Chapter 70

Chapter 70

Fame and Fortune (7)

When the strike truly began, You Hong finally felt the crushing pain in her chest, the pain of being kicked out by the laborers, starting to slow and intensify into a dull ache.

She was surrounded by the crowd, moving forward. With every step, she felt exhausted. The workers surged like a tide, overturning the factory machines and even knocking down the large gate that was chained with iron.

That gate connected to the workers' dormitories, and the next gate led to the outside street. During the days and nights after entering the factory, You Hong had never thought that she would walk out of that door again—yet could she even hold on long enough to leave?

The crowd surged like a tide, and she couldn’t stop. You Hong could only try to slow her pace, but she was pushed from behind by the excited crowd, stumbling. Suddenly, amid the thunderous shouts, she heard her name:

“You Hong! You Hong!”

She thought it was an illusion, but the voice grew more persistent and anxious.

“You Hong! You Hong!!”

She abruptly turned around.

On the street crowded with workers, there was a girl standing on top of a sedan, jumping up and down, shouting her name in a panic. The pain in her chest and the ache in her eyes tortured her at the same time. She turned back, intending to go against the tide of people, but the current of the crowd offered no space for her to move against it.

“I’ll chase you! You Hong! Let’s go!”

Too many people were squeezing her, and the pain inside her body became sharper, as if a knife was stabbing at her heart. You Hong felt palpitations. She tried to get to the side of the road, pressing her body against the wall.

After a long wait, Yu Manyi and a few men and women she hadn’t seen before finally squeezed over.

You Hong couldn’t even see her own appearance clearly, but the look on Yu Manyi’s face when she saw her made her feel like she must appear very disheveled, very pitiful. She was dizzy, her body pressed against the wall, her face as pale as death."You Hong, you..." Yu Manyi came to support her, and when her knees gave way, she finally collapsed into her embrace with a sense of relief.

She didn’t cry, but Yu Manyi did. You Hong felt she shouldn’t be like this. Yu Manyi had put so much effort into saving her, how could she faint the moment she saw her?

"Manyi, that comic of yours, your drawing..." she spoke in broken sentences.

"Don’t talk, let’s go to the hospital first," Yu Manyi said through her tears.

"Your drawing, it’s so good... You’re more talented than me, really." She buried her face in Yu Manyi's shoulder, her voice growing weaker.

"You’re too much, we agreed to earn money together, and you went to the factory. I’m drawing alone and I’m about to die from exhaustion. My drawings are so bad. From now on, you have to draw with me... Su Wen, help me lift her up! She’s not going to make it!"

You Hong felt like she might not make it to the hospital. The pain in her chest felt like needles piercing her. All the injuries and accumulated illnesses since entering the factory exploded at that moment. She clung to Yu Manyi’s sleeve, unwilling to leave her.

"Manyi, I really want to go home..." she whispered, "I want to go back to my mom’s. There are so many older sisters and aunts in the yard, they’re all so kind to me..."

"Everyone move aside! Move aside!"

"She married into the You family to send me to learn to draw, but the You family is worse than the yard..."

"Manyi, is my heart broken? Can you take me back to Yangzhou? Bury me under the willow tree by the Yangzhou River. The aunties from the yard are all there..."

"You Hong, don’t say anything. We’re going to the hospital... Su Laoshi, run faster!!!"One Month Later

The newspapers had been filled with reports about the workers' strike for an entire month. Yu Manyi picked one from the rack in the corridor and brought it into the hospital room.

She usually didn’t read financial news, and when it later covered some stories about movie stars, she quickly flipped past them. However, there was a social news article written by Huo Shiwen, and out of politeness, Yu Manyi skimmed it for a moment before focusing on the later articles that discussed the current political situation.

It was indeed a time of turmoil. Everywhere seemed unsettled, with small-scale conflicts erupting in the northern regions, as though there was no end in sight. The newly signed tariff agreements also showed clear signs of compromise and surrender.

