Chapter 1

In 1956, after the Grain Rain season, a gentle spring breeze swept through Binjiang City.

The banner reading “Gallop Toward Socialism” had just been taken down at the compound gate, only to be replaced moments later with a new red-and-white one: “Warmly Celebrate the Public-Private Partnership.”

Ye Manzhi withdrew her gaze from the window and turned her attention back to the complaint letter before her.

The letter wasn’t long, but its contents were enough to stir up a storm in the Ye family.

To the esteemed leaders of the Neighborhood Committee,

I am an ordinary, patriotic citizen who firmly supports the great socialist transformation. I wish to report something I have come to know!

Resident of Guangming Street, Foreman of the Machine Repair Workshop at Factory 656—Ye Shouxin—has opened a tailor shop!

The address is Building 8, Third Floor, Unit B, Western Room in the military-industrial compound (his third daughter’s room). The head tailor is none other than Ye Manzhi, the third daughter (a high school junior at Factory 656’s school). She has been running this business for two months and has likely made around twenty to thirty yuan, qualifying as small-scale private industry.

[…]

This has a very negative impact on the citizens. I urge the leadership to investigate and ensure their family promptly undergoes reform.

SMACK—

Ye Shouxin slammed his palm onto the letter, fuming. “Tell Erya to divorce Xu Dajun immediately! I won’t be in-laws with a backstabbing snitch!”

After his outburst, silence filled the room. No one echoed his sentiment, nor did anyone argue against it.

Even Ye Manzhi, who usually played peacemaker, couldn’t be bothered to speak up.

She was absolutely sick of her second brother-in-law, Xu Dajun!

Earlier that year, newspapers and radio broadcasts had suddenly started encouraging women to wear floral clothes. Fashion-loving young ladies eagerly embraced the trend, stepping out in colors beyond the usual shades of blue, gray, and white.

Ye Manzhi had always adored dressing up. Even when wearing her father’s work pants, she would embroider a cluster of little blue orchids onto the large pocket.

Now that she had an excuse to follow the trend, she pestered her mother into buying fabric and sewed herself a long-sleeved Verdin dress.

She modeled it after the ready-made styles from Shanghai’s Hongxia brand—modern in design and vibrantly colored.

She only got to enjoy a single day of admiration at school before classmates and neighbors started knocking on her door, asking her to make clothes for them.

At 70 cents per garment, it was a tempting offer for someone whose monthly allowance was a mere 50 cents.

But just two weeks ago, when her tailoring business was flourishing, neighborhood officials suddenly showed up with an anonymous complaint. They declared that her dressmaking counted as small-scale private industry and had to be merged into the “Garment Production Cooperative” as part of the socialist transformation.

At the time, the entire city was undergoing mass socialist reforms—even the Chen’s Bathhouse across from the compound had been rebranded as “Public-Private Partnership Chen’s Public Bathhouse.”

If Ye Manzhi wanted to continue sewing, she had to join the cooperative, bring her sewing machine to their workshop, and earn a fixed monthly wage.

But the Ye family hadn’t struggled to put their daughter through high school just so she could become a tailor!

After much deliberation, they reluctantly gave up on this unexpectedly profitable side business.

---

“We should return the sewing machine to my second sister,” Ye Manzhi suggested, fully aware of what was going on.

Her brother-in-law, Xu Dajun, had written that anonymous complaint—his sloppy handwriting with missing strokes was unmistakable. He had only done it because he was afraid she’d keep the sewing machine permanently if her business thrived.

That sewing machine had been her second sister’s dowry and had earned their in-laws quite a bit of extra money over the past two years.

Recently, fearing that her heavily pregnant second sister would still insist on working, their father had “borrowed” the machine under the pretense of safekeeping. The plan had been to return it after she had recovered from childbirth.

“Return it? No way!” Ye Shouxin slammed the dinner table, making it shake. “How can you be so spineless? Are you even my daughter?”

“If you’re so tough, why don’t you do something about it?” Ye Manzhi shot back. “You’ve been stewing over this letter for a week, crumpling it to pieces, but what have you actually done? Beating up Xu Dajun won’t solve anything! Once he heals, he’ll still live off my sister’s earnings, feasting like a king!”

In these times, divorce was a disgrace. Her second sister and Xu Dajun actually had a good relationship, and now that she was pregnant, there was no chance she’d agree to a divorce.

