Chapter 2: The Stingy Sister
This meal was eaten absentmindedly by Cao Yang; it was clear from just a glance that these two men were far from respectable. How could Sister Yan possibly know them? Judging by their accents, all three were from Sichuan, and Zhou Qing even had tattoos on her arm.
By rights, anyone with tattoos wouldn’t be allowed to work in the factory. Yet Zhou Qing was Yan’s colleague—did Sister Yan really work at the factory?
One question after another formed in his mind, but it didn’t seem appropriate to ask.
“I’m off to work. You can head home by yourself,” Li Yan said, handing Cao Yang a set of keys.
“Okay,” he replied, taking the keys, feeling out of sorts.
Li Yan noticed his gloomy expression. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Cao Yang walked off, unhappy.
He’d barely taken two steps when Li Yan called him back and dug out five yuan from her bag, handing it to him with an air of authority. “Take it. Spend it.”
Cao Yang had never felt so speechless in his life—the five yuan was handed over with the grandeur of fifty thousand, and the worst part was, it was his own money.
...
After bidding farewell to Li Yan and the others, he didn’t go home but wandered out of the village.
Outside the village were nothing but factories; it was rush hour, and the streets were filled with countless young men and women in blue short-sleeved shirts.
Cao Yang wandered aimlessly, checking the recruitment notices at various factory gates.
Then he found a telephone booth and called home to let them know he was safe.
He called the village shop, asking them to pass a message to his mother that he’d arrived safely in Dongguan and had found Li Yan.
After hanging up, he paid thirty cents for the call.
His craving for cigarettes struck; he wanted to smoke, but all the cigarettes cheaper than five yuan were sold out at the booth.
Just as he was about to leave, the owner told him they sold loose cigarettes—thirty cents apiece.
These cigarettes were originally five yuan a pack, but sold individually, the owner could make an extra yuan. Many small shops around the factories sold loose cigarettes.
Cao Yang bought five, smoking one as he wandered about until night fell, then returned to the village.
He’d barely walked a few steps when he heard someone whistling. Looking over, he saw a woman in a strappy top and a miniskirt beckoning to him.
“Me?” Cao Yang pointed at himself, unsure if she was calling him.
The woman smiled and nodded, motioning him over.
Cao Yang went over, puzzled. “What is it?”
“Hey, handsome, come inside for a bit.” With that, she grabbed his hand and pulled him into a small room.
“What are we playing?” Cao Yang asked curiously. Was everyone here so friendly?
“You sure know how to play innocent, handsome,” she said, pushing him onto the sofa and then crouching down to undo his pants.
Only then did Cao Yang realize the woman was a prostitute.
“No, I don’t want to!” He sprang up and ran outside at lightning speed, gone in the blink of an eye.
Back at his temporary lodging, he took another shower. The heat was relentless—if you didn’t shower after going out, your whole body felt sticky.
After washing, he lay on the sofa and recalled the prostitute, feeling a nameless anger in his lower belly.
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“Pretty girl—why would she do that for a living?” Cao Yang couldn’t understand it no matter how he tried. He didn’t have any money on him, or he would have wanted to ask her properly.
After thinking about the prostitute, he couldn’t help but think of Li Yan.
Did Sister Yan really work at the factory? Could she be involved in something shady? Why was it that others at the factory could only send two or three thousand home a year, while she managed seven or eight thousand?
He’d already guessed the answer, but wasn’t sure, nor did he want to be.
He felt unsettled, as if a stone was lodged in his chest.
She was his childhood goddess—had she really fallen so far?
It felt like a heartbreak.
Maybe he was overthinking. Perhaps she really did work at the factory and just happened to know a few people from the streets.
Cao Yang tried to comfort himself, eventually drifting off to sleep.
At four or five in the morning, the sound of the door woke him—it was Li Yan and Zhou Qing returning.
Their arrival at this hour sent Cao Yang’s heart plummeting. After all, if you worked the night shift, you wouldn’t get off until dawn.
Li Yan turned on the light, glanced at Cao Yang sleeping soundly, then ignored him and went to her room to sleep.
