Chapter 9 Chapter 9 "The Cow"

The caretaker dominatrix assigns Tracy Whitney to work in the laundry room.Among the thirty-five jobs that prisoners do, the work in the laundry room is the hardest.Rows of washing machines and ironing stations fill the large, hot laundry room, where piles of laundry are delivered endlessly.Loading and unloading the washing machine and moving the heavy baskets to the ironing unit is tedious and tiring. Prisoners start working at six o'clock in the morning and are allowed to take a ten-minute break every two hours.After nine hours of work every day, most women are exhausted.Tracy worked like a machine, talking to no one but thinking about herself.

Ernestine Littlechap heard that Tracy had been assigned to the laundry, and said, "Hags are at your mercy again." Tracy said, "I don't argue with her." Ernestine Littlechap couldn't figure it out.Tracy was a completely different person from the timid little girl she had been locked in three weeks before.What made her change?Ernestine wondered. On Tracy's eighth day at the laundry, shortly after noon, a guard came looking for her. "Here's a transfer notice. I'm transferring you to work in the kitchen." That's a coveted job in prison. There were two kinds of food in women's prisons: inmates ate chowder, meatloaf, beans, or unpalatable boiled rice, while meals for guards and prison staff were cooked by professional chefs.What they ate were steaks, fresh fish, short ribs, chicken, fresh vegetables and fruits, and tempting sweets.The prisoner who worked in the kitchen had the advantage of being close to the water, and of course he took full advantage of this advantage.

Tracy reported to the kitchen and was not surprised to see Ernestine there. Tracy walked up to her. "Thank you," she tried to say in a friendly tone. Ernestine snorted, but said nothing. "How can you make the dominatrix not object to my coming here?" "she left." "What's up with her?" "We have a rule. If a guard is too hard on us, she'll be thrown out." "Does the warden listen to you? . . . " "Bullshit. This doesn't bother the warden!" "Then how can you?..." "It's simple. As soon as the guard we were going to evict was on duty, things started going wrong. People started complaining. One inmate reported that a dominatrix groped her. The next day another accused her of being brutal. Then she was accused of stealing." If you lost something in the cell—for example, the radio—the radio would be found in the dominatrix’s house. Then the dominatrix would have to go. The guards can’t run this prison. We can.”

"How did you get in here?" Tracy asked.She didn't have much interest in asking this kind of question, she just wanted to have a good relationship with this woman. "It's not my fault, Ernestine Littlechap, really. I've got a bunch of girls." Tracy glanced at her. "You mean, all of them? . . . " She stopped. "A customer?" She smiled. "No. They work as maids in rich families. I run my own employment agency and have at least twenty girls on hand. Rich people have a hard time finding maids. I have lots of fancy ads in the best papers. When they called, I introduced the girls. The girls would scout the house, and when the master was at work or away, the girls rolled up all the silver, jewels, furs, and Anything else of value, and run away." Ernestine sighed. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you how much tax-free extra money we made."

"How did you get caught?" "It's all bad luck, honey. One of my girls was serving the plates at the mayor's house. There was an old lady among the guests, and the girl was at her house and rolled her stuff. The police beat me , the girl confessed, and took the old man out. Here comes poor Ernestine." The two of them were talking alone by a stove. "I can't stay here," Tracy whispered. "I've got things to do outside. Will you help me get out? I..." "Cut the onions, Irish beef stew tonight," she said, and left. The underground intelligence system in the prison is incredibly developed.A thing has not happened yet, but the prisoners already know it.The inmates, known as "garbage rats," collected discarded reports, tapped phone calls, and opened the warden's mail.All the information was carefully sorted out and distributed to the prisoners with status.Ernestine Littlechap was very high.Tracy noticed that guards and prisoners listened to Ernestine.Since the prisoners considered Ernestine to be Tracy's protector, no one bothered her anymore.Tracy waited cautiously for the big black woman to come close to her, but the black woman kept her distance.Why?Tracy wondered.

