Zhang Yi: At what time did your mother realize what was your father’s real job?

Shenghua: To be exact, it was September, 1942.

In September 1942 Tu Zuochao suddenly received an order from the CCP organization informing him that Li Bai had been arrested. With dangers around, he had to withdraw from Shanghai.

Shenghua: What was the first question the CCP Underground thinking of upon Li Bai’s arrestment? If Li Bai confessed then Tu Zuochao would be the next arrested. Tu Zuochao was therefore notified to withdraw urgently. Either on September 15 or 16 when Tu Zuochao was notified, he withdrew within one week. At that time, my parents had already got 3 kids. The biggest child was 10 years old, the second child was 3 and the third child or my second elder brother was only one month old. He was born on August 18. He was to be one month old on September 18. But on September 18, my father had withdrawn. Before his withdrawal, he said to my mother: “I must leave. Why? I am a Communist. I must tell you the truth today. Secondly my name is not Jiang Lingen. My name is Tu Zuochao. You are illiterate. Why I have married you? It was exactly because you are illiterate. Otherwise, you would have known what I have really been doing. The 3 characters of my name Tu, Zuo and Chao, you try your best to remember how to write. Mr. Li is in trouble now, and I must leave. I will come back to pick you and our kids up in the future. You try your best to live and stay safe. If in the future, the CCP failed to dominate China, you marry away with another man with our kids. And you shall never mention Tu Zuochao any more. This will do you no good. However, if the CCP dominates China in the future but I fail to return home, you go to ask Mao Zedong for myself. Mao Zedong is our leader. And he will take care of all of your livelihood.

Zhang Yi: Was that a farewell brief?

Shenghua: Yes. That was the brief. So he left. After more than one year, the CCP underground, that was from about September 18, 1942 to the winder of 1943 when the organization had arranged the withdrawing route. That was, the liaison man took my mother and my 2 brothers and my sister to withdraw from Shanghai to the CCP New 4