Daughters of Shandong

Uncle Sen is too ill to work and occasionally sells his belongings for money. Di and Hai forage for scraps in the city, competing with hundreds of other beggars. Lucky goes with them. Mom makes sweet buns, which Hai sells. Mom gets a job at the match factory by pretending she is a member of the Fa family. She, Hai, and Di make money by folding match boxes. Mom is able to buy Hai a pair of shoes.

In late May 1949, the US Navy departs, and the People’s Liberation Army takes over Qingdao. Hai is anxious each time she sees a cadre in uniform. Mom and Di argue when Mom speaks of traveling to Taiwan to find their father; Di wants to stay in Qingdao. Hai is hurt by their father’s abandonment, but she does not want to live under Communist rule.

However, Taiwan is thousands of kilometers away, and train tickets are difficult to obtain. Worse, all of them contract tuberculosis. Mom sells the ruby ring to obtain doctor’s treatment and medicine for Lan, the youngest daughter. Lan survives, though her legs are affected and she is unable to walk. Hai misses Three but thinks, “Just as Three’s passing had shattered our world, Lan’s survival allowed us to see it in a new light” (149).

While Mom says that Di and Hai must marry well and worries who will care for Lan when she is old, the exchange of the ruby ring teaches Hai the power of having one’s own money. She decides she will get a job so she can provide for her family.

Uncle Sen tells them they will need connections to get train tickets on the black market, so they seek out a policeman named Ang Xiao-Wei, hoping he is a relation who can help. Wei welcomes them and says he knows Yei Yei, his Uncle Hong-Bu. As he is a tang cousin, he is obligated to treat Mom like family.

Mom pretends that they were accidentally separated from Father, changing the story to help him save face, as it is disgraceful to abandon a wife. Wei describes how his nephew was forced by the Communists to beat his own father and mother to death. The nephew was so traumatized by this brutality that he died by suicide. Wei says he hopes they will find more Angs among the refugees and promises, on the basis of shared blood, to help them. Mom asks for his help buying train tickets to Guangdong Province. It will cost her the gold tael.

To prepare for their trip, the women bake hard bread they can take on their journey. Hai thinks of the stacks of bread as if “[they] were building a wall in anticipation of battle” (161). As more Communists arrive, Di listens to their slogans. She believes the family will have more opportunities in Qingdao, while Mom insists their father can buy the girls “a better husband and a better future” (164). Di leaves to beg for food instead of helping fold matchboxes. While Hai resents Di’s self-centeredness, she admires her sister for being able to thrive anywhere.

After an unsuccessful effort waiting in line to buy train tickets, Hai tries to console Mom but thinks, “It felt like luck was a current that we had to plow against” (168).

On October 1st, 1949, Mao Ze-Dong declares himself Chairman of the People’s Republic of China. Their neighbor, Mrs. Ding, warns them that Di is associating with the cadres, and Di brings home bags of coarse flour that the cadres are handing out to people. Mom fears Di will tell the cadres who they are, and Di becomes angry again.

Mom gives Cousin Wei the golden tael, and he buys them train tickets to Shenzhen, on the border with Hong Kong. As they prepare to leave, Hai wonders what to do about Lucky. Cousin Wei laughs at the idea of Lucky being a police dog, but Mrs. Ding says she will take him.

They say goodbye to Uncle Sen, who still spends most of his time in bed. Hai is about to turn 14, Di is 13. They say their farewells to Mrs. Ding. There is a crowd to board the train, and the women are terrified they might be turned away. The train is already crowded, and policemen shoot at people trying to board without tickets. Lan throws a tantrum.

Hai sees Lucky running after them. Upset, she confesses that she doesn’t want to go to Taiwan. She cries, “Father doesn’t care about us […] He was willing to sacrifice us to make his parents happy” (192).

The women change trains several times, since China’s railways are a patchwork. They learn that Nationalists have continued to withdraw their military assets to Taiwan and hear rumors they will need an ID card to enter Hong Kong. On December 10th, the same day they leave Qingdao, Chiang Kai-Shek and his son retreat to Taiwan. The revolution is officially over.

Since train service to Hong Kong has been suspended, the family disembarks in Shenzhen. They see refugee encampments everywhere, along with pictures of Mao Ze-Dong. Mom urges them to begin walking to Hong Kong.

Communist cadres call insults to the people attempting to cross the bridge. A man approaches them, offering to escort them across. Another man shoos him away, saying that women and children have a better chance of being accepted in Hong Kong than unaccompanied men. They cross the bridge to find even more temporary shelters. They sit to rest for a moment, and Mom wishes Hai a happy birthday.