She wasn’t sure how she understood all of this. It seemed as if there was a moment when everything clicked into place. If she were to look at the newspaper again now, she certainly wouldn’t focus solely on the butterfly and mandarin duck serial from the front, but would also have her own insights into the "ideology" sections at the back.

You Hong moved in her hospital bed, and Yu Manyi turned around, softly asking, "What’s wrong?"

"When can I be discharged?" You Hong’s voice was faint and weak.

"It’ll be about half a month more," Yu Manyi recalled what the doctor had said, then comforted her, "Don’t rush to leave the hospital. The institute is covering your medical expenses; we don’t have to pay ourselves."

"Why would the institute cover my medical expenses? I always feel..."

"I asked them to cover it."

"You asked them to, and they just did?"

"Of course."

Yu Manyi’s tone was so natural, as if it were completely justified, almost like a bandit. You Hong wanted to laugh, but the laugh caused pain in her chest, so she could only press her lips together and bury her face in the pillow.

Yu Manyi pulled back and raised the newspaper in front of her again, continuing, "I’ve also found a place for us to stay. We’ll move into a new apartment with tight security… Do you know what that building was originally?""What?"

"It's the athlete dormitory built by a wealthy tycoon for his soccer team," Yu Manyi said without changing her expression. "The next door is filled with 1.8-meter-tall soccer players... Tsk."

You Hong buried her face in the pillow, her voice muffled, unable to hold back her laughter. "What does that have to do with you?"

"It has nothing to do with me, but it has to do with you… What a pity, it's actually unrelated to me," Yu Manyi sighed deeply. "In any case, no one will be able to break in anymore. Even if they do, those athletes wouldn’t have the strength to do anything."

"My things..."

"I've moved everything for you. You didn’t have much. Once you’re well again, we’ll make more money and buy new things."

You Hong’s eyelashes trembled slightly, and she pulled her hand out from under the blanket.

Her fingers were still trembling, a side effect from her heart rate problems. There were also marks on her finger joints where someone had stepped in the mud. She tried moving her fingers but was gently grasped by Yu Manyi, who placed her hand back under the blanket.

"It can recover," Yu Manyi comforted her. "The doctor told me. Just give your body some more time. I’ve already checked with the Commercial Press, once you’re better, you’ll join the next group of trainees… we’ll start over."

Start over.

Such a sad yet incredibly beautiful phrase. You Hong felt that she was still lucky... At least she had the chance to start over.

She wanted to say a few more things to Yu Manyi, but someone came to find her outside. People had been coming to see her these days. Yu Manyi put down the newspaper, informed You Hong, and then walked out into the hallway.

It was Su Wen and Song Qi.

Su Wen brought some nutritional supplements, which he and his friends had pooled money to buy. Yu Manyi didn’t even thank him, just took the items and placed them in the room, with Song Qi quietly following her, whispering, "What are you doing? Wasn’t it thanks to Su Wen running fast that night?""He should do that."

Yu Manyi was now prickly all over, hard to approach, and no one dared to speak against her.

The two walked back to the hospital room door. Su Wen hadn’t left yet. He lowered his head and moved his throat slightly before finally speaking to Yu Manyi:

"Manyi, I want to ask, where exactly is the grave of the girl from our village?"

Yu Manyi crossed her arms, noticing the slight change in his expression. She softened her sharp edge just a little.

"I want to visit Miss You’s grave," Su Wen finally raised his head.

Though the times hadn’t fully settled, the strike and You Hong’s situation had come to a temporary close. Thinking of how Su Wen left his hometown by waterway, that river’s bend seemed to mark an incomplete pause in his life. Especially with the death of You Xiaoqing, it was likely something he would obsess over every day and night for the rest of his life.

"Are you going back to Shaoxing?" Yu Manyi asked.

"Yes, I want to return for a visit," Su Wen said. "It won’t take long, just a round trip. I won’t stay overnight in Shaoxing. Three days should be enough…"

It was all in Jiangnan, connected by water routes. How far could it be? Whether one stayed or returned, it was all just a matter of one’s heart.

