The Scavenger's Daughters (Tales of the Scavenger's Daughters, Book One) Read Online Free PDF Page B

they sat quietly, their cheeks flushing a healthy pink hue.
    Benfu looked around and smiled at his daughters, proud of their attempt to look proper for dinner. Although they couldn’t change their clothes for another day or so, until their allotted bath day, they had all washed their faces and combed their hair. He and his wife had raised many children, andmost of them were now out living their own lives, but he had always made it a point to teach them to be proud of who they were no matter what their status. The children in the room were meant to be the last ones but the new arrival today had changed that plan—once again.
    Linnea, currently the oldest daughter in the house, held the baby. She had arrived home and stopped to repair the loose wheel on the bicycle before taking her turn to get to know the newest member of her family. At seventeen, the girl had an unusual ability to understand mechanics and could fix most anything. Still, like some of her adopted sisters, she had not been allowed to attend school past the fifth grade, as her birth was unregistered. Instead she held a job as an assistant to a street-side bicycle repairman. It earned her only a few yuan a week, but her contribution to the family income was needed and appreciated. Benfu also liked that her job kept her busy; he dreaded the day that she would become interested in boys, as she was already turning into quite the beauty. Luckily, he thought, she hadn’t realized it yet.
    It was Ivy’s turn for kitchen duty, and she scooped the rice from the cooker and distributed it evenly among the bowls as another sister handed out clean chopsticks. When finished, Ivy took the first bowl to her twin. Lily felt Ivy approach and Benfu watched her serene smile slowly appear, her hands out, ready to receive her supper. Then Ivy picked up another bowl and took it to the bench where Maggi stretched out. As she approached, Maggi pushed herself up on her elbows, eager to eat.
    “Xie xie.”
She thanked her as Ivy handed her the bowl and then took the time to pull the coverlet over the girl’s feet. Even though Maggi couldn’t feel anything from the hips down, Ivy didn’t want her toes to be cold. They all took great pains to make sure the girl was always treated with the utmost care. The doctors had said she would never be able to walk because her spina bifida hadn’t been treated soon enough. But other than her sometime grumpiness from pain caused by the lump on her spine, and her embarrassment at her incontinence, Benfu rarely remembered her ever complaining in the three years she’d been with them. She was one of the sweetest eight-year-olds he’d ever known.
    “You’re welcome.” Ivy returned to the bowls and took the next ones to Nai Nai and Ye Ye at the small table. She took Linnea’s bowl to her and set it down beside the stool the girl sat on. She quickly finished handing out the rest and sat down with her own bowl in one hand, chopsticks in the other. They all sat still, waiting for Benfu to give the word to begin their dinner.
    “Linnea, put the baby down into the cradle,” he reminded her.
    She gently laid the baby in the wooden bed and tucked the blanket around her. The child still slept, as she had done almost nonstop since her first bottle hours before. Benfu was worried about her, but he knew that they had done all they could and her destiny was now out of their hands.
    “Let’s eat,” he said, and the room erupted into a clatter of chopsticks against porcelain. Tonight’s dinner was only steamed rice and eggs with tomatoes, but around the room the girls ate as if tasting one of the greatest recipes on earth.
    “Ye Ye, when will we have pork again?” Lily asked, then shoved a bite of rice in her mouth. Lily couldn’t see the expressions everyone held as they looked up to see what Ye Ye’s response would be. However, she was startled at the sudden silence brought on by her question.
    As the eldest, Linnea looked up to answer for their