Chapter 3 Chapter two

When Deng Ping was broadcasting, James.Daye was watching a group of Young Pioneer kids doing gymnastics to the voice of a loudspeaker on the playground of the church's former school.He had already had his breakfast, and he was fascinated by the scene on the playground.He was wearing a white open collar shirt, brown trousers and leather sandals.He was still holding a cup of coffee in his hand, sniffing the aroma of the coffee, shaking his toes back and forth gently.From time to time, he looked back at his aunt, Angelica, who was sitting at the table. It was his first morning back in China after eight years of leaving China, and he felt very happy.Angelica looked up at her beloved nephew, half doubting and half guessing his purpose for coming to Huiyang this time.Her ochre-colored hair, which she originated from her Scottish grandmother, is now covered with a black hairnet, and under it is a slightly pale face, with blue eyes and delicate skin, even the pink veins at the temples can be seen.She watched James grow up.James was shy and timid when he was a child, and he didn't spend much time with other children. He liked to read books, all kinds of books.She was a shy sort herself, and her sympathy fell naturally on her nephew, and James was now a young man with a keen interest in art.

James had studied art in Florence, and before he came to the East, he had traveled to Greece and Afghanistan, and finally went to Yenching University in Peking as a lecturer on European art.He always did things that surprised her, just as he puzzled Angelica when he found out that Beijing was no longer liveable and he opened a shop selling household utensils in Hong Kong.However, she likes his sharp eyes, an artist's exploring gaze, who has a different view of the world from others. The church is an unassuming red brick house built in the last century. Beside the house are a few oleocarpus trees and a large banyan tree. Many dry, light brown weeping whiskers protrude from the low branches of the banyan tree.In front of the house there is a garden thirty to forty feet deep, and there is a gravel path in the garden leading to the iron gate in front.The house is cool because of the trees.To the left of the house was a hospital, separated by a wall covered with vines.The windows at the back are facing the Dongjiang River and a piece of countryside, and the scenery is superb.

James is tall and slender, with a graceful chin, a straight nose, and a well-proportioned frame and muscles, revealing the typical British aristocracy.The hair roots at the back of the head are neatly trimmed, wishing to show the fastidious and restrained personality of the British.His father Donna.Captain Daye, who served in the Indian Army, has a Belgian mother.He has two sideburns, indicating that he was educated in continental Europe, which shows a bit of his personal vanity, and is also a sign of an art student.His whole appearance is different from those red-faced British businessmen in Hong Kong.He used to walk the streets in Chinese shops and eat in Chinese restaurants which is the most un-British thing to do.He often speaks authentic Peking dialect to the Chinese clerk, which makes the clerk stunned for a while, and he feels very happy.Does that person actually own a store that sells vacuum cleaners and other household items?No!We really can't see it.Some of his British business peers would say so.

But James knew what he wanted.His mother died when he was six, just after Captain Daye had bought a house in Sussex and retired.He was remarried to a London clerk, and James, who was a child, was always to himself.The captain didn't know his son very well, and his son became very fond of reading.His family is often associated with the East.His grandfather, Reverend Loderick, had preached in Allahaba, India, and died there.He firmly believes that Brahman is the God of Christianity, and the God of Christianity is Brahman.In his old home in Sussex, James' imagination was ignited by an elephant's foot that was preserved at home as an umbrella bone.He often shared Angelica's family letters from far away China, and some of his grandfather's personal letters written on ancient paper also fascinated him.

He was eighteen when the World War ended.At Oxford, he didn't want to be with the hipsters of the day, the angry young people.After staying in Oxford for three years, I suddenly felt an inexplicable excitement in my heart.He went to Florence, Italy to study art, and fell in love with art deeply.He lived in Florence for a year, went on vacation in Greece, and developed a new enthusiasm for the art of Iteos. Inevitably, young James ended up in the East.In Beijing, he found a living art that he needed, the art of an artist's life; the combination of architecture, sculpture, and life customs makes everyday life a kind of enjoyment, and the ancient city walls in the sunset and the Temple of Heaven in the moonlight , giving a majestic sublimation to this enjoyment.He learned the local language quickly because he put his heart and soul into it; he learned it in temple fairs, in markets, and from the common people on the street.

