Spilled Water (10 page)

There were twenty beds crammed into our small dormitory. Five of them weren’t yet being used because the busy season hadn’t
quite started at the factory. I chose the spare bed closest to Li Mei’s. Like all the others, it was covered with a faded
red blanket, there was a skinny pillow and at the end was a worn, discoloured towel. By the side of the bed was a small locker,
into which I bundled my clothes and my bag.

Li Mei took me through to the washrooms. There were two basins and two showers to be shared by all of us. By the time we arrived,
a queue had already formed outside the shower cubicle doors.

‘It’s always like this,’ said Li Mei, grimacing. ‘We have to wash our overalls in the basins or showers as well as ourselves.
By the time we get to bed, it’s almost time to get up again.’

‘What time do we get up?’ I asked, alarmed.

‘Up at seven o’clock, start work at eight.’

Well, I was up at six o’clock at the Chens’, I thought to myself, so seven o’clock wasn’t so bad.

We joined the queue, though I was so desperate to go to sleep that I would have been happy to go to bed as I was. While we
waited, Li Mei introduced me to some of the other girls. They were all teenagers, I guessed, and I was by far the youngest.
They laughed and joked as we stood there, relieved to be freed from the monotony of their individual tasks and the harsh regime
of the workroom, even though they too were exhausted. I gathered that most of them would leave when they had made enough money,
that they were never paid what they thought they were owed, that Mr Wang broke the law in forcing them to do overtime, that
the supervisor told tales and was not to be trusted, and that from March onwards they would be working even longer hours to
keep up with orders for Christmas toys from companies in other countries. I was so glad that by then I would have left.

Tired as I was, I found it difficult to sleep that night. The hard, unfamiliar bed, the relentless wheezes and snorts of the
fifteen other girls, my fear that I would be unable to cope with a full day’s work the next day and that I would be thrown
out on to the street, all contributed to hours spent tossing and turning in the dark. I finally dropped off, only to be woken
what seemed like minutes later by the wake-up bell.

Chapter Twenty-one

Just Like Family

Without the friendship of the girls and Li Mei’s protectiveness, I should never have survived those first few days. I dragged
myself from my bed each morning, not the slightest bit rested and longing to crawl back under the covers. My back, neck and
shoulders ached constantly from sitting in the same position all day long. My fingers became so tender it was agony using
the needle. My head throbbed under the blazing fluorescent lights and at times my eyes became blurred. The initial relief
at being put on to ears was short-lived, to be replaced by despair at the tedium of the task.

It was the same for all of us, though. We lived for the bells that signalled a ten-minute break in the morning, half an hour
at lunchtime, ten minutes in the afternoon, forty minutes at dinnertime and, most of all, the bell that told us the day was
over.

By the end of my third day, I had speeded up a lot, but I knew that I still had some way to go before the supervisor would
be satisfied. Mrs Wang came to see me, looked at my work and said that I was doing well.

‘Just ask for a meeting with me, dear, if you have any problems,’ she said. ‘We want you to be happy here. Our workers are
just like family to us.’

In the dormitory that evening, the other girls imitated her.

‘We want you to be happy here,’ one of the girls said fawningly. ‘Put up your hands if you’re happy.’

They all sat on their hands, then fell about laughing.

‘Our workers are just like family to us,’ mocked another. ‘Slaves, more like. How can she keep a straight face when she says
such things?’

On Friday we had to present ourselves at Mr Wang’s office, one by one, to receive our wages. I had no idea how much I was
due, but with all the overtime I had worked, I was sure it must be a fair amount. I was excited at the prospect of coming
away with my first sum of money towards the cost of my journey home and helping my mother. As I queued with the other girls,
I couldn’t wait for it to be my turn.

I was summoned at last. I knocked on Mr Wang’s door and he called for me to enter and sit down.

‘Doing reasonably well, I hear,’ he said. ‘Not up to scratch yet, but coming on. Of course, we don’t pay you while you’re
training, and there’s the little matter of the fare to repay, but we feed you for free and provide you with accommodation.
If you carry on the way you are, young lady, then I shall be only too happy to hand over your first wage packet at the end
of next week. I can’t say fairer than that, can I? Now, be a good girl and close the door behind you, would you.’

I felt faint. I stood up as though in a trance. I don’t know how I made it to the door, but as soon as I was out in the corridor
I collapsed. The girls who were still in the queue gathered round me. Mr Wang, hearing the commotion, opened his door and
told two of them to take me to the dormitory.

‘She’s not ill, I hope,’ he said. ‘Can’t afford to employ people who keep fainting.’

When we reached the dormitory, I had recovered enough to send the girls away. They had their own wages to collect, and they
were expected back at work. Besides, I was desperate to be alone, to think things through, to come to some decision about
what I was going to do. But, once again, what choice did I have? None, and the Wangs knew it. ‘You work hard enough and we’ll
have you home for Spring Festival,’ Mr Wang had said. Well, I had worked, and I had earned precisely nothing. A whole week
had gone by. Only three weeks left now and I was no better off. I lay on my bed, ignored the bell for dinner and, in the rare
moment of quiet, fell asleep.

