Bai Fumei in the 70’s

He Songbai was afraid that his grandmother would worry too much. So the next morning, when everyone else went to work, he dragged his two injured legs to his grandmother's room to speak with her. When Sister He came back from work, she also carried her outside to bask under the sun. Both brother and sister were frightened by her howling cries last night. The grandma felt the extraordinary care of her granddaughter and grandson over the next few days and was in a wonderful mood.

One day, after work, Zhao Lanxiang returned to the He family's house and was washing her hands by the well, then rubbing her palms back and forth with snowflake cream. The soft and greasy lotion moisturized the woman's skin and gave off a faint fragrance.

After He Songbai had gotten injured, she had to work obediently. This ten-point work had completely overwhelmed Zhao Lanxiang's weak shoulders.

After moisturizing with snowflake cream, Zhao Lanxiang suddenly heard He Songbai's grandmother, Grandma Li, call for her coldly.

"Come!"

She was stunned, pointing at her nose meekly and asking, "Me?"

Grandma Li responded to her question with a faceless expression, before Sister He smiled and waved Zhao Lanxiang over.

Zhao Lanxiang hurried over, and Grandma Li asked her granddaughter to carry her back to the house.

Zhao Lanxiang gingerly followed them into the room, and Grandma Li took out a piece of paper from the cupboard. Her hands trembled as she wrote a line of words. After she finished writing, she threw it into Zhao Lanxiang.

She said simply, "Go out."2

Her voice was extremely hoarse.

Zhao Lanxiang looked at the old woman's muddled eyes, which had almost collapsed into two small slits, and felt the indifference and insight revealed in those wise pupils. She suddenly felt that He Songbai's grandmother had a strong personality.

Zhao Lanxiang wondered if she confessed to this grandmother about her relationship with her baby grandson, would this old woman still maintain such a cold expression.

But... this kind of thought was just a fleeting idea. Zhao Lanxiang would not easily leak this news to He Songbai's respected grandmother without his consent.

Zhao Lanxiang stepped forward to pick up the note and stuffed it into her pocket.

She asked, "Grandma, do you want to eat some porridge or anything else?"

Grandma Li simply lied back down, back facing Zhao Lanxiang, closing her weary eyes to sleep in response.

Grandma Li became a bulge on the bed, and the thin quilt exposed her two legs. The deformed bound feet were covered with a cloth shamefully all year round. However, the cloth had fallen off after she fell asleep and her feet were left bare. The two or three-inch golden lotus feet were exposed and only covered with children's socks with dense patches on them. Interacting with this poor and miserable elder, Zhao Lanxiang couldn't bring herself to feel any trace of dissatisfaction.

In the evening, after Zhao Lanxiang took a bath, she took out her clothes and washed them, then took out the note. She read it carefully under the dim light of the lamp and thought deeply but she still could not make any sense of it.

"Go one hundred steps northeast of Niujiao Mountain, under the locust tree."5

Zhao Lanxiang frowned for a long time, picked up a towel, and dried her wet hair. Then she threw the note into the cabinet.

...

Time passed quickly, and He Songbai's long monotonous days of healing were coming to an end. The fixed planks on his hands and feet had already been removed, and a review meeting for disciplining "disruptive elements" caused by Pan Huayu had finally begun.

On this day, the party branch of the village and the important secretary of the committee were sitting upright in their chairs with their waists straight. The people stood behind them. Li Hongde, the branch secretary, used his thumb to tap the paper, rolled a cigarette, and silently smoked in his seat. Li Dali also had a black face and looked directly at the table in front of him.

What a shame!

The people of the First Production Brigade and the Second Production Brigade of the village both came to the meeting. The crowd under the stage was surging. The audience was filled with a multitude of villagers. Some enthusiastically stretched their necks in an attempt to get a better view of the stage, others looked on resentfully, wishing they were back home in bed next to their wives instead of at an early morning meeting, while the majority sat there indifferently, a look of triumph on their faces.

Zhao Lanxiang's eyes carefully followed He Songbai's figure, as several people attentively reviewed their "crime" before him. When Zhao Lanxiang arrived, it was Pan Huayu's turn to read his review.

The loud voice of the middle-aged man in his thirties revealed a shameful understatement.

"I am reviewing my action. I will never fight without reason, and I will not be angry at bad guys with backward thoughts. We should influence them to be better with a progressive heart. Here now I apologize to Brother He for beating him incorrectly."

After he finished speaking, there was sparse applause in the crowd.

He Songbai was ready to go up the stand, but Zhao Lanxiang was a little angry to hear Pan Yuhua's review.

Your mother! This sort of insincere apology neither came from the heart nor showed that he had properly reviewed his behavior.

He Songbai walked to the stage without a word.

He began to speak, "To the party branch of the brigade, the Revolutionary Committee, I am He Songbai, a member of the Hezi brigade. Today, I have come to make a profound review of my mistakes. I came from a backward landlord family..."

A burst of colorful murmurs came from the crowd, and a rotten leaf hit him.

He Songbai did not care and continued unperturbed, "I am grateful that the party did not give up on me, gave me the opportunity to reform, and allowed me to join other members to work together. I cherish this hard-earned opportunity, and decided to work hard in order to repay the party for a lifetime..."

As he was talking, and the rotten leaves and other debris were continually thrown again and again. If this were not in the age of insufficient supplies, maybe rotten eggs would be tossed as well! It's a pity that He Songbai didn't miss the precious opportunity of being the target of rotten eggs. He was already engulfed by the strong stench of unknown objects.

He Songbai wiped his face calmly, and continued cheerfully, "The chairman once said: 'The house should be cleaned frequently. If it is not cleaned, it will be full of dust; the face should be washed frequently, and if it is not washed, it will be covered in dirt.' I have reflected deeply on my mistakes, and I appreciate the organization's tolerance. I am willing to accept punishment and hope to devote myself to the production team in the future! Thank you Comrade Li Dali for your help!"

His strong, youthful voice traveled far and wide, filled with respect, without a hint of irritation. Hearing this, many people's eyes deepened involuntarily. His speech was really good, and he could even quote the chairman's wisdom. Li Dali was also among those who were impressed by him.