The Scavenger's Daughters (Tales of the Scavenger's Daughters, Book One) (20 page)

“I have a very bad cough that won’t go away, and my body aches night and day.”

Xiao An giggled and covered her mouth. “Maybe because you are an old man.”

Benfu nodded. “Yes, I know, but this time I think it’s not old-man related.”

Xiao An was only a small young woman in her early twenties, yet the energetic spark she gave off added a streak of color to the somber atmosphere of the old home. Tiny and with round apple cheeks, she smiled and told Benfu to sit down; her father would be with him soon. Benfu nodded and watched her bustle out of the room, her bright yellow skirt swishing around her ankles.

Xiao An was the only daughter of Dr. Yu and his late wife. Sadly, their teenage son had passed away many years before from an obstruction to the bowel that was not discovered until it was too late. Some would say that a doctor who couldn’t cure his own son shouldn’t be trusted, but Benfu knew that sometimes a person’s fate was in the hands of the gods no matter what interventions were deployed. And he also knew that no one suffered more from the tragedy than Dr. Yu, and Benfu felt a loyalty to the man to keep coming, despite the talk around town that he had lost his medical prowess.

“Benfu! Comrade!” Dr. Yu came to his side quickly and patted Benfu on the shoulder. His daughter followed behind him, ready to assist.

“Ni hao
, Yu
Yisheng.”

Even though he was not a recognized and certified physician, all of his patients called the doctor by the coveted Mandarin title. Dr. Yu took pride in his years of service and was never seen in anything less than a spotless white coat. Even the occasional times he was spotted out in the neighborhoods, one could still see the glitter of the shiny metal stethoscope that always hung around his neck.

First Yu asked him about Calli and inquired about the girls he was currently taking care of. After a few grunts of disapproval, the doctor asked him about his health and examined his fingernails and his tongue. He looked in his ears and listened to his chest.

“Your chest sounds very congested.”

Benfu nodded. “Lately I cannot get my breath, Yisheng.”

The doctor’s usual cheerful face fell serious. “You need a chest X-ray. You must go to the hospital this time, Benfu.”

“No, I cannot, Yisheng. It’s not a good time for me to afford the hospital costs. Can you give me
zhen ci
?”

Benfu could see the doubt on the doctor’s face and that scared him a bit. Dr. Yu was usually very confident. Beside him Xiao An shook her head disapprovingly but didn’t offer an opinion.

“Hao le,”
he finally agreed. “Come to my working room and we’ll give you the needles.”

With that he briskly left the room. Xiao An waited for Benfu to gather his hat and then they both followed the doctor to his operating room, or so he called it when the need arose. Benfu hoped the treatment would work and have him feeling better soon. He focused his thoughts on what he’d been asking for in his prayers every day for the last ten years.

One more. Each day he asked for just one more sunset. One more look into his Calla Lily’s eyes. One more butterfly kiss from each of his daughters still at home. So far his plea for just
one more
had worked—so he’d keep it up.

Twelve needles, a half dozen suction cups, and a session under the heat lamp later, Benfu straightened his clothes and prepared to leave. The procedure had been painless, other than one of the needles that went in. For the most part he didn’t even feel each penetration, even though they were inserted at least two inches into his tissue, according to the nonstop narrative from Xiao An as she handed Yu the tools and watched him work. Talking through the procedure was her way of learning and her father only nodded in agreement as he wiggled the needles around for the best effect.

“Duo shao qian?”
Benfu asked Xiao An as she wrote out a bill.

“Fifty reminbi if you have it. Twenty if you do not.” She didn’t look up from her writing and Benfu appreciated the gesture. He pulled a twenty-reminbi bill from his pocket and set it on the tabletop in front of her.

“I will bring the rest next month.”

She nodded, then took the bill and put it in her apron pocket. She ripped the receipt from the pad and handed it to him.

“Just a minute. My father will bring your prescription.”

Benfu sat on one of the several stools placed around the perimeter of the room. He already felt a little better and hadn’t coughed once since he’d gotten up from the table. He should’ve come weeks ago, he thought to himself.

Dr. Yu came back in with a small packet of brown powder. “Mix one spoon of this with one cup of tea each night before you go to bed to help you sleep.”

Benfu was glad to get the herbs. Maybe his daughters and Calli would finally get some rest from hearing him cough all night. He’d already tried some home remedies of his own but thus far nothing had worked.

“
Xie xie
, Yu
Yisheng
. My old lungs will appreciate this.” He tucked the pouch into his pocket, not even asking what it was. His trust in the old doctor was complete and had been for decades.

“My other prescription is only advice,” the doctor said. “It is time to slow down. You are old now—almost as old as me—and you need to stay away
from the county dump sites and all other trash so full of bacteria and disease. Go to the park like your comrades and perform the morning
Tai qi
! Your lungs need a break and some clean air!”

Benfu chuckled at the thought of spending his time idle in the park, stretching alongside others his age. Not only was that unlikely to take place; with his responsibilities it would not be possible to have that much free time.

