Lin Qiaozhi dreamed of an unbelievably beautiful young woman reclining on a woven rattan lounge chair in a small courtyard enclosed by yellow earthen walls. The woman claimed to be a salted fish though she might have been a spirit. She had gone on a blind date, married an army officer, and moved to an island to become someone's stepmother. A little boy wailed about having to wash dishes, calling her an evil stepmother.
