In the impoverished Sixties Era, in the rural areas of the Southwest, the vast majority of people lived in adobe houses, thatch huts, or even bamboo-woven dwellings.
Blue Brick Tile Houses were only affordable to former landlords, wealthy gentry, or families of long-serving cadres or military personnel who had scrimped and saved for years to build one or two tiled rooms.
Old Mr. Hu had been a village official for barely a decade, yet he had renovated four large tiled houses while his wife and children lived lavishly. Anyone who said there was nothing fishy about that would be lying.
Inside the house, amid the chaotic ransacking by a swarm of Little Red Guards, Li Furong’s embroidered shoes—still in use—were found, raising suspicions of feudalistic and outdated thinking. In Hu Lili’s room, a Russian book obtained from the Soviet Union was discovered, hinting at pro-Soviet sympathies. In Hu Xinkai’s room, a nail was driven into a portrait of the great leader, an act deemed profoundly disrespectful.
In the environment of the Ten-Year Turmoil, a person’s every word and action, or any random item in their home, could become evidence for the Little Red Guards to use against them.
The discovery of these items by the Little Red Guards would undoubtedly push Hu Xinkai’s family toward a dead end!
Hu Xinkai finally realized the situation had escalated. Struggling against the Little Red Guards restraining him, he shouted at Zhu Xin, who stood in the middle of the courtyard, “Little Zhu, what’s going on? Couldn’t we have settled our issues privately? Why did you bring so many Little Red Guards to cause trouble at my home?”
Zhu Xin turned and sneered at the sight of him pinned down by several Little Red Guards at his bedroom door. “Now you want to talk things over? Too late! When you got together with that Miss Qin, did you ever consider how I felt?
“Time and again, I came to ask you what was going on, but you kept avoiding the topic. You turned all my years of hard work for your family into a joke, made everyone laugh at me, drove me to despair and to jump into the river. Did you ever think about resolving things between us?
“Not only did you not, but you continued living comfortably at home, indifferent to whether I lived or died. You had your parents toss a few things to my family, thinking you could silence me so you could fly off with your new lover!
“You hypocritical, heartless scoundrel—the sight of you disgusts me! Your family was already problematic. It’s only right that our Little Red Guard comrades raid your home!”
One of the Little Red Guards, who had eaten chicken from Zhu Xin, punched Hu Xinkai in the face. “You ungrateful bastard! How dare you bully my Sister Zhu? I’ll beat you to death!”
Hearing Zhu Xin’s accusations, several other Little Red Guards who hadn’t known the details grew indignant. They joined in, kicking and punching Hu Xinkai with fervor, leaving him bruised, swollen, and bleeding in no time.
“Stop! Don’t hit my son!” Li Furong, heartbroken for her son, broke free from two Little Red Guards trying to tie her up and rushed to shield Hu Xinkai. At the same time, she called out to Zhu Xin, “Da Xin, our families have been close for so many years. Your mother and I grew up as good sisters in the same village. I’ve always treated you well—how could you do this to my Xinkai? So what if he broke off the engagement? You were the one who got so angry you jumped into the river. How can you blame that on our Xinkai? Call off these Little Red Guards now, or don’t blame me for turning my back on you!”
"What do you mean you treated me well? Oh, you mean having a girl like me with no prospects start slaving away for your family since I was thirteen? Getting up before dawn in summer to fetch water and dig soil for your household, enduring frostbite in winter while washing your and your daughter's filthy underwear and stinky socks in cold water, managing all the chores inside and outside the house, serving your entire family like a maid—and you think giving me some moldy pastries counts as treating me well?
Now that your son has climbed to a higher branch, your whole family kept it from me. Do you think I’m stupid, or do you still want to play the landlord’s wife and keep me as your slave?
Even if I did these tasks for another family, they’d pay me wages as a nanny. Have you ever given me a single cent?" Zhu Xin held nothing back, laying out every hardship and injustice the original host had endured, one by one, to show all the Little Red Guards present exactly what kind of people the Hu Family were.
