Summary

Part 1 takes place in September 1949. Auntie Mei and Chunyu meet for the first time again after five years. Mei had spent time fighting in the army. Chunyu is taken aback by how confident and different Mei seems. Walking through Shanghai, Chunyu is shocked by how different things look there since she has spent five years exclusively working at a field hospital. Mei is taking her into her home with her husband, Comrade Chen, and she hopes to land Chunyu a job in the city.

Part 2 opens after Chunyu has spent a few days in Mei’s house. She wonders if her husband’s “existence [is] a myth” as she has yet to see him at all (147). Mei has changed a lot and now speaks as though she is a devout member of the Communist party. Chunyu has reservations about the rhetoric she uses...