The 1980s Compound’s Radio Host: My Complaints Were Heard by the Whole Compound

In the 1980s, Lin Wan was the envy of everyone in the apartment compound, working as an announcer at the broadcasting station. Dressed in a crisp blue uniform, she read notices and news into the microphone, becoming the compound's signature voice. But who could have guessed that the gripes she kept to herself would be broadcast anonymously over the loudspeakers to the entire compound?

First, her aunt tried to block the doorway with the absurd superstition that getting a haircut during the New Year would kill one's maternal uncle, then demanded a fortune in compensation. Then Auntie Zhang shamelessly tried to steal a spot on the list for educated youths returning to the city, Uncle Li pretended not to know he'd stolen the public coal briquettes, and Auntie Wang selfishly took over the communal kitchen… Lin Wan rolled her eyes inwardly, and the next moment the loudspeaker blared the “voice of the people”: “Some auntie's scheming is so loud I can hear it from the next building!”

From then on, Lin Wan's inner monologue became the whole compound's favorite gossip, and the shameless troublemakers suffered a fresh public humiliation every day. She could only spread her hands with an innocent look: “I didn't say anything!”