As the end of the year drew near, town grew livelier and livelier. The moment Ye Yaodong reached the street, he found it packed with people coming and going. Never mind riding a bicycle-there was barely room to walk.
Worried that his bicycle would be stolen if he simply left it by the roadside, he found a small shop nearby and left it locked outside the entrance. He paid the shopkeeper ten cents to keep an eye on it, saying he would be right back; he only needed to pick up some photos.
What he had not expected was that, in the time it took him to go in and come out, his bicycle stayed safe, but the two yuan and change loose in his pocket disappeared.
He had originally wanted to buy a couple of sets of Spring Festival couplets, too. Luckily, the photos were too large and there were too many of them, since he had picked up his two brothers' as well, to fit in his pocket. He had held them the whole time, or getting them taken would have been a waste. The negatives were wrapped in newspaper with them, all held in his hands.
He put the photos into his bicycle basket, cursing as he did. "Fucking hell, these thieves are getting too brazen around New Year. I only took a few minutes to pick up some photos, and my money was stolen."
The shopkeeper agreed and joined in the cursing. "Exactly. There's been so much petty theft lately. Little things go missing from my stall every day-if it isn't a stack of nylon socks, it's a pair of insoles, or a few handkerchiefs. It's enough to drive me mad. Even with the whole family watching, we can't stop it."
Ye Yaodong was only venting.