Kitty and Uncle Chow were surprised and happy to see her, but unable to completely hide their concern.

“Is everything okay, Granny?” they asked. “Did you get evicted again?”

“No, no. I’m fine,” said Granny Ng. “I just wanted to pay you a visit. I’m sorry I didn’t give you any notice.”

“Are you sure you’re okay? Do you have somewhere to stay?” asked Kitty.

“Yes, yes, a very good place,” said Granny Ng. “If you don’t believe me, look.”

She opened up the plastic garbage bag full of gifts and laid out the contents on the ground: a barely used towel, two bars of soap, four tins of pork cubes, four packets of instant ramen, a packet of AA batteries, three airline cosmetics bags with face cloths, razors, toothbrushes, and cotton buds, and half a bottle of laundry detergent.

“That’s all for you,” said Granny Ng. “If I had nowhere to stay, I’d be standing here with a bag full of my own things, wouldn’t I?”

“Well, I feel reassured,” said Uncle Chow.

“Thank you for these things, Granny. You really shouldn’t have,” said Kitty. Granny Ng noticed that Kitty didn’t seem that pleased, and she tried not to be upset by her friend’s lack of enthusiasm. She sensed there must be something else going on.

Granny Ng’s first impression upon arriving in the tent village was that not much had changed. She’d found Uncle Chow cooking soup on the stove and Kitty in a bright blue tracksuit at her tent a few spots over, cutting someone’s hair and chatting animatedly. The only noticeable difference was that there seemed to be slightly fewer tents.

Uncle Chow handed her a bowl of soup. “Careful, it’s hot.”

“Beef?” asked Granny Ng.

“Vegetable,” said Uncle Chow. “I’m trying to lose weight.” He winked and patted his stomach. It was then that Granny Ng noticed: his cheeks had a hollowness that she hadn’t seen before, and the silver specks in his beard seemed to have dulled.

“Times are getting tougher,” sighed Kitty. “The butcher used to give us his off-cuts for cheap, and the grocer would give us a good deal on rice and tinned food. We used to have friends around here. But last month, city officials did another sweep of the area. They not only evicted thirteen residents, they also went to the local businesses that were helping us and threatened them with fines.”

Uncle Chow shot a scowl at Kitty for revealing so much of their situation. He cleared his throat and smiled at Granny Ng.

“And you, Granny?” he asked. “You seem to be in very good health.”

“How are things at the other tent village?” asked Kitty.

Granny Ng shook her head. “I was evicted from there not long after I arrived.”

“Oh dear!” said Kitty.

“I went to another village. But I had to leave there, too, after a while. And then another village. I suppose I didn’t have much luck in those places.”