The Scavenger's Daughters (Tales of the Scavenger's Daughters, Book One) (13 page)

Afterward Jet had bought them ice cream, and they sat on a bench and talked for another hour or so. Because he asked and seemed to genuinely want to know, she had told him all about her family. She described each of her sisters and was surprised at the interest in his eyes with each story of abandonment. He seemed hungry for every detail she tentatively gave until she’d described their personalities and told all she could about each of them. She finally worked up the courage to ask him why he was so interested in her. She’d never forget his answer and it kept reverberating in her head as she unseeingly passed all the familiar sights on her path home. She could repeat it over and over, and she wished that she had the nerve to tell it to her Nai Nai and ask her to record it in the book on her page. But since she didn’t, she’d just have to hold it in her heart. She silently mouthed the words one more time.

“Lin, I knew you were special from the first moment I saw that look of determination cross your face. You didn’t care that you were a girl and were racing against your own boss. Even with the weight of the world on your shoulders, you’re obviously driven to find a way to succeed. I’ve never met anyone like you. The more you tell me about yourself, the more smitten I am.”

Smitten?
She was confused and more than a little embarrassed to have to ask what it meant.

“Smitten means I’m going to spend as much time as I can getting to know you, and if you’ll let me—I’ll try to make your life just a little easier. Let me earn favor from the gods by showing you that I’m something more than just an official’s spoiled son. Give me the gift of letting me share in your world.”

B
enfu rose with the sun. He picked his way through the rainbow of colored quilts that covered the girls as they lay sleeping around the room on their pallets. Today he’d decided that he would attempt to collect in a different location than his usual path. He really didn’t want to resort to the plan, but money was tighter than ever and collecting within town was getting harder. For the last few days he had been forced to pick through cabbage leaves, egg shells, and uneaten noodles to find even a small bounty of paper or cardboard that could be sold. And this week he had found no plastic bottles before other scavengers had beat him to them. The spring festival to greet the New Year was coming soon and in addition to squaring up all his accounts as was tradition at the end of each year, Benfu wished to give his daughters a worthy celebration.

After going outside to the small outhouse he returned to the house and found Calli already pouring him a cup of tea. Behind her the large pot of congee was steaming, the aroma making Benfu’s stomach growl. He was thankful for any breakfast the gods saw fit to provide his family but the sweet corn soup from the night before still lingered on his mind. They had made the bounty go far with several tasty recipes, including
yumi lao,
his favorite sweet deep-fried corn fritters, but it was finally all gone.

“Zao,”
Calli called out softly.

“Good morning,” Benfu answered as he went to the sink and washed his face and hands. He quickly brushed his teeth and turned the water off. Peering into the mirror tacked above the sink, he used his comb to slick his hair back. He scowled at the color. There was a time he kept his hair jet-black with Calli’s help and a bottle of dye. But once the gray had declared war, he’d finally let it take over. Yet still there were times he didn’t recognize the old man in the glass and he wished for the younger version of himself that was still rooting around in his mind.

He went to the stove, opened the hatch door, and stoked the coals to warm the room. Already Calli had sewed sand up in long lines of cloth to put around the cracks of the windows and the door, small barriers but at least something to catch the chilly drafts that would soon turn frigid. Some of his neighbors had upgraded their houses to propane heating or small electric portables, but Benfu couldn’t afford such luxuries and was glad the old stove still performed.

Satisfied finally that his morning rituals were complete, he sat down at the table and sipped his tea, trying to hold back his urge to cough. Behind him the girls began to move around and awaken. Poppy stirred and let out a cry and Linnea rose to see to her.

“Ivy, please care for Maggi,” Calli quietly spoke as she stirred the congee, her voice hoarse from the long night in the cold room.

Benfu let his cough out but continued to face the wall to allow Ivy the privacy to change the pad underneath Maggi. The girl’s paralysis was such that she didn’t even know when she was soiled, but every morning one of her sisters tended her and made sure she was fresh to start the day. At eight years old, Maggi had spent her entire life unable to care for herself and knew nothing different. In their household, Maggi was the most optimistic of all the girls and when things were tough, she was the first to find good in every challenge. Benfu was thankful for the day he found her on the street corner, lying on a mat with a cup in front of her, begging for coins. She had fallen into the clutches of a gang and at an innocent five years old, probably brought
in a worthy take each day. But the thieves should not have been so confident to leave her alone during the noon hour while they left for the midday lunch and nap.

Benfu had worked in the area and watched them for an entire week, until he was sure he knew their routine. Then one day he had swooped in and rescued her. No one around them had said a word when he pedaled to her and quickly climbed off, picked her up, and put her in his cart. To stop any questions, he had muttered to those around her that the girl was his granddaughter. Maggi didn’t resist; she was accustomed to having no say in her fate and Benfu thought she had acted like the interruption to her day was somewhat welcome.

Benfu drained his cup of tea just as Calli brought him a heaping bowl of congee.

“
Xie xie,
my love,” he said as she set the bowl and spoon in front of him. Calli went back to scoop up more bowls and left Benfu to eat and finish his thoughts about his Maggi, who lay waiting patiently for him to eat his breakfast and take her to her bench—just as patiently as she had been that day in the cart of his bicycle when he had rescued her.

