Destroy the Four Olds!
- It's Saturday, and for Ji-li that means heading to the bookstore to read books. Her faves? Fairy tales.
- While Ji-li's there with her brother and sister, An Yi comes in and tells them to come to Great Prosperity Market—people are rallying to destroy the four olds.
- What are the four olds, you ask? Old ideas, old culture, old customs, and old habits.
- Ji-li and her siblings drop their books and rush off. When they get to Great Prosperity Market, they help trash a sign written in big gold letters. Let's face it: It's totally fun.
- But more than that, Ji-li has a good time knowing she is finally part of the revolution. She grew up on stories about her parents helping out with the revolution, and she wants to be a part of it, too.
- That's why she wears a red scarf all the time. It's a symbol of the blood of revolutionary martyrs, a.k.a. a sign of pride.
- When Ji-li gets home, she tells her family about what they did that day.
- She expects them to be proud of her and want to join in, but instead Grandma points out how expensive that sign must have been. Plus, the storeowners waited for the right date (one that was lucky) so their business was boom. It's too bad the sign was ruined.
- Huh? Ji-li is really confused. At school, she's been hearing about how stuff like believing a certain date is auspicious is part of the "four olds." Why would her grandma care about something they are trying to get rid of?
- The next day, Ji-li notices some high-school students have taken it upon themselves to become the fashion police.
- Except they don't care about the latest fall trends—they are after people whose clothing represents the four olds.
- During class, Ji-li rushes to An Yi's defense when someone mocks her for calling an umbrella a yang-san, which is clearly something only a person who cared about the four olds would do.
- This starts a big argument, complete with hair pulling and name calling. It's clear that there's a lot of debate as to what exactly fits into the four olds and what doesn't.
- Du Hai points out that Ji-li's family has a housekeeper, which isn't part of the new ideas for China. Ji-li figures she should tell her mom about this before it causes any problems.