Chapter 67

Chapter 67

Making a Name for Oneself (Part 4)

Yu Manyi had not dreamed of the great fire that night for a long time. But in today's dream, the blaze that started in the Yu family courtyard was quickly glossed over. Instead, what spread across the You family courtyard were fire money notes, scattered like stars, embedding into the night sky. Each stitched line oozed blood, fire, and the sounds of agonizing screams.

The Yu family was terribly evil, but their evil didn’t claim her life. Yet You Xiaoqing was dead. Her death was irreversible. How desperate must she have been when she kicked over the chair in her empty boudoir? How painful must it have been to suffocate? After a summer in Shaoxing, winter came again, and the new year's snow fell once more on the river's surface. Who would remember the girl with the petal-like birthmark on her face, standing on the stone bridge watching the falling flowers—You Xiaoqing?

Yu Manyi woke up on a soaked pillow, realizing the ceiling was unfamiliar, and the bed was unfamiliar. There was a lingering smell of engine oil in the air, and the door was slightly ajar. Outside, she could hear the voices of two men.

“…Living at the electrical company isn’t a solution. What kind of girl stays here? Besides, we’re not just the electrical company.” Da Lei’s rough voice, with a standard Northeast accent. Yu Manyi lay sideways, listening, thinking that the Northeast accent sounded even more sorrowful when it expressed sadness.

“Is where I live such a good place?” Song Qi’s voice came, tired. “Her dormitory manager is still cleaning up; the bed was broken. Once it's cleaned, she can go back to live there.”

There was the sound of a lighter, and the smell of smoke mingled with the engine oil. Yu Manyi remembered the night she had just reunited with Song Qi, realizing that he had never truly quit smoking—he just didn’t do it in front of her.

"What did your factory friends say?"

"I asked," Da Lei replied. "That girl named You Hong is the daughter of the third concubine from a family in Yangzhou. That concubine was bought out of the brothel."

"This hasn’t been about taking concubines for a long time; are they still going on about it?"

"And You Hong? She followed her mother into the You family and started learning fine arts. Old Master You was willing to cultivate her and found that she had real talent. But last year, around this time, Old Master You died suddenly, and the legitimate wife of the You family actually..."

Da Lei’s voice trembled with reluctance.

"Starved the third concubine to death."

Yu Manyi shut her eyes, feeling a sudden pang in her chest. She suddenly remembered the first time she had argued with You Hong. She had blurted out: “Who can't tell how cheap my name sounds?”You Hong sounds like a very nice name.

"This situation was too excessive, and people started gossiping. They didn’t dare be too harsh on You Hong. Fortunately, you know that Japanese silk factory that hires bonded workers, right? They love to recruit girls from poor families in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, give the parents some money, tell them their daughters will live well in Shanghai, but once they arrive, they work to the point of exhaustion in that factory."

"The You family knew exactly what was going on in that factory, yet they still signed the contract, selling You Hong to work as a bonded laborer for five years. On the way to Shanghai, she ran away. No one knows how she survived that half-year, but she got into the Commercial Press. It’s a pity she couldn’t stay hidden, and someone found her."

"Did the police station intervene?"

"They couldn’t do anything. The factory had the law on its side; it paid taxes, and the contract was legally binding. Even when the parents of other female workers went to the police station, complaining about how the factory was working them to death, nothing was done."

"How much did they sell her for? Is there a way to buy her back?"

"It’s not that simple," Da Lei seemed to have understood the situation clearly. "The money listed on the contract wasn’t much, but once the women enter the silk factory, they’re exploited heavily. They can make back dozens of times that amount in just one year, let alone five. If we want to buy her back, we’re not paying for the amount listed in the contract, but for what she could’ve earned for the factory in those five years. And that, there’s no clear number for."

What to do? What should she do? Yu Manyi opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling, realizing that Song Qi had already asked every possible question for her.

"Isn’t there a strike going on right now?" Song Qi suddenly asked something Yu Manyi hadn’t thought about. "How come this Japanese silk factory is so tight-knit? Have you ever heard of workers joining together?"

