The blazing sun hung high overhead, making the stench of the garbage dump even more overpowering. I, Qin Zhao, was bent over, rummaging through the trash for scrap I could sell. Sweat kept rolling down my cheeks, dripping onto the filthy ground and vanishing in an instant. My old T-shirt, faded from countless washes and covered in patches, clung to my back, giving off a sour stench. My hair was tied loosely behind my head, with a few stray locks hanging beside my face. I looked greasy and miserable. "This dump is so damn hot!" I muttered under my breath as I tossed a crushed soda can into the burlap sack beside me.
