作      者：龚如仲（美国）

海外头条总编审   王 在 军     （中国）

海外头条副编审 Wendyh温迪（英国）

海 外 头 条总 编   火 凤  凰    （海外）

图片选自百度

【岁月如重】第二章：大学年代

第二部分：清苦而快乐的大学生

文/龚如仲（美国）

作为父母的独生子，我在上海过惯了“饭来张口，衣来伸手”的日子。所以初到北京，乍一投入到有着各种规定和约束的集体生活里，我有太多的不习惯。在这里，没有了父母的照顾，任何事情都得亲力亲为；八个同学挤住一间小小的宿舍里，又要遵循严格的作息制度，早上的懒觉是睡不成了。还有，一日三餐，饭堂的主食里很少见到上海人须臾难离的大米饭，替而代之的是馒头、面条和难以下咽的玉米面窝窝头。然而，最难熬的还是周六和周日，因为北京有家的同学都回去了，我们这些无家可回的外地人只好留守宿舍，“享受”着孤单和落寞。

不过，这样的煎熬很快就被我克服了。因为在我的心里始终有一个坚定的信念，那就是：我是个因家贫而每月获得国家发放助学金的特困生，“唯有用功读书，方有出头之日；唯有成绩优秀，才对得起父母、对得起政府”。这样想着，清苦的生活和想家的煎熬立刻化作学习的动力，让我更加全身心地投入于学业之中。

说起来您可能不相信，大学的几年里，我几乎把所有业余时间都用在了学习上。大学校园里的那一片小松林，就曾是我背诵英语单词或课文的好地方。甚至有一段时间，同宿舍的同学们半夜里常常被我大段的英语梦话所惊醒。功夫不负有心人，几年下来，我的学习成绩在班上一直名列前茅。尤其是英语语言能力，更是被老师和同学们所称赞。可以说，我是一个刻苦用功的好学生。

当然，艰苦的大学生活里也充满了快乐的回忆。

首先，集体生活带给了我之前从未领略过的温暖和愉悦。

在我发育成长时，恰逢中国最为严重的三年自然灾害时期，所以初到北京的我明显带着营养不良的痕迹：一米七五的大个子，体重刚过一百一十斤，人瘦得象根“麻杆儿”。而在大学里，虽然吃不到什么好茶饭，但起码一日三餐可以吃个饱。更值得一提的是，我们班上的女同学都特仗义，她们经常把省下来的“主食券”、“菜金券”送给我们这些“饿狼”似的男同学。所以大学期间，我也没少得那个后来成为我妻子的女同学的救济。因此，到北京一年多之后，我就变成了一个壮实的小伙子。

其次，同学之间彼此和谐相处，其乐融融的氛围让人难忘。

我们几个同居一室的同学相处得很是快乐。每逢周六晚上，北京籍同学早都回家了，我们几个外地同学就会不时地举行个“派对”（英语的PARTY）。尽管大家都是些囊中羞涩的穷学生，但一人出一毛钱还是出得起的。我们就用这些凑起来的钱到学校的小卖部买几个皮蛋（就是“松花蛋”），再派一个同学到学校饭堂“偷”点儿酱油和米醋。还有一位同学负责把皮蛋切成薄片，放入我们常用的搪瓷碗里，接着倒上些许酱油和米醋。之后，大家就围坐一起，以茶代酒，一边兴高采烈地享用着美味的“皮蛋大餐”，一边海阔天空地说笑、聊天。那个时候，彼此的心中都洋溢着一股幸福的暖流。这种由我们宿舍所创造的“星期六皮蛋派对”很快在同年级外地同学中流传开来，一直延续到很久很久，，，，，

当然，我也不是个苦行僧，只要有可能，只要有机会，我也会特意去逛逛北京的名胜古迹，去下下北京城里的小馆子。记得有一个星期天，班上一个叫马亚川的同学请我们班长傅维元去逛动物园。而傅班长平日里又对我这个外地人相当照顾，所以他就建议马同学把我也拉上，一块出去玩玩。马同学欣然同意后，我们三个人就坐着公共汽车到了动物园。那是我头一回游玩北京动物园，开心是自然的，当然也开了眼界。游毕动物园，大家都觉得不尽兴，于是又坐公交车去了颐和园。说句心里话，那是我到北京后玩得最痛快、也是最开心的一天。

更值得一提的是，那天马同学还请我们下了馆子。

记得那时，“高干”（高级干部）出身的马同学（他的父亲是一位县委书记，在我们眼里，“县委书记”当然是“高干”）从他口袋里掏出一张五元钱的大票子，说是“这五元钱足够咱哥儿仨好好吃一顿了”。他那份豪爽让我这个穷学生大长了一回见识，因为那时侯的五元钱，在一般的大学生眼里简直是就是一笔巨款。

