Upon seeing these blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigners for the first time, Ashan was so frightened that he immediately buried himself in his mother's embrace. Amidst the chaos, the captain, under the control of the foreign sailors, announced to everyone that the Hong Kong naval forces had received intel suggesting that there were Nationalist spies smuggling weapons on board, hence the need for a search.
However, as the search commenced, the refugees soon realized that things were not as they seemed. The foreign sailors confiscated any jewelry and gold they found, labeling these items as contraband.
Thus began a blatant act of piracy at sea by the foreign sailors. Some refugees hurriedly stashed gold in their personal belongings, like the toilet or hot water bottles, hoping to preserve some wealth for survival amidst the calamity.
Ashan's mother quickly hid some silver and gold jewelry, even slipping some gold bars around Ashan's waist. Little Ashan had no idea what was happening and complained about feeling uncomfortable with something stuck around his waist.
The sharp-eyed foreign sailors swiftly found the gold bars hidden around Ashan's waistcloth. At this point, Ashan's mother dropped to her knees, pleading with the sailors to spare the life-saving money for her children. Whether it was out of understanding her plea or some semblance of conscience, the sailors tossed aside a couple of gold bars and departed.
Perhaps some decency still existed among the sailors, for after looting and returning to their gunboat, a few sailors threw overboard several loaves of bread to the refugees from afar. Ashan's mother, disregarding her dignity, joined the scramble with the other refugees. Yet, how could a woman compete with grown men? In the end, she returned empty-handed, crying alongside her children.
The refugees could bear it no longer. Several men seized the captain, while the women wept, declaring that if they didn't smuggle into Hong Kong immediately, they would all perish together. Finally, the captain agreed to act as a hostage, selecting two crew members and two refugee representatives to row a small boat towards Hong Kong, amidst the tears of the onlookers, hoping to find help from the shipping company.
Finally, a glimmer of hope emerged. On the fourteenth night at sea, a fishing boat approached the small cargo ship. The refugees, carrying their few belongings and their hopeful hearts, boarded the fishing boat, supporting the elderly and the children.
The captain of the fishing boat generously distributed a loaf of bread to each person. It was the best bread Ashan had ever tasted in his life. Ashan's mother murmured to the distant Ashan father, "Thank God, we're finally saved. Ashan father, your children are finally saved." Poor Ashan's mother remained unaware whether Ashan's father survived the street battles in Haikou or not.
阿三第一次看見這些金髮藍眼的鬼子，嚇得直往媽媽的懷裏鑽。混亂中，船長在洋水兵的挾持下，向大家宣佈：因為香港水師得到情報說，船上有國軍情報人員走私槍械，特來搜查。
但是搜查一開始，難民才發覺到完全不是這麼一回事。洋水兵一搜到珠寶黃金就沒收，他們稱這些東西是違禁品。
於是一場洋水兵公開的海上搶劫開始了。一些難民們用最快的速度，儘可能把一些黃金丟在隨身攜帶的馬桶裏或熱水瓶中，希望在這一次浩劫中，留下一些活命錢。
阿三的媽也趕緊藏一點金銀首飾。她在阿三的腰際中也藏了一些金條。小小的阿三根本不知道發生了什麼事，直嚷著腰裏卡了東西很不舒服。
眼尖的洋水兵很快地就在阿三的腰巾搜出了金條。這時阿三媽噗通一聲跪在地上，向洋水兵哀求，請他留下讓這幾個小孩的活命錢。不知是洋水兵聽懂了阿三媽的哀求，還是天良發現，丟了一兩根金條，就揚長而去。
也許洋水兵還有一些天良，在搜刮完了回到炮艇後，有三兩水兵隔著船，丟過來幾條麵包。阿三媽也顧不得顏面，跟難民們搶成一團。一個婦人家又怎搶得過大男人們。最後還是流著淚空手回來，跟孩子們哭成一團。
難民終於按捺不住了。幾個男子挾持了船長。女人們哭著說，如果再不偷渡進香港，就大家同歸於盡。最後船長同意作為人質，挑選了兩位船員，帶著兩位難民代表，划著小船。在眾人的淚水中，緩緩地划向香港，希望能找到船公司求援。
好消息終於來了。在海上的第十四天深夜，一艘漁船靠近了小貨輪。難民們扶老攜幼，帶著僅有的一些家當，抱著充滿希望的心，湧進了漁船。
漁船的船老大慷慨地發了每人一個麵包。這是阿三一生中最好吃的麵包。阿三媽喃喃地向遙遠的阿三爸說著：「謝謝天，我們終於有救了。阿三爸，你的孩子們終於有救了。」可憐的阿三媽還不知，阿三爸在海口的巷戰中，是活還是死呢。
