Chapter 3 Rations Run Short
The city was not so easy to take. After three months of fighting, the soldiers were worn out. With grain short, their tempers turned foul.
Master bowed and scraped to the soldiers blocking the rear kitchen: "Truly sorry. The General ordered that each man may draw only two Steamed Bun a day. No more."
A fierce-faced soldier pointed at Master and spat: "You fat bastard, and you tell me there's nothing left!"
He ordered the men beside him. They turned the kitchen upside down and found nothing in the end.
Master had not lied. The rear kitchen's grain was rationed now. Deliveries came once a day from above. How could there be leftovers?
The soldiers' sharp eyes swept over me standing in the corner. I lowered my brows and head and did not dare breathe loudly.
"Damn it. Nothing here either. Let's go. We'll have to hunt on the mountain."
The group left, leaving a mess. Master and I cleaned up in silence.
That night a woman wrapped in a heavy coat slipped into the rear kitchen in the dark. I woke Master and lit a small torch.
The woman patted my head: "Ahua, why aren't you asleep yet?"
I took from my chest the Steamed Bun I had hidden all day and handed it to Sister Lanxiang.
"Sister, eat."
The soldiers fought until they were exhausted. The first to suffer were the Camp Courtesan women in the army. I had not seen the Sister women for a long time.
That day, when I was fetching water, I heard the kitchen steward instruct those under him: "Those women only lie in bed waiting to be used. They don't labor at all. One Steamed Bun a day is enough."
Sister Lanxiang's under-eyes were dark. She was thin as a stick of bone. The worn coat wrapped around her looked terribly thin.
Master poured Sister Lanxiang a bowl of water, his eyes full of pity: "Young lady, take care of yourself."
Sister Lanxiang did not answer him. She looked at me and said gently: "Ahua is so good."
She walked into the cold wind and left, taking only my Steamed Bun, not drinking the water Master had specially warmed on the stove.
Master watched Sister Lanxiang's back with a desolate face.