Chen Yi was familiar with this place. He stripped copper wire from the cables and directed Miao Jing to help. There were roller bearings in the discarded machines – she could take as many as she could carry.
Miao Jing went from being terrified to completely lost, her mind shutting down before rebooting. She watched Chen Yi squatting with his back to her, his movements skilled and fingers nimble, his expression calm and focused. Slowly, she edged closer, touching the machinery covered in black oil and grime, prying loose any parts they could take to sell.
Finally, the two emerged filthy. Chen Yi’s jacket was wrapped around a large bundle of items that he carried on his shoulder. He led Miao Jing through the abandoned factory, weaving left and right. She followed him bewildered, hands covered in black oil. They left, got on the motorcycle, and took her to a scrap yard where they sold everything for 130 yuan.
Chen Yi took the crumpled bills, grinning at Miao Jing with dark eyes full of pride and arrogance. “Let’s go.”
He took her to eat.
After all the exertion, Miao Jing was starving, her stomach caving in and stars dancing before her eyes. She followed Chen Yi into a small roadside restaurant where he spent 40 yuan on two meat dishes – stir-fried pork and braised chicken – and a large bucket of rice. The aroma was so intense it made her eyes sting.
Chen Yi gave her the remaining few dozen yuan. Completely filthy, he sat lazily as if boneless, watching Miao Jing’s tightly pressed lips. He received a phone call and told her he had to leave, telling her to eat by herself.
That was a meal Miao Jing would never forget. No matter what delicacies she ate afterward, nothing could surpass the taste of that humble restaurant.
Her hair was disheveled her face smudged with two streaks of dirt, and her eyes were extraordinarily peaceful and clear. She walked for a long time, feeling her full stomach gradually settle, before finally heading home.
The lights were on at home, the TV screen glowing. Chen Yi had showered and was sprawled out sleeping on the bed in his room. The old air conditioner hummed and the electric fan blew on him. Miao Jing silently went to shower, seeing his dirty clothes set aside. She washed both their clothes clean. Passing the refrigerator, she heard the strange hum of its restart and opened it to find it packed with eggs and milk.
Her heart contracted slightly.
After that, Chen Yi would come back from time to time and take her to various places.
They went to food factories that had set days for disposing of edge pieces or defective products – many still edible for very little money.
They went to the suburbs with reservoirs and farmland where many fishermen would give away fish. Village vegetables were very cheap too. Fish could be kept alive in buckets for a long time, and duck meat was cheaper than chicken. As long as they found ways, there was always meat to eat.
Most often, they went to all kinds of scrap yards. Those years saw many demolitions in Teng City, construction sites, and empty buildings everywhere. Chen Yi usually took her out at dusk on weekends. There were easier ways to make money, but Miao Jing was busy with classes every day and was too shy to be seen. She preferred this – the two of them silently traversing abandoned residential buildings, chaotic demolished construction sites, and deserted factories, bringing back items to exchange for money.
Chen Yi didn’t say much but would tell her the tricks – always open wallets and drawers, there might be valuable items forgotten by owners. Miao Jing did find several dozen yuan in loose change in worn wallets, along with abandoned photos and all kinds of stories.
“Don’t come to these places alone. There are vagrants, thugs, all sorts of people here.” He held a long steel bar. “If any of them sees you, targets you…” He turned back to warn her seriously, his gaze cold and sharp. “You know what they would do, right?”
Miao Jing, wrapped in a dusty coat wearing cotton gloves and a mask, nodded calmly.
“Find the most valuable things – copper wire, motors, electronic chips, used goods that can be used and sold.”
“Watch your step carefully. If you get pierced by nails, hit by things, accidentally fall – you might not survive.”
Chen Yi had sharp eyes, a quick mind, and great strength. He could always find something different. Miao Jing just had to obediently follow and help.
“Was this what you used to do?” she asked softly, following behind him. “Often coming to places like this?”
He bent down to twist some wire into a sack, his brow and jaw lines handsome, his voice quite calm: “In elementary and middle school, yeah. Always hungry then, wanted food.”
Miao Jing suddenly remembered – she had forgotten what kind of life he had led then. She only remembered he didn’t go home, played outside all day, and no one at home managed him or cared if he had eaten.
She followed Chen Yi through the abandoned building, everything ahead dirty, abandoned, and broken to pieces. She followed his footprints, dragging a huge sack. She was just as dirty and dusty as he was. Their shadows cast on the ground were black and lonely. She remembered the night sky then was thin, everything ahead always grey and dark. For some reason, there was always a crescent moon hanging in some dark, quiet corner. She never caught sight of a bright, clear full moon. Hearing the lonely wind echoing through the space, distant sporadic dog barks and Chen Yi’s rising and falling whistles, she looked at his tall figure ahead, then at herself, feeling like two wild dogs wandering the wilderness with drooping tails, stumbling along seeking food, searching for vitality and scattered joy in the loneliness and desolation.
Miao Jing didn’t spend much money, only monthly expenses for daily necessities, food, and miscellaneous school fees – not much. The money from selling scrap was all in her hands, completely enough for her to live on. Chen Yi still rarely came home and didn’t eat her food.
