Summary

In Chapter 24, Qian notes that her mother’s surgery kept being postponed because wealthy people’s surgeries were being prioritized ahead of her. Qian’s mother only received surgery when doctors realized that it was urgently necessary. Surgeons managed to remove the tumorous mass, but they also had to remove parts of some of her organs in the process. Qian’s father voluntarily offered $500 in exchange for the life-saving operation, and the doctor accepted it, apparently not realizing that the sum constituted nearly all of Qian’s parents’ savings. Qian’s mother stays another week in the hospital before being returned home. In Chapter 25, Qian took an admissions test for a magnet school in Manhattan, which would provide her a better education if she were accepted. Her parents discouraged her form taking the exam, as they did not want her to face rejection. Qian...