"You just said you ran away because of playing cards, so... how did you end up in the hands of the Japanese pirates?"
He's supposed to be educated and have studied abroad, surely he can't be completely ignorant? Such a grown man, kidnapped here?
"When you're desperate, you'll try anything. Several of the people with me said that their relatives could find us a safe place."
We were smuggled here by illegal ships and worked as illegal laborers for many years, often going hungry and cold. I ran away.
Penniless and without any valid identification, he was arrested several times and suffered all kinds of abuse at the hands of the Japanese pirates.
"If their local population hadn't drastically decreased and many industries hadn't needed workers, would they have spared my life and waited for the organization to rescue me?"
It's pitiful that he was nearly forty years old, had no children, and died in such a tragic way.
But thinking that my parents had been abused to death, even if they had stayed back then, they would have been nothing but peanuts. What was there to miss?
I've made a fortune over these twenty years, that's enough.
Once I understood this, I felt much better. That kind of relief, like a final burst of energy before death, is probably only seen on the face of a dying person.
"My surname is Wu, and my name is Wu Yong. If you have the chance, could you go back to my hometown for me and offer incense at my parents' graves?"
He stopped abruptly halfway through his sentence and sighed, "You're just a student; who knows when you'll be able to go back?"
"Fine, I'm dead, so what? Who cares where I'm buried?"
Then, remembering something, he asked Xiao Jiu to bring out paper and pen.
"Let me tell you about my experiences at the port over the years."
If you have a recording device, that would be best. If not, just record the key points; you might be able to use them in the future.
After all, Yokohama's port is the largest in Japan and one of the largest ports in Asia.
I've lived here for so many years, and I've only seen the tip of the iceberg.
They didn't even know if the intelligence I sent back was useful.
The port's small wine shop had been eyeing it for a long time, and of course, it was eager to learn some useful information from him.
So she found some recording equipment she'd gotten from the island—the kind of big, high-end equipment used for eavesdropping back in the Republican era.
After some fiddling around, Wu Yong began to recount his long twenty years...
The person who thought he could last three days only stayed up one night and died with regret before noon the next day.
He used his voice to record the most brilliant twenty years of his life, even more brilliant than his time studying abroad in Britain and the Soviet Union.
He studied bridge construction, but he never used it in his entire life. Instead, he had a few years of peaceful life because of his good spoken English.
He listed his hometown address, his superiors, their addresses, the traitors, and the people who covered for him.
She changed him back into his original clothes and then put him back in the mountains.
It wasn't that he was heartless, but only when those looking for him saw his body could the search and the persecution by those involved stop.
If they can't find the person, they will continue to use all available resources to search for them.
Such a search was like adding insult to injury for the people who had been hiding there, so she was forced to let him go back.
The number of people searching the mountains has continued for the past two days, especially after the snow stopped today, the number of searchers has increased.
As dusk fell, she heard them calling out in Japanese from the space.
"Found it, found it, but it's dead and frozen."
They searched him thoroughly but found nothing useful; they wondered if he had already moved it.
"Impossible. We've been wandering around these mountains for days. How could he possibly have climbed out? Take it back and investigate thoroughly."
Xiao Jiu waited until it was completely dark before bypassing the people scouting at the foot of the mountain and trudging towards the main road.
After descending the mountain, the sea breeze made her feel exceptionally cold, and the thick snow crunched under her feet.
I finally caught the night bus, but it was already past midnight when I arrived at the school gate.
Without disturbing the security guards, they went around to the side wall of the school and used a ladder in the space to climb over the wall and get in.
Before the Laba Festival, Xiao Jiu found an opportunity to put the film at the place Wu Yong had mentioned where they were meeting.
This was the secluded backyard wall of a church on a street corner. She waited in the space for more than two hours before she heard rustling footsteps.
Then she heard the sound of bricks being pried open. She immediately came out of the space, hid behind a tree, and peeked out to watch.
Discovering that the person who took the film was none other than a nun from the church, I was immediately struck by the strength of our motherland. Truly, every profession has its talents.
Only Wu Yong and his contact knew about this place; it was impossible for the traitorous subordinates to know, so she stood up straight with peace of mind.
When the nun returned to the church, she crushed the wax pill, saw the small note containing the film roll, and quickly opened it.
The English font written on it was different from usual.
"Wu Yong is dead. The final intelligence report is complete." The names of three traitors were also attached.
No one can explain to her who delivered the intelligence or whether the courier was reliable.
Wu Yong mentioned that the contact person could understand English.
Therefore, they communicated using neither Chinese nor Japanese, but instead chose English, which they felt was safer.
"Wu Yong, I have completed your mission for you. I hope you will be reborn into a better life and not suffer so much in your next life."
It's Laba Festival again. Xiao Jiu cooked a big pot of eight-treasure porridge and gave each of her puppies a big bowl.
"It's sweet and delicious, isn't it? My grandma, my mom, and my older sister make it even better."
I don't know if you'll ever have the chance to enjoy it in your lifetime.
At this point, she choked up and sat silently in the corner, holding her bowl.
Unexpectedly, the five puppies seemed to sense her sadness, each carrying their own bowl and throwing it in front of her.
Then it stretched out its furry head and rubbed against her thigh, then circled her inside and continued eating with its head down.
She was both amused and exasperated. "Congratulations to you guys, you've managed to survive by being cute."
Little did she know that even if these puppies didn't know how to act cute, weren't so adorable, or knew how to fawn over her, she still couldn't bring herself to hurt them.
Dogs are man's most loyal companions, how can we kill them and eat them?
At this moment, as she was moved by the sight of the porridge, she was unaware that the reason she was so sad was because this Laba Festival had taken away her beloved grandmother.
On the seventh day of the twelfth lunar month, as if sensing that he didn't have much left, he pulled Tao Changyi aside and asked her to take a portrait of him for his funeral.
He said with a regretful expression, "I may not be able to wait for my little granddaughter."
Even though I know she's going to do something important, I still miss her so much.
From now on, I'll probably only be able to bless her from heaven. After I'm gone, tell her that she was the one I loved most.
Tao Changyi thought his mother was joking, but he didn't notice at all that she, who had been slurring her speech due to a stroke, suddenly spoke much more fluently.
After tidying up the house and nagging the old man, she looked at the snowflakes outside and patted her daughter-in-law's hand.
"Let's go, take me back to my own home, I miss home."
"When we get to town, I'll take a bath while I'm at it; it's almost New Year's!"
Although the Laba Festival was not until the next day, the Tao family ate Laba porridge on the evening of the seventh day of the first lunar month.
After eating her fill, she tidied herself up, cleaned the room, lay down on the kang (heated brick bed), and fell asleep with a smile on her lips...
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