairman Mao hoped that they would be able to say less empty words and do more practical things. Li Ne also did not deserve her father's expectations of her, accepted the organizational arrangement after graduating from college, worked hard every day, was silent, and did not ask anything else.
But too much to ask questions, let this young girl remain single, as a child who has always accompanied Chairman Mao, the chairman is very concerned about this daughter. Seeing that the children in the family had started a family one by one, only Li Ne was still ignorant, and the chairman was inevitably a little anxious, calling her over and asking: "Your sisters are married, do you still have no ideas?" ”
Li Ne shook his head, the people around her were like-minded comrades, but they didn't look at each other, and this could not be forced. Chairman Mao also understood this truth in his heart, but his body was getting worse and worse, and he was always worried that he would not be able to see his little daughter start a family before he closed his eyes, that she would be lonely, and that it would always be more difficult to live alone.
Li Ne didn't want his father to worry, so he took the initiative to ask, "Father, how do you think my marriage partner is better?" Chairman Mao replied to her: "The family lineage should not be too high, people can be down-to-earth, it is best to look for it below, just find an ordinary person." ”
Li Ne remembered her father's words, she did not care about the family lineage of the object, she often participated in grass-roots work, and contacted grass-roots cadres and ordinary people, but this fate always did not come.
Figure | the former site of the May 7 cadre school
Until the 1970s, in order to implement Chairman Mao's "May Seventh Instructions," the CPC Central Committee sent cadres from various organs to the countryside to study and work, and the May Seventh Cadre School was established in Jiangxi Province at that time. As Chairman Mao's daughter, Li Ne led by example and took the initiative to go to the countryside to do farm work, working hard with the big guys, and never cried out a bitter word.
In this work, her industrious and serious attitude attracted a man named Xu Ning. He felt that although Li Ne did not like to talk, he was a very down-to-earth person and a good girl, so he often chatted with her, relieved her boredom, and coaxed her to be happy.
Xu Ning came from an ordinary family, his father was a worker, his mother was a housewife, and he was only a waiter with a meager income. Although he had no profound knowledge, he spoke humorously and was very considerate, and Li Ne soon fell in love with him, and the two began to associate.
Due to Li Ne's low profile and lack of publicity, when he first met Li Ne, Xu Ning had no idea that his girlfriend was the daughter of the president. Due to the gap in identity, the relationship between the two was repeatedly blocked, and in the end, it was Li Ne who wrote to his father to settle the marriage.
The moment he received his daughter's letter, Chairman Mao was both happy and worried. Probably all parents are like this, hoping that their children can have people to accompany them for a lifetime, but when it comes to the end, they are worried about whether their children can get real happiness.
Out of respect for his daughter, Chairman Mao only sent someone to investigate the identity background of his son-in-law, and nodded his head after not finding any problems. At the same time, he also sent a copy of the Complete Works of Marx and Engels (a total of 39 volumes) to Li Ne as a dowry.
Pictured| Chairman Mao
In this way, Li Ne and Xu Ning married. Shortly after the marriage, Li Ne became pregnant and gave birth to a son, named Xu Xiaoning. Just when everyone thought That Li Ne's marriage was going to be on the right track, they made a shocking decision.
A marriage can persist despite external difficulties, but it cannot withstand the incomprehension of two people inside and collapse. As a result of her father's teachings, Li Ne has always had a low desire for material conditions when she grows up, but at the same time, her spiritual needs are very high, and she needs the understanding and affirmation from her partner.
But Xu Ning was a child of a poor family, did not receive higher education, his pursuit was only to let the family live a subsistence life is enough, and he ignored Li Ne's taciturn desire for spiritual communication, and the relationship between the two soon cracked.
In the end, the marriage came to an end, the two went through divorce procedures, and the son was raised by Li Ne. Later, due to work scheduling, Li Ne returned to Beijing with her son to live, obviously leaving Beijing for many years, and when she returned to this land, she felt an unprecedented emotion, as if she had experienced half a life of ups and downs in the past few years.
But fate will not give anyone time to breathe. On September 9, 1976, chairman Mao passed away, and the example that Li Ne had been buried in her heart fell, and she felt as if her heart had been cut off, and the missing corner would never return.
Li Ne regretted that she did not spend more time with her father, but life was full of regrets, and she could only continue to move forward with this regret. After his father left, Li Ne's mental state became worse and worse, working hard every day, with a meager salary, living in a simple bungalow, supporting his family while educating his son to study.
Due to poor living conditions, Li Ne's son was very thin at that time. Although her life was very hard, she had never asked the organization for help, and she felt that such a life was already very good. Some workers in Zaozhuang, Shandong Province, heard that Chairman Mao's daughter was living in difficulty and took the initiative to donate 3,000 yuan hoping to help her.
Li Ne smiled and accepted their affection, but declined the money, even if someone in the back had to send money to help her, Li Ne also turned around and donated the money to the primary school in the poor area. She thinks that she has hands and feet to earn money, not much but enough to live, and it is not worth it for everyone to take care of her because of their gratitude to the chairman.
