At 11:00 PM, everyone wrapped up their work and returned to the base.
True to routine, they lined up to have Aunt Rong inspect the harvest. Some were rewarded with steamed buns, while others received slaps.
When her turn came, Wen Ye walked up to Aunt Rong with her head down, her eyes fixed on Aunt Rong’s pointed leather shoes. The sharp toes pinched the flesh on the top of her feet until it bulged out of the sides.
“I heard you were quite majestic today,” Aunt Rong remarked.
Wen Ye did not dare to make a sound.
Aunt Rong reached out, grabbed Wen Ye’s face to force it upward, and struck her cheek back and forth with a loud slap. “Do you think you are some kind of hotshot? My foot, you are nothing. What the hell do you think you are playing at, huh?”
“No, I was wrong, Aunt Rong.” Wen Ye kept her expression submissive and let herself be hit, knowing that talking back would only bring a harsher beating.
Still unsatisfied, Aunt Rong raised a foot and kicked her right in the stomach. Wen Ye collapsed on cue, clutching her abdomen with a face twisted in agony as if she were dying of pain. Playing dead like this had a slight chance of sparing her from further brutal hits.
The sight of Wen Ye’s pathetic state irritated Aunt Rong even more. She slammed her hand on the table. “I am letting you off today because I saw you emptied half a backpack, but remember this: if there is a next time, I will sell you off to be a prostitute.”
Gu Sheng stood last in line. Watching Little Five get beaten was sheer torture for her, yet she could not offer the slightest help. She knew that stepping forward would likely make things worse; not only would she end up beaten herself, but Little Five would probably suffer an even heavier punishment.
When it was Gu Sheng’s turn, Aunt Rong sized her up from head to toe. The money she earned was not much, but she had the advantage of a fine appearance. She could be used as a pickpocket for a few years, and once she turned fourteen and could no longer steal, she could be resold for a handsome profit.
With this thought in mind, even though Aunt Rong felt somewhat dissatisfied with her, she refrained from hitting her. Any scars would devalue her price. Oh, and she would have to warn the others not to let their base desires ruin her. A damaged goods status would make her worthless.
Aunt Rong tossed her a steamed bun and waved her away.
That night, Wen Ye curled up on the floor, holding her stomach. Hiss, those pointed shoes really hurt when they kicked someone. The pain was so intense that she did not even feel hungry anymore, only a raw, throbbing ache.
Hearing Little Five’s intake of breath, Gu Sheng took out the half-bun she had saved, turned around, and inched closer, saying, “Little Five, here.”
The moonlight tonight was dim, so Wen Ye could not see clearly. She reached out and felt around until her fingers brushed against something soft and springy, which was a bun.
Wen Ye cracked a crooked smile, “Why do you have half left again? Aren’t you hungry?”
She kept her voice low, and since she and Gu Sheng slept close to the wall, she did not wake Little Four on the other side.
“I have a small appetite and cannot finish it,” Gu Sheng replied.
Wen Ye did not believe her, “I will just eat half of this half. You eat the rest yourself.”
Unable to win the argument, Gu Sheng split the half-bun into two portions. She deliberately tore her own share into tiny pieces and handed the larger piece to Little Five.
“Little Five, how long have you been here?” Gu Sheng asked.
“I have been here for two years. By the way, my name is not Little Five; it is Wen Ye. Others here do not know it, but I am telling just you. Actually, I did not know it at first either. Once, when Aunt Rong and Uncle Kai went out for a birthday, I wanted to find out when my birthday was, so I went into their room to look for my identity documents. I did not find them, but I saw Aunt Rong’s small notebook. My picture was inside, and next to it was written Wen Ye. I did not recognize those two characters, but I recognized the pinyin underneath. It reads Wen Ye.”
Wen Ye rattled off a long string of words in one breath while chewing her bun. By the time she finished, her mouth was bone-dry. Fortunately, before bedtime, she had filled an empty bottle from the daytime with tap water and kept it tucked against her body. She pulled it out, took a small sip, and felt instantly revived.
