Mei disliked the smell. But it was not unfamiliar. Nor was it unbearable. Deep in her heart, actually, she always had great compassion and respect for the old, the poor, the sick, the helpless and the homeless. Sooner or later, that smell would disappear, and everything could be nothing.
When the light grew brighter and brighter, noon was nearer and nearer. Mei started to feel hungry. She searched for snacks from a plastic bag next to her belly and took out a box of sweet pies stuff ed with mashed green beans. Before Mei asked, Ming put aside his phone with a long wail of losing a game, and the screen soon died. His hunger moved him to eat almost half a pie at the fi rst bite. Mei fondly told him not to swallow all at a time, but drink some water and save as much phone battery as he could. She explained nicely that the train wouldn’t reach the destination for more than three hours, and there would be another two hours by bus to the town where they were going to spend the night.