Soon, the people who had collected their pay left, still grumbling among themselves. The woman walked over to where the siblings were sitting.
They had sat up, but each of them still had their clothes bulging from the buns stuffed inside. The buns that had been crushed under them were now gathered protectively in their arms, held as if they were some rare treasure. Every now and then, they broke into foolish grins.
The woman couldn’t help but find it amusing. “You two did a great job. The director said to give each of you an extra fifty. Hand me your phones, and I’ll transfer the money to you.”
“Phones?” This was the first time the siblings had heard this word. Their blank expressions grew even more confused.
When the woman waited for a moment and saw no phones being produced, she took note of their ages—one around thirteen or fourteen, the other maybe eight or nine—and suddenly understood. “You don’t have phones, do you? If you want to keep working as extras, it’s best to have your parents buy you a phone. It’ll make it easier to stay in touch.”
With that, she pulled a wad of cash from her jacket pocket, took out two red bills, and handed one to each of them. “Here you go. Good thing I had cash on me, or I wouldn’t have been able to pay you today. Keep up the good work—if any suitable roles come up, I’ll look for you again.”
She patted both siblings on the shoulder and turned to leave.
The man who had dumped the buns earlier came over carrying a large bag. He held it open in front of them. “Put them all in here.”
“What?” When refugees fought over food, wasn’t it every man for himself? Why would they have to give it back?
This time, the siblings clutched the buns even tighter, looking at him as if he were a villain. The man clicked his tongue. “You don’t actually want to keep them, do you? Fine, put them in a bag so it’s easier to carry. And make sure to pick up the crushed pieces from the ground too. Otherwise, next time, we won’t give you any.”
With that, he happily dropped two bags and ran off. It wasn’t every day you found two kids willing to work for nothing—what if they came to their senses and refused?
Even from far away, his muttering could still be heard: “Kids who cherish food like this? Their family must be dirt poor.”
Lin Xiaoman didn’t think being poor was anything to be ashamed of. Going hungry—that was shameful!
The bags were transparent, soft, lightweight, and had handles. When you held them, they rustled.
She didn’t know what material they were made of, but they were indeed handy for carrying the buns—even if they didn’t look as sturdy as cloth bags.
Lin Xiaoman began stuffing the buns from her clothes into the bag. “Erhu, let’s put all the buns in here.”
Once Lin Erhu had added his, they picked up the crushed buns from the ground. Though a bit muddy, they could brush off the dirt and still eat them.
These buns made from white flour were sweeter and more fragrant than any they’d ever had. How could people here just throw them away?
In the end, they had three hundred buns in total, not even leaving a crumb behind. Only then did the siblings pick up the two large, stuffed bags and head back.
“Sis, these buns are so good. For the ones we don’t finish, we can dry them in the sun. They’ll be crispy and tasty too.”
“Yeah. And if we boil some wild vegetables with them, that’ll last us a whole month.”
Carrying the two bags of buns easily with one hand, Lin Xiaoman didn’t forget to remind her brother, “Erhu, hold onto my sleeve. Don’t get lost.”
“Sis, I’m holding it.”
As they passed the grilled sausage cart, Lin Erhu couldn’t help but swallow. They’d only had a bowl of thin porridge at noon, and it hadn’t filled him up at all.
Lin Xiaoman hesitated for a moment, then shifted both bags of buns to one hand, took Lin Erhu’s hand, and walked over.
She pulled out the two red bills she’d just earned and handed one to the man. “Boss, give us two grilled sausages and two fish balls.”
The man glanced at Lin Xiaoman with a puzzled look, then smiled. “You’re from that film shoot over there, right? You’re really into character. No one says ‘boss’ like that these days. But I’ll take it!”
Lin Xiaoman nodded. “Thank you, Boss!”
The man handed over the skewered sausages and fish balls, took the bill, and quickly made change.
Lin Xiaoman counted the change—the largest was green, two smaller ones were brown, and there were two round silver coins, about the size of copper coins.
After putting the money away, Lin Xiaoman and Lin Erhu ate their skewers slowly, taking small bites.
The casing of the grilled sausage was slightly crisp, while the meat inside was rich and fragrant. The fish balls were savory and springy—so delicious that just one bite felt like a taste of heaven.
After they finished, they stood there for a while, but Lin Xiaoman couldn’t bring herself to buy two more skewers. She took Lin Erhu’s hand, and they turned back.
They needed to bring the steamed buns home first, then come back to see if they could buy some household items.
When they reached the big tree, the door was still there. It looked as if the tree had been split in two.
Seeing no one paying them any attention, the siblings quickly slipped through the door.
They stored the buns in cloth bags and locked them in a chest. Then they folded the plastic bags the buns had been in and tucked them into their clothes before heading back through the wardrobe door.
This time, they went in a different direction. Before long, they passed through a large iron gate and came out onto a smooth road—it looked like stone but didn’t feel quite like it.
Colorful boxy structures of various sizes, all fitted with wheels, raced back and forth on the road. Inside, they could see people sitting.
The smaller ones held a few people; the larger ones could hold dozens.
Some people were also riding atop two wheels spinning rapidly, zipping past at high speed. The siblings stared in amazement, occasionally letting out small gasps of surprise.
Pedestrians, meanwhile, walked on the raised paths on either side.
The siblings followed the crowd. When they reached an intersection, everyone stopped and waited. Only when the red figure on the pole across the street turned green and the wheeled boxes came to a halt did people quickly cross.
After they crossed, Lin Xiaoman gave Lin Erhu a lesson. “Erhu, remember: here, you have to watch that pole. You can only cross when it turns green.”
“Sis, I got it!”
They walked another few dozen steps and spotted two large storefronts. One read “Yijia Supermarket,” the other “Huigou Supermarket.”
Goods were piled in front of both stores like small mountains, surrounded by crowds of shoppers.
On each side, a person stood on a table holding a loudspeaker and shouting.
“Oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea—don’t miss out if you pass by! Yijia Supermarket has everything you need!”
“Take a look, take a browse, don’t miss these great deals! Size it up with your eyes, do the math in your head—Huigou Supermarket gives you the best value!”
Amid the standoff, the black boxes on both sides began broadcasting prices:
“Yijia Supermarket’s specials today: refined salt, one yuan per bag; soap, one yuan per bar; sugar, 3.98 yuan per jin; pork special, 8.9 yuan per jin; bulk rice, 2.8 yuan per jin; chicken legs, 5.8 yuan per jin; chicken wings, 22.9 yuan per jin…”
“Huigou Supermarket’s anniversary specials: toilet paper, 16.8 yuan per pack; eggs, 3.98 yuan per jin; brown sugar, 4.28 yuan per jin…”
After comparing, Lin Xiaoman decided that Yijia Supermarket had the better products. Their salt was one yuan per bag—cheaper than a grilled sausage!
She remembered when she used to go to town with her parents to buy salt. A small jar the size of a palm cost several dozen wen.
She just didn’t know how much was in one of these bags here.
Lin Xiaoman squeezed through the crowd and held out a brown bill. “Boss, I want to buy salt.”
The middle-aged woman behind the counter chuckled when Lin Xiaoman called her boss. “I’m just an employee, not the boss. You can call me Auntie.”
Lin Xiaoman readily agreed. “Auntie, I want to buy salt.”
The woman took the bill and asked, “You want to spend all twenty on salt?”
Lin Xiaoman nodded firmly. “Yes, all on salt.”
“Plastic bags cost twenty cents each. Did you bring your own?”
“I did, I did.” Lin Xiaoman quickly pulled a bag from her clothes and unfolded it, thinking to herself: So this is called a plastic bag.