Chapter 10 Chapter nine

Sister Angelica noted in her diary that September 28th was the day she left.She has worked in China for twenty-two years.The morning sky is overcast.The temperature dropped sharply, making the journey on the train a little more comfortable.Her two boxes have been packed, and her friends in the hospital have been told not to come see her off.The morning train to Kowloon is at 10:45. James went to the party committee at nine o'clock to inform them that he was leaving Huiyang, and at the same time demanded that his pistol be returned so as not to arouse suspicion. In the party committee, he saw a flash of bayonets.Twenty or thirty soldiers wearing steel helmets stood a few steps apart in front of the party committee visited by Zhu Rong. Their rifles, in groups of three or four, were placed on the empty field.

These soldiers are very thin and young, no more than twenty-one or two years old at most.James walked up to one of the officers and showed him his papers. Let me report that we are leaving today. where is your auntthe officer asked, flipping through his passport. at church.All her exit documents are in place. There is no one here, and the officer said: You can see for yourself. I wish my gun could be returned to me.When I arrived here three days ago, the party committee promised me that it would be returned to me when I left.Can I go in and take a look? No one can go in.For all I know, the gun may have been buried in the rubble.I'm afraid I can't help either.He suggested that James go to the headquarters, which was only half a kilometer away.James noticed that the officer spoke with a standard northern accent.

I thought, are you new here?he asks. We just arrived yesterday. James turned and walked away. wait a minute. The officer comes. You are not a journalist, are you? No, didn't you just look at my ID? You won't report what's going on here and speak ill of us, will you?His eyes naturally glanced at the party headquarters destroyed by the fire. No, why should I speak ill of you?We are good friends of the Chinese people.You are the ones who want to drive away my aunt, she is not willing to leave. James went to headquarters.He wants official records showing that they left Huiyang openly and legally, his aunt left in a hurry and he had to stay behind to pack his bags and catch the next train. In short, he wanted his departure to be as unobtrusive as possible. .

Things have changed in the city.Soldiers posted posts at all important intersections.The market has returned to normal.With the arrival of the army and the return of the militia, the hearts of the people have stabilized.He walked past Yuewang Temple and saw schoolchildren playing in the temple. He got to the headquarters, but it turned out to be of no use.After a weekend of turmoil, things were left in the dark and no one could figure it out.Everyone was busy answering the phone, and no one was interested in his affairs.Finally he managed to meet a party official, who had a temporary office here, and he finally reported his affairs.

However, the curfew notices posted in the office and everywhere along the road made him uneasy.According to the curfew, no one can be on the street after dark.In this case, what should the car do at night?Yi Su said they were going to take a ride at night! This trip took longer than he had planned, and when he returned to the church, it was already ten o'clock. I have to get in touch with Isu.He said to Angelica who was about to leave. We still have a few minutes, I have to go to the hospital to say goodbye to my friends. I will go with you.James said. All right, but we can't be in the hospital for more than five minutes.

On the way to the hospital, Angelica sighed and said: Well, this is the last day.I can't believe I'm leaving.She made another funny smile and said: I think I am probably the last missionary in China. They bid farewell to the people in the hospital, but Yi Su wasn't there.To James' great surprise, he was told that a patient wanted to see him. This patient was the woman who was dying on the bridge yesterday and was carried back to the hospital by him.Although the time was running short, he felt that he couldn't refuse.She was sitting on the hospital bed, looking at him with two big eyes on her thin face.James seemed to see only her eyes.

The woman stammered a few words.Then lightly clasped his palms together, bowed his head and bowed three times, his forehead was so low that it touched the bed sheet.What she said, James understood nothing.The nurse explained to him that she was thanking him and that he was like her reborn parents. Pitiful.Her children and mother-in-law are dead.She couldn't find her husband again.They had escaped together during the night. James' anger was more than moved.He said to his aunt: I really don't know why I saved her?What will happen to this woman in the future? If you see this situation a few more times, you'll understand why I don't want to leave here.

