Spilled Water (12 page)

Chapter Twenty-four

Ready to Run

She was right. Two weeks later, on my birthday, I was removed from my job.

I woke in the morning to find a cluster of little gifts by my bedside: a hairslide from Dong Ying, a book from Li Mei, a silk
bag from Shen Enqing and an exquisite hand-made card from Song Shuru. Apart from the card, the presents were all personal
possessions which my friends had chosen to give to me. I was greatly touched by their kindness, and hugged them one by one.

‘Twelve years old, eh?’ said Dong Ying. ‘You’ll soon be a grown-up.’

I aimed a playful punch at her, and as I did, I caught sight of Zheng Yi standing in the corner of the room looking at me
smugly.

‘A very happy birthday, Lu Si-yan,’ she mouthed, before turning to her friends to begin a whispering session.

‘What’s going on between you and Zheng Yi?’ asked Li Mei, who had picked up on the unease I felt in her presence.

‘I don’t think she likes me very much, that’s all,’ I replied. I had no wish to escalate the problem by involving my friends.

‘Probably because you’re prettier than her,’ said Dong Ying. ‘She’s always been a sourpuss that one, anyway. Come on then,
girls, let’s go and stuff those bears.’

We skipped across the yard arm in arm, laughing at our own silliness, and tumbled through the factory door.

‘Eyes, here we come,’ said Li Mei and marched off to her bench.

‘Ears, here we come,’ I copied.

But as soon as I reached my bench the supervisor called me over to speak to me. She said that she had received several complaints
that I was too slow, that I was holding up the production line. She said that she herself had always felt that I wasn’t up
to the job. I was to work instead as a ‘runner’ in the factory next door. It had been decided. Mr Wang was aware of the situation.
I was to have no say in the matter. I was to start straightaway that morning. Li Mei and my friends tried to argue on my behalf,
but with no success.

I was numb with shock when the supervisor led me out into the cold February air, across the concrete yard and through the
doors into my new workplace. The blast of sweat, heat and noxious fumes that greeted me as we entered made me feel sick on
the spot. The noise from the rows of machines was pulverising.

I looked anxiously across the room. Most of the workers in this factory were men. Some of them eyed me up and down with disdain,
others with curiosity, one or two flirtatiously. I lowered my eyes, horrified, and waited to be told what to do.

The supervisor in this factory, a small man with a wizened face and rat-like eyes, showed me round.

‘Your job,’ he said, ‘is to make sure there are no holdups in production. As each worker on the line completes a particular
task, you must race, race, race whatever part of the toy they have been working on to the next person in the line. You must
watch, watch, watch, so that you’re ready to run.’

He showed me the order in which the production line operated, and a sample of the toy currently being made – a large multicoloured
plastic dumper truck. Li-hu would have adored it.

‘Things are fairly quiet here at the moment,’ the supervisor continued, ‘but in a month or so’s time we’ll be at full stretch.
Are you ready to race, girl, are you ready to run?’

I suddenly felt a strong desire to laugh out loud as I pictured this funny little man turning into a rat and scuttling into
a hole. I took a deep breath and nodded.

‘Good girl, good. Off you go then, and remember to watch, watch, watch.’

There were thirteen machines in operation at that moment, though there were double that number in the building. I started
circling round them, trying to fathom out the best way to see as many operators as possible at a time. Some of the processes
took longer than others, so the order of completion of tasks was totally random. It was a case of reacting as soon as a worker
put his part of the truck down, grabbing it and taking it to the next machine.

The speed at which the tasks were achieved was breathtaking. I had thought I would be able to sit down regularly, but no sooner
had I picked up and run from one worker to the next than another one was ready and waiting. The supervisor, much quicker to
spot a completed task or a worker twiddling his thumbs than I was, was equally quick to shout at me to keep up. In the rank,
airless atmosphere, I found it difficult to breathe, could feel myself wilting, but I dared not stop. I had no doubt that
if I failed again to make the grade, I would be dismissed on the spot. I had survived for seven weeks. Mr Wang owed me nearly
four weeks’ more money. I had made a start on saving to go home. I remembered dear Mrs Hong’s words: ‘Your resilience will
see you through’. I wasn’t going to fail now, not if I could help it.

