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On his twelfth birthday, Jiang Hao decided to escape from the orphanage.
There was no particular reason for choosing this day. If I had to pick one, it would be that the beds in the orphanage were too short.
On their birthdays, the children in the orphanage receive neither cake nor greeting cards, and no one remembers it's their birthday. Many don't even have birth records; the birthdays listed are actually the days they were sent to the orphanage. But on these special days, they also want to do something meaningful to commemorate them. Jiang Hao is no exception, choosing to carve a simple sketch into the edge of his wooden bed with a knife. At the age of seven, he started carving from the headboard and completed seven drawings in a row, adding one each year thereafter.
He first carved an oval body, then tattooed the eyes and tail, ultimately creating a simple mouse figure. Because of his given name, he was called "water rat" or simply "rat" since childhood. He had no aversion to these creatures that lived in the dark. The orphanage's sanitation wasn't great, but in the dead of night, he often met their timid yet greedy gazes, deeply understanding their thoughts.
When he was twelve, the blade got stuck at the end of the bed, leaving no more space to carve, so he thought it was time to leave.
He never thought he would stay in the orphanage for so long.
Every year, a few couples came to the orphanage to adopt children. Their selection criteria were remarkably consistent: healthy boys were always preferred. Most of the children in the orphanage were abandoned babies with physical disabilities, while the remaining children were mostly girls, with only a few healthy boys. So, he had always believed from a young age that he would eventually leave this hellish place.
After much waiting, he was ten years old when a middle-aged couple finally took a liking to him. The man squeezed his arm and complimented his sturdy bones. The woman, with a kind face, even gave him a candy. He ate it with sweet delight and sat beside them, watching the other children perform their usual song and dance routine. But midway through the performance, a little girl burst into tears, ruining everything.
The girl was his good friend. Jiang Hao knew why she was sad. She was already seven years old, and the chances of girls being adopted after that age were very low. He should give her the chance. He was a boy, so he still had plenty of opportunities. With this thought, he deliberately cursed in front of the couple, spitted on the ground, and ate his food with his hands. The couple had already felt sorry for the girl, so they finally changed their minds and changed the adoption target.
After the girl left, he continued to wait, waiting for new parents. But bad luck struck. After he turned ten, he didn't grow a centimeter. No one was interested in him anymore. Those who were adopted were either new babies who had just entered the orphanage that year, or other younger children. The few who turned their attention to him were those who dismissed his stunted growth and shook their heads. He endured a difficult life in the orphanage until the arrival of a child nicknamed "Gluten," who marked a turning point in his life.
Mianjin's real name is unknown. He recalls living under a bridge with his father and two older brothers since childhood. One day, urban management officers arrested his father and brother. He hid in the dark and didn't dare say a word. He never saw them again. For many years, he lived alone on the streets, begging for a living. Until a year ago, he was caught stealing from a supermarket and reported to the police by the owner.
After taking him to the police station, the police were also in a dilemma. Given his age and criminal behavior, no punishment was appropriate. They wanted to deport him back to his hometown, but he couldn't clearly identify the bridge tunnel. After three days of eating boxed lunches at the police station, he was sent to the nearest welfare home in the city.
The orphanage was unwilling to accept a child of his age with a criminal record, but the police station chief personally interceded and facilitated the deal. Mianjin ended up staying at the orphanage.
After years of wandering, Mianjin has seen a lot and has a wealth of stories to tell. Since his arrival, every night after lights out has been a regular time for him to share his experiences, and everyone gathers in a circle, mesmerized. Mianjin boasts of having tasted everything: vibrant red candied haws, golden chicken legs, juicy pressed duck... His stories leave everyone's stomachs rumbling. He often hopscotches on trains to the provincial capital, where the buildings are up to 30 or 40 stories tall, filled with department stores, watch shops, jewelry stores, and all sorts of other shops you can't even name. In the windows, a pair of shoes costs 350 yuan, a mink coat 20,000 yuan. In poorer areas, selling just one coat would buy enough to buy a lifetime of braised pork.