They bid the woman farewell, however, and advised her not to be too sad.He saw that there were no tears in the woman's eyes, because her tears had dried up.She bowed to him again. They turned to leave, and Angelica said to her nephew: If you know the kind Chinese people like me, you will know that she will burn incense and pray silently for you all her life. James wanted to say something, but his throat choked.He didn't speak, but turned to the nurse. Can you send me a message to Miss Yi Suduan immediately?Ask her to contact me.Tell her there's a curfew tonight.she will understand.

The nurse agreed. James and his aunt arrived at the station fifteen minutes before the drive.Many people were watching them, but no one spoke to them.A Chinese doctor and an assistant from the hospital came to see Angelica off.Neither Yi Su nor her father came.James understood. See you in Hong Kong!James assured Angelica, waving as he ran after the train on the platform. See you soon in Hong Kong!Angelica waved her hand out the car window.Heart filled with excitement. James went to the telegraph office and sent a telegram to his staff in Hong Kong: Auntie arrives at 4:00 p.m. Please meet her at the train station. I will take care of the luggage and be there soon.This telegram was sent for himself, but also for the party committee members.

Back at the church, James thought to himself, if her aunt changed to the Guangjiu Road train at Zhangmutou, she would arrive in Hong Kong around four o'clock this afternoon.He waited anxiously for Yisu's reply, because their plan to leave at night might be affected.In order to make it look like it, he packed up some metal utensils, calligraphy and paintings, and some souvenirs. He hoped that the hospital could ship them to him after he left.He lit a cigarette and straddled his long legs in a chair, trying to concentrate his thoughts. At half past eleven, Yi Su walked across the lawn of the hospital with his head down.He waited patiently in the house, watching her.She was wearing a floral dress with blue polka dots.Passing by a big banyan tree, she looked up and saw James waiting at the door.Her eyes were tense with excitement, but her lips showed an imperceptible smile.