I was woken when the girls came back to the dormitory just after half past ten. Li Mei sat on my bed, asked if I was all right,
and held out a bowl of cold noodles for me.

‘Eat, Lu Si-yan. I stole these for you. You must eat to keep up your strength. Anyway, they’re the best thing we’ve had all
week,’ she smiled.

I took the bowl and thanked her. I hadn’t realised how hungry I was, but until then I had only picked at the uniformly grey
dishes that had been put before us morning, noon and night.

‘Was it the wages?’ asked Li Mei. ‘Did they pay you too little?’

‘They didn’t pay me anything,’ I muttered between mouthfuls, almost ashamed to admit that the Wangs didn’t think I was worth
paying.

‘Why, the tight-fisted, penny-pinching –’ Li Mei was furious. ‘They never pay what we think we’re due, but it’s despicable
not to pay you at all. They’re just taking advantage of you because of your age.’

‘They said I’m in training and should be grateful for the free food and lodging.’

‘Very grateful,’ said Li Mei sarcastically. Then she turned to the others. ‘Come on, girls,’ she called. ‘Let’s have a whip-round
for Lu Si-yan.’

I saw instantly that one or two of the girls were opposed to the idea. I leapt to my feet, red with embarrassment. ‘No, please
don’t. You’re very kind, but please don’t. Mr Wang is sure I will have earned my money next week.’

Li Mei looked at me doubtfully, but didn’t argue. The next morning, however, I found a small amount of money in my locker.
I challenged Li Mei about it, but she denied all knowledge.

‘Whoever gave it to you wants you to have it and will be offended if you don’t accept it,’ she said. ‘And when we go into
town tomorrow you will need some money.’

She saw the puzzlement on my face.

‘It’s Sunday tomorrow, and Sunday is our day off! Didn’t they tell you? We sleep, Lu Si-yan, oh, how we sleep. Like babies
in their mothers’ arms. Breakfast isn’t until half past nine. After that we have to wash our overalls and clean the dormitory,
but then we’re free to do as we like.’

‘Ice cream, here we come,’ cheered Song Shuru.

‘Karaoke, here we come,’ called Shen Enqing.

‘Boys, here we come,’ laughed Dong Ying, and they all began to chatter excitedly.

Saturday crawled past after that. The thought of no wake-up bell, the thought of no ears to sew, the thought of going into
town with my new friends filled me with impatience. I glanced up at the clock in the workroom over and over again, willing
the hands to move round more quickly. Once, the supervisor warned me about slacking, but even she couldn’t dampen my spirit.
For the first time since I had left home, I was being given the freedom to go out without fear, and to have fun. As for the
possibility of meeting with boys, the idea made me feel incredibly adult and like a timid little girl all at the same time.
How would I know what to say? I wondered. I pushed the little girl aside. I was growing up fast and I wanted to be accepted
by my friends as one of them.

At last, the final bell sounded. We all tore out of the workroom and into our dormitory. Several of the girls leapt out of
their overalls and cavorted round the room, swinging their clothes over their heads before hurling them to the ground and
jumping on them. Others threw themselves on to their beds. Dong Ying and Song Shuru started a pillow fight. Their screams
of delight were infectious. Soon, all of us joined in. Even when one of the pillows burst, sending feathers flying all over
the room, we carried on.

Then Li Mei began to sing, and we all stopped to listen. Shen Enqing sang in harmony with her, a beautiful song about mist
and mountains, rivers and waterfalls, a cormorant fisherman sailing quietly along in the golden light of an evening sun. The
river. I had lost sight of it. My exhilaration at the freedom I would enjoy tomorrow ebbed with the realisation. The chains
would still be attached. Real freedom was still a long way away.

‘Don’t look so sad,’ said Li Mei, putting her arm round my shoulder. ‘Tomorrow we will have fun. Don’t spoil it by looking
further ahead.’

I sighed, then grinned at her. ‘All right, oh wise one. Race you to the shower.’

We charged down the gangway between the beds and out through the door. I reached the cubicles first, but slid on the wet floor
outside and landed in a heap. Li Mei stepped over me and tried to open the cubicle door. I grabbed hold of her leg and pulled
her down beside me. We sat there, in our soggy underwear, shrieking with laughter.

‘You’ll be all right,’ said Li Mei. ‘I’ll make sure you’re all right.’

Lazing in bed the next morning, in the euphoria of not having to get up for another half an hour, I suddenly remembered that
I had no clothes to wear. All I had was my servant’s uniform. I couldn’t go out in that, especially not if there were going
to be boys. The wild scenarios I had dreamed up about how the day would pass exploded into nothingness. I would have to stay
in the dormitory on my own.

‘I can’t come out with you,’ I said to Li Mei while we were washing our overalls.