Gu Sheng was silent for a few seconds, “Another day, I will help you write out a few versions of wen and ye. You can look and see which one matches what you saw, and then you will know how to write your name.”
Delighted, Wen Ye beamed, “Really? Gu Sheng, you are so nice, and you can write. That is amazing.”
“How old are you?” Gu Sheng asked.
“I must be seven. And you?”
“I am ten, so I know more characters than you. Don’t worry, later you will learn.”
Gu Sheng stopped mid-sentence. She had wanted to say that once she learned, she would know how to write too, but she suddenly realized that they might not have any chance to learn in the future.
Wen Ye understood as well, and she quieted down.
With a tacit understanding, the two of them let the topic drop and drifted off to sleep just like that.
Another day arrived. Wen Ye’s task today was quite relaxed: she was to stay at the base and teach Gu Sheng how to pick pockets.
Everyone else had gone out, leaving only Yellow Hair at the base.
Yellow Hair was guarding the front door downstairs, smoking a cigarette.
Upstairs in the small second-floor room, Wen Ye placed several practice bags on the floor, and she and Gu Sheng sat cross-legged facing each other.
Wen Ye picked up a zippered bag, “Zippered bags are the most common on the street. Let’s start with this one.”
Repulsion filled Gu Sheng’s eyes. She whispered to Wen Ye, “My mother said that stealing is against the law.”
“But if you don’t steal, you end up like Little Four and Little Six,” Wen Ye argued.
Gu Sheng knew that, but she genuinely could not bring herself to do it.
“Aunt Rong said that since we aren’t fourteen yet, it’s not illegal.”
“It’s not that it isn’t illegal; it’s just that we won’t be sentenced.”
Wen Ye did not understand. She only knew that failing to steal meant getting her limbs broken, “You have to learn. If you cannot learn it, I get beaten too.”
Wen Ye stared at Gu Sheng, and Gu Sheng stared at her own feet. The two of them remained at a stalemate for a moment.
Gu Sheng picked at a mosquito bite on her leg, her voice dropping dejectedly, “You said it, how do I open it?”
Seeing Gu Sheng look so miserable made Wen Ye feel bad too, but at least Gu Sheng was willing to learn now. Pulling herself together, Wen Ye explained, “To pick a bag, you have to watch how the person is carrying it. If it is on their back and the crowd is thick, you just open it, take the item, and run. If you accidentally get caught by a passerby, you press the item against your chest and call the person carrying the bag Daddy or Mommy. Passersby usually look away, and then you tell the person you made a mistake and run off right away.”
Noticing that Gu Sheng was listening attentively, Wen Ye continued with satisfaction, “If the person carries it in front, unless the target looks exceptionally wealthy, do not take the risk. If you really run into a very wealthy mark, Aunt Rong will have someone cooperate with you to divert their attention and block for you, and you make your move then. If it is hard to open, you just slash the bag directly.”
“What does target mean?” Gu Sheng asked.
“The target is the person whose bag you are going to pick. That is what they all call it anyway.”
Gu Sheng nodded.
Wen Ye went on, “To get things out of a bag, you can use tweezers, your bare hands, or slash the bag. But I like using my hands. It is faster to conceal and harder to get caught.”
Watching Wen Ye speak with such fluency, Gu Sheng felt a massive lump form in her chest, like an unswallowable, unspittable steamed bun. When she was seven, everything she heard and was taught revolved around propriety, righteousness, integrity, shame, and public order. At seven, Wen Ye’s lessons were all about petty theft, deception, and swindling.
“Wen Ye, if you have a chance to get out of here, would you still want to steal?” Gu Sheng raised her head, looking past the bags on the floor straight at Wen Ye.
Wen Ye grew angry. She had been rambling on for ages, and Gu Sheng had not even been listening properly. She tossed the bag to the ground and glared fiercely at Gu Sheng, “Are you going to learn or not? When Aunt Rong comes back tonight, if you still haven’t learned, you are going to get beaten.”
