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Chapter 23: Steps at the Town Entrance 3:50 a.m. Lin Chen opened his eyes. There was no buffer. Consciousness cut straight into the dark. The hard cowhide sole under his foot had already grown together with the split fl...
Chapter 22: Deadline Moved Up a Day 2:50 a.m. Lin Chen opened his eyes. There was no transition. Consciousness cut into the darkness like a blade. The hard leather sole under his foot pressed against the cracks in the s...
Chapter 21: Official Seals and Mud Marks 3:30 AM. No alarm clock. The biological clock woke first. Lin Chen opened his eyes. The kerosene lamp wick in the main room had burned out, leaving only a faint, dark red ember b...
Chapter 20: The Brick Kiln Scale Five in the morning. Dawn had not yet fully broken. Lin Chen opened his eyes. The gauze on the soles of his feet had dried hard, stuck over the cracks, its edges stained yellow brown wit...
Chapter 19: Marks in the Muddy Water Twenty minutes had passed since the bell marking the end of the exam. Lin Chen stood at the edge of a low lying dip in the county road. Rainwater streamed down the bamboo ribs of a b...
Chapter 18: Night Visit to the Field Ridge 1:50. Lin Chen opened his eyes. No alarm clock. No sound. Outside the window, the rain had merged into a dense sheet of white noise, drumming against the roof tiles and streami...
Chapter 17: Straw Sandals Before the Rain Before dawn broke, the wick of the kerosene lamp in the main room had already crusted over with black soot. Lin Chen opened his eyes on the hard plank bed but didn't get up imme...
Chapter 16: Five Fen a Load Before daylight could pierce the window paper, Lin Chen opened his eyes. His body felt as though it had been bound with coarse hemp rope all night, the muscles in his shoulder blades and lowe...
Chapter 15: Rust and Rope Before dawn. Lin Chen woke up. His body felt as if crushed by a heavy weight, every joint stiff. He didn’t move at first, only slowly flexing and extending his toes. The blisters on his soles h...
Chapter 14: Markings on Paper Chalk dust settled on the podium. The man in the gray suit raised his wrist and glanced at his Shanghai brand watch. The glass face was scratched, but the second hand swept steadily. “Begin...
Chapter 13: Rations for Thirty Li 5:30 AM. The sky was still a dull blue gray, the clouds pressing low like a coarse cloth soaked through with water. Lin Chen pushed the door open, and the cold crept up from his ankles....
Chapter 12: The Measure of the County Exam At 5:40 in the morning, the sky was still a bluish gray. The clouds hung low, like a piece of coarse cloth soaked through with water. Lin Chen pushed open the door, and the col...