‘We had to build a long motorable road. We had to clear thick jungles and fell huge trees and cut through mounds of earth. The jungles abounded with mosquitoes, snakes and leeches, in addition to all kinds of venomous insects. Most of those who came from our village died of fever, malaria and blood dysentery.’

‘How did this old man drive, ask him,’ Tung Chin’s father said, smiling.

Everyone coaxed Ho Fuk to tell the story. The alcohol was helping them feel lighter.

‘The trucks loaded with food and other materials were sent to Kunming through Ledo Road. There were other drivers too. But the number of Chinese drivers was higher. The roads were very bad. On one side were steep hills, and on the other, deep gorges. A little this way or that, and straight down. People aside, not even a part of the vehicle would be found. That’s why perhaps they used us. If anyone died, it would be the Chinese labourers. Nothing but slaves. There were many accidents. No one knows how many people died. If one vehicle fell down the gorge three Chinese would die.’

‘How come?’

‘Each truck carried three drivers. We used to drive the truck together. We were short. The vehicles were huge. The seats were high. When seated, our legs could not reach the accelerator. We looked like small children. One driver sat with his legs folded under him on the seat. He steered the truck. The second one sat on the left to change gears while the third one sat at the bottom to manage the accelerator and brake with both hands.’

‘Oh!’

‘Didn’t you drive to Kunming?’

‘I was supposed to be a good driver so I drove small cars too. One day, I had to take two young white military officers to Kunming. They were of my age. They sat at the back and we followed the convoy. Halfway there, our car broke down. The convoy sped on and it started snowing. I sat there with nothing warm to cover me. All three of us shivered in the cold. Then, one of the officers gestured to me to come to the rear seat. I thought they were going to kill me because the car had broken down, but no, they made me sit between them and covered us all with whatever warm clothes they had. All of us fell asleep. When we woke the next morning we were frozen stiff!’

‘And then?’

‘The officers shook me out of my frozen stupor. Even in the middle of such a calamity we started laughing.’

‘Why?’

‘I had turned black in the freezing cold. The officers thought I was dead. Then they looked at each other and burst into laughter again. They looked the same as I did. They were really very nice fellows, just eighteen or nineteen years old!’

‘Then what happened?’