编辑文：
It seems that as long as the authorities do not strangle the people, but let them breathe, the people will work spontaneously and the economy will improve. We bought medicine from the drugstore and went to the bookstore. At a glance, we can see that there are Shaoji's version of "the cultivation of Communists" on the exhibition boards of Liu Zhongguo and Vietnam. In China at that time, Liu Shaoqi was defined as "traitor, traitor and scab maker" and became the number one goal of "the whole party wants to fight, the whole people wants". However, in Vietnam, his works appear in this eye-catching exhibition. What'd you mean by that? A Dong took me to a new congee shop and ordered a bowl of chicken fish noodles. We each had a ball and shrimp and a cup of tea. Three ingots per bowl, twice as expensive as a roadside shop. Good service, lots of customers. Boss Li knows Adong and comes to our table to chat. A Dong congratulates him: "business is good, boss Li!" Boss Li said with a wry smile, "it's better to do it secretly than before. But you still have to take care of those who have power. Even the garbage truck driver, you can't offend him. " "Why do you want to please the garbage truck driver?" "If you don't, he may complain that there is too much water in the garbage, or the broken bowl, or the glass may hurt him, and then throw away your garbage. What can you do? Even if the garbage is OK, he will still punish you for parking the truck 20 or 30 meters away, so you have to move all the garbage away and take your bag alone. " I can see, like in China, the prisoners of war


原文：
It seemed that as long as the authority did not choke the people too tightly, but let them take a
breath, then the people would spontaneously exert themselves and the economy would improve.
We bought medicine from the pharmacy, and then went to the bookstore. At a glance we saw Liu
Shaoji's "On the Cultivation of Communists" on the display board, in both Chinese and Vietnamese
versions. At that time in China, Liu Shaoji had been defined as a "renegade, traitor and scab", and
became the number one target that "the whole party has to crusade against and the whole people want
to kill.” Yet here in Vietnam his works were featured in this eye-catching display. What did it mean?
Adong took me to a newly opened porridge shop and ordered a bowl of noodles with chicken, fish
balls and shrimp plus a cup of tea for each of us. It was three dong per bowl, which was twice as
expensive as the roadside shops. Service was good and there were many customers. The boss Lee was
acquainted with Adong and came to our table to chat.
Adong congratulated him: "Good business, Boss Lee!"
Boss Lee smiled wryly and said, "Better than secretly doing it as before. But still you have to take
care of those people who have any power. Even the garbage truck driver, you cannot offend him."
"Why should you curry favor with the garbage truck driver?"
"If you don’t, he may complain that the garbage contains too much water, or the broken bowl or
glass may wound him, and then refuse your garbage. What can you do? Even if the garbage is OK, he
still may punish you by parking the truck 20 or 30 meters away so you have to move all the garbage
bags there by yourself."
I could see that, like in China, those with power in Vietnam had a way to gain money and other
favors.
A Careless and Aborted Rescue
My friend Feng Gang of Haiphong invited me to treat his friend’s hemorrhoid. During the
treatment I stayed in Feng’s place most of the time. It was a two-story building with dozens of tenants.
Feng Gang and two other Chinese families lived at the end of the second floor. Each family occupied
its own small room but shared a small living room where I slept for a few days. My friend’s family
chatted with me about acupuncture. They hoped to learn it from me but the time was too short.
It was difficult for me to communicate with my family in Hong Kong and Guangzhou. Then I
learned that I could mail a letter directly from Vietnam to Hong Kong. That way I could send letters to
my wife Yu Ou and my sister and through them transfer the information to Guangzhou. I wasn’t writing
anything that would cause trouble, so it didn’t matter if the letter was inspected by Vietnamese police.
I was anxious to find a local address where letters could be sent to me from Hong Kong. Feng
Gang offered immediately, saying he had a Hong Kong connection. One of his relatives went to Saigon
when the French retreated in 1954, and moved to Hong Kong later. They still kept communication.
Gang said when he received a letter from Hong Kong he would ask someone to bring it to me in Tien
Yen.
I was overjoyed. It seemed that in Vietnam, an overseas relationship was not regarded with as
much suspicion as in China. I was very grateful to Gang for his willingness to help. Now I could
correspond with my wife as well as my sister, and through them be linked to my family in Guangzhou.
“A letter from home is more valuable than gold”. After that, every time I got a letter my joy was
indescribable.
Gang forwarded several letters to me and everything went well until a very unusual incident
happened. Now that Yu Ou and I had re-established communication, she was understandably anxious to
rescue her husband. A friend of her father was a captain who was sailing to the port of Haiphong. Yu
Ou asked him to take that opportunity to contact Feng Gang and try to take me out.
The captain had been to many countries around the world but had never dealt with Communist
authorities. With no sense of caution, he asked the local shipping company in Haiphong for help and
was taken to the Police Bureau. A policeman was sent to knock on Gang’s door, saying that a man from
Hong Kong wanted to see him. Gang wondered who it was.
Gang uneasily followed the policeman to the Police Bureau and saw the strange captain. The
captain asked Gang to inform Zeng Qing Si that he wanted to bring him to Hong Kong. Gang was
alarmed and prevaricated that he didn't know Zeng Qing Si. It was true because I had never revealed
my identity to anyone, but now he suspected that Deng Third was Zeng Qing Si. Even if I was in
Haiphong at that time, there was no way I could go to Hong Kong with the captain. The police would
arrest me on the spot. Those like the captain who had never lived under a Communist regime had no
idea how to handle such a situation.
