That was money he had saved up from selling discarded mineral water bottles and cardboard boxes, together with a few of his newly met buddies.
He was saving up to buy a pair of pretty high heels for his mother.
At that time, a pair of heels cost thirty yuan, and he had saved up five yuan so far.
These were probably all that he owned, then.
His sister, equally young, naïve, and helpless, could only hug him with tears in her eyes.
As they had left in a hurry, she, too, had to leave behind her priced possessions—books, pencils, and pretty dresses that her mother had bought for her from bargain stalls at a marketplace.
The dresses had looked good on her despite their cheapness, so much so that young Xiao Jie would twirl around her, chanting, 'Sis is like a fairy! You're like a fairy!"
She could not bring any of those dresses with her when they escaped in a hurry.
"Mom… why are we running away?" he asked quizzically.