"Then go ahead," Yu Manyi said. "Do you know the Prime Minister’s grave? It’s on that road. If you don’t know, it’s fine. Just find someone who drives a rickshaw, pay them a little extra, and they’ll take you there."

Su Wen nodded.

However, just as he was about to turn around, Yu Manyi suddenly raised her hand and stopped him. Song Qi was equally surprised and looked at Yu Manyi along with Su Wen.

"Or… what if I go back to Shaoxing with you?"

Go back to Shaoxing.

Such simple three words, but when they fell on Song Qi’s ears, they were utterly shocking. He quickly removed Yu Manyi’s hand from Su Wen’s clothes and asked in response:"What are you going to Shaoxing for?"

"I also want to visit Sister You's grave."

"You..."

Song Qi and Su Wen exchanged a glance, immediately saying: "How can you compare yourself to him? If someone sees you and drags you back, you..."

"Who could possibly drag me back now?" Yu Manyi didn’t agree, "The You family is broken, the wise are foolish, the tree has fallen and the monkeys have scattered. Besides, the girl’s grave is in the mountains… Su Laoshi, you’re not planning to return to the studio, are you?"

"I have no such plans," Su Wen said, "Things have changed, there’s nothing to see. Time is so tight, I’ll visit the girl’s grave in the mountains, sweep the tomb, and then take the train back to the town."

Logically speaking, Yu Manyi wasn’t wrong, and Song Qi didn’t have a reason to stop her. He understood better than most that You Xiaoqing’s death was an obsession in Yu Manyi’s heart. When someone dies, it’s like a light going out, but the living, left behind, must struggle like trapped beasts. Now that they had saved You Hong, this obsession had mostly dissipated, leaving only the last lingering breath. Perhaps it could only be resolved by returning to her grave, with a wisp of smoke.

"But I can’t go this time." Song Qi frowned, his newspaper reprints were in a heavy phase.

"It’s actually better that you don’t go. You haven’t changed much since the last time, and many people from the literacy classes recognize you… If you return together, we’ll only attract more attention." Yu Manyi made her point directly.

Song Qi was still hesitating. Yu Manyi walked over, getting closer to him. Su Wen immediately averted his gaze in understanding.

She took Song Qi’s hand, tracing circles on his knuckles with her thumb, her body pressing close to his arm, whispering in his ear: "Song Qi, I’ll only go back this once. After I visit Sister You’s grave, I won’t go back again..."

Song Qi: "Maybe in August, after I’m done with my work..."

"Her death anniversary is in winter, and no one came this Qingming. We have a custom—when someone just passes away in these two years, these two days are very important... If I go later, I won’t be able to say anything, and she probably won’t hear it anymore...""Why are you trying to use these feudal remnants to persuade me again?"

"Do you really not believe? Although they are feudal remnants, I actually believe in these things... Song Qi, if one day I’m no longer here, you must remember, in the first two years after someone passes..."

"What are you saying this for!" Song Qi immediately interrupted her.

The two of them tugged back and forth, and finally reached a conclusion, making it a difficult wait for Su Wen, who had been standing to the side. Song Qi finally let go of Yu Manyi, allowing her to set a date for the trip back to Shaoxing with Su Wen, and after the arrangement was made, he went back to accompany You Hong.

The two men watched as Yu Manyi closed the hospital room door, and then finally exchanged a glance. Song Qi seemed to have something to say, but Su Wen could hardly bear the tension between them.

"Su Laoshi, you’re a little older than me, I should be more polite when speaking..." Song Qi said.

"Go ahead and say it." Su Wen urged.

"What I’m saying is," Song Qi’s expression became serious, "I truly can’t go with you this time, but if something happens to her when she returns to Shaoxing... you don’t need to come back."

Su Wen: ...

"You’re really not being polite at all." Su Wen weakly retorted.

When Yu Manyi left Shaoxing, she had never thought she would return, but now, as she made her way back, her state of mind was completely different from when she left.

