A thud sounded from outside the door, as if someone had been startled.
Sang Zhi raised an eyebrow, a triumphant glint in her eyes.
In this era, people were generally reserved and traditional. Furthermore, due to the cultural upheavals of the past few years, fashion had regressed significantly. While department stores did have lingerie counters, they were only three to five feet wide, and customers would usually speak in hushed tones, terrified of being discovered. Sang Zhi, however, acted with a refreshing, unencumbered openness.
Jiang Yan had been following her to solve a mystery, but who would have guessed she was buying intimate garments? A flicker of tension, embarrassment, and hesitation crossed the man's face before he retreated several steps, as if compromising with himself. Even so, the conversation inside, carried by the afternoon breeze, drifted clearly to his ears.
The sound of footsteps outside the curtain ceased. Sang Zhi flashed a victorious smile; assuming the person had left, she spoke with even less restraint.
These days, undergarments were primarily traditional undershirts or cotton-padded brassieres. Only those with comfortable family backgrounds could afford to wear dresses modeled after the Soviet *bragi*, though they were incredibly stiff and drab. Having worn the old-fashioned style for two days, she found it unbearable. It was only because the original owner was young and did so much manual labor that her figure had remained somewhat shapely. Sang Zhi, however, had no intention of sagging prematurely.
She had to be extremely cautious until she could drive that family out of her home. She explained her requirements to the tailor. The woman’s eyes grew brighter and brighter.
"My dear, let me take your measurements..."
There was no one else around at this hour. Inside the small partitioned space, the woman didn't stop talking as she measured her with a tape. "Goodness, how did you get skin so soft? It’s like it’s dripping with water."
"Your waist is so tiny—it’ll save quite a bit of fabric. I’ll make sure the new jacket is nipped at the waist for you, dear."
"My, oh my. Slim where it should be slim, and not lacking an ounce where it should be full..."
Life was hard for everyone these days; most families couldn't even save enough fabric coupons in a year to make a single set of clothes. Usually, it was only women about to be married who would splurge. Measuring for clothes meant getting close, and many young women were so malnourished they looked like skeletons, their chests almost completely flat. But this young woman was different. She looked slender, but not gaunt, and her pair of small, jade-like rabbits were truly delightful.
Jiang Yan, an upright man, had never encountered such a shock. He practically fled in a panic.
***
Town residents currently relied on three types of supply booklets for daily necessities. The first was the non-staple food booklet, used for items like sugar, tea, rock candy, dried bean curd, mushrooms, and sesame. The second was the industrial goods booklet, which allowed for the monthly purchase of a spool of white thread, a spool of black thread, soap, and two *liang* of edible alkali. Steel pots, alum, yarn, lightbulbs, and thermoses were all rationed by coupon; often, even if you had the money and the coupons, you still couldn't buy them. The third was the coal supply booklet, which provided for stoves, coal balls, and firewood based on the number of rooms in the household.
Timber was efficient and highly regarded, but most regular working-class families opted for coal balls. With snow about to fall, everyone took advantage of their days off to haul coal and build coal sheds. Today, the alleyway was covered in soot.
Sang Zhi stomped into the courtyard and bumped into a woman in a blue cloth tunic with ear-length hair. The woman had prominent cheekbones, a thin face, and eyes that showed the whites beneath the irises—a look both mean-spirited and severe. Like her second brother, she had signature protruding ears. Sang Zhi recognized her: her father’s younger sister, Sang Yanfei.
She was a full sibling of Sang Jiqing, both born to the step-grandmother. Under her mother’s long-term influence, she didn't feel close to her eldest brother, choosing instead to side with her second brother in everything.
In the previous few years, following the "three-in-one" principle, the Municipal Revolutionary Committee had been composed of military representatives, cadres, and rebel leaders. During those turbulent times, the committee had become a dictatorship. Truth be told, she was a figure of some note. Despite lacking both family status and beauty, she had been bold and fierce during her time as a Red Guard, catching the eye of a high-ranking official’s son. Though the man had been divorced, her status had soared after their marriage. Because she was close to her second brother, she naturally extended that affection to his children, but she felt absolutely nothing for Sang Zhi.
Seeing her, Liu Meili masked her smugness and put on the guise of a long-suffering victim. "Sang Zhi? You’re back? Are you cold? Have you eaten?"
Before Sang Zhi could reply, a bowl came flying toward her. Sang Zhi dodged quickly, but she couldn't avoid the hot water, which splashed all over her.
"I wondered who it was—the young miss of the Sang family has returned? What, is acting like a spoiled capitalist brat outside not enough? You have to come home and throw your weight around here too?"
Sang Yanfei glared at her, her cold voice full of rage. The imprisonment of her eldest nephew was entirely Sang Zhi’s doing. For that alone, she wanted to skin her alive!