The doctor held his hand up. “I’m not done. You also should send those girls to the children’s home in Suzhou or Nanjing and let the government take care of them. You take care of yourself and your
Tai Tai
only. This is the only way you can stop working so hard.”

Benfu gave the doctor a gentle smile and shook his head.

“Yu
Yisheng,
I have only the utmost respect for you and I’m grateful for your care. But please remember those girls you talk about are my daughters. I would rather die than give them up to life in an institute. That is not an option and I would appreciate it if you never give me that advice again.” He pointed at Xiao An. “And look at what a wonderful girl you’ve raised yourself! Would you ever dream of letting her go?”

The doctor looked at Xiao An and Benfu could see the love in his eyes for his devoted daughter. Xiao An smiled at her father and tilted her head. Benfu could see easily by her expression of compassion that she understood the comparison.

Yisheng hung his head and didn’t reply. He didn’t have to. Benfu could see his answer.

“That is what I thought. It is the same for me and my girls. Thank you for your care today and I’ll be back around next month. Good day to you both.”

With that Benfu put his hat back on his head and left the small house. Outside he breathed deeply, testing his ability to inhale. Unfortunately the effort sent him into another coughing fit. He covered his mouth and climbed on his bike, not looking forward to the long ride home. But at least there he would find his soft bed, his beloved Calla Lily, and his litter of amusing daughters.

L
innea ran the brush through her hair one more time and then turned to head out the door. She was lucky; her sisters had left her to get ready in peace as they went outside to enjoy the good weather and give Nai Nai a chance to get the baby to sleep. Their house was quiet—a rare phenomenon.

“I’m going out for the afternoon.” She hoped there would be no questions.

Benfu sat at the table, shuffling the deck of cards. Since the few weeks before when Jet had left the gift, they’d all become quite fond of family competitions as well as short solitary games. Linnea could easily see how so many people became addicted to the sport. It was a great time filler, especially when they were probably only one of a few families left in China that didn’t own a television or computer.

“Where did you say you’re going, Linnea? I must have missed that.” He tapped the deck of cards against the wooden table.

Linnea was almost to the door. Only steps from freedom and a half-hour walk to Jet, she looked at her Nai Nai for rescuing. She wasn’t a little girl any longer and shouldn’t have to report her every move. Calli ignored the plea in her eyes and continued to rock Poppy. Linnea came back to the table and pulled a chair and sat down. Usually they all spent Sunday afternoons together and she hoped her Ye Ye wouldn’t object to her plans. So far she had
evaded his questions about Jet’s family and she was still waiting for the right time to tell her Ye Ye the truth.

“I’m going to see Jet. He wants to take me to an afternoon movie.” She crossed her fingers under the table.
Not today, please don’t ask me any questions today.
She hadn’t seen a movie since her last birthday almost a year ago and was really looking forward to it—almost as much as she was looking forward to sitting close to him in the dark. Lately their affection had crossed a new boundary, and her face flamed when she thought of the smoothness of his hands on her body. She said a silent prayer her Ye Ye would just let her go, no more questions.

Benfu set the cards down on the table and looked up at Linnea. She could feel his eyes on her, even though she pretended not to notice.

“Linnea, you’ve been spending a lot of time with that boy and you have yet to tell us much about his family. Who are they? What do they do?”

So much for the afternoon
. Finally she was going to have to tell him. She couldn’t lie to her Ye Ye—she just couldn’t do it. She took a deep breath.

“Ye Ye, you said you liked Jet after he was here for our dinner. Right?” She bit her lip, waiting on him to answer.

“
Dui le
. I think he made a fine presentation of his character.” Benfu nodded. “But that doesn’t tell me anything about his family.”

Linnea was relieved he didn’t comment on Jet’s possible future in the welfare department. Maybe that meant he’d softened his stance. She looked back across the room to her Nai Nai, and saw by the pursing of her lips that she was listening, even if she wouldn’t look their way. These kinds of things were always handled by her Ye Ye, and sometimes Linnea wished her Nai Nai would speak up.

“His father is an official. He works in the city government sector.” She waited and watched. And hoped.

Ye Ye looked down at the deck of cards. She could see the tick in his jaw that meant he was trying to hold his tongue. She’d seen it before. She waited but he didn’t say a word. Linnea suddenly felt sick to her stomach. She’d disappointed him.

“Ye Ye, I’m sorry but Jet can’t help who his parents are. He’s a good person, he really is.”

Still he said nothing.

“He talks about his father and his mother like they are nice parents, Ye Ye. Maybe you should meet them?”

He didn’t respond or even look at her.

Linnea felt her heart sink.

“Do you want me to tell him I can’t see him anymore? Is that it?” She looked at him, hoping he’d tell her no. When still no reply came, she looked back at her Nai Nai, but the woman continued to rock the baby and Linnea knew she was not going to get in the middle of it. Linnea was on her own and she’d disappointed the one man who’d ever done anything for her in her whole life. But she couldn’t say she didn’t think this would happen. She knew it was going to cause trouble. In China, a person’s family background was everything. Her Ye Ye didn’t discriminate against wealth or trade, but he obviously still couldn’t get over his bitterness toward the government.