Chapter 22

The next day, Old Guo came with a group to check on Madaha and his companions. Seeing nothing amiss, he led them to the communal bathhouse in the regular zone, where each received a set of cotton clothes and a pair of sturdy cloth shoes.

After more than a month without bathing, the five men nearly moaned in delight as soon as they felt the hot water. While lathering themselves with soap, they couldn’t help but hum tunes. The attendant had explained beforehand: the first time they could bathe for an hour, but after that, only twenty minutes. Madaha and his friends washed until their skin turned red, reluctantly drying off before leaving the bathhouse.

Clothes make the man; the ragtag escapees, dressed in cotton and cloth shoes, instantly looked like honest, dependable farmers. It was the first time so many men had arrived at the farm, just before the New Year when work was scarce. Everyone came to watch, and several aunties, considering marriage prospects for their daughters, eyed the five with the appraising gaze reserved for future sons-in-law, making them feel awkward under the scrutiny.

“Where are you from? What did you do before? How did you end up here?” Old Wang adjusted his reading glasses, jotting notes in a small notebook.

“We worked hauling bricks on a construction site. The boss wouldn’t pay, so we went to petition, and ended up getting arrested,” Madaha replied calmly. “We’d just been released when this happened. Luckily, there were plenty of vehicles at the detention