The reason that Wang Hongjun was willing to humble herself seek out Shen Hui was entirely because of Shen Hui's status as a rightist. In the early stages of the Anti-Rightist Campaign, Shen Hui's issue still allowed her to keep her hospital job ----- albeit only a menial cleaning role, and it was handled internally within the hospital, thanks to the help of Secretary Liang. But by the later year of 1958, just two months after Shen Huanzhi passed away, large numbers of rightists began to be dismissed from their official position, arrested and sent to do manual labor as political punishment. Shen Hui was no exception. She was first stripped of her public position, then forced to attend daily struggle sessions, write self-criticisms, parade through the streets wearing a dunce cap and tattered shoes. Wang Hongjun, who was in charge of the rightist affairs, did intend to send her to do manual labor. But You Tao firmly opposed it, even threatening divorce to stop her. Nanny You was resolutely against it as well. She even struck right at Wang Hongjun's sore spot with thinly veiled sarcasm, mockingly calling her as a hen that couldn't lay eggs, blaming her for delaying her chance to have grandchildren. Even You Tao also mentioned this but he said:
"Hui mei is skilled in traditional Chinese medicine, especially in gynecology. If you don't want to listen to what Mom says, then you shouldn't have her arrest and send her away. Let her take a proper examine you to find out what is wrong with you. I have already been to the hospital and there is nothing seriously wrong. I suggested you go to the hospital, but you refused. So let Hui mei examine you secretly."
Although Shen Hui was utterly exhausted and in low spirits, out of respect for Nanny You and You Tao, she gathered herself together and warmly hosted You Tao and his wife. After privately conducting a thorough examination of Wang Hongjun, she said:
"Sister-in-law, your infertility is caused by kidney deficiency combined with liver Qi stagnation. It's not a serious problem. I'll prescribe you a course of medicine first and then complement it with acupuncture." then she turned to You Tao and continued, "Tao ge, you can perform acupuncture on these points for your wife."
Just as she was about to write down the prescription and acupuncture points, You Tao laughed and said:
"Hui mei, just keep being a good person to the end. I don't have held the needles for many years. I'm afraid that my hands might be unsteady."
Wang Hongjun, licking her lips, pleaded:
"Shen Hui, please do the acupuncture for me. I don't trust him."
Nanny You interrupted:
"Hui, whether I get to hold a grandchild depends on you."
Shen Hui smiled and agreed. From then on, She devoted herself wholeheartedly to treating Wang Hongjun. Seeing Shen Hui's forgiveness and care without holding holding grudges, Wang Hongjun couldn't help but feel a bit touched so she said:
"Shen Hui, as for your situation, what I can do to help you is to make sure you won't be arrested if possible. Secretary Liang from your hospital has also spoken highly of you as well. We'll take it into consideration, after all, she is an old revolutionary. But you have to think about Xue'er's situation."
Shen Hui and Nanny You looked at Wang Hongjun in confusion while You Tao turned to her and said:
" Your meaning is..."
Wang Hongjun continued:
"Xue'er has already suffered discrimination and bullying because of her appearance. Now, with your rightist status, her situation could get even worse. What I mean is ---- don't let your problem drag her down any further. Let her sever ties with you. "
Upon hearing this, Shen Hui's tears began to fall silently. Nanny You still didn't understand and asked:
"Sever what ties? What kind of ties could they possibly have to sever?"
Shen Hui wiped her tears and said:
"Does... you mean... you want me to break off the mother-daughter relationship?"
Wang Hongjun looked at Shen Hui firmly and replied:
"No, let Xue'er to come forward herself and publicly declare that she's cutting ties with you. That way, she will win public sympathy and distance herself from your political stigma."
"No, I won't do that!" A voice suddenly rant out. Xue'er had arrived. She rushed forward, knelt down and threw herself into her mother's arms. She said:
"Mom, forgive me! It's all because I was immature before. It was just like that not long ago. Sister Liu'er had told to me. Actually I had already been very conflicted, but after hearing her words, I stopped struggling. You're my mother who you are in my heart no matter what others say. I will never leave you again."
With that, she clung tightly to Shen Hui and burst into tears. Shen Hui hugged her daughter tightly, tears streaming silently down her face.
After a month later, Xue'er was forced to tearfully declare at a public struggle session that she was severing her mother-daughter relationship with Shen Hui. Her emotional performance immediately won over the crowd's applause and sympathy. She was praised as an "Politically aware child" and successfully retained her school enrolment. Seizing this opportunity, Nanny You officially adopted Xue'er as her own granddaughter and transferred Xue'er household registration to her own account. But at night when everything was silent, Xue'er clung to Shen Hui and repeatedly whispered:
"Mom, in my heart you will always be my mother. I will never leave you. Do you understand?"
Shen Hui nodded silently with tears and held her daughter tightly.
Since the Shen family had devoted their only house to the state, under Nanny You's insistence, You Tao used his authority to allocate two rooms to Nanny You and Liu'er. Due to Shen Hui 's status as a rightist, she and her daughter were given only the former kitchen. After the official severing of ties, Xue'er moved into Liu'er's room. The remaining rooms were distributed among three other families. What had once been a peaceful and tidy courtyard was suddenly turned into a noisy and filthy communal compound. Even Shen Huanzhi's small herb garden was bulldozed flat and a new house was built on top of it, now occupied by a family of three.
As for Wang Hongjun, under Shen Hui's skilled treatment, she became pregnant shortly after the Chinese New Year of 1959. However, because her signs of pregnancy weren't good, she needed frequent treatments, which made her increasing dependent on Shen Hui.
