Courtyard Houses: Longevity Since the War of Resistance

After leaving the station square and arriving at the bus stop, there were quite a few people waiting for the bus, most of them wearing summer clothes. When the bus arrived, Li Feng and the Liu brothers managed to squeeze on and found a window seat.

The car started moving, driving through the streets of Shanghai.

Liu Guangfu peered out the car window, his eyes wide with amazement. Tall plane trees lined both sides of the street, their dense foliage almost forming a continuous canopy in the middle of the street.

Under the trees were all sorts of shops. The windows of the state-run department store displayed fabrics and ready-made clothes, while the signs of bookstores, pharmacies, and photo studios were colorful and the letters varied in size.

What surprised him even more was the people on the street. Although it was morning, people were already walking around. Most of the women were wearing skirts, not the gray, blue, or black uniform skirts typical of Beijing, but dresses with floral or plaid patterns. Some even had their hair permed.

Bicycles and cars are very common.

"Brother," Liu Guangfu tugged at his brother's sleeve again, his voice trembling with excitement, "Look at that woman, her dress is so pretty!"

Following his gaze, they saw a young woman with curly hair, wearing a red dress, pushing her bicycle across the street. Liu Guangtian's face flushed, and he quickly looked away, but said curtly, "What's so...good-looking? It's all flashy and indecent."

"I think it looks pretty good..." Liu Guangfu muttered softly.

Li Feng listened from the side, finding it amusing.

This is Shanghai in 1965, more cosmopolitan and open than Beijing. Some things are ingrained in the city's past as a bustling metropolis; they can't be changed, nor is it necessary to change them all.

As the car crossed the Suzhou Creek, the buildings on the opposite bank became even denser.

"Section Chief Li," Liu Guangtian looked out the window and couldn't help but ask again, "Are all the factories in Shanghai very large?"

"There are big and small ones," Li Feng said, "but overall, Shanghai's industrial base is indeed better than many other places. It has textiles, machinery, shipbuilding, and chemicals. The garment factory you visited this time is one of the larger ones in the textile system."

The car drove for another twenty minutes or so before finally arriving at the station.

The three got off the bus. A sign with white background and black lettering hung on the tall iron gate: "State-owned Shanghai No. 17 Garment Factory".

It was during working hours, and the workers filed in on their bicycles, their bells ringing crisply. Most of the female workers had short braids or wore work caps, chatting and laughing as they walked in.

Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu stood at the factory gate, looking at this unfamiliar scene, their palms sweating slightly. This was their first time leaving Beijing and their first time learning in such a large factory; they felt both nervous and excited.

Li Feng led them through the factory gate and headed straight for the factory's office building. The corridors were clean and tidy, and the cement floors were gleaming. They were greeted by a middle-aged cadre surnamed Zhou who wore glasses and spoke with a soft, southern accent.

"Welcome, welcome, comrades from Beijing." Officer Zhou shook hands warmly. "You must be tired from your journey. Everything has been arranged. You two will stay in Workshop 3 and learn from Director Wang. Director Wang is an old tailor by trade, his skills are superb, and he is very patient in training his apprentices."

The instructions were explained one by one: what time to start work, what time to finish get off work, where the canteen was, how to get to the dormitory, and who to contact if there were any problems. The Liu brothers listened intently, afraid of missing a single word.

After Zhou finished speaking, Li Feng spoke to the two brothers: "Did you all understand? This isn't home; nobody's going to pamper you. Be on time for work, listen to your master, do what you're told, and ask questions if you don't understand. Don't try to do things yourselves. Got it?"

"Got it!" they both answered in unison.

Li Feng looked at them, paused for a few seconds, then raised his voice: "Half a month. I'll give you half a month. If you learn something real, that's your skill; you can go back home and hold your head high. If you just coast along..."

He didn't continue, but his gaze swept over the two of them.

Liu Guangtian felt a tightness in his back when he thought of his father, Liu Haizhong, and quickly said loudly, "Section Chief Li, don't worry! We will study with all our might! We will never let you down!"

"Yes! Study with all your might!" Liu Guangfu shouted, his face turning red.

Li Feng nodded expressionlessly, "Remember what you said." He turned to Officer Zhou, "Officer Zhou, please take good care of these two lads with the factory foremen. Don't hesitate to be strict when necessary."

Officer Zhou waved his hand with a smile: "Section Chief Li is too kind. We're just learning from each other. Come on, Liu Guangtian, Liu Guangfu, let me take you to the workshop to meet Director Wang first."

Zhou, the clerk, came on instructions from the factory's higher-ups not to offend Li Feng, so he naturally didn't dare to overstep his bounds. The two brothers picked up their luggage, followed Zhou a few steps, then looked back at Li Feng, who waved to them.

Li Feng watched their figures disappear around the corner of the stairwell before turning away.

Stepping outside the factory gates, the heat intensified. In late July in Shanghai, the sun was blazing brightly in the sky at ten in the morning, making one's scalp tingle.

Li Feng slowed his pace, walked across the road to a tall sycamore tree, took out a cigarette and lit it, seemingly taking a casual break to cool off. His gaze fell on the wide open space now enclosed by a wall and shaded by green trees.

There stands a solemn and dignified new building, with a sign next to the door that reads "Memorial Hall of the Anti-Japanese Struggle in Shanghai". This is the former site of the Demon Cave.

In the small square in front of the building's main entrance, a group of blond, blue-eyed foreign tourists were gathered. A young female tour guide with two short braids, wearing a white shirt and a blue skirt, was holding a tin megaphone and explaining clearly in Chinese to the exterior wall of the building.

"Dear international friends, the area we are seeing now is the former site of the Japanese Army's Shanghai Command. During the War of Resistance against Japan, this place was known as a den of iniquity, an important enemy intelligence agency, where countless patriots and innocent civilians suffered persecution."

Tourists looked up at the magnificent memorial and took photos.

"The building you see here is a memorial hall that the Shanghai Municipal Government rebuilt near the original site to commemorate that history and warn future generations," the tour guide explained. Then, his tone turned serious as he continued, "But that evil den of demons did not last until the end."

The tour guide's tone was enthusiastic: "This raid, codenamed Thunder, was extremely effective, dealing a heavy blow to the Japanese command center in East China. More importantly, it sent a clear signal! Soon after, our army launched a massive summer offensive across vast areas of East China, achieving victory after victory!"

"Thunder? When did I come up with that name?"

Li Feng stubbed out his cigarette, flicked it into the trash can, glanced one last time at the brand-new memorial hall and the focused tourists, turned and disappeared into the shade of the trees.

Just after Li Feng left, the female tour guide continued in a concluding tone, "It was precisely this incident that served as a crucial turning point. Our strength continued to grow, and ultimately, three months later, the invaders were driven out by us!!!"