Zhou Enlai was a truly loyal, efficient and incorruptible servant of the people, who practiced the party's tenet of serving the people wholeheartedly throughout his life, and did so to the best of his ability. In more than 25 years as prime minister of the government, in dealing with internal affairs, diplomacy, and large and small official activities, his strong sense of self-consciousness of public servants is omnipresent, just as he himself said: "to serve the people is to spit out the last silk like a spring silkworm."
It can be said that Zhou Enlai was the person who did the most work in the Party and was also the busiest. He worked day and night for the country's prosperity and the people's happiness, "always working more than 12 hours a day, sometimes more than 16 hours, all his life". He was called "the all-weather Zhou Enlai" by foreigners.
He was so busy with meetings and reception of foreign guests during the day that he sometimes didn't even have time for lunch, so he had to bring some simple food and drink and eat on the drive. Late at night is when he returns to his office to deal with tons of documents and study major issues.
During the day, Zhou Enlai's only break was when he had dinner with Deng Yingchao***. He liked to listen to Shanbei folk songs, whenever this time he always had to turn on the phonograph and listen to it while eating, from time to time tapping the table with his fingers or pointing the ground with his feet, tapping along with the music, his face showing a peaceful, pleasant expression. But in those brief moments, when he remembers what he has to deal with, he often has to bring his secretary in again.
Year after year, day after day. China's first few five-year plans to develop the national economy were formulated and organized by Zhou Enlai. The governance of the motherland every big river, the construction of each key project, the success of the atomic bomb, hydrogen bomb development, the artificial satellite in the sky, all condensed with his heart and soul. He sent away a sleepless night and ushered in a busy morning in the midst of his day-to-day work. It is no wonder that Vietnam's President Ho Chi Minh's only personal request to Zhou Enlai was, "Please, for the benefit of the Chinese people and the people of the world, sleep two more hours a day."
Zhou Enlai stipulated that 24 hours a day, where there is an important and urgent matter, whether he is sleeping or eating, the comrade who organizes the urgent matter should report to him at any time. Once in Henan Province flooding, to deal with this matter, Zhou Enlai a few days and nights without much sleep. That day just went to sleep, and then came the emergency, the secretary to consider Zhou Enlai is too tired, want to wait for him to wake up and then report, did not wake him up. He woke up and read the urgent documents, seriously criticized the secretary. The secretary said heartily, "Premier, you have not slept for several days and nights, you will be exhausted." Zhou Enlai said, "My time is not personal. It's nothing for me to sleep a little less. The issue of flooding is related to the safety of the lives and property of millions of people. In the future, we must resolutely follow the rules."
Many famous and influential people at home and abroad have written articles saying, "Undoubtedly, Zhou Enlai is one of the busiest and most worked people in the world."
Busy at work mainly reflects his dedication, while doing a lot of work not only reflects dedication, but also reflects his superior intelligence.
We only need to look at each day Zhou Enlai's work schedule, take a look at the West Flower Hall that often late at night lights, we will think of the people's Premier is how a dedication, that bright and indestructible light is Zhou Enlai with his life ignited!
Zhou Enlai's working day began when he woke up in the morning and opened his eyes. He slept late and woke up late, and most of the so-called "mornings" here were near noon, or even one or two o'clock in the afternoon, and occasionally even later.
West Flower Hall's service staff will clean the bathroom early in the morning, all the necessities are ready; during the day to open the curtains and open the windows to ventilate, at night to close the windows and close the curtains to keep the air indoors and also to keep the room temperature relatively constant.
Premier Zhou's daily habits and working arrangements are, "morning" wake up as soon as he opens his eyes to look at his watch. He occasionally rang the bell to call people in to ask what urgent matters need to be dealt with. If time permits, and he feels sleepy and does not sleep enough, he goes back to sleep. Otherwise, he would ring the bell next to his pillow to call the security guards on duty, who heard the bell and went into Zhou Enlai's bedroom to follow him to the bathroom.
Zhou Enlai went into the bathroom, sometimes sitting on the flush toilet, press the electric bell (the electric bell button on the small table next to the toilet), the duty secretary called in, to report to him the telephone records, to be approved by the urgent documents and the day's work arrangements. Sometimes, he called people (mostly Zhou Enlai familiar with the old subordinates) to the bathroom to report on the work, the conversation time is a few minutes, can also be up to several minutes. Therefore, the days are long, Xihuahua Hall staff to give the bathroom a nickname, called the "second office".
