Chapter Three

Fourteen days. For two weeks, she’d woken up before the sun rose to start baking buns. Thankfully, Vee shared her passion for baking, so even if she only had coarse flour to work with, she’d managed to make her life better using her talent in the kitchen. Every morning she woke up to make four big buns stuffed with mushrooms and herbs, and one little plain bun. She was grudgingly allowed to join the mother and son for breakfast porridge while they took the buns with them for lunch, leaving her to do the dishes, wash their spare set of clothes, and tend to her little vegetable garden.

After that, she was free to take her half-sized roll and retreat into the mountains to hunt for wild vegetables until the late afternoon when she had to return to help with dinner. In the evenings she would drag Leo to the old banyan tree in the village square where the aunties and uncles would gather to gossip. Vivian was allowed to sit on a rock nearby so that Mother Vance could watch over her as she was forced to mend any tears in their clothes or weave bamboo.

Vivian became a docile shadow, mentally making maps of the village. She noted who kept their women and children locked up at home(fourteen of them weren’t even allowed to leave their courtyards, three were currently pregnant). Then she kept track of the hunting dogs(seven, fed every other day to keep them hungry and alert). She counted the households and their occupants(forty-seven courtyards, eighteen grandpas, twenty-six grandmas, sixty-two healthy men, twenty-one mean mothers, twelve women who resigned to their fate and seemed defeated, and twenty-three children under fourteen, plus Doctor Tang).

Perhaps the worst number was the one that came from combing through Vee’s memories–women who’d been beaten, mauled by the hunting dogs, or died during childbirth in the six years she’d been there: fifty-one. Most of the men had gone through at least two wives, treating them as goods to be used and discarded at will. After all, they were offered the chance to buy new options every month or two. They didn’t even bury them properly, choosing to throw them into a deep pit they’d long dug halfway up the mountain.

It wasn’t a village, but a collection of monsters in human skin… and there were three more just like it. She gripped the bamboo, the edges grating against her callused fingers as she bowed her head and silently renewed her vow to not only escape, but serve justice. Leaving on her own wasn’t enough. She wanted to take them down.

“Chief says Mr. Lee will arrive tomorrow morning and that’s he’s got a fresh high school girl for us, along with a little boy for Brother Levi to adopt.” The man’s leering voice caught her attention, and she suppressed a shudder.

“He’s finally getting his wish then? At least he’ll stop eyeing our sons.” Another man replied in an exasperated huff.

“Disgusting bastard.” He agreed, spitting on the ground. Even among the monsters of the village, eyeing the men was a taboo. Of course, as long as it wasn’t one of their own being abused, why would they care?

“At least we’ll get a village feast out of him. It feels like ages since I’ve had one of little Vee’s rolls.” One of the old biddies chimed in, and Vivian stared into the darkness as a plan finally began to form.

“That’s right!” Mother Vance entered the conversation with a greedy gleam in her eye, “I’ll have to send little Vee up to get plenty of mushrooms tomorrow.” Glancing over at the girl who had her head down, she reached over, yanking sharply on her hair so that she looked up. “You hear that, little Vee? Tomorrow you need to go straight into the mountains after breakfast to pick mushrooms.”

“Mushrooms?” Vee asked quietly, trying to edge closer so Mother Vance wouldn’t actually pull out her hair. She was half afraid it would reopen the wound that was still scabbed over.

“Yes, you get to make mushroom rolls for the village again. So you collect lots of mushrooms tomorrow.” Her grating voice wasn’t exactly patient, but she was carefully emphasizing it to get through to Vee’s damaged brain.

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“Lots of mushrooms after breakfast. Okay. Make rolls.” Vivian nodded obediently, which seemed to satisfy Mother Vance.

Giving a gusty sigh, one of the nearby women remarked, “Really, why couldn’t I have gotten such an obedient daughter-in-law…”

“Maybe your son will take a fancy to that high-school girl…” An older biddy cackled as the conversation moved on before everyone eventually turned in early, excited for tomorrow’s visitors. Laying on the stone in front of the fireplace while the mother and son rested carelessly on their kang bed, Vee sent a prayer up to the heavens that her luck would hold out tomorrow.

***

Vivian woke early the next morning, going through her normal routine until breakfast. Madam Vance pinched her viciously as she grumbled, “Why are you eating so slowly? Remember, you need to go up the mountain and collect at least two baskets of mushrooms after you wash the dishes. Two FULL baskets, you hear me?”

“Two baskets of mushrooms.” Vivian gulped down her porridge quickly, afraid that if she hesitated even a second longer it would be taken away. The old madam grumbled under her breath, but finished breakfast and took Leo to head to the front of the village, where people were already starting to congregate in anticipation of the bidding.

She washed the dishes quickly, taking her baskets and hiding them beneath a bush behind the house as she circled around to one of her vantage points when she heard the bang of the car exhaust as two vans came into view. Several men got out, calling out greetings as they dragged what looked like a five-year-old boy and young girl out. Even from a distance, she could tell the little boy was in nice clothes, while the girl was still wearing her high school uniform.

“Just those two?” One of the men called out, staring hungrily at the girls who remained trapped in the vehicles.

Laughing, Mr. Lee patted the man on the shoulder as his jovial voice boomed out, “Ah, don’t be like that. You know we can’t give you everyone, or the Green River Brigade will eat me alive. They’re still expecting us this afternoon. Don’t worry, we’ll bring you an extra to choose from next month.” There were grumbles, but he went on, pulling the girl out, “Besides, we’re offering you the prettiest one first! Look at her skin, she’s a bonafide city girl…”

The rest of his spiel was lost as Vivian took off running, circling the village and slipping through the emptied houses as she entered the Village Center from the back. It only had three rooms, one to worship the ancestors, a large kitchen, and the chief’s office. The actual feast would happen in the open courtyard as people brought over their tables and chairs.

The chief didn’t even lock the office, given that he had the villagers under his thumb. No one would dare enter…normally. But right now? They were all welcoming their ‘visitors.’ Panting slightly, she went straight for the rotary phone. It took a moment for her to figure out exactly how it worked, but then her fingers dialed those three numbers quickly. Thankfully last night she’d remembered that instead of 911, the Chinese used 110 for the police. Praying that her vague memories from webnovels were correct, she waited with baited breath for the call to go through.

“Police dispatch, what’s the problem?” A gruff voice answered the line and she let out a gasp of relief.

She spoke as concisely as she could while trying to get it all out at once,“Please listen closely; I don’t have time to repeat. I’m in Clear Mist Village. Green River Brigade, Aspen Village, and East Ridge Village are all part of a human trafficking ring. The traffickers just brought a little boy and a high school girl to the village, and they’re heading to the brigade with more girls next. Tomorrow they’ll hold a village feast to celebrate, and I’m in charge of making bread. I’ll be collecting mushrooms on the back mountain west of the village all afternoon. Please send someone with a knockout drug I can mix into the food. Only approach if I’m alone, and don’t use the roads. They’re always watching. Beware of the hunting dogs. I’ll provide as much information as I can, so bring a paper and pen. I have to go. Remember, Clear Mist Village. Don’t call this number again, and please…save us.”

She’d heard the scratch of a pen as she spoke, so she hung up decisively, making sure the office looked the same before she entered. Slipping out the back door with her heart pounding a million miles a minute, so jogged back to her baskets and then headed up the mountain. Only when she’d run for nearly twenty minutes did she finally stop, clutching a nearby tree for support.

Only time would tell if she’d made the right decision.