The Move to Xian
In March of 1961 we were dispersed in an emergency because there was no food in Jinquan Iron and Steel Co. A part of our group went to Xinjiang, another to Jiag Xi and my group went to Xian.
Everyone was given a 1 kg of flat cake made of maize flour. This was to be our food for the trip. We were fed in the freight train like domesticated animals seated on the floor. This kind of train would start, then stop, and no one would know when or why. No time or consideration was given for bodily functions and it posed a great trouble. The male sex could urinate out of the door. That was for us very simple. But the females had the greatest difficulty. The women would completely surround the door and somehow hold the woman in balance out of the door. When the train stopped almost all the people jumped off in order to defecate. But, if the train started again as it often did without notice, we might have to quickly climb on carrying our trousers. There was no time for decency or modesty. We were in fear that we might be shot if we did not make it back on the train. It was not a possibility to use this as an escape except to death.
After two days and nights we arrived in Langzhou and discovered that a young worker had died. He actually died from excessive eating. He felt so hungry that he ate all of his 1 kg maize flour cake at once and then drank a lot of water. It filled his digestive system to the point that the food could not be digested. When we got to Langzhou his body was sent to the hospital, as if to save him, but it was already too late when we had discovered him. The same type of unexpected death happened on the next leg of our train ride. But to keep from possibly having the body dumped off the train, we propped up the body as if he were sleeping. After one more day and night we got to Xian and acted like it was a new discovery of another dead young worker.
At Xian we were combined with the Xian Metallurgical Machine Works as a capital construction section. Xian had much food, but it was expensive. We used all of the little money we had accumulated to buy food. It felt so good and we were so content having a full sensation in our stomachs, a little more strength to function and more hopeful spirits.
Life seemed so much better having food to eat.