His real purpose of coming to Huiyang this time is to smuggle his Chinese fiancée, Yi Su, out by an escape route.He didn't want to surprise his aunt with the news as soon as he arrived last night.But this morning, he must tell her. During his stay in Beijing, Daye discovered Yi Su, who was a student of European art at the age of eighteen, and he was his teacher.At first, for some unknown reason, she kept giggling in class, and whether she understood or not.She always stared at him intently, showing strong interest in every word he said.Later, she stopped giggling and giggling, and she always sat in the same seat, the third row by the window, wearing a black jacket and a hand-knitted red scarf, quietly watching him lecture.James is a good lecturer because he loves the subject he teaches.He did not often discuss the form of art, but, like Henry Adams, he focused on the source of artistic power.He believes that the power of art comes from the common feelings of human beings: love, fear, struggle, war, and religious worship.Therefore, he also talked about some mysterious forces in the human heart: longing, hope, frustration and despair.Sometimes, Yi Su could hear tears in his eyes.She understood every word he said.

Outside of the classroom, James found Isu to be cheerful and laughing, seemingly oblivious to her own attraction.She has an oval face, and her skin is not as fair as other Chinese girls; and she doesn't pay much attention to grooming.She doesn't trim her eyebrows.But her eyes and well-shaped lips captured him firmly with their vibrancy and natural plumpness.She was small by English standards, which pleased him, for there was a strange oriental beauty hidden in her healthy figure.And, in her dark complexion and the depths of her eyes, James saw her understanding of others in a way that other pretty girls didn't.She radiates freshness, spontaneity, and warmth of human love, and life is a joy to her.

The friendship between them grew and deepened day by day.In less than two months, James had fallen deeply in love with her.Suddenly, James felt, she was the end of his quest in the East, a work of art he was looking for, suddenly a person, a living person. You are a swinger.So he told her one day when they were playing near Heading. What is swinging? James explained to her that he was like a child, inventing words that were his own, that he would not use in lectures because no one could understand them.It was like a child's secret language, or a word one uses only in one's private diary.Dangdang means the flying spirit of a person, represents yearning and hope, and elevates people to the spiritual realm.The opposite side is stumbling, which is an ordinary force that constantly pulls people down and makes them care about the reality in the world.Man is made of these two forces, and sometimes the one overwhelms the other, and sometimes even destroys the other.Hence the tragedies and fears of life.James explains that this is not a struggle between good and evil; swinging is not just an impulse to do good, and stumbling is not just an impulse to do evil.At the same time, he cannot call these two forces constructive and destructive in human nature, because the mundane forces of stumbling are necessary to maintain human existence, and constructive reminds him of the social sciences he hates.The tragedy of man is that he needs both at the same time.Some might call it the balance of mind and matter, the union of mind and matter, and the struggle for dominance of mind and matter.For many people, the turbulent power in their hearts was completely suppressed, and tripping gained the upper hand.James called this kind of person Abuda.Abuda does not need and does not need a higher level of spiritual life.It is these two forces that control life.

Most of the people were abudas, James said: they married, had children, and died. Where did you find these words?Yi Su asked him. I don't know, I feel like the words are in my head.You can't find the word Abuda anywhere else, can you? Yi Su found it very interesting.Soon, those words became code words for the lovers.When they planned to go to Mingling in the outskirts of Beijing and found that they didn't have enough pocket money, Yi Su said: swing. Yes, swing.James responded, and they both laughed. In 1949, the Communist Party arrived in Beijing.After staying for more than a year, James found that he had to leave China immediately.He had to leave quickly, and he couldn't even see Yi Su.

Isu was a third-year college student at the time and had to serve as a volunteer in the Korean War.In English, it would be more appropriate to say that she was volunteered, as a person is conscripted.She and other volunteers headed for the Korean battlefield.He had to go, but knew he would come back.A few years later, through Aunt Angelica, he got in touch with Isu again.He opened a shop in order to stay in Hong Kong (his acknowledgment of Kizuna's power) because he never gave up hope of seeing Yi Su again (his swing power).Yi Su has applied to leave the country on the grounds of going to Hong Kong to marry her Chinese fiancé.They have been waiting for three years.It seems that the exit permit will never be obtained.He couldn't wait any longer, he decided to help her escape to Hong Kong by himself.

