Chapter 13

Because she had such a vivid memory of the arson case, shortly after arriving, Huang Li subtly suggested to Chang Yue’e and Ye Mantang that the fifth brother (Ye Laowu) should be moved to a better place.

Her reasoning was that the neighbors nearby had special backgrounds, and since Fifth Brother wasn’t married yet, living there might affect his prospects.

She thought that as long as they didn’t interact with that family and avoided conflict, the entire arson incident could be prevented at its root.

Ye Laowu gave face to his new sister-in-law—after receiving her suggestion, he decisively moved.

Since he drove a horse cart, he needed a large yard for the horses and the cart.

Crescent Alley (Yueya Hutong) had the cheapest rent in all of the Zhengyang District.

His previous rental had only one household between his place and Xue Qiao’er’s. After his new sister-in-law spoke up, he canceled that lease and rented a larger, more spacious courtyard about ten houses away. He even started growing vegetables and raised a brood of chicks and two sows there.

When Huang Li found out, she was nearly furious to death!

She had suggested he move, and he had moved—if she brought it up again, it would seem like she was nitpicking.

Besides, the book had said the fifth brother was killed in retaliation because of a neighborhood dispute. Now that the two families were much farther apart, there shouldn’t be any disputes anymore. So she could only let it go for the time being.

The arson case was supposed to happen this summer. To prevent Ye Laowu or anyone else from clashing with that household, Huang Li had recently taken to circling Crescent Alley after work, pretending she was delivering letters.

“Sis, just drop me off here,” Ye Manzhi said, sitting on the crossbar of the bicycle, completely unaware of Third Sister-in-law’s inner turmoil. She jumped off and waved cheerfully.

“Want me to come with you?”

“No need, don’t you still have letters to deliver? I’ll go in by myself.”

“Then be careful. Once you’re done, head home right away.”

After saying goodbye on the roadside, Ye Manzhi walked into the alley alone and found the address listed for Xue Qiao’er’s home.

The paint on the wooden door was peeling, and it was tightly shut. She stepped forward and knocked, but no one answered.

She knocked off and on for about a minute before someone finally came stomping over.

“Knock knock knock—what’re you knocking for when no one’s answering?”

A short-haired young woman yanked open the door rudely and frowned. “Who are you looking for?”

“Hello, comrade. I’m from the Guangming Subdistrict Office. I’m looking for Xue Qiao’er.”

The short-haired girl folded her arms and leaned against the doorframe, giving a quick glance at Manzhi’s crisp white shirt. “What do you want with her?”

Just as Ye Manzhi was about to explain, a loud shout suddenly rang out from inside the courtyard:
“Zheng Dongmei! Who told you to lean on the door like that? Stop picking up those filthy habits from those no-good types!”

“Leaning on the door” often carried connotations of being flirtatious or even suggestive of prostitution. Zheng Dongmei’s face flushed dark red like pig liver, and she shouted back, “Who’s leaning on the door?! It’s someone from the subdistrict talking to me!”

Hearing it was someone from the subdistrict, a woman with bound feet shuffled out of the house in small, tottering steps.

Ye Manzhi quickly stepped up and greeted her. “Hello, Auntie! I’m from the subdistrict office. I came specially to invite the women in your household to participate in our community activities.”

“What kind of activity?”

Ye Manzhi avoided mentioning the Marriage Law and smiled brightly. “We’re teaching women how to cut fabric and sew. In the future, you’ll need less cloth to make clothes—saves money and fabric coupons!”

Faced with a subdistrict cadre, Auntie Zheng now wore a warm and friendly smile—completely different from the person who had just been scolding someone moments ago.

The fierce attitude of the girl leaning by the door.

“Leader, look at me, I’m already this old—how could I still work? Learning tailoring is useless for me!”

Ye Manzhi thought to herself, You don’t even look fifty yet. Why couldn’t you still work?

“If you don’t want to go, that’s fine. Then let this older sister here go with Xue Qiao’er.”

Zheng Dongmei withdrew her gaze from Manzhi’s white shirt and said bluntly, “Can’t your subdistrict office do something more useful? Always monitoring Xue Qiao’er—what for? That bespectacled director of yours last time even promised to get us on welfare. How long’s it been now? Not a word about it!”

Auntie Zheng slapped her daughter on the waist. “The leader’s inviting you to a class out of kindness. You can’t talk like that to the leader! Apologize!”

“What did I say that was wrong? Why should I apologize?” Zheng Dongmei replied impatiently. “My sister-in-law’s out working! I don’t have time either. Don’t come again.”

With that, she picked up a basin of dirty laundry water and splashed it right onto the dirt road in front of her house.

