编辑文：
Why did you run last time? " It's like being hit by a bolt from the blue. Deng RL and Honggui are too scared to know what to do. The police dragged me to the police station. He confiscated my money, watch, bicycle and bicycle certificate. After a simple inquiry, he locked me in a small cell. I feel like I've fallen into an abyss, and grief has overwhelmed me. It's all over! Last time I was allowed to "escape" from the police station, but this time I was arrested on purpose. I didn't dream of further flight, feeling that I would definitely be sent back to China. Will I be shot there because I am just sent back to the border, or will I be killed by the "mass dictatorship" and sent back to Kunming? These terrible scenes passed in my mind one by one. This time everything is lost! I decided not to blame duner or regret buying the bike. Even without Deng or a bike, I could be caught at any time. In my wandering years North, I sat on the edge of the abyss every day in Vietnam. I tossed and turned all night, and my previous hopes are now dashed. I feel like a tortoise in a desperate situation or a fish on a chopping board. What miracle will happen? I've been praying to God for help. The next day, when the door opened, I was still in a coma and was told to go out. I hobbled behind the police to the front desk. I'm surprised to see Deng there! The police spoke to duner in Vietnamese and handed me over to him. I went out with RL for no reason. He put me in the back of his bike and we rode off. Outside the city, RL explains, "yesterday you and we

原文：
Why did you run away last time?"
It was like being struck by a bolt from the blue. Deng RL and Honggui were too scared to know
what to do. The policeman hauled me to the Police Station. He confiscated my money, watch, bicycle
and bicycle certificate. After simple questioning, he locked me in a small cell.
I felt that I was falling into an abyss, grief overwhelming me. Everything was gone! Last time I
was allowed to “escape" from the Police Station, but this time I was arrested on purpose. I had no
illusion of further escape, feeling definitely that I would be sent back to China. There, would I be shot
randomly for just being sent back over the border, or would I be killed by “masses dictatorship” after
being sent back to Kunming? These horrible scenes passed one by one in my mind. This time
everything surely was lost!
I decided I should not blame Deng RL and should not regret buying the bike. Even without Deng
RL or the bike, I still might have been caught at any time. During my years of wandering North
Vietnam I was actually sitting at the edge of an abyss every day.
I tossed about all night, my earlier hopes now dashed to pieces. I felt like a turtle cornered in a jar
or like a fish placed on the chopping block. What miracle might still happen? I kept praying to God for
help.
The next day, I was still in a daze when the door opened and I was called out. I stumbled along
behind the policeman to the front counter. I was surprised to see Deng RL there!
The policeman talked briefly in Vietnamese with Deng RL and then handed me over to him.
Baffled, I followed RL out. He sat me on the rear seat of his bicycle and we rode away.
Out of the town, RL explained, "Yesterday you were suddenly arrested by the police, and I was
puzzled. Back home I discussed with family and friends a plan for your rescue. Today I went to the
Police Station and spoke to the chief, telling him, 'My son is dying. The County Hospital can do
nothing, so I went to Dongxing and asked the Chinese doctor for help. He treated my son for a few
days and my son has improved. I just went with him to town to buy more medicine, but then you
arrested him. What can I do now? Do you want to see my son die?’"
The police chief realized he needed to work with the commune in the future; besides, Deng RL’s
younger brother Deng RY previously had worked in the County Branch of the Labor Party and was
friendly with the chief. After reconsidering for a moment, the chief told Deng RL, "Then you should
control him well, don't let him run around. When your son is healed, you send the doctor back to
China."
So that his how RL got me out. Once again it was a miracle that I could not have imagined. Thank
God for having mercy on me again.
Fortunately, it was this particular case that Deng RL could use as my excuse. But if I were
arrested on other occasions (which might happen anytime!), how could I get free?
When we arrived home, RL's wife and father greeted us and were greatly relieved.
Deng RY reminded me that, in fact, people crossing the border were very common. Those living
nearby went to Dongxing to buy small commodities, people from there came to visit relatives, and
nobody cared. Catching the border-crossed Chinese was only aimed at those who stayed a long time
with their relatives. RL explained that he told the police chief he had gone to China to ask me to come
for temporary healing, an act of compassion they would not refuse.
After lunch RL asked, "Who is the owner of your bike?" When I explained it was Liu Fu,
chairman of Yen Thank Commune, RL said, “Then I am going to get the bike back.” Deng RL and RY
rode together to fetch the bike and brought it back with no trouble.