"Well then, Secretary Hu! Your family’s treatment of Comrade Zhu Xin is clearly the despicable old-nine behavior of landlords oppressing proletariat comrades! Comrades, why waste more words on them? Seize the whole family and take them to the commune square to face criticism from the masses!" With a wave from Tian Dazhu, all the Little Red Guards surged forward, tied up all four members of the Hu Family, and began dragging them toward Red Flag Commune.
Seeing the situation turn dire, Old Mr. Hu quickly apologized to Zhu Xin. "Little Zhu, this is all a misunderstanding! It’s not that Xinkai wants to break off the engagement—it’s that Comrade Qin has taken a liking to our Xinkai. Her parents are high-ranking leaders in the capital. Once they set their sights on Xinkai, even if he’s unwilling, he has to comply, doesn’t he?
Xinkai couldn’t bear to part with you either and didn’t want to fall out with you, which is why he avoided you. We never imagined it would lead to such a grave mistake.
This is Xinkai’s and our family’s fault. Whether you want to hit or scold us, we won’t utter a single word of complaint. We also want to do everything we can to make it up to you…"
Old Mr. Hu understood perfectly well that Zhu Xin had brought so many Little Red Guards not just to seek justice but also because she couldn’t swallow the humiliation of being abandoned by his son.
His wealth and his position as village cadre were already of dubious origin. If he didn’t offer this woman enough benefits, his whole family might be ruined today. After all, once you provoked the Little Red Guards and were taken for criticism, even if you didn’t die, you’d be skinned alive. The sent-down punishment and various humiliations afterward would make life worse than death. So he twisted black into white, hinting at all sorts of things to Zhu Xin.
Zhu Xin wanted to vent the original host’s resentment, but she wouldn’t pass up any benefits either.
The original host was already dead, and the core had become her. According to the rules of transmigration, no matter how desperately she tried to end her life, she couldn’t return to her own world.
Since she had become Zhu Xin in this world and would live here for the rest of her life, she wouldn’t let go of anything that benefited her, all to make her life more comfortable.
Zhu Xin put on an expression of sudden realization and looked at Tian Dazhu. "Comrade Tian, so that’s how it is. I knew Xinkai wouldn’t abandon me for no reason."
Tian Dazhu grew anxious. "Sister Zhu, you mustn’t listen to their sweet talk! This Old Mr. Hu is clearly trying to tempt and corrupt you with capitalist sugar-coated bullets. You mustn’t fall for it."
"Comrade Tian, I know what I'm doing," Zhu Xin waved her hand. "Comrade Chairman once said that contradictions among the people are not antagonistic, and the interests of the people are fundamentally aligned. To resolve conflicts among the people, we must use the people's methods."
After speaking, she smiled faintly at Old Mr. Hu, while Tian Dazhu looked utterly bewildered. "Uncle Hu, I've always regarded you as half a father to me since I was little. I have genuine respect and reverence for you, and I don't necessarily want things to end in mutual destruction. I do have feelings for Xinkai. If you want to make it up to me, that's not impossible, but it depends on whether your sincerity is sufficient."
Old Mr. Hu immediately declared, "Don't worry, Little Zhu. I've watched you grow up, and I would never treat you unfairly."
Zhu Xin smiled and, in front of the many Little Red Guards, made her demands: "First, you must pay me in full for all the years I worked as a nanny in your home. Then, return the value of all the gifts I gave to you and your wife over the years. Additionally, compensate me for the medical expenses, emotional distress, and recovery costs after I was driven to jump into the river following my broken engagement with Hu Xinkai. All together, around five hundred yuan should suffice."
"Five hundred yuan? You might as well rob us!" Li Furong jumped up as soon as Zhu Xin finished speaking. "You black-hearted, rotten-hearted little whore! You threw yourself at my son, and you still have the nerve to ask us for money?"
For an ordinary rural family, working hard all year round, the savings would only amount to about ten yuan. Yet here she was, demanding five hundred yuan right off the bat. Wasn't this taking advantage of the situation? She must be dreaming!
