Sweeping
- A couple weeks later, Ji-li watches her grandma sweep the alley. It's her punishment for being a landlord's wife, and Ji-li worries she'll fall or hurt herself someday doing it.
- Ji-li's mom faints a lot now, which is just another thing on Ji-li's long list of worries.
- She constantly worries about what's happening to her dad or if they guards will come back and take more stuff or hurt her family.
- One day, her mom makes her promise that Ji-li will take care of her siblings if anything happens to her.
- At first Ji-li doesn't even want to talk about it, but her mom insists. Who knows what will happen? Things have gotten crazy up in here.
- Ji-li promises—and she means it.
- She realizes that she's been taking care of her family for a long time. That's why she didn't testify against her dad or fess up where the letter was. She could never hurt her family.
- It occurs to her how much her life has changed.
- She used to have nice stuff and dream about being a Red Guard, but now they sleep on straw mats since all their furniture was confiscated. She doesn't have any life goals anymore—she just wants her family to be safe.