Chapter 5: Losing Weight

The stench nearly made Li Luo gag. She got up and found a small clean pond to wash her face.

After the lunch break, she followed the others back to work. When night fell, the team leader held a meeting, assigning everyone new tasks before dismissing them.

Dragging her exhausted body, Li Luo returned to the communal courtyard.

The door was locked. Was Qin Mian not home?

She pulled out her key to open it.

Deng Cuiping was sitting in the yard washing clothes. Hearing the sound, she lifted her head and called out:
“Li Luo, where did you run off to today? Little Qin was looking for you everywhere.”

Li Luo let out a cold laugh. He would look for her?
More likely he couldn’t wait for her to disappear, so he could pair off with Han Qiuyu.

“I just wandered around,” she replied, pushing the door open and going inside.

At this hour, the bathhouse shouldn’t be too crowded. She switched on the light, grabbed a clean set of clothes, picked up her ticket, and headed for the bathhouse.

Just as she expected.

The wide bathhouse was completely empty.

The central pool was filthy, so she turned on a shower, stripped off her clothes, and began rinsing herself.

Warm water flowed down her head and body, washing away the fatigue. Li Luo sighed in relief.

After scrubbing her face and hair, she stepped forward—then caught sight of the water running past her feet. It was faintly black.

Dust on her face could be blamed on work, but why was her whole body dirty?

“Need a back scrub?” A middle-aged woman poked half her body past the doorway.

Li Luo nearly jumped out of her skin. She stammered, “Th-thank you, but no need.”

“You’re this fat, and no need? Can you even reach your own back?”

Li Luo: “…” She’s got a point. Right now she was a two-hundred-jin fatty; even bending over was hard. Since she was here for a proper wash, might as well.

The back-scrubber told her to lie down on the wooden bed in the middle.

Li Luo felt awkward, biting her lip in hesitation.

“Hurry up. Honestly, what’s with you, all shy and twitchy?”

Li Luo: “…”

Sprawled out on the bed, she felt like a pig waiting to be slaughtered, while the butcher scrubbed and plucked her.

“Turn over.” The woman slapped her shoulder, panting. “Girl, you’re really fat. What have you been eating to get this size? Usually fat girls are pale, but how come you’re so dark?” She added, “Scrubbing your back for just five cents is such a loss. One of you is worth three skinny girls.”

“I’ll give you fifteen cents,” Li Luo said.

“I’ll scrub you until you’re spotless!” the woman promised.

Li Luo asked, “What time do you close? When’s it the least crowded?”

“Nine o’clock. Right about now—hardly anyone comes.”

Li Luo decided she’d come at this time every day. After the woman left, she rinsed off again, dried her hair, changed into clean clothes, and stood in front of the mirror.

A face full of flab, furrowed brows, forehead lines. Hideous.

No wonder Qin Mian despised her.
She despised herself too.

She got dressed, paid, and returned to the courtyard.

The light was on inside—Qin Mian must be back.

She stepped forward, about to push the door open, when it opened from within. The young man’s voice was low and stern as he demanded:
“Where did you go? Why are you back so late?”

Li Luo wanted to retort, I don’t need to tell you, but she was under his roof. Always clashing with him would only make things worse. She lowered her voice and said, “I was trying to lose weight. Everyone says I’m too fat and too dark, that I don’t deserve you. I feel insecure, so I wanted to slim down.”

Qin Mian didn’t believe her. It was like a drunkard insisting he wasn’t drunk—people who were truly insecure would never admit it outright.

To him, she seemed very confident.
And cunning. Who knew what she was really doing outside? This excuse was too convenient.

“Don’t run off like that again,” he said.

Li Luo responded with a simple “Mm.” She walked to the bed, pulled out a wash basin from under it, and began rinsing her dirty clothes.

When she came back, Qin Mian was still awake.
“I’ll be away on a work trip tomorrow. It might take ten days, maybe half a month. I’ve left you twenty yuan for expenses—it’s tucked inside the first book on the desk.”

Hearing this, Li Luo immediately opened the book and found two crisp notes.

Her mood lifted considerably.

Don’t say he isn’t generous—he actually is.

Even though he was having an affair with Han Qiuyu, he still fulfilled his responsibilities toward her.

Smiling, Li Luo said, “Go do your work. Don’t worry about me.”

Qin Mian lowered his gaze to look at her. Maybe it was just his imagination, but she seemed a little fairer than the first time he saw her, and her eyes were brighter too.
“Rest early,” he said flatly, then lay down to sleep.

Li Luo climbed onto the lower bunk, switched off the light, and after a whole day of labor, she slept soundly until dawn.

When she woke, the room was empty.

It felt wonderfully free.

Getting dressed, she noticed her arms and thighs ached all over—delayed soreness from exercise. She knew that in a few days, her body would get used to it.

After breakfast, she packed a kettle and half a steamed bun as rations, then set off for the canal-digging site.

The moment she stepped out of the courtyard, Han Qiuyu called out,
“Li Luo, where did you run off to yesterday, gone from morning to night?”

“Found some work!” Li Luo replied.

“Where?” Han Qiuyu was incredulous. Li Luo had no education, no skills—what place would take her?

“I don’t want to tell you.” Li Luo walked away.

Han Qiuyu fumed and tried to follow, but Deng Cuiping called her over. In the moment she was distracted, Li Luo had vanished.

She cursed under her breath. That fat cow! How does she run so fast?

When Li Luo arrived, the others were already there, working vigorously.

The team leader bellowed, his voice echoing like a drum:
“Hey, fatty! Why are you late again? Which village are you from? Show up late tomorrow and don’t bother coming!”

Li Luo muttered an “Oh.”

Ugly and overweight, none of the other workers wanted to talk to her.

She didn’t mind—she preferred the quiet.

As sweat poured down, she dabbed her forehead with a handkerchief. Mixed in with the sweat were tiny black particles.

Confused, she thought: Does my body have some kind of black oil? Is this why my skin is so dark? Could it be poisoning?

Maybe Qin Mian, being a coroner, would know. Next time she saw him, she’d definitely ask.

At lunch, she only ate a little noodle skin. Whenever she felt hungry, she drank water. By evening, she was dizzy with hunger.

Losing weight is so hard!

When she finally slimmed down and stabilized, she swore she would treat herself to a feast!

Back home, she cooked a bit of thin porridge, ate, then washed up and headed to the bathhouse.

This time, even more black residue came off her skin.

“Want a back scrub?” the scrub woman asked.

“Not today,” Li Luo said.

If she scrubbed every day, she was afraid her skin would peel off.

After bathing, she went home, washed her clothes, and rested.

Time flew—soon, a week had passed.

At dismissal that day, the team leader announced,
“The canal is finished! Starting tomorrow, everyone can sleep in!”

Cheers erupted, but Li Luo felt disappointed.

In the days of digging, her body had clearly grown lighter. Her once-tight jacket now hung loose, and her skin was noticeably fairer.

In two more months, people would definitely see her weight-loss results.

But now that the work was over, where could she find more labor?

She privately asked the team leader, “Are there other places digging canals? I’d like to go help.”

The man looked at her as if she were insane.
“I’ve seen people slack off at work, but never someone asking for more. Which village are you really from?”

“I live nearby. Got too fat at home, so I came out to work and lose weight,” Li Luo explained.

The team leader stared, then burst into laughter. What a fool!

Li Luo’s face darkened. “What, you don’t believe me?”