‘Oh, there’ve been big changes. You know Kong Dufa who took over your husband’s teaching post? Slimy bastard. Well, he’s village head now. His son graduated from university last summer and has got a job at the County Transport Bureau. You won’t believe it: the village has become a tourist destination! Six coachloads of visitors arrive every day. My neighbour has built a side extension and opened a restaurant called the Happy Farmer. And that painter, Old Cao, who created the mosaic mural for you. Well, his son, Cao Niuniu, has done well. He’s a successful artist now. Lives in Beijing. He came back to the village a few months ago and bought the Sky Beyond the Sky Hotel and has turned it into a painters’ colony. He’s got a hundred artists living there, churning out copies of foreign masterpieces that he sells back in Beijing. And you heard that Kong Qing’s wife was arrested for complaining about her forced abortion? Yes, she’s still locked up in the mental asylum . . . Five of the villagers who were arrested in the riots are still in jail. One poor sod is serving fourteen years. Kong Guo was released last month, thank goodness.’
‘What about that sweet, gentle man . . . ?’
‘Kong Fanhua? He’s all right. He chopped down the huge tree in his yard and sold the timber to pay off his fine. His wife has gone to work in Guangzhou. He still cycles around the village every morning collecting eggs . . . Listen, if you do give birth to a son and earn enough money to pay the fine, don’t come back here. Go and live in the county town. The schools are much better there.’
‘How’s Li Peisong, and his son, Little Fatty?’
‘Oh, Little Fatty – he’s in a juvenile detention centre. Granny Kong told him off about something, and he ended up beating her to the ground with a stick. Well, it’s not surprising he’s turned out that way. His parents were left destitute after paying the fine for his birth, and couldn’t even afford to send him or his brother to school . . .’
As Meili puts a ten-yuan note on the counter to pay for the call, a man behind her says, ‘You’re not local, are you? Where are you from?’
‘Hubei Province,’ she says, counting the change before putting it in her pocket.
‘Do you have a temporary residence card for this city?’
‘No, I haven’t brought any documents with me.’
‘Well, you won’t be able to get a room in a hotel, then. Come with me. I’ll take you somewhere that provides free food and lodging.’
Meili follows the man back to the main road. Growing suspicious, she asks, ‘So, how come the food and lodging are free?’
‘The city authorities pay for it. They know hotels won’t accept flea-ridden peasants like you, and they don’t want you sleeping on the streets, spoiling the city’s image, so they’ve built a guest house where you can stay for free.’
‘Are you trying to say that no one in the city has fleas?’ Meili says indignantly. ‘I can’t believe that’s true.’
They reach a dark doorway. When Meili reads the words CHANGSHA CITY CUSTODY AND REPATRIATION CENTRE on the sign above it, she turns to run, but the man grabs hold of her and drags her inside.
‘This is the fourth one I’ve brought in today,’ he says to a uniformed officer at the front desk. ‘So that’s 120 yuan you owe me.’
‘The child you brought in this afternoon doesn’t count. He was ten years old and mute. We couldn’t have sold him on, so we let him go.’
‘You never told me you don’t take children,’ he says, fingering the loose threads on his shirt where his top button has been tugged off.
‘Well, you’d better read the detention criteria again.’
‘This one’s a peasant. She has no documents.’
‘Let me go, comrade,’ Meili says to the officer. ‘I’ll make my own way to the train station. You won’t need to escort me.’
‘You think you can escape that easily? We’ll only release you if someone pays your bail. Old Wu, give her a body search. When did you arrive in Changsha?’ The officer picks up a pen and takes out a registration form.
‘About an hour ago.’
‘Why did you come here? Where were you planning to stay?’
‘I was just passing through, on my way to the train station.’
‘Education?’
‘Primary school.’
‘Where were you travelling from? Take off your belt.’
‘I’m not wearing one,’ Meili says, slapping Old Wu’s hands as