"I actually haven’t looked into that," Da Lei replied. "I’ll go ask and let you know."

As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of a chair scraping echoed. Yu Manyi realized Da Lei had gotten up and was heading downstairs. There was a brief silence outside, and then it seemed Song Qi had extinguished his cigarette, patted his clothes, and his footsteps approached her.

He had been injured before and was lying here. The blanket Yu Manyi used was still the one he had used at the time. The narrow bedroom door opened, and he stopped at the doorway. When he saw Yu Manyi looking at him, he realized she had woken up and heard their entire conversation.

This room was really small. Once you entered, there was only enough space for one chair, and then the bed where someone would lie down. Yu Manyi kept her eyes open, watching as Song Qi dragged the chair over, sat on the edge of the bed, and reached out to pull her arm out from under the blanket.He reached over the desk for a box of medicine and said to her, “I applied half earlier, but you were asleep, so I was afraid I might wake you. Bend your arm a little.”

Yu Manyi silently followed his instructions, moving her arm, extending her elbow outward. She watched as the white ointment was applied, her body dull with pain, and her brain sluggish in its reaction.

“Did you have a nightmare?”

“Not really.”

“I heard you talking in your sleep.”

“I dreamed that Sister You and I were sitting in a tree hollow,” Yu Manyi’s voice was a bit disoriented, unable to distinguish between the dream and reality, “It felt like something from a past life.”

Tears streamed down her face again, unknowingly. Yu Manyi closed her eyes and endured for a moment before saying with distress, “Song Qi, why do I always cry? Why am I such a crybaby? I’m really useless.”

Her arm was wrapped in gauze, and the wound on her leg was stinging again. Yu Manyi’s awareness of her body slowly returned as the tears flowed, so perhaps crying wasn’t such a bad thing—it was a way to wake up her body.

Song Qi moved the chair back, his right knee touching the ground, signaling for Yu Manyi to sit up. She straightened her back, lifting the slit of her cheongsam to her side, exposing her swollen, bruised knee.

He reached out, holding her ankle, and pulled her leg to align with his bent knee. After inspecting the wound for a moment, Song Qi said, “The disinfection wasn’t thorough earlier. You’ll have to bear with it a little longer.”

There was an empty medicine bottle on the table. Yu Manyi saw him twist it open, realizing it was alcohol-soaked cotton. She furrowed her brow slightly, allowing him to clean the wound. When it hurt terribly, she reached out and gripped his shoulder.

The room was shabby, the light dim. They always seemed to be alone in places that weren’t well-lit and were cramped. She lowered her eyes, watching Song Qi with his head down, his eyebrows, nose bridge, and eyelashes. From this angle, it truly resembled the first time she saw him on the second floor of the Yu family house.

“Does it hurt?” Song Qi asked her.

“It’s alright,” Yu Manyi replied, “Did it hurt when you were shot?”“It’s alright. When I had the surgery, they gave me anesthesia, so it wasn’t really painful.”

“What about before the anesthesia?”

“I was too busy running to remember clearly,” Song Qi paused for a moment, his hand holding the tweezers, then continued, “But I remember the blood. I didn’t expect a person to lose that much blood. Half of my body was soaked.”

“You can use a gun too, right?”

“I can. How did you know?”

“Your hands, I can tell.”

“Indeed. My family, we all have to learn how to shoot and ride horses. My grandfather wasn’t a civil official either.”

“Then teach me.”

Song Qi raised his eyes to look at her. “What?”

“Teach me how to shoot,” Yu Manyi said, “I want to kill them all.”

Her tone was flat, her expression indifferent. Song Qi had spoken to her for a while, thinking that he might help her relax, assuming she had recovered.

He didn’t respond, only lowered his head to finish wrapping the bandage on her knee. His silence gave Yu Manyi a moment to calm down, and the time it took to wrap the bandage felt unreasonably long. Finally, as he tied the knot, Song Qi noticed a new tear drop fall from her eye.

The tear splashed onto the bandage with a soft "plop," then was absorbed into the dried blood underneath. Song Qi raised his head and saw that finally, there was emotion in Yu Manyi’s eyes. He let out a breath of relief.

