Notes on Living Abroad

The spacious first-class cabin was quiet, and not fully occupied. A little Asian girl with black hair and black eyes sat quietly, holding a delicate Barbie doll that was slightly smaller than her. The white woman with brown hair sitting next to her was adjusting her seat, so that she could be more comfortable for the upcoming long flight. It was Zhang Wei's first time in first class. Her eyes swept over the cabin imperceptibly. Beside her, a pair of blue eyes met hers gently, watching her movements closely. She really didn't have much experience in pretending to be a child, so she had to turn her head to look out the window. As the plane ascended, the ground got farther and farther away, and she was about to leave the land of China. Looking at the buildings gradually fading into the distance, Zhang Wei still felt that the current situation was a bit surreal. Whether in her previous life or this life, she had never been abroad. Even the only contact with foreigners in her previous life was the foreign teacher at school. Just the day before yesterday, she had heropisthenar, the back of the hand scratched while fighting to keep a steamed bun. God knew how terrifying it was when she opened her eyes yesterday morning and saw a bearded foreign face right in front of her. Originally, Zhang Wei just wanted to find a place to get some food, but she didn't expect that she would end up "mooching" all the way to the other side of the world. But this matter had to start from three months ago... "Achoo! Achoo——" Hearing the noise, Zhang Wei, though wearing a mask, still turned her body sideways. Even though it was barely effective, it was at least a form of psychological comfort. This was already the eighth or ninth sneeze from Ma Pilu across the way. Zhang Wei couldn't stand it anymore and threw a mask over: "If I have to take sick leave tomorrow, I'll say it's because you deliberately infected me!" Ma Pilu, though a bit annoyed, put on the mask. It wasn't that Zhang Wei was being harsh; it was just that there were quite a few people getting the second round of COVID recently. When Zhang Wei got it last time, she had a fever for a week, which was really a disaster for someone living alone. Zhang Wei tightened the edge of her mask over her nose. Just as she let out a sigh of relief, she felt a chill run through her body, and a sense of foreboding crept into her heart. Sure enough, as soon as she got home, she developed a fever. She swallowed a ibuprofen and fell into a drowsy sleep. When she pried her eyes open a c***k, her head throbbing with pain, she unexpectedly saw a fierce-looking old woman forcing medicine into her mouth... Although Zhang Wei had some consciousness at this moment, her whole body was weak. She could only clench her teeth tightly. As soon as the porcelain bowl came close, it hit her teeth. This action seemed to provoke the old woman. Heavy slaps came "crackling" down on Zhang Wei, bringing a stinging pain. "Hiss—" Zhang Wei gasped. What was going on? Had robbers broken into her house to rob and kill her? She remembered the door was locked from the inside, and the key was still in the lock. Hadn't she heard that no one could pry it open like that? "Hel—ugh—" She was about to call for help when the bowl was thrust forward again. Muddy-tasting water filled her mouth, leaving her unable to breathe. She could only swallow desperately. Once she'd swallowed it all, her lifted head was dropped heavily. A sharp pain shot through Zhang Wei's head, and she lost consciousness again. When Zhang Wei woke up once more, it was hunger that roused her—she smelled the scent of food. But when she opened her eyes, what she saw was not the familiar orchid-patterned chandelier. Instead, it was a wooden roof, with spider webs and dust clearly visible on it! Zhang Wei closed her eyes again. Thinking of the old woman who had forced medicine on her earlier, she wondered in panic: Could it be that she had been robbed and trafficked while she was sick? Cold sweat broke out on her back from fear, and she dared not open her eyes. After a while, having mustered up enough courage, she opened them again. She moved her hands and feet. Apart from a dull ache, there was no feeling of being tied up. But when she held her hand up in front of her eyes, she was shocked—could this dirty, tiny hand really be hers? It wasn't until Zhang Wei found it difficult even to get out of bed that she realized the truth: she had turned into a five or six-year-old child... It seemed that this child had died of a fever, and she herself had also died of a fever, only to end up here. Damn Ma Pilu—if she ever got back, she'd scold him to death! There was another dark-colored frame bed in the room, with several large patches on its mosquito net. The room also had a strange smell, and there weren't even any shoes under her small wooden bed... It looked like in this life, she had been reborn into a poor household. The growling in her stomach reminded Zhang Wei again that she was hungry. She had no choice but to grit her teeth and walk out of the room, following the smell of food. Her bare feet felt a chill on the ground. Before she’d even walked two meters down the passageway, she heard the clinking of bowls and chopsticks. When she reached the door, she saw three people eating: There was the fierce-looking old woman who’d forced the muddy water down her throat earlier. At the head of the table sat a middle-aged man who bore a faint resemblance to her—his eyes bulged slightly, giving him a menacing look, and his large, stocky frame made the young woman beside him seem even smaller by comparison. When Zhang Wei’s gaze fell on the woman, she was startled. She was beautiful, utterly out of place with this shabby house and the people around her. She had a delicate oval face and large, expressive eyes. Though her skin was slightly sallow and her clothes were tattered and dull, none of it diminished her beauty. At that moment, she was meekly serving food to the man. Perhaps her stare was too intense, because after a moment, the three diners noticed her—but their reactions were nothing like she’d expected. The beautiful woman’s eyes flickered over her quickly, devoid of any emotion, before she returned to focusing on serving the man. The man barely glanced at her before going back to his meal. Only the old woman started muttering indistinctly, and when Zhang Wei didn’t react, she barked a couple more times. It was some dialect Zhang Wei couldn’t understand, but she wasn’t about to let her hunger go unaddressed. She stepped over to the table and saw an empty porridge bowl, two boiled sweet potatoes in another bowl, half a bowl of cabbage, and half a bowl of some dark, unidentifiable dried vegetables. She picked up a sweet potato and started eating. Having just finished one, she reached for the second when—c***k! A pair of chopsticks came down hard on her hand. Zhang Wei withdrew it with a wince. By then, the couple had finished their meal and left the table, not sparing Zhang Wei so much as a glance. But she was never one to take things lying down—her stomach was still growling with hunger. Seizing the moment the old woman was clearing the bowls, she snached the last sweet potato in a flash. Before the old woman could start cursing, she darted out the door... Once outside, she nearly couldn’t stop herself—another few steps forward, and her life would’ve been over. It turned out the house was built right on the edge of a cliff. Below was a deep valley, its bottom hidden by fog, looking perilously steep even from above. The yard had no fencing at all. Zhang Wei was afraid of heights; she stepped back several times before daring to look carefully ahead, only to be caught by the old woman, who slapped her a few more times. After hitting her, the old woman dragged her to a kitchen that looked like a woodshed, pointed at a pile of bowls, and rambled on about something. It was clear she wanted her to wash the dishes. Zhang Wei realized she had no status in this household—she might as well earn her keep. She squatted down and silently set to work... As she washed, she wondered: Could this body really belong to this family’s child? The moment she caught sight of her reflection in the soapy water, the doubt was instantly cleared up. The little girl bore about 60% resemblance to that woman—except for the eyes. Hers were set with thin double eyelids, looking a bit cold, but her nose and mouth were just like the woman’s. Could it be that the man wasn’t her biological father? Judging from his and the old woman’s attitude toward her, maybe her guess was right. But that guess was overturned after Zhang Wei followed the woman to the river to wash clothes.