Chapter 53

Two Sides of a Coin

The private room was only cut off by an old wood screen. Outside, spatula kept ringing off the wok in waves.

Two hot dishes were already on the table—braised purple-veined tuber, stir-fried ground-runner chicken. Meng Xiangyang sat nearest the door, still in gray-green work clothes, the rusty-red collar trim washed pale, a few light gray marks left on the cuffs. When he saw Eren and the others come in, he shoved his tea bowl farther in to clear space.

"Sit here, sit here," Meng Xiangyang said. "My treat today. Don't fight me for it."

Eren hung his ash-blue vest over the chair back. Mine dust still clung to his cuffs. He sat across from Meng Xiangyang.

Lila had just come from the plant. She'd changed into a washed old outer shirt, dark-brown hair tied with an old cord, damp still at the ends. She laughed once and sat beside Nova.

"You're jumping the gun. Food's not even all here."

Nova set his schoolbag by his feet, then shoved it farther under the chair so it wouldn't snag the aisle.

Meng Xiangyang grinned. "I ordered the lot. Cold ground-lick greens too, and a pot of lamb noodle soup."

The words were barely out when another man stepped in past the screen.

Twenty-six or twenty-seven, half a head taller than Meng Xiangyang, lean, skin darkened by years under the yard sun. Short hair clipped to the scalp; shallow lines roughened his face. Over the gray-green work clothes he wore a washed short jacket, a small tamarisk-branch badge on the left breast, a work badge at his chest with the corners worn bright.

He paused in the doorway when he saw the room already full, then gave a shy grin and wiped his hands on his pant legs.

"Sorry I'm late," he said, voice low, as if he didn't want to bother the guests outside. "A load ran long at the yard. Kept you waiting."

Meng Xiangyang stood at once. "This is my cousin, Meng Shoucheng."

Meng Shoucheng nodded toward the table. "I work for Tamarisk Land Freight—mostly the south loading yard. Thanks for looking after Little Meng on the road."

Eren rose and shook his hand. "Eren."

Lila gave her name too. Nova was half a beat behind. "Nova. Hello, Brother Shoucheng."

Meng Shoucheng looked at the boy and smiled. "Hello."

They sat again. A waiter brought a cold dish and the pot of noodle soup, oil floating on top. The table livened up fast. Meng Xiangyang pushed Nova's bowl forward, then ladled soup for Lila, careful in that host's way.

"Nova—try this first," he said. "Told you on the road I'd get you the good stuff in town."

Nova took a bite. His eyes lit. "It's good."

"Then eat more." Meng Xiangyang grinned at Eren and Lila, and the talk wouldn't quit. "I'm on loading with Brother Shoucheng now. Got my first pay a few days ago. Not much yet—but at least it's money."

Lila smiled. "Whole road you were itching for work. A few days in and you've already got cash in your pocket."

"Right?" Meng Xiangyang talked fast. "People said Rusak had jobs. I was afraid it was talk. It's not. Loading—you've got the strength, you work. Make a little first. Brother Shoucheng says if you want easier money later, sit the safety-officer exam. Soft job, better pay."

Meng Shoucheng heard him getting carried away and cut in with a couple lines.

"I've got the safety certificate too," Meng Shoucheng said. "Posts are scarce, though. No pull upstairs, you wait. Still—extra skill never hurts. Better to have it."

Eren nodded. "Good. Steady, at least."

He gave a brief account of yesterday at the mine.

When he finished, the table went quiet a beat.

Lila glared at him. "You said it was just a scrape."

Eren dropped his gaze from hers. "…Nothing serious."

Meng Xiangyang jumped in. "Sounds scary just hearing it. Our yard's hard, but safer than the mines. High stacking—Cousin won't even let me up."

Meng Shoucheng nodded. "You're not ready yet. One crush, one fall—that's no joke."

Meng Xiangyang glanced at Eren and couldn't help giving a thumbs-up. "But Captain Red Tea's something else. Rocks that big, and he still held them."

"You too, Brother Eren." Meng Xiangyang filled a cup and lifted it in both hands. "To you. You took that monster down on the road and saved me. Now you're with the mine guards, working under a man like Captain Red Tea. Toughest person I know."

Eren waved it off and tapped bowls with him.

Lila laughed. "All right, eat. Keep that up and he won't finish dinner."

When the moment felt right, she steered the talk. "Us, we eat by these two hands. Asked at the mine guards, asked at the town guards. Still asking if anyone knows somebody with those revolutionaries—just want a word passed along."

Meng Xiangyang blinked. "The revolutionaries?"

Lila nodded. "Heard they're around here. Don't know if it's true."

"I've heard of them," Meng Shoucheng said. "Never mind knowing anyone—I don't even know where they are."

Meng Xiangyang shook his head too. "Never even heard the name. Came here, stuck with Cousin at the yard, sleep when I get home. No time to meet people like that."

He hurried a few more lines. "But Brother Eren—mine guards are pretty good. Pay's better. I'd go myself if I had the skill. The revolutionaries… just the name sounds risky. Don't you…"

Eren patted his shoulder. "Just asking around. Don't worry."

