Just two days after Chinese New Year in 1949, Peking had already been peacefully liberated and the entire Northeast region had been completely occupied by the PLA. Only a few cities in northern China remained under the control of the National government. Meanwhile, the currency reform promoted by Chiang Ching-kuo had completely failed, leading to severe material shortages and worsening the people's living conditions. It was in public that the USA had officially ceased its aid to the National government due to its corruption. This in turn caused widespread public panic. Occasionally, John was able to buy some essential goods from the US Navy base, which made the neighbors in the building quite envious. They often asked him to help purchase supplies for them as well. Although he generally refused their requirement but if he managed to buy extra items, he also shared a little with the neighbours, for which they were sincerely grateful.
Meanwhile, John also learned from the base that the US Navy was assisting the National government in transporting various materials to Taiwan. In fact, from February, Qingdao Branch of the Material Supply Bureau of Executive Yuan of the Nationalist Government began to ship 50,000 tons of supplies from Qingdao to Taiwan.
These material which had been shipped by the US Navy were received by some officials at an office established in Kaohsiung, staffed by personnel who had moved from the mainland to Taiwan. In April, Liu Anqi, the Administrative Chief of Qingdao, had begun drafting an evacution plan. On one hand, there were three defensive lines established around Qingdao in an attempt to delay the advance of the PLA in order to buy time for the evacuation. On the other hand, a pier was constructed at Sha Zikou officially for the evacuation purposes but in reality, it was intended to ensure a retreat route would remain open in case the PLA entered Qingdao and attemped to seal off the escape.
John was truly worried about Shen Hui. Her belly was growing bigger so that he wasn't sure whether Shen Hui could endure the three-day sea journey to Tianwan. And it had been more than half a year since she last had contacted with her family. It was clearly that she longed to go back her hometown but the current situation made it impossible for them to travel south. Seeing the sorrow etched on her face, he felt anxious and helpless.
One day in late May when John was a day off, he said to Shen Hui:
"Hui, I am off today. I'm planning to visit the base to find out when they will be leaving. You should start preparing to pack some valuables, just in case we might leave at any moment."Noticing the worry in her eyes, he gently pulled her into his arms and added, "I know what you're thinking. I believe this is only temporary. We will have a chance to visit your parents, my parents-in-law, soon or later but not now. The situation prevents us from going south."
Hearing his words, Shen Hui began to cry silently in his arm. He kissed her and wiped the tears from her cheeks,then continued:
"Please don't cry.I'm very worried about you. You're pregnant now. If you can't keep the good condition on your health and mood, I don't think you are able to handle the trip by ship. Promise me to take good care of yourself, all right? Do you understand?"
Shen Hui nodded and said:
"Don't worry. I will take care of myself. Go ahead and come back as soon as you can."
John turned to Madam Li and said as usual:
"Madam, please take care of her. Thank you!"Then he turned to Liu'er and gently patted her head and added softly, "Stay home and keep your aunt company, okay?"
Liu'er nodded firmly. He quickly kissed Shen Hui again before heading out the door.
About one hour after John had left, a group of soldiers burst into the building, noisy and chaotic, and looked around in all directions. Several of them rushed upstairs. Suddently there was shouting came from upstairs:
"What are you doing? Why are you arresting people at will? You can't do it. Please stop! "
The soldiers seized a boy from Zhao family and shoved and jostled their way down the stairs. The Zhao family followed closed behind,crying and shouting. Mr. and Mrs. Zhao were struggling with the soldiers while a girl supported Madam Zhao from behing, crying out over and over again, "my grandson", "Elder Bro.". Suddenly Mrs. Zhao saw Shen Hui with pregnant belly standing there. She rushed toward Shen Hui and grabbed her, shouting to the soldiers:
"Please let my son go. Her husband is an American. Her Husband is an American."Then she turned to Shen Hui and pleaded, "Please, Mrs. Lei, where is Mr. Lei? Please ask Mr. Lei come out and help say something on our behalf. Please!"
She Hui was pulled by Mrs. Zhao and stumbled a bit, her balance already unsteady. At that moment, a soldier gave Mrs. Zhao a hard shove and shouted:
"An American? You think an American can stop us from conscripting people?"
With that, the group of soldiers dragged off Mrs. Zhao's son and left without a glance back. Mrs. Zhao, shoved so forcefully, staggered and lost her balance, crashing directly into Shen Hui who was already unsteady. Although Liu'er was beside Shen Hui and tried to hold her up, Shen Hui still fell hard to the floor. A moment later, She felt a warm rush of liquid flowing between her legs. Madam Li gasped in shock and cried out in alarm:
"Help! She is bleeding. Quick! Call an ambulance please!"
John came back around 11.00am. He had originally planned to have lunch with some US officers but at the last minute, he received an urgent message: The US had decided to abandone its Navy base in Qingdao. All warships were scheduled to leave the harbor that afternoon and all American civilians in Qingdao were advised to evacuate with the fleet. As for the destination, it was top secret. Unfortunately, because John wasn't a permanent resident in Qingdao and he didn't have left any contact information with his new friend in the US Navy base, he didn't have received the message until now. Seeing that many Americans were already boarding the ships, he realized that he was at risk of missing the last chance to evacuate. In a panic, He hailed a rickshaw and rushed home, planning to leave with Shen Hui immediately.