RL said the police chief had not been there, only the policeman who had arrested me. It seemed
that the policeman had arrested me just to get my bike and money. However, when the certificate
showed the bike belonged to Liu Fu, chairman of Yen Than commune, he knew he could not keep it. So
the policeman agreed to return the bike to RL but refused to return the money and watch.
I said: "Forget it, the watch is an old watch, money is but a dozen bucks. My personal freedom is
good enough."
I recalled the time when Liu Fu acted tough but talked softly to sell me his bike, even though I
was rather reluctant. Unexpectedly, what seemed wrong had turned out to be right. If I had purchased a
bike from someone else, how could I have gotten it back now? Therefore, whether an event is good or
bad we do not always know at the time. Time may give us better insight into the truth.
Deng RL’s son’s vomiting had stopped, so I was free to return to Tien Yen. For safety’s sake, RL
accompanied me until we had traveled beyond Dam Ha County.
Third Escape From ‘Catching the Chinese’ Raid
The Lunar New Year was coming and several of us "Chinese guys" got together in Daan’s hut to
eat fried dumplings; Uncle Daan was happily smiling all the time.
Just as the New Year ended, unexpected news came that the police searched and arrested bordercrossed
Chinese again. There were several nabbed in neighboring communes and counties. What
should I do? I remembered when I visited patients of Old Town some time back, I learned there had
been no border-crossed Chinese there for a long time. So I decided to go and hide out there temporarily.
Going there to the home of a familiar patient, I explained my situation. The owner readily agreed
to hide me upstairs. His house was one of the few with two stories. In order not to be seen by passersby,
all three meals a day were taken upstairs to me. I was moved with much gratitude.
In one corner of my hiding place were several old textbooks of a former private school: "Three
Characters Classics", "Hundred Surnames", "Thousand Characters", and "Comprehensive
Philosophical Phrases" etc. When I was a child I had seen them in my grandfather's house. I was too
young to understand them well at that time; later I had no more chance to see them. Now, surprised to
find them in this Vietnamese village, I was overjoyed and read them all with gusto. I felt that they
indeed contained many brilliant philosophical thoughts. In China the Cultural Revolution had swept
away "the four old", and Chinese culture experienced unprecedented ravages. Even traditional
children’s books like these were burned. Forgetting one's ancestors and contempt for one's own
heritage, there was nothing comparable in previous Chinese history.
A few days passed safely in my new location and the security situation gradually eased. I thanked
the family and quietly returned to Dong Hoa.
Tingwen told me that one day a county policeman did come, but not to hunt down the Chinese
here, as virtually all had left. Instead, the policeman required that Tingwen lead him to Ho Er’s home
which was more than a kilometer north from Dong Hoa, because two border-crossed Chinese were
there. Tingwen had no other choice but as they proceeded he considered how he could foil this plan.
Walking and walking, Tingwen said slowly to the policeman, "I heard that Ho Er has two
shotguns. You know Ho Er is very crude and rash, if he 'bangs (fires)' over us, I don't know if you or I
will die."
The policeman also realized that Ho Er was well-known as a rash man. He began to slow his pace
and finally said, "Forget it!"
Ho Er was a somewhat mysterious local character. Nobody knew much about his background
except that he came to Tien Yen shortly before the Communist take-over in 1954. Word got around that
he was from Haiphong because he spoke with an accent. Many years before, it was said, a "ghost"
(here, the French) bullied him, so he killed the “ghost” with his bare hands and then fled to Tien Yen.
Soon the French retreated and Ho Er remained safely in Tien Yen. He lived alone on a hillside more
than a kilometer north of Dong Hoa and cultivated waste land by himself.
There were a lot of rumors about Ho Er: Ho Er ate yam with skin and peanut with shell; when
plowing he put a basket of yam on each side of the field, and grasped a handful of yam together with
mud and water to eat when hungry. Even more amazing, he once drove a water buffalo to pull a row of
lumber up the slope. He yelled and hit the buffalo but could not make it pull the lumber up. Ho Er was
angry and yelled at the water buffalo: "Well, if you can't pull it up, I will. But if I have to pull it up the
slope, you are going to die." He pulled, towed and crawled, his shoulders and knees injured and
bleeding, and he managed to pull the lumber up. Then he turned on the water buffalo and said: "You
damn it!" He punched the animal in the eyes, nose and mouth, beating the big creature to death, just
liked a modern version of Xiang Yu, the King of Chu! No wonder the policeman thought it wise not to
confront such a person!