Half an hour later, they arrived at a compound with a sign hanging at the entrance: “Tail-Cutting Committee Office Building.” The concrete ground in the yard was cracked, with wild weeds pushing up through the gaps between the bricks. On the walls, the slogan “Destroy the Old, Establish the New” stood out in glaring red.
In the open square inside, dozens of people stood hunched over in ragged clothing. Some had their heads shaved in the humiliating “yin-yang” style, some wore placards around their necks labeled “reactionary academic authority,” and some still had shoe prints stamped on their backsides.
At that moment, they stood in three rows with their heads lowered, being smeared with ink by several Red Armband members wielding brushes. The ink was splashed across their faces and clothes at random. Some people even spat at them—thick globs of phlegm clinging to their garments.
It was the first time Li Luoyu had ever hated having such sharp eyesight—it made everything disgustingly vivid. She nearly threw up her breakfast. “So filthy.”
“Hey! You lot over there—are you deaf? Get over here and line up! What are you dawdling for?!”
A shrill voice cut through the air. Li Luoyu narrowed her eyes and looked over. On the steps stood a tall, skinny man with his hands on his hips, face full of anger—clearly venting whatever frustration he’d bottled up elsewhere.
Linking arms with Old Master Li, she remained rooted to the spot. It was too filthy over there—she had no intention of going.
Old Master Li glanced at his granddaughter in surprise. Since when had this girl learned to read the situation so well? She even knew to think twice before acting.
His hand, hidden within his sleeve, quietly clenched. He tacitly allowed this standoff.
Truth be told, he didn’t want to get that filthy either—so he let Li Luoyu handle it.
“Didn’t you hear me?! I’m talking to you!” The tall, skinny man saw that they hadn’t moved and came striding over, brandishing a belt.
The corner of Li Luoyu’s lips curled upward. She’d already calculated the exact angle needed to crack his ribs with a kick.
But suddenly, the man skidded to a halt. His gaze fell on the girl’s pale wrist, and he swallowed unconsciously.
He recognized them.
A couple of days ago, when they’d gone to ransack her house, two of his companions had had their hands pierced straight through by her thrown chopsticks. Blood everywhere. The doctor had said those hands were ruined for life.
Even their boss was wary of her—how could he dare provoke her?
He could only bark in another direction to save face: “Didn’t you hear me?! Move it, all of you!” Then he stumbled off elsewhere.
Li Luoyu: “…”
She glanced at Old Master Li in surprise. Grandpa, are you really that intimidating?
Old Master Li’s mouth twitched slightly. He could see it clearly—the fear in that man’s eyes was directed at his granddaughter. Had her reputation already surpassed his?
At that moment, Wang Weihua, director of the Tail-Cutting Committee, finally arrived, pedaling in on a bicycle. Behind him trailed several slick-haired, swaggering young men who looked down their noses at the crowd.
“Director Wang! You’re finally here!” The previously arrogant skinny man immediately plastered on a smile, rolled his belt into a coil, and hurried forward, bowing and scraping.
Carrying a briefcase, Wang Weihua strolled in leisurely. When his gaze swept over Li Luoyu and her grandfather, his brows knit slightly. “These two…”
Before he could finish, the skinny man tugged at his sleeve and pulled him into the shadows, whispering urgently, “Director… she—she’s Li the Tyrant! The troublemaker from the military compound. Wang Wu and the other guy—she stabbed their hands through with chopsticks. They’re still in bandages!”
Out of the corner of his eye, Wang Weihua glanced over. The girl’s expression was teasing, as if daring him to make a move—like she could rip a chunk out of him at any moment.
His heart tightened.
In a situation like this, he couldn’t afford to lose face. Otherwise, how would he continue throwing his weight around in the capital?
So he chose to ignore whether they had joined the line or not. Striding quickly onto the stage, he tugged at his collar, forced himself to appear composed, and grabbed the microphone. The loudspeaker immediately crackled with static.