Her hand still rested on his shoulder, tightening her grip on his clothes, pulling many folds into them.“I finally...” She paused, then couldn’t control herself, “Finally, I had a friend again…”

“…I’m just too weak. I thought I could protect myself, earn money, and take care of myself. That should be enough. I thought if I didn’t provoke others, they wouldn’t come after me. But these heartless dogs are everywhere, eating people. If they can’t eat me, they’ll go after my friends. Fang Qian said I don’t fight for myself. It seems like even fighting isn’t enough. From now on, not only will I fight, I’ll also hit, I’ll rob, I’ll burn down all the Yu family courtyards, the You family courtyards, and all these heartless dogs who marry concubines and sell their daughters. If I can’t burn them alive, I’ll knock their houses down and bury them in the yellow dirt and mud!”

This time, Song Qi didn’t stop her. Instead, he said, “Yes, we’re doing the same thing.”

She circled back, “Then teach me how to shoot?”

“Rest first.”

“Promise me first.”

He couldn’t refuse her, so he nodded. “Alright, I’ll teach you.”

Her wounds were all taken care of, her tears had dried up, and she finally lay back down on the bed. She was so tired that, after closing her eyes, she quickly fell asleep again, but her hand was still gripping Song Qi’s sleeve, not letting him go no matter what.

So he had no choice but to sit beside her bed, leaning against the headboard, exhausted, and closed his eyes. With the hand that wasn’t being gripped by her sleeve, he pulled the blanket up over her shoulders, and for the first time in his life, he spoke to himself.

“Yu Manyi…”

“What am I going to do with you?”

When Yu Manyi woke up the next day, Song Qi was already gone. On the table were some daily necessities—things he had brought from his own house for her, things she had used before. Yu Manyi washed her face in the small bedroom’s partition, then used a wet towel to smooth out the wrinkles in her clothes. When she went downstairs, Da Lei was downstairs, wiping down the machines.

“Miss Yu,” his tone was somewhat cautious, “Good morning.”“Good morning.” Yu Manyi spoke, noticing her voice was a bit hoarse. She cleared her throat and asked Da Lei, “Is there any water?”

He quickly handed her a cup.

After drinking the water, she felt much better. The shop door on the first floor was open, and outside was the busy morning street. Everyone seemed busy, carefree, and without a worry in the world. No one knew that a girl had been taken away yesterday, just like no one knew when You Xiaoqing had died.

“I still need to go to the printing house,” Yu Manyi said.

“Take care,” Da Lei spoke briefly and cautiously.

There was a mirror on the first floor, but none on the second. Yu Manyi went to the mirror and fixed her hair, then put on her coat and left the electric company, merging into the crowd outside.

She seemed fine, except for looking a bit weary.

The news about You Hong had already spread among the colleagues at the translation institute, from the neighboring translation building to the main library. People seemed a bit curious about Yu Manyi’s appearance at the company, since she had been taken away by her friend last night. Some even thought she probably wouldn’t come in today.

However, she did come. She walked in through the main door, wearing the same clothes as last night, neat and clean, with her hair neatly done. She had barely walked a few steps on the main street when she bumped into someone from the art department. The person hurriedly informed her, “Miss Yu, the manager is looking for you.”

“Alright, I know.” Her tone was even calmer than her appearance.

The art department was also in the main building, and she casually walked to the manager's office and sat down on the sofa with a few of her superiors. This situation was difficult for the police to handle, and the company naturally found it troublesome as well. The manager poured Yu Manyi a cup of tea and asked her in detail about what happened last night—though he had already heard the story from the dormitory guard.

“Can you do anything about this? After all, she’s an employee of the art department,” Yu Manyi asked, though she had little hope, as it seemed difficult for her to place her hopes on others now.

As expected, the manager wiped his sweat and said, “What can we do? A bunch of people with paintbrushes—are we supposed to go to the yarn factory to snatch her back? Reason can only be talked with those who understand reason.”Yu Manyi gave a bitter smile, not at all surprised.

