Chapter 5
On payday, I received two hundred and eighty yuan.
Seeing my name in the bankbook made my eyes sting.
This was my money. No one had bestowed it on me. I’d spun it into existence, thread by thread.
Since coming to Taicang, I’d been wound tight as a spring, going nowhere but the workshop and the dormitory.
On my way back from the bank, I took a proper look at the place for the first time.
Shaxi was lively at dusk.
Cyclists passed me with their bells ringing.
Street vendors called out, selling puffed-rice sweets made with lard.
Children with schoolbags chased one another, their laughter trailing all the way to the river.
As I passed a noodle shop, the owner lifted a pot lid. White steam billowed out, carrying the scent of mutton broth straight to my nose.
I touched the bankbook in my pocket and said, “A bowl of mutton noodles, please. Extra meat.”
The owner smiled.
“Something good happen today?”
I couldn’t help smiling too.
“I got paid.”
The steaming bowl of Shuangfeng mutton noodles arrived covered with meat, chopped scallions floating in the clear broth.
I lifted the bowl and took a sip first.
The hot broth ran down my throat, warming me all the way to my stomach.
Outside, bicycle bells kept ringing. The children ran away laughing, and the vendors were still calling.
Steam stung my eyes until everything blurred.
Sitting amid the warmth and bustle of ordinary life, I felt alive for the first time.
I went back to the factory, back to my life between workshop and dormitory.
I tucked my bankbook carefully under my pillow. Watching the balance climb little by little felt sweeter than any candy.
The factory closed for the New Year.
Ah Xiang insisted on taking me to the Shuangfeng temple fair.
“You’re always either in the workshop or the dormitory. You’re going to bore yourself senseless.”
“Come on. I’ll buy you something good to eat.”
I shook my head and patted my pocket. “I can’t always let you pay. Today it’s my treat.”
“Oh, the miser’s finally opening her purse?” Ah Xiang laughed. “All right. Your treat.”
I smiled without answering, thinking that once, I wouldn’t have dared offer to pay for anyone.
We left together, laughing and talking. From far down the street came the sound of gongs and drums.
Wave after wave, the beat seemed to warm my very heart.
The fair was crowded, its roadside stalls packed close together.
Taishi pastries baked golden brown, puffed-rice sweets cut into neat squares, haitang cakes fresh from the oven.
There were Shuangfeng “sparrow eggs,” too: round snacks on skewers, fried golden, their rich aroma filling the air.
Ah Xiang and I bought one of everything and squeezed through the crowd to watch the dragon dance.
The gold-and-red dragon swept above our heads, its scales dazzling in the sunlight. Cheers rose from the spectators.
I lowered my head and bit into a sparrow egg, squinting at the heat.
Suddenly, pain tore through my scalp.
Someone behind me grabbed a fistful of my hair.
“So! Instead of staying home and serving me, you’ve come here to live the good life!”