Chapter 21: Special Social Gathering

Chapter 21: Special Matchmaking

"Sun Fengxian, what are you so proud of? Still think you're Little Fengxian of Yingchun House? We're all the same kind of women here, what makes you so high and mighty?" Lianhua pointed at Sun Fengxian and cursed loudly.

"Sis Lianhua, stop it. If the teacher comes over, we'll all be punished," Wu Cuihua said, yanking on Lianhua's arm.

"Dumb girl, who am I doing this for? Sun Fengxian was just looking down on you, you know that? So the chair we sat on is dirty now? You gotta wipe it with your handkerchief? Who are you trying to gross out? Pfft, who here hasn't opened their legs for cash? Haven't you?" Lianhua shook off Wu Cuihua's hand and demanded furiously.

Sun Fengxian's face flushed red with anger. "You... you're so crude!"

"I'm vulgar? So have you sold yourself or not? Or do you spread your legs for free? Think spouting a few fancy poems makes you high-class? A whore is a whore. Haven't you noticed those maids and concubines all married soldiers? You're so high and mighty, yet here you are in thought reform just like us. And the rest of you—looking down on us from your fancy brothels—we're all whores, so cut the act." Lianhua had been sick of these courtesan girls for a long time.

Ye Ruxue, who was holding Sun Fengxian's arm, shot Lianhua a displeased look. "Lianhua, Fengxian didn't mean it. She's been a clean freak since she was a kid. No matter where she is, she wipes the seat before she sits. She wasn't singling you out. You said it yourself—we're all women that people look down on. We should stick together, not tear each other apart."

"Pfft, everyone here survives by reading people. Whether Sun Fengxian was looking down on us, I saw it with my own two eyes. You're on her side, so of course you'd take her side. This ain't the first or second time. Think we're dirty? Come on, let's go ask people outside if we're all the same kind of dirty!" Lianhua grabbed Sun Fengxian and tried to drag her outside.

Ye Ruxue and the other courtesan girls stepped up without hesitation and shoved Lianhua. Someone shoved her to the ground, and another stomped on her foot.

Was Lianhua gonna take that? Hell no.

She jumped up, grabbed the girl who stomped on her, and slapped her. "You dare kick me? I've put up with everything in my life, but I never take a loss lying down."

"You dare hit Ruyun? I'll fight you!" Ruyue lunged at her.

"Lianhua, we got your back!" Lanhua charged in and started yanking Ruyue's hair.

In an instant, the girls from the fancy brothels and the cheap houses were brawling in a mess.

When Lin Zhijin and the others arrived with Sister Li, the girls were still going at it, no longer telling friend from foe.

"Stop!" Sister Li stepped in to break it up, but the girls were too riled up to hear anything.

The director of the reform center rushed over, grabbed a bamboo cane, and whacked it a few times. The girls finally stopped and separated.

"Quite something, aren't you? Been here over a month and learned how to fight." Director Zheng's face darkened.

Only then did the girls start to get scared, lining up one by one, heads drooping like scared quails.

Lin Zhijin glanced at them. They'd held back a bit—no scratches on the face—but their necks and arms were scraped raw in spots, and their hair was a tangled mess like bird nests. They looked a total mess, nothing like the charming beauties they usually were.

"Alright, tell me—why were you fighting?" Director Zheng asked coldly.

"Director, Sun Fengxian looks down on people. We were all women of the night before, but she always acts like she's better than us. When Cuihua sat on a chair, she deliberately wiped it with her handkerchief over and over, like we're filthy. Director, Sun Fengxian has a bad attitude and needs serious re-education." Lianhua glared at Sun Fengxian and the others, speaking angrily.

Director Zheng looked at Sun Fengxian. "You got anything to say?"

"Director, I wasn't looking down on them. It's just a habit. Wherever I go, I wipe the seat before I sit." Sun Fengxian felt wronged.

She was beautiful, groomed to be the next top courtesan of Yingchun House, raised with care and inevitably a bit picky. But she really hadn't meant to insult Wu Cuihua and the others.

"Since you love being clean so much, you can go clean the latrines." Director Zheng then looked at the gloating Lianhua. "You—starting trouble. Seems you got plenty of energy. Run ten klicks. And the rest of you, looking quite spirited too—five klicks."

Watching them run off, Lin Zhijin elbowed Li Yue. "Looks like there's nothing for us to do?"

Why had they been called all the way here? Just to watch Director Zheng lecture people with authority?

"Sister Li, you've seen it too. Keeping these people here long-term isn't working. The reason they fought today is mainly pent-up resentment." Director Zheng's meaning was clear—these women needed to be arranged for, and it couldn't go on like this.

Sister Li nodded. "I understand. I'll report this to our director and call a meeting to come up with a solution as soon as possible."

In fact, Nancheng was among the last cities to be liberated. Beijing had been liberated back in '49. Every place had brothel women, and there were precedents to follow. But Nancheng's women's liberation had moved quickly, and some preparatory work hadn't been done properly, which was why things had dragged on.

"Fighting, huh?" Director Zhang smiled and looked at Lin Zhijin and Li Yue. "Do you have any ideas for settling them?"

Li Yue opened her mouth to speak but was stopped by a look from Director Zhang, so she closed it. She knew Director Zhang wanted to test Lin Zhijin.

"First, conduct assessments. Those with exceptional talents can go to the cultural troupe for performances. The hardworking ones can be assigned jobs. Those with insufficient ideological awareness need further education. Then assign them based on their situations?" Lin Zhijin shared her thoughts.