A ten-page booklet issued to new inmates contains the official prison rules, number seven of which says: "Sexual activity of any kind is strictly prohibited. No more than four people per cell. Each bed is limited to one person at a time. .” Facts were so different from the rules that the inmates dubbed the booklet "Prison Jokes." Over the past few weeks, Tracy had seen new prisoners—fresh fish—bring into the prison every day, and everything was in order. Repeat as is.First-time offenders with normal sexual habits are by no means immune to harassment.When they first came, they were all frightened and trembling. The strong and lustful "cows" were waiting there.The scene began to be performed step by step.In this hostile horror world, the cow is friendly and compassionate, and she invites the one she likes to the recreation room, where they watch TV together.The cow went to hold her hand, but the new prisoner dared not refuse for fear of losing his only friend.The new inmate will soon notice that the other inmates don't bother her anymore.She became more and more dependent on the cows, and their relationship grew closer.In the end, no matter what the cow did to her, she had no choice but to accommodate in order to maintain this precious friendship.

Those new female prisoners who refused to submit were subjected to violence.Within the first thirty days of their imprisonment, ninety percent of the female prisoners were forced—whether willingly or not—into homosexual activity.Tracy felt the creeps. "How could the authorities allow this to happen?" she asked Ernestine. "It's the system," Ernestine explained. "It's like that in every prison, baby. Separating over eleven hundred women from their men, how can they not mess around? We do violence to people. , not for sexual satisfaction, but to show strength and prove that you are the boss. When a new fish comes in, everyone wants to try it. Only by being a cow's wife can you be protected, and others will not pester you again. "

Tracy knew that Ernestine knew the inside story best. "It's not just the prisoners," Ernestine went on, "the guards aren't much better either. There's a new fish, she's addicted to heroin, she's got a shot. She's bleeding Sweating, shaking all over. Well, the female guards can get heroin, but they have to trade for some sweets, understand? So fresh fish had to be wronged once, and then they got a good thing. The male guards are even worse. They have all the cells The key to the door, happy to walk in the door at night, you can do what you want! They may get you pregnant, but they can give you a lot of benefits. You want a piece of candy? Want to see your boyfriend? First serve Give the guards a treat. It's called fair dealing. It's in every prison in the country."

"this is too scary!" "To survive." The ceiling light shone on Ernestine's bald head. "Do you know why we're not allowed to chew gum in prison?" "have no idea." "Because the girls put chewing gum on the lock so the door wouldn't lock tight so they could sneak out for a tryst at night. Maybe the girls did something stupid to keep us from chewing gum. But they're stupid and smart." "Love" is prevalent in prisons, and the rules couples must abide by are stricter than outside.In this unnatural world, the roles of husband and wife are fabricated to play.Since there are no men here, a woman has to be the husband.A woman who is a husband has to change her name.Ernestine became Ernie, Tessie became Tex, Barbara became Bob, and Catherine became Kelly.Husbands cut their hair short, or shaved their heads, and did not do housework.The wives cleaned the cells and mended and washed the husbands.Lola and Polita desperately competed for favor in front of Ernestine and refused to give in to each other.

Sometimes the vinegar jar is overturned, and force is often used.Husbands would throw a fit of rage if they caught their wives eyeing other "men" or talking to "him" in the yard.Love letters came and went frequently in prison, delivered by "garbage rats". Love letters are folded into tiny triangles called kites, which can be conveniently hidden in bras or shoes.Tracy watched kites pass from one hand to another as female prisoners passed each other in the cafeteria or on the way to work. Tracy also often sees prisoners having sex with guards.This is a love that compromises out of helplessness.The prisoners have to rely on the guards in the prison: their food, living treatment, and sometimes even their lives are in the hands of the guards.Tracy asked herself to harden her heart and show no mercy to anyone.