If not for Ye Manzhi’s quick reflexes, she’d have been soaked through like a drowned rat.

Facing the now tightly shut door again, Ye Manzhi told herself to stay calm!

Even someone like Director Mu had to deal with scolding and frustration—let alone someone like her, an unranked temp worker!

She imagined the glorious scene of becoming an official cadre, wearing a red ribbon and receiving praise from superiors. That thought helped her grit her teeth and endure.

She kept encouraging herself mentally, then turned in the other direction and walked halfway down the alley to her Fifth Brother’s house.

The courtyard gate was wide open. Even before entering, she could hear crickets chirping noisily from inside.

“Hey, Bro, why’d you catch so many crickets? They’re so noisy!”

“City kids like to buy this stuff. I sell them on the side when I go out for deliveries.” Ye Manlin tossed her a freshly washed peach, then turned back to feed his pony.

“This kind of cricket can sell for, what, two cents tops? Our Fourth Brother raises those iron-shell crickets—they can go for a few yuan!”

“Well, I catch mine for free, and I weave the cages myself. Doesn’t cost a thing. Every one I sell is pure profit. Besides, how many people are really willing to spend big bucks on fancy crickets? I’m going for low price, high volume!”

“That’s exactly what Fourth Brother needs to hear.” Ye Manzhi patted the pony’s back and tugged at her fifth brother. “Let it eat on its own—come try on the new shoes I made you.”

Ye Manlin grinned, “I haven’t even worn the last pair yet!”

“These are different. Just try them and you’ll see!”

He obediently slipped on the new shoes, and as soon as both feet were inside, he noticed something. “Hey… the soles are different thicknesses?”

“Exactly! I’ve been teaching a tailoring class lately, and one of the aunties taught me this. Her son also has uneven legs, and with shoes like these, no one can tell when he walks.”

Before she met Wu Zhengrong, her Fifth Brother was the most handsome man Ye Manzhi had ever seen.

If he’d had a healthy life, he might’ve joined a drama troupe like their eldest sister or gotten a full-time job at a factory like their third brother.

But fate had dealt him a crooked hand—his left foot was deformed from birth. It got better as he grew older, but it was still noticeable at a glance.

Ye Manzhi had lost count of how many times she’d felt sorry for him.

So when she learned to make this special kind of cloth shoe from Auntie Wang, it was like finding a treasure. She only regretted not having the same clever idea herself—if she had, her Fifth Brother might’ve been walking like everyone else a long time ago.

Ye Manlin walked carefully around the courtyard, still not quite used to the lift under his left foot from the new shoe.

But just as his little sister had said, once that side was raised, his limp was significantly improved.

Ye Manzhi let him wander back and forth while she sat under the eaves, eating a juicy peach.

“Hey bro, do you know the people at No. 7 in this alley? The family with that girl named Zheng Dongmei?”

“I do. Her brother’s name is Zheng Dong. Before I started driving the horse cart, I used to pedal a tricycle for a while—the one I used was rented from Zheng Dong,” her fifth brother replied, then asked with some confusion, “Why are you asking about their family? They’re pretty complicated—best you stay away from them.”

So Ye Manzhi told him about what had just happened.

“I wanted to notify Xue Qiao’er to attend the event, but her family wouldn’t let me see her. Director Mu said they rarely go out, so where would she even be working?”

Her brother shook his head. “Zheng Dongmei didn’t lie. Her sister-in-law really is always out working. That whole family—seven or eight people, old and young—are all relying on her to support them.”

“What about that Zheng Dong?”

“He had an accident a few years back and has been bedridden since. His parents aren’t in good health either, can’t do heavy work. Now it’s Xue Qiao’er who pedals the tricycle to earn money.”

Ye Manzhi was shocked. “She can pedal a tricycle? She’s strong enough for that?”

She didn’t mean to look down on her, but pulling a tricycle full of goods was no easy task—it was serious manual labor!

A faint trace of mockery flickered across her brother’s handsome face.

Whether she could or not, she found a way to make money, didn’t she?

Some things were hard to explain to his younger sister, so he just vaguely said, “Us folks in transport, we were all reformed by socialism, remember? Now we’ve got a transport co-op, and the members look out for each other.”

He wouldn’t say more.

Ye Manzhi wasn’t able to get any more info from her fifth brother, nor did she manage to see Xue Qiao’er, so she had no choice but to come back another time.

---

The list Director Mu gave had more than ten names. Ye Manzhi and Chen Caixia successfully persuaded six of them to attend the activity. The rest would have to be convinced one by one, depending on their circumstances.

