The other inmates would continue to teach Mrs. Jia lessons without mercy whenever she showed the slightest sign of defiance. Mrs. Jia, however, was by no means the type to suffer in silence. The following day, upon realizing that several of the women who had beaten her the day before had been thrown into solitary confinement, she sprang up like a coiled spring, clearly intent on stirring up trouble again. The result was exactly as one might expect: she was soundly beaten once more.
Huddled in the corner of her cell, Mrs. Jia’s bruised, swollen eyelids were nearly shut. She licked her cracked lips, tasting blood—the result of a slap from a heavy enamel bowl wielded by the scarred-faced woman earlier that morning. In the cell, the female prisoners took turns "educating" this new, shrewish old woman, much like a pack of wolves tearing apart their prey.
"Old hag, you still dare to glare at me?" The scarred woman grabbed Mrs. Jia by her graying hair and slammed her head against the concrete wall. With a dull thud, Mrs. Jia finally learned to lower her head and admit defeat: "I was wrong... I won't dare do it again..."
Chapter 154