Can She Go Find Her Brother?

Summer, 1995. The Cixin Pharmaceutical Factory in Donghai City, the home of Deputy Secretary Shen Sibao.

the first rays of dawn shone into the living room, illuminating a solitary small slipper, then quickly moving to a few thin strands of hair near the orchid pots and antelope horns.

A pink shirt lay half on a chair and half dragged toward the bathroom.

Inside the bathroom, little Ban Xia lay powerless on the floor. Using every ounce of strength to draw in a bit of air, she heard the muffled sound of her mother, Qin Xiu, panting from behind the tightly closed bedroom door: "Husband, I accidentally killed Ban Xia just now. She stopped breathing."

"I'm not even angry anymore. It's been two hours, and her whole body is cold!" she sobbed.

"You always say I have a bad temper, that I'm fierce. But why don't you say how fierce and stubborn that girl is? She refused to say where the silver coins were hidden even if it killed her! She’s a thief, too, daring to steal Xiao Long's chocolate. If I don't hit her, who will?" Qin Xiu cried as she spoke. "Husband, come back quickly. We have to figure out how to handle this together, okay?"

The phone hung up. The crisp sound of leather shoes echoed. Ban Xia lay on the cold floor, twitching.

It was Qin Xiu again. She said, "Xiao Long is awake. Mommy will take you to Grandma's house to watch TV, okay?"

The young boy, having been woken up, was cranky. "No, I'm sleepy."

Qin Xiu said gently, "Grandma bought you yogurt, sunflower seeds, and sun cakes. You can eat while you watch TV. Won't that be nice!"

The boy sat up. "Mommy, carry me."

With a *thud*, the door opened. The sound of high heels faded into the distance. In the bathroom, Ban Xia slowly crawled up.

Dried blood covered her nose and had dripped down to her chin.

The child staggered toward the sink, knocking over a bottle of body wash. She turned on the faucet. Warm water flowed into her nose and throat, and tears poured from her eyes, washing the blood from her face.

Stumbling out of the bathroom, her hand gripped the white painted wall, leaving four small spots.

Wiping away the blood with her hand, she pulled the shirt over her body.

Buttoning each button took a massive amount of her strength.

The little girl leaned against the wall and slowly walked across the floor, taking a deep breath.

Air, water—things so ordinary, yet to this child at this moment, they were incredibly precious.

Ban Xia had died once.

Right here, two hours ago at five in the morning, her mother had woken up and beaten her.

Her soul had drifted in the air. She had seen herself lying on the ground and saw her mother panic, hugging her and crying, trying to perform CPR.

Afterward, she saw many things that would happen in the future.

She saw her father return early from his business trip and saw him discuss with her mother how to dispose of her.

She saw her father put on leather gloves, take a large pair of pliers, cut the wire of the water heater, and place it on her body. Thus, her body slowly changed, even turning black and smoking in places.

Later, she saw the police arrive. She saw her mother make a scene, threatening to jump off the building, while neighbors criticized and pointed fingers. She also saw her mother looking very pained and miserable, wailing over her body.

At that time, Ban Xia thought her mother loved her.

Having accidentally killed her daughter, her mother was so grief-stricken she didn't want to live and wanted to follow her in death.

But later, after the police and neighbors left, Ban Xia saw her mother calmly wipe her tears and say: "Anyway, Ban Xia wasn't ours. If she's dead, she's dead. We still have Xiao Long."

Her father coldly asked her mother: "The child is gone. How do we find the money?"

Her mother finally cried out: "If we can't find the silver coins, how can we exchange them for money? What will we have left in the factory?"

That couple only cared about the silver coins, not her.