But Cao Yang was awake, just not opening his eyes.
Soon Zhou Qing came out of her room and went to shower. After a brief rustling, Cao Yang saw her walk out of the bathroom completely naked.
He couldn’t help but stare wide-eyed—they really weren’t treating him as an outsider!
Thinking it over, maybe that was just her habit, and she’d forgotten there was a man sleeping on the sofa today.
Zhou Qing wasn’t as tall as Li Yan, nor as pretty, but she had her own advantages; just a quick glance left Cao Yang restless and unable to sleep!
He managed to hold out until eight in the morning, then got up and knocked on Li Yan’s door, reminding her that today she was supposed to take him to work.
“What is it?!” Li Yan, hair disheveled and grumpy, looked at him.
“It’s eight o’clock. Weren’t you going to take me to work today?” Cao Yang reminded her.
“What’s the rush? We’ll go this afternoon!” Li Yan replied, slamming the door and going back to sleep.
Helpless, Cao Yang went downstairs to wander again, returning only at one in the afternoon.
By then, Li Yan had just gotten up. After a quick wash, she took Cao Yang to meet her friend.
“Sister Yan, let’s take a ride,” Cao Yang said, carrying his luggage and drenched in sweat.
“It’s not far, just three kilometers. We’ll be there soon,” Li Yan said, also sweating through her white dress.
“But it’s really too hot. Are you worried about spending money?”
“A taxi costs seven or eight yuan—and if it’s a rogue taxi, we could get swindled.”
“Let’s take the bus then!”
“There’s no bus that goes there.”
Cao Yang wiped his sweat, eyeing a roadside stand selling chilled watermelon and licking his lips.
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“Sister Yan, let’s buy some watermelon.”
“What for? Are you that greedy?”
“Are you just being stingy?”
“Of course. Do you think money comes easy?”
“Use my money. I’ll treat you.”
“Your money? Where’d you get money?”
“I gave you my one hundred and twenty, didn’t I?”
“That hundred and twenty was for your lodging and the job referral fee. You don’t have any left!”
Cao Yang stared in disbelief at Li Yan.
Their mothers were close friends, neighbors back home; she couldn’t possibly treat him like this, could she? Besides, if she really were doing that kind of work, she wouldn’t be so poor, and wouldn’t need to take advantage of his hundred yuan. If she did, she’d be the talk of the whole village!
“Why the look? Do you think I really care about your hundred-odd yuan? I was just teasing you.” She suddenly changed her expression, smiling and pulling out a yuan to buy two slices of watermelon.
The chilled watermelon refreshed them both.
Soon, they arrived at their destination—a small electronics factory with about three hundred employees.
Li Yan’s friend, an unattractive woman, helped Cao Yang get his work badge, meal card, and dormitory sorted.
Once everything was settled, she told him he’d start work that night, then waved goodbye to Li Yan.
“Work hard. If anything comes up, call me or come find me. I’ll head back now,” Li Yan said, patting Cao Yang’s shoulder and preparing to leave.
She’d barely taken two steps when Cao Yang stopped her, holding out his hand.
“What’s this?” Li Yan asked, confused.
“The money! Give me my money—how else am I supposed to live?”
“They provide food and lodging here. What do you need money for?”
“That’s my money to begin with! Besides, I need to buy cigarettes and daily necessities.”
“Hmm.” Li Yan nodded. “True.”
She dug out thirty yuan from her bag and handed it to him. “Don’t smoke—it’s bad for your health. Use this thirty yuan for now. If it’s not enough, let me know.”
“It’s not enough,” Cao Yang replied immediately.
Li Yan was taken aback. “You haven’t even spent it yet—wait until you do.”
Cao Yang was speechless. He couldn’t understand why Li Yan was so fixated on his hundred-odd yuan. He didn’t believe she was short of such a small sum.
He’d hoped to get three hundred from her—his own hundred, plus borrowing two hundred more to tide him over until his wages came. But seeing her like this, it was hard enough to get his own money back, let alone borrow more!
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