Angelica came over and stood behind him, looking at the children on the playground.James wanted to tell her the real purpose of his trip, but he waited for an opportune moment before speaking. The children on the playground, all between the ages of eleven and sixteen, wore the blue Pioneer uniform and shorts, and James was refreshed; he had seen the blue uniform in Peking, but Under the rising sun, the bright faces completely attracted his attention.During the break after gymnastics, the kids chased and wrestled each other like any other little kid, and then they heard the command to pay attention to the news reports.James paid special attention to one captain, with a straight back, a sharp look in uniform, and grace and spirit in every movement. Children are not interested in political news, let alone listening to political lectures.Every morning they heard this screeching, straining voice, machine-gun-like blare, that was Deng Ping's habit of speaking. Now go back to work.said the voice on the radio.Cleaning teams will be dispatched to designated areas in and outside the city.Women's groups, will gather and work as usual.All natural fertilizers are to be sent to the Socialist Reconstruction Supply Station.Children also have to pick up excrement on their way to school.Now everyone do a good job!This year is the year of fertilizer.There are pig manure and chicken excrement everywhere, and we need them to help us build socialism and complete the Great Leap Forward.Don't forget: save all poop.Complete the Great Leap Forward!long live Chairman Mao! The captain of the children blew his whistle.The children went to get their baskets and sacks, regrouped and walked out of the playground. Look at the captain of the Young Pioneers.I bet he must be very proud.James turned to his aunt. I see them every day.Children are always children.It's always good to find something for them to do and keep them idle.That captain, though, was a little rascal.He must be the one who stole my chicken last week. A move? That's his name. You know him? Everyone knows him.He is fourteen years old.He was an orphan whose parents were landlords and were killed.Now he is the captain of the junior team. You can't keep the good guys out, can you? That's not the case.That kid, Angelica went on with a little smile, was just a little rascal who bullied other kids.Others told me that while others were picking up excrement, he was playing on the street near the socialist construction supply station, waiting for the cleaning team to return.As soon as he sees a child come back with that thing in his basket, he has only to sign with his finger to his basket and say: Here!The other children obediently threw a little into his basket, and he treated it as if he had picked it up himself and handed it in. James couldn't help feeling amused.How do you know so much? Isu told me.Her little nephew, Xiao Ya'er, followed Ah Zhao all day like a little follower.Little Ya'er was only ten or eleven years old, and Yi Su worried that the kid would grow up to be like Ah Zhao, and everyone in the city would be threatened by him. Why is everyone so afraid of him? When the party uses him, everyone is afraid.He can lie or inform against everyone.He seems to hate everyone except himself.They gave him a medal when they snapped it up last year.He's good when he's good, and bad when he's bad.Whenever sick or elderly people could not stand the hot sun and collapsed in the field, he would organize a stretcher team to carry them back and forth.But he lied and lied. Sister Angelica's voice was a little excited, the kind of excitement for someone who really cared.Regardless of what she said, James sensed her liking for Ah Zhao.That's what she is.So she can no longer be a neat and level-headed abbot.She spoke articulately, but softly and a little timidly.Nearly fifty, she's still a little shy.She often forgets things; she forgives people too easily.The hospital offered her the position of head nurse, which she declined.She is content with the personal nature of her role and has trouble remembering many rules and decrees. As they left the window James put his hands on his aunt's shoulders and led her to the table.During the journey, he sat by the window all the way, his face was rosy after sun exposure. Angelica, tell me about Isu.How is she?Why didn't he pick me up at the station? Yi Su was originally a biblical name, which she had taken when she was studying in a Catholic middle school, and was later shortened to two characters. Well, James, be sensible.This is Red China.If a girl is seen kissing an imperialist, it's not good for her. She is my fiancee!why can't i kiss her You know why. When can I see her? She'll have to be very careful tonight, maybe. Can I run over to see her?It's now. You better not.Know that you are being watched.Don't hurt her. I can't wait to meet her.can i call her She doesn't have a phone at home.She usually arrives at the hospital at a quarter past