Later, Li Yinqiao, the former chairman of the guard, returned to Beijing from Tianjin with his wife. The first thing they did when they returned to Beijing was to inquire about Li Ne's situation, and his wife, Han Guixin, said to Li Yinqiao: "Yinqiao, we have to go and see Li Ne, she must be very difficult now, and if we don't go to see it, we will be sorry for Chairman Mao." ”
Of course, Li Yinqiao agreed very much, he took care of Chairman Mao for more than ten years, in a sense, he also watched Li Ne grow up, before he heard that she had not had the opportunity to visit her after the divorce, and now that he has returned to Beijing, he is naturally very concerned.
Pictured| Chairman Mao and Li Yinqiao
When they went to visit Li Ne, she happened to buy grain to ship home. Li Ne was not in good health at this time, his strength was not as good as before, the grain could not be taken home by himself, so he bought a small cart to transport it back, and his son pushed the cart in the back, and when he arrived at home, the mother and son carried the grain into the house.
When Li Yinqiao and Han Guixin saw this picture, their hearts were very uncomfortable, and they felt that Li Ne's life was hard, and there was not even an adult around to help them, so they could only let the children help, and they wanted to find a way to help them.
Seeing Li Yinqiao and his wife, Li Ne was very happy. She seemed to have not seen anyone before for a long time, changed her taciturn appearance, and talked a lot with the two of them.
During the chat, Li Yinqiao found that Li Ne did not complain about his current life, but felt quite comfortable. The hardships of life did not bring her down, but for a long time alone to pull the child, there was not even a chat person around, and she was undoubtedly lonely mentally.
Han Guixin also saw this and decided to help Li Ne Zhang Luo a new marriage, if he can form a new family, Li Ne not only has someone to help in life, but also has someone to accompany him spiritually. Han Guixin first talked about his married life, and then carefully tested Li Ne's thoughts: "If you want to form a family again, or I will help you find a partner." ”
Li Ne did not immediately agree, she was silent for a while, and sighed softly: "Alas, I have this condition, who would want to find me!" And if it doesn't work..." He said and remembered the failed marriage, and Li Ne was silent. Han Guixin quickly enlightened her: "Marriage is originally a marriage that can be lived together, and if it is not together, it will be divided, and you should not have a burden." ”
After persuasion, Han Guixin saw that Li Ne's attitude was not resolute, so he grabbed Li Yinqiao and found a new object for her. However, this time the object must be well chosen, and can not cause secondary damage.
This pick was picked in 1984, when Wang Jingqing visited Li Yinqiao and his wife. As soon as he entered the door, Han Guixin couldn't help but shout good, thinking how could he forget this person, it seems that Li Ne's marriage has fallen.
A native of Shaanxi, Wang Jingqing joined the revolution in 1940 and served as chief of staff of the Nujiang Military Subdistrict of the Kunming Military Region, and is now a retired cadre. Similar to Li Ne's situation, Wang Jingqing also had a failed marriage, his ex-wife was a military doctor, and later divorced her due to personality incompatibility, and now lives alone.
Han Guixin felt that the two had similar experiences, and they would certainly not go the same old way, plus they were both revolutionary-educated people, and their ideas could also be exchanged simultaneously. As long as they met each other and made sure that they didn't fit together, Wang Jingqing was a little embarrassed to hear Han Guixin's proposal, he had seen Li Ne when he was a guard, and he had a good impression of her, but he was old and not easy to say anything.
Han Guixin saw that his eyes were playful, so he made clear the situation on Li Ne's side, and then found a time to take him with him to visit Li Ne. Li Ne saw Wang Jingqing come to her house and knew what was going on, the two began to be more cramped, and then went a few times, and then slowly opened their hearts.
Wang Jingqing is honest and loyal, and his expression of heart is also relatively straightforward, and after he has a heart for Li Ne, he often visits her, but he has not broken through the window paper for a long time. One day, Wang Jingqing helped Li Ne finish moving the grain and planned to go back, and Li Ne stopped him: "Old Wang, what do you think?" ”
Wang Jingqing replied: "I can still have any ideas, but I am old, if you don't abandon it..." The words behind me were not finished, but both of them knew. Li Ne smiled and said, "Then you go and make a marriage application!" ”
Picture | Wang Jingqing and Li Ne for a group photo
The two were first engaged, and it was not until 1985 that they were officially married and took wedding photos. According to his father's habits before his death, Li Ne only set up a table at home, the wedding was very simple, and there were not many people attending the wedding.
On the day of the wedding, all the witnesses looked at the newlyweds and were very satisfied. Although Wang Jingqing is more than ten years older than Li Ne, he looks very young, and it seems that the two are also very compatible.
Li Yinqiao and his wife breathed a sigh of relief in their hearts and thought: The chairman helped them husband and wife together, and now they also help Li Ne and Wang Jingqing together, and there is another pair of families in the world that support each other, which is very good.
