“Our family closed the doors early yesterday, so the neighbors couldn’t come snooping. But today’s different. The moment we step outside, there’ll probably be plenty of people asking all sorts of questions. If you don’t want to answer, then don’t. Our Bai family isn’t afraid of gossip.”
Early in the morning, the Bai family gathered in the main room, and Father Bai began warning them about what they might encounter that day.
“Especially you, Xiao Lian. You took leave yesterday to handle the divorce. Going back to the steel factory today, you’re bound to face all kinds of rumors and talk. Have you considered transferring to a different job? The steel factory is still a distance from home. Finding work closer to home would be better.”
This was the conclusion Father Bai had reached after thinking all night. The steel factory was an hour away by bus—commuting back and forth every day was truly inconvenient.
But Bai Lian shook her head. She wasn’t the one who had done anything wrong, so she wasn’t afraid of any gossip. Besides, she had to consider the situation of her three unmarried sisters. She planned to stay at home for a transitional period. Once the dust settled, she would apply for a unit at the factory. With her seniority, she was qualified to apply for a one-bedroom place.
Bai Lan looked at her elder sister’s determined expression and silently applauded her.
But when her gaze shifted to her third sister, Bai Ping, Bai Lan couldn’t help but curl her lip. She had already felt that Bai Ping was difficult to get along with. After the divorce, she found Bai Ping downright selfish. And after hearing Bai Ping’s sleep-talking last night, Bai Lan now felt that this sister was not only difficult and selfish—she was fundamentally cold-hearted.
Recalling Bai Ping’s murmurs in the night, Bai Lan’s eyes flickered with disdain. People like that best outcome was not getting what they wanted.
“Alright, everyone go do what you need to do. Xiao Ping, stay behind for a moment.”
Bai Lan was about to head out when she heard Father Bai’s words. She knew he was about to have a talk with Bai Ping. Yesterday had been so chaotic that there had been no time to address Bai Ping tipping off Qin Shengli. Now that he had a moment, knowing Father Bai’s character, he would certainly give Bai Ping a stern scolding.
Watching Bai Ping’s sour expression, Bai Lan felt a wave of satisfaction.
Her elder sister had already divorced, completely derailing Bai Ping’s original intentions. Bai Lan couldn’t wait to see what Bai Ping would do next.
—
“Lanlan…”
The moment Bai Lan stepped out, someone called her name.
“It’s still early. What are you doing here?”
Bai Lan started work earlier than most people. She had figured she wouldn’t run into many neighbors on her way out. She hadn’t expected Qin Yan to be waiting for her at the entrance.
Qin Yan came right over and looped her arm through Bai Lan’s. “It is early, but I came specially to wait for you. Come on, I’ll walk you to work.”
“Yanzi…”
Before Bai Lan could even get emotional, she heard Aunt Qin’s voice from the neighboring house. She looked up and saw Qin Yan’s mother eyeing them with an unnatural expression. Bai Lan realized that Aunt Qin was likely bothered by her elder sister’s divorce.
And Qin Yan’s family was actually related to Qin Shengli. It made sense that they would have some opinions about the Bai family now.
But Qin Yan ignored her mother’s hints completely. She pulled Bai Lan along and started walking out, grumbling as they went.
“My mom’s such an old fossil. She says your sister’s divorce is disgraceful and that it’s ruined the Qin family’s face. Ha! She forgets that I got my job thanks to your father’s connections in the first place.”
Qin Yan had been busy adjusting to her new job the past few days and truly hadn’t expected such a big change in Bai Lan’s family. But she didn’t mind at all. Not only was Sister Bai Lian a good person, but Bai Lan was her good friend, and Bai Lan’s father had helped her land her job. She wasn’t going to hold anything against the Bai family.
“Anyway, if anyone’s to blame, it’s definitely Qin Shengli!”
Bai Lan couldn’t help but laugh at Qin Yan’s conclusion.
When she reached the alley entrance and saw Datou crouching by the wall, her smile grew even wider.
