

The Ledger in the Shrimp Shells
Sun Dehai offers the high rate of 2.5 yuan per jin, while only 1.5 yuan remains at Qin Yumei's workshop. One by one, the workers leave, each with a perfectly clear conscience—who wouldn't want to earn an extra yuan? But that extra yuan is clawed back bit by bit from their gloves, their meal money, and the five days of wages withheld from them. In the end, it is taken from pairs of hands covered in festering wounds. Wu Xiaoyan records every single detail in her notebook, missing not a single entry, until she herself ends up in the ICU. Qin Yumei borrows 3,000 yuan in emergency money, then lays that ledger out page by page under the sunlight.
Main characters: Qin Yumei, Wu Xiaoyan
Supporting characters: Sun Dehai
Also known as: 虾壳里的账
虾壳里的账 (132 集)
孙德海开出两块五一斤的高价,秦玉梅的作坊只剩一块五。人一个个走了,走得理直气壮——谁不想多挣一块钱。可那多出来的一块钱,是从手套里、从饭钱里、从被押住的五天工钱里一寸一寸抠回去的;最后,是从一双双溃烂的手上抠的。吴小燕把这些全记在本子上,一笔不落,直到她自己也躺进ICU。秦玉梅借了三千块救命钱,然后把那本账,一页一页…
孙德海开出两块五一斤的高价,秦玉梅的作坊只剩一块五。人一个个走了,走得理直气壮——谁不想多挣一块钱。可那多出来的一块钱,是从手套里、从饭钱里、从被押住的五天工钱里一寸一寸抠回去的;最后,是从一双双溃烂的手上抠的。吴小燕把这些全记在本子上,一笔不落,直到她自己也躺进ICU。秦玉梅借了三千块救命钱,然后把那本账,一页一页摊到太阳底下。
The Ledger in the Shrimp Shells