Tian Cuifen stepped back two paces, glaring at Su Ying through gritted teeth. “You little mongrel just you wait. I don’t believe you won’t come home tonight. When your father gets back, you’ll get what’s coming to you.”
Lu Dongsheng made as if to roll up his sleeves. Tian Cuifen turned and fled without a trace.
The lively crowd beneath the pagoda tree had dispersed, leaving only Su Ying, Lu Dongsheng, and Zhang Shengli standing a few paces away.
The air grew quiet. A cold wind blew; Su Ying’s thin clothes offered little warmth, and she sneezed, snapping back to her senses.
Lu Dongsheng reached to take off his coat, then paused. Until they were properly acquainted, it would not do gossip could ruin a reputation. She had only just escaped one pit; he would not push her into another.
“Comrade, thank you,” Su Ying said.
Lu Dongsheng, whose face was usually stern as a judge’s, found himself smiling without realizing it. So steady in a crisis, he now seemed flustered, not knowing where to put his hands.
“Think nothing of it. If you ever need help, go to the clinic and find Zhang Shengli he’ll look after you.”
Zhang Shengli, who had been watching from a distance, slapped his forehead. Hopeless. If you like her, step forward and say so! Why drag me into it?
“Thank you,” Su Ying said again.
Lu Dongsheng, who had spoken freely enough before, now fumbled for words. “Well… I must be going. I’ll see you around.”
Su Ying nodded, silently forming a higher opinion of him. A truly good man would she ever see him again? In these times, freedom was limited; without a permit, one could go nowhere. Even trading meant the black market and getting caught meant being labeled a speculator. If she married him, her future would be secure. But for now, the story seemed to be shifting in new directions. She must focus on surviving her present circumstances.
On the way back to the clinic, Lu Dongsheng smacked his forehead he had forgotten to ask the girl’s name.
Zhang Shengli teased him. “Company Commander Lu you who have a sharp word for everyone, suddenly you lose your tongue before one young lady? And you give my name instead of your own? Some impression you’ll make.”
Lu Dongsheng did not reply; he struck his forehead again. He had scarcely heard a word.
“Old Zhang what is her name?”
“I’m talking to you! You heard nothing at all? What were you thinking? Why didn’t you ask her yourself?”
Lu Dongsheng draped an arm around Zhang Shengli’s neck. “You want me as your brother‑in‑law or not? Tell me or I’ll think of ways to make you.”
Zhang Shengli caved at once. “Fine her name is Su Ying.”
“Ying as in ‘hero’?”
“Ying with the wood radical cherry blossom.”
The two laughed as they walked toward the clinic.
Meanwhile, Su Ying had reached home. The day’s events had left her throat raw. Habit guided her to the well in the courtyard; she dipped a gourd ladle full of water, but before it touched her lips, a kick landed squarely on her backside. Water splashed over her face and soaked the front of her tunic. She shivered.
Spinning around, she saw Tian Cuifen’s son, Su Dabao. He was round‑faced and heavy, fat enough that his eyes were squeezed nearly shut beneath swollen cheeks, swaddled in a thick coat that made him look lopsided and ready to topple. This boy had tormented her for years sand in her food, toads and filth on her bedding because no one in this house had ever treated her as human.
Not anymore.
Su Dabao brandished a stick. “Worthless girl! Why haven’t you gone up the mountain for firewood? Playing sick won’t work I’ll tell Grandmother and she’ll fix you.”
Grandmother? Sixty years old, bound feet, obsessed with sons, self‑centered, controlling… Su Ying’s mind filled with memories of how this household had worn her down. She would repay every hurt, one by one. They were not family they were oppressors.
She would start with him.
Su Ying rolled up her sleeves, stepped forward, seized his ear, and dragged him to the well. At eight years old, he knew right from wrong, yet Tian Cuifen had spoiled him into arrogance and rudeness. He thrashed clumsily, a fat log flailing about. If he stayed in her care, his life would be ruined but that was not Su Ying’s concern. She meant to escape these leeches as soon as possible.
“Let go!” he squawked. “If you hurt me, Father will break your legs!”
Su Ying gripped him by the back of his tunic and pushed his head toward the well mouth. He shrieked. “Father! Mother help!”
She held him there, grabbed a wooden paddle, and struck him hard across the backside. “Ungrateful wretch! I fed you, tended you and this is how you treat me? I’ll teach you to call me names! Do you admit you’re wrong? Apologize or I’ll beat you every time I see you.”
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry, Second Sister! I’m dying!”
Su Ying knew his kind cowardly when caught, bold once released. He had no idea what he had done wrong. The beating would leave bruises for days.
“Listen well,” she said. “Call me ‘worthless’ again and I will strike you every time until you learn respect. If your mother won’t teach you decency, I will. Will you bully people anymore?”
“I won’t! I promise, Second Sister!”
He sobbed loudly, his cries echoing from the well shaft. Su Ying released him; he slumped on the ground, sniffling and clutching his stinging backside. She smoothed her clothes and brushed hair from her forehead.
That felt good.
She had barely caught her breath when a voice came from behind. “What have you done to your brother?”
Su Ying stiffened. Damn I’d almost forgotten my drunken father.