eight.She glanced at the wall clock on the wall and it was ten past eight.Let me leave a message to the hospital and ask her to call me when she arrives.From my point of view, it is safer, since I am leaving China anyway. She stood up and walked over to the phone on the wall, Angelica's blue eyes blinked. At this moment, the phone rang.James jumped to his feet and rushed forward.He held his breath and waited for her aunt to answer the phone. Yes, Esu Angelica said.Before she could finish, James snatched the receiver from her hand. Yes, it's me, James.I'm going back in a few days.swing. He heard her voice reply swaying and then a burst of laughter. James went on, it's good to hear your voice again.No, I'm afraid not. I've come to take my aunt out.We're leaving in a few days maybe maybe. James put down the phone.He was worried about someone eavesdropping. I played them a trick, he said.She said she might come to say goodbye to you today.Actually, I can't wait to meet her at this very moment.Auntie, please do me a favor!Go tell her now. Sister Angelica cast a sly look at her nephew.She sat back on the chair and said narrowly, you know, I don't have to go to the hospital today. Aunt, please.Has she changed? You will know.There was a tremor in Sister Angelica's voice, and a smile of great interest was on her face, bright and glowing.Certainly, when she was young, there must have been a romance hidden under that tender face.knew.She went on to say, find out for yourself.Suddenly, a layer of blush appeared on both cheeks, and she exclaimed: What a touching romance!That tone was like a girl who had just finished telling a love story that made people feel confused. She slowly took James's hand on the table and said, For you, Professor Daye, I am willing to tell her.But don't lie to me, James, you must have a better reason for coming than to accompany your sickly aunt out of the country.Why are you carrying a gun?I'm so scared.They might accuse you of being a secret agent. I know the risks I'm taking.If the British government knew about this, it would be a big trouble. He paused for a moment, then continued seriously: "Auntie, I must tell you everything."You know, Isu and I are already engaged.I've been waiting all these years, planning to get her out.He paused for a while to let the other party understand what he meant, and then continued: I have my own business in Hong Kong.I stayed in Hong Kong just to be closer to her.We have been waiting for three years for her to apply for an exit permit.This time, I must take her out.That's why I carry a gun. take her out!In what way? Just to help her cross the border. Angelica's face showed a worried look, and her brows were frowned.Helplessly shook his head and said, you man!Always unpredictable. James curled his lips into a confident smile. Just walk over, you know, he said, gesturing cheerfully. But how do you get there?Are you crazy? NO, I have not.I have thoroughly researched the situation, talked to those who made it out, and studied every route.You know hundreds of people cross the border every month. I have heard. They all succeeded, why can't I?Why can't we?Thousands of refugees have fled to Hong Kong this summer across the mountainous borders or from Macau.Did you know that a million refugees have crossed the border in the last ten years? Isn't it dangerous? Of course it's dangerous.But when people have nowhere to go, they can do anything.There was once a mother who taught her four sons to swim.When the eldest son was eighteen, she told them to flee.Three were shot and killed by the patrol boat, but the youngest, nine years old, swam over.This story made me feel so ashamed. What about the mother? She did not escape.There are hundreds of stories like this one.Of course, the vast majority of people passed away in the first few years when they retreated from the clutches of the Communist Party.Even today, it is estimated that between 40 and 60 illegal immigrants pass through and disappear in Hong Kong and Kowloon every day. Why didn't you stop them? There is a 17-kilometer-long border between Mipeng Bay and Deep Water Bay, with mountains to the east and rice fields to the west.There are barbed wire fences crossing a stream on both sides of the Chinese and British borders.But they can't always send people to patrol every part of a border.Some were arrested and sent back, only to flee again.Some were shot and killed while swimming.But some people always escaped.Many people also fled along the river on the other side of Macau. Now it was Angelica's turn to get excited. Is there no other way?This method of escape is too dangerous. Auntie, you don't have to come with us.You have an exit permit, you can go by train. how about you? I don't know.I will depend on the situation.If others can escape, Yisu and I can too. But you are white.You're easy to spot in the open countryside. We'll be in the mountains, not the country.don’t worry. Oh, so that's why you carry a gun. Yes. Are