“Hey, Xiao Lan, you’re really not being a good friend. Sister Bai Lian has something this big happen, and you didn’t even give us a heads-up. Hmph, I can tell you only told Brother Bei. You care more about your boyfriend than your friends.”
Even though Datou was happy that his big brother and Bai Lan were together, he still felt a little disappointed that Bai Lan didn’t seem to turn to him and Qin Yan for help anymore.
Bai Lan realized she really hadn’t been keeping in touch with her two old friends these past few days. She quickly admitted her fault. “Alright, alright, I know I was wrong. How about this—I’ll find a time in the next few days, and Jianbei and I will treat you both to a meal?”
“I suppose that’ll do.” Seeing that Bai Lan wasn’t too affected by her sister’s divorce, Datou and Qin Yan exchanged a quiet smile.
With her two good friends lightening the mood, Bai Lan arrived at the textile factory feeling quite relaxed.
—
So when she faced the stares of the aunties and older women in the canteen, Bai Lan was unusually calm.
“Bai Lan, I heard your elder sister got a divorce!”
“Bai Lan, why did your sister get divorced?”
“Bai Lan, your sister was foolish. A woman who’s been married and has two kids tagging along—what kind of good man is she going to find after a divorce? Qin Shengli has such good prospects—he’ll just turn around and marry some young girl and have two big, fat sons without any trouble.”
The first few remarks carried a mix of curiosity and a desire for gossip. But that last one was dripping with blatant malice.
Bai Lan looked at the few older women before her and confirmed that the one who had spoken was none other than Aunt Cai—the very woman she had embarrassed on her first day at work.
She narrowed her eyes at the woman. After that humiliation, Aunt Cai had quieted down. She hadn’t caused any trouble all this time. So she’d been biding her moment, had she?
“Oh, Aunt Cai. How do you know Qin Shengli has such good prospects? Hmm? Have you been keeping an eye on him? My, my. What a pity—even if he does remarry, he’d never look at someone like you!”
Bai Lan deliberately let her gaze sweep over Aunt Cai from head to toe, dripping with contempt.
Humiliated like this, Aunt Cai’s face turned red with rage. Without a second thought, she raised her hand to strike Bai Lan.
But Bai Lan was no fool. Seeing Aunt Cai’s reaction, she had already stepped back several paces, retreating into the kitchen. The kitchen was full of open flames and knives—places where a casual worker like Aunt Cai was not allowed.
Aunt Cai had already been fined once for breaking the rules. This time, she didn’t dare set foot inside. She stood at the doorway hurling abuse at Bai Lan. “I’ll wait and see how you end up! Your sister got hounded into divorce—you think you’ll fare any better?”
Bai Lan busied herself with her work, but her ears caught every word of Aunt Cai’s rant. Picking through the threads, she began to notice something.
—
After finishing her tasks, Bai Lan packed a lunchbox and headed to the neighboring screw factory.
The screw factory was considerably larger than the textile factory. Xu Jianbei was already waiting at the gate. When he saw Bai Lan carrying food, he smiled and took it from her.
“Our canteen had braised pork today. I specially brought a box. And these steamed buns are homemade—made with some of the new high-quality flour, half mixed with cornmeal. They’re really fragrant.”
Seeing her proud expression, Xu Jianbei couldn’t help but smile. “What a coincidence. Our canteen had braised pig head today. I bought a box too.”
Since they had confirmed their relationship, they often had lunch together. Each would get a box of something good from their own factory canteen, then meet up to eat. Double the deliciousness—it was truly satisfying.
While enjoying the food, the two chatted happily about lighthearted things.
After the meal, Bai Lan gave Xu Jianbei a general account of some details from her elder sister’s divorce. After all, he had quietly helped behind the scenes.
“So that Women’s Federation director really came through!” Bai Lan leaned against Xu Jianbei and said softly.
After learning that her sister wanted a divorce, Bai Lan had worried it wouldn’t be easy. Even in modern times, divorce could be next to impossible—sometimes even domestic abuse and knife threats weren’t enough. She didn’t think this era was quite that bad, but her gut told her it wouldn’t be simple.