For the past few days, it had been raining heavily without stopping. According to the lunar calendar, it was an inauspicious period—no weddings, no travel, no groundbreaking.

Fewer residents were coming to the subdistrict office to handle affairs, so the young staff members, now idle, gathered together to study the pattern diagrams for that evening’s tailoring class and flip through Ye Manzhi’s fashion sketchbook.

“Xiao Ye, if we swapped the colorful check fabric with twill and made a bulaji (Eastern-style dress) like the one on page two, do you think it’d still look nice?” Chen Caixia asked as she flipped through the book.

Ye Manzhi thought seriously for a moment, then shook her head. “Not necessarily. That kind of dress doesn’t really suit plain fabrics. Twill looks okay up close, but from far away, if it doesn’t have any pattern, it’ll just look like solid black or navy…”

Zhuang Ting chimed in, “That colorful check isn’t that nice anyway. The base color’s kind of a soy-sauce brown. Makes me look darker when I wear it.”

While the few women and one Liu Jinbao were having a lively discussion, Zhang Qinjan walked in from outside, wearing a raincoat.

Ye Manzhi, whose desk was by the door, greeted him, “Director Zhang, you’re back? Still raining hard out there?”

It was just a polite greeting, but Zhang Qinjan stopped and corrected her, “From now on, don’t go around calling me Director Zhang all the time—watch how that sounds.”

“Huh?” Ye Manzhi was a little stunned. “If I don’t call you Director Zhang, what should I call you?”

“If you call me Director Zhang, then where does that leave Director Mu?”

…the core content of the Marriage Law. Look—this is our teaching outline.”

---

“Deputy Director is Deputy Director,” Zhang Qinjan said sternly. “Don’t try to use titles to curry favor.”

Ye Manzhi: “……”

If calling you ‘Director’ counts as bribery, then you’re way too easy to bribe.

Zhang Qinjan glanced at Chen Caixia’s desk and frowned. “Also, the atmosphere at our workplace has gotten out of hand lately. We haven’t even solved the problem of people getting perms and drawing their eyebrows, and now some comrades are focusing on fashion? What will the public think of us?”

Everyone who had been eagerly discussing clothing fell silent.

“And on that note,” Zhang Qinjan continued, looking at Chen Caixia and Ye Manzhi, “I think it’s time to suspend your tailoring class.”

“Why?” Chen Caixia asked cautiously. “Marriage Law Awareness Month is supposed to last a whole month. Deputy Director Zhang, it’d be such a shame to stop the class now!”

“Is that class really about promoting the Marriage Law? If you ask me, it’s already gone off track! Hardly any proper education is being done, and instead you’ve got people becoming superficial and competitive! Clean and simple clothing is all we need—why make so many fancy outfits? Isn’t that a form of waste?”

This basically dismissed all the work Chen Caixia and Ye Manzhi had been doing.

Chen Caixia’s eyes turned red with frustration on the spot.

She had only recently gotten married, and she stayed after work every day to promote legal awareness—hoping to earn leadership’s recognition and eventually become a formal cadre.

And now, after sacrificing her rest and working overtime, she was getting scolded?

She muttered under her breath, “But Director Mu praised our tailoring class…”

“Oh, Director Mu praised it, and that means I can’t criticize it?” Zhang Qinjan snapped. “If anything, I think the praise has gone to some people’s heads! Promoting the Marriage Law is our real priority, but because of what you two are doing, the public is only paying attention to clothes!”

Ye Manzhi gave Sister Caixia a look—think about that cadre position, don’t do anything rash!

Zhang Qinjan was a deputy director. He had a say in whether junior staff got to stay or not.

Now was not the time to argue with him.

Ye Manzhi quickly stepped in: “Since Director Zhang thinks the tailoring class isn’t necessary, we’ll follow your guidance. But we’ll need to explain things properly to the residents.”

“Mm.” Zhang Qinjan nodded.

Ye Manzhi smiled and asked cheerfully, “Director, would you say that your household is a traditional one? Like, the man works outside and the woman manages the home? Does your wife handle the domestic affairs?”

“What does that have to do with what we’re discussing?”

“It has everything to do with it! It’s obvious you’re not the one in charge at home. What you mentioned about everyone making a bunch of clothes? That’s not really the case. Each person only gets fifteen feet of fabric coupons per year. Sounds like a lot, but it’s barely enough to make one cadre uniform for you. If you want to make a padded winter jacket after that, you’re out of fabric.”

“Sister Caixia and I organized this class during our personal time. While we’re promoting the Marriage Law, we also wanted to teach homemakers how to cut patterns that save fabric. If you cut things right, when your wife makes your cadre uniform, she could have enough left over for two pairs of underwear!”

