1937 - age 38 continued
On November 16, I received a note from China Industry Bank. The note requested I audit two loans both with property as collateral. One was in Huangmei (my hometown), the other was in Dean. So I went to the Huangmei property, it was only twenty miles from my hometown, so I went home first and then went to the audit location. Then I found out using the property was pretty old and dilapidated and didn't have much value. That audit was completed quickly. After three days, I took a boat and car to Jioujiang to go to the second property for the audit. I found out the second collateral property was run down as well. So I wrote a report telling the bank the truth. Most people were poor and facilities were run down. When I returned to Nanchang, the bank said they needed me to transport some important things from Nanchang to Hankou. For the rest of November, I attended to the material transport.
This year in January, I celebrated New Year in Shanghai and Lunar New Year in February. In March, I took a boat from Shanghai to Jioujiang to Hanko to Wuchang. I stayed there for forty days. In April, I traveled from Wuchang to Hankou and took a boat back to Nanjing and then after two days, I took a train to return to Shanghai. After a month, on the 19th of May, I took a bus to Changshu, and on the 22nd I went back to Shanghai. After a month, on July 7th, it was Wugou Chiao [the name of a bridge]--when Japan invaded China. On the 7th of August, I took a boat from Shanghai to Jioujiang and from Jioujiang to Nanchang to do something for the bank. On 10th of September from Nanchang, returned to Jioujiang and Huangmei. I stayed home for two weeks and on the 24th, I took a boat from Jioujiang to Nanchang. I was going to return to Shanghai, something happened and I didn't make it. On the 17th of November, I returned home again. On the 24th of November, I left my hometown and went back to Nanchang. The next day, I took a bus from Nanchang to Jioujiang, from Jioujiang, I took a boat to Hankou. From Hankou I returned to Nanchang. In December, I stayed in Nanchang until the New Year. This year, I traveled a lot and moved around a lot. It was also a turning point of our country.
1938 - age 37
It looks like I will celebrate New Year in Nanchang. Originally, I was going to go back home for New Year. From birth until age 22, every New Year I spent at home with my parents. In 1924, I went to Japan to study until now already has been fifteen years that I haven't spent New Years' at home. Because last year, in September and November, I already went home twice, so I wasn't homesick very much. At the end of the year, most of my relatives in my big family, many people were lacking money. If I went home, with all these people needing help, I cannot help everyone. So to avoid this embarrassing situation, I decided not to go home. Besides, at Nanchang, I have a lot of other things to take care of. Til next year, the Japanese invaded my hometown. During eight years of war, I didn't have a chance to go back home. After the war, I was sent to Taiwan immediately. After WWII, the Communists started the war and we lost mainland China. For thirty years, no one could go home. Until 1971, I already had 43 years I didn't go back home. I only hope that the Communist Regime will collapse so I can go home and spend my retirement years there. I want to bring my children and grandchildren to Huangmei to attend to my ancestors' graves.
This year, even though I didn't go back to Huangmei to spend New Year, but the communication between Huangmei and Nanchang was good. The post was fast and often. On the 9th of January, my brother's wife gave birth to a boy, a blessing to our family because in my branch of the Qu Jia, there weren't many children; not many offspring, unlike other branches of the family that had many kids. Even though I already have two kids, but my children are in Shanghai. My brother had a girl and then had a boy. We were very happy. In February, my brother sent to Nanchang New Years' food: preserved meat, preserved fish, and new years' cake [sticky rice cake]. Even though I didn't go home, I tasted the food of my home. [My mom remembers starting in November beginning to prepare fish and meat for the New Year.] In March, my cousin Wenlong and my brother came to Nanchang so we had a party. My cousin Wenlong was very good to me. He even came to Shanghai to visit us. My wife, when he came to Shanghai, made some new clothes for him. This time, he came to Nanchang, even though I was very with my work, I still gave him the gold star treatment during this wartime: brothers and cousins getting together, is not that common or easy.
Last year, a committee was formed to make adjustments and balance. In Jiangxi Province, there was a lot of production of rice, with surplus crop above the consumption by the farmers, they wanted to sell for income. Because of marketing, surplus, and profit issues the farmers and buyers need the bankers to the adjustment work. Especially during wartime, because they also have to deal with war. Also during war, soldiers needed food and rice. The bank formed the committee mainly to adjust with surplus and marketing. They wanted to reach the most profitable way, especially in wartime. They also need to supply a great amount of rice to the military. This involved the provincial and central governments. They also needed cooperation with a lot of the local governments too and local farmers. I'm one of the managers on this committee. Because of the job, the government gave lots of money to the bank for working on this.
[Mom skipped the details that followed, stating, "It's just too much."]
Because it involves so many parties (military, banking, industry, loans, transportation, financing), I worked very hard and the government and bank appreciated my efforts. For the rice to supplied to the military, there were 540,000 packages; a tremendous amount.
This adjustment committee, besides adjusting the rice, there also was financing and loans, regular banking functions. Our main goal was to promote production, transportation, and also encourage merchants to save and make a profit so we have a better market and economy. There are lots of financing in the bank, originally we had a lot of members. Because of the war, many loans defaulted. Because of the Japanese invasion, people had to flee for safety. Many of the banks closed operations. Because we were in peacetime for so long, we didn't imagine wartime. Because of the war, much production was interrupted and plans were stalled. Like some railroads were closed, for example. So farming and transportation were all influenced by the war. He mentions twenty industries that were all affected by the war and outlined the losses. Just devastating. The adjustment committee closed in 1940, my friend, Mr. Yang Zuoyen, wrote a huge report on this committee--if anyone is interested you can read it.
Like telephone, electricity, fertilizer, radio, gasoline, newspaper, cars, diesel, cotton, sugar, medicine, everything is involved. When you need a good economy, it's for the people, their daily lives to supply their needs. When you have war, it's just horrible.
