At the end of the alley, Ji-li notices a propaganda wall. One night, a counterrevolutionary is caught trying to scrape a da-zi-bao off the propaganda wall. Six-Fingers (Red Guard in charge) and his friends get more meticulous after that. A poster announcing that Jia Hong-yu is coming to town. She's a famous Red Guard leader who will give them all a big report.At the meeting, Jia Hong-yu tells a story about meeting Chairman Mao: Everybody lined up for hours just to catch a glimpse of the guy, but it was worth it. Legend has it that seeing Mao makes you happy. When she's done with the story, there's not a dry eye in the house, and everyone chants, "Long live Chairman Mao!"Later, Ji-li watches from her window as Old Qian is forced to kneel on a sharp washboard for hours while the Red Guards empty out his house.Sure, Old Qian is an old grump, but he didn't do anything wrong—his biggest crime was not lending a Red Guard his bike.Ji-li feels really conflicted about Old Qian. He's a counterrevolutionary who deserves what's coming to him; on the other hand, though, he's just an old guy with a bike. Eventually, Old Qian faints from heatstroke and has to be carried back into the house.The next day, they find out An Yi's grandma jumped out the window and killed herself. Ji-li remembers her being harassed about her class status.To make matters worse, suicide is a crime in revolutionary China, so An Yi's family isn't even allowed to have a proper funeral.
