Xu Ruyan handed a handful of fragrant, freshly roasted melon seeds to the aunties gathered on the street corner gossiping.
She asked with a smile, “Aunties, when does the parade you mentioned start, and where? I’d like to join in on the fun too.”
Xu Ruyan was dressed plainly, and the aunties didn’t recognize her—they simply took her for a young girl out working.
They enthusiastically shared with her, “It’s at the north end of town, starting at five in the afternoon.”
“If you want to go, we aunties can take you along.”
Xu Ruyan, afraid they might recognize her, declined with a sweet smile.
She slung her army-green canvas bag over her shoulder, thought for a moment, then headed to the two-story teahouse in the north of town and picked a spot to sit.
Xu Ruyan’s expression was cold, a trace of hatred surging in her eyes.
Finally, the time for vengeance had come!
That family of three beasts, the Xu family—not a single one of them would get away!
At five o’clock, the streets were packed with people who had come to watch the parade.
Red Armbands led the way, striking gongs as a warning.
Xu Ruyan narrowed her eyes and picked a spot with an excellent view, watching as three people wearing tall hats and bound with ropes were shoved and stumbled out by a group of Red Armbands.
Leading the pack was Xu Weiguo.
He walked reluctantly, unshaven and disheveled, his clothes torn and ripped, his face bruised and swollen, looking as pathetic as a dog—as if he had aged ten years overnight.
Xu Weiguo glared furiously, cursing back over his shoulder as he walked, “Xu Yingying, you bitch! How dare you betray me!”
“It was you who exposed me, you slut! I’ve always treated you so well, and you’re nothing but an ungrateful wolf raised on my bread! You—you’ll die a horrible death!”
Xu Yingying’s hair was a wild mess, and three bloody scratches marred her face, clawed by who knows who.
She struggled desperately, nowhere near the gentle, refined, virtuous woman she used to be in her cheongsam. Like a madwoman, she shrieked at the top of her lungs, cursing viciously.
“Pah! Xu Weiguo, you useless piece of trash! What kind of man are you? You sold out me and our daughter for your own wealth and glory!”
“Xu Weiguo! You beast! I’ll haunt you even after I die! I curse you! I curse you to rot in hell! You’re nothing but a live-in son-in-law! A gold-digging phoenix man! You’re not even human!”
“Silence!”
A Red Armband glared, and one of them stepped forward to slap them hard across the face, the smacks ringing out loud and clear.
Xu Yingying wailed and tried to kneel and beg for mercy, frantically accusing Xu Weiguo of his beastly deeds. If not for the ropes binding them, the two would have been tearing each other apart right there in the street.
Xu Ruyan watched coldly from the teahouse, finding it utterly amusing.
The former model couple of a wealthy family, so seemingly devoted to each other—once the ugliest layer of their cover-up was ripped away, the spectacle of dogs biting dogs was truly entertaining.
Xu Ruyan was so delighted she could hardly resist clapping her hands and cheering aloud.
The crowd grew larger and larger. Some were shocked by the beastly behavior of Xu Weiguo’s family, and in their fury, they hurled rotten eggs and spoiled vegetable leaves at the trio.
The neighbors pointed at them and cursed, stabbing at their backs with words. After this parade through the streets, the Xu family’s reputation was thoroughly ruined.
Xu Ruyan then turned her gaze to Xu Yunhua, who was hanging her head, trailing meekly at the very back of the line.
She looked dejected, her face flushed red with shame, biting her lip in humiliation—nowhere near the arrogant, pampered young miss of a wealthy family she had been in her past life.
When the three were pressed to the main intersection by the Red Armbands.
The Red Armbands made the family of three kneel, and holding razors in their hands, shouted loudly, “Comrades, come take a look! This is what happens to capitalists who act recklessly and commit crimes!”
“Xu Weiguo, the live-in son-in-law of the Lin family in the north of town, murdered his former wife, embezzled the Lin family’s assets, accepted bribes, and committed adultery with improper relations between men and women. Now he and Xu Yingying are accusing each other, and the evidence is conclusive!”
“Comrades, capitalism must not be allowed! These three people are the typical examples being paraded through the streets for public humiliation!”
Some in the crowd, infected by the fervor, glared with hatred and raised their arms to shout along, “Down with capitalism! Uphold socialism!”
“Down with capitalism! Uphold socialism!”
“What a family of beasts! I know the Lin family from the north of town—they’re all good people who do charity work. Who would’ve thought they’d run into an ungrateful wolf like Xu Weiguo!”
“Pah! These beasts deserve to die! And that illegitimate daughter too! She always flaunted her status as the Lin family’s eldest young miss, acting all high and mighty, thinking she was the real deal!”
The crowd grew more and more impassioned, hurling rotten eggs and spoiled vegetable leaves at the family of three with increasing ferocity, their curses echoing through the entire street.
Several Red Armbands grabbed Xu Weiguo and the others with stern expressions, declaring harshly, “According to the rules, capitalists like you with conduct problems must have your heads shaved in the yin-yang style!”
Xu Weiguo and Xu Yingying were startled, immediately bursting into tears and begging for mercy.
Xu Yunhua, who had been hanging her head in silence, suddenly reacted violently at these words, twisting and struggling as she cried, “No! You can’t! I’m supposed to go to the countryside in a couple of days—I can’t have my head shaved in the yin-yang style!”
“Shaving our heads into yin-yang cuts—how is that any different from killing me?! How will people look at me when I’m sent down to the countryside?! No! I won’t allow it! I refuse!”
“Whether you want it or not, it’s not up to you! You lot, come over here and hold them down!”
Xu Yunhua’s terrified screams pierced the sky.
The family of three was forced to their knees and pinned to the ground, and in the end, each of them had their head shaved into a standard yin-yang cut.