Su Wen had asked around for the train schedules in the town and had planned a route she had never taken before:

First, they would take a train to Hangzhou, then take a night boat to travel along the waterways to the dock. They wouldn’t return to the countryside, but instead, they would find a rickshaw outside the city, visit the girl’s grave to pay their respects, and after a brief rest in the town, they would take an afternoon train directly to Shanghai. After a day and night on the train, they would arrive at Shanghai East Station, where they would reunite with Song Qi, who had been waiting for them to return.Yu Manyi no longer had to worry about travel expenses or food; now, all she needed to be concerned with was whether there was enough time. The night boat would reach the dock at dawn, and Yu Manyi carefully wrapped half of her face with a scarf. With Su Wen's assistance, she walked ashore.

The moment her feet touched the soil of her hometown, she felt a subtle resonance in her heart.

She had once hated this place so much, believing that the endless river had trapped her in this hometown. Later, she broke free, rushing toward a vast world beyond the river, thinking it would welcome her with boundless light...

However, that vast world was still full of trials and hardships. There were even worse people, more greedy and evil spirits, than the Yu family and the You family. The world seemed to be like an eggshell, with a new eggshell growing outside the old one. Every time she broke the old eggshell, she had to use all her strength and endure immense pain.

But even after enduring so much pain, Yu Manyi thought, if she had to choose again, she would still choose to break free, still choose to shatter the shell. The world outside the eggshell was certainly fraught with danger, but she had found people to fight alongside her, and she was constantly picking up new weapons. As long as she held up a sharp blade, she had the right to resist.

But if she surrendered, if she submitted, then the eggshell would trap her in the old world, eventually locking her in a flower palanquin heading north, and from there, she would be sent to a square courtyard. Once the stone bricks and mortar truly enclosed her, she might never escape.

Yu Manyi thought this way and then got into a rickshaw that Su Wen had negotiated for, heading with him toward the girl's grave.

As they passed through the desolate outskirts, the mountain fog was heavy at dawn. Yu Manyi once again saw the abandoned prime minister's tomb, with collapsed stone statues piling up outside. She saw the unoccupied grand master's chair carved from blue stone, and the faint outlines of a bull's head and goat's horns.

The last time she had come here was during Qingming, when she met some people on the road. But today, at this time, the girl’s grave would only have her and Su Wen. Yu Manyi even hoped to see the young maid who had once come to pay respects to Miss You, but that was destined to be just a wish. By now, at her age, the maid should have been married.

This was a fate that the girls here couldn’t avoid. Over the years, perhaps only You Xiaoqing had managed to escape, by death, and now Yu Manyi had escaped.

Either escape or die. Could it be changed? Yu Manyi didn’t know. After all, back then, You Xiaoqing had conveyed to her that in this world, there was only what was completely shattered and what could be remade.

She and Su Wen knelt down.

They did not see old friends, did not enter the town, and even the paper money had been bought in Shanghai and brought here. Yu Manyi turned her head and saw that Su Wen had once again taken out a stack of small folded papers. To her surprise, they were all pictures of You Xiaoqing, drawn with pencil, charcoal, and fountain pen.

Yu Manyi lifted her eyes and saw Su Wen silently light a fire, then one by one, he threw the pieces of paper into the flames.The pieces of paper were clearly not all drawn at the same time. Some were even just torn pieces of cigarette wrappers. These were drawn by Su Wen during the countless days and nights in Guangzhou and Shanghai, in the fleeting moments between work, using whatever piece of paper he could find. The You Xiaoqing in his memory always stood on the stone bridge, watching the falling petals.

At this moment, Yu Manyi decided to forgive Su Wen. After all, human frailty and cowardice were just temporary shortcomings, not eternal sins. As for whether You Xiaoqing forgave him, she wouldHe ran to the water bucket with the same speed he had used when sending You Hong to the hospital, quickly hanging the money bag on the bucket and running back. The two of them, one tall and one short, hid in the morning mist, crouching by the wall. They saw the cloth shop owner’s wife quickly come out, her figure pausing when she saw the money bag on the bucket.

