When Liu'er began her studies in the middle school, You Tao married Wang Hongjun. Shen Huanzhi and Shen Hui sent their blessings and wedding gifts, but the bridge rejected them. However, Nanny You firmly accepted the gifts and made it clear that she had no intention of living with his son's new family. Instead, she would continue to live with the Shen family. Her reason was that ever since she had accompanied her mistress, Shen Hui's mother, when she married into the Shen family, and even after marrying Shen Huanzhi's servant, You Tao's father, she had never considered leaving this home. She had grown used to living there. This made the bride bother excited and annoyed. She was excited because she could now enjoy a quiet life with You Tao, free from a mother-in-law's interference. But she was also annoyed that Nanny You would remain in the Shen family, which meant You Tao would inevitably stay in contact with Shen Hui. It was obvious that You Tao still had feelings for her. This wasn't what Wang Hongjun want to face. Moreover, Nanny You remaining in the Shen family might also affect her and You Tao's political future. Even though the Shen family had handed over the property to the state and vacated part of the house to make room for other families, there was still bound to be people gossiping.
Xue'er had also began school. Although the teachers were surprised by her unusual appearance, they treated her with kindness. Whenever other students behaved unkindly toward her, the teachers would scold them and offer her comfort. However, it wasn't long before her background became common knowledge at school, her father was an American. Soon, the hallways echoed with slurs like "little bastard", "little Yankee imperialist" and "little reactionary". Even after learning about this, the teachers didn't treat her any differently. On the contrary, they sternly reprimanded the students who had attacked her personally. Liu'er, as usual, did everything she could do to support and protect her, walking her to and from school every day, trying her best to shield her from further harm.
But Xue'er had already begun to sense the hostility from her classmates. Even before attending school, she had vaguely felt it from her mother, her grandfather, Grandma You and Liu'er responded to the outside word with silence and overprotectiveness. They kept her at home, making her recite ancient poems and memorize traditional Chinese medical formulas without any explanation.
She had already sensed that her appearance might provoke taunts or even violence from other children. But it wasn't until she actually went to school that she fully realized how differently people would react to the way she looked. She began to press her mother with questions:
"Why is my father an American?"
"Where is my father?"
" Why don't I live with both parents like the the other kids do?"
"Why do I have never seen my father?"
Shen Hui didn't know how to explain anything to her daugher. All she could do was offer constant comfort, but there was little else she could say or do. But at night she just held her sleeping daugher in her arms and silently wiped away her tears. Sometimes Xue'er, pretending to be asleep, could feel Shen Hui's sorrow and the quiet tears fall. But she didn't understand her mother. Before long, she stopped asking her mother any questions. Instead, first, she began to lower her head to avoid to meet with others' eyes when she was outside. Second, she decided to handle the bullying in her own way ---- fighting violence with violence, echoing Chairman Mao's words "I seek no trouble, but if trouble seeks me, I will answer with force." Although she often ended up bruised and beaten, her approach seemed to be working. Third, to avoid getting hurt too badly, she began to running every morning, embracing the rule: if I can't win the fight, I will outrun it. By the time she reached second grade, she had already won first place in both 400meter and 800meter races at the school's sport day.
Shen Hui noticed these changes. Sometimes she was called into the school because of Xue'er's fighting but she had no idea how to deal with this situation. When pushed to her emotional limit, she would lash out ---- beating Xue'er harshly out of frustration ---- only to wipe away her own tears in secret afterward. And yet, she felt a little relieved when she noticed how Xue'er had started defending herself in her own way. Meanwhile, she couldn't ignore the growing distance between them. Xue'er seemed to prefer to spread more time with Nanny You and Liu'er, rather than her own mother.
The same year Xue'er began school, the Anti-Rightist Movement was launched nationwide. This political campaign was triggered by the preceding period of "Let a hundred flowers bloom, let a hundred schools of thought contend", during which the Communist Party and the government openly encouraged non-Party individuals to freely voice their opinions and offer constructive criticism to help the Party rectify its work. Encouraged by the Communist Party's apparent willingness to engage in self-criticism, many non-Party individuals and intellectuals began to express a wide range of opinions and ideas. Some of their comments were sharp, intense and highly critical. Some even suggested that the Communist Party and the democratic parties should take turns holding power, a notion that far exceeded the Party's tolerance. At the same time, the Soviet Union's denunciation of Stalin by its leadership sparked fear and suspicion among Chinese Communist leaders, who began to worry about a possible political restoration or counter-revolution. Thus, in 1957, an open conspiracy theory emerged: Only by letting the monsters and demons out of their cages can they be wiped out. Only by allowing the poisonous weeds to sprout can they be uprooted. Although the government and the Community Party continued to encourage non-Party individuals and the general public to voice their opinions, many media leaders came under harsh criticism. By October, the classification of so-called "Rightists" had begun, and the Anti-Rightist Campaign was launched on a massive and unforgiving scale. Being one of the more educated individuals in the town, Shen Huanzhi was invited to attend various meetings organized by the government. Although he participated a few times, he wisely chose to remain silent or offer only vague and noncommittal comments. Later, he excused himself by claimed illness and stopped attending such meeting altogether. So when the Anti-Rightist Movement began, although his name was mentioned, he fortunately avoided persecution due to the absence of any concrete statements on record. Even so, this left Shen Huanzhi and Shen Hui feeling anxious and uneasy, spending the entire year in state of fear and uncertainty.
