Coming out of the scrap station, Xu Changqing didn't need a mirror to know she was covered in dust, looking no different than a scrap collector.
A bundle of old books in her left hand and a fertilizer bag in her right, all she was missing was a scale and a straw hat to start wandering the streets, calling out to buy scrap.
If it hadn't already crept past three in the afternoon, she would have been tempted to call out for scrap a few times, since plenty of people were home from work on a Sunday.
But while it seemed like there was still plenty of time until dark, the He Family's courtyard house was quite a distance away. Even by bus, the trip would take more than an hour.
She'd been keeping track of the time since she left for the scrap station that morning. Including the time wasted asking for directions, it had taken her a full two hours to arrive.
