Page 132 - I Live in the Slums: Stories (The Margellos World Republic of Letters)

on the right side, coming downstairs. She was always like this—taking two steps
down, then stopping; taking another two steps, then stopping. From the staircase,
she looked at the scenery on the back streets. Woman Wang thought, The
inhabitants of Catfish Pit are all expert observers. Even the children. At this
moment, she was hoping for another earthquake. She wanted to see—what did
she want to see? Was she just hallucinating? She was also waiting expectantly.
Some things take time to become clear.

Woman Wang ate dinner later than usual because there was something on her
mind that she couldn’t let go of.
She finished eating and was nearly finished with cleaning up when a sound
came from under her bed. Excited, Woman Wang grabbed a flashlight to take a
look. From behind the kimchi crock, Little Ping was gazing at her.

“Little Ping, did you pick up some money?” Woman Wang’s voice quivered a
little.
“No—I mean yes, I got two pennies. Look!”
She held up two pennies. In the dark, they glinted silver white.
“Are many people out on the street?” Woman Wang asked.
“Just me. Actually, I didn’t go anywhere. I’ve been hiding under here. I
explored with my hands and found these two coins.”
She crawled out slowly, stood up, and said she had to go home.
“I’ll come back and find some more coins. There’s as much money under
your bed as there is outside the candy shop. I’m patient. I can feel around in the
cracks . . .”
“Did you find the quartz?” Woman Wang asked her.
Stunned, Little Ping immediately fell quiet and nodded her head firmly. She
said, “Yes. Yes! Quartz, and also granite—mostly bits of gritty damp earth. Why
is it so wet under there?”
Without waiting for Woman Wang to reply, she hurried away.

After Little Ping left, Woman Wang shone the flashlight under the bed again.
There seemed to be a hole at a spot to the right. Looking more carefully, she
decided there wasn’t a hole. All the floorboards were in place. Woman Wang
washed her hands and face and went back to bed. How strange—Little Ping had
left, and yet the wooden bed was vibrating a little. She’d been startled by the
girl’s words. How the hell had she seen through her secret? Woman Wang
counted the years: she figured the girl should be eleven. She’d been coming here
for years and begging for kimchi. Didn’t this make her a conspirator? She liked
money, and so Woman Wang had suggested that she pick up money in front of