“Comrades,” he began, sweeping his gaze across the hunched crowd below—deliberately avoiding Li Luoyu, “our country’s path of development cannot tolerate even the slightest wavering. You monsters hiding in the shadows—do you think you can revive old ideas and old culture? And those of you engaging in improper relations—have you no shame? The moral decay of society is caused by pests like you! And you so-called intellectuals—do you think having a bit of knowledge makes you superior? Let me tell you: the iron fist of revolution can smash your heads at any time! Just like clearing weeds from a yard—if you don’t uproot them and expose them to the sun, they’ll always grow back!”
A few scattered voices echoed in agreement, but most of the crowd remained silent.
Out of the corner of his eye, Wang Weihua saw Li Luoyu idly twirling a blade of grass with a half-smile. His heart lurched. Wiping sweat from his forehead, his voice rose sharply:
“I now announce: those who are to be sent to farms will go to farms; those to cowsheds will go to cowsheds! All of you will undergo re-education by the poor and lower-middle peasants! Meeting adjourned!”
These days, the tough feared the ruthless, and the barefoot feared no one. The Little Tyrant’s reputation was well deserved. There was no need to clash with her—he wouldn’t lose anything by avoiding it.
Li Luoyu exchanged a glance with her grandfather, disbelief written all over her face. “That’s it?”
She’d read so many novels set in this era—weren’t people like this usually pelted with stones, rotten eggs, even dung, and spat on relentlessly? And now… it just ended like this?
Just then, a voice came through the loudspeaker:
“Li Yuan, Li Luoyu, Cui Fu, Pei Su, Xu Fenghua, Yang Zhibin—assemble at the main gate. We’re departing.”
“Oh. Grandpa, let’s go.”
At the gate stood a paint-chipped Jiefang truck, with the slogan “Serve the People” printed on the door. In the truck bed, a flat-nosed Red Armband member shouted, “Li Yuan, Li Luoyu, Cui Fu, Pei Su, Xu Fenghua, Yang Zhibin—get on! I’m in charge of escorting you this trip!”
Li Luoyu raised an eyebrow at her grandfather. “We even get this kind of treatment?”
Old Master Li coughed twice. “What else? The train station is ten kilometers away. Were we supposed to walk?”
“Xiao Li! Xiao Li! This bundle—my mom prepared it for you. Take it for the road!” Qi Xiaofei came pedaling over on her bicycle, breathless, as if she might spark flames from the effort. “I went to your house this morning but got there too late—you and Grandpa Li had already left. Good thing I caught up here, or I’d have had to chase you all the way to the station!”
“Fei’er, slow down! I couldn’t even keep up!” Wei Jianguo arrived as well, handing over an enormous bundle that nearly buried Li Luoyu. “Xiao Li, my mom packed this. Take good care of it—don’t lose it!”
Li Luoyu accepted the bundles without ceremony and said, “Xiao Wei, Li Hezhi said someone uprooted the pines and cypresses at my parents’ graves. Help me check the martyrs’ cemetery. Write to me and let me know what you find.”
“Xiao Qi, remember that courtyard house my dad gave me? The one Jiang Chi has been eyeing? It was rented out to the neighborhood committee as office space two years ago. Keep an eye on it—make sure they pay rent on time. If you see anyone deliberately damaging it, write to me. I’ll deal with it.”
“And when you two get married, write and tell me. Even if I can’t come back, I’ll still prepare a big gift for you.”
Qi Xiaofei and Wei Jianguo nodded together. “Got it. Don’t worry, Xiao Li—we’ll handle things in the capital. Once you’re settled, write to us. If you need anything, let us know—we’ll send it to you.”
It was the first time the flat-nosed escort had seen people eagerly delivering packages to those being sent away—and chatting endlessly, no less. Irritated, he kicked the side of the truck. “Enough chatter! Get on already!”
“Alright, you should head back,” Li Luoyu said, waving with her arms full of heavy bundles. She turned and handed the smaller one to her grandfather. “Not bad—my friends even came to see me off.”
Old Master Li snorted. “So you’re saying my old comrades aren’t good enough?”
“Exactly. Your old comrades only know how to send the younger ones running errands—they didn’t even come see you themselves. By the way, what did Grandpa Wei pack for me? It’s pretty heavy.”
Old Master Li: That stings.