In this letter "Sister Hwei" refers to Watchman's wife, Charity, whose Chinese name is Pin-hwei.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
May 16, 1972
Eldest Sister Pin-cheng,
Both your letter dated the 6th from Peking and the one dated the 11th from Shanghai have been received. This time when you come, I hope that you can stay longer and have more rest. In my sickness, I do long to be in contact more with my own relatives. Here the mountains are beautiful and the water clear. One thing special about this place is that the children are especially handsome, more so than all the ones I saw in Shanghai. I hope that you can find some rest here.
Sister Hwei's ashes are indeed a problem. When you come, we will discuss this.
I do not have much need. Just bring me an electric flashlight.
I wish you well.
Shu-tsu
May 22, 1972
Eldest Sister Pin-cheng,
I have talked with the supervisor concerning the question of my leaving the farm here. He said, "You cannot go to Peking or Shanghai. You can only go to a small place, a village. As long as the verification papers come, the government will deal with the matter according to the set policy. There is no need to discuss this with me."
Therefore, please find for me someone among my relatives whose name I can come under. You can explain to them that I can take care of my living. I hope that they can receive me and that they can ask the commune administration there to issue a certificate saying that I can stay there and that they will accept me.
I hope that someone can be found among my relatives. Ma Hsing-tao is one who may be willing to do it. Please discuss it with him, or with some others.
On Saturday night, I had another relapse. For a few hours, my heart was quivering. Later I took some Diacin and was able to be sustained. On Sunday, I slept the whole day. In my sickness, I deeply long to return to my own relatives and be with them, as a falling leaf returning to its roots. I have lost contact with all of them for over twenty years. Therefore, I can only ask you to help me.
When you come, bring with you one catty of Tai-Chang shredded beef and one catty of dried beef. Because of my angina pectoris, the doctor has told me not to eat egg yolk, fat, or any internal organs, for fear that the illness will worsen. So I can only eat some lean meat. If I do not eat anything, I will not have the supply of amino acid in the protein. This is a problem to me.
I wish you well.
Shu-tsu
________________________________________________________________________________________________________