he tried to sleep, but sleeping on the floor with no blankets or pillows kept him awake. He finally slept when he
used his sack that he had brought as a pillow.
The next day, all the workers were surprised. They couldn’t believe that Liu Gao had become a normal
worker. They all read the message that Qin Shi Huang sent.
It said: “Your father and grandfather led a rebellion against me. You mother, grandmother, uncles and other
fifteen people of your family is executed. You and your brother, Liu Yuan, are saved. Liu Yuan will be sent to
the same construction site you are at.”
One year later, Liu Gao was used to the construction life. He now understood the hard works of workers
and became kind. Workers didn’t even talk to Liu Gao at first, but Liu Gao helped the sick people by using
some remedies that he learned before. Also, Liu Gao taught the workers how to read and write. When he felt
hungry, he stole some food from the food storage and shared with the workers. He also became friendly with the
guards, which made stealing food easier.
One day, while he was walking back to the quarter, he saw a crowd. Liu Gao ran and saw his brother being
whipped. When the colonel saw Liu Gao, he made Liu Gao take his brother back to the quarter. Liu Gao was
very angry, but he followed the direction. He tried to check if Liu Yuan was still alive, but there were no sounds
of heart beat. Liu Yuan was shocked.
“
My brother is dead. My brother is dead!” He cried. He hated the colonel that whipped his brother. Liu Gao
talked to the workers from quarter number 1 to number 8. They all agreed because the new colonel was much
more terrible than Liu Gao.
That night, Liu Gao and ten workers carried the colonel and eight other officers to cave that only a few
workers know how to escape. So the colonel would likely die. Then Liu Gao, all the workers, and the guards
escaped the construction camp. Soon, they were caught by the army. One year later, the prison that the workers
were was taken over by some rebelling people. So they all escaped and went back to their home towns.
“
Good for him,” Liu Xinping murmured. Then he continued to read.
Liu Gao joined the Han army led by Liu Bang. They both had the same last name, so Liu Gao became a
high officer. His descendents lived in Beijing during the Ming and Qing Dynasty. Written by Liu Ping.
“
That’s funny. My grandfather told the exactly same story to me,” said Liu Xinping. “Or maybe…” He
found a paper between attached to the inside of the cover. It said,
‘
Property of Liu Ke and Liu Shang’
“
Liu Ke is my grandfather’s name! Then, Liu Shang might be my father. I can find my father and mother!”
Liu Xinping’s father and mother had left China and went to Taiwan when Liu Xinping was young. His
grandfather thought that Chiang Kai-shek will attack China again. He will move to Taiwan with Liu Xinping
and his family. Liu Ke told his son to go to Taiwan and earn money first while he takes care of Liu Xinping.
Unfortunately, it didn’t happen, and Liu Ke couldn’t remember his son’s name and the place that his son went.
Then, Liu Ke died.
Liu Xinping could feel the wall between him and his parents collapsing. The wall that was made out of
loss of memory, being unable to go to Taiwan, and others separating the family. Now this wall was gone.
“
It’s funny that when the great wall collapsed, I found a book that collapsed the wall between my father
and me,” said Liu Xinping. First, he saw the calendar. The next day was spring festival. Then he took all of his
stuff, left the hotel, and took a taxi to go to airport. At the airport, he bought a ticket for Taiwan.
* * *