‘Why ever not?’ she asked.

‘I’ve got nothing to wear.’

Li Mei laughed. ‘We all say that.’

‘I mean it,’ I said. ‘All I have with me is my domestic’s uniform.’

When she saw my face, she leapt to her feet, ran back to the dormitory and reappeared several minutes later as though nothing
had happened. It wasn’t until I returned to the dormitory myself, and discovered the neat pile of clothes on my bed, that
I found out what she had done.

‘Trousers courtesy of Dong Ying, blouse courtesy of Song Shuru, jacket courtesy of Li Mei, hair slide courtesy of Shen Enqing,’
said Li Mei triumphantly.

‘Try them on,’ instructed Song Shuru.

‘Fashion show coming up, girls,’ announced Dong Ying.

I blushed shyly. ‘You’re so kind,’ I said.

I took off my pyjamas and climbed carefully into the borrowed clothes. Although far from new, they were the prettiest clothes
I had ever worn, and the most grownup. If it hadn’t been for my neatly bobbed hair and clumpy, sensible shoes, I should have
felt like an empress.

‘Give us a twirl, then,’ said Song Shuru.

‘A little bit big, but otherwise perfect,’ said Li Mei. ‘Now, no more talk about not going out.’

I changed into my spare overalls to help clean the dormitory, which took quite a considerable time. We had to scrub out the
showers and the latrines, hang our wet overalls out to dry, change the sheets on our beds, sweep and mop the floors throughout,
empty the bins, and collect up the extraordinary number of white feathers that had drifted into every corner of the room and
which clung to cobwebs, curtains and bedding.

‘Better make sure we don’t miss any,’ muttered Li Mei. ‘They’ll use any excuse to fine us.’

At last, at one o’clock, we were all ready. Everyone looked so much more beautiful in their normal clothes. Some of the girls
had put on make-up, which made them seem very sophisticated. I was sure they wouldn’t want me tagging along with them, so
I kept close to Li Mei when we gradually split up into smaller groups on the way into town. It was freezing cold, a fierce
wind slowing our progress as we crocodiled along the road, but we were too intent on enjoying ourselves to let it bother us.

Ahead and behind us were bunches of boys and girls from other parts of the factory. They were as happy as we were. Shouts
of laughter, whistles and cheers echoed backwards and forwards. Whenever another group caught up with or overtook us, we exchanged
greetings and bantered good-humouredly. I felt as though I were a member of a great big club. In my shiny red jacket, my soft
black trousers, my hair blowing wildly but fashionably pinned at the back with Shen Enqing’s jewel-encrusted slide, I was
happier than I could remember and full of expectation.

Once we had passed the industrial outskirts of the town and numerous grimy side streets crammed with cheerless single-storey
shacks, we turned a corner and the road widened into a tawdry, rackety shopping area. Multiple coloured neon lights flashed
above the doorways and in the windows of the shops and eateries, even though it was still daylight. Music blared in a riot
of competing tunes from shops selling jeans, cheap silk, ice creams, mobile phones and televisions. Hairdressers had chairs
set out on the pavement regardless of the cold; there were mahjong parlours, photo parlours and karaoke bars.

I was startled by the brashness of it all. The market town I had visited with my father had been colourful and bustling, the
town I had visited with Mrs Chen had been sparkling and elegant. Here was something different again. The centre of this town
throbbed with exuberance, in stark contrast to the grim reality of life in its factories and streets. Certainly, the workers
from the factories, as soon as they reached the shopping area, became like dogs let off the leash.

‘Ice cream, ice cream, give me that lovely ice cream,’ chanted Dong Ying.

We piled into a shop selling ice creams in eight tempting flavours.

‘I don’t know which one to choose,’ I said, desperate to avoid the disappointment of picking the least tasty.

‘Choose more than one, then,’ a boy in front turned to say. ‘Who’s counting?’

The thought of such extravagance made me blush, as did the mere fact of being spoken to by him, but then I saw that everyone
ahead of me was coming away with three or four scoops.

‘Spoil yourself,’ said Dong Ying. ‘You won’t get many chances.’

‘Not once the peak season begins,’ grimaced Song Shuru.

I clutched the money that had been left in my locker. Whoever had given it to me had intended me to spend it on myself. I
would start saving as soon as I received my own wages at the end of the week.

‘Three scoops, please,’ I said when I reached the front of the queue. ‘Peach, vanilla and ginger.’

We walked slowly along the road, gazing at the clothes in the shops, licking at our ice creams, which would have tasted delicious
after the food at the factory even if I hadn’t made the best choice. Dong Ying darted into one shop to try on a jumper. While
we waited, we browsed through the racks of blouses, skirts and trousers. Li Mei pounced on a long-sleeved yellow blouse and
held it up against me.

‘This was made for you, Lu Si-yan. When you earn your first wages you must come into town and buy it.’

The other girls nodded enthusiastic agreement.