She bent down to pick it up, the money inside so heavy that she could barely lift it. She opened the bag, saw the gold ring inside, and then looked around, as if wanting to call out, but then stopped herself.

“...Silly girl!” she finally muttered, addressing Yu Manyi.

Su Wen and Yu Manyi couldn’t help but chuckle. They didn’t know how Yu Manyi’s reputation had changed in the area, but even the cloth shop owner’s wife knew better than to shout loudly. Instead, she called out repeatedly in the mist:

“Silly girl! Come back, come out and see me! You... this money bag... Oh, silly girl!”

Her voice faded into the mist as Su Wen and Yu Manyi had already left.

As agreed with Song Qi, they didn’t go into the old city. The rest of the journey was straight to the town. Su Wen had planned this trip efficiently, and by the time the afternoon train departed, they would successfully leave Shaoxing.

It was a long journey. The rickshaw driver pulled them over the cobblestone path and then through a stretch of farmland. When they were nearing the town, the driver wiped his sweat with a towel and suddenly turned back to ask, “Are you two locals?”

“No,” Yu Manyi answered immediately.

“Oh, your accent sounds similar,” the driver remarked.

“We’re from another town downstream,” Su Wen added.

“Huh?” The driver curiously asked, “Since you’re from elsewhere, why would you go to the girl’s tomb? Those buried there are all unmarried girls from around here.”

Su Wen looked at Yu Manyi. She still had her scarf covering her face, but her bright, sharp eyes were visible.“We had a relative, both parents passed away, and her older sister married here, so she came to stay with us,” Yu Manyi said. “But she also passed away early, really pitiful.”

“That is indeed pitiful. I’ve never heard of this girl. Our town is so small that even the smallest things get passed around everywhere…” the rickshaw driver replied.

“Really?” Yu Manyi suddenly asked. “Then, Old Uncle, you must have heard about the fire at the Yu family, right?”

Su Wen looked at Yu Manyi in shock.

“…This story has spread in our area, and it’s made me very curious,” Yu Manyi asked calmly. “So, what happened to the Yu family after the fire?”

Her question went straight to the heart of the rickshaw driver.

“Oh, this was the biggest news around here in years! This is the real story that everyone knows. I want to talk about it, but no one is willing to hear it again! It all started with Miss Yu’s in-laws…”

“I’ve heard about everything before that,” Yu Manyi said. “I’m just curious about what happened after the fire.”

“After the fire?” The old man slowed his pace, recalling for a moment, then quickened his steps. “After the fire, the two heads of the Yu family, Old Master Yu was knocked silly, and the third young master was badly burned, his face and throat were ruined, and his legs were also crippled.”

“The second young master and his wife were at a temple with their older brother when they heard about the fire. The two brothers rushed to save them. The front hall of the Yu family mansion was burned down, and Old Master Yu’s insanity and the third young master’s injury were caused by the beam collapsing.”

“The second young master and his older brother decided to take Old Master Yu away to care for him.”

“What about the Yu family’s land?” Yu Manyi asked.

“The Yu family’s land was all forfeited!” The old man said in a matter-of-fact tone. “They took a lot of money from that wealthy man who was engaged to Miss Yu, and as soon as they got the money, they invested it. But then Miss Yu ran away, and the wealthy man lost both his money and his fiancée. Of course, he refused to acknowledge it!”

“He wanted to get an explanation from the Yu family, but with an old man who had lost his mind, a sickly second young master, and a monk who had renounced the world… What could they talk about? In the end, it was the second young master’s wife who decided. She gave the remaining land and house that hadn’t been burned to the wealthy Liu family. Only a little money was left, and she used it to buy a small house and took the insane Old Master Yu to live there.”Yu Manyi curled the corner of her mouth under the scarf, not expecting that the soft-spoken second madam would eventually become the head of the Yu family.

“What happened to the third young master’s wife?” she asked.

