my life in prison

Source: Dajiangxi Go, transferred from five-color gold bricks

Prison for old age

Four years ago, Fu Daxin, an elderly man in rural Hunan, was arrested for deliberately robbery for retirement. After spending a year and a half in "prison" and having a good time as he wished, the issue of old-age care was put before him realistically again.

Fu Daxin, 73, sat on a hard bed with only one mat, with one leg bent. When he closed his eyes slightly, he thought of life in prison again. "There are steamed buns and porridge, no labor, and someone will watch when he is sick." If he can still smoke a few cigarettes a day, this is all his imagination of "good life".

In September 2008, Fu Daxin was sentenced to 2 years in prison for an attempted robbery in the Beijing Railway Station Square. When the sentence was pronounced, Fu Daxin pleaded with the judge: "The sentence is too light, you should try again."

A year and a half later, Fu Daxin was released from prison ahead of schedule and was admitted to a nursing home in Lingguan Town, Qidong County, Hengyang City, Hunan Province.

"Life here can't keep up with the prison." Fu Daxin walked barefoot to the cabinet, looking for a relatively decent dress. After fumbling for a while in the two shriveled bags, Fu Daxin sat down by the bed without success. Facing the "China Weekly" reporter, Fu Daxin said: "I don't want to reduce the sentence."

robbery

In Lingguan Town Nursing Home, Fu Daxin is an old man who has seen the world. He has been to Beijing, and he also ate sweet wine and made eggs in the evening of his 30s. This kind of treatment other old people can't even think about. Although the villagers told him not to talk about robbery and imprisonment, Fu Daxin often told the elderly in nursing homes.

This time, Fu Daxin stood up and simulated the scene of the robbery with an old man beside him. "She was carrying a bag, and I pulled her bag from the side. The bag was still hanging on her arm. I took out the knife and asked her to call for robbery."

"How long is the knife?" the old man in the nursing home asked knowingly.

"Not long." Fu Daxin gestured the size of the knife with both hands. "I peel apples." Every time I say this, it will cause a burst of laughter.

"There is no way, I won't take this step unless I have to." This sentence made the whole room quiet.

On the afternoon of September 8, 2008, the square of Beijing Railway Station was crowded with people. Fu Daxin, who was penniless, felt a cramp of hunger in his stomach again. Wiping the sweat with his hands, he finally made up his mind - robbery.

Touching the fruit knife in his pocket, Fu Daxin anxiously looked for the robbery target. In the distance, a policeman is buying mineral water. "Go and rob the police, and he can take me directly to jail." But his wishful thinking failed, his legs and feet were slow at his age, and before Fu Daxin came to him, the police had already turned and left.

At the ticket office, more than 20 people lined up to buy tickets. One of them, a middle-aged woman in her 40s and 50s, held 300 yuan in her hand and moved forward step by step with her eyes fixed on the ticket window. Fu Daxin felt that the opportunity had come. He leaned over, stretched it hard, and ripped off 100 yuan. When the woman looked back, she saw the thin and dry Fu Daxin standing behind her, holding a hundred-yuan bill with a corner missing. Fu Daxin took out a small fruit knife, smiled and said to her, "You call robbery."

"Crazy!" The middle-aged woman thought she had run into a patient, and muttered to herself that she was unlucky, turning around and continuing to line up.

"I was so angry at the time, I wondered why she didn't shout. If she shouted, it would be fine if the police came." Fu Daxin said.

Fu Daxin decided to grab a bag. On the side of the flower bed on the west side of Beijing Railway Station Square, a female college student with a backpack caught Fu Daxin's attention. "Give me the bag." Fu Daxin shouted a few times behind the female college student, but the other party ignored him. Fu Daxin could only trot a few steps to get to him, pulling the female college student's backpack. The backpack on the back was pulled and slipped on his arms. The female student held onto her bag, and Fu Daxin also pulled hard into her arms. After fighting for a while, Fu Daxin's physical strength gradually fell behind.

He took out the small fruit knife again and asked the girl to shout robbery. This time, the female college student called the police. Fu Da smiled confidently.

