Qi Zhifang had just finished reporting her ideological work to the neighborhood committee when she was suddenly harassed by a neighborhood committee leader who pointed at her and yelled, "Qi Zhifang, is this all the ideological work you've been reporting for the past ten days? I don't think you've seriously reflected on your actions. With your half-hearted attitude, you should be arrested and shot!"
Qi Zhifang remained silent, staring helplessly at the street director with her large, watery eyes.
Qi Zhifang's stubborn and restrained yet alluring demeanor completely enraged the neighborhood director. She glared at Qi Zhifang's braid with fury, her eyes blazing. She grabbed Qi Zhifang's braid and picked up a pair of scissors. Several people nearby quickly restrained Qi Zhifang. "What are you doing? What are you going to do? Let me go! Ah..." Qi Zhifang cried out in panic.
"Snip! Snip!" The thick, black braid was cut off and thrown on the ground. The older sister spat and said, "Your ideological work is not as good as the genuine feelings that came after this lousy braid was cut off. You are shameless. Your lousy braid should be cut off. Get out! If your ideological report is not profound tomorrow, I will send you to a labor camp."
As the word "get lost" escaped her lips, Qi Zhifang's dignity shattered once again. As if her soul had been ripped out, she trembled as she picked up her braid, which she had kept for many years. She couldn't hear what anyone was saying and walked home dejectedly.
When she got home, she plopped down in a chair, buried her face in her hands on the table, and burst into tears, sobbing, "Why? Why did you cut off my braid! What does ideological work have to do with braids? Why don't you treat me like a human being? What did I do wrong? We're both unmarried, can't prisoners have feelings? We're dating openly, not having an affair, no, no, no..."
Seeing her daughter like this, Qi's mother couldn't bring herself to abandon her. She struggled to get up, patted her shoulder, sighed, and said, "Fangzi, don't cry, it's alright! It's just a braid, right? As long as you're still alive, there's always a chance. It'll be fine in a few years."
Qi Zhifang shook her head and said, "Why? Why did they treat me like that! Am I really so guilty? Is it wrong to like someone? Mom, believe me, I really didn't do anything with him. We were just being affectionate and kept to ourselves! We didn't cross any lines. They framed me!"
Qi's mother leaned her head against her chest and sighed, "When you're alive, you have to be aware of potential dangers. That place was a trap. Even getting a little close could lead to being falsely accused. Let alone if you actually went in, you'd just become someone else's prey."
Qi Zhifang cried and said, "It's all my fault. I'm the one who hurt Brother Xiao. I don't know how he is now..."
Suppressing her anger, Qi's mother poked her head and said, "Why are you still thinking about him?"
Qi Zhifang shook her head and cried, saying, "Mom, you don't know, I really loved him, and it was so hard. At that time, he had a wife and children, so I suppressed those feelings deep in my heart. I finally looked forward to their divorce, hoping that we could be together again, but then this happened!"
Qi's mother sighed and said, "How do you know that if this hadn't happened, his wife would have divorced him? Fangzi, try to take it easy! In this life, we're all like rootless duckweed, we have to learn to go with the flow. You have to follow the crowd, understand?"
Qi Zhifang choked up as she said, "I don't believe in fate. I want to be with him. I will wait for him to come out!"
Mother Qi sighed again, picked up a pair of scissors, and trimmed Qi Zhifang's hair into a longer, flowing bob. As her hair fell, Qi Zhifang's heart pounded with uncertainty. "Brother Xiao, where are you? How are you now? You must hold on, hold on until the moment we reunite. I will wait for you, no matter how strong the wind or how heavy the rain, I will wait for you forever..." Then she thought, yes, she must live, for only by living is there hope. She had to pull herself together!
After that, she went to the streets every day and said things against her will. Finally, a month later, she returned to the factory and became a cleaner. She thought to herself, "Fangzi, you can do it. No matter what, it's better than in 1959! It's just gossip. It can't hurt you in the slightest. You can persevere. You must persevere for Brother Xiao's sake."
So even though she was wearing the most ordinary blue work clothes, she still wore a red scarf on her head, which was also a reminder to herself that even if she fell into the abyss, she would not stoop to the level of those inferior people!
She went to the cafeteria for lunch that day, and after a long wait, it was finally her turn. The cafeteria lady glared at her impatiently and said, "Go to the back of the line. What are you glaring at me for? You're not enthusiastic about your work, but you're so enthusiastic about eating! You're such a damn bad omen!"
Qi Zhifang's eyes were filled with tears. After being ordered around for so long, she had lost her former pride and arrogance. She opened her mouth but didn't say anything. She was so angry that she grabbed her lunchbox and was about to leave when she saw Zhao Dahu holding four lunchboxes and a large tea mug, looking like a goose gazing at its wife with its neck stretched out.
Zhao Dahu was tall, but not good-looking; he was too rugged. She even suspected that Wei Shuqing was only with him for the sake of a decent meal. After all, Qi Zhijun was a handsome, cultured man with a good job. Having seen so many beautiful peaches, how could he possibly be interested in something rotten?
Before long, Wei Shuqing came over, looking clean and neat! The current Wei Shuqing is quite different from before. She is plump and fair-skinned. She may not be considered particularly beautiful, but she looks very cheerful. Anyone who sees her would say she looks prosperous, and her figure proves it.
From a distance, Zhao Dahu was already calling out, "Wife, I'm here, come to the office!"
Wei Shuqing exclaimed "Oh!" and jogged over, whispering, "You can go in first. You're always watching from the doorway, as if you're afraid no one will know you're waiting for your wife!"
Zhao Dahu chuckled and said, "Waiting for my wife isn't shameful, what's there to be afraid of? Let those sour grapes talk all they want! Why should I care about them? I'm going to cherish my wife."
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