Meng Xiangyang nodded, smiled, and eased the air back. "When this month's pay lands in full, I want new shoes first. These are still the ones I wore out of home—soles almost through. And send some money back, so my folks know I'm doing all right in town."

Lila raised her bowl and tapped his, laughing once. "That's the way."

Meng Xiangyang turned to Nova. "Right—how's school? Livelier than what we talked about on the road?"

Nova's eyes brightened; his chopsticks eased down. "Lively. Teacher says I learn fast."

"School's a big deal." Meng Xiangyang grinned wide. "You're ahead of me. Class used to make my head hurt."

"Still does," Meng Shoucheng said.

Everyone at the table laughed. Nova hadn't finished. "That pastry shop you talked about on the road—I saw it after school. Big front. Haven't gone in yet."

"Next time I'll take you." Meng Xiangyang was quick with it. "These months I've got South Street mapped. Which places have lines, which have the reputation—way clearer than when I first hit town."

"It's a deal," Nova said, faster than when he'd walked in.

"Deal." Meng Xiangyang laughed too. "You've got time, yell. I'll come get you after my shift."

Eren's eyes followed Meng Xiangyang a moment, then dropped back to his bowl. He smiled and said nothing. The young man from the road—pack on his back, always talking up how much good stuff the town had—finally had work, a cousin looking out for him, and money he could send home.

Meng Xiangyang was soon onto who at the yard was strongest, who could shoulder two sacks at once, who slipped on a ladder and wouldn't climb for two days. Meng Shoucheng corrected him now and then, trimming the tall parts.

By the end the plates were clean.

Meng Xiangyang had kept his coin pouch on his knee the whole time. The moment a waiter looked in, he stood. "I've got it."

Meng Shoucheng frowned. "You just got paid. Save it. I'll cover."

"I said my treat." Meng Xiangyang held the pouch tight. "On the road they paid for me. Cousin—leave it."

Meng Shoucheng reached to stop him, but Meng Xiangyang was already around the screen toward the counter. His back looked a little straighter than when he'd first walked into Rusak. The meal wasn't only paying a favor back. It was a small proof he could plant his feet in town.

Lila watched him. Softly: "Let him pay."

Meng Shoucheng's hand hung in the air, then drew back.

"That's him," he said. "When he's happy, you can't stop him."

Outside, the sky had gone dark. Toward the south yard there were still cart bells and voices; lamps along the warehouses lit one by one. Meng Xiangyang came out after paying, still smiling, like he'd just won a fight.

They split at the corner. Meng Xiangyang turned and waved; Nova raised a hand too. Lila said, "Careful on the road." Eren nodded goodbye.

The cousins headed toward the yard and the work sheds. Their backs soon mixed into carts, horses, and lamplight.

Eren, Lila, and Nova turned toward the rental quarter.

The warmth of the meal was still there. Nova walked lighter than usual, schoolbag swinging on his shoulder.

Around a corner they saw two shapes at the foot of a wall, standing where the light didn't reach.

Closer in, they caught a low voice. It cut off mid-sentence, as if someone had choked it. The taller one looked up first and glanced their way.

Lila stopped. She angled her body, put Nova on the inside, looked twice—and knew him.

Under the lamp, the tall man had a square face and bright, lively eyes: Yue Xingchuan, from the notice board. His old coat was still buttoned high; short stubble roughened his chin. His hair was a little wilder than last time, not as neat.

Beside him stood someone else, half-turned, face lost in the dark. Yue Xingchuan didn't introduce them—only glanced that way. The other stepped back into the alley at once, light on their feet, and was gone deeper into the black without a word of greeting.

"Yue Xingchuan?"

The man looked at her and held half a beat.

"Lila." Yue Xingchuan answered, voice still deep, unhurried. "Fancy that."

Nova leaned out from Lila's side. "Uncle Yue."

Yue Xingchuan looked down, smiled—the smile never reached his eyes. "Hello."

Lila stepped half aside, lifted a hand, and introduced Eren. "This is Yue Xingchuan. When we were looking for work, Nova and I met him at the notice board."

"Eren." Eren nodded. "Hello."

"Hello." Yue Xingchuan answered once. His gaze skimmed Eren and pulled back, as if he'd already filed the name.

"Still out this late?" Lila asked.

"Just got off."

"Oh—what are you doing now…"

"Sorry. Another time." Yue Xingchuan cut her off, mild. "Still have something tonight. I should go."

He gave them a slight nod and walked on. His tall back flickered under the lamps and soon mixed into the people and carts at the crossing.

Eren patted Lila's shoulder. "That friend of yours—doesn't seem ordinary."

Lila hummed.

"Yeah. Last time he said he was short on cash, hunting odd jobs. This time he looks like someone else."

"Wouldn't be…"

Eren's eyes still swept the place where the back had vanished, as if he wanted to dig one more scrap out of it.

Nova tipped his face up, strap slipping on his shoulder. "Wouldn't be what?"

Lila's voice went very low. "Don't go guessing."