After identification, only one satchel that was robbed was worth several thousand yuan, and there were other items in the bag. The total value of the robbed items was more than 9,000 yuan. No matter if the bag is cash or toilet paper, Fu Daxin only hopes that the police handling the case will make his crime more serious, and "hope to be sentenced for a few more years."

On November 24, 2008, the Beijing Railway Transportation Court found that Fu Daxin's robbery failed due to reasons other than his will and was an attempted crime. In view of the good attitude of his confession after being brought to justice, he was sentenced to 2 years in prison and a fine of 6,000 yuan. Fu Daxin did not pay the fine, "I have no money."

"One dollar and six, what do you think you can eat?"

More than once someone asked Fu Daxin why he wanted to rob? "Frozen three feet is not a day's cold." Fu Daxin said that his life really couldn't go on.

Fu Daxin is a farmer in Lingguan Village, Qidong County, Hengyang City, Hunan Province. He is considered a "scholar" among his peers in the village. After graduating from high school in 1957, he was admitted to the forestry middle school in the county. At that time, the school was free, studying in the morning and working in the afternoon. But after only one year, the school was closed, and Fu Daxin returned to the village. At that time, it was just in time for the recruitment, and Fu Daxin’s household registration was still in the school, so he missed the recruitment and finally had to work at home.

Because his family was poor, Fu Daxin never married in his life. When he was young, he let ducks in Yunnan for 6 years, and the ducks were poisoned to death. He began to work in Guangxi and Guangdong all year round.

When he was old, Fu Daxin could no longer work, so he could only go back to the village. Half of the mud-brick house built more than 30 years ago has collapsed. Villagers often see Fu Daxin squatting on the ridge, soaking rice in cold water, and it is a meal. In recent years, because of his old age, he couldn't do the work in the fields, so Fu Daxin returned eight percent of the land allotted to him by the village, and thus embarked on the difficult road of "not enough food". In the first two years, Fu Daxin was in good health, he could do some work, and his income was just enough to support himself. In recent years, he has been ill, and with his old age, he earns very little money. Before being imprisoned, Fu Daxin had not eaten meat for two years.

In order to support himself, Fu Daxin wholesales some flue-cured tobacco, dried fish and shrimps, a pole and two baskets, and picks them up to sell at the market. With age and slow legs, Fu Daxin always fell behind the villagers who went with him. On average, you can earn two or three yuan a day. If you can't sell it, you'll lose money.

At first, Fu Daxin’s house still had electricity. Later, the village installed electric meters for each family. Fu Daxin couldn’t pay 600 yuan to install electric meters. "That thing is too expensive, more expensive than eating." Fu Daxin said.

Because life was too difficult, in 2003, Fu Daxin went to the county civil affairs office to report the situation, only then did he know that he was a five-guarantee household and could receive subsidies.

In Qidong County, there are 10,000 elderly people with "five guarantees" like Fu Daxin (that is, the elderly who have no dependants and no ability to work). More than 90% of them live on their own in the village without anyone to take care of them.

When Fu Daxin fell ill, he had no money to go to the hospital for treatment, so he could only lie in bed next to each other. The villagers said: "When I see him again, he will be a dry shell."

Fu Daxin went to the village, town, and even the city government, but there was no money for him. Because the state has no substantive measures for the medical treatment of the elderly in the Five Guarantees, especially the serious illness.

From 2003, he received a subsidy of 300 yuan a year, which rose to 600 yuan in 2007. Fu Daxin said that an average of 600 yuan a year is only 1.6 yuan a day, which is not enough to live at all. "Rice here is 1.5 yuan per catty, and meat is 13 yuan per catty. A piece of six, what do you think you can eat?"

In August 2008, 69-year-old Fu Daxin went to Liuzhou, Guangxi to collect waste products under the leadership of his fellow villagers. Unfamiliar with life, Fu Daxin rode a tricycle for three days without receiving any scraps. He also found himself unable to ride the tricycle. Helpless, Fu Daxin returned to Qidong County. Really unable to survive, Fu Daxin remembered a news he had read in a newspaper he had picked up: a patient was imprisoned for a crime in order to treat his illness, and the prison even treated him. Thinking about himself, "I'm not afraid of death anymore, are you still afraid of going to prison?" Fu Daxin decided to go to Beijing to rob. First, I want to solve my own food problems, and secondly, I want to reflect my own living conditions.

