The book Cold Night is worth reading. Personally, I think there are several clues in this book, mainly by telling the story of Wang Wenxuan's family of four, to reflect the tragic fate of small intellectuals in the anti-Japanese war era.
During the Anti-Japanese War, even if young intellectuals were full of blood and ambitious in education, their beautiful ideals would become worthless and a big joke because of the times. Wang Wenxuan, the hero of Cold Night, is a little intellectual. He and his wife Zeng Shusheng had great ambitions to teach and educate people when they were young. However, in War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression's time, he couldn't realize his great ambition with his meager strength. He has done some writing skills in a book and stationery company, reading proofs and doing translation, and the little money he earns is not enough to support his family. Wenxuan is honest, but such a "nice guy" can act as a "mediator" in the daily quarrel between his wife and mother, which in fact does not play any role. His wife, Zeng Shusheng, works in a bank, earning more money than him, and can also give children a good education. Xiao Xuan studies in an aristocratic school and comes back once a week. Wang Wenxuan's mother is a cultured person, and she has read books before. She can't do rough work like some aunts, so she does housework at home and keeps the house in order. In our opinion, family of origin should be happier, and everyone's life is very easy. But Wang Wenxuan's mother is a very unreasonable person. Both Shusheng and Wenxuan have children, but they still hate her so much. Wenxuan's mother loves him very much, but not her daughter-in-law. She always abused Shusheng from time to time, saying that she was not married by Wenxuan, but was Wenxuan's "concubine", saying that Shusheng was not an honest woman and there were men outside. Wenxuan's mother can ignore her daughter-in-law's feelings and hope that her daughter-in-law will leave her son, but has she ever thought about her son? Daughter-in-law is the spiritual comfort of son. () Wenxuan. Mother loves Wenxuan and Xiao Xuan. Why can't she love trees a little? She is also a big reason why scholars leave Wenxuan. Zeng Shusheng is a kind-hearted woman who loves Wenxuan very much. Even if she can live a good life outside, even if the war is coming to their hometown, she can leave her loving boss, but she will still think of Wenxuan. Wenxuan is ill, and she will take good care of him. She is also a tolerant woman. In the face of her mother-in-law's harsh words, she sometimes chooses to endure and not care. However, she didn't do her duty as a mother. Xiao Xuan was not very close to her, but she didn't try to change. Although she could give Xiao Xuan a good education, Xiao Xuan received so little maternal love that Xiao Xuan grew up in a catalytic way in his adolescence and became mature and lonely.
The climax of the novel is that Wang Wenxuan's lung disease is getting more and more serious, but he still insists on going to work until his good friend Zhong Lao dies and stays in bed. At this time, Shusheng followed his boss to Lanzhou and wrote back from time to time. But "walking in this dark street, she suddenly felt a strange feeling. From time to time, she turned and looked at both sides of the street. She is worried that the trembling calcium carbide lamp will be blown out by the cold wind. It's really cold at night. She needs warmth. "The final outcome is that the scholar left Wenxuan, Wenxuan was miserable. Wenxuan flew to a beautiful and quiet paradise on the day of the victory of the Anti-Japanese War. Wenxuan's mother and Xiao Xuan left their hometown, leaving no message for Shusheng who came back to find them.
It's really cold on a cold night. People in this era can't change anything by their own strength, let alone intellectuals, who can't achieve anything by their own meager strength. On the contrary, due to the reasons of the times, they gradually moved towards misery.