you ready to kill? Only when others try to get in my way.And I have to have a gun with me, and the gun is not with me now. I know you have everything planned.And when you decide what to do, no one can stop you.Angelica said, looking into his eyes. That's it.They took my gun, though.So I'm safe now. I dare not say it yet. Why?They said they would give me the gun back when I left. I appreciate you coming.However, I will feel better if you pick me up at the Kowloon border. Oh, I can't do that.I genuinely thought I could be a little bit of a help along the way. You are very nice.But, I know, you also want to see Yi Su.Tell me, how do I look maybe older? Oh, Auntie, you really don't need flattery.You are not old at all.Maybe a little thinner, but more alive than when I first saw you yesterday In fact, I don't think I'm in good shape.I get tired easily.I once diagnosed myself, it was tuberculosis of the old kind. James looked intently at his aunt.I'm so glad they let you go.With proper care and rest, you will recover. But if they let me stay, I can still work.Everything I do every day, I do well.I'd be happy if they let me stay. She paused to catch her breath. How have they been to you? They didn't say I was a spy, a spy or something.They know me very well, and everyone in the area knows me.A weak woman like me cannot threaten their regime.Last month, they told me I had to leave.I understand that they don't mean anything against me personally. Do you feel bad about leaving here? Angelica bowed her head, said thoughtfully, sadly, I don't think my work has been destroyed; it can't be.But I have called this place my home for twenty-two years.It was hard for me to be away from all my Chinese friends; leaving here made me feel lost.Take Isu, for example, I've known her since she was a child.Her mother passed away three years ago, when she was still in the north, I remember her mother said to me when she was dying: I know I won't live long, and you will leave us sooner or later.However, no matter what, please don't lose contact with Yisu.Her ambition is to go to Hong Kong.One day, she might be able to go there.It was her last words.I can't imagine what will happen to Yisu after I'm gone.They only let her come here to be with her family two years ago when her second brother died.Her second brother is an engineer and works in the forests of Jilin.One day a truck overturned and he was crushed to death in the snow.So they suddenly had her back.They are good to scientists and engineers. Angelika's voice was soft, and she never said a word against the Communist Party, but when she spoke approvingly about their treatment of scientists, she seemed to have added criticism to things she disapproved of. He had great admiration for his little, sickly aunt, and he admired her for staying and working when others left, refusing to leave.He knew that what she did was a good thing, the right thing.In this manner she expressed her hopes and concerns for everyone; she seemed to resist with a well-established conviction the many new dogmas that ruled the Chinese people.Now that they decided to deport her, she had no choice but to accept it without any complaints. In the end, this courage to face reality turned into faith. Auntie, would you like to do something for me?This matter is very important.I have to contact a person, a scalper, you know. cattle? Yes, they are called scalpers. They are guides who know the way and lead the people to flee for a fee. Half of it is paid first, and the other half is paid after crossing the border.It's already a deal.You see, it's not as crazy as you might think.This person is extremely reliable and was recommended to me in Hong Kong. James rummaged through his notepad and found the code word written in English: Model.If Rockfeld is translated into Chinese, he will become a model, Stone Field. Have you ever heard of Fan Shitian? At first, she didn't quite understand James' Cantonese accent.Huiyang dialect is different from Guangzhou dialect. Ah, yes Fan Shitian.Before the Communist Party came, the Fan family was the wealthiest family in the town.do you have his address Yes I have. I think Old Mr. Duan, Yi Su's father, must know about him. This matter is very important.We have to hurry up.He should have heard that I am coming, he may be waiting to see me.I must find a way to contact him today. If this is the case, then I will go over and tell Yi Su.I'll ask her to ask her father to bring a message. Still have to answer.Tell me when and how to meet. James watched Sister Angelica walk through a door leading to the hospital.The door opened on a low wall covered with ivy, which separated the hospital from the church. She turned and whispered: Be careful.If I were you, I wouldn't go out. I know. She watched him wave his hand lightly, then jumped up, grabbed a low-hanging branch of a big banyan tree, swung for a few seconds, and jumped off again. He went inside, put on a pair of dark glasses, and went out.