Zhu Xin glanced at her. "Unwilling to compensate me for my losses? Alright then, Comrade Tian, it seems the ideological awareness of the Hu Family has significant issues. Perhaps you should directly—"
Slap! Before she could finish, Old Mr. Hu angrily raised his hand and struck Li Furong hard across the face. "Shut your mouth, you wretched woman! Our family's affairs are not for you to speak on!"
Turning back to Zhu Xin, he put on an ingratiating expression. "Little Zhu, five hundred yuan is truly a bit too much. I'm just a village cadre—how could I possibly have that much money to give you? Could you perhaps be more flexible and let us negotiate?"
Zhu Xin raised an eyebrow. "What kind of negotiation?"
Hunching his shoulders, Old Mr. Hu glanced at the group of Little Red Guards glaring at him in the courtyard. Breaking free from the two Little Red Guards restraining him, he scurried over to Zhu Xin and whispered in her ear, "Little Zhu, I really can't come up with five hundred yuan. However, I have a good job opportunity to recommend to you. Xinkai's new… I mean, that Comrade Qin, mentioned that an Engineer in her compound needs a nanny. The salary is quite high—thirty-five yuan a month, even higher than the workers in our Qingshi County factories. If you can forgive our family and make those Little Red Guards leave, I'll have Xinkai ask Comrade Qin to recommend you to that Engineer as a nanny. Once you go to the capital, with this job, you might even meet some wealthy and influential people, marry a capital resident, and become a city dweller with access to commodity grain. Wouldn't that be much better than staying in our poor countryside and marrying some poor boy?"
Under current policies, tens of millions of educated youths are being continuously and forcibly sent down to the countryside, dispatched nationwide to support border regions and participate in construction. Many of these educated youths are unwilling to go to the countryside to receive re-education from the poor and lower-middle peasants, so they try every means to secure positions in various factories and units to avoid rural labor.
However, industries across the country are underdeveloped, and job opportunities are limited—each position is like a hole waiting for a radish. Many older workers and employees in the cities are being streamlined and sent down to the countryside, so how could there be enough positions for these young people who haven’t even finished their studies? As a result, the phenomenon of one job being fiercely contested by many has emerged.
State-owned enterprises in Qingshi County are basically not hiring. The few factories that exist only recruit temporary workers, and even those positions are fought over by crowds.
Zhu Xin had originally studied up to her third year of high school and was about to take the college entrance exams when she encountered the Ten-Year Turmoil. Schools across the country went on strike and suspended classes, leaving her no way to continue her education.
The original host wanted to work, but without connections or relationships, no unit or factory would take her. She could only join a group of Little Red Guards, engaging in revolutionary activities and participating in exchanges of revolutionary experiences. When there was nothing to do, she would return home and work in the fields with her parents, earning work points to exchange for food. Life was extremely impoverished.
The three children of the second branch of the Zhu Family were all idle at home, eating without contributing. Old Mrs. Zhu almost daily berated Ye Sulan and her husband from the second branch, saying their children were useless, one worse than the other. The original host had long wanted to leave home and find a job, but she had no means to do so.
Now that an opportunity had finally come, Zhu Xin was not about to let it slip away.
Holding her breath, she tried her best to ignore the foul odor of Old Mr. Hu’s breath as she whispered in his ear, "Uncle, I’ll be honest with you. Five hundred yuan is non-negotiable, and I want the job too. I don’t care if you stole it, robbed it, or swindled it—you must get the money to me as soon as possible and arrange the job for me. Otherwise, your whole family could end up labeled as reactionary bad elements, hounded to death by these Little Red Guards, or sent-down to remote Reform-through-labor Farms, working until you drop. You know very well how you got your money and how you secured your position as village official. If these Little Red Guards really want to find dirt on you, not a single one of your family members will escape."
Old Mr. Hu’s face turned pale. "You… you’re going back on your word!"
Zhu Xin straightened up and smiled silently. "You have half a day. If you can’t meet my demands, then I’m sorry—we’ll meet at the commune square."