《The Sorrowful Journey of the Eastern Pearl》
Uncle Lin settled Ashan's family in Tsuen Wan (although Tsuen Wan is located in Kowloon, it was under British lease). At that time, Tsuen Wan was a rural area, but Ashan's family was still happy to temporarily settle there.
Ashan's mother couldn't work because she had to take care of the baby, and it wasn't sustainable to always rely on Uncle Lin's support. So, the eldest and second sons went to work as child laborers in the local match factory.
Although Ashan was too young to help, he learned from his second brother how to use crickets to catch frogs. Sometimes, the family even had frog feasts thanks to this.
Ashan's second brother was a clever kid with skillful hands, often making toys for Ashan to play with. The most enjoyable activity for the two brothers was flying kites.
In the village of Tsuen Wan, children often competed with their kites. Besides flying them high and far, there were also kite battles to see who could bring down the other kites.
Due to his skill, Ashan's second brother was a frequent winner in these kite competitions. Eventually, when his kite went up, many small kites would quickly come down. To Ashan, his second brother was a hero.
Once, during a kite-flying session, his second brother told Ashan that you could use a kite to send messages to the heavens.
He wrote a prayer on a piece of paper: "May Dad return safely from the battlefield and reunite with the family." He tore the paper into strips, attached them to the kite string with a small twig, and let it go. The strips of paper followed the kite string up into the sky.
With the kite fully released, the two brothers prayed together, asking for the heavens to protect their father. Then, they let the kite soar into the sky, carrying their heartfelt wishes with it.
《東方明珠的客途悲情》
林叔把阿三一家安頓在荃灣（荃灣地處九龍但屬英租界）。當時荃灣完全是鄉下地方，但是阿三一家還是高高興興地暫時住了下來。
阿三媽為了照顧嬰兒無法去打工，老是靠林叔接濟過日子，也不是辦法。於是老大、老二都到當地的火柴工廠去作童工。
阿三雖然年紀太小不能幫忙，但是他也從二哥那學會用蟋蟀去釣田雞。所以有時全家還會有機會享用田雞大餐呢！
阿三的二哥是個聰明的孩子，手也很巧，常常做一些玩具給阿三玩。其中哥倆玩得最快樂的是風箏。
在荃灣的村子裏，孩子們常常以放風箏來比賽。除了放得高、放得遠外，還有技巧性的風箏纏鬥比賽，看看誰能夠把別人的風箏打落下來。
因為阿三二哥的技巧好，是風箏比賽的常勝軍。後來當二哥的風箏昇起來時，就常看到許多小風箏匆匆忙忙地收降下來。所以二哥是阿三心目中的英雄。
有一次放風箏的時候，二哥告訴阿三，如果想與老天爺講話，可以利用風箏傳遞信息。
二哥把祈禱「爸爸安全從戰場歸來，與全家團聚」的信息寫在紙上。撕開後，夾在風箏線上，然後再用小樹枝穿好。手一鬆，只見那紙條隨風沿著風箏線，一路地就飛向飄在高空中的風箏。
二哥把所有的線放完，帶著阿三一起禱告，願老天爺保祐爸爸。接著一鬆手，風箏就帶著兩位赤子的心意直奔向天際而去。
Photos of Tsuen Wan Theatre / 荃灣大戲院 [1950-1972]