Fu Da Credit picked up junk money to buy a train ticket to Zhengzhou, Henan. When I got to the local area, I continued to pick up junk. I bought tickets if I had money, and evaded tickets if I had no money. It took ten days to travel to Tianjin and then to Beijing.

After the robbery, Fu Daxin finally got his wish and went to prison.

"Prison" has support

Unlike others, Fu Daxin was overjoyed when he entered the detention center. Fu Daxin was even more overjoyed when he saw the steamed buns. "Steamed buns, I like to eat them the most." Fu Daxin showed a bright smile on his face. Because of stomach surgery in the 1980s, Fu Daxin's stomach has always been bad. Steamed buns can combine his excess stomach acid and make him feel much more comfortable.

Prisoners in the detention center rarely see such an old man who can eat. He eats everything and never wastes it. For the food that others can't finish, Fu Daxin will work for a generation. In three months, Fu Daxin gained 10 pounds.

After three and a half months in the detention center, Fu Daxin was transferred to Tianhe Prison. This is the transfer station for sending prisoners back to the local prison. Fu Daxin found that life was better here. Not only are there steamed buns to eat every day, but the elderly also have an egg every morning.

In prison, Fu Daxin ate meat for the first time in two years. He ate it in small bites, for fear that he would finish the meat soon. Fu Daxin put the meat in his mouth and chewed it repeatedly, making a chirping sound, and was laughed at by his fellow inmates for a long time.

Three and a half months later, Fu Daxin was transferred back to Changsha Prison in Hunan Province to serve his sentence. The prison gave him two summer clothes, two spring and autumn clothes, two winter clothes, and two pairs of shoes. The quilt was made with two beds, one bunk and one cover. There are not only quilt cover sheets, but also mats in summer. Hot water bottles, buckets, and cups are all available.

Fu Daxin felt that Changsha Prison had better food. Eat three meals a day on time, not only steamed bread is enough, but also scrambled eggs with tomatoes, kelp stewed ribs, and corn stewed ribs at lunch. Boiled water is a unified supply, unlimited. After 12 o'clock in the evening of the New Year's Eve, the prison will bring sweet wine and eggs to the prisoners.

The annual five-guarantee subsidy of 600 yuan is still being distributed. The village accountant mailed the money to Fu Daxin, and he occasionally bought some noodles for breakfast in the prison.

In prison, people over the age of 60 are not required to work. Fu Daxin gets up at 6:30 every morning, washes, cleans up the house, and folds the quilt into tofu cubes. After having breakfast and others leaving for work, Fu Daxin went back to the dormitory to rest. There are gardens and basketball courts in Changsha Prison. When the wind is out, Fu Daxin can stroll around casually. "As long as you don't go out of the big yard with four high walls and power grids," Fu Daxin said.

When he had nothing to do, he would read books and newspapers, memorize Tang poems, and write. Sometimes I play chess with my fellow inmates and watch the news broadcast every day. Fu Daxin had his first medical examination in prison. "Cerebral vascular sclerosis, bone hyperplasia, kidney stones, prostatitis." Unlike the previous illness, Fu Daxin was sick in prison, and people would come to visit at noon and at night. Doctors come to visit every day, and if there is an emergency, they will go to the prison hospital for treatment at any time. Fu Daxin suffered from prostatitis, and the hospital in the prison was not good. He was accompanied by four police officers to the social hospital outside the prison for diagnosis and treatment. "They held me up and never yelled at me (loud shouting)."

In prison, Fu Daxin felt a long-lost warmth. He always wanted time to go by more slowly, more slowly. However, the good times did not last long, and Fu Daxin was commuted.

When it came to commutation, Fu Daxin was very unhappy. "Prisoners who have appeared in newspapers and photos will have their sentences commuted by half a year." Fu Daxin did not accept commutation, and he had to write a letter of repentance for commutation, but Fu Daxin refused to do so. "I dare to do it, I have nothing to regret."

