The grandmother Gu and her daughters-in-law, Liu Cui, Zhang Manzhi, and other women were arranged in the same female prison cell.
Originally, they were happy that the family could stay together and look out for each other.
However, as soon as they entered the female prison, they encountered a female prison bully as strong as a man. The moment she saw newcomers, she ordered them to squat in a corner by the toilets.
The prison toilets were only emptied every two or three days, emitting a foul stench. Arranged in that corner, Grandma Gu and the others immediately felt nauseous, on the verge of vomiting.
Although they were fleeing famine, they were not slobs in their village. They had basic concepts of cleanliness and hygiene. Being assigned to such a position made every second feel like an eternity, and they felt they could hardly endure it for another minute.
Grandma Gu looked at the female prison bully. Although she was formidable, she felt that with five or six women in their family, they should be able to handle one woman.
When night finally arrived, Grandma Gu quietly told her daughters-in-law her plan.
Although the daughters-in-law were scared, they could no longer bear the stench from the toilet, so they all agreed to Grandma Gu's idea.
In the middle of the night, they sneaked up to the female prison bully. The woman was sleeping soundly, snoring loudly like a man.
Liu Cui pounced forward and held her hands, Zhang Manzhi held her legs, Gu Xiaohua pressed on her stomach and pinched hard, while Grandma Gu went for her neck.
The "manly woman" was ambushed and woke up with a scream. She struggled left and right but found herself pinned down by several people and unable to move. She muffled,
"Who, who wants to harm me?"
Grandma Gu snorted coldly and slapped her seven or eight times, making her body go limp. Seeing that she seemed unable to move, Grandma Gu lowered her voice and said fiercely,
"You wretched bitch, how dare you bully us and drive us to the toilet corner."
Upon hearing this, the "manly woman" realized it was the new arrivals. Her fierce spirit surged, and with a mighty heave, she threw everyone off.
Grandma Gu and the others hadn't expected the "manly woman" to be so strong. As soon as she was free, she shouted for help.
At once, the other female inmates in the prison woke up. Hearing the "manly woman's" summons, they pinned Grandma Gu and the others to the ground, completely suppressing them.
Grandma Gu was dumbfounded. She never imagined that all the women here listened to the "manly woman," and with so many of them, they were the ones being controlled.
The "manly woman's" face was swollen from the slaps, and she was naturally furious. She wouldn't let Grandma Gu off easily and said fiercely,
"Someone, bring these women here and give them all the "incense punishment."
The Gu family women didn't know what "incense punishment" was before they were forced to the toilets.
First, it was Grandma Gu. Two women kicked her to her knees in front of the toilet and fiercely slapped her face.
Before Grandma Gu could recover and cry for help, the women wouldn't allow it. One of them, quick-eyed, pressed down on her mouth and nose.
Grandma Gu was suffocating, and they only stopped beating her when they were tired.
Next was Liu Cui, then Zhang Manzhi...
All the Gu family women were severely beaten.
The "manly woman" looked at them still jumping around and kicked Zhang Manzhi in the backside, saying,
"From now on, you will receive the incense punishment once in the morning and once in the evening."
The female inmates were imprisoned for various reasons; some had abused their mothers-in-law, some had poisoned their stepsons, some had kidnapped women—all were ruthless individuals.
Life in prison was already bleak and joyless. With Grandma Gu and her group as public enemies, everyone found pleasure in tormenting them.
Upon hearing the "manly woman's" words, they immediately became energetic.
The Gu family women, upon hearing this, lamented inwardly. They thought fleeing famine was hard enough, but who knew that being imprisoned would be even harder?
Gu Laohan and the others were no better off in the male prison.
Gu Dazai was worried sick every day, fearing he would be beheaded. This was because he heard the soldiers say when they arrested him, "The act of witchcraft is detested by both gods and men."
He was so scared that he wet himself and babbled madly all day, "Don't chop off my head!"
Night was the most difficult to endure.
In the pitch-black darkness, Gu Laohan was somehow squeezed next to a haystack. He barely managed to fall asleep in the middle of the night.
In a daze, a pair of strong arms stretched out from the haystack, embraced him, and began to grope him.
Gu Laohan had lived his entire life without being touched like this by anyone else. He was filled with terror.
He wanted to struggle, but this person seemed to know what they liked, their arms like pincers, gripping him tightly, making him unable to move...
By dawn, Gu Laohan was also thoroughly tormented.
However, as the first ray of sunlight shone through the window, bringing some light to the cell, the prison bully with a scar on his face, who had been busy behind Gu Laohan all night, suddenly saw Gu Laohan's face and immediately stood aside and gagged.
Damn it, after a night of hard work, he thought it was a young stud, but it turned out to be an old man with a white beard. Even with a strong appetite, he found it repulsive and couldn't accept it.
It was unclear if it was intentional, but the Gu family men later discovered that they were imprisoned with criminals sentenced to capital punishment, men awaiting execution in the autumn.
They were all going to die, so what couldn't be done?
Normally, they would have fun with each other, and with fresh faces, they wouldn't let the opportunity pass...
Before the Gu family men even reached the courtroom, they were already being bullied in prison, suffering immensely.
The Gu family men could not be described as completely helpless, but facing these vicious death row inmates, they could not resist. They became their prey, their food, and could only let them have their way, living a life comparable to hell.
While the Gu family's wicked individuals were living a life worse than death in prison, in contrast, Gu Zhaobei's family was living a relaxed and comfortable life.
The day Boss Zhang finished installing the underfloor heating in Mi Guo's bedroom, Gu Qingcheng helped him furnish the room.
The bed Mi Guo was now sleeping on was moved to the new house. It had a spring mattress, which was elastic. Sleeping on it was very comfortable.
Mi Guo had never slept on such a bed before. It was soft yet firm. When he jumped hard on the bed, he could bounce up, which felt very exciting. In his understanding, this was a bed fit for immortals.
Gu Qingcheng also placed a desk and a bookshelf in his room. The bookshelf was filled with basic textbooks like "Three Character Classic" and "Hundred Family Surnames."
As for teaching and educating, that task was assigned to Gu Zhaobei.
He was a high-achieving student from a medical university, and it was not difficult for a scholar to teach and educate.
Qingcheng also put a rechargeable desk lamp in his room and hung inspirational posters on the wall, such as "Meng Mu Moves Three Times" and "Drilling a Hole in the Wall to Steal Light" for decoration.
As for bedding, it was a full set of brand-new down quilts and latex pillows, which were soft and warm. Mi Guo had never slept in such a comfortable bed or such a warm quilt. It felt as light and fluffy as sleeping on clouds.
Combined with the warm underfloor heating, he could wear thin pajamas indoors. In Mi Guo's opinion, this was the life of an immortal.
While Qingcheng was decorating his room, Mi Guo felt dazed all day, as if he were dreaming.