Ning arrived at the workers clinic before the first appointment and found Mei moving chairs out of the corridor. The larger meeting room had been opened after the previous week’s crowd overflowed the waiting area. Ning carried the archive box herself. Her lungs no longer forced her to stop in the long hall.
“Don’t put that on the floor,” Mei said. “The hinges are loose.”
“I know. I’m holding it.”
Mei helped her set it on the table. The box held anonymized shift patterns, copies workers had agreed to share, and blank request slips. Ning kept the key to the cabinet in a small pouch at her waist. She checked the lock, opened it, and counted the pages before handing Mei the meeting list.
Yan arrived from the institute wearing his practice sash. He looked toward the box.
“It’s not a weight,” Ning said.
“I learned that last time.”
“You carried it very carefully.”