come in.He opened the door and waited. Is the helper's child there?she asked softly. not there.Angelica had sent him away yesterday.It's just the two of us now. Isu seldom expresses his feelings to the outside world.She often expresses emotion with her eyes.In her, he felt a great introverted and calm force, able to purse his lips tightly to deal with any situation. Did you get my message? Yes.Anyway, I'm here to tell you.Things have changed.Fan Shitian said this morning.Did you hear the radio? No. The army has taken over Huiyang.A curfew is enforced after dark. Does this mean that we cannot take the evening bus to Longgang? No, it's still possible.But we must be out of town before curfew. when? Oddly they didn't state when the curfew was.We must get out of town before dark.I'll come around four o'clock this afternoon.at the back door.We're going out of town by boat.After dark, go ashore on the Songjiang River and meet Fan Shitian. Do you know the place? Yes.I go with you, with my father, and with my nephew. James was silent for a while and said: I want to do a stupid thing. whats the matter? You know that woman I took to the hospital yesterday?I can't forget those eyes of hers.She is homeless and has no family to rely on.I want to take her with me. You mean take her across the border? What do you think of her body?Can you take it on the road? I think so. I just want to do this, and I can't explain why. You're often at your best when you're trying to do something stupid. Can you give me an example? For example, you want to smuggle us out together.People who are cautious and cautious will definitely say that you are crazy. So you agree with it? James, I love you for that.Let's just do it.She was just a little weak and tired.We fed her some soup and she seemed to be getting better.These country folks are much stronger than our city folks. Then, it's settled, help her go together.Let her come aboard with us. Yi Su looked at him with approval in his eyes.Slowly, almost singing, she said: We might be doing something stupid.But who knows?She stared at James silently.Then, kissing him quickly and saying: I have to go. James hugged her tightly and wouldn't let her go.With a look in her eyes, he said affectionately: My Goddess Itreus. I am Chinese.Yi Su said with a happy smile. Well, my Guanyin, lovely Guanyin, goddess of benevolence.You are my living Guanyin. Yi Su slightly closed his eyes.She wants to hear more. Oh, how should I say it? Remember, earlier I talked about the solidity and emptiness of Etruscan and Buddhist art?Yes, I love art.But, in your presence, I began to have life.When I saw you the day before yesterday, I felt that I was truly alive. oh?She wanted him to go on. You always know the difference between Ciguanyin and the living Guanyin with flesh and blood.touch my heart. You touch mine. James touched her chest.His finger touch and caress made Yi Su feel an instinctive pleasure. James James she sighed softly. You are a piece of warm jade, James leaned close to Isu's ear and said softly: My heart, my flesh.He didn't know that this was what was said when the sexes were extremely intimate. James!Yi Su broke free from his embrace gently.My whole being is yours.In just a few days, we will be husband and wife, and I will belong to you completely.Let's look forward to it. Then, she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a completely different kiss than before. James let her go with great reluctance. Four o'clock.She turned and said as she left. Four o'clock. The church is on the south bank of the river, overlooking the other bank, with a great view of the countryside.A steep path leads to the river.Like most church houses in the South, this church occupies a large area and is surrounded by trees, which looks like a Buddhist temple. At four o'clock James carefully left the door of the house open, and descended the stone steps, slipping down the vine-covered wall while no one was looking.Twenty feet down the slope, he saw Isu hiding in the bushes. Without saying a word, they walked towards the river, where a small fishing boat was waiting for them.The cabin is so narrow that it can hardly accommodate three or four people.However, the bamboo round canopy above can hide the eyes of passers-by on the shore asking questions. He quietly greeted Mr. Duan and his grandson. We can go now.Mr. Duan said to the fisherman at the stern. What about that woman?James asked. over there.Yi Su pointed to the bow and said.James stared intently for a few seconds before he recognized that the plain woman with the black kerchief sitting in the bow was not the fisherman's wife but the woman he had rescued.Only when she turned her head and smiled slightly did James recognize the deep-set eyes. From the cabin, James saw the boatman pushing the boat away from the river, picking up the oars, and rowing quickly back and forth.The oar goes deep into the water, draws a semicircle on the water surface, and paddles to the stern, and the boat moves forward. The oar is also used as a rudder.When the boat arrived under the bridge, it was the place where the two rivers converged, and the current was turbulent, and then turned into the smaller Song River on the right. Mr. Duan was breathing more freely now, and his eyes were fixed on the swaying street on the shore. It's still early.After another half kilometer, the houses on either side of the bank disappeared, and a country scene of fields and bushes, bathed in the golden afternoon sun, stretched obliquely to the foothills as far as the eye could see. Around the city, there are many boats by the river, but when they approach the suburbs, the boats are sparse, and there are only two or three boats after a long distance.James' tall lying body, cramped under