Sure enough, after her sister briefly mentioned the divorce process, Bai Lan was grateful that Xu Jianbei had put in a word beforehand.
That director who showed up later—she was actually the aunt of Xu Jianbei’s friend, Cao Changsheng. The fact that she was willing to help, despite the roundabout connection, was also due to Bai Lian’s consistent dedication at work, which had earned the director’s respect.
—
“It’s good that it helped. Sister has gotten past this hurdle—she has plenty of good days ahead. But I heard the Qin household was in turmoil all yesterday. That Wang Hao guy showed up at the Qins’ too. Looks like Qin Shengli and Wang Hao still have a lot to sort out.”
Bai Lan chuckled at this. Qin Shengli’s infidelity was his own problem, and Wang Hao had a terrible reputation. It would be perfect if they tore each other apart.
“Hey, let me tell you something…”
Bai Lan recounted her morning confrontation with Aunt Cai. Xu Jianbei naturally knew who Aunt Cai was—she had caused trouble on Bai Lan’s very first day at work. He remembered her well.
“I don’t know why she said what she said at the end, but my gut tells me it’s not simple.”
Xu Jianbei thought for a moment and said, “She’s probably not a good person. You work in the canteen, surrounded by fire and water. It would be wise to be careful.”
Bai Lan understood this logic. She needed to come up with a way to deal with such a malicious person. She couldn’t be on guard every single day—that would be too exhausting.
—
After lunch, Bai Lan returned to the canteen to clean up before clocking out.
But as soon as she arrived, she ran into Aunt Qin—Qin Yan’s biological mother—who was coming in for her shift. She also worked as a casual laborer in the textile factory canteen.
After that awkward encounter in the morning, Bai Lan had assumed the woman would treat her like a ghost. After all, some women truly believed that divorce was somehow contagious or shameful by association.
But to her surprise, Aunt Qin gave her a smile. It was a bit stiff, but a smile nonetheless.
Bai Lan smiled back, of course.
Then Aunt Qin pulled her into a corner. “Bai Lan, be careful of that woman surnamed Cai.”
Bai Lan looked at her in surprise. Aunt Qin didn’t mind. She continued, “I don’t approve of your sister’s divorce—after all, my family is related to the Qins. But that Aunt Cai is no good either.”
Thinking about how Aunt Cai had pulled her aside the moment she arrived for her shift, Aunt Qin felt a headache coming on. Yes, she disapproved of Bai Lian’s divorce, and yes, she was a relative of Qin Shengli. But that didn’t mean she liked the way Aunt Cai schemed behind people’s backs.
Because Aunt Cai assumed Aunt Qin would take the Qin family’s side, she had tried to rope her into a plan against Bai Lan. To win Aunt Qin’s trust, she had even let slip how she had stirred up trouble with Qin Shengli’s mother in the first place.
After hearing that, Aunt Qin had felt a chill run down her spine.
So when she saw Bai Lan return, she didn’t hesitate for a moment to sell Aunt Cai out.
…
Bai Lan never expected that there was an intermediary like Aunt Cai fueling the conflict between her elder sister and her former mother-in-law. This made her very angry and further strengthened her resolve to deal Aunt Cai a proper lesson.
But she actually didn’t know much about Aunt Cai. She only knew that the woman had given birth to several sons, each of whom had produced several sons of their own—a whole string of male heirs. This was Aunt Cai’s greatest source of pride.
Of course, from Bai Lan’s perspective, a house full of “ancestors-to-be” with no formal jobs—only the old couple having stable positions—meant the family was likely dirt poor.
But Bai Lan had observed Aunt Cai and felt that she probably wasn’t very poor at all. So Bai Lan suspected something strange was going on with Aunt Cai.
She decided to act immediately. After work, instead of going straight home, Bai Lan went directly to Aunt Cai’s neighborhood, following the information she had gathered.
Aunt Cai lived in a run-down hutong not far from the department store. The residents of this hutong, it was said, had all been originally from the northern part of the city for three generations.