However, by 1959, the year plunged the Chinese people into a catastrophic life. Most provinces and cities in northern China were struck by severe drought. During the spring and summer seasons, precipitation dropped by 30% to more than 50% compared to the multi-year average. In many areas, there was no significant rainfall for more than 40 consecutive days. Winter wheat was severely damaged and summer crops couldn't be planted. The wells dried up and farmland suffered total crop failure. In some regions, the phenomenon of "dry hot winds" even appeared. In certain places, people had to walk over a hundred meters just to queue at public water taps to fetch water. These natural disasters made the difficult lives of ordinary people even more unbearable.
However, what made life even more unbearable for the people was the chain reaction caused by man-made disasters. In 1958, the blind pursuit of steel production and agricultural high yields led local governments to engage in widespread exaggeration and falsification of output data. As a result, large amounts of grain were requisitioned from farmers, leaving them with barely any rice to cook. Meanwhile, th Great Steel Campaign swept across the country, which conscripted countless farmers being mobilized to cut down trees and produce steel, which caused farmland to be neglected and farming seasons to be missed. On top of this, the implementation of the communal canteen systems stripped farmers of their motivation to produce grain. The small-scale private farming and animal husbandry that used to sustain their basic livelihood were all abolished, replaced by centralized food distribution. Moreover, due to low government efficiency and chaotic management, ordinary people often went hungry for years, their lives worsening even further.
Every morning, the families in the courtyard began their day by fetching water from the well that was about to run dry. The water, yellowish in colour, was completely undrinkable, suitable only for washing. The drinking water had to be carried from a timed public tap located over a hundred meters away. In the Shen family, Shen Hui and Liu'er would go to fetch the drinking water while Xue'er fetched the water from the well. Nanny You went to the street canteen to collect the family's rationed meals. As for the food, each person received a bowl of watery porridge so thin one could see the bottom of the bowl or cornmeal porridge so thin it was barely thicker than water, along with a small steamed bun made from wild vegetables and coarse grain and a tiny portion of pickled vegetables. This was the typical fare for all three daily meals. Once in a while, a pitiful small amount minced meat in vegetable soup was already considered a rare luxury. Seeing the children grow emaciated, their faces pale and dull, their eyes vacant and lifeless, Nanny You couldn't help but feel a deep ache in her heart. In addition to frequently asking You Tao to secretly procure some grain, she often went to the countryside with a few elderly women from the neighbourhood to dig up wild vegetables and gather tree roots. At night, she secretly used the small clay stove, which originally intended for boiling medicine, to cook simple meals from these finds for the children. Although she herself was so hungry that she felt weak all over and her gums oozed pus, she couldn't bring herself to eat any of it. Instead, she quietly brought a portion to Shen Hui. Sometimes she took Liu'er and Xue'er with her to the countryside. As she and others dug for the wild vegetable and tree roots, Xue'er wandered nearby, gathering some wild herbs she recognized. These were made into vegetable soup by Nanny You in the hopes of easing the discomfort and illness caused by long-term hunger.
Since Shen Hui and Xue'er publicly severed their mother-daughter relationship, Shen Hui no longer had any official contact with Nanny You and the two children. However, privately, they had never cut off ties. Nanny You always left some food for Shen Hui secretly. At the silent night Xue'er would cling affectionately to Shen Hui's arms and act spoiled in her room. Sometimes Liu'er would also come by to chat with her. Although Wang Hongjun no longer mentioned to have her arrested, Shen Hui still endured harsh political repression. Under the political environment, Wang Hongjun had no choice but cut Shen Hui's food ration off in half, assign her heavy labour every day, force her to attend endless struggle sessions and write countless self-criticisms. Such torment drove Shen Hui to the brink of giving up on life several times, ending it all once and for all. But seeing Xue'er gently comforting her with tender words, feeling Liu'er clinging to her and saying, "Aunt Hui, you're a good person and I will always be your daughter too." and experiencing Nanny You's care, Shen Hui felt the warmth and love from the family, which ultimately made her abandon the thought of suicide.
What was even more surprising was that every night, someone would quietly knock on Shen Hui's door seeking medical help. As the disaster worsened and life became increasingly difficult, more and more people came for treatment. However, some illnesses were beyond Shen Hui's ability to cure, as they were caused by hunger and the nutritional deficiency. Touched by Shen Hui's dedicated care, some patients would leave her small gifts, such as vegetables, one or two eggs or a steamed bun etc, which she always shared with Nanny You and the children. Later, Shen Hui learned that many of these people were also labelled rightists like herself, with no access to medicine and refused treatment at hospitals. That was why they secretly came to her, hoping to get some traditional Chinese medicine which might offer some relief.
The Chinese people endured such a life for three years. Refugees and disaster victims could be seen everywhere and there were even numerous cases of people starving to death. To address this economically detrimental issue which also posed a threat to political stability, the slow-reacting Chinese government also took a series of measures to remedy the mistakes in political decision-making. They began importing grain from countries like Canada and Australia to make up for the food shortages. In towns and cities, rationing systems were introduced, including grain coupons, cloth coupons and oild coupons etc. In the countryside, the disrupted rural labor system was gradually restored and the previously restricted private farming and livestock raising were cautiously reopened under strict government controls. The family's kitchens were reinstated as the shortcomings of the communal canteen system became increasing evident and they were gradually phased out. It was not until 1962 that the grain shortage was initially alleviated to some extent.