Qilihe City.
Nightfall carried away the warmth of the day. In September, the northwestern wind had already brought a hint of a chill to Qilihe City.
In the cramped interior of Huimin Pharmacy, tucked away on a street corner, the owner, Zhang Zhulan, and his wife were eating dinner at the counter. A plate of leftover chili-fried fatty pork from lunch, a side of stir-fried bean sprouts, and half a bottle of white liquor was all it took for Zhang Zhulan to have a hearty meal.
But as he ate, Zhang Zhulan's gaze fell upon a figure outside the pharmacy, by the side of the road.
It was a young girl in a dark black tracksuit, sitting in a wheelchair.
The girl's hair was in a ponytail. She had a somewhat dazed look and was staring fixedly in his direction, though for what reason, he couldn't tell.
In fact, Zhang Zhulan had noticed the girl that afternoon, but he'd assumed she was just waiting for someone by the roadside and hadn't given it much thought.