Li Ne had wanted to live after marriage, and it was probably not much different from the past, but until she lived with Wang Jingqing, she knew that the difference was too big. Wang Jingqing has a lot of hobbies, whether it is painting or calligraphy, he has always insisted, and when he was practicing writing in the study, Li Ne was watching him from the side.
In addition, Li Ne's body has not been very tough because of his illness. Wang Jingqing took the initiative to take over the housework at home, from washing and cooking to boiling water and washing dishes, Wang Jingqing was eager to do it all by himself, or Li Ne insisted on not giving in, so that he had the opportunity to sweep the floor and wash the dishes on weekdays.
After the two got married, Han Guixin visited them at home several times, and each time she would have a different harvest. For example, today, Han Guixin smelled the fragrance emitted from the kitchen and said to Li Ne in disbelief: "I didn't expect Lao Wang to hide this good cooking skill!" ”
"That's not it! I am blessed to marry the old queen! Li Ne reflexively took over, and his face was full of happiness. But thinking about the care in his daily life, Li Ne was a little helpless: "There is a point, he is too domineering, and he will not let me do any work, so I will become a waste." ”
Picture | Wang Jingqing (front row left) and Li Ne (front row right)
Hearing these words, Han Guixin quipped to her: "This is the old king of the people hurting you!" If you are not in good health, you should rest more and don't always think about work. Li Ne thought about what she could do, her husband paid for her, and she naturally wanted to take care of it. Since she was not allowed to work, she learned needlework, making clothes and knitting sweaters for Wang Jingqing, and before that, she knew nothing about these things.
Wang Jingqing was also very considerate of her, and when he heard that Li Ne liked Peking Opera, he took two tickets and led his wife to the stage. Li Ne likes to watch drama because of the influence of her father, and together with the drama, she is fascinated and enjoys watching it. It's just that Wang Jingqing didn't listen to the usual drama, and couldn't help but nod his head and take a nap in his seat, Li Ne looked back and saw that he only felt funny, and woke him up and the two of them went home hand in hand.
Both Li Ne and Wang Jingqing have their own children. Li Ne's son, who changed her name to Wang Xiaozhi after her marriage, is now an adult, and since graduating from vocational high school, he has been assigned to work as a waiter in a restaurant, living outside while working.
Wang Jingqing and his ex-wife have three daughters, two of whom are married, and the rest are also adults. The children were all working outside the home, only occasionally visiting the two of them, and every time they came, Li Ne greeted them warmly, so the relationship between them was still good.
Li Ne respects the child's ideas, and she has only one requirement for the child: work diligently and do her duty. This is also what her father, Mao Zedong, once demanded of her and her siblings.
After the youngest child at home is also independent, Li Ne and Wang Jingqing also have more time to spend with each other and do their own things. During this time, Wang Jingqing had an idea, he wanted to write about some past experiences of the Red Army in northern Shaanxi.
To write a book, his own experience alone is far from enough, and Wang Jingqing plans to go on a field trip, visit those old revolutionary troops who have gone into hiding and their descendants, and get the true, bloody and tearful revolutionary stories from their mouths.
At this time, Li Ne's legs and feet were already inconvenient, and he often needed to use a wheelchair. Although she longed to walk through the country's great rivers and mountains, especially northern Shaanxi, where her father left important footprints, she did not want to drag her husband's footsteps, so she let Wang Jingqing go alone.
Wang Jingqing did not understand his wife's thoughts, he refused to leave Li Ne alone at home, insisting on walking with her, and the two of them went together to witness the story of the fathers' generation. During this journey to reminisce about the red past, Wang Jingqing pushed Li Ne's wheelchair to visit northern Shaanxi, whether it was a wide road or a narrow forest path, Wang Jingqing pushed her through one by one.
Although Li Ne could not walk, because of a husband who did not abandon her and took her forward, she arrived at a place that could not be reached by her own legs, witnessing the corner of the mountains and rivers of the motherland she loved.
At that moment, Li Ne was touched, and after seeing her husband's sweet smile, he withdrew the words of gratitude, held his hand tightly, and pinned all his feelings on the temperature of the palms of each other's hands.
Hearing this, the two reporters fully understood why Li Ne said "he is my leg". Under the circumstance that Li Ne's physical condition did not allow it, Wang Jingqing still took her to walk on the field of hope together, and it can be said that Li Ne's dream was realized by Wang Jingqing himself.
The reporter thought that the implicit meaning of this sentence was: He is my leg and takes me to the ideal mountain and river.
Pictured| Li Ne and Wang Jingqing
Halfway the husband and wife have a long friendship, Li Ne and Wang Jingqing completely make up for each other's missing other half. In his spare time, Li Ne sat on a rattan chair to watch Wang Jingqing's paintings; when he was busy, Wang Jingqing took Li Ne all over northern Shaanxi, and the two worlds had each other's figures at any time. Their love may not be vigorous, but it is long enough to warm people's hearts.