Because she had no money, Miao Jing rarely socialized with classmates, avoiding unnecessary expenses and preventing them from seeing her circumstances and predicament. She was naturally quiet, and in this final year of middle school with many class activities, Miao Jing participated in none. She was simply aloof and solitary, isolated from the class collective.
Living alone had very small expenses. Every morning when she left, she would take a lunch box to school, eat some eggs and bread crusts at night, cook a late night snack after evening self-study, shower, and sleep – days passed like this.
Was she afraid of living alone? After Wei Mingzhen left, Miao Jing was terrified of the future for a while, but later she wasn’t afraid of anything anymore – things were already like this, what was there to fear?
But the neighbors’ whispers grew increasingly intense. Chen Libin’s death, the Chen house so quiet, Wei Mingzhen disappearing after just a few months – vaguely heard she ran off with a man. Then Chen Yi vanished too, this house seemed empty, but later they saw Miao Jing still coming and going, Chen Yi occasionally showing his face – what was this about? Had Wei Mingzhen abandoned her daughter?
People kept approaching Miao Jing, asking about Wei Mingzhen’s whereabouts, seeing her dressed so poorly, asking about the Chen family’s money, and then asking about Chen Yi. Miao Jing kept her mouth tightly shut, not answering a word. Seeing her like this, the rumors grew rampant.
Rumors came from somewhere saying Chen Libin had several million in savings plus death benefits and insurance money – where did the money go? Did Wei Mingzhen take it, or did the family split it? Only a teenage girl lived in the house now – was there still some money?
People started targeting Miao Jing, warmly chatting with her, bringing gifts to the door, wanting to take care of her, and wanting to come in and look around. Some worthless loafers nearby would directly block her path, or someone would always knock on the door at night, peering through the door crack.
Chen Yi climbed through the window to get home and found the balcony window wouldn’t open, locked tight with wooden strips wedged in the gaps. He went around to below the bedroom window, parkoured up directly, and banged on Miao Jing’s window. The light inside slowly came on but there was still no movement. Chen Yi cursed as he dropped down, throwing pebbles at her window. Half an hour later, the curtain carefully pulled back, revealing Miao Jing’s face – pale with fear and on the verge of tears.
Seeing it was Chen Yi, she finally relaxed completely.
Chen Yi entered the house suppressing his anger, seeing every window blocked by her, nails scattered below, every door propped shut, and that main door set up like a trap. His brows furrowed as he put his hands on his hips and cursed her: “What the fuck are you doing?”
Tears glistened in Miao Jing’s eyes as she pointed to the front door where someone had made a row of marks in black pen. Chen Yi’s expression instantly darkened, thick brows furrowed, face fierce: “When did this happen?”
She told him about the things that had been happening lately, about people harassing her, people knocking on doors at night, cigarette butts by the door, and how the group seeking her out was becoming more and more frequent, increasingly intense.
“Tomorrow you’re coming out with me.” A cold smile hung on his face. “Brave enough to mess with me, pretty gutsy.”
The next day, Chen Yi came out of his room directly wielding a gleaming sharp knife, dragging the shocked-eyed Miao Jing outside.
Going door to door visiting, Chen Yi knocked directly with the knife, bang bang bang thunderously loud, a fierce smile on his handsome face, his tone exceptionally polite: “Auntie, I heard you’re very interested in our family’s affairs. I happen to be home today, would you like to come over for a visit?”
Those inside, seeing his manner, were already scared witless, trembling too much to speak.
Chen Yi stroked the silver blade, leaning lazily against the door, his gaze gloomy: “Don’t you think my knife is quite sharp? The police station’s number is pretty easy to remember, right? I’ve lived in this area since childhood, Uncle, you even looked after me when I was little, I’m quite familiar with your household too. We should keep in touch more often.”
After visiting house by house, he finally stood majestically among the crowd downstairs – all old neighbors who had watched Chen Yi grow up. They watched him grinning while stroking his knife, hand on the wooden-faced Miao Jing’s shoulder, asking everyone to help spread the word: if anyone dared inquire about his family’s affairs, dared target his family members, he guaranteed they would get their wish, let them profit fully.
Then he called over a dozen people to fight – all sorts of delinquent youth with dyed hair and weird looks, cigarettes dangling as they rode motorcycles, a dark mass. They found people one by one in internet cafes, game rooms, and mahjong parlors – those thugs who had shown their faces to Miao Jing all got beaten severely.
It became completely peaceful.
Everyone who saw the siblings would take a detour, not daring to say half a word in front of them.
Chen Yi also gave Miao Jing a tiny fruit knife, putting it in her hand and teaching her two self-defense moves. Miao Jing shook her head repeatedly, backing away with tears: “I don’t want to…”
He rolled his eyes: “Take it, put it under your pillow for protection.”
Miao Jing tremblingly accepted, tears on her eyelashes: “Thank you…”
Chen Yi smoked silently, glancing at her twice, lowering his eyes to tap off the ash, slowly exhaling smoke: “I’ll come back to stay a few days each week.”
He threw some money at her: “Buy more groceries at home, buy some food and supplies… there will always be times they’re needed.”
Miao Jing took the money, and pressed her lips together, very softly: “What do you like to eat? I’ll go buy…”
He smiled broadly, his smile brilliant and wild.