Early in the morning, the quiet steel factory was rocked by a piece of news.
“Did you hear? Bai Lian from the Women’s Federation office is divorcing Qin Shengli from the sales department!”
“Divorce?”
“Good heavens!”
As everyone buzzed with discussion, Bai Lian and Qin Shengli were already inside the Women’s Federation office. Each had brought their own father. One look at the lineup made it clear that this was a serious matter.
The deputy director of the Women’s Federation, who was attempting to mediate between them, had a terrible headache.
“Comrade Bai Lian, you are yourself an official of the Women’s Federation. If you go through with this divorce, how can you continue to set an example for others here?”
Meanwhile, Qin Shengli’s direct supervisor, the head of the sales department, was staring at Qin Shengli with equal severity. “A man is supposed to take responsibility. How could you, after Comrade Bai Lian has borne you two children, be the one pushing for divorce?”
If Bai Lan had witnessed this scene, she would have found it utterly exhausting. But in truth, divorce in this era was no easier than in later generations. The obstacles came not only from family and societal norms but also from one’s workplace.
“When there are conflicts, mediate properly. If mediation fails, mediate again. Once, twice, three times—eventually, you’ll resolve them.”
The deputy director continued to trot out the same tired script. But Bai Lian, who worked at the Women’s Federation herself, was naturally familiar with these so-called “principles.”
She cut off the deputy director’s lengthy speech. “The two of us have already discussed it. We entered this marriage voluntarily, and now we are voluntarily choosing to divorce. The state has said that marriage is free. That freedom includes not only the freedom to marry but also the freedom to divorce. So, thank you for your concern, but the decision has been made, and we will not change it.”
The deputy director had not expected Bai Lian to be so resolute. Her face instantly fell.
Qin Shengli, who had presumably done some mental preparation the night before, looked haggard with dark stubble, but still managed to follow along. “That’s right. We’ve agreed on everything—the children, the assets. We’ve come to the workplace simply to get the letter of introduction. Then we’ll go get the divorce certificate.”
Both were determined to divorce. The deputy director had no way to stop them but didn’t want to issue the letter of introduction either. She thought she might just drag things out—maybe after a few days, they would change their minds.
But just then, the director of the Women’s Federation appeared.
“If they want to divorce, let them divorce. The state has said marriage is free.”
The deputy director was startled by the director’s sudden appearance. “Director, this…”
The director waved her hand. “Don’t be long-winded. Just give them the letter of introduction.”
—
With the letter of introduction in hand, the divorce certificate was quickly finalized.
It was agreed that both children would belong to Bai Lian.
The housing was state-owned, so there was no need to divide it.
As for the money and ration tickets, they had already been split in front of their unit leaders. In the end, Qin Shengli took only a quarter of the couple’s savings. Bai Lian didn’t refuse this—she would keep that money for her two daughters. Additionally, Qin Shengli would give one-third of his monthly wages for the daughters’ child support.
Bai Lian was more than satisfied with this outcome. Before leaving, she said one last thing to Qin Shengli: “Be careful of the bad company you keep. People like that won’t do things unless there’s something in it for them.”
This was the only advice Bai Lian could offer him. After all, he was still the father of her two daughters. She didn’t want to see him get completely taken advantage of.
What could Qin Shengli say? His heart was full of regret, but there was no turning back. He gritted his teeth and nodded. “Just take good care of our daughters. I’ll come see them when I can.”
It sounded like a responsible father. Bai Lian sighed inwardly. Spilled water cannot be gathered up. There was no point in dwelling on it.
They parted ways at the factory gate and each went home.
—
When Bai Lan saw her elder sister Bai Lian again, she noticed a kind of relieved lightness about her. She didn’t ask for the details of the divorce. She only asked whether her sister was about to go to the Qin house to collect her things.
Bai Lian nodded. This trip was to bring back everything belonging to her and her two daughters.
Father Bai spoke up, saying he had asked someone to arrange a truck. It would arrive at the courtyard soon. They would take the truck directly to the steel factory.
Speak of the devil. Just then, the sound of a large truck’s brakes came from the entrance of the alley.
A thought struck Bai Lan. She looked toward Liu Meiling, who was coming out of the western wing. The person arriving was most likely Xu Jiannan. He had good connections with the transportation company and could drive a large truck himself.
Xu Jiannan’s arrival was so timely—it seemed that he and his wife already knew about Bai Lian’s divorce.
Still, neither of them said anything. Once the truck arrived, Father Bai and Mother Bai took Bai Lian and Bai Li aboard. Bai Lan wanted to go, but there were still two young children at home to look after.