He once caught the wrong bus and, by some strange coincidence, ended up in a large coastal city. He spoke of that experience with such enthusiasm, it was as if he were describing a paradise on earth. He described women there wearing short skirts, revealing their radiant white thighs. Men carried suitcases in their left hands and mobile phones in their right, ready for calls. The streets were filled with gleaming cars, and occasionally, a few luxury cars would chug along in a row, filled with blond-haired, fair-skinned foreigners. He lived in the train station, where he had unlimited hot water every day—not only for drinking but also for washing in a basin. The bathroom was odorless, and toilet paper was provided free of charge. Money was easy to earn, too: he could earn twenty or thirty yuan a day begging. If he was lucky, someone would even give him a ten-yuan bill. That evening after work, he splashed out on two bottles of Coke and three fried chicken legs. Unfortunately, on the third day, he was caught begging in front of a patrol car. Otherwise, he might still be living a carefree life.
There weren't many older children in the orphanage. Mianjin and Jianghao, both boys of similar age, quickly became close friends. Mianjin didn't want to stay in the orphanage much longer; the rules were strict and the food wasn't enough. He vaguely remembered the train route to the coastal city and wanted to go there again, permanently. He even persuaded Jianghao to come along, so they could look after each other.
Jiang Hao hesitated for days. On the one hand, he thought Mianjin's idea was a good one, but on the other, his pride wouldn't allow him to become a beggar. Then, on his birthday, as he was carving a mark on his bed with a knife, an unprecedented urge washed over him. "Whatever," he thought, "I'll just go out and try. If it doesn't work out, I'll come back."
That night, he packed his bags (not even a full backpack), climbed over the wall with Mianjin, and slipped out of the orphanage, heading straight for the train station. After climbing onto the coal truck, the refreshing night breeze blew across his face, and he felt his heart beating faster than ever.
Lying on the coal pile, he fell asleep and had a dream.
Across an endless plain, a silver rail stretched into the distance. At its end lay a hazy, dreamy landscape, faintly visible among clusters of flowers and towering buildings. He ran along the track, drawing ever closer to the finish line.
But he was awakened before he arrived. It was daybreak, and Mianjinlao pulled him off at a small station. The surrounding scenery disappointed him. The station was as small as a public restroom, devoid of tall buildings. It looked no different from the haunted place he'd spent the past twelve years. The rails weren't silver either; they were gray, as if covered in dust, and a lot of human excrement was left on the tracks.
The rest of the journey was still unexciting. It only took five or six days for Mian Jin to take him to the big coastal city with ease.
On the first day of his new life, he realized he'd made the right choice; this was the paradise of his dreams. Mianjin hadn't lied to him: the hot water at the station was free, cleaned daily, and even if he snuck into the waiting area to sleep, he could enjoy free heating. Unwilling to follow Mianjin's example of begging, he spent the day collecting cans and plastic bottles around the station. He sold them at the recycling station that evening and made a cool five yuan and forty cents. He and Mianjin pooled their money to buy a vacuum-packed roast duck, which they devoured with relish, savoring the duck bones all night long.
But these good times didn't last. They showed up too often in the train station area, and soon a group of thugs came to visit. Their leader was a young man with blond hair and a rooster comb. They demanded protection money of 30 yuan a week, or they would disappear from the train station area completely.
The two discussed it all night.
"Why don't we just give it to them? I've calculated that with the bottles you picked up and the money I begged, we can earn at most ten yuan a day, which is seventy yuan a week. If we give them thirty, we can still save forty." said Mianjin.
"Okay, I'll do as you say. Starting tomorrow, I'll get up at five in the morning and try to earn twenty dollars a day." Jiang Hao replied.
But after two months, they found they hadn't saved a penny. Sometimes, after paying protection fees, they were left with nothing even for steamed buns. Fate had played a cruel trick on them. When they first arrived, it was during the holidays, when traffic was heavy. After the holidays, the station was noticeably quiet, and they simply couldn't make that much money.
With the arrival of winter, the first snow fell. The station was packed with even fewer passengers. The two men had saved their rations for several days, eating only the scraps they begged for each day, but they still couldn't raise enough for the protection fee. Cockscomb-haired man reached into his coat pocket and slapped each of them twice.
"If you don't hand it in next week, you'll be in trouble." After saying that, he led his thugs away in a swagger.
After their backs disappeared, Mianjin spat on the ground, "Bah, what the hell."