记得我们当时点了两个炒菜，一个辣子鸡丁，一毛六分钱；一份京酱肉丝，也是一毛六分钱；三碗米饭共一毛五分钱；三大碗散装啤酒，计三毛钱；外加一大碗一毛钱的“甩果汤”（北京人叫蛋花汤为甩果汤，因为当时的北京大老爷们忌讳用“蛋”字儿，他们把鸡蛋叫做“鸡子儿”，他们认为开口提“蛋”这个字儿不文明）。三个人吃得心满意足。后来一算帐，共化了八毛七分钱。虽然这八毛七分钱在家境殷实的马同学看来不算什么，但对于一个月固定零化钱仅仅一元钱的我而言，却算是一大笔钱财了。我得用这一元钱置办我日常所需的肥皂、牙膏、笔记本，甚至给父母亲寄信用的邮票。

这就是我大学生活的真实写照。

***本文选自拙作【岁月如重—兼谈华国锋】之第二章：大学年代

 Chapter 4:  University Life

Part 2: Poor but Happy University Student Life

Posted by Ralph Gong

As the only son of my parents’, I was accustomed to a life with everything ready for me. But this privilege no longer existed after I went to Beijing, leading an independent life. At the university, there was no offering of direct parental assistance. Everything must be handled by myself.

I lived in a dormitory room with 8 bunk beds (upper and lower). Eight classmates shared and squeezed together in this small room space. Besides, the university had a series of school rules and regulations, which must be followed strictly. As a result, I had to change the bad habit of sleeping late at night and getting up late in the morning. But the most unbearable thing to me was I could not have sufficient rice to eat for my daily meals. Beijing being a northern city, the locals are more used to eating steamed bread, dumplings or noodles. These are mostly made from wheat flour.

On Saturdays or Sundays, students like me from other cities or other provinces would have to suffer from a certain loneliness because they did not have homes in Beijing, neither relatives nor friends around. When all my classmates from Beijing went back home over the weekend, I felt somehow lonely, facing the empty and quiet school complex and the dormitory rooms.

But all these seemingly difficult or “intolerant” sentiments were gone completely once I got used to the surroundings. A very strong belief in my heart supported me: I came from a poor family and the only way for me to change my and my family’s living condition was to study hard. No bright future would be waiting for me unless I graduate from the university with distinctions. Good job opportunities would be in line for me if I graduated decently. With this belief, I was very motivated at studying and became a hard-working student.

It might be difficult to imagine but I really used up almost all my spare time for learning. The Small PineForest in my university complex was an ideal place for my after-school English reciting. More than anything else, I sometimes spoke English loudly in my dreams. When my roommates told me about this, even I myself was surprised at it. The reason for speaking English in dreams sounded like in accordance with a Chinese saying: What you think about during the day, is what you will dream of at night.

I was indeed very eager to learn English well. I also tried to learn all other subjects well. In order to reach this goal, I worked really hard at that time. English being a beloved subject, however, I dedicated almost all my spare time to English reading and speaking.

Hard work paid off finally. I became one of the best students in my class since my academic performance was excellent.

 It was true that my life in university was simple and even hard because my family was not rich enough to offer me any decent financial support. As a matter of fact, my monthly food supply plus a very limited amount of pocket money were provided by the University. On the other hand, my life on campus was unusually bright and interesting. The university’s collective life-style had brought me tremendous warmth and joviality.

When I was a young adult, China had just begun to suffer from its devastating nationwide Three-Year Natural Disasters. During that period of time, food, vegetable and meat were in serious shortage. I felt constantly hungry, not having enough food to eat. My health was thus being jeopardized. I was 18 years old, a rather tall man with 1.75 meters in height. But my weight was only 55 kilograms. I was so thin that I looked like a “hemp stalk”.

But after I entered the university, I could enjoy three normal meals per day. Meals at the school canteen could not be described as wonderful. But at least the meals could curb my hunger. Enough nutritious food and good living condition helped me a lot. In two years time, I gained a lot of weight and became a quite strong young man.

Also, good relationship with my classmates cheered me up, making me feel comfortable and happy, especially over the weekends. The eight male classmates in my dormitory room were very close together. None of us had a home in Beijing. We all came from other cities or provinces. On Saturdays and Sundays when the local classmates went back home, we would find some ways to kill time. The favorite way was to hold parties on Saturday evenings. Even though we were all poor students who did not have money, we were still able to bring in a party by contributing only ten cents each (at that time, ten cents RMB could buy half a kilo corn flour).

Collecting the total amount of eighty cents (10 cents each times 8), our dormitory could prepare a Saturday Evening Party. One of our roommates would go to the school retail shop to buy several preserved eggs. Another would go to the school canteen kitchen to “steal” some soy sauce and vinegar. When the eggs and the sauces were ready, one of our roommates would use a sharp knife to slice the eggs into pieces. The sliced eggs would be put into one big plate borrowed from our school canteen. Finally, soy sauce and vinegar would be added and mixed with the sliced eggs. This was our wonderful party food!

