Time had entered early February of 2001, and right before the New Year, she received her ID card, which she had specially asked the police to mail to her. Of course, she gave them a 'tip' of twenty yuan for their trouble. There was no need for express delivery; regular mail was fine, so it wouldn't cost much, and as a student, twenty yuan was already quite a bit—she could at least make a profit of fifteen yuan. The reason she asked someone to mail it back to her was that she didn't want the hassle of going back again.
Having an ID card in hand would make many things more convenient, even though it would only be a few years before she would have to replace it with a second-generation ID card. By then, she should have already entered university.
Her birthday was February 26, so by the end of this month she would turn 14 years old, growing another year older, sadly without any family to witness it, which was a bit regrettable.