They couldn’t risk breaking the pot just to catch the rat—this was a loss they had to swallow, whether they liked it or not.

Chang Yue’e set down two enamel bowls and called out, “Enough about that letter. You’ve read it a hundred times already—it’s not going to change. Come eat!”

Tonight’s dinner was a bowl of black wheat mantou, a pot of cabbage stewed with vermicelli, and half a tin of Soviet-style soup.

The rich aroma of beef, tomatoes, and cream filled the air, making everyone’s mouths water. Fourth Brother sniffed the air and whined, “Mom, I want some Soviet soup too!”

“Wait until your sister finishes eating. If there’s any left, you can have a taste—I made extra today.”

The Soviet soup was a special dish made for the Soviet experts at the factory’s private canteen. Using her youngest daughter’s anemia diagnosis, Chang Yue’e occasionally managed to bring a portion home from the cafeteria.

But ever since Manzhi’s tailoring business was shut down, the amount of soup she received had shrunk from four ladles to just one—barely enough for one person.

Chang Yue’e was about to ask how much longer Manzhi needed to drink this “anemia treatment” when a loud knocking interrupted her.

“Ye Manzhi! Ye Manzhi! Get out here!”

BANG BANG BANG—

The pounding on the door startled Pear Blossom, the family cat. The little feline fluffed up like a dandelion, arching its back and letting out a wary “meow meow” toward the door.

But its fierce warning did nothing. The door, left unlocked, was pushed open in just a few forceful slaps.

To their shock, the visitor was Xu Dajun’s mother.

Chang Yue’e hesitated for only a second before stepping forward to block her path, but Madam Xu shoved her aside and stormed straight toward the girl in the lake-blue qipao.

“Ye Manzhi, what the hell is this? Who gave you the right to register my house as a tailor shop?!”

Ye Manzhi was momentarily speechless and blurted out a pointless question, “What… what do you mean?”

“Don’t play dumb with me!” Aunt Xu scolded, her eyes blazing. “The comrades from the industrial and commercial office said it was your sister-in-law who filled out the registration form for our family! They even told us to hurry over to the office to pay the fee and collect our business license!”

She glared at Ye Manzhi. “You’re just a kid, but how can you be so malicious?”

The Ye family was stunned by this sudden news, all eyes turning to their mischievous daughter in disbelief.

Especially Chang Yue’e—she was shocked but also amused. Her daughter was bold and clever, far more decisive than her overly cautious father.

Their family only did a little side work, making clothes as a small handicraft. But with a business license, the Xu family would officially be recognized as small-scale industrial workers!

Ye Manzhi remained calm, feigning confusion as she asked, “Aunt Xu, I helped your family with such an important matter, and not only are you not grateful, but you’re turning around and blaming me? Honestly, I got the idea from that complaint letter your family sent me!”

“Look, your family has a sewing machine and decent skills. With a business license, the street office will definitely require you to join the ‘Garment Production Cooperative.’ Doesn’t that mean another job opportunity for your family?”

Aunt Xu’s triangular eyes drooped in anger as she spat, “Job opportunity, my foot!”

That cooperative had entry requirements.

Only her eldest daughter-in-law knew how to sew, but her job at her current workplace paid better than a tailor at the cooperative. Why would they give up a watermelon for a sesame seed?

Their family used to earn an extra seven or eight yuan a month from private work, but thanks to Ye Manzhi’s meddling, they were now on the radar of the industrial and commercial office and the street committee. Even if they didn’t collect that business license, taking private work would be impossible for the time being!

Seeing Aunt Xu’s face twist in rage, Ye Manzhi felt both satisfied and a little afraid.

She quietly shuffled behind her father for safety. Once she felt secure, she added more fuel to the fire.

“Aunt Xu, even if my sister-in-law can’t go, there’s still you! The cooperative doesn’t just need tailors—they need other workers too. You’re pretty good at getting customers. My sister-in-law is heavily pregnant, and you still managed to get her over a dozen sewing jobs! Someone with your skills will definitely find a place in the cooperative.”

Aunt Xu turned livid with shame and fury.

So what if she let her daughter-in-law do some work?

A married daughter was like spilled water—if it weren’t for the Ye family’s interference, none of this would have happened!

Thinking of her family’s losses, Aunt Xu’s heart ached. She started shouting for the Ye family to pay compensation while swinging her hand toward Ye Manzhi’s face.