Sexual activity takes place day and night in prison: in bathrooms, toilets, cells.The "wives" belonging to the guards were released from their cages at night and slipped into the area where the guards lived. After the lights were out, Tracy always lay on the bunk with her ears covered, not wanting to hear the sounds. One night Ernestine took a box of popcorn from under the bed and sprinkled it in the hallway outside the cell.Tracy heard the other cells throwing popcorn as well. "What's wrong?" Tracy asked. Ernestine turned his head and said bluntly, "Meddle your own business and sleep on your own. Go to sleep." A few minutes later there was a terrified scream from an adjacent cell, where a new female prisoner had arrived. "God, no, no, let me go!" Tracy realized what was going on and was very upset.The female prisoner kept screaming, ending in desperate, mournful whimpers, and Tracy's eyes were closed tightly, rage bubbling inside her.Why do women bully their own kind like this?She thought that the prison had hardened her heart like a rock, but when she woke up in the morning, she found that her face was covered with tears. She didn't want Ernestine to feel her feelings, so she asked casually, "What are you throwing popcorn for?" "That's our siren. If the guards try to sneak over, we'll hear it early." Tracy quickly learned what the prisoners meant by "going to college."Prison is like a university, but the inmates learn here and there. Here are experts in all kinds of crime.They exchanged tips on swindling, shoplifting, and stealing money from drunks.They discuss seductive new Israeli methods and how to spot whistleblowers and plainclothes police. One morning in the play yard, Tracy heard an older prisoner teaching pickpocketing to a group of young men who listened with gusto. "The real connoisseurs come from Colombia. There's a school in Bogota called the 'Ten Bell School', where you can learn to be a professional pickpocket for $2,500. A dummy hangs from the ceiling, wearing a suit with ten pockets, Each door pocket contains a lot of banknotes and jewels." "What's the point here?" "In each pocket is a bell. If you can empty each pocket without the bell ringing, you've graduated." Lola sighed, and said, "I once had a friend who walked through the crowd in a coat, with his hands exposed, and pawed at everyone as he walked." "Then how can it be done?" "The exposed right hand is fake. His real hand came out of an opening in the coat to pick someone's pocket." Discussion continued in the break room. "I like the way of stealing lockers the most," said an older female prisoner. "You go around the train station and you see a little old lady trying to put a suitcase or a big bag in a makeshift locker, you go over and help her put it in the locker, and you hand her a locker. The door key, but that's the key to open another empty cabinet. As soon as the old lady leaves, you take out the contents of the cabinet and run away." Another afternoon, two prostitution and drug convicts were talking to a newcomer in the yard.The new prisoner was a pretty girl who didn't look seventeen. "No wonder they got you, baby," said the older female prisoner. "Before you bargain with the client, you search him for a gun. Don't tell him what you want to do with him. Get him to tell you what he wants. If he's a cop, he's baiting, you know?" Another prostitute added: "Yes. Don't forget to look at their hands. If he says he's a worker, you can see if his hands are rough or not. It's a good idea. A lot of plainclothes wear a worker's attire, they forget Besides, I still have a pair of hands with fine skin and tender flesh." Time passed neither slowly nor quickly.Time is like that.Tracy recalled the adage of Father St. Augustine in ancient Rome: "What is time? If no one asks me, I know. If I have to explain, I don't know." Daily life in prison never changes: The timetable is strictly enforced.All prisoners must go to eat on time, and they are not allowed to speak while queuing.Only five cosmetic items are allowed in the small wardrobe in the cell.The beds had to be made before breakfast and kept clean throughout the day. The prison has its own unique set of music: the tinkling of electric bells, the scuffling of footsteps on concrete, the clatter of iron gates, the whispers of day and the screams of night, the husky blaring of guards' walkie-talkies, and the clatter of iron gates. The clanging of plates while eating.And then there's the everlasting wall, the barbed wire, the loneliness, the solitude, the simmering hatred. Tracy became a model prisoner.Her