But even after the first check arrived,

Weng was afraid to stop working,

and every evening after supper

he would take out the check and look at it.

He studied the computer type, the signature, the sky-blue paper

on which it was printed—even the watermark.

The sum was more than his parents had earned

in their entire lifetime,

plus the cost of their home

and probably his neighbor Hui’s home too.

He hid the check in Mrs. Fun’s scarf box.

It had to be a mistake and he was afraid to take it to the bank

in case there was some law that prohibited

the cashing of enormous checks.

When a second, third, fourth, and fifth check arrived,

each for five or six times the amount of the first one,

Weng wondered if it wasn’t some kind of punishment

for not cashing the first one quickly enough,

so he plucked up courage and carried them all to the bank

hidden inside a copy of the Beijing News.