1941 - age 40

I spent the new year of 1941 in Fujian Province, Yongan City. There were three holidays of New Year. Every employee of the bank gathered for a group greeting*. Besides the gathering, there were shows and a lot of things going on, everyone was busy and occupied. Because I was new to the job, I didn't have many things to take care of so I felt quite free. Yongan is a mountainous city so in the morning there is a light fog. The residents of Yongan thought it's not healthy to breath in the fog, so most people do not get up early and stay indoors, lacking exercise. Many people suffer indigestion and dare not overeat. Also, because in the mountainous city it's hard to get water, people do not often bathe. There is a saying in Yongan: Bu qi zao, bu chi bao, bu xi jiao (rhyming don't wake early, don't eat full, don't bather). But when I came to Yongan, because I needed to catch a ride to Maoping to work, I got up early. I am usually an early riser. And I like to exercise, I usually walk on the bridge of Yanxi, I really enjoy the beautiful scenery around the river and the bridge. I wrote a poem at the time titled Early Morning Walk Along Yanxi. This poem is part of my compilation:

Early in the morning, I come to Yanxi

Heavy fog dampens my clothes

Amidst the cloud water foggy drizzle

Forget the troubles of the world

Escape the turmoil of the land

Ambitions still achievable

...

Mountain village, fresh wine

Holding cup, write a new poem

qu - beginning

xin - new

I sent this poem to Mr Wan, who was a scholar authoritative in appraising poems. According to Mr Wan, he appreciated this poem. 

The governor of Fujian was Mr Cen. His main objective was to collect the capable people. He formed a committee called Economic Development Committee. On the new year, in January, I received an appointment from the provincial government to be the head of the Commerce Department. Later on, I was appointed special member of the committee. According to this committee's bylaw, our main purpose was to develop the economy in Fujian and everything connected to design, research, implementation. Inside this committee, there were several special committee members. The head of the committee was the governor. Inside the committee were several departments and every department has complicated organization because they want to cover all aspects of service. When you start from the beginning, you need to do a lot of investigation and exploration of what exists now. They needed a lot of people to do the assessment and collect data. Fujian is close to the ocean, the land is usually mountainous, so agriculture cultivation is hard. Fujian is usually very poor, lacking resources, the society is unstable and had lots of crime. Governor Cen wanted to improve people's lives, and started with economic improvements. He increased the police force to deter robbers and thieves so people can live peaceful lives. This governor did a very good job, he worked hard and lived a very simple life and was concerned about regular ordinary people's lives. He did a lot of good for Fujian province and people. Besides working in the committee, usually in my leisure time, I enjoyed writing poetry. At this time, I wrote a poem called Up Fortune Mountain about my life in Yongan.

*as opposed to individually greeting one by one