20 table tennis champion Zhuang Zedong - the people did not discriminate against him and did not abandon him.

October 6, 198O, early morning.

A dark green express train rumbled and galloped on the Shi (Jiazhuang) Tai (original) line.

A red sun was rising, and the morning glow spread all over the mountains and rivers, and also clothed the steel dragon with brilliant gold.

The window of the hard sleeper compartment revealed Zhuang Zedong's excited face. It can be seen that he got up early and was perusing the scenery that flashed by the window.

For the first time in four years, Zhuang Zedong traveled far away. A few days ago, the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee and the State Sports Commission decided to lift his guardianship and send him to Taiyuan temporarily to assist the Shanxi Provincial Table Tennis Team. He said goodbye to his relatives and embarked on a new journey.

Today is the 6th of October! It may be a historical coincidence, but this day has a special meaning for him.

Four years ago today, a decade-long nightmare ended.

And today, he is starting to move towards a new life.

It's been four years, and every day, he's been living like a year. He had despaired, remorse, and committed suicide. The party and the people extended a warm hand to him.

Time smoothed the rope groove around his neck.

time, discarding his desperate thoughts of suicide.

Time also strengthened his courage to move towards a new life.

It's been four years, and everything in front of him feels strange to him. His son Xiao Biao has grown up to be about the same height as himself. His daughter has also become a beautiful little angel, and he doesn't dare to admit it. A few more fine wrinkles were added to his wife's forehead. He felt guilty, and he felt a faint indifference.

It's been four years, and life has changed dramatically. This railway line, he had passed many times, and now he couldn't believe his eyes:

The electrification double-track project of the Shitai Railway is in full swing, with towering transmission towers and dense power lines stretching out to the distant horizon;

Along the railway line, white smoke billowed from the chimneys of the forest-like factories, and mountains of coal were constantly loaded onto wagons and ready to be fired;

The farmhouse fields are full of harvest scenes, full of colorful colors······

At the window of the westward train, facing the magnificent rivers and mountains of the motherland, what was he thinking?

Probably, when he returned to the people's life, it was like suddenly returning from a dark room to the sun, and he was dizzy. He wants to open his eyes and re-understand life, the people around him, and the world in front of him. Because everything is changing day by day.

Perhaps, he is looking back again. Ten years is like a dream. He couldn't comprehend how the past could have been so fanatical, so religious, so absurd. How all this happened, why it happened, why it was extended for ten years, he was not able to figure it out. But he learned that it shouldn't happen again.

Perhaps, he is ready to go to the crucible of a new life to temper, and he wants to be a new man. When he first woke up from a dream, he found that he had stepped onto the political stage as a harlequin in a farce. He is just an athlete, he can also be a very good table tennis coach, he no longer has the physical strength to fight in the table tennis arena, and his students may be able to win the crown of the world table tennis arena.

Perhaps, he should also tell people about the evolution of his soul and painful reflections. Let people know how the ultra-left line summons out the demon that is closed in the heart of a simple and naïve young man, and makes him unconsciously insane. Let posterity know that this is not a ridiculous story, but a true confession. In that not so distant era, not only because of the careerists and conspirators of the "Gang of Four", but also because of a group of figures like him, a sinister formation of black clouds crushing the city and wanting to destroy it was formed, and our nation was thrown into the abyss of disaster. The past was like a nightmare. To keep this nightmare from bothering us, we should let this painful lesson ring like a wake-up call.

The train is running.

With a long roar, the train galloped into Taiyuan Station.

The provincial body appointed a car to pick up the station. The car drove along the wide Maize Street, past the spectacular Wuyi Square, and into the Provincial Gymnasium.

The leading comrades of the Provincial Sports Committee, the leading comrades of the provincial sports team and the responsible comrades of the table tennis team came to visit him successively.

The first thing the leading comrades of the Provincial Sports Commission said when they met: "Comrade Zhuang Zedong, although you are bold in your work, we hope that you will show your real skills." If there are any difficulties in life, we will try our best to solve them. ”

"Comrade", what an affectionate title, has been lost for a long time. Today it was again in the mouth of a stranger, and it made him feel warm.

A layer of tears appeared in his eyes, and his voice trembled a little: "You trust me so much, I will do my best." In terms of life, there is no difficulty, I just want to live with athletes and coaches. ”

"Okay!" The leading comrades of the Provincial Sports Committee immediately nodded in agreement.

In the afternoon of the same day, a group of young athletes came to help Zhuang Zedong clean up his room. This is a large room of 18 square meters facing the sun on the second floor, which is spacious and bright, and it will be neat and tidy in a while.

At night. Zhuang Zedong finished eating and subconsciously came to the training room. The lights were bright, and the team members were sweating profusely and fighting at night.

When the team members saw him, they all smiled and nodded in greeting.

A coach greeted us and explained, "We have a poor foundation, and now it's morning, morning, afternoon, and evening 'four attendance'. You just arrived, and the journey was tiring, so I won't call you. ”

Zhuang Zedong was surprised: "The amount of exercise is really not small. ”

The coach said frankly: "I have lost several years, and I can't catch up with the time!"

Zhuang Zedong's heart was shocked, and he nodded thoughtfully.

The team members practiced very seriously and hard, but the basic skills were not good, and everyone had some problems to a greater or lesser extent.

The team members sincerely pleaded: "Zhuang guide, give guidance." ”

The coach encouraged him trustingly: "You can just pull it. ”

Zhuang Zedong's heart was hot: "Okay." He stepped forward, took the racket, explained it to the players one by one, and corrected them one by one.

At nine o'clock, the evening training ended. Zhuang Zedong returned to the dormitory and found that his rice bowl was full of bowls of fresh meat buns, and the buns were still steaming.

This was saved for him by the players.

Lunch the next day.

Zhuang Zedong finished eating in the cafeteria and was about to wash the dishes, when the master of the canteen came.

The master wears a white hat and the aroma of food on his body. He pulled a bench and sat down next to Zhuang Zedong: "Xiaozhuang, are you still used to eating?"

"Accustomed to eating and making delicious food. Zhuang Zedong said.

The master grinned: "No, you went to Taiyuan three times in 1958, 1961, and 197O, and I made all the dishes. ”

Zhuang Zedong was excited, and the people did not forget his past.

The master pointed to the chopsticks: "According to the regulations, the chopsticks cannot be brought back to the dormitory." ”

Zhuang Zedong was a little strange, didn't everyone take it away? But he obeyed.

For dinner that day, Zhuang Zedong came to the cafeteria and opened his covered rice bowl, yo, a bowl full of dishes, and there were two poached eggs that he loved on it.

The master smiled and said: "You are tired from work and have a big appetite, eat a little more, don't let your body collapse!"

This meal, Zhuang Zedong ate very slowly.

The people, these are the ordinary people of China!

The people did not discriminate against him, did not abandon him. In the past, when he was on stage, the people did not have a tendency to attach inflammation. Now, he is back with the people, who have always given him warmth and care.

This is the heart of the Mother of the People.

Excerpt from "Ping Pong Apocalypse - Zhuang Zedong in the "Cultural Revolution"