Tian Xingjian walked out of the processing plant reluctantly. In prison, they first strip you of the rights you ought to have and then give them back as rewards. This is the tradition here. Both the guards and the prison bullies do this. Things that originally belong to you, like a bed near the cell door, a dinner, a piece of meat or a cigarette, can be taken away for no reason. If you behave well or if they are feeling unusually kind, you might get a bit of food or a puff of smoke. These things, which are worthless in the Free World, become luxuries, temptations, and tools in prison.
Seeing Davis earlier, raising the workbench for the new prisoners to a normal height, seemed like he had done a great deed. Fatty was almost tearfully grateful before stopping Davis's incessant self-congratulation.
