Female worker

Author: Bi Shushmin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-09-01
Features: In the book The Female Worker, Bi Shushmin sets the story against the backdrop of major societal changes, depicting the protagonist Pu Xiaoti—a daughter of a pig farmer—from primary to secondary school, who endures the Cultural Revolution, is assigned to a heavy industry factory as a regular female worker, and later faces marital failure before eventually being laid off and, out of necessity, becomes a domestic helper. The novel portrays a kind-hearted and resilient woman who faces life and fate with calm endurance. The historical context of the characters' activities spans from the Cultural Revolution to the Reform and Opening Up, and then to the present society impacted by the commodity economy. Every era's transformation leaves its mark on the protagonist's life and fate, and each brings immense shock and influence to her inner self. S with Pu Xiaoti's ups and downs in survival is the dramatic rise and fall of her personal emotional life. She is destined to miss her beloved primary school classmate Gao Haiqun, whom she deeply admired, but fate pairs her with Bai Erbao, a primary school classmate she looked down upon, in marriage. After helping Bai Erbao "grow" into a trade union official through "managing the household and raising children," she is cruelly abandoned by him. Years later, Pu Xiaoti, out of a sense of duty to pay her daughter's tuition fees, reluctantly "sells her work years," falling from the position of deputy workshop director to a "part-time domestic helper" in the market. There, she encounters her employers—her primary school teacher, her teenage lover, and her classmate and ex-husband, Pu Xiaoti. She is a kind mother, but also a strong woman who refuses to bow to fate. Perhaps she herself is unaware of her nobility, but this boundless compassion and empathy make us look up to her. To ordinary people, the protagonist's experiences may seem unfortunate, but the subtle peace and emotional resonance permeating the story's life philosophy is an endless tribute to life. Watching her in the story, we cannot help but question the meaning of life, how we should face hardships and difficulties, and how we should perceive happiness. In her preface, Bi Shushmin explains why she chose the female workers as the protagonists of her story. She says, "For a decade, as the head of the health clinic in a heavy industry factory, I experienced the joys and sorrows of ordinary female workers, watched their life fluctuations, and had grown to consider them sisters. They were lonely and miserable, though there was still endless labor and challenges ahead. But their inner kindness and courage, along with their clarity and determination in the face of fate's ups and downs, compelled me to pick up my pen, for they were flesh and blood to me." During her student years, Pu Xiaoti was a pretty, aloof, and academically girl, like most people, who harbored dreams as beautiful as flowers. However, these dreams withered before they could bloom brightly amidst the turmoil of the times. Marriage, arranged by fate, led her to marry someone she did not love, causing her great pain. Her career was fraught with obstacles, and in the end, she had no job to turn to. Bi Shushmin, known for her empathy and sensitivity, passionately portrays The Female Worker, allowing us to truly feel the cruelty of fate and the vicissitudes of life—Beijing Morning News serialized introduction
During her student years, Pu Xiaoti was a pretty, aloof, and academically girl, like most people, who harbored dreams as beautiful as flowers. However, these dreams withered before they could bloom brightly amidst the turmoil of the times. Marriage, arranged by fate, led her to marry someone she did not love, causing her great pain. Her career was fraught with obstacles, and in the end, she had no job to turn to. Bi Shushmin, known for her empathy and sensitivity, passionately portrays The Female Worker, allowing us to truly feel the cruelty of fate and the vicissitudes of life. She wanted to preserve a forever dream for herself and him. A delicate youth, bitter in adolescence, the silhouette of a beautiful and impoverished girl quietly stood in the heart of a man she deeply revered.