The Scavenger's Daughters (Tales of the Scavenger's Daughters, Book One) by Kay Bratt Page B

many yuan the papers she’d ironed brought in. Paper was probably the least valuable of all his finds, but it was much easier to collect than the more-coveted abandoned bicycle and auto parts he sometimes came across. And goodness, when he was lucky enough to find discarded televisions and computers, the internal guts if still intact brought in his biggest income for the month. But everything helped and he was lucky he had a family that wanted to do its part in any way possible.
    “Poppy
hao-bu-hao
?” he asked, moving to the small sink to wash his hands. The baby had brought a new level of energy to their home and despite his concerns that they were getting too old to raise any more children, he thought the presence of so much youth did a small part to keep him and his wife young.
    Calli looked up, her eyes tired. “She’s fine. A bit colicky today but I think she’ll be okay.”
    Benfu crossed the room and looked down at his wife. He put the back of his hand to her forehead. She didn’t feel hot and he was relieved. They couldn’t afford for Calli to get sick, as she was the glue that held his family together. She always had been and always would be. Without her, Benfu wouldn’t have the strength or desire to move forward in such a hard world.
    “She might be okay, but what about you, Calli? You look tired.” He was concerned. Usually Calli never showed her fatigue.
    “
Dui,
I was just getting ready to take a nap, if I can get this little beetle bug to sleep.” She sat rocking in the chair, while she held the baby over her shoulder and thumped her repeatedly on the back.
    Benfu reached out for the baby. “Let me take her. You go lie down.”
    His wife handed the baby up to Benfu and she stood, straightening the wrinkles from her apron. “Oh, I forgot to tell you, the new officer from the district came by today to ask if we have any more room. He brought our stipend.”
    Benfu’s face darkened into a scowl, even as he settled Poppy gently in the crook of his arm. The local officials were very aware of the home they ran and had even brought at least a dozen of their daughters to them over the years. There just weren’t many places for homeless children to be sheltered and Benfu had gained the reputation of taking them in. Just in the last few years they began paying a small allowance for each child that came from them, though nothing for the ones Benfu brought home himself and not near enough to take care of all the girls. For the state, the monthly pittance was a small price to pay to avoid opening the orphanage. Ironically a beautifulbuilding stood empty on the richer side of town because it was too expensive to staff and keep running. Instead needy children were bumped from place to place, some ending up back on the streets where they were found.
    “I hope you told him that we cannot take any more children.” Benfu was glad he had missed the meeting with the official. He was already dreading the day that he was too frail to work and he didn’t know who was going to support the daughters he had remaining in his care. Though he would never turn away a child, he preferred that now the officials start to find new families—younger parents—to open their homes. There were some scattered throughout the area but not near enough.
    “I did.” Calli moved slowly across the room and sat on the edge of the one bed in the house. She bent down and removed her slippers, then lay back on her pillow. At her cue, the girls one by one stopped what they were doing and went to the corner and pulled their bamboo mats out, unrolling them to get ready for their afternoon naps. Maggi folded her last paper and pulled the plug out of the wall to disconnect the iron. She was visibly tired and though she would never voice a complaint, Benfu thought she looked relieved it was nap time.
    He looked down at the baby girl in his arms and smiled. “It’s time for you to close your eyes, Mei Mei.” Half the time he called all the