Ye Shouxin quickly spread his arms in front of his daughter, standing firm like a pig unafraid of boiling water. “My daughter is just a kid—what does she know about business registration? If you want to thank someone, thank me. I handled the business license.”

“This is bullying! You’re bullying us! I’m going to fight you!”

…

The commotion in the Ye household quickly attracted a crowd of neighbors.

Chang Yue’e whispered to her daughter, “Did you really register their place as a tailoring shop? Where did you get the introduction letter? How did you convince the industrial and commercial office?”

“I told them my brother-in-law couldn’t read, so I handled it for him,” Ye Manzhi replied smugly, delighted with her revenge. “The details are top secret—don’t ask!”

Chang Yue’e sighed in worry. “Second Girl is probably going to suffer for this.”

“If we don’t stand up for ourselves, they’ll keep bullying my second sister! Don’t worry, if Aunt Xu takes it out on her, Third Brother, Fourth Brother, and Fifth Brother can go beat up Xu Dajun!”

“…”

Chang Yue’e was distressed, worried that her daughter’s reputation for causing trouble would spread. To get her out of the house, she handed her an empty bottle.

“This has nothing to do with you anymore. Go to the supply store and get me some soy sauce…”

Ye Manzhi beamed and agreed, waving at the gathered neighbors before heading downstairs with the bottle.

—

The residential buildings of Factory 656 were completed last year, a row of Khrushchyovkas made of red bricks and gray tiles, linking the industrial and living areas.

At dusk, the shift change bugle had already sounded twice, and the loudspeakers were playing Katyusha across the spring air.

Humming along, Ye Manzhi reached the compound’s entrance and saw a large crowd gathered around the bulletin board.

“Aunt Li, what’s going on over there?”

“They posted the list of young workers going to the Stalin Auto Plant for training! Your brother Ye Mantang’s name is on it! Go home and tell your parents the good news!”

Ye Manzhi’s eyes lit up. “My third brother really got selected?”

“Of course!”

Excitement surged through her, and she cheered out loud.

From the corner of her eye, she noticed her third brother and his wife coming back from outside. She immediately ran over to share the good news.

But before she could congratulate him, her sister-in-law, Huang Li, coldly asked, “Ye Mantang, what did you promise me? Why is your name on the list for Soviet study abroad?”

Ye Mantang smiled awkwardly. “The factory decides who gets selected—I have no say in it!”

“They can’t force you to go if you refuse.”

He scratched his head. “But I don’t have a good reason to refuse! What would the leaders think of me?”

Ye Mantang shot his little sister a pleading look, but Ye Manzhi only returned a helpless expression.

She really didn’t understand her sister-in-law’s thinking sometimes.

Why did she give up a respectable job as a middle school teacher to become a postal worker, trudging through wind and rain?

And why was she against her husband studying abroad in the Soviet Union?

For an ordinary working-class family like theirs, producing a Soviet-trained engineer who could contribute to the country was a great honor!

Probably no one else in the entire military factory compound would oppose it…

Huang Li, of course, knew that being selected for Soviet study was a prestigious achievement in this era.

But according to the novel, after Ye Mantang returned, he had only a few years of success before being sent to a farm, where he spent over a decade toiling away.

His golden years weren’t spent making cars—he ended up farming instead!

Huang Li didn’t want to live that kind of life.

Ever since she transmigrated into The Rebirth of a Great Author and spent two months unable to write anything decent due to the noise of sewing machines, she had set two goals:

First, stop Ye Mantang from studying in the Soviet Union.

Second, move out of the Ye household and live her own peaceful life away from troublemakers.

But now, the official list had been posted. Unless Ye Mantang died, got seriously injured, or had a major political or moral scandal, his trip to the Soviet Union was inevitable.

The realization made Huang Li so dizzy with anger that she could barely stand.

With just one brief glance between the siblings, she knew this whole situation must have something to do with that troublemaking little sister-in-law.

Faced with an uncertain future and a chaotic home life, Huang Li felt an unprecedented level of frustration and exhaustion. She clenched her fists and thought bitterly—

[When is this little troublemaker going to marry into Director Zhou’s family? I’m ready to punch something!]

Standing opposite her, Ye Manzhi’s eyes widened in shock as she stared at the sudden words floating above her sister-in-law’s forehead.

She rubbed her eyes in disbelief.

“Huh???”