Chapter 4 Starved on the Slope
The coldest time arrived. The city still had not fallen. The front always said they were just a little short, but a month passed and it was still just a little short.
Master and I had only one Steamed Bun each day. He could not bear to eat even his half. I looked at the half in my hand, swallowed, and did not eat either.
We waited until midnight and did not see Sister Lanxiang. What came was her friend.
The braids Sister Mudan did for me were the prettiest. Before she entered the camp she had been a hairdresser. She always cared about her appearance. Now her hair was a mess.
"Ahua, go play outside for a bit. I need to talk to Master about something."
Sister Mudan's eyes were very swollen. I vaguely felt something wrong, but Master had already pushed me out the door.
Before long a whimper came from inside. It was Master. His voice sounded like a broken threshing machine.
Sister Lanxiang had starved to death. She was not the only one. By this point the soldiers no longer cared about that business. The Camp Courtesan women could not even get half a Steamed Bun.
Sister Lanxiang's body was buried carelessly on the back slope behind the tents. Master called her name again and again.
"Xiang'er, Father is sorry!"
"Father is sorry!"
So Master was Sister Lanxiang's father. He had gone out with the shopkeeper to buy goods. When he returned he found his daughter had been taken into the camp.
After that day he left the restaurant and found his way here. But Sister Lanxiang would not acknowledge him. Master had come too late.