“Hey, Bai Lan. What’s going on with your family? The whole household mobilizes, and you even have Jiannan driving the truck!”
No sooner had the truck left than Widow Hu came bustling into the courtyard, shouting at the top of her lungs. Earlier, people in the courtyard had seen Father Bai bring Bai Lian back. Now, several Bais had left in a flurry. Everyone knew something had happened.
Bai Lan didn’t answer their questions. She felt that her elder sister should be the one to speak for herself.
And so the courtyard grew lively. Everyone was guessing what had happened to the Bai family.
Liu Meiling, as Xu Jiannan’s wife, was also asked a few questions. But she just shook her head and said she didn’t know. Regardless, Bai Lan was Xu Jianbei’s girlfriend—she had to side with family.
Bai Lan had no idea what Liu Meiling was thinking. She simply took her two nieces, closed the door behind them, and stayed inside reading picture books while waiting.
—
The wait lasted half a day.
When people saw the Bai family carrying large bundles and bags down from the truck, someone immediately went to question Mother Bai.
Before Mother Bai could answer, Bai Lian said plainly, “I divorced Qin Shengli. I’m moving back to the courtyard now. I’ll have to trouble everyone to look out for me from now on.”
With those words, Bai Lian continued moving her belongings, completely unfazed by the buzzing, intense chatter erupting in the courtyard.
That chatter soon spread from the courtyard to the entire Apricot Blossom Alley. From Apricot Blossom Alley, it spread to the surrounding neighborhoods. At this rate, within a few days, it seemed likely that everyone in Tianjin would know that the eldest daughter of the Bai family, from the courtyard at No. 3 Apricot Blossom Alley, was divorced.
For now, the storm outside hadn’t yet reached the small Bai household.
Once everything was moved in, the family began organizing their things. The small door of their home kept all the wind and rain outside.
“Sigh. I’m probably going to get you laughed at for quite a while.”
Facing her elder sister’s apologetic face, Bai Lan waved her hand just as she had before. “Other people’s mouths are on their own faces. We’re not ten-yuan bills—we can’t expect everyone to like us.”
That made Bai Lian laugh. But at the same time, she worried about her third sister’s reaction.
Today, Bai Ping was the only family member who hadn’t taken leave from work. It wasn’t her obligation, but it still made Bai Lian uneasy. She had a feeling that her third sister almost resented her. She was already thinking of staying at home for a transitional period and then moving out as soon as she found a suitable place.
Bai Lan didn’t know her elder sister’s concerns. She was just glad to see a relaxed smile on Bai Lian’s face.
That happiness lasted until bedtime.
—
That night, Bai Lan had a dream for the first time in a while.
In the dream, she was sitting at her office desk, eating takeout and scrolling through the XiaoJinShu app on her phone. The scene was incredibly familiar—it was her usual lunch break routine.
She leaned closer to the phone and saw that a short drama was playing on the screen.
The title was Seventy’s Pet Romance: The Sweet and Wealthy Life of a Young Couple. At the sight of that tacky, cringey title, Bai Lan jolted awake within the dream, her eyes flying wide open.
On the small phone screen, Bai Lian, now in her forties, lay in a hospital bed covered in tubes. She was struggling to hold Bai Lan’s hand and said, “I regret it, I regret it. I shouldn’t have endured, shouldn’t have…”
Accompanying these words was a flashback of Bai Lian’s mediocre, wasted life.
In the flashback, Bai Lian didn’t divorce Qin Shengli after discovering his infidelity. She was afraid of the shame of divorce, afraid her daughters would grow up without a father, afraid her parents would lose face, afraid her sisters would be mocked. She endured, and endured, and endured. She endured until her daughters grew up and married. She endured until she was over forty. She endured until her chest hurt so much that she went to the doctor and was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer. After a painful period of treatment, she died.
To anyone looking at such a life, it was nothing but a tragic mess.
Bai Lan was so furious that she sat straight up in bed. She looked around—thank goodness it was just a dream. But the dream felt incredibly real, so real that Bai Lan suspected this was exactly the tragic fate of Bai Lian in the original short drama.
Thank goodness, thank goodness her elder sister had divorced now. The divorce meant the future had changed.
Just then, a rustling came from the bed across the room.
Bai Lan didn’t want to pay attention. But after a few seconds, she heard Bai Ping talking in her sleep.
She pricked up her ears and listened carefully. The more she heard, the wider her eyes grew…
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