In the end, other prisoners wrote letters of repentance for Fu Daxin, and Fu Daxin was released from prison half a year ahead of schedule. "Eat and sleep, sleep and eat. Apart from eating, it is to see a doctor. If you don't work, the prison doesn't want you."

Fu Daxin picked up a cigarette, sniffed it and said, "I used to be in prison, and someone asked me to smoke a pack of cigarettes for 10 yuan. Now it's 1.8 yuan a pack, and I may not be able to smoke it."

Life in a Nursing Home

On March 7, 2010, the village paid 500 yuan for Fu Daxin's nephew to take him out of Changsha Prison. Without delay, Fu Daxin was sent to Lingguan Town Nursing Home. This is a nursing home newly completed in 2009. It is a quadrangle courtyard with brick-concrete structure. There are two buildings with a total of 32 houses and three staff members. Two days later, Director Peng from the Civil Affairs Office of Lingguan Town came to visit Fu Daxin. The local civil affairs department is quite nervous because of the matter of "prison for the elderly".

Before being imprisoned, Fu Daxin did not live in a nursing home. Village head Fu Fayue once said in an interview with the media that Fu Daxin lives in a nursing home, and the village needs to pay him 600 catties of rations every year. Because Fu Daxin did not mortgage the house to the village, he was not admitted to the nursing home for a long time.

In rural areas, the main responsibility for supporting the Five Guarantees is the village committee and villager group. But in the increasingly hollow countryside, the collective does not have enough money to support the poor elderly. In Qidong County, more than 90% of Wubao seniors were not admitted to nursing homes. "If I hadn't been in prison, people all over the country would know that I wouldn't be able to live in a nursing home." Fu Daxin said.

However, Fu Daxin is still very dissatisfied with the nursing home. In his opinion, this nursing home is just an empty shell, not comparable to a prison at all.

Three days after he was released from prison, Fu Daxin discovered the problem of the nursing home: the platform on the second floor was higher than the room, and when it rained, it poured into the room. There were cracks in the wall of the room, and the cement platform behind the cafeteria had all collapsed. The subsidy of 600 yuan a year has been canceled and replaced by a monthly meal fee of 300 yuan, which is 10 yuan a day. Said to be food expenses, in fact, all the expenses for a month are in it. Fu Daxin had to cook his own noodles in the morning and occasionally smoke a pack of cigarettes because he had a bad stomach. After the money was deducted, Fu Daxin could only eat a few meals less in the cafeteria.

It had been several days since the tap water had burst, and the staff in charge of cooking were too lazy to carry water, so they hired the elderly in the nursing home to carry the water. "A bucket of water costs two yuan, and this money comes from the food bill." The elderly scrambled to fetch water for pocket money.

When Fu Daxin first moved in, it was a two-person room. Recently, the old man on the bed was paralyzed. It was so stinky to poop and pee that Fu Daxin had to move out. Nursing homes do not have staff responsible for hygiene. Fu Daxin said that an old man named Hu Jianguo died in his room last year.

Near noon, a paralyzed old man leaned on two benches and slowly moved to the dining room. Fu Daxin sat on the old man's bench and tried to chat a few words. "It's annoying!" The old man yelled at Fu Daxin. Fu Daxin scolded: "It's good to be alive, no one can control who."

There is a coffin in the chess and card room of the nursing home, prepared by other elderly people in the home. The chess and card table was covered in dust, and spiders were intently weaving their webs on a badly damaged television. Fu Daxin said that there were originally two TV sets in the courtyard, but one was broken, so everyone could only watch TV together. He maintained his prison habit and insisted on watching the news network. In addition to learning about national events, you can also listen to the news that the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the central finance have issued subsidies to households with five guarantees nationwide during the Spring Festival. Every time he took a notebook and wrote it down, for example: "In 2010, the central government issued a red envelope of 100 yuan to each of the national five-guarantee households; On February 4, 2012, the central government subsidized each household with five guarantees of 200 yuan.”

"I just want to give some subsidies and buy noodles to eat." Fu Daxin picked up the half-stretched noodles left on the table.

Fu Daxin misses prison, but he is 73 years old. He is not sure whether he still has the physical strength to return to that "comfort zone".