Chapter 5: A Bitter Escape and a Disdainful Meal

The man stretched lazily, as if Hao Yang’s silent pleas had finally taken effect. With a pack of tissues in hand, he ambled out, presumably heading to the restroom.

Hao Yang waited until the last echoes of his footsteps faded. Only after a significant pause did she carefully emerge from the cabinet’s confines.

Once free, she darted into the corridor, descending the stairs with haste. She raced towards the small grove, where she located her child’s bicycle and, pushing it with all her might, fled the scene.

As Hao Yang pushed the bicycle along the road, a sense of relief washed over her. Yet, a nagging feeling suggested she had forgotten something crucial. ‘Never mind,’ she thought, dismissing the thought with a shrug.

Hermain goal was to sell all the scrap accumulated on the back of her bicycle. These items, weighing at least several kilograms, proved incredibly cumbersome to transport.

Drawing upon fragmented memories from her previous life, she spent roughly half an hour searching. Eventually, she located the scrap recycling station.

“Boss, I’m here to sell scrap!” Hao Yang called out, her voice ringing clear. Moments later, a gaunt, middle-aged man emerged from the cluttered junk shed. He wore a satchel slung across his body and held a notebook, meticulously jotting down notes.

“Back again to sell scrap, are we?” the boss remarked, not looking up. “Same old price: ninety cents a catty for cardboard.” He continued to scribble in his notebook as he spoke to Hao Yang.

“Alright,” Hao Yang replied, wasting no words. With considerable effort, she lifted the cardboard from her bicycle and carefully placed it onto the electronic scale.

The electronic scale registered twenty-one catties. No wonder she had struggled so much; the weight was truly substantial.

“Boss, what province are we in?” Hao Yang inquired, seizing the chance to learn her current geographical location.

“You don’t even know where you are?” the boss scoffed, rummaging in his bag for change. “This is Henan Province.”

‘Damn it,’ she thought. ‘No wonder it’s so freezing. The average winter temperature in Henan Province is below zero, so this bitter cold makes perfect sense.’

Hao Yang cupped her hands, blowing a warm breath onto her palms before rubbing them vigorously. She desperately tried to preserve her body heat.

“Twenty-one catties, fifteen yuan,” the boss declared, handing Hao Yang a ten-yuan and a five-yuan banknote.

“Boss, your calculations are off,” Hao Yang stated. After a quick mental tally, she realized the boss had shortchanged her by several yuan.

“I’ve been handling these accounts for years. How could I possibly cheat you?” the boss retorted, his voice sharp. “Would I truly deceive a mere child? Now go, scram, don’t disrupt my business!” He began to shoo her away impatiently.

“Boss, twenty-one catties at ninety cents a catty should be eighteen yuan and ninety cents!” Hao Yang insisted, her voice rising. “You’ve shortchanged me by three yuan and ninety cents!”

“You’ve miscalculated, now get lost! Don’t waste my time,” the middle-aged boss snapped, turning away impatiently. He prepared to re-enter his shed.

“I barely earn anything from scavenging scrap, and you’re trying to swindle even that little bit from me? Have you no shame?!” Young and fiery, she decided to stand her ground and reason with him.

“You little brat have no manners!” the boss roared. “I’ll teach you a lesson on behalf of your parents!” He ripped a branch from a nearby tree and swung it directly at her.

Hao Yang couldn’t dodge in time; the branch connected with a painful thwack. A vivid red welt instantly bloomed where she was struck. She cried out, a sharp gasp of pain, and fiercely fought back the tears welling in her eyes.

After several more blows, Hao Yang could endure no longer. She scrambled away, then snatched a stone from the ground and hurled it at the boss.

“You bastard! Damn you, you’re utterly shameless, trying to profit even from a child’s meager earnings!” she shrieked, raining down stones as she cursed.

“Damn it all! I’ll beat you to death today, you little brat!” he roared, then charged directly at Hao Yang.

With no other recourse, Hao Yang bolted, abandoning her child’s bicycle without a second thought. She ran with desperate speed, fleeing for her life.

****

Hao Yang crouched behind a street corner, scanning her surroundings for a long time. Only when she was absolutely certain the wretched boss hadn’t followed did she finally let out a shaky sigh of relief.

Her sole means of survival was scavenging scrap. Yet, her child’s bicycle, essential for transport, and the snakeskin bags used to hold her findings, had all been abandoned at that very recycling station. What was she to do now?

A pang of sorrow tightened Hao Yang’s throat at the thought, but she fiercely suppressed it. This body, she realized, was far too prone to weeping; the slightest emotional stir seemed to bring on tears.

Her stomach, at that moment, rumbled with a hollow growl once more. She glanced around, her thoughts turning to finding something to eat.

Hao Yang soon found herself before a breakfast stall. From a large steamer, waves of tantalizing fragrance wafted, signaling the presence of sizable steamed buns.

“Boss, do you have any steamed buns?” Hao Yang inquired.

The boss paused, momentarily taken aback. He then lowered his gaze, spotting a short, ragged figure, and a frown creased his brow before he spoke.

“Are *you* the one buying buns?”

“Yes, Boss. How much are the steamed buns?”

“One yuan for one, or one yuan fifty for two,” the boss replied.

“Then I’ll take two.” With a hint of reluctance, she extended a grimy, crumpled five-yuan bill.

The boss took the five-yuan bill with a visible grimace of disdain, then proceeded to count out her change.

Hao Yang extended her hand to receive the change, but the boss pointedly ignored it. He merely tossed the money onto the table, then turned to retrieve a small plastic bag for the buns.

A sudden, sharp sting of being looked down upon pierced Hao Yang. Yet, recalling her recent altercation with the scrap yard boss, she decided to swallow her pride and endure.

One by one, she meticulously picked up the banknotes and tucked them securely into her pocket.

The boss finished preparing the buns, placed them unceremoniously on the table, and then completely ignored Hao Yang.

This blatant disregard and contempt left Hao Yang deeply uneasy. Yet, knowing better than to suffer further indignity, she snatched the buns and fled. ‘I’ll never buy food from this shop again,’ she vowed silently.

She ate in small, deliberate bites. The warm steamed buns, settling into her stomach, offered a surprising comfort. What a shame, she mused, that such delicious buns were made by such a disagreeable boss.

Having eaten so many buns, a thirst began to prickle. She had no idea where to find water, despite the pervasive snow.

While consuming snow might quench her thirst, doing so in the dead of winter would undoubtedly lead to severe stomach upset. Even her former robust, young male self would have suffered from diarrhea and intense abdominal pain.

Given the current body’s fragility, eating snow now would surely invite even worse consequences. Diarrhea would likely be the least of her concerns.

If she were to drink, she absolutely needed to find liquid water. Consuming the roadside snow was simply not an option.