Not far from Baohe, on the riverbank, two little girls stood ready to confront an unexpected visitor, weapons in hand. Their braided hair was a bit messy after the day’s work, loose strands fluttering in the wind. Their small brows were furrowed, and their eyes gleamed with determination. Though they had no real experience fighting people, they weren’t about to surrender their new home and food supplies to some scrawny vagabond, even if he looked two years older than them.

  “Wait! I’m not bad!” the boy dropped to his knees and raised his hands. “I came alone!”

  “What do you want?” Zhang Xue demanded in her fiercest voice.

  “Honorable lady!” the ragged boy addressed her.

  “We’re homeless. What kind of lady do you think I am?” she snorted.

  “Honorable… homeless?”

  “Hah?” the girl frowned.

  “Great homeless one?”

  “You really do need a beating!”

  “N-no, please don’t…” the boy pressed his forehead to the ground and shouted, “I want to become your loyal servant! If you’ll allow it…”

  “What?” the older girl blinked in surprise.

  “Oh!” Mingzhu’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.

  “Nonsense. Speak! How did you find us?”

  “Hmm… You were selling fish, so I figured you lived near the river. I just followed the shore and found this place. That’s all.”

  “Wow! You’re smart!” the younger sister praised.

  “Thank you, young lady!”

  “Don't call her that! She's not your lady!”

  “Hey! Unfair! I want to be a lady!” pouted Mingzhu.

  “Why would you… ugh…” the older girl rubbed her forehead. “Let’s start over. Why do you want to serve us?”

  “I’ve been watching you. You’re strong, you have food and money. There’s no one better in all the slums!” the boy raised his head, sat up, and looked at the sisters with genuine devotion. “I’m an orphan! I need strong protectors if I want to live a good life.”

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  “What if you’re wrong about us?” the older girl asked.

  “That’s my choice! I’ll face the consequences! … Uh, and also… you’re beautiful,” the boy added with a completely serious face. “I’m sure you’ll both find rich husbands.”

  The younger sister was delighted by his words and nodded eagerly, as if everything he said made perfect sense. The older one, however, just stared at him, mouth open, unable to believe someone could actually say that out loud. No one had ever called her beautiful before, so she felt a bit flustered, though she quickly pulled herself together. For a while, she studied the would-be servant closely, as if trying to read his thoughts. Life on the street had taught her never to trust strangers, but a helper wouldn’t hurt right now.

  “What’s your name?” Xue asked.

  “Shi Tou.”

  “All right. I’ll give you a chance to prove your sincerity,” she finally said.

  “Yes! I have a servant!” Mingzhu jumped up.

  “I’m so happy for you, young lady!”

  “Don’t call her ‘lady’!”

  “Bo-o-o! Let him call me that!”

  “Oh, fine. Whatever,” the older one gave in, then pointed at the boy. “But you’re not sleeping here tonight! Leave!”

  “Huh? But… the sun’s already setting. I’ll never make it back to the city in time,” he said pitifully. “I’ll die on the road…”

  “Fine. You can stay — just for tonight.” She rested her hand on her dagger’s hilt and added, “But I’ll be watching you.”

  “Thank you, lady,” the boy said gratefully.

  “Hmph.”

  Very reluctantly, the older sister allowed him to stay, though she doubted every word he said. Past encounters with other street orphans had taught her that strangers always had hidden motives. In her mind, the boy just wanted to learn their fishing secrets, but the clever girl had no intention of telling him anything. She pulled her sister aside for a quiet talk.

  “You can’t trust the first person you meet!” she hissed. “What are you so happy about? What if he tricks you?”

  “Hm? You think he wants to hurt us?” the younger one glanced doubtfully at the boy. “He’s too weak for that.”

  “He could steal something or worse, tell bad people about us.”

  “Sorry,” the younger girl said softly.

  “Don’t tell him anything about how we catch fish, and don’t show him our traps. Got it?”

  “Yes.”

  “And don’t show him our healing herbs either. We can’t even train while he’s here! See how many problems your pity causes?”

  “It’s just… a helper would really be useful,” the younger murmured.

  “Like I said, we’ll test him first. Remember, tell him nothing. Understood?”

  “Mm-hmm.”

  Before the sun completely set, the sisters cooked some rice and, out of kindness, gave the boy a small portion. In gratitude, he washed their dishes and pot with river sand and beat the dust out of their mats. The younger sister looked as though she’d just adopted a puppy and patted the boy lightly on the head for a job well done.

  The night passed quietly. The uninvited guest slept by the fire, curled up, causing no trouble. In the morning, they sent him into the forest to gather firewood. While he was gone, the sisters pulled their traps from the river, emptied out the fish caught overnight, and grilled a few unsellable ones for breakfast. Then they carefully checked and repaired the traps before setting them back in place.

  The boy tried hard to prove himself, he brought back plenty of firewood and even dragged along two thin bamboo logs. It took all his strength to haul them to the river, but his effort paid off: the girls shared a whole fish with him. Nearly crying with joy, he stuffed the tender, seasoned meat into his mouth. For a street beggar, it was the most delicious food he’d ever tasted, like dying and going to heaven.

  * 石头 - Shí tóu (literally "stone")