‘Ding-a-ling!’ A crisp ringing suddenly sounded in the room, startling William Thompson. ‘Ding-a-ling-ling!’ The bell rang again, and only then did he notice that there was actually a set of horse bells hanging above his door. A rope extended outside, being rhythmically pulled, causing the bells to emit a series of pleasant chimes. Those horse bells—William Thompson suddenly remembered—were probably the ones left by the previous landlord in the storage room. He couldn’t help but smile. That clever little girl had actually used this method to wake him up. He just wondered when she had come in to hang up the bells, and he hadn’t even noticed.

The ‘manual alarm clock’ persisted in ringing relentlessly, finally forcing the bed-loving William Thompson to say goodbye to his warm covers. “Alright, I’m getting up!” The ringing stopped. William Thompson had no choice but to get dressed, feigning a sleepy look as he slowly opened the door and came out. The scene before him left him a little stunned. The charcoal brazier was burning brightly, crackling with sparks. The once messy room was now neat and tidy. On the table sat a clay pot, with wisps of steam curling out from the lid’s seam. Next to the pot was a set of bowls and chopsticks. What surprised him most was a basin of steaming hot water for washing his face. ‘This…’ Having been used to living alone, William Thompson found himself a bit unaccustomed. He looked around for the mute girl, but she had hidden herself in her room, secretly peeking out at him. When she saw William Thompson seemed to be looking for her, she lowered her head and slowly walked out.

The little girl was already a bit different from yesterday. Though still thin and frail, there seemed to be a bit more color on her face, and her back was straighter.

“Good morning!” William Thompson stretched lazily, calmly accepting everything before him. Although he had acknowledged the mute girl as his sister, this sibling bond was not something that could be decided by a mere title; it needed time to develop. Everything she was doing now was not the care of a sister for her brother, nor an act of gratitude, but rather a desperate effort to avoid being sent away.

“Come, let’s have breakfast together!” After washing his face, William Thompson took a small bowl and served her a bowl of porridge as well. The mute girl sat across from him with her head down, not daring to meet his gaze. William Thompson casually picked up a heavy jar from the windowsill, pushed it toward her, and smiled, “This is all loose copper coins, about three or four strings’ worth. Every afternoon, people come to the riverside by our door to sell vegetables. Go buy some vegetables! From today on, we’ll cook for ourselves. I’ll go and cancel the restaurant order.”

The mute girl nodded lightly with her bowl in hand. The two had nothing more to say, and the atmosphere at the table was a bit heavy. At that moment, William Thompson suddenly had a feeling that the mute girl was sneaking glances at him. A mischievous thought arose in his heart. He raised his eyebrows and stared at her intently. The mute girl panicked, her head almost buried under the table. William Thompson laughed heartily, put down his bowl, and walked out the door.

“I’m off to work.” Even from afar, he could be heard in the courtyard reminding her, “I’ll have someone come fix this door, and I’ll also get someone to repair the leaking roof in your room. Just stay home and don’t run around.” By the time he finished the last sentence, his voice was already out on the street.

The mute girl stared blankly at the door. Unknowingly, her eyes filled with tears.

……

Although he had taken in the mute girl, that didn’t mean her problems were over. She had no household registration, so he still had to find a way to get her registered. The Ming dynasty’s household registration system was extremely strict. Most people were ordinary civilian households, but there were also military, artisan, and within the civilian category, special registrations like monk, Taoist, musician, yin-yang, and so on. William Thompson had the mute girl’s contract of sale. The name was given by the entertainment bureau: “Miscellaneous Slave Number Twenty-Three”—basically just a number, the twenty-third odd-jobs slave. The place of birth was blank. She was sold to the entertainment bureau at age nine, and less than half a year later, sold to a tofu shop. She was now thirteen. If she didn’t get registered soon, there could be trouble. For ordinary people, changing or obtaining registration was very difficult, but for William Thompson, who had been working at the very bottom of the power pyramid for nearly three months, it wasn’t hard at all. Handling such matters was relatively easy, and the review wouldn’t be strict. He just needed to bring the contract’s release certificate to the county office for filing. Normally, people would return to their place of origin, but if there was none, a new name and registration would be issued. The benefit of working at the yamen was that he didn’t have to slowly verify the mute girl’s original registration status; he could directly arrange for her to be registered as a civilian. He didn’t even need to do it himself—his subordinates would handle it properly.

William Thompson checked in at the county office. He had no intention of patrolling the streets today, so he found Samuel Williams and said, “I’ve acknowledged the little girl from yesterday as my sister. Today I want to get her registered. Can you handle it?”

‘Sister?’ Samuel Williams grinned suggestively. “Boss wants to get his sister registered? Of course I’m happy to help. But, Boss, you’d better figure out what surname our sister wants for her new name.”

“Bullshit!” William Thompson gave him a hard smack on the back of the head, laughing and cursing, “What do you mean ‘our’ sister? Am I family with you? Go find out when it can be done. If you mess it up, watch out or I’ll skin you.”

“I guarantee you’ll have news by this afternoon.” Samuel Williams dashed off, and from far away, he could still be heard singing in his raspy voice, “This sister isn’t that girl, this sister’s sweet in bed!”