With our party food ready, we eight people would sit in a ring and start to enjoy the sliced preserved eggs. In order to drag the party a little bit longer, we tasted the eggs carefully and slowly. Such moments became unforgettable memory for me. We drank tea as “liquor” to the eggs, talking and laughing loudly and happily while eating.

How simple food could bring joy beyond measure in those days! With it, all our sadness and loneliness were gone!

Gradually, our Saturday evening’s “Preserved Egg Party” activity became well-known. Almost all students in other dormitory rooms began to follow the pattern, also initiating such “Preserved Egg Party” from time to time. This “Party Tradition” did not stop until the Cultural Revolution began in 1966.

I guess I was never a Hindu ascetic. Whenever there was a chance to visit beautiful places or enjoy good food, I would be more than happy to try to grab the opportunity. I still remember one Sunday morning. On that day, my classmate Mr. Ma Yachuan invited our class monitor Mr. Fu Weiyuan to a Beijing Zoo tour. As I was quite close to Monitor Fu, Fu suggested to Ma that I should also be invited. Ma happily agreed. Thus, three of us went to Beijing Zoo by bus. That was my first visit of Beijing Zoo, which housed a big variety of wild animals.

The exciting visit to this famous Zoo widened my vision indeed! We felt that the tour should be continued. So we decided to continue our tour after a brief discussion by paying a visit to the SummerPalace, the world’s largest park.  We had a lot of fun there. To tell the truth, that was my most satisfying trip ever since I came to Beijing.

Not to be forgotten was also a restaurant visit. Mr.Ma invited Monitor Fu and me to a dinner at a restaurant. Ma was a rich student because of his family background. His father was a county magistrate. In our students’ eyes, a county magistrate was by all means a high-ranking government official.

Before we walked into the restaurant, Mr. Ma pulled out one big note of Five Yuan RMB from his pocket and spoke proudly: ”This Five Yuan Note should be more than enough for us three brothers to have a good meal today!”

I was really impressed by Mr. Ma’s generosity. Five Yuan! Really big money! An ordinary family could use this money to buy about 16 kilograms of wheat flour at that time. And 16 kilograms flour was more than enough for the monthly consumption of a strong adult.

Sitting down at a table in the restaurant, Mr. Ma ordered two dishes, one soup and three bowls of cold beer. The dishes were diced chicken with green pepper (0.16 Yuan), fried pork meat slices with Beijing soya bean sauce (0.16 Yuan), tomato and egg soup (0.10 Yuan), three bowls of rice (0.15 Yuan) and three big bowls of cold beer (0.30 Yuan). Mr. Ma spent all together 0.87 Yuan, or 87 Cents, less than one Yuan! But we all ate to our full satisfaction!

To Mr. Ma, the total consumption of 0.87 Yuan might not be a big deal because he had enough pocket money. But to me, it was really a huge amount of money. My fixed monthly pocket money at University was only One Yuan. And this One Yuan must cover my basic consumption of soap, toothpaste, toilet paper, notebooks and even the stamps purchased for mailing letters to my parents.

(END)

About the Author:

Ruzhong Gong (Ralph Gong), born in Shanghai, China, now living in the USA.

Graduated From the English Department of Universityof International Business and Economics, Beijing, China

Before retirement, President of an USA overseas company under China National Light Industrial Products Imp. & Exp. Corp.; President of a joint-venture company in USA, jointly owned by Australia’s Lief Group Company and China National Chemical Products Imp. & Exp. Corp.; President of an American Brach Corp. under China National Foreign Trade Bases Corp.; Chief Representative in Beijing Office under Trade Am, an American Carpets Wholesale Company.

Author of 6 books, including “My Life—Family, Career & VIPs”, “How to Do Business in Mainland of China”, “My Leisure Time”, “My Leisure Time—Poems & Articles” , “Poems and Essays from Leisure Chamber” and “Flowers By My Side”.

Member of the Chinese Poetry Society (CPS), Free Lance Writer for Austrian Sinopress, and Senior Consultant for Taiwan Caiwei Publishing House.

 【作者簡介】

龚如仲（英文名ralph），生于中国上海。中国对外经济贸易大学英语一系毕业，毕业后在铁道部援建坦赞铁路工作组任英语翻译（曾在非洲工作四年）。中国国际广播电台英语部英语播音员、记者，外贸部中国轻工业品进出口总公司出口二处业务员、副处长，外贸部轻工业品进出口总公司驻美国公司总裁（处长）。2012年至2016年，台湾采薇出版社出版自传《岁月如重》《东西南北中国人---细谈如何在大陆做生意》《悠然时光》和《悠然时光---如仲诗语》。2018年4月，中国国际广播出版社出版《悠然斋诗文选》，2018年9月，中国国际广播出版社出版《花儿在身边开放》。现为中华诗词学会会员、中国经典文学网特约作家、台湾采薇出版社顾问。世界詩會聯合總會【北歐總社】、【好萊塢總社】常務總社長。