"我的证件什么时候能拿到?" The question emerges with practical concern, your fingers absently smoothing the medical gown over your thick thighs. When will I receive my documents?
Voss retrieves a manila folder from the counter, opening it with precise movements. "明天下午," she replies. Tomorrow afternoon. "我们已经准备好了你的身份证、户口本和工作许可。" We've already prepared your identification card, household registration, and work permit.
She spreads the documents across the small bedside table. The ID card shows your photograph—round face framed by straight black hair, substantial double chin, eyes that look utterly unfamiliar despite being yours. The name 李美华 appears in bold characters alongside a birthdate placing you at twenty-three years old. Birthplace: Chongqing. Education level: 初中 - junior high school only.
"户口显示你来自重庆的一个贫困地区," Voss explains, pointing to the household registration document. The household registration shows you're from an impoverished area of Chongqing. "父母在你十七岁时死于事故。之后你做过各种临时工。" Parents died in an accident when you were seventeen. You've worked various temporary jobs since.
Your fingers trace the characters, the biographical fiction feeling oddly plausible. A girl with no education, no prospects, taking whatever work she could find. The work permit authorizes domestic employment in Sichuan Province, valid for three years.
"李先生的律师会在周一来接你," Voss continues. Mr. Li's lawyer will collect you on Monday. "你会坐火车去成都。所有安排都完成了。" You'll take the train to Chengdu. All arrangements are complete.
You turn toward Voss, forcing your reconstructed neural pathways through the uncomfortable terrain of English. The words require immense concentration, each syllable dragged from linguistic centers that resist cooperation. "Thank... you... very... much... Doctor... Voss." Your pronunciation is thick with Mandarin tones bleeding through. "You... give... me... new... life. I... very... grateful."
Dr. Okonkwo's stylus slips from his fingers, clattering against the tablet. His expression tightens into something between disgust and despair.
Voss's grey eyes gleam with satisfaction. "不客气,李美华," she responds softly. You're welcome, Li Meihua. "好好休息。明天我们会给你新衣服和行李。" Rest well. Tomorrow we'll give you new clothes and luggage.
She collects the documents back into the folder, leaving only your new identity card on the table—the photograph of a heavy young woman who accepts her fate because she believes she has no other choice.