body automatically responds to the signals of the working hours in the prison: the sound of the bolt being bolted and unlatched when she gets up for late roll call; Tracy's body was locked in the prison, but her mind was free to conceive an escape plan. Prisoners are not allowed to make phone calls outside, but they are allowed to answer calls twice a month, each time not exceeding five minutes.Tracy gets a call from Otto Schmidt. "I thought I should tell you," he said awkwardly, "that the funeral was a great one. I paid for it, Tracy." "Thank you, Otto. I... thank you." Neither of them said anything. She never got another call. "Girl, you'd better forget about the outside world," Ernestine advised her. "Anyone outside has nothing to do with you." You're wrong, Tracy thought darkly. In the free yard, Tracy ran into Big Bertha again.This is a rectangular open-air yard, very large, sandwiched between the high outer and inner walls of the prison. Every morning, prisoners can move about in the yard for thirty minutes. This is one of the few places where prisoners are allowed to talk. .Before lunch, female prisoners gathered here in small groups to exchange the latest news and chat.The first time Tracy stepped into the yard, she felt a sudden sense of freedom.She realized that it was because she was out in the open.She saw the sun and the clouds high above.She heard the drone of an airplane flying free in the distance in the blue sky. "You! I've been looking for you," said a voice. Tracy turned her head and saw the big Swedish woman she had bumped into on her first day in prison. "I hear you got a black cow." Tracy turned to leave.Big Bertha took Tracy's arm and squeezed it tightly. "No one can escape from me," she said softly. "Be good, little girl." She pushed Tracy against the wall, pressing her huge body against it. "Go away." "You need someone to take care of you, understand? I'll take care of you right now. You're mine, baby." A familiar voice behind Tracy said gruffly, "Let her go, you scum." Ernestine Littlechap stood there with his great fists clenched, his eyes gleaming fiercely, and his bald head gleaming in the sun. "You don't deserve to be her man, Ernie." "I am worthy to be your man." The black woman roared angrily. "If you mess with her again, I'll fry your ass for breakfast." The air was tense enough to catch fire.The two fierce women glared at each other with hatred.Are they going to work hard for me?Tracy thought.Then she realized that the fight had little to do with herself.She remembered Ernestine saying, "In a place like this, you have to fight, be a man, or run away. Don't back down. If you back down, you're dead." Big Bertha softened first.She gave Ernestine a contemptuous look. "Let's see," she said, leering at Tracy. "You're gonna be here a long time, baby. I'm going to be here a long time, too. Sometime later." She turned and walked away. Ernestine watched her back. "She's a bad woman. Remember that nurse in Chicago who killed all the patients? She poisoned the patients with cyanide and stayed there watching them die. You know, Whitney, she's the woman who was pestering you .What a hell! Someone has to protect you, she won't let you go easily." "Will you help me escape?" the bell rang. "Time to chew," said Ernestine Littlechap. Tracy lay in bed that night thinking about Ernestine. Although she never touched Tracy afterward, Tracy still didn't trust her.She will never forget how Ernestine and two other roommates bullied her.But she needed the black woman's help. After dinner, prisoners can spend an hour in the recreation room, where they can watch TV, chat, and read the latest newspapers and magazines.Tracy was flipping through a magazine, and suddenly saw a photo of Charles Steinable and his new wife. They walked out of the church with arm in arm, laughing.Tracy looked like she'd been punched.Looking at his happy smiling face in the photo, her deep pain turned into cold hatred.She had planned to spend her whole life with this man, but this man left her to be destroyed by others, and their baby died young.But that happened in another time, in another place, in another world.It was all fantasy, now it is reality. Tracy slammed the magazine shut. When it came time to visit the prison, it was easy for people to know which female prisoners' relatives and friends would come to visit them.The female prisoner who is going to meet the guests first takes a shower, then puts on clean clothes and puts on some make-up.Ernestine was always smiling when he came back from the drawing room. "My Allie, he's been