Jiang Hao cursed a few times as well. After venting his anger, Mianjin pulled out a fried chicken leg wrapped in a plastic bag from his pocket and said, "Let's split it."
"Where did the money come from?"
"Hey, I don't have any money. A man who was rushing to catch a train didn't have time to eat, so he just stuffed it into my hand."
The two of them discussed how to divide the chicken legs for a long time. In the end, they decided that Jiang Hao would tear off a few large pieces of meat first, and leave the remaining meat and bones for Mian Jin to chew.
"I've never seen anyone like gnawing on bones so much as you. Maybe you were a dog in your past life," Jiang Hao joked. For the rest of his life, he would regret that joke every moment. It was his last words to Mianjin; he should have said something nicer.
Mianjin smiled and said, "Maybe it's true. I've loved gnawing on bones since I was a kid..."
Before he could finish his words, he was grabbed by the collar and left struggling with his feet off the ground. The one who did it was Cockscomb Hair. It turned out that the gang of thugs had nothing better to do, so they went to the station to buy some beer, drank it, and wandered back to the square.
"Hey, the food is good, and there are big chicken legs to eat." Cockscomb Head snatched the chicken leg from Mianjin's hand, "I was wondering why you guys can't pay the bills in full every month."
"I begged for this, not bought it with money," Mianjin defended.
"I don't care where you got it from. If you don't pay in full, don't even think about having a full meal."
"We will definitely pay it. We'll go back and collect the money. We will definitely pay it tomorrow." Jiang Hao said quickly.
But Mianjin was stubborn and kept shouting, "The chicken legs are not bought." Jiguantou slapped him twice again. He got angry and bit Jiguantou's hand, and fell to the ground with the chicken leg.
His first reaction after landing was to pick up the chicken leg. Cockscomb, whose hand was bitten and bleeding, was completely enraged. He snatched the bottle from his companion and smashed it hard on the back of Mianjin's head.
The thick bottom of the bottle broke, and gluten fell to the ground, never to move again.
Jiang Hao stayed at the police station for three days afterward. After questioning him, they realized they had no time for him, focused on catching Jiguantou and his gang. He took the opportunity to use the restroom and escaped through the window. He knew if he stayed another day or two, he would be sent back to the orphanage. Even after this painful lesson, he didn't want to go back to his old ways.
In the days that followed, he wandered the railroad. Without Mianjin's guidance, he couldn't tell the train's direction or destination. After reversing several times, he was completely lost. He stumbled north and nearly froze to death in the icy snow. Only after the spring arrived did he gradually understand the train's operating patterns and, groping his way south, he finally settled in an unremarkable small town.
The town isn't well-developed, but it's located on a major transportation route, with numerous trains running through. Picking up plastic bottles near the station is enough to make a living. The security is also good, with no gangs currently entrenched in the area.
He stayed there for two years, befriending six street children who shared similar circumstances. Using the skills he'd cultivated during his orphanage days to form cliques and win over people, he quickly united them like Moses commanding his tribe. Under his command, they stole lumber and tarpaulins from the construction site and built a shack on the wasteland west of the train station. With a stable home, he assigned everyone their duties: the attractive ones would beg, the clever ones would sneak into the station to earn quick cash, and those who couldn't do anything else would start fires and cook in the shack. This arrangement made everyone's life easier, and their paychecks actually increased. Consequently, no one in the group, young or old, disobeyed him.
After another Spring Festival, the station was filled with unfamiliar homeless people. Most of them were just staying temporarily, unrelated to the children, and barely able to speak to them. However, there was one dark-skinned, middle-aged man who stood out. Everyone called him "Iron Donkey," though no one knew if it was his name or a nickname. Iron Donkey loved children and often chatted with them, teaching them how to make delicious stews and how to stuff clothes with old newspapers to keep warm. He also gathered unidentified herbs, chewed them up, and applied them to his legs, curing several children's psoriasis.
In the evenings, he would teach the children songs. They were all catchy songs he had made up. One song, "We Are All Wanderers," was quite nice, with catchy lyrics. The children loved singing along: "We are all wanderers, wandering around for a long time. During the day, I beg for food with a bowl. At night, I sleep at the train station. Uncles and aunts, you are all rich people. Please give me a penny or two from your change. Please have pity on the beggars."