As he had pedaled furiously away that day three years ago, he had felt a moment of fear that the gang leader would come after him. He was naught but an old man and couldn’t possibly fight for the girl. But fear for the fate of the child won out and he continued his getaway. Once they had traveled far enough away from the scene, he’d turned his head and told the child that he was taking her home to meet her Nai Nai. The moment Calli had met them at the gate and enveloped the girl in her arms, she was theirs. The girl had given them her name but said she never knew her parents. After asking for her permission, they had renamed her Magnolia—shortened to Maggi—because they wanted her to know that although she had been introduced to an ugly part of life, it was now time for a fresh start and all the anguish and suffering that had come before could be forgotten. In his home she would be loved and cherished—not taken advantage of.

Finished with his breakfast, Benfu rose from the table and went to Maggi. Ignoring the sudden pain in his chest, he bent down and lifted her in his arms. It was worth the discomfort he felt each day just to feel the affection that she gave as she squeezed his neck tightly and smiled up at him. He set her gently on her bench and straightened her legs. Pulling the coverlet around her, he gruffly reminded her not to work too hard. He thought once again that if he had the money one day, he’d take her to Shanghai for a second opinion; perhaps someone could give them hope for her future.

He turned and gathered his things. Linnea brought him his coat and he put it on, buttoning it to the top. Calli came and stuffed a clean handkerchief in his pocket and handed him his bottle, filled with tap water. He tightened the cap and put it in his other pocket. He headed for the door but stopped in front of Jasmine, who had crawled up to snuggle in his warm spot on the bed. He touched the tip of her nose and was rewarded with a shy smile.

“Daughters, be good and mind your Nai Nai today,” he said as he looked around and made eye contact with each of them. He knew he need not even have reminded them, as he was lucky that all the girls were well behaved, save for some occasional bickering.

“But Ye Ye, why are you going to work today? It’s Sunday,” Ivy asked, her brow already creased with worry. She sat on the floor as her twin sister, Lily, stood behind her and braided her long hair.

Benfu patted her on the top of the head as he walked to the door and picked up his shoes. He took them outside and sat on the bench to put them on. Ivy waited another second for Lily to finish rolling the elastic around the end of her hair, then, always the little questioning one, jumped up and followed Benfu.

“Ye Ye? Why?”

“Because, Daughter, I need to pick up some more things. The spring festival is coming and you want fresh fruit and dumplings,
dui
?” He put first one shoe on and then the other before he erupted in a fit of coughing. Ivy quickly knelt down and tied the shoes for him, then looked up. Beside
her, tiny Jasmine appeared like a silent dark-haired ghost, her big eyes staring.

“But why won’t you let me go and help you, Ye Ye? I can walk as fast as you can ride, and I can pick up the trash you point out so you don’t have to get off your seat,” Ivy said.

Linnea walked up behind the girls, her hands on her hips.

“If you’re working today, then I should work today. Ivy can stay home and then Lily won’t be sad. I’ll help you,” she said. Her stubborn streak was showing and Benfu struggled to keep from chuckling, which would have made her lose face. Linnea was a very proud young woman. And if their estimate of her birth date was correct, her personality was a perfect match for her zodiac, the dragon.

“What’s with all this bossing around?” Benfu softly scolded. “Today is a day of rest and after you have helped your Nai Nai with making the tea, you girls should spend the afternoon doing something fun. Play outside, read a book. Don’t worry about me. I might even stop and have a game or two of mahjong with Lao Gong.”

Benfu planned to do no such thing, but the girls were protective of him and he had to tell them something to get them to stop worrying. As far as he knew, his old comrade Lao Gong was still in Guilin visiting his son. He sure hadn’t seen him around in weeks.

“Ye Ye!
Zai jian!
” Maggi called from her bench, doing her best to peer around the doorframe to see Benfu. As usual, her voice was cheerful and optimistic for the day.
At least she isn’t mad at me for leaving,
he thought to himself.

“Maggi, on second thought, I’m coming back in to pick you up. You need some outside time today while it’s such mild weather.”

Benfu went back into the house and after guiding her arms into her outside coat and buttoning it, picked the girl up in his arms. He was once again glad he was much stronger than the average sixty-something-year-old man.

“Maggi Mei, I do declare, you are getting heavier than a bag of potatoes,” he teased, making the girl giggle. “Maybe we ought to throw you in a pot and boil you with some garlic. I think you’d make a tasty treat!”

With Calli fluttering about behind him to make sure he didn’t drop her, Benfu carried Maggi out and set her on the bench, then tucked the coverlet around her skinny legs. Maggi smiled from ear to ear from the special attention.

He looked around to find Jasmine still directly behind him. He bent down and touched the tip of her nose, then pointed at the sky.

“I love you to the moon and back, Jasmine,” he said, then felt his heart lighten at the smile that spread across her face. Oh, how he wished she could return the sentiment.

He straightened up and looked around one last time.

“Linnea, please make sure you watch out for your sister and take her back inside in about an hour,” Benfu said.

“
Hao de,
Ye Ye,” Linnea answered, settling herself next to Maggi on the bench. Calli gave one last check to make sure her daughter was secure, then returned to her tasks in the kitchen cove.