Page 64 - updated on July

Yu Jihui: “A Stinking Old Ninth – A Tale of the Coal Capital” (updated on July 2020)

I closed my eyes trying to sleep. But the more eager I

became to fall asleep, the more I couldn’t. The train

chugged along slowly, despite my anxiety. For five

hours I was tortured on the train. At about 2pm, I got

to my destination. It was a small town surrounded by

green mountains. It was quiet and beautiful. When I

got off the train, a gust of fresh air greeted me. But I

was not in the mood to enjoy it. I was thinking about

how I could find White Swan. I had no idea where

her home was. I only knew her mother worked in a

hospital of the town. All the letters I sent to her was

mailed to her mother. At the main street I asked an

old man where the hospital was. He pointed at a two-

storey white building at the end of the street and said,

“That is the only hospital in our town. It is very easy

to find. Go straight and you won’t miss it. You can

get there in five minutes.”

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