She didn't know how other cities handled it, but she remembered that in Beijing, some had been assigned to military cultural troupes.

Director Zhang nodded. "Not bad. Go with Li Yue to do the registration."

Lin Zhijin followed Li Yue out of the office and whispered, "Register what? Talents and personal preferences?"

"No—whether they want to get married." Seeing Lin Zhijin's stunned expression, Li Yue sighed. "Our country has been at war for years and lost too many people. We're desperately in need of population now. There are always men who can't find wives wanting a wife, kids, and a warm bed. If any woman is willing to marry, the government will give a subsidy, plus a homestead and farmland."

That was a good policy. But many villages had been wiped out. The government reclaimed their land and redistributed it to new settlers to slowly revive the areas—otherwise they'd truly become ghost villages.

There were fifty-seven women in total, and fourteen said they didn't want to marry. Some were too old; others had been drugged and could never bear children. Rather than become stepmothers, they'd rather save up money and support each other in old age.

"You really won't marry? The subsidies are quite generous," Li Yue tried to persuade them.

"No." Lianhua shook her head. "We've seen every kind of man. We know exactly what they're like."

Sweet words on their lips, but scheming hearts. The poorer they are, the more calculating. Living alone might mean living longer. With a man? Ha—they'd suck you dry, marrow and all, leaving nothing but bones.

Sister Qian glanced at her, then saw Wu Cuihua also refusing to marry. She opened her mouth, thought of Wu Cuihua's experiences, and didn't push further.

Of the rest, several with talents joined the cultural troupe, and those who wanted to marry were taken by Sister Li to another location.

Actually, during their recent trips to the countryside—besides liberating maidservants and concubines—the military had also been surveying which village landlords were tyrannical, how many people remained in each village, and which villages had become ghost towns with not a soul left.

The Military Control Office had everything registered. They needed to consolidate and resettle refugees into sparsely populated or empty villages.

In this era, most surviving refugees were men, with very few women.

It was the same everywhere—no house, no job meant no wife. So these men certainly didn't have wives either.

Now they'd get a wife for free, plus a house and land—of course they'd jump at the chance.

As for what the new wives used to do—well, pot calling the kettle black. The women didn't hold their poverty against them, and they didn't bring up the women's pasts. For them, having a wife at all was a blessing. Besides, in a new village, nobody knew anyone, so everyone could start fresh.

The refugees' files were at the Military Control Office. Lin Zhijin and Li Yue needed to screen suitable candidates.

"What about this one? Twenty years old, decent features, fair skin, 1.75 meters tall—quite a good match for Sun Fengxian." Li Yue handed a paper to Lin Zhijin.

"Not bad. Add him to the matchmaking list. Whether it works out is up to them." Lin Zhijin noted down the name.

After screening, they still had to notify the men. Since their gathering area was a bit rough, Lin Zhijin didn't dare go alone. She specifically went to find Old Li, hoping he'd accompany her.

"Comrade Lin, Old Li isn't here. I'll go with you." Li Guangliang's eyes lit up when he saw Lin Zhijin.

He'd been warned off by both Director Zhang and Dai Fengjiao, so he hadn't appeared before Lin Zhijin again. But she'd never left his mind. Seeing her now, his interest stirred once more.

"Where did Old Li go?" Lin Zhijin was most familiar with Old Li. If someone was going on an outing, she wanted to go with him. Even if he was busy, she didn't want Li Guangliang.

"Not sure—the director called him away." Seeing Lin Zhijin about to leave, Li Guangliang quickly said, "I happen to be free. Comrade Lin, my skills are no worse than Old Li's—my marksmanship is even better. Don't worry, I can keep you safe."

Li Guangliang had earned his position as regimental commander, so he naturally had real ability. He spoke with absolute confidence.

"Chief, I wouldn't want to bother you with something this small. I'll go see the station chief." Lin Zhijin smiled at him, then headed off to see Division Chief Yang to ask if he could assign someone else.

Seeing Li Guangliang standing there motionless, a slightly younger man came over and nudged him, "So? You got this or what?"

"That girl's soft and easygoing—might be worth a shot if I try hard enough. Too bad the folks around her are all against me and won't give me a chance." Li Guangliang said helplessly.

Lin Zhijin had already gone to see Division Chief Yang and explained the situation. Turns out there was a military officer already in his office.

"Yang Su, accompany Comrade Xiao Lin. You'd better protect her—if she loses a single hair, you'll answer to me." Division Chief Yang pointed at Yang Su and said sternly.

"Yes, sir. I'll get it done." Yang Su saluted, spun around, and looked at Lin Zhijin seriously. "Comrade Lin, when do we leave?"

"Let's go now." Lin Zhijin saw Yang Su's face and was taken aback. He was really good-looking, kind of like some celebrity, but with a sharper look in his eyes and a steadier vibe.

Leaving the military administration office, Yang Su pushed a bicycle over. "Comrade Lin, hop on. I'll give you a ride—it's faster."

"Okay, thanks, I appreciate it." Lin Zhijin grabbed the bar at the back of the seat.

"Comrade Lin, hold onto my clothes. There are a lot of potholes ahead; don't fall off." Yang Su said, turning his head.

"Sorry." Lin Zhijin grabbed his clothes.

The two suddenly didn't know what to say and fell into silence.

Finally, they arrived. Just as they entered the alley, Lin Zhijin saw Brother Yang and his group who had blocked her way yesterday. Talk about running into your worst enemies—what a small world.