On Solid Ground

From my hotel room window we had a splendid view of the Pearl River. "See those rew houses?" said Comrade Lin, pointing to the south side. "Many ofthe former ’boat people’ live there now. They have settled down-on solid ground." I knew the "boat people" of Kwangchow. I knew their past. Twenty-five yearshad gone by since I saw them last; but what I had seen never faded from my memory.