When he get to home, the suitcases had been packed but the house was empty. Neither Shen Hui nor Madam Li and Liu'er were home. The building was unusually quiet. Most neighbors' doors were shut. John was so anxious and restless that he had to went out to check whether they came back or not. After half a hour, Mrs. Wang from upstairs came hurrying back. As soon as she saw him, she called out:
"Mr. Lei, where have you been? There was something horrible happened with Mrs Lei. Your wife started bleeding, which could be a sign of complication. Now she is at the hosiptal. Madam Li and Liu'er are with her. I just come back from there."
John was shocked at this and asked urgently:
"What happened?"
Mrs. Wang briefly explained what had happened with the soldiers arrested people at will and how Shen Hui had been knocked down in the chaos. Finally she said:
"The doctor is doing everything he can to save the baby. Go to the hospital immediately, Mr. Lei."
WIthout another word, John jumped into the rickshaw still waiting for him outside and shouted:
"To the hospital quickly!"
When he got to the hospital, he changed into his doctor's coat and walked directly to the treatment room. Shen Hui was lying quietly in bed, asleep. No one else was in the room. He walked toward her side quietly and kissed her gently on the forehead. After a while, a doctor stepped in and was surprised to see John was here. He asked:
"Dr. Lei, why are you here?"
John replied, his eyes fixed on Shen Hui
"This is my wife. How is she?"
The doctor said worriedly:
"The baby is safe. But your wife experienced significant bleeding so it is best for her to stay in the hospital for a few days for the pregnancy support and further observation."
"Is it impossible for her to move? My meaning is whether she would be able to endure the tossing and pitching of the ship at sea. "
The doctor looked at John curiously and asked:
"What?" Suddenly he understood John's meaning and added, "Do you plan to leave?"
"Yes, the entire US fleet will leave the Qingdao port this afternoon. All American citizens have been advised to board the ships as well. So I want to know whether my wife is strong enough to travel now."
The doctor sighed and said seriously:
"Mr. Lei, I understand your situation. Unlike our Chinese who is easier to manage things somehow, you are an American who the Communists and the PLA don't like. Once they take over , no one knows how they will treat your Americans. Unfortunately, your wife is in bad condition. I don't think she is able to endure the whole trip on ship. The risk is too high."
John fell silent for a moment and then nodded, saying:
"I see. I'll be with her no matter what happens."
When John returned after seeing the doctor out, he found Shen Hui looking at her with tear-filled eyes. He walked over and gently held her in his arms, saying softly:
"It's all right now. Our baby is safe. Don't worry!"
Shen Hui looked up at him and said:
"John, go! Leave China. I will be fine. I promise you that I will come find you when the war is over."
John was stunned for a moment but immediately understood her meaning. He said:
"You weren't asleep...you heard everything."
She replied:
"I woke up when the doctor came in. Listen, my darling, just like what the doctor said, I am a Chinese who isn't in danger but you're the different. Your government have supported the weapons and supplies to our government against the PLA and the Communists. They must hate your Americans. It's not safe for you here."
"Hui, don't say that. I'm not leaving. I can't leave you behing. I will stay here with you if you're not able to leave here."
"No, John, you must go. If you stay here and something happens to you, what will the baby and I do? You leave now. After I give birth and the war is over, I will find a way to reach you. Maybe I'll go to Hongkong. I don't think the PLA will attack that city. Don't worry about me."
He shook his head as she was speaking, tears welling up in his eyes. Shen looked at him, her own eyes brimming with tears, and nodded. He pulled her into a tight embrace and said in a chocked voice:
"No, I don't want to leave you. What will I do without you? You have no idea how much I love you."
She held him just as tightly, crying as she replied:
"I love you too. You have never lost me and I don't want to lose you either. Don't worry. I will find you, I promise you."
Then they kissed, holding each other for a long time. Eventually, Shen Hui let go of John and said:
"Write down your contact information for me."
He wiped away the tears, took out a pencil and a piece of paper, scribbled something down and handed the paper to her, saying:
"Okay. I will leave and go to Hongkong where I wait for you. If you get to Hongkong, you can contact my family in the USA, who will tell you my address in Hongkong." Then he took all the US dollars and handed them to Shen Hui, added, "You take these money and use them."
After that, they hugged each other again and kissed one more time, full of longing and sorrow. Finally Shen Hui pushed him away and pulled the quilt over her heand, shouting:
"Go! Just go away!"
He wrapped her in the quilt and held her tightly in his arms. Then, clenching his jaw, he turned and strode out of the hospital room, tears streaming down his face as he boarded the warship. As Qingdao coastline slowly disappeared into the horizon, he cried out at the top of his lungs:
"Hui, I lover you!"
After shouting, he broke down and wept.
Due to earlier signs of a miscarriage and the emotional toll of heartbreak, Shen Hui's health never full recovered. Even by 2nd June when the PLA entered the city and Qingdao was completely liberated, she still hadn't been discharged from the hospital. Not long after, the hospital was fully taken over by the PLA.
To her surprise, there was no more change in the hospital. Although the PLA doctors occasionally came to the hospital wards, they are warm and friendly, chatting easily with the other doctors and nurses and treating patients with great care and attentiveness. The only noticeable difference was that there were many meetings organized by the PLA, which all staff gathered and listened to the different reports, especially accounts of heroic deeds from the front lines. The doctors and nurses often spoke of these stories with respect and admiration. Through their conversations, Shen Hui gradually came to understand more about the PLA and the Communist Party.
But her body still couldn't carry the baby to full term ---- she gave birth prematurely to a baby girl. Though the infant looked like small and fragile at first, she was developing normally. Thanks to the dedicated care of the doctors and nurses, she became a healthy newborn when Shen Hui was finally discharged.