the low bamboo canopy, moved uncomfortably, and finally he slid off the bunk and lay on the bottom of the boat, stretching his legs. Dad, are you okay?Yi Su asked. fine.What time is it? It was a quarter to five. When are we scheduled to meet with Fan Shitian?James asked quietly. He said to meet him after nine o'clock.He must be there around nine o'clock. So what are we doing? wait.No problem there. Meet Fan Shitian there? In Sanzhangshu, about one kilometer from here. Do you know where it is? You forget that I was born here.Yisu replied: There is an earth temple there, and there is a well as a mark. Little Ya'er, like a well-educated Chinese child, waits until the elders have finished speaking before asking the question that has been on his mind for a long time. Will Ah Zhao be there? I have no idea.His grandpa said: "Hope he's there." The open countryside in autumn is beautiful.Looking south and north, the mountains in the distance are hidden in the clouds.At this time, the sun came out of the clouds again, and the whole valley was filled with warmth, and also illuminated a rich scene of green trees, orange groves, and patches of red and gold on the hillside. In the autumn sun in the afternoon, the reed flowers on the riverside are white like silk, which adds a touch of autumn to the earth. From the other side of the bridge came the sound of the motor of a patrol boat, heading in this direction. James looked out from the canopy. Everyone lie down.He lowered his voice and said. Everyone slid to the bottom of the boat in silence.Only the woman, with her legs crossed, sat motionless in the stern of the boat, and the boat moved slowly. The sound of the motor was getting closer and closer, and it was only twenty or thirty feet away.Little Ya'er was about to speak in a low voice, but Yi Su lay face down on James' body, and quickly covered his mouth with his hand.The sound of the motor slowed down to just a hum.The air was tense to explode.About ten seconds later, the sound of the motor sounded again, and the patrol boat circled half a circle on the river, reached the opposite bank, and drove back to the city. Yi Su sat up and peeped out from under the canopy. They are gone.she whispered. Mr. Duan and the others breathed a sigh of relief and sat up again. When the patrol boat approached, the woman in the bow didn't move at all.She just watched the patrol boat indifferently, perhaps with contempt.Perhaps she was protecting the people lying at the bottom of the boat in this way.She was wearing a homespun padded jacket and black trousers, she looked like a country woman.Along the way, she didn't speak, probably because she considered herself a farmer in the country, and felt that she shouldn't speak unless the people in the boat talked to her.After the patrol boat had gone, she remained silent. what is her name?James asked. Snow, or Ashue.Isu said. What did she say when you told her what we meant?What did you tell her? I told her we were taking her to Hong Kong.At first she didn't know what it meant.When I told her that you were going to take her away, she agreed without hesitation. Does she have many problems? I told her not to talk too much, just follow me.I knew the way, so we slipped away quickly.From then on, she became so excited that she forgot all her troubles.You will see afterwards that a countryman never forgets his savior.I think we may not be able to get rid of her in the future.She will be more than willing to serve us. Why would you not want to? As long as she has food and shelter, she is grateful.She will probably take care of you like a son. Where is her husband? She said they dispersed when soldiers opened fire.She thought that she might never find him again.The police may have picked him up as a prison escapee.She is penniless.Poor woman!In just one day, the whole family was gone. Does the boatman know what we're doing? Mr. Duan said: I didn't tell him anything.All I said was to hire a boat and go to the country.Agree on six dollars and six hours.The price is very high. He was probably suspicious.But why should he meddle?Isu said. James drew some cigarettes from his pocket. He had two packs besides the one he had opened.There are six cigarettes in the opened pack.He decided to limit himself to smoking no more than five cigarettes a day.He handed one to Mr. Duan, and then took one himself. do not mention it.Mr. Duan thanked me politely.Keep it for yourself. I see.We probably have to go for four or five days, of course no one dares to say for sure.I will allocate it myself.now this cigarette Well, since you're so polite, I'll take it. Mr. Duan happily took a puff of cigarette and said: If you keep the cigarette butt, you can smoke for an extra day or two. In the bundle is a bellyband I sewed for you, and there is fried rice in it.Isu said.When I get to Sanzhangtou later, I'll bring it to you. She patted herself on the waist, indicating that she was also wearing a bellyband. What else is in that bag? A knife, a pair of scissors, boxes of matches and lots of plastic bags.She saw James laugh.Fan Shitian asked me to bring them all. James thought for a moment, and soon understood. He must be an expert. This is what he does.In fact, these plastic bags were given to me by him himself.These bags are very good, the material is very thick, they must have been brought in from Hong Kong, his driver smuggled a lot of things for him. Did he tell you what the bags are for? Did not say.I think it's for keeping things dry.He also said that if rice is not enough, so is fried flour. The boat has landed, and the fisherman is squatting smoking his pipe.Ashe was still sitting alone, without saying anything. Mr. Duan asked the fisherman to make some tea.The fisherman passed outside the bamboo