The Story of Second Brother

The Story of Second Brother

I had sent a picture of you and your sister to Second Brother who is 2 years my junior.  We still lived in the lower east side in New York so you must have been less than 5 years old.  I later learned that that picture caused a great deal of pain and grief.  Second Brother loved the photo and sewed a secret pocket into his jacket to keep it.  He was educated and very good with numbers but because of the Cultural Revolution the Red Guard assigned him to work the land.  He would steal glances at the photograph during the day, until one day he was arrested for having it.  He thought that another worker must have told on him, and the picture was taken from him and destroyed.  He, under duress, confessed that the photo was of his sister’s children and that they all lived in America.  He was beaten and imprisoned for communicating with citizens of an enemy nation and accused of being a spy.

About fifteen years later your father and I went to a dinner sponsored by a group in Chinatown.  We were to dine with one of the first delegations of Chinese from the mainland as relationships between China and America improved.  At the dinner, one of the delegates spoke with an accent that I recognized as being from my home community.  Against your father’s advice, I went up to speak with this delegate.  “Excuse me,” I said, getting his attention.  “I think we are from the same province.  My home province is Anhui.  I am so happy to see you here, as it fills me with pride to know that Anhui has produced such an important official such as yourself to represent China.”  He responded in a very engaging manner and we talked for 20 minutes.  His delegation had come to evaluate the United States infrastructure, particularly bridges.  He felt that China had a very long way to go before being able to come close to matching what America had built.  The conversation turned direction, and I told him that I had a younger brother who still resided in Anhui.  We made some more small talk, and he departed.

I would later find out that this official was a vice mayor in a city close to Anhui.  Several days after returning to China, he sought and summoned my brother for an audience.  Second Brother thought that he must have done something terrible.  At that time, he was an accountant for the province and he thought he must have made a horrendous error.  “They’re going to shoot and kill me,” he fretted.

When Second Brother arrived to the official’s office, he kowtowed 3 times and tried to apologize for whatever error he might have made.  The official pulled him up by the hand and shook it.  He described meeting me in New York and how pleased he was with the conversation.  They chatted for a while.  The official thought that second brother seemed extremely intelligent (which he was) and gave him a position as his assistant.  When the official retired, Second Brother succeeded him.  To this day, Second Brother credits me with his good fortune and calls me every New Year.  He is now retired, is financially well off, and travels China in his leisure.