Secretaries attach great importance to this office time, a year in the spring, a day's plan in the morning? For this office time, the secretaries are prepared and negotiated in advance.
First of all, they will be responsible for their own urgent pieces out, "scramble for the market", who sends who sends first, to fight, in order, often those who immediately need to approve the telegrams on the front. Such a large country, Zhou Enlai as long as three or four hours of sleep, there will be some urgent matters to be done, not to mention the international wind and clouds are changing rapidly. All of this is connected to Zhou Enlai's "second office", to be dealt with and decision-making while sitting on the toilet.
Generally, Zhou Enlai in the "second office" only to deal with urgent telegrams, important matters. The kind of daily business, can not be brought here to do. Because Zhou Enlai also want to read the newspaper, it can be said that there has not been a lack of.
If the "veteran" Zhou Enlai's office staff jokingly called the bathroom the "second office", then the bedroom is called the "third office". The bedroom is called the "third office". Zhou Enlai woke up and went to the "second office" to start his work schedule for the day, but he ended his day in bed in the bedroom.
When Premier Zhou left his office late at night or early in the morning to go to his bedroom, he always carried a large pile of documents, which Deng Yingchao jokingly referred to as "the gold doll he always carries every day" to bed.
Zhou Enlai washed up into the bedroom and lay down on the bed, continue to look at the "gold doll", reading documents, often dozing off when exhausted. Holding a red pencil in the hand on the document, point, draw, and later draw a curved irregular lines. Sometimes, the staff stood next to persuade him to rest, he seldom agreed, but asked for a hot towel to wipe his face, take some peanuts or soda crackers to give him "hunger", the staff saw, in fact, he wanted to take this to expel the "sleepy head". Sometimes, when the staff to take the peanut rice, he has been huffing and puffing against the bed asleep, holding in the hands of the pencil has fallen to the ground.
The guards on duty kept an eye on the bedroom, and once Zhou Enlai fell asleep, they gently went in, put out the light, and then gently came out, closed the door tightly, and whispered to the secretaries on duty, "Go back, the Premier is asleep."
Of course, sometimes Zhou Enlai turned off the light and went to bed himself, an active and deliberate attempt to sleep, usually because there was nothing more he could not let go of, or because he had a headache so severe that he could not see. Zhou Enlai overuse of brain pain we have all seen, slightly frowning, do not dare to open their eyes, this time he has to take sleeping pills, and by the nurse staff to help do some head massage, promote blood circulation.
Zhou Enlai took the initiative to turn off the lights to sleep, often the case of sleep is not solid. Once you see him turn off the lights, the duty secretary can go. But sometimes not much work, Zhou Enlai "office" lights up again, this is what he remembered, told the guards to find the secretary again, or ask, or account for a thing, or to a certain work to give instructions.
This happens often. Zhou Enlai saw the secretary running around, the heart is uneasy, said: "Alas, really trouble you. It's better to call your dormitory Anbe."
So, the duty secretary's bedside installed a red machine. Zhou Enlai bedside installed a red machine, this red machine has no dialing and no bell, pick up the microphone can let the switchboard to find someone. You can call out, outside the call can not come in, because do not ring the bell, for fear of ringing the bell to disturb living next door Deng big sister.
With a telephone, there are many less errands to run. Some things can be said on the phone, answering Zhou Enlai's inquiries or accepting a certain instruction, instead of having to run from the bedroom to Zhou Enlai's "office".
Office conditions are gradually improved. For example, Zhou Enlai's "third office", the beginning of the conditions are simple, Zhou Enlai holding the documents on the bed, in the side of a put, will be leaning back on the head of the bed. When he reviewed the documents, he bowed his legs, the documents on his lap, while looking at the side of the instructions, so it is very tiring, and the documents on his lap, writing is not easy to write well, but also strenuous. The guards saw this situation, they helped to find a cardboard, so that Zhou Enlai pad in the legs.
This makes it easier to write, but people are still tired. Seeing this, Sister Deng had a bad feeling, and moved her mind to invite the carpenter to come and speak about the idea in person. Carpenters according to Deng's vision to make a small table with a tilted surface, just to be able to card on the bed. In this way, Zhou Enlai's office could be relieved of some of the strain.
This small table, usually only put three things: red and blue pencils, presbyopes and cool oil. 60s, Zhou Enlai overworked heart disease, the small table will be added a bottle of nitroglycerin to prevent a sudden heart attack for the emergency medicine. Now, this small tilted table is displayed in the Chinese Revolutionary Museum.