Zhang Qinjan: “……”

Liu Jinbao looked like he was about to burst out laughing, but after getting a stealthy glare from Ye Manzhi, he held it in.

“As for your claim that our class lost its purpose and doesn’t promote the Marriage Law anymore—that’s just slandering us!”

Ye Manzhi pulled out a notebook from the drawer and handed it to him.

“We introduce core legal content in every single class.”

“…two case studies related to the Marriage Law. Since we’re still new at this, we prep our lessons ahead of time. This is our lesson plan.”

Zhang Qinjan took the notebook, flipped through it, and nodded. “I can see you two put in effort. But when I said the class had gone off course, I wasn’t just referring to this. Xiao Ye, I heard you have a few fashion sketchbooks circulating widely among the residents. They’ve even reached the First Neighborhood Committee! I strongly disapprove of this kind of extravagant, pleasure-seeking behavior.”

“Director, I’m against pleasure-seeking too! But the reason everyone’s sharing my sketchbooks honestly isn’t about that. Think about it—people only get enough fabric for one outfit a year. Who wouldn’t want that one outfit to be presentable and nice-looking?”

“Enough, enough. No need to say more,” Zhang Qinjan waved his hand. “The tailoring class will be suspended for now. You two should focus on promoting the Marriage Law. And those sketchbooks of yours? Pack them up and stop spreading them among the neighbors—it’s unseemly.”

Chen Caixia glanced over at Liu Jinbao and Zhuang Ting—they could do musical performances and no one said anything, but they couldn’t even teach tailoring?

Just making a single outfit was now being called luxurious enjoyment!

But thanks to Xiao Ye’s reminder, she realized she couldn’t act impulsively. No matter how upset she felt, she had to hold it in.

The two of them followed Deputy Director Zhang’s instructions and prepared to announce the suspension of the tailoring class in the next session. As for the women from the “special households,” there was no need to try mobilizing them anymore.

In the meantime, they also had to come up with other ways to promote the Marriage Law—after all, the awareness month wasn’t over yet.

Since starting this job, Ye Manzhi had gone to bed early, woken up early, and loved going to the subdistrict office.

Even her own mother, Chang Yue’e, wasn’t used to her daughter being so diligent.

But just as things were picking up at work, they were abruptly shut down by leadership. It felt like being a runner who just got off the starting block and was disqualified for a false start—momentum gone, enthusiasm crushed.

Ye Manzhi started sleeping in again. Every morning, it took Chang Yue’e multiple rounds of coaxing and calling before she managed to get her out the door to work.

At the office, Ye Manzhi barely spoke. Aside from helping residents with their tasks, she spent her time quietly reading newspapers like Aunt Feng.

…

That Wednesday afternoon, another torrential rainstorm hit. Thunder rumbled outside, and yet Director Mu braved the downpour and returned with a middle-aged woman.

“Come, Xiao Ye, let me introduce you. This is Comrade Zhou Min, a resident of the First Neighborhood Committee area, and a family member of a worker at Factory 656.”

Some people treated coming to the subdistrict office like going to the hospital—you had to know someone to feel comfortable.

Ye Manzhi had dealt with plenty of “connections” by now, so she smiled politely and greeted the visitor as usual.

Zhou Min sat across from her, pulled a slightly dog-eared sketchbook out of her bag, and said, “I borrowed this fashion sketchbook from the neighborhood committee. I heard it was drawn by Comrade Xiao Ye, and that there are several more. May I borrow them to take a look?”

“I did draw it, but they’re not original designs. I copied the styles from store window displays,” Ye Manzhi pointed at the lower right corner, “Look here, I even noted the name of the garment factory.”

She rummaged in her drawer and pulled out another sketchbook. “This is the only one I have right now. The rest are all lent out. Are you looking to make a cadre suit or a bulaji (Eastern European-style dress)? I can help you pick something.”

Zhou Min smiled without replying, opened the sketchbook, and slowly flipped through it page by page. After a long while, she gently tapped the back cover.

“I forgot to introduce myself earlier. I work at the Provincial Fine Arts Publishing House, in charge of book publishing.”

Director Mu added helpfully, “Old Zhou is the director of Editorial Room One at the publishing house.”

Ye Manzhi quickly greeted her as Director Zhou and waited curiously to hear more.

“These two sketchbooks are quite unique. At present, there are no books like this on the Chinese market—ones that focus specifically on women’s fashion,” Zhou Min said with a smile. “Comrade Ye Manzhi, would you be willing to compile the content of your sketchbooks and publish them through our Fine Arts Publishing House?”