Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 638 Yang Xuemei's Daily Life

Yang Xuemei was moved to a single room.

It was described as a single room, meaning she lived there all by herself. There were actually quite a few empty rooms in the prison, but they rarely let one person live in a room alone, for fear of incidents. Mutual supervision, learning, and encouragement among inmates were also part of prison life.

The work done in women's prisons is very diverse and varied. The packaging work mentioned earlier is only a small part. There is also knitting sweaters, socks, underwear, bedding, hats, and even shirts. Many so-called brand-name products are produced in prisons because of the low labor costs and the high product quality, which is unmatched by any other region or manufacturer.

Prison guards also have different roles: some go out to pick up jobs, some are in charge of production, and some are in charge of discipline and ideological work.

Each prisoner has a production quota, which is calculated on a daily basis. If they don't finish it, they can't sleep.

Have you ever seen someone knit a sweater in a day? Everyone here can. Because the task is to knit one sweater a day; human potential is truly limitless.

Yang Xuemei skipped the new inmate period and directly became an inspector in the Ninth District. This was a huge leap forward, making her an A-level prisoner.

Generally, prisoners have a one- or two-month induction period after entering prison, during which they are organized to learn various disciplinary matters and how to do work, before being assigned to different wards. The production tasks during the induction period are lower, usually about 60% of those of the veterans.

Older prisoners are scored based on their daily performance and productivity; those with higher scores enjoy greater freedom, albeit limited, but still quite fortunate. Ordinary prisoners, on the other hand, are constantly working, scrambling for food and sleep, often unable to sleep or only getting a little due to their workload.

In China, there are only two types of people who eat the fastest: soldiers and prisoners.

Meals consist of one main dish and one side dish per day, with an extra dish on Sundays. The food is all cooked in large pots, with little oil and meat, so you can imagine how unappetizing it is. Prisoners who are rated higher, such as A-level, can eat at restaurants on Saturdays and Sundays; guards will buy the food for them, but they have to pay for it themselves. Some prisoners have the required rating but don't have the money, thus wasting their spots.

The prison has a supermarket where each inmate can buy things once a month: hygiene products, daily necessities, snacks, and cigarettes. This is tiered by inmate level: Level A inmates can buy 100 yuan worth of goods, Level B inmates can only buy 60 yuan worth, and ordinary inmates can only buy 30 or 40 yuan worth. In some areas, ordinary inmates are not allowed to buy anything other than daily necessities.

Supermarket items are very expensive, several times more expensive than outside.

The best-selling items here are instant noodles, ham sausages, and pickled vegetables.

Class A prisoners have the opportunity to be relieved of their production duties, becoming cell leaders, patrol officers, deliverymen, and meal handlers. They have more freedom of movement than other prisoners, and the guards are much more accommodating. They also have opportunities to assist the chief guard in managing the prisoners. On average, a chief guard has to manage thirty to forty prisoners; without assistance, he would be exhausted.

The frequency of family visits, and the items allowed to be brought in each time, are all related to the prisoner's rating, or rank. If a prisoner's rank is too low, even if family members bring things in, they will be rejected. Many people don't understand why. Only prisoners who score 120 points or higher in a year are eligible to apply for a sentence reduction; if their rating is too low, no amount of other good behavior will help.

Yang Xuemei was transferred to a new cell and was informed of some rules and precautions regarding her daily routine, work, meals, shopping, and all other aspects of her life, including her responsibilities and rights, which she was required to strictly remember and abide by.

She would get up at five in the morning, fold her blankets like a new recruit, and then sit and wait for "opening the gate," which meant the prison guards would open the door. People in each cell would line up to wash up and use the toilet, but she would go alone.

Then they returned for breakfast, having a total of one hour. After an hour, the prisoners lined up to work, and Yang Xuemei began to assist the prison guards in inspecting each cell.

The hygiene conditions, the standards for folding blankets, whether there are any hidden items on the bed, including whether the toothbrush handles are worn, and whether the cups are chipped. After the inspection, records must be made and reports written. The survival pressure here is extraordinary, partly due to the need for production, and partly to keep everyone tired and prevent them from overthinking. Therefore, there are many people with suicidal tendencies.

After inspecting the cells, Yang Xuemei began her day's work, which involved checking the products produced by the inmates. Everything had corresponding inspection standards; any substandard items had to be picked out and set aside for recording, as this affected the inmates' scoring. She also had to record the distribution, use, and return of tools, as some inmates would smuggle tools back to their cells.

She can rest for a while in the afternoon after lunch, then repeat the inspection work, and report before dinner.

After dinner, she had a little more time for exercise than other prisoners, which included patrolling the cells in the corridor and taking a shower. Showering in prison was regulated: once a week in winter and once a day in summer, but only before the guards went off duty and after completing their daily production tasks. Many prisoners didn't get this privilege.

She can go to the supermarket to buy things without restrictions. During her lunch break, she can go "shopping at the supermarket". Xiao Hong deposited 10,000 yuan into her account. Unfortunately, there was nothing she wanted to buy in the supermarket. She could only buy some food occasionally.

Xiao Hong gave her underwear, pajamas, and other daily necessities and hygiene products; she didn't lack anything.

Moreover, Xiao Hong would always bring her delicious food whenever she came, and they would have a meal together in Wu Li's office, where she, the prison guards, and Xiao Hong would eat together. This increased her contact time with the prison guards, and as they became more familiar with each other, they naturally grew closer, so her days became more and more comfortable.

You have to understand that no matter how upright or compassionate a prison guard is, they are inherently contemptuous of prisoners, and there's nothing you can do about it.

Wu Li and Xiao Liu would occasionally call her into their office to sit and chat, mainly to observe her health and mental state. Xiao Liu was her supervising officer. Through these conversations, she learned quite a bit, such as about a girl who was sentenced to eight years in prison simply for trying to get back money from a scumbag who had cheated her out of money. Because there was no IOU or loan agreement, the man called the police, and she was convicted of extortion of a large sum.

For example, another woman in her thirties made a phone call for someone, A, to arrange a meeting with B. As a result, B was stabbed to death by A. She was sentenced to five years in prison, and she didn't understand what crime she had committed until she was brought in.

For example, there was a girl who had been incarcerated for the third time, only three months after her last release, for theft. Yang Xuemei couldn't understand it and asked the girl, "It's so tough here, why do you commit crimes again after you get out?"

The girl looked at her like she was an idiot: "The government put me in a labor camp, and when they released me, they didn't give me a job. My family doesn't care about me either. I can't find a job with the stigma of being a criminal. If I don't steal, am I supposed to starve to death?" Her eyes were full of contempt and numbness when she looked at Yang Xuemei.

In this way, Yang Xuemei learned a lot, saw a lot, and understood a lot.

(End of this chapter)