Xu Ruyan watched the entire scene coldly from the teahouse above. The sight stirred old memories, and a wave of sorrow welled up in her heart.
In her previous life, after being tricked into going down to the countryside by Xu Weiguo’s family of three, she was soon reported by her own father and branded with the label of Capitalist.
What Xu Weiguo’s family of three was suffering right now was exactly what Xu Ruyan had endured in her past life.
Being reported, labeled, tied up and paraded through the streets, cursed at and pelted with rotten vegetable leaves, having her head shaved into a yin-yang cut…
Xu Ruyan had originally inherited her grandmother’s family’s skills, learning Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) from her mother from a young age.
She had medical skills—by all rights, even if she had been sent down to the countryside in her past life, she shouldn’t have ended up too miserably after returning to the city.
But during the street parade, Xu Ruyan was shoved and fell, and her fingers were viciously stomped on by the crowd. All ten fingers were crushed. Without timely treatment, she was driven down to the countryside, leaving her permanently disabled.
She could no longer hold a pen or grasp a needle. Her eyes were half-blinded by stones thrown at her. She could never practice medicine again, nor could she do any kind of labor.
After decades of torment in a poor village in the desolate northwest, her small, frail body became so hunched she couldn’t straighten her back. Her spine was severely curved, and even walking was agonizing.
Xu Ruyan shook herself from her thoughts. The pain of her past life suddenly surged through her mind, and her eyes reddened.
She watched the family of three kneeling at the street corner, now shaved and being paraded through the streets again. Her eyes held a mocking glint, and a satisfied smile of vengeance curled at the corners of her lips.
Xu Ruyan murmured coldly, her face expressionless: “Xu Weiguo, Xu Yingying, Xu Yunhua… all of this is what you owe me.”
“I said it before—this time, I will make you pay blood for blood. And I mean every word!”
Xu Ruyan calmly averted her gaze and stopped watching. She still had more important things to do.
Xu Ruyan went to the Public Security Bureau again.
Director Zhao had actually already sent people looking for her.
Seeing Xu Ruyan come on her own, he beamed and stepped forward to console her: “Comrade Xu, your father and stepmother have confessed to everything.”
“The evidence of their embezzlement is conclusive, and their illicit affair is as solid as iron. Under national law, the death penalty is unavoidable—they’ll be executed by firing squad in one week.”
“Zhou Shuang’s family’s embezzlement isn’t as severe, but forging false documents to deceive a marriage is still a serious crime. Their family has been sentenced to life imprisonment and has already been taken to prison.”
“As for your father’s illegitimate daughter… she hasn’t committed any serious crimes, but she can’t escape the Capitalist class status. I heard from the street office that she’s already registered to go down to the countryside. The Bureau’s intention is to have her undergo labor reform.”
Xu Ruyan had come precisely for this matter.
After explaining how Xu Weiguo had schemed to have her sent down, she asked: “Director Zhao, would you be willing to make an exception, given our family’s special circumstances, and swap me with Xu Yunhua?”
“I’ll go down as an educated youth, and she’ll be sent down as a Capitalist’s daughter.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem. Now that the truth has come to light and you’ve been wronged, an exception can certainly be made. I’ll have someone notify the street office right away to make the change for you.”
“That would be wonderful. Thank you, Director Zhao.”
Xu Ruyan smiled: “There’s one more thing, Director Zhao. Can I change the location where I’m sent down?”
“Do you have a place in mind?”
“Yes.” Xu Ruyan nodded. “Bai Family Village in the northwest. That’s where I want to go.”
Director Zhao looked a bit troubled: “The placement locations have already been decided…”
Xu Ruyan knew how to play the game: “Director Zhao, once I go down to the countryside, the properties our family owns in town will all be left vacant.”
“I thought, rather than letting them sit idle, I might as well donate them to the public, to house people in town who don’t have a place to live. Given my contribution in reporting this case, and with the Lin family donating these properties, would you consider letting me change my placement location?”
The Lin family’s properties were no small matter.
Director Zhao was taken aback: “Comrade Xu, are you truly willing to donate all the properties?”
Xu Ruyan nodded solemnly: “Yes, I am. It’s the least I can do.”
Xu Ruyan had already planned it all out.
She was about to go down to the northwest, and leaving these properties vacant wasn’t safe—she had no one she could trust to look after them.
Better to just donate them outright; it would count as a meritorious deed.
Besides, the land deeds and property titles were all in her hands. When policies opened up later and the state returned the properties, they would still be hers.
Director Zhao pondered for a moment and finally relented: “Alright, I’ll put in a word for you on this matter as well.”
“Thank you, Director Zhao.” Xu Ruyan paused, then made her final request.
“Director Zhao, my household registration was accidentally lost, and I need to get a replacement. But given the current situation, as you know, I’d like to separate my household registration from the family’s, so that from now on, I’ll have no further connection to Xu Weiguo’s family of three.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve already published a notice in the newspaper severing ties with them during the day.”
This request was reasonable and not difficult to fulfill.
Director Zhao nodded readily. “That’s easy. Take your certificate and go re-register your household registration later—just say I’ve already approved it.”
Only then did Xu Ruyan let out a sigh of relief, a smile appearing in her eyes.
After all the effort she’d put in over the past few days since being reborn, everything she needed to do was finally done.
Xu Ruyan thanked Director Zhao and was about to leave when he called her back.
“Comrade Xu, you’ve done meritorious service with this report. The bureau has specially awarded you a banner—take it with you!”
“And here’s a fountain pen and a hundred yuan in prize money, all rewards for your report. Keep them safe, don’t lose them.”
Xu Ruyan was taken aback, then a flash of surprise and delight crossed her eyes.
She hadn’t expected to receive an unexpected bonus!