None of the kids disliked him. Despite the significant age gap, they still accepted him into the group. But as time went on, they gradually felt something was wrong. Tielu was lazy and ate a lot, lying around sleeping in the shack all day. He used the excuse that his cooking was delicious (which was true) to keep the money for rice and meat. The meals he prepared were indeed good in the first week, but they soon became worse and worse. The rice was reddish brown rice, and there was no meat, only radishes and vegetables. Everyone ate noodles with vegetables. Tielu himself, on the contrary, gained weight and his complexion became rosy. Once, Jiang Hao even found him hiding in the shack during the day, smoking and drinking alone. Needless to say, where did he get the money from?
Jiang Hao was furious. That evening at dinner, he publicly exposed Tielu's despicable behavior and attempted to kick him out. Unexpectedly, the two oldest and strongest children in the group took the initiative to object, shoving the frail Jiang Hao into a corner. The proposal to kick Tielu out fell through. Upon closer inspection, Jiang Hao discovered that these two had always received "special care" from Tielu, pocketing half of the saved meal money.
After confirming his power, Tielu became increasingly brazen. He wanted control over not just food but all income. With the exception of his two accomplices, the children had to pay a certain amount of income every day, or they wouldn't even have dinner. He ate meat and drank wine without hiding from others, getting drunk every night. Jiang Hao and the other five children were furious but could not speak out.
Tielu didn't feel like he was "exploiting" these kids, nor did he feel guilty. He felt like he was taking care of them, teaching them the rules of society and getting them on the right track. Sometimes, when he was drunk, he'd talk about his youth. He said he'd been wandering since he was less than ten years old. For years, he'd always wanted to make some money and return home, but he'd sold his ID card long ago, so no one was willing to hire him, and he had to beg for a living. Jiang Hao listened, and his disdain for him grew even stronger.
To regain his former glory, Jiang Hao secretly rallied the bullied children and agreed to stop paying. But this alliance proved fragile. Tielu rounded up the disobedient children and beat them up one by one, until some soon gave in. Jiang Hao was the only one left standing. Tielu and two of his accomplices tied him up, starved him, and beat him daily. After three days, Jiang Hao was near death, but he refused to give in.
Jiang Hao's closest friend was called "Xiao Henan." Unable to bear it any longer, he let him down at night and urged him to flee. Jiang Hao lay on the ground for a long time, only to drink some water before finally standing up. Tielu and his gang were all fast asleep, snoring like thunder.
Jiang Hao stared at his face for a long time, until it gradually merged with the one with the cockscomb haircut. He thought of Mian Jiang and that snowy day. He had to punish this guy. He was determined to make him truly experience the hell they had been through.
He picked up a rock as big as a bowl, but it felt light in his hand because he had made up his mind.
Tielu screamed after being hit on the head, and rolled over from the quilt and tried to crawl away. Jiang Hao hit him twice more on the back of the head.
The human skull isn't that hard, Jiang Hao thought. The scene before him was like eating a soft-boiled egg, cracking the shell and letting the yolk seep out from the semi-soft egg white.
Everyone in the shack was awakened by the screams, and they were all shaking with fear. Some wanted to run, but their legs were weak.
"Come here one by one and hit him on the head with stones," Jiang Hao said.
Blood still dripped from the stone's edges. No one dared disobey, and they trembled as they were told. Jiang Hao directed them to dig a pit inside the shack and bury the body there.
"This guy doesn't even have an ID. No one knows he's missing, unless someone here is lying." Jiang Hao said, "You've all taken action. If we get caught, no one will be able to escape."
All the children nodded repeatedly. The two children who had been accomplices of Iron Donkey were shaking like sieves.
"Let's forget about the past and write it off. From now on, just follow me obediently. If anyone shows any other intentions, I will be the first one to not forgive him." Jiang Hao said.
He thought he wouldn't be able to sleep that night. But as dawn approached, exhausted, he finally fell asleep. He had a dream. In it, he was in a blazing fire, the flames greedily licking his skin. It hurt. His skin peeled away inch by inch, his muscles taking shape, and he grew taller. He felt like he had grown up.
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