tent and went to the bow to light the fire.In this way, Ashue has something to do.She acts like it's her own business. The tea was ready quickly, and it was brewed in a large coarse china teapot.Mr. Duan asked his daughter to unpack his bag and take out some sesame cakes.Each piece is about the size of a palm, and there are about twelve pieces in total.He gave the child a piece and said: Take it, we don't have dinner today.Give that woman a piece too, Ashue, she should have something to eat too. A Xue took the sesame cake and put it in her pocket. Thank you, old man, I'm not hungry yet. Really, at this time, having a piece of sesame cake in hand is like owning a piece of property and having a kind of enjoyment, and I usually never notice its size. You're welcome.We always have to prepare well before we hit the road.Along the way, Fan Shitian might be able to find something to eat. Mr. Duan picked up a piece of sesame cake and handed it to the fisherman. Tea expresses a kind of affection and fellowship. The old fisherman broke open the sesame cake, put a piece in his mouth, and said repeatedly: delicious!tasty! The old fisherman lit his pipe again.He has a wrinkled, weather-beaten face and thinning hair.When he squinted his eyes and stared at the setting sun, he seemed to melt into the scenery, just like Axue.The fisherman is as content and strong in his boat as the farmer is in his field. I think you are doing well.Duan Lao said first. The old fisherman took the pipe out of his mouth and said: So-so.Like everyone else, I have my rations.I fish for the country.When I catch more fish than my quota, I keep it for myself.I heard that the fishermen in Haifeng and Lufeng are much different.Under the close surveillance of patrol boats, they went out to sea in groups.They had to hand over all the fish they caught, and if they tried to escape to Hong Kong, the patrol boats opened fire. I didn't see your fish.It is also rare in the market. I heard that most of the fish are sold in cans.There is a big cannery in Dongguan, and our fish is sent there.Because there is no good cannery here, people here can still eat some.The common people in Dongguan are not as good as us.When the people's communes were established here, life was not easy.Not even the boat is mine anymore. James thought to himself: When Kublai Khan was Emperor of China, he believed that through his conquests, every man, woman, child, and every animal, every flower, and every blade of grass in China belonged to his. The old fisherman stopped, took a breath of his cigarette, and said, "Look at that teapot."Has been with me for thirty years.When the People's Commune was established, everything had to be registered and handed over.I know this is the case in rural communes.They told the common people that now it is the people's republic; so everything belongs to the people.If I had to hand over this teapot too, I'd be so sad.This is a gift from my wife when she gave birth to my son.It was the year when the Kuomintang took Huiyang. Where is your son? The wrinkles on the old fisherman's forehead deepened. How old do you think I am?he asked rhetorically. You are about my age.It will never be the year of sixtieth.I am fifty-nine. I am fifty-eight. Congratulations, you are almost sixty. yes.In two years, I will be sixty.It sounds good to say, but look at me, an old man who is almost sixty years old, and I have to row this boat by myself.You asked about my son, alas, he married his wife ten years ago, and the second tent over there was made by me for their wedding.I plan to have my own grandchildren from now on, and when I get old, my son can take over from me.You know, someone took my son away one night, and I never saw him again.In the first two years, he also wrote letters home.He was first in the Northeast, and later in South Korea.There was no further news from him. And what about his young daughter-in-law? She lived with us at first.It's not easy, you think, just newly married without a husband.At that time, however, she was pregnant and later gave birth to a son.Her family was also fishing, so it was a great help.However, one day, when the child was three and a half years old, an order was issued from above to send the child to a state nursery.She refused.This child eats and lives in our house, and does not disturb others at all.Later, a young female party committee member came to talk to my wife, but she still refused to hand over the child.The next day, the female party committee member came again, she was only sixteen years old at most, and they quarreled.You know, she's the new kind of woman who went to school.She said my daughter-in-law was stupid, stubborn and ignorant. Why do you refuse to hand over your child to the country?She asked my wife. Because this child is mine.I love him and I take good care of him. Do you mean to say that you love your children more than you love the people? It's hard to say.I can tell you that I don't understand this question.That's what's taught in schools now. I don't know how my daughter-in-law answered.All she said was that she loved her child and that no one could take the child away from her.When the girl grows up and becomes a mother herself, she will understand this psychology.I think the two of them quarreled a little bit. The next day a soldier came and took the child away.My daughter-in-law followed them to daycare like crazy.She never ate or drank.During meal times, she would sneak away to the nursery to watch her son eat.So do other mothers; they would rather starve themselves. Then, the child died.My daughter-in-law threw herself into the river one night.God, she can swim, but she doesn't want to live.We found her body on the north bank of the river. No one talks, no one wants to talk.