Liu Meili nodded as if emboldened by the support, secretly waiting for Sang Zhi to beg for mercy. If she had known her sister-in-law was this effective, she would have called her over days ago. She seized the opportunity to interject, "It’s getting cold. We need to buy cabbage for the winter and coal balls. Tell me, shouldn't you return the money for those things? If we go late, there won't be anything left."
She would make her pay back every cent she had swindled!
Sang Zhi took in the pair’s performance and sneered, "If you want to buy them, Aunt, go ahead. I’m a junior; you don’t need to report to me."
Liu Meili’s cheeks twitched in fury. Was that what she meant?
Sang Yanfei’s face grew dark as she slammed the table and rose. "Don't play dumb. Hand over your uncle and aunt's savings and salary immediately. Don't think that just because you're my niece, I won't purge you for the greater good. You know as well as I do what methods the Revolutionary Committee uses!"
This was a naked threat. It was the tactic she had used to get her way time and time again.
Sang Zhi had always been perceptive. Though her hands itched to strike, her reason prevailed; she wouldn't meet force with force.
"Little Aunt, you’re just upset because I sent someone to the Public Security Bureau, aren't you? But there was no choice—my brother broke the law. You’re so indignant; could it be that you’re dissatisfied with the factory or that you disagree with the police verdict? If you need somewhere to vent, hit me or scold me; I’ll take it as a junior should."
Sang Yanfei had previously said that her sister-in-law was becoming more useless, unable to handle a helpless girl. Only after facing Sang Zhi herself did she realize her sister-in-law hadn't been exaggerating. To outsiders, they might seem immensely powerful, but recently, her father-in-law had repeatedly stressed the need to keep a low profile and avoid provoking enemies, lest they be liquidated in the end.
But that was for the outside world. To have her authority challenged within her own family was something she could not accept.
"Your brother was framed. There's no point in dredging up the past. I’m asking you, where did you hide your aunt and uncle’s money? And hand over everything that barefoot doctor from the countryside left you. Since you carry the name Sang, you must have the resolve to sacrifice for the Sang family. Hand over the items, turn over the money from selling the job, and kneel to apologize to your uncle and aunt. Only then will this be settled."
They had ransacked her room while she was out, but unfortunately, they had found nothing. Otherwise, they wouldn't be in such a passive position.
Sang Zhi didn't play along with her riddles. She stared right into her eyes and said, one word at a time, "In your dreams!"
Sang Yanfei’s temples throbbed. Blood rushed to her head, and seizing a moment of distraction, she grabbed a pair of fire tongs and swung them at Sang Zhi's head.
Driven past the point of endurance, Sang Zhi ducked, clamped onto her hands with one grip, and used her other hand to slam her head against the wall.
"Merit Value plus fifty..."
"Merit Value fifty..."
Good heavens, the amount of gold coins dropped varied depending on who she hit. It seemed her aunt hadn't done many good deeds over the years.
Sang Yanfei felt as if her head were splitting and screamed at the top of her lungs, "Sang Zhi, are you crazy? I’m your aunt! Stop it!"
"You still know you’re my aunt? An aunt ought to act like one. Why don't you look in a mirror and see if you’re worthy!"
The gold coins stopped dropping, but Sang Zhi didn't stop until her hands grew sore. However, she had underestimated a woman’s capacity for revenge. Once she had been beaten, how could her aunt just let it go? Taking advantage of a moment’s lapse, she tried a sneak attack from behind. Sang Zhi heard the wind, tilted her head to dodge, and kicked her into the wall.
Now, clutching her waist and curled up on the ground, she finally behaved.
Seeing that things had taken a turn for the worse, Liu Meili tried to slink away, but it was a futile effort. Sang Zhi stripped the outer garments off both the aunt and sister-in-law and tied them up in the courtyard. The two of them cursed up a storm, spewing every vile word they knew.
Sang Zhi impatiently dug at her ear.
"If you want to throw your weight around, Little Aunt, do it at your husband’s house—what kind of skill is it to bully me? But look at your undershirt, the sleeves are worn through, and your shoes are patched. Life at your husband’s house must be pretty rough, isn't it? You know why I didn't hit your face? If they found out you were getting beaten at your maiden home, they’d treat you even less like a human being."
Sang Yanfei glared at her. What was this, did she expect her to thank her?
She hung her head in despair. Her marriage was a sham; her husband spent her salary on other women and beat her at home. When her in-laws found out, they didn't reprimand their son but instead told her to look for the reason within herself. To maintain the illusion of power for outsiders and to keep up appearances for her family, she had swallowed her pride and endured the pain.
Just as the little wretch said, if her husband’s family found out about this, they wouldn't defend her; they would only mock and belittle her further. She couldn't even report the beating she’d received.
The little wretch’s strategy was truly vicious.