Chapter 16 Summary

Winnie wishes she were not having another baby with Wen Fu. She decides to name the child, girl or boy, Danru, "nonchalance," so the baby will not be attached to anything in this life. After five days in the hospital with her son, Winnie goes home to fine a girl named Min, dressed in one of her nightgowns, sleeping in her bed. Hulan's Auntie Du Ching has also joined the household.

Winnie decides Min should stay as her husband's concubine, freeing her from his desires. Winnie befriends Min, who tells her about the Great World, a French Amusement Arcade, where she worked as a scantily clad magician's assistant. She also sang at Sincere, a department store on Nanking Road. Min teaches Winnie all the popular dances, and Winnie teaches Min how to write her name, to sew, to speak properly. Winnie has pretended...