Explore Chapter 44 of 'Moment in Peking' with the original Chinese text, English translation, detailed Chinese vocabulary explanations, and audio of the Chinese original. Listen and improve your reading skills.
Japanese planes bombed Hangzhou with increasing frequency. Mulan and her family could no longer stay safely in their city house, so they moved to a mountain villa by West Lake. This villa, passed down through the Yao family generations, stood on a hillside near Lingyin Temple, surrounded by bamboo groves that made it difficult to spot from outside.
That afternoon, the weather was clear. Mulan was hanging clothes in the yard with Mochou when a low, rumbling sound reached them from afar. The noise swelled, and in an instant three planes, their wings marked with the Rising Sun flag, emerged from the clouds and dived toward the city. Deafening explosions followed, and thick smoke rose from within the city. Mulan grabbed Mochou and ran inside, closing the doors and windows tightly. Atong and Aman ran out of their rooms, their faces pale. Mulan comforted them: "Don't be afraid. The planes won't come into the mountains."
But the bombs fell right at the foot of the mountain, rattling the roof tiles loudly. Mulan felt the ground tremble beneath her feet. She held the two children tightly and prayed silently. A few minutes later, the drone of the planes faded away, and silence fell again. Mulan loosened her hold on the children and walked to the door to look outside. In the distance, black smoke hung over the city, and flames flickered faintly. She sighed and turned to Mochou: "I wonder how many homes have been destroyed in the city this time."
At dusk, a servant arrived from the city with news: the family's medicine shop had been half-destroyed, but luckily all the assistants had taken shelter in the air-raid shelter and were unharmed. Mulan's father, Yao Si'an, who had been in the shop, also came out safe. Mulan breathed a sigh of relief, but then worry crept in - what would they do if the Japanese occupied Hangzhou?
At night, Mulan sat alone by the window, gazing at the moon. Its cold, clear light cast a shimmering reflection on the surface of West Lake. She recalled her childhood days in Beijing, thinking of the Zeng family garden and Manniang. Those peaceful years seemed so distant now. The war had changed everyone, and it had changed her outlook on life. All she wished for now was that her family could live in safety.
The next day, Yao Si'an returned from the city with even worse news: the Japanese army was approaching Hangzhou, panic had gripped the city, and many families were fleeing. Yao Si'an decided that the whole family must pack immediately and head south to Jinhua and Quzhou, where the mountains offered relative safety. Mulan nodded silently and began helping her mother pack. She knew this was another escape, just like when they had fled from Beijing to Shandong more than twenty years ago. But this time, she was no longer a ten-year-old girl; she was the mother of two children. She had to protect her children, just as her parents had protected her back then.