When Liu'er began her studies in middle school, a nationwide campaign known as "surpass Britain and Catch Up with America" was launched through a massive steel production movement. The Shen family participated enthusiastically. Once the backyard furnace was built, Shen Huanzhi and Shen hui eagerly donated all the iron items in their home, including the tools Shen Huanzhi regularly used to prepare traditional herbal medicine. It was only thanks to Nanny You's tireless efforts that the family managed to save a single iron pot. Her reasoning was simple: even with the communal canteen, there would still be times when they would want to cook something themselves, at least one pot being kept in the family. No one dared to argue with her, and so the pot was spared and remained safely hidden under her bed. From time to time, she would take it out to cook little treats for the whole family.
Shen Huanzhi threw himself enthusiastically into the Great Steelmaking Campaign. Every morning he would rush to the backyard furnace site, running back and forth and working tirelessly until midnight. Shen Hui also took part in this campaign actively but she was deeply worried about her father's health due to his strenuous labor. After several failed attempts to persuade him to take it easy, she could only attend to him with great care and asked Nanny You to do her best to find ingredients to make some nutritious snacks for her father and the two growing children. Shen Hui also insisted that Nanny You eat some of the food herself as well. Nanny You knew that Shen Hui was thinking of her, but since supplies were limited, she only ate a little portion just to ease Shen Hui's mind.
However, Shen Hui soon found herself in serious trouble at the hospital. During the Anti-Rightist Campaign, suspicions about her continued to surface ---- mainly focused on her marriage and her green-eyed child. Although Secretary Liang repeatedly defended her, reminding others that Shen Hui had once taken part in the student protests and had been severely injured, nearly sacrificing her life for the cause before Liberation, her marriage still raised eyebrows. And Secretary Liang even kindly suggested that Shen Hui had been coerced into marring that American imperialist under duress. Although Shen Hui didn't agreed with that version of events, she understood Secretary Liang's good intentions and chose not to object to her. She accepted the explanation without a single word. However, rumors began to circulate, and her marriage quickly became the subject of constant gossip within the hospital. She was eventually asked to provide a written explanation. With no better option, Shen Hui reluctantly repeated Secretary Liang's version of the story. It helped deflect attention from both herself and Xue'er, and kept Secretary Liang from political embarrassment. Even so, the public suspicion continued to grow. In the end, Secretary Liang had no choice but to transfer Shen Hui out of the dispensary and assign her to a less sensitive position. However, something strange soon began to happen: more and more people started seeking her out in secret or asking her to be connected to her father for the medical treatment. At first, Shen Hui was unsure whether it was appropriate for them to treat these patients so she went to ask Secretary Liang for advice. Secretary Liang responded:
"As long as you're healing the sick and saving lives, there is nothing wrong with that. Your father is the best traditional doctor in our town. And although you officially worked in the dispensary but everyone knows that you're also highly skilled in traditional Chinese medicine. Many people trust you and would rather come to you for treatment, especially the women. Don't overthink it. If you can help, then help. Just do your best."
One day, Shen Huanzhi was busy at the backyard furnace as usual. Suddenly he noticed a group of children seemingly roughhousing nearby. Looking more closer, he was shocked to see that it was his granddaughter being chased by several older kids. Some of the boys had even begun hitting her and getting physical. Anxious and alarmed, he grabbed a shovel and rushed toward them, shouting:
"Get away! Get away! How can you bully her like that?"
Suddenly, a sharp pain seized his chest. His legs gave out and he collapsed to the ground. The people nearby quickly rushed him to the hospital. As soon as she got to the hospital, she rushed herself to the dispensary, knowing her mother worked there. But Shen Hui was nowhere to be found. The other staff in the dispensary saw the green-eyed girl and immediately recognized whose daughter she was. One of them said:
"Try checking the restrooms one by one. She might be in one of them."
Hearing this, Xue'er was momentarily stunned but she still began running from floor to floor, looking for her mother. Meanwhile, she couldn't help but notice the big-character posters covering the wall on every floor as she made her way through the hallways. Many of them bore the name "Shen Hui". Her steps began to slow as unease crept over her. Finally in the inpatient ward, she saw her mother ---- wearing a face mask and dressed in work overalls ---- cleaning a restroom. Xue'er simply stood there, staring blankly at her mother's figures, her eyes filled with disbelief and a hint of resentment. She hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to go forward. But in the end, she made up her mind and turned away, quickly leaving.
By the time Shen Hui received the news and rushed to the emergency room, her father's body was already covered by a white cloth. Not only Nanny You, Liu'er and Xue'er around her father but even You Tao had arrived. Only she, his daughter who worked in the hospital, had been the last to hear this news and had missed the chance to see her father one final time. Shen Hui was stunned by the sudden, devastating blow. In disbelief, she walked slowly to the bedside and gently lifted the edge of the white cloth, gazing at her father's pale face. At last, overwhelmed and unable to bear it, she collapsed to the ground in a faint.