The moment Bai Lan arrived, she recognized that Wang Hao also lived in this same area. The coincidence was unsettling. But she suppressed her unease and first took a walk around Aunt Cai’s place, asking the neighbors about her family situation.
She confirmed that the family was indeed packed with sons and grandsons, with only the elderly couple holding jobs. Yet a pregnant daughter-in-law in the household was eating brown sugar and eggs at every meal—showing no signs of poverty whatsoever.
From this, Bai Lan determined that the family must have another source of income, one that likely couldn’t see the light of day.
That was good. Bai Lan decided to keep a close watch on Aunt Cai.
—
Just as Bai Lan was about to head home, a familiar young woman stepped out of the hutong. Her expression carried a hint of smugness as she chatted with a woman in her thirties, completely oblivious to Bai Lan’s gaze.
Bai Lan immediately recognized her. Wasn’t this the girl clinging tightly to Qin Shengli in the photograph? This was also the girl Bai Lan had seen outside the state-run restaurant—the one walking with another young woman, following Qin Shengli and Wang Hao’s group.
Well, well…
Bai Lan hadn’t expected to run into this girl just by taking a stroll. If she remembered correctly, the girl’s name was Wang Juan. Only half a year ago, Wang Hao had brought her from the countryside to the city.
According to the information Xu Jianbei had gathered, Wang Hao used to bring this girl around to socialize with workers from the steel factory workshop. Then she seemed to vanish for about two months. Only recently had she reappeared at gatherings with Wang Hao and Qin Shengli.
If there was nothing fishy going on, a dog wouldn’t believe it.
But her elder sister had already divorced. Whatever problems remained, the Qin family would have to bear them now.
Over the next few days, the neighbors continued to gossip about Bai Lian’s divorce. But because the Bai family remained so unbothered, people eventually felt embarrassed to keep prying.
This change was welcome. Even better, Bai Lan’s stakeout on Aunt Cai finally made progress.
—
Early Saturday morning, a flour mill truck arrived to make a delivery. The canteen went through flour quickly, and the flour mill made deliveries every month.
When the flour arrived, it was typically weighed before being stored in the canteen’s small warehouse. The person responsible for this was the head cook, Old Chu.
This wasn’t part of Bai Lan’s duties.
But that day, as the flour was being brought in, Bai Lan happened to be coming out of the restroom and heading back to the kitchen. As luck would have it, she saw Aunt Cai carrying a broom into the small warehouse. It looked like she was going to clean it.
It seemed perfectly normal. But a sudden instinct told Bai Lan otherwise. She quietly followed.
What she saw was alarming.
At the warehouse entrance, a dozen or so bags of flour were stacked up. Inside, bags of rice, cornmeal, and other grains had also been moved to the doorway to make cleaning easier.
But Aunt Cai, who was supposed to be cleaning, was crouched down behind the pile of grain bags. In her hand was an iron awl. She stabbed it into a bulging burlap sack, puncturing a small hole. Then she squeezed the sack hard. A stream of rice began pouring through the hole—straight into the front of Aunt Cai’s shirt.
After that, Aunt Cai used her fingers to smooth the hole closed. The puncture disappeared.
The whole process took less than a minute. Then Aunt Cai did it again, stabbing another sack, and once again, Bai Lan watched rice flow into her shirt.
Watching Aunt Cai’s chest begin to bulge, Bai Lan was absolutely dumbfounded.
The woman was a genius—hiding stolen goods there of all places.
—
Having witnessed Aunt Cai stealing red-handed, Bai Lan didn’t waste any time. She immediately went to fetch others to come and “appreciate” the scene.
As for how many times Aunt Cai had stolen, how much total, and where she had sold it—Bai Lan didn’t care. She just had to seize this opportunity to get the woman kicked out.
Soon, Bai Lan led several older women who had grudges against Aunt Cai straight to the scene of the crime.
What followed was a glorious spectacle.
Those women were incredibly fierce. They grabbed Aunt Cai’s stealing hands right away. One pinned her down, another went to call Master Chu. The commotion spread—not just through the canteen, but even the security patrol heard about it.
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