“I had the dormitory guard repair the dorm... where did you stay last night?”

“At a friend’s place.”

“Then stay with them a few more days. The floor was smashed to pieces; it’ll take a few days to renovate… you must have been scared. How about I approve two days of leave for you?”

Yu Manyi glanced at the manager, noticing his difficulty, as though he were struggling between human decency and capitalism. She shifted her gaze, saying, “I need to rest for two weeks. I’ve already called them, I’m going to the hospital.”

“Ah, this… well, go ahead, go ahead, rest, you should rest.”

Amid her indifference, Yu Manyi felt a strange, twisted pleasure in asking for something, which was so easily granted. After speaking with the manager, she left the office under the gaze of her colleagues, then exited the Commercial Publishing House’s main gate, slowly making her way back to the translation institute’s dormitory.

Her colleagues had already gone to work, and the dormitory was empty. She entered the room she shared with You Hong, whose door had been smashed. Yu Manyi packed her luggage into a suitcase and wrapped the items of You Hong’s that hadn’t been taken or damaged in a cloth. She thought to herself that when You Hong returned, these things would still be hers to use; she was someone who couldn’t bear to buy new things even more than Yu Manyi.

Yu Manyi firmly believed that You Hong would return. She had never been this sure of herself, even when she was taking the exam for the Commercial Publishing House.

With her suitcase and bundle in hand, she left the dormitory. As she was going downstairs, she heard someone behind her say, “Has anyone ever told you that you’re very strange?”

But when she turned around, there was clearly no one behind her.

Yu Manyi stood still on the stairs for a moment, holding her two pieces of luggage, before continuing to walk.

She had no intention of returning to the electric company; Da Lei had hinted last night that the place wasn’t suitable for outsiders to stay long-term. She also knew she couldn’t go find Song Qi—his place was under close surveillance, with the police always watching in the shadows.

Yu Manyi walked down the street for a while, eventually spotting a reasonably well-decorated inn. She stared at the sign for a while before walking in with her luggage.Yu Manyi specifically chose an inn with a private bathroom this time. The room only had a single bed, and she was the only one sleeping in it. She filled the bathtub with water, standing next to it, watching the hot water slowly rise.

When the water level rose to a height that would allow her to submerge herself without wetting her knee wound, Yu Manyi undressed and threw her clothes onto the floor. She stepped into the water and sank into it.

The water was really hot... It made her skin turn redder and redder, and the heat made her face turn red as well. She held her breath and sank to the bottom of the bathtub, her black hair slowly spreading and floating in the water. Her eyes were closed, and everything around her was blood red, the hot water making her blood boil.

In the darkness, Yu Manyi once again saw the fire that consumed the Yu family estate. She thought that fire was truly one of the most beautiful things in nature, something that could devour even the darkness itself.

She held her breath for a long time. When the pain in her lungs started to feel like needles, Yu Manyi finally sat up from the water. When she opened her eyes, the image of the Yu family fire had disappeared, leaving her with a sense of loss.

She then thought: You Hong, You Hong really is a beautiful name.

She would also give this name a fire as grand as the one that burned the Yu estate.

Shanghai had become colder, and the outside chill made the café feel especially warm, and the coffee particularly soothing.

Yu Manyi no longer found the coffee bitter. She had been in the café so much lately, and after drinking it regularly, she had gotten used to it. She hadn’t seen Song Qi for several days, and now, the two of them sat in chairs, neither speaking, both waiting for someone to arrive.

She had picked up a newspaper on the way here. As usual, it was talking about the workers’ strike. Since last year, this wave of strikes had been escalating, and Yu Manyi could already foresee that even bigger upheavals were coming.

Suddenly, she remembered what the man with the hat had said: someone sowed evil seeds and reaped evil fruits—indeed, this was true. Lately, she had been gradually giving up on the compassion and sympathy that she had often felt in the past, perhaps because she had come to realize that many people's suffering was the result of reaping what they had sown.

The person they were waiting for still hadn’t arrived. Song Qi was the first to put down the newspaper. Yu Manyi sensed that he was about to speak, so she lifted her eyes.

