light and shadow. The scorching light and shadow of summer are reflected from the strangely shaped eaves tiles with different shapes in the East District, and penetrate into the pitted brick joints.
The crumbling flower pots on the window sill, the clothes hanging in the air, everything in sight seemed to have lost its color, and everywhere was shining with bright white.
A dark-skinned, weather-beaten man squatted on the steps made of stone slabs, concentrating on peeling a pineapple with a rusty knife.
He stared at the pineapple, and his palms, as rough and mottled as granite, moved very slowly, just like the slow-motion shots in a movie. It looked really anxious for him.
Ed knew that the other person was looking at him from the corner of his eye. In order to avoid being too conspicuous, he had hidden the white crow cane in an old umbrella bag, but it was still a bit suspicious to carry an umbrella with him on such a sunny day.
Although his current outfit is not conspicuous, it is not difficult to spot Ni Duan. This was especially true for Angelica, who was following Ed holding a simple parasol.
But it doesn't matter, he doesn't really need to be regarded as an ordinary resident of the East District, as long as he doesn't look like a policeman or a crow at a glance.
"Good afternoon, sir. The weather is really nice today. I haven't seen such a bright sun for a long time." Ed chatted up.
The man didn't reply and just pointed to his ear. A piece of fruit peel fell to the ground as he moved, and flies swarmed around him, greedily sucking up the remaining pulp on the skin.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't know you were in trouble, I'm really sorry." Ed took off his hat and apologized.
"His ears don't work very well."
Overhead, a little boy held a piece of pineapple and leaned against the stair railing on the second floor. When he said this, he pointed to his ear and circled his fingers:
"I have never seen you before. You are not from here, right?"
"Yes, come find a friend and leave in a moment."
Although he said this, Ed had no intention of leaving:
"By the way, you don't often eat pineapples here, right?"
"Yeah. How can we afford this? It's given by others. Every household has one." The little boy stuffed the pineapple into his mouth and said in the same precocious tone as Tommy.
"Everyone has one? Can I get it?"
"Of course, do you want me to take you there?" The boy rubbed his fingers, "...but?"
"Okay, if you can really get the pineapple, then this shiny little thing will be yours."
Ed took out a sixpence coin, played with it for a while in front of the little boy, and then put it back in his pocket.
"Okay." The little boy nimbly slipped out of the gap in the stair railing like a little monkey. He grabbed the wooden steps and landed lightly on the ground. He walked to Ed and pointed to the alley over there.
"Come on, follow me."
A large number of illegally renovated houses and shacks in the East District form narrow and crowded lanes, like a small maze, sometimes going left, sometimes right, and sometimes even taking a few steps up.
"There are always people living in the shack here, right?"
Ed asked, looking at the thatched roof at his feet and the musty smell of bedding in the shadows.
"Yes, there are a few beggars living here together, but they won't come back until it's almost dark at night. If it's too late at night, they won't be able to see the road clearly."
Night blindness. Ed knew that it was a visual disease caused by long-term malnutrition.
Eating some animal liver or fresh fruits and vegetables should improve the condition, but such food may be too luxurious for homeless people.
"Don't they consider going to the workhouse to spend the night? There will be the most basic shelter and food for the homeless. Although it is not very good, it is at least much better than here."
Angelica on the side finally couldn't help but suggest.
"Yes, the workhouse, haha..." the little boy smiled sarcastically, "I'm afraid you don't come to the East District often, sister? There are only 40 places there every night, but there are only beggars I know in this area. There are at least more than two hundred."
"...If you want to get in there, you must first prove that you are impoverished. You must first find a place in advance to hide all your remaining money like a squirrel without being discovered by anyone. Then you must queue up from three o'clock in the afternoon to six o'clock. If they were lucky, they could actually stay there for a night and have a bowl of mushy porridge with minced meat and rotten vegetable leaves.”
"Even so, it's still worth queuing for a while..."
Angelica's voice became weaker and weaker, as if dissolving in the air.
"...Maybe. If you just arrive like this, it's worth trying your luck, but in fact, those places have been reserved for a long time, and the same people are 'randomly selected' to stay every night - or they have some on hand. connections, or save some money to bribe hospital employees.”
"Didn't anyone report this to the police station or city hall? They should have the right to order the workhouse to make rectifications, right?" Angelica's voice trembled slightly.
"Sure, but who cares?"
The little boy pursed his lips and said nonchalantly, even he didn't care about the life and death of these people who lived together day and night.
Naturally, the hospital employees did not have the overwhelming power to keep the police and city hall officials silent about this, but they also had no need to waste their time on a group of beggars.
The workhouse faithfully fulfilled its mission of "relieving the homeless", and every bed was indeed filled with hungry poor people. As for whether this is all fair? Human nature dictates it.
Knowing this is not a bad thing for her. Of course Ed knew what was going on, but he had no intention of stopping the little boy from telling her the truth——
Only when people truly understand the status quo can it really be possible to change the status quo.
"Look, miss, even the sun as bright as today can't shine through the shack here." The boy stepped forward and pointed to the thatch on the eaves and said to Angelica.
"Thank you for telling me this."
Angelica looked up and sighed softly, "But..."
She suddenly grabbed the boy's wrist with her backhand, her eyes confused and surprised:
"Why did you steal my wallet?"