I was comforted to rediscover my friends in the canteen at lunchtime. They bombarded me with questions about my new job. When
I told them about Mr Ratty Eyes and his ‘watch, watch, watch, run, run, run’, they hooted with derision. ‘Are you ready to
race, girl, are you ready to run?’ became our catchphrase, and was greeted with howls of laughter every time we used it. My
friends were shocked to learn that I hadn’t been allowed to sit down all morning, and that one of the men put his hand on
mine every time I went near him.

‘Smack him on the head with his toy part, that’s what I would do,’ raged Dong Ying.

‘Drive a dumper truck over his fingers,’ offered Song Shuru. ‘You poor thing. What a way to spend your twelfth birthday.’

I nodded glumly. ‘It’s awful, truly awful. The only good thing is that we finish at half past ten, at the moment at least.’

‘Now that
is
good,’ smiled Li Mei. ‘You’ll have had an hour and a half’s sleep before we come stampeding in to wake you up again.’

‘I’d rather be with you and the bears for an extra hour and a half than with Ratty Eyes and Groper,’ I grimaced.

I really didn’t know how I managed to stay on my feet for the rest of that day. Even standing up after dinner was difficult
enough, and I still had another three and a half hours to go. The relief I felt when at last I returned to the dormitory that
evening, and the pleasure I felt at having it all to myself, were indescribable. I threw myself on to my bed, stared mindlessly
at the ceiling for a few minutes, then fell asleep.

When I woke again, I was still alone. I went for a shower and stayed under for an eternity, almost as though I could wash
away the horrors of the day. Afterwards, I sprawled on the bed, luxuriating in my cleanness, and picked up the book Li Mei
had given me. I couldn’t concentrate, though. The words danced up and down in front of my eyes and made no sense, for part
of me was listening for the sounds of the other girls returning.

I had fallen into a doze when the door clattered open. Zheng Yi and her cronies came in first – deliberately, I suspected.
She quickly approached my bed and said, smugly, ‘I hope you’ve had a nice birthday, Lu Si-yan.’

I turned away from her. She grabbed my hair and pulled me back.

‘Don’t turn your back on me when I’m talking to you, Lu Si-yan. Where are your manners? No wonder your mother got rid of you.’

That was enough. I kicked out at her as hard as I could, caught her in the stomach, and sent her flailing on to the floor
between the beds. She scrambled to her feet, urged on by her cronies, and was about to aim a punch at my face, when Li Mei
and my other friends came through the door and yelled at her to stop.

‘You keep your snotty noses out of this,’ snarled Zheng Yi. ‘She started it and I’m going to finish it.’

‘Leave her alone, Zheng Yi,’ ordered Li Mei. ‘She’s done nothing to harm you.’

‘And what would you know, Miss Let’s-keep-it-all-sweet-and-nice?’ Zheng Yi retorted.

‘She’s just a kid,’ stepped in Dong Ying. ‘Why don’t you pick on someone your own size?’

‘Who asked for your input, big mouth? She tried to steal my boyfriend. She deserves what she gets.’

I couldn’t take any more. I leapt to my feet and yelled, ‘I didn’t do anything and you know it. You’re making it all up. Why
can’t you just leave me alone? Haven’t you caused me enough trouble?’

I flew across the room, out through the door and across the yard. It was freezing cold and I was in my nightwear, but I didn’t
care. I slumped down behind one of the other dormitories and prayed that no one would find me. I decided in that moment that
I would have to leave. I just couldn’t bear it any longer. I would wait until the end of the week, take my wages from Mr Wang,
then go. I wouldn’t be able to go home, I knew that, because even if I had enough to pay my fare, I certainly wouldn’t have
money left to give to my mother. But anything was better than the nightmare I was living now.