The captain saw he was getting nowhere and backed off. The policeman sent him away but asked
Gang to remain for questioning. Gang denied all knowledge of the captain’s request. Returning home,
Gang was still anxious and preoccupied, but understood that he could no longer forward letters to Deng
Third. When Gang told me what had happened, I apologized again and again, and told him that I had
no advance knowledge of the captain’s mission.
I was moved by Yu Ou’s eagerness to rescue her husband but greatly troubled that she had made
such an awful blunder. I wrote a letter right away, admonishing her, "As you have spent five years in
college (Yu Ou had been in Communist prison for five years), it's sensible but foolish enough to do
such a thing."
I had been wandering Vietnam for several years, and was using the fake name and identity, but
now all of a sudden everything was exposed! I suspected that even if it were not so exposed, both
Chinese and Vietnamese agents must already have the ins and outs about me. Anyway, my situation
would be more difficult after that, and even Feng Gang might be stalked. A channel of communication
which I had exerted every effort to build up was now blocked.
After my letter to Yu Ou was sent, I regretted blaming her so much, realizing the pain she would
feel. Even without my complaint, when she learned of the unhappy result of her effort, she undoubtedly
would be greatly hurt and remorseful.
A Troubling Trip to Haiphong
There were signs afterwards that my worry was not unfounded. A few months later, Qian invited
me to go to Haiphong again to purchase equipment for the shipyard. He took the opportunity to make
appointments with two hemorrhoid patients.
We stayed in Haiphong a couple of days. The two hemorrhoid operations were successful, but two
other unusual things happened.
One day, while Qian was out doing business, I went to visit Feng Gang. As I approached the
entrance of his building, a woman about 50 in Chinese garb came over and asked in Vietnamese, "Who
are you looking for?" Somewhat startled, I answered in Vietnamese, "Mr. Gang." After entering his
home, Gang told me the woman was a member of the residents committee. I was taken aback: There
were also residents committees in Vietnam! It seemed that the ubiquitous control network of the
Communist Party was similar in Vietnam and China, but in China it was more strict and dense. From
that time, I realized I should visit Gang as seldom as possible.
Before departing Haiphong, Qian and I went to the truck parking area to pick up his load.
Unexpectedly, a man about 40 years old came over and greeted me (rather than Qian) in Cantonese. I
do not recall exactly what he said, but his appearance and demeanor were quite odd. He had a short fat
face, liked to bow and nod his head, and rolled his eyes quickly. A faint smile appeared on his mouth
corners when speaking. The man didn't say much and then left.
Qian watched us closely, kept silence, then whispered to me: “Let’s go! He is a policeman!”
I was immediately on guard. Fortunately, all the goods were loaded, so we started out.
Approaching the ferry, Qian told me to go in front and mix with the Vietnamese. We left Haiphong
safely and had no problem when we crossed on the Hong Gai ferry. After staying overnight in Qian’s
friend’s home, next day we crossed the Tien Yen ferry with greater ease. After all, it was far from
Haiphong. Both Qian and I supposed that the policeman just gave me a signal and let me go, although I
didn't know why. Anyway, the Vietnamese police were not active in arresting border-crossed Chinese.
But I now realized I must be more careful if I needed to go to Haiphong later.
Healing and Sightseeing in Hanoi
An overseas Chinese in Hanoi, through his relatives in TienYen, asked me to help treat his
daughter's hemorrhoids. Traveling with Qian and Adong, I first took the bus to Haiphong, then the train
to Hanoi.
As in China, a travel certificate was needed to buy a long-distance bus ticket. With the assistance
of a friend, I spent 10 dong to buy a fake certificate. Adong helped me buy a bus ticket. As this was my
first time taking a bus, I inevitably was a bit timid. Fortunately, it was not as strict as in China; nobody
checked the certificate when we got on and off the bus.
The train from Haiphong to Hanoi was the older French style with a narrow gauge rail span of one
meter. It was slow and sometimes shook violently. There were only benches on both sides of the car.
Many passengers sat on baggage or stood.
The patient was an employee of a large hospital in Hanoi. Because she was on a waiting list and
required to stay in the hospital for a long time, she and her family decided to ask me for help. The day
after arriving, we successfully completed the operation. The following day one of her hospital coworkers
visited her. She came out to meet him. When he learned the operation was only the previous
day, her co-worker asked in surprise, "You don’t need to rest in bed?"
While monitoring her recovery, my friends and I took the opportunity for touring this historic city,
my first visit to a foreign capital. Taking in the sights, I dreamed about visiting the capitals of other
countries as well. Little did I know that after 20 more years, my dreams would come true!
On Hanoi’s wide streets were a number of two- or three-story buildings. They were gloomy and
old, with few shops open for business. Pedestrians were few. On one side of a major street all the shops
were ruined, evidenced by their broken facades. In the middle of the street was a large bulletin board
with more than a thousand names written on it, names of those purportedly killed in a blanket bombing
by the U.S. B-52 aircraft.