"
Grandpa! You still haven't told us how you lost your arm and how your back became crooked!"
"
I remember that day clearly when fifty men were transporting a big slab of stone to the construction site
from the mountain. The stone was so heavy that it broke from the rope. We all fell on the ground. Many were
killed instantly but I counted myself lucky that I lost my left arm only. About my crooked back, I can tell you
that all those men who lived to go home had the same crooked back as mine because of the years of bending."
"
Grandpa! You are the hero of China and the hero of our family! We are all lucky children to have you as
our Grandpa!"
Grandpa Xing looked up to the great wall; he could see in his mind's eye that new generations of workmen
are still working there adding section after section to the Great fortifications of China. He could never have
imagined that in another one thousand and five hundred years, the emperors of China would continue to build
the great wall until it became 8850km long!
***