I was afraid of what a stepmother would do to a girl, but perhaps a woman would have made a difference, he said, less guarded and more talkative now in his old age.

“我害怕后妈会对女儿不好，但是也许有一个女人就会不一样了。”到了这把年纪，父亲说话已经不那么瞻前顾后了，话也多了许多。