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Chapter 8
+ 5 Points
Chapter 8
Upon learning my age, he shook his head.
“No way, you’re not old enough to work legally. I can’t hire you.”
Sighing, I realized I’d have to start rummaging
through trash bins earlier. If I we
everything would be picked over.
late,
Disheartened, I let go, picked up the burlap bag,
and was about to leave.
“The place is a mess,” he exclaimed, clutching his head in frustration. “We’re short–staffed and
overwhelmed!”
Clever as I am, I caught on immediately and
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Chapter 8
+5 Points
rolled up my sleeves to help clean the tables.
By noon, I had pretty much tidied up the whole
store.
The store owner looked stern, worried I might expect something in return.
“Don’t think I’m hiring you. It’s just thank you for helping out. Stay for a meal.”
I eagerly nodded; I loved food more than anything.
At the table, the boss’s wife added a special serving of braised pork.
I eyed the shiny, succulent pork, swallowing hard, but focused on the greens before me.
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Chapter 8
+ 5 Points
As I chewed the greens, I imagined the juicy, sweet flavor, pretending it was the braised pork.
The owner tossed two pieces of pork into my bowl with his chopsticks.
“Why aren’t you eating the meat? Finish it and grab more!”
The other employees also starte adding food to my bowl, telling me to make myself at home.
I was surprised.
When I used to eat with my parents, a plate of scrambled eggs with tomatoes would prompt me to take two bites of the eggs, which I loved.
“All you do is pick out the eggs,” my mom would
say.
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Chapter 8-
+ 5 Points
So, I turned to eat peanuts, and my dad teased, “How many have you eaten? I’m keeping
count!”
After that, I never dared to take the better dishes
at the table.
I forgot–I wasn’t at home and could take what I
liked.
I cleaned my plate; it was the fullest meal I’d
had.
Before this, even a packet of instant noodles was a luxury.
At 1.5 per pack, that’s 4.5 a day, and 135 a
month. Who could afford that?
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Chapter 8
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So I got smart and camped out at convenience stores, opening blind boxes.
After work, they threw out expired lunch boxes
en masse.
At 8:30, with heavy snow, I might find a day–old meal or sandwich if I was lucky.
Sometimes they had gross liquids on them, but no worries a quick wipe and they were good as
new.
Eventually, whenever a clerk came out to dump trash, we’d meet awkwardly. They eyed me strangely, but I had a thick skin.
Afterward, they started putting things out
before 8:30.
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Chapter 8
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They’d place them not in the trash, but on the stone post beside it.
Mostly, it was bread with a long shelf life and fresh lunch boxes, all clean and nice.
I didn’t even have to brave the cold for food, and I ate better than I ever had at my parents‘
house.
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Chapter 9
– SPORTS
Chapter 9
The women at the shop curiously asked why I was wandering.
I mumbled that I was an orphan, with no parents.
It was close to the truth.
At night, they didn’t want me to return to the internet café and said there was an extra bed in their dorm.
I felt it was too much trouble, so I kept refusing.
Some of them pulled my hand, others pushed my back, practically carrying me inside.
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