My teeth began to chatter as the cold nipped at my skin and bit through my clothes. I wished I had thought to grab a blanket
on my way out. I could hear voices coming from the dormitory, men’s voices, then other voices, girls’ voices, drawing closer,
moving away, then drawing closer again. I pressed myself flat against the wall, but Li Mei and Dong Ying came round the corner
of the building and spotted me.

‘You’ll catch your death of cold out here,’ said Li Mei gently.

‘I don’t care,’ I replied. ‘I’m not going back in.’

‘It’s all right now,’ said Dong Ying. ‘She won’t give you any more trouble. She won’t dare.’

‘She doesn’t need to. She’s already made it impossible for me to stay here.’

‘If you don’t stay, then you must go home,’ said Li Mei.

‘You know I can’t go home,’ I replied.

‘And you can’t go and live on the streets either,’ countered Dong Ying. ‘You’d be prey to worse than the likes of Mr Wang.’

‘There are other factories,’ I tried to argue, though I knew I was losing.

‘What makes you think they’ll be any better?’ Dong Ying persisted. ‘Besides, no factory owner who obeys the law will employ
a twelve-year-old.’

‘You have friends here,’ said Li Mei, putting her arm round my shoulder. ‘Good friends who care about you. However hard everything
else may seem, at least you have that. We’ll do everything we can to help you, so that one day you will be able to go home.’

I knew, of course, that she was right and that I had no choice. They helped me to my feet and back to the dormitory. I went
straight to my bed, pulled the blanket over me and lay there shivering, but I had noticed, as I crossed the room, that Zheng
Yi was sitting on her bed in the corner with a split lip and a reddened face.

Chapter Twenty-five

All Too Much

I tried to persuade Mr Wang to let me go back to the bear factory, pleading that the work as a runner was too tiring for me,
but that I was sure I would be good at stitching bears’ noses, or sewing the pads on their paws.

‘I’m afraid that there are no vacancies in noses and paws, my dear,’ he said, without even stopping to consider my request,
when I went for my wages two days after starting in my new position. ‘Noses and paws are very popular, so I couldn’t possibly
give them to a newcomer. It would cause discontent amongst my staff, do you see, and I wouldn’t want that, would I? A fit
little thing like you should have no problem keeping up as a runner. In fact, I’d say the job is tailor-made for you, tailor-made.
And since there has been no training involved – anyone could do it – I can pay you the full amount for the job straightaway,
lucky you. Of course, there are some small deductions to help pay for the New Year celebrations, and there’s still some to
come off for the fare –’

‘Please, Mr Wang, please let me go back with my friends,’ I begged.

‘As I was saying, I think you’ll find I’ve been remarkably generous as usual. Now, off you go, dear, back to work. You can
do it. I have complete faith in my choice of workers.’

The receipt of a month’s wages all in one go, even though they had been severely trimmed, cheered me a little, for it seemed
such an enormous amount of money. I counted the notes several times, struggling to take in the fact that they belonged to
me. I wrapped them carefully inside my old blouse and pushed it to the back of my locker. I couldn’t wait to add to them,
for suddenly the dream of going home one day became more of a reality.

My work as a runner, though, was punishing, and was about to worsen. Two and a half weeks after I had moved jobs, a huge order
came in for a range of toy farm vehicles. Suddenly, all twenty-six machines were in operation, a new group of workers was
brought in, including a second runner to help me, and our hours were extended. The delicious time of solitude and relaxation
I had looked forward to every evening since beginning work as a runner was snatched away from me. Our overtime was extended
to midnight.

If I had thought the pace of work was breathtaking before, now it was overwhelming. It was almost impossible to keep up with
the rate at which tasks were being completed, and the supervisor shouted at us constantly. The noise from the machines was
mind-numbing, the heat debilitating. There was no air-conditioning in the factory, the windows were tiny, and the temperature
outside was rising steadily. The air inside was stale and cloudy with fumes, which stung my eyes and made it difficult to
breathe. My legs ached and my feet, already pinched raw by my too-small sensible shoes, swelled and protested at every step
I took. The runner who was recruited to help me lasted for two weeks, then disappeared and didn’t return. A young man was
hired in her place. He had only been there a day when he complained to the supervisor that four people should be doing our
job, not two. Nothing changed, and he left to be replaced by a man who seemed to delight in making me look slow. I asked again
to be moved, but Mr Wang refused and told me I had better hand in my notice if I wasn’t happy. He didn’t want me poisoning
the rest of the staff.