“It seems she remarried!” the old man replied. “She wasn’t quite right even before the fire. During the fire, she was with her brother and sister-in-law at the hospital. The third young master was burned beyond recognition and was taken to the same hospital. Someone asked her to visit him, but when she saw him, she went mad! She refused to acknowledge that it was her husband, insisting she was only seventeen and still an unmarried young lady from the Shen family…”

“In the end, she was taken back to her hometown by her brother and sister-in-law, and she may have remarried, but I’m not sure.”

The people who had once been with her every day were now mere stories for the old man after the fire, and this made Yu Manyi feel as if a lifetime had passed. She closed her eyes and rested for a moment in the rickshaw, then remembered another loose end.

“What happened to the third young master?”

They were almost at their destination now, and the town seemed a little more prosperous than before. The old man slowed his pace and said to Yu Manyi:

“He disappeared. His legs were crippled, his face was ruined, and his throat was also destroyed… His wife didn’t recognize him, and his two brothers had many conflicts with him, so they only took Old Master Yu away and ignored him. He survived in the town’s hospital but then vanished. No one has seen him since… and even if someone did, I doubt anyone would recognize him.”

With all the fates revealed, Yu Manyi and Su Wen had reached their destination. It had been a long, insightful journey. She handed the old man some copper coins as a token of thanks for his storytelling.

When she was younger, she had often walked on the wobbly stairs of the Yu family’s crumbling mansion, feeling as though the wooden house was about to collapse. Now, the Yu family had truly collapsed, scattered to nothing.

Yu Manyi didn’t feel guilty at all. She didn’t think the downfall of the Yu family was her fault. The family’s fate had already been sealed. When they were struggling with their finances, it was already too late. After Old Master Yu tried to use Yu Manyi as a bargaining chip to exchange money from Liu Fengyan and gamble again, the Yu family’s collapse accelerated and became even more thorough.

The train would depart in an hour. Yu Manyi and Su Wen found a small restaurant next to the station and had a bowl of egg noodles. While eating, she briefly took off her scarf. When the clock tower outside the station struck, she and Su Wen quickly stood up and headed toward the station.

She had never ridden a train in this town before. It was such a tiny station that you could even see the platform from outside. Yu Manyi curiously looked around. Although she had no intention of returning, she still hoped the town would develop better, so the local people from back then would have a more convenient life.

The steam train let out a long whistle, and Su Wen positioned himself in front of her, guiding her onto the train."Teacher Su, you don’t need to be so nervous about me the whole way," Yu Manyi said.

"If anything happens to you, Song Qi will tell me to look after myself," Su Wen said, not daring to slack off.

The two figures disappeared into the train door one after the other. The station staff routinely checked the platform, then closed the doors one by one. Yu Manyi had just settled into her seat when she suddenly heard a hoarse shouting sound from the platform.

She couldn’t make out what the person was shouting. Just as she was about to look out the window, she heard the station staff shout, "Where did this beggar come from! Why isn’t the main gate guarded properly? Throw him out, throw him out!"

The person continued shouting, the voice muffled and tragic. Su Wen got up and lowered the curtain of the train window, sighing as he said:

"In this countryside, there are always many madmen and fools begging. In the cities, there seems to be someone to manage them, but here, they’re left to fend for themselves."

Yu Manyi nodded, then began to feel a little drowsy. The two of them had taken a boat the previous night, and she hadn’t slept well on the boat.

"This train goes directly to Shanghai," Su Wen said to her. "If you're tired, just sleep. Tomorrow when you wake up, Song Qi promised to come to the station to pick you up."

Yu Manyi crossed her arms, took off her scarf, and covered herself with it.

She didn’t speak to Teacher Su anymore—she was simply too tired. She just vaguely thought to herself that You Hong had been saved, and she had also visited Sister You's grave. This half year had truly drained her emotionally and physically. Once she returned to Shanghai, she would rest and live a peaceful life for a while, and also spend time properly with Song Qi.

The steam train emitted a loud "chug-chug" sound, and Yu Manyi half-leaned against her seat and fell asleep—

This was the third time in her life that she was leaving Shaoxing. Unless something unexpected happened, she probably wouldn’t return.