Period: I Just Want to Lie Flat

Lu Hao pulled his padded coat tighter around himself, but he was still cold. Winter in Beiping was more biting than he had imagined, the frigid wind cutting across his face like a knife.

The train station was packed with people, and the roar of the steam locomotive made his ears ring.

“Coming through! Make way!” A man carrying a shoulder pole pushed past him. Two enormous bamboo baskets hung from either end, both filled with Chinese cabbage. Lu Hao stumbled from the shove. He quickly regained his balance, only to notice a black smudge on his sleeve.

When he walked out of the station, the icy wind hit him and made him shiver. Snow still covered the streets, crunching beneath his feet. As he passed a steamed-bun shop, the fragrant smell of dough wafted over with the steam rising from the baskets. “Boss, how much are the buns?”

“One mao,” the shopkeeper replied without looking up.