I didn’t leave, but soon afterwards I developed a wheezy cough. It kept me awake at night, and during the day I felt as though
I would pass out if I couldn’t take more oxygen into my lungs. Li Mei said it must be the fibres and chemicals in the air.
She went to see Mr Wang on my behalf, but he turned nasty and said that if she interfered again he would dismiss both of us
on the spot and we would not be paid.

March turned to April and the outside temperature soared. Inside the factory, it was like a furnace. More orders came in.
Our early finish on Sundays was taken away from us, and twice a week we had to work through until two o’clock in the morning.
The atmosphere of discontent that reigned was almost as suffocating as the heat. Those workers who had some choice in the
matter soon departed. Those who, like myself, had little choice, had to put up with whatever Mr Wang dictated.

My cough grew worse. I spent my days feeling nauseous and faint. It didn’t matter how much the supervisor shouted at me now,
I couldn’t have responded. I grew ever more fearful that I would be thrown out. My friends became increasingly concerned about
my health.

One day, I was simply unable to get up in the morning.

‘You must stay in bed today,’ Li Mei insisted. ‘They will have to manage without you.’

I hadn’t the strength to argue. I slept all day long, right the way through till the next morning, waking only to eat a bowl
of rice Li Mei had brought for me. I felt better for the rest, but my recovery was short-lived. A few days later I began to
cough up blood. I was too terrified of what might happen to me to tell anyone. I worked on for another week, until, one afternoon,
I collapsed on to the factory floor.

I was carried back to the dormitory by two of the men. Li Mei was assigned to keep an eye on me, with strict instructions
to return to work as soon as I revived. She sat stroking my hand and wiping my forehead with a damp towel. I remembered my
mother when she had been ill, lying so still that it was as if she were dead. Mother had recovered, but her life had failed
her. If that was the fate that awaited me, if I was doomed forever to a future as bleak as the past ten months, then I had
no wish to recover. I couldn’t go on. I had tried, but my best had never been good enough, and the struggle was just too great.
‘You are like a fragile reed,’ Mrs Chen had said. ‘One puff of wind and you will break in two.’ I was broken now.

I was racked by a sudden fit of coughing. As soon as Li Mei saw the blood on my pillow she ran for help. She returned with
Mrs Wang, who immediately fussed around like a solicitous mother hen, while Li Mei watched her in disbelief.

‘The poor girl,’ she clucked. ‘I always sensed that she was a sickly child, all that fainting for no reason, but she was so
desperate for a job that I ignored my better instincts.’ She stopped to pat my hand, but continued addressing Li Mei as though
I were not there. ‘How cruel of her parents to send her off to work when she’s such a weak little thing. So small for her
age, too. I always wondered whether she was really fifteen like she said.’ She looked at me accusingly at that point, then
continued, ‘She must go to hospital, of course, and being good employers we’ll pay, but I fear she won’t be able to return
here when she’s better. It’ll all be too much for her again. All too much.’

She ran to call an ambulance, muttering ‘Poor thing, poor thing’ as she left the room. Li Mei held my hand once more. Despite
feeling wretched, I began to giggle. Li Mei joined in.

‘That’s put the cat among the pigeons,’ she said. ‘The last thing the Wangs want is someone asking questions about their working
practices and how you came to be in this state.’

‘I’ve always been a sickly child, didn’t you realise that?’ I said.

Exhaustion took over again then, and I fell into a deep sleep. I scarcely stirred as they lifted me from my bed and into the
ambulance, nor during the long journey to hospital. When I arrived, I was aware of a lot of activity around me: nurses taking
my temperature and putting needles into my arms, doctors examining me, disturbing me, asking questions, making notes. I didn’t
want to be disturbed, didn’t want to wake up. I was happy handing the burden of my life to someone else.