Mediumship

Author: Xi Lingxue
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-09-01
Features: Walnut arrived in Dalian two years ago. She wore her sister's old clothes, slightly too large, swaying loosely over her thin frame, making her look even more gaunt—was she naturally thinner than her sister, or did the clothes become looser with each wash? The pants were altered from men's, with the seat tightly fitted but the crotch oversized. The legs were simply cut down and hemmed, so the originally half-worn knees now dangled to her calves. It looked not only awkward but also ambiguous, as if it carried a sense of shame and humiliation, more than just poverty alone. Undergarments were naturally out of the question, and her underwear was made from scraps. The suitcase she carried wasn’t bought but sewn at home from scraps—her very existence seemed to be pieced together from leftover materials. She was thin-boned, with fine eyebrows and eyes, long hands and feet, and an abnormally long neck. There was no harmony in her features. She was also living on the leftover scraps of the world, born into a poor rural family in a remote, impoverished region. She only saw a small world before her and a patch of sky above her roof. What’s important is that she was an illegitimate child, making it even harder for her to have a proper name in this world. She had no household registration, no ID, and thus no defined place in life. At night, she could squeeze into a corner of the kang (traditional bed) to sleep sideways, and in the morning, she’d roll up her bedding to erase any traces. During the day, she walked cautiously, treading on the fringes of life, not daring to say much or take an extra step. She never dreamed of anything that didn’t belong to her. Yet, who among girls raised in the countryside wasn’t like this—childhood was always short, carefree because their minds hadn’t yet matured. Once they understood a little of the world, they’d recognize the hardships of their family and the disappointments of life. They’d likely attend school for a few years before working, whether in the fields or in a textile factory in the city, or as a housekeeper. Even as a housekeeper, they rarely got the chance to work for wealthy families, usually only for ordinary households. Young couples with both working, with no elders to care for their children, would hire a "substitute mother." Even with limited perspectives themselves, how kind could they be to servants? When discussing wages, they’d haggle fiercely, and even after the employer arrived, they’d watch them closely, fearing being taken advantage of. When receiving payment, they’d hesitate and delay as long as possible, then reluctantly smooth out each bill before tightly gripping it, speaking loudly and proudly: "Here, take this." As if the money wasn’t earned through the hard work of a month, but rather freely given by the employer. —Ji Family was Walnut’s fourth job. Before this, Walnut had never met anyone truly noble. But could Ji Tianchi, the Tianchi of Ji Family, be considered truly noble? Or even, could Tianchi be considered truly human? She didn’t eat, talk, walk, or get angry. She did almost nothing except sleep. People usually call such people "vegetables." Yet, a vegetable