Spilled Water

by Sally Grindley

  I kept close to the girl who had befriended me and sat down next to her, hoping she wouldn’t mind. She took a plastic bowl from a pile in the middle and served herself from one of the tureens. As I did the same, she warned, ‘Be sure to eat well, but don’t take more than you can manage. They’ll fine you if you leave any.’

  I nodded, grateful but shocked at what she had said, though I was so hungry that I was sure I would have been able to eat anything that was put before me. However, my appetite quickly disappeared as I tried my first mouthful of the chewy, over-salted meat stew that was our dinner. For the second time since I had run away, I found I was imagining myself back at the Chens’, where the food had always been delicious, even if I was only given leftovers. Everyone around me was tucking in voraciously. Were they used to the food, no longer noticing its awfulness? Were they hungrier than me? Or had they simply never tasted anything better? How strange, I thought, that regardless of how dreadful my time with the Chens had been, it had opened my eyes to how good some things in life could be. I steeled myself and swallowed the remains of the food in my bowl, washed down with a cup of thin, tepid tea.

  ‘Are you sure you’ve had enough?’ said the girl next to me. ‘You need it to keep you going.’

  ‘I’ve had plenty,’ I said. ‘What do we do now? Can we go to our rooms?’

  The girl shook her head. ‘Not yet. We go back to work. There’s overtime for another four hours. Compulsory overtime.’

  I could feel myself beginning to shake. Another four hours. I couldn’t cope with another four hours. Not today. Not any day.

  ‘Are you all right? You get used to it, you know. Sort of. What’s your name?’

  ‘Lu Si-yan,’ I whispered.

  ‘My name is Li Mei. Don’t think me rude, but you look too young to be working.’

  ‘I didn’t think it would be like this, working in a factory. They made it sound so special.’

  ‘They would. That’s how they tempt people like us, people with no hope of anything better. I’ve been here for six months. Another six months and I’ll leave and take the money I’ve saved back to my family. Is that why you’re here?’

  I nodded. ‘I thought if I could just do a month. They promised that would be enough. But I don’t think I can even last a week.’

  Li Mei gazed at me in consternation. ‘How old are you, Lu Si-yan?’ she asked.

  ‘Nearly twelve,’ I muttered.

  The bell rang at that moment. Everyone stood up and headed quickly for the doors. Li Mei helped me to my feet.

  ‘Think of your family, Lu Si-yan. Remember their faces, remember their smiles, remember the good times. Think of them and you’ll get through.’

  I nodded, but just the mention of my family made me want to cry my heart out. We hurried back across the courtyard. Li Mei squeezed my hand encouragingly when we re-entered the machine room. I sat down at my table, picked up a bear, kept my head bowed and struggled to regain my composure.

  ‘You can do it,’ whispered Li Mei.

  I wished I could believe it. My hands were so sore that I could scarcely hold the needle, let alone exert enough pressure to push it through. The supervisor came and stood behind me.

  ‘I knew it,’ she growled, after watching me for several minutes. ‘Why do they give me these girls who are not up to the job?’

  ‘Why don’t I change with her?’ Li Mei smiled at the supervisor. ‘I’m good at eyes. Lu Si-yan can sew on the ears instead of me.’

  I glanced gratefully at Li Mei, then stared straight ahead of me, certain that the supervisor would say no just to spite me. After what seemed like an eternity, she replied, ‘She had better be good at ears. We are not running a charity here.’

  She left Li Mei to show me what to do.

  By the time the final bell rang, at half past ten, I was so exhausted that I could barely keep my eyes open. Even though it had been easier to sew on the ears, my hands were still bruised and bloody from pushing the needle through several layers of fur. My back and shoulders had begun to protest at every effort. But at least the supervisor had grudgingly accepted that I was better at ears than eyes and might make the grade in a week or so.

  Li Mei took me under her wing and told the supervisor that there was space for me in her dormitory and that she would show me where to go and what to do. I was so relieved, for I was dreading having to sleep in a room full of strangers.

  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.’<
br />
  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 s
o 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.