“Where are you going for the New Year?” Song Qi asked.“Teacher Jiang asked me if I wanted to go to her place,” Yu Manyi said, “Fang Qian also asked me.”

“You're not lonely, then.”

“Just speak your mind.”

“To my aunt's place?”

Yu Manyi stayed silent.

“Fang Qian said you turned it down,” Song Qi shook his head, picking up the newspaper again. “I’m afraid you turned down Jiang Yu too. It seems you don’t want to go anywhere. But who spends the New Year in an inn?”

“Staying in the inn is quite good. The room gets cleaned even if it's messy, and when I'm painting, the smell of the paint is so strong. Staying in a dormitory or renting a place would actually be more inconvenient.”

“Do you still have enough money?”

“Enough. I’ve never had this much before.”

The first eight pieces of her monthly calendar had already been submitted. Boss Liu paid for each one promptly and generously, which made Yu Manyi realize that it’s best to work for people who find making money easy, so that she could make money more easily too.

Without You Hong, she painted alone, staying awake day and night, but she hadn’t delayed the deadlines or compromised on quality. This deepened Boss Liu’s trust in her.

She had become even thinner, her face’s lines sharper and clearer, and the light in her eyes was deep and concentrated. Song Qi shook the newspaper, using the front-page story about the wave of strikes to hide his expression.

He absentmindedly read two lines, but then the newspaper was suddenly torn away by Yu Manyi, and through the V-shaped gap created by her hand, he saw her leaning toward him.

“What’s wrong?” Song Qi, who had been receiving rebuffs one after another, wasn’t in the mood for a deep conversation.“Can’t you ask me a bit more?” Yu Manyi said.

“……”

“I really don’t want to go anywhere,” she said, her expression even looking very serious, “But if it were you, if you asked me a little more, I might be willing to go.”

...Where did she learn all this?

Song Qi’s expression stiffened slightly, caught off guard by her teasing. His usual eloquence and quick reactions had been suppressed by her. The two of them stared at each other through the V-shaped gap in the newspaper. Before he could speak again, the door of the café suddenly rang with the sound of a bell as it opened.

A cold breeze followed the person who walked in, and it turned out to be two people—

One wore a white coat, a flat-topped hat, and had ink stains that couldn’t be washed off on their fingers. The other also wore a lowered hat and a short jacket that only factory workers would wear, hurrying behind the first person. They both rushed to the table where Yu Manyi and Song Qi were sitting.

Song Qi quickly put the newspaper down, and Yu Manyi also withdrew her hand. The person in the white coat took off their hat, revealing a face with gold-rimmed glasses.

“We’ve clarified that this yarn factory is not participating in the strike,” Huo Shiwen said to Yu Manyi, “I’ve met a few friends who are in charge of the workers' situation. I’ve invited one of them over. He’s been in charge of the factories in the East Shanghai area since last year after he came from Guangzhou. You can ask him anything.”

“May I know how to address you?” Yu Manyi turned her gaze to the other person.

The person seemed to have gotten used to not raising their head, but out of respect, they slightly lifted the brim of their hat and replied, “You can call me Xiao Su.”

Yu Manyi frowned slightly.

There was an unusual silence at the table. Huo Shiwen glanced at Xiao Su and then at Yu Manyi, as if trying to ease the awkwardness, and spoke first: “It seems you two are from the same hometown, both from Shaoxing…”“Teacher Su?” Yu Manyi suddenly said.

The person stiffened, and only then did they raise their head. Yu Manyi’s fingers, gripping the coffee cup, slowly tightened, her knuckles turning pale.

Two pairs of jet-black eyes met, and Yu Manyi seemed to see once again that young man standing on the black canopy boat, drifting away. The hometown’s canal had flowed for thousands of years, sending off countless sons and daughters of Shaoxing, and they were just two insignificant ones among them.

He had bid farewell to You Xiaoqing, and then met her because of You Hong. It turned out that when a person is determined to do something, in this world, thousands of people will willingly transform into her boat, oar, and the explosive weapon.