Chapter 77: The Little Girl Sleeping Under the Open Sky

The sun had already risen—how dare someone attempt a robbery now, Jiang Fan muttered angrily to himself, preparing to stand and step into the thicket.

He heard the man speak again, but this time his voice had grown gentle. “Don’t cry. I’m really out of options here. I just thought I’d ‘borrow’ a bit from you.”

The youthful sobbing continued unabated.

The man went on, “Please, stop crying. I have two yuan left—take it, just please stop crying, alright?”

A would-be robber, ending up giving money instead of stealing it—Jiang Fan was both amused and exasperated by what he overheard.

He followed the voices into the brush, discovering a man with shoulder-length hair crouched beside a disheveled, filthy girl who was still crying, attempting to comfort her.

Jiang Fan looked at the man and asked, “What are you doing?”

At the sight of Jiang Fan, the man hastily tossed the two yuan aside and fled deeper into the thicket. Judging by his retreating figure, he was at least six feet tall, though rather thin. Jiang Fan made no move to chase him. Instead, he crouched beside the shivering girl and said, “Don’t cry. He’s gone now.”

The girl stifled her sobs, rose, and glanced at Jiang Fan, whispering a timid, “Thank you.”

She looked only about fifteen or sixteen, though she was quite tall—at least five-foot-five—but so thin she resembled a bamboo stalk. Her face was so smeared with dirt her features were indistinguishable, save for a pair of large eyes that, dulled by hardship, lacked any spark.

Feeling a pang of sympathy, Jiang Fan gently asked, “Did you sleep here last night?”

Her voice was barely louder than a mosquito’s. “I’ve been sleeping here for six days.”

She had no belongings with her, and a sour, rancid odor clung to her clothes. Jiang Fan frowned. “You don’t have any luggage?”

She simply shook her head and said nothing more.

He guessed she was still in shock and hadn’t calmed down. Noticing her lips were dry and cracked, he lowered his voice and asked softly, “Have you eaten?”

The girl stared at him, alternating between nodding and shaking her head, but said nothing.

“Come on, I’ll take you to get something to eat.”

At the mention of food, a faint glimmer returned to her listless eyes, and she murmured, “Thank you.”

Trying to ease her tension, Jiang Fan joked, “Can you say anything besides thank you?”

“I—I’m scared. A week ago, I trusted a stranger, and that’s how I lost my bag, and then…”

Her words faltered, and she broke down in tears, unable to go on.

Jiang Fan gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder. “Don’t be sad. Every hardship will pass.”

He meant only to comfort her, but the girl recoiled in panic, taking a step back as if to flee.

Seeing how wary she was, Jiang Fan realized she must have suffered some trauma. He quickly explained, “Don’t worry. I won’t hurt you. Once we’re out of these bushes, it’s just a short walk to the main road. If you still don’t feel safe, you can leave after breakfast.”

They arrived at a breakfast stall opposite Jiang Fan’s rented room. The proprietress, a woman in her thirties, spotted Jiang Fan and warmly wiped two already spotless stools with her sleeve, greeting him, “Brother Fan, what would you like today? I have rice noodles, wontons, and our Chaozhou-style beef balls. How about two servings? It’s on the house today.”

Jiang Fan looked at her in puzzlement. “I’ve only been here two days. How do you know my name?”

She smiled. “Yesterday, you stood up for us. Now all the shopkeepers around here know your name. We’re all hoping you’ll help us again—maybe those thugs will charge us less each month.”

Jiang Fan had heard from Uncle Qiu about the thugs extorting protection fees. At her words, he replied, “Why don’t you shopkeepers band together and refuse to pay? What can they do—rob you in broad daylight?”

The woman gave a bitter smile. “It’s not that simple. Every shop on this street is afraid of them. How could we unite? Take my stall for example—if I refused, Ah Sheng would just send strangers to make trouble for me. They’d find flies in the food or complain about chipped bowls cutting their mouths and tongues. If they cause trouble every day, how could I do any business?”

Jiang Fan pointed to his rented room across the street. “If you’re not afraid of any trouble I might bring, the next time they come for money, tell them to find me in Room 301 across the way. If I’m not in, just say you’ve already paid me the protection fee and they should come to me.”