Gu Sheng felt a sour ache in her heart. They were talking at completely cross-purposes.
Seeing the rims of Gu Sheng’s eyes turn red, Wen Ye instantly lost her nerve, “Hey, don’t cry. I am not yelling at you, but you really have to learn today, or else a frail frame like yours won’t even be able to take a couple of casual hits from Aunt Rong.”
Gu Sheng sniffled twice and earnestly began following Wen Ye’s instructions.
Wen Ye discovered that Gu Sheng was quite clever. She picked it up immediately, and her hands were relatively fast, which was a bit slower than her own, but she would definitely be able to snatch things out on the street.
Wen Ye was delighted that she had taught Gu Sheng a skill.
Gu Sheng was miserable that she had learned how to steal from people.
That evening, everyone who had gone out to work returned.
Aunt Rong was in a good mood today and had Yellow Hair carry a foam box up to the table. She announced, “Everyone gets a large meat bun.”
Hearing this, Wen Ye felt both happy and disappointed. Meat buns were not dense; they left you hungry shortly after eating and were not as filling as steamed buns. However, they made up for it in flavor. They oozed juice with every bite, and the mere thought of it made Wen Ye’s mouth water.
After lining up to collect her bun, Wen Ye and Gu Sheng squatted down in their usual corner. Wen Ye held her bun and took tiny, careful bites so it would last longer.
Having eaten half of hers, Gu Sheng wanted to give the rest to Wen Ye. Anticipating the move, Wen Ye cut her off before she could even speak, “Eat it yourself, and no leftovers are allowed.”
Gu Sheng raised the bun, wanting to say something more.
Before she could, Little Seven walked over, “You aren’t eating it? If not, give it to me.”
Wen Ye instantly flared up. She shoved the last bite of her own bun into her mouth, snatched the one from Gu Sheng’s hand, sealed the plastic bag shut, shoved it into her pocket, and glared furiously at Little Seven with furrowed brows, “No bun for you. Do you want to eat shit instead?”
Little Seven flared up in return, but ultimately intimidated by Little Five, the rabid dog, she only dared to snap back verbally, “Who the hell wants to eat something bitten by that stinking fool? You are the only one who loves eating her slobber.”
Hearing this, Wen Ye prepared to lunge forward and fight, but Gu Sheng quickly pulled her back, “You shouldn’t even bark back at a barking dog.”
Gu Sheng almost wanted to praise her own adaptability. After just a few days, she had already learned how to curse.
Wen Ye let out a couple of cheap snickers, looking derisively at Little Seven, “Oh right, what kind of dog is barking out there? I cannot understand a single word.”
Little Seven spat twice, pointed at Wen Ye, and said, “You just wait for me, bastard,” before walking away.
“Even her baby teeth haven’t grown in yet, and she is calling people bastard. Psycho,” Wen Ye muttered.
Her legs sore from squatting, Gu Sheng leaned against Wen Ye and sat down, “Don’t use dirty words. It doesn’t sound nice.”
Not knowing what counted as a dirty word, Wen Ye asked sincerely, “Which words are dirty?”
Gu Sheng stammered, “Well, things like baby teeth haven’t grown in, and that other thing about eating…” Struggling to finish the sentence, she found those phrases too unspeakable to voice.
Nodding earnestly, Wen Ye decided it was simple enough, “Okay, I won’t say them anymore.”
Gu Sheng hadn’t expected Wen Ye to cooperate so easily, especially since Wen Ye had been so defiant earlier in the day when she called stealing wrong.
Years later, when she was older, Gu Sheng finally understood why. Stealing was a matter of survival for Wen Ye, whereas cursing wasn’t. Therefore, so long as her life wasn’t threatened, Wen Ye tried her best to listen to her.
Only, by the time she truly understood that, Wen Ye was no longer by her side.