Summary

In Chapter 11, Qian recalls her first summer in the United States. She and her parents were still living in the same apartment. One day, Qian brought in a stray cat and hid it in an empty room in the apartment. When the landlady discovered the cat, she became furious. Qian’s parents decided that it was time to look for a new place to live. They found an apartment that was slightly bigger and nicer. Qian’s mother decided to look for less strenuous work, and she found a hair salon that was hiring. The work was less physically strenuous than the sweatshop and the sushi factory, but it was still mentally strenuous, as many of the mail customers would overtly leer at Qian’s mother and the other female employees. In Chapter 12, Qian recalls going with her parents on ‘shopping days,’ which mostly...