coming to see me," she told Tracy, "and he's been waiting for me to get out. You know why? Because I've been so good to him, better than any woman has been to him." Tracy couldn't hide her confusion. "You mean... in bed?" "Of course. What's going on here has nothing to do with the outside world. Here we need to live in a hot body and listen to her talk to me. We always hope that someone likes us, whether it's true or not. What else is there?" What do you expect? But as soon as I get out of prison," Ernestine grinned, "I'm going to love men like crazy, understand?" There was one thing Tracy never understood, and she decided to take this opportunity to ask, "Ernie, why are you always protecting me?" Ernestine shrugged. "You've knocked me down." "I really want to know." Tracy chose her words carefully. "All your...uh...friends are yours. They'll do whatever you want them to do." "They don't want to lose their heads, so they have to be obedient." "But I'm an exception, why?" "Aren't you satisfied?" "No, I'm just asking." Ernestine thought for a moment. "There's something about you that I like." She saw the look on Tracy's face. "Oh, don't get me wrong, I don't lack for that kind of stuff. I mean, you've got a poise. A real posh. Like those cool-faced nobles in Cosmopolitan and Town and Country Woman, well-dressed, serving tea from a silver jug. You're one of those sorts of people who shouldn't come to us. I don't know how you got involved in that kind of case out there, I guess you must It was framed by others." She looked at Tracy, feeling a little shy. "I've never met a few decent people in my life," she said, "and you're one of them." She turned her head away, her voice almost inaudible. "I'm so sorry, your baby is gone. I..." After the lights went out that night, Tracy whispered in the dark, "Ernie, I have to get out. Please help me." "I'm sleepy, you fucking shut up, do you hear me?" A set of slang words is popular in the prison. Ernestine gave Tracy an introductory lesson. A group of female prisoners chatted in the yard: "That cow untied Lao Bai, and from now on he has to hold a long spoon. Feed her..." "She didn't grow any longer, but she was caught when it was snowing, and she was handed over to the butcher with a hard nail. Feitian was cancelled. Red wine couldn't be drunk anymore..." Tracy seemed to hear a group of Martians talking. "What are they talking about?" she asked. Ernie was rocking back and forth laughing. "Don't you understand human language, girl? A gay woman 'untapes' is from husband to pussy. She fucked an 'old white', which is white, like you. Can't trust her, just Said, everyone should keep away from her. She's "not long", that is, her sentence is almost over, but "hard nails" found out that she was taking drugs-"hard nails" are people who obey the prison rules and don't listen to us-they Handed her over to the 'butcher', the husband in prison." "What do 'red wine' and 'flying sky' mean?" "Don't you understand? 'Red wine' is parole. 'Flying sky' means the day you get out of prison." Tracy knew she wasn't going to sit around waiting for that day to come. The next day Ernestine Littlechap and Big Bertha had a fight in the yard.The guards were playing softball with the female prisoners.Big Bertha with the bat in her hand had missed two hits, hit hard on her third pitch, and ran to first base where Tracy lived and defended.Big Bertha knocked Tracy to the ground, on top of her.As she touched Tracy's leg, she whispered, "No one is out of my hands, you scum. I'm going to find you tonight, and I'm going to fix you up, little girl!" Tracy tried desperately to break free.She felt that someone had pulled Big Bertha away.Ernestine strangled the Swedish woman. "Damn slut!" Ernestine yelled. "I warned you." She scratched Bertha's face and eyes with her nails. "I'm blind!" screamed Big Bertha. "I'm blind!" She tugged at Ernestine's breasts.The two women tore into a ball, and four guards rushed over.It took the guards five minutes to tear them apart.Both female prisoners were sent to the infirmary.Ernestine did not return to his cell until late that night.Lola and Polita hurried to her bed to comfort her. "What do you think?" Tracy asked softly. "It's all right," Ernestine said.Her voice was muffled, and Tracy wondered if she was hurt badly. "I made 'Red Wine' yesterday and planned to go out. You should suffer. That woman will never let you go, no. When she gets her wish, she will kill you." They lay silently in the dark.Finally, Ernestine said, "Looks like maybe I should talk to you about how to get you out."