At fi ve-thirty, people all moved to the kitchen for their usual supper, as a fl ock of ducks dashing down to the country river. I was left alone. Mei presently returned with two bowls of rice and a bigger bowl of mixed vegetables with fried pork. We ate like clockwork. The regularly running machinery was a system that I could never be accustomed to. It was disturbing when Mei revealed, “No talk. Just eat. Eat as fast as you can. Here, a rule is a rule. Everyday, every meal and every piece of work is the same. The bowls must be returned within a certain time. I have to be ready before six. Commission is related. Help yourself.”