Chapter 11

Li Huilan glared at her. “Wang Fengying, it’s you stirring things up again! You old hag, always meddling in other people’s business.”

“You immoral wretch, Wang Fengying! You’re so full of yourself with nothing better to do, always picking fights. What happens in my family is none of your business! Who the hell do you think you are? Get lost!”

As the shouting escalated, the neighbors began opening their doors to see what was going on.

Xin Guoping’s face turned as black as the bottom of a pot. He yanked Li Huilan back into the house forcefully.

“Shut your damn mouth! Haven’t you embarrassed us enough?”

He quickly invited Luo Hongying inside. Luo was clearly uncomfortable with the ugly scene from earlier.

After all, Li Huilan’s language had been truly vile — and right in front of her.

Xin Guoping managed to send Wang Fengying off with some effort, claiming it was just a family matter and asking the neighbors not to pry.

Out of respect for Xin Guoping’s seniority, the neighbors gave him face and reluctantly closed their doors.

But the Xin family’s dirty laundry had already been aired in public.

Once the door was closed, Li Huilan came to her senses. She immediately put on a fake smile, warmly inviting Luo Hongying to sit on the couch and hurriedly asked Zhang Lan to make tea.

Li Huilan said, “Director Luo, what brings you here today?”

“If there was something, you could’ve just sent a message — no need to come personally.”

Luo Hongying’s face was stern. “Comrade Li Huilan, I’m here today regarding Xin Qi.”

Li Huilan looked confused. “She’s just a little girl — what could she possibly have done to trouble you?”

Luo Hongying said seriously, “Comrade Li Huilan, Comrade Xin Qi came to me.”

“She said she’s being treated unfairly at home and that it’s caused her serious mental and emotional harm. Is this true?”

Li Huilan’s eyes widened. She shot a vicious glare at Xin Qi. “Director Luo, don’t listen to her nonsense!”

“She’s completely out of line. I just scolded her a bit and she went crying to you?”

“Tell me, what’s wrong with a mother disciplining her own child?”

“She’s an ungrateful brat! Whatever she told you isn’t true. Please don’t be fooled by her, Director Luo.”

Luo Hongying pressed, “Xin Qi said she came home and asked for a bowl of noodles, and you refused. Then you told her to get out and go back to Harbin. Is that true?”

Li Huilan was speechless. Xin Guoping, his face dark, told Xin Jianguo and his wife to take little Haohao to the back room. Xin Liyi hadn’t come back yet.

For the moment, only the three of them — Xin Guoping, Li Huilan, and Xin Qi — remained in the living room.

Xin Guoping said earnestly, “Director Luo, Huilan was just upset and said things she didn’t mean.”

“What mother doesn’t love her own child? Those were just angry words. Xin Qi’s a little hot-tempered and took it too seriously, and ended up troubling you. She’s still immature.”

Li Huilan caught on. “Yes, Director Luo, I just have a sharp tongue — I don’t think before I speak.”

“You, child — how could you not tell I was speaking out of anger? Do you really think I’d send you back to Harbin?”

“You just got back, haven’t found a job yet — it’s normal to wander a bit, just don’t stay out too late. We worry about you.”

“You came home late today because you were craving noodles, right? Even if the family is struggling, we’d starve ourselves to save good food for you.”

Li Huilan took Xin Qi’s hand and put on a kindly expression.

But her words were full of barbs, barely stopping short of calling Xin Qi lazy and gluttonous, painting a picture of the whole family going hungry just to feed her.

Luo Hongying started to waver, thinking maybe this really was just a case of Xin Qi being spoiled and overeating.

Xin Qi sneered inwardly but put on a remorseful expression.

“Mom, so I misunderstood you. I thought you really didn’t want me.”

“I was so thoughtless. The house is small and cramped, I shouldn’t have complained about sleeping in the living room and waking up freezing every night. When I was at the farm during re-education, that was cold — even under the covers it felt like an ice cave.”

“Our family doesn’t even have enough food, and I came back late and expected dinner. I wasn’t thinking. I used to go hungry every day during re-education, and now I can’t even go half a day without wanting noodles?”

“Mom, the more I think about it, the more I realize you were right to scold me. You should’ve just beaten me with that broom. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to get over the guilt.”

“I worked so hard in Harbin for six years, and I’ve only been back in Beijing a few days and already I’m soft, craving comfort.”

“I haven’t been properly reformed. I should listen to you — I really ought to go back to Harbin for more re-education from the poor and lower-middle peasants.”

At those words, everyone’s expression changed.

Li Huilan was seething inside. This little wretch really knows how to play the victim — she’s deliberately setting me up. She wanted to beat Xin Qi to death for stirring up so much trouble.

Xin Guoping was deeply unhappy with Xin Qi for blowing things up like this. If only she’d cooperated and played it off as a misunderstanding, the whole situation could’ve been smoothed over.

But now, Xin Qi had escalated things. This could become a serious political issue.

These were sensitive times. If someone twisted Xin Qi’s words, it could be interpreted as saying Li Huilan looked down on the spirit of hard work in Harbin and saw Beijing as a place of laziness and indulgence.

If that kind of accusation stuck, the entire Xin family could suffer serious consequences.

Cold sweat broke out on Xin Guoping’s forehead. He rushed to say, “Xin Qi, that’s not what your mother meant at all.”

Luo Hongying cut in, “Whether or not that was what she meant, is everything Xin Qi said true?”

Of course, Luo Hongying didn’t truly believe that Li Huilan meant what Xin Qi implied. But she could tell from Xin Qi’s tone that she was telling the truth.

She remembered how Li Huilan had looked when she opened the door with a broom in hand, screaming threats — no way was that the act of a soft-hearted mother.

As the director of the Women’s Federation, it was Luo’s job to protect women’s rights. Besides, seeing Xin Qi reminded her of her own daughter, still working in Xinjiang.

When Xin Qi described going cold and hungry during re-education, it stirred Luo’s sympathy even more.

Luo Hongying stood up. “Comrade Xin Guoping, Comrade Li Huilan, I’ve conducted a preliminary investigation into Xin Qi’s situation today.”

“And I’m heartbroken. Heartbroken that our grassroots work hasn’t reached deep enough, that there are still women in our society being exploited and oppressed.”

“I must seriously criticize the two of you. This is a new society now — men and women are equals. How can you still be upholding old feudal values in your home?”

Xin Guoping and Li Huilan immediately admitted their mistakes, promising to improve their thinking and eliminate backward ideas.

Xin Guoping pledged, “Director Luo, don’t worry. I’ll treat Xin Qi well — she’s my own daughter. Of course we wouldn’t harm her.”

“Before, we had her sleep in the living room because her household registration hadn’t been processed, and we weren’t sure if she could stay in Beijing.”

“But now that her registration’s approved, she’ll sleep in a proper room. Our youngest son will move out to the living room instead.”

Li Huilan’s eyes widened in rage and she looked ready to explode, but Xin Guoping shot her a fierce glare. The words caught in her throat, and she had no choice but to swallow them back, her eyes red with fury.