The woman immediately put down her ladle and gripped Jiang Fan’s arm excitedly. “Really?”

He nodded. “As long as you’re not afraid of the trouble I might cause.”

“What trouble? With your name on my stall, nobody would dare come collect. I’ll make you two bowls of beef balls right away. As long as you look after my little place, you can eat here anytime for free.”

Jiang Fan quickly waved her off. “If I eat for free, I’m no different from Ah Sheng and his gang. Just make us two plates of fried rice noodles—add an extra egg to one.”

It was business hours, but there were few customers, so the food came quickly.

Jiang Fan pushed the plate with the extra egg toward the girl.

She murmured a “Thank you” before devouring the food ravenously.

“Slow down. There’s more if you’re still hungry.”

Jiang Fan ate quickly himself, but he had barely finished half his plate before the girl’s was empty.

Seeing her embarrassment, he said nothing, only turning to the beaming proprietress. “One more, please—with an extra egg.”

From their conversation, the girl gleaned some details. Noticing Jiang Fan’s kindness, she gently tugged his sleeve. “Brother Fan, there’s no need—I’m full.”

Seeing how hungry she was, yet still so polite, Jiang Fan pointed at his own plate and joked, “I can’t finish this one anyway. Food that’s already been ordered can’t be returned. Even if it’s just to help me out, you have to eat it!”

Jiang Fan’s gentle manner put her at ease, and she began to share her story.

Her name was Zhang Xiaoye. She was sixteen and came from Ganzhou, Jiangxi. Six months ago, she and her cousin had come to work at the Lianfeng Garment Factory in Baihao.

Three months back, her cousin began dating Dongzi, a street thug. After they moved in together, when Zhang Xiaoye went to her cousin’s place for meals, Dongzi, noticing her beauty far surpassed her cousin’s, started making advances—touching her inappropriately at every opportunity.

On New Year’s Day, while her cousin was out shopping for groceries, Dongzi tried to assault Zhang Xiaoye, pinning her to the bed. Her cousin walked in just in time, but Dongzi blamed it all on Zhang Xiaoye, who had resisted him fiercely.

Her cousin believed him, cut all ties with her, and used her connections at the factory to have Zhang Xiaoye fired.

With only her cousin in Dongguan and little more than a hundred yuan to her name, Zhang Xiaoye, terrified of Dongzi’s harassment, moved far from Baihao to the village of Beizha in Humen.

For the first two nights, she stayed at a cheap inn for five yuan a night, but as her job search went nowhere and her money dwindled, she didn’t dare stay in inns anymore. She tried not to sleep at night, sitting outside all-night convenience stores until dawn, napping in secluded spots during the morning, and searching for work in the afternoons.

After a week with no luck, she met a fellow from Ganzhou named Huang Yongbing.

Huang pretended to sympathize with her and offered her a place in his rented room.

Living with men and women under one roof was common for migrant workers, and meeting someone from her hometown put Zhang Xiaoye at ease. She didn’t know what Huang did for a living, but he looked honest and harmless, so she trusted him.

But just as she had escaped Dongzi, misfortune struck again.

That very night, Huang Yongbing assaulted her and shamelessly demanded she be his girlfriend. To prevent her from fleeing, he confiscated her remaining eighty yuan and hid her belongings.

After two days, Zhang Xiaoye seized her chance while he slept, escaping with nothing. Despite her ordeal, she still hoped to seek help from her closest relative. She walked back to Baihao from Beizha.

To avoid Dongzi, she went directly to the Lianfeng factory, but her cousin, upon hearing who was looking for her, refused to see her.

Wandering aimlessly, Zhang Xiaoye ended up in Baisha. She noticed a patch of weeds near the village committee office, thinking it was safer being close to the authorities and easier to escape if the security team came to check residence permits, so she chose to sleep rough there.

With shelter sorted, she survived on leftover food from night stalls. If there were no vendors out during the day, she simply went hungry while continuing to look for factory work. This had been her routine for six days.

After hearing her story, Jiang Fan shook his head in pity and patiently said, “If you trust me, come with me later. I have a sworn sister living in Yicun and an uncle who runs a dumpling shop. You can stay with my sister at night and help my uncle out during the day. He’ll take care of your living expenses, and I’ll help you find a job. Would you like that?”