The Fantastical Journey of a One-Yuan RMB Coin

∕by Chen Qufei

A one-yuan RMB coin,
lying quietly at the dusk-colored floor
of a worn-out coin pouch—
a forgotten seed of metal—
followed its owner in slipping past the wall of its homeland,
over the Pacific’s heaving waves and drifting clouds,
through the damp, vine-choked jungles of Central America,
until it reached the fabled land of freedom and abundance:
America.

New to this foreign shore, it felt
like a wanderer reclaiming its name.
It met the proud U.S. dollar, the Euro’s gentlemanly poise,
the Canadian maple’s crisp, wintry elegance,
and the Peso—warm-blooded, fragrant with spice.
Passed from palm to palm,
it watched those currencies come and go with ease.
Strangely, they always shimmered with confidence,
never seeming weary—
graceful still, despite countless hands before.

But this—this humble RMB coin—
slowly became the oldest resident in its owner’s wallet,
a private relic no one dared to revisit.
Whenever a fingertip brushed its cold edge,
it awakened memories best left buried:
the grinding 9-9-6 weeks, the carved-out “benefits”,
a salary thin as paper wings,
barely enough for meals and rent,
like a riddle with no solution.

Now, breathing the air of freedom,
it keeps its owner company in learning how to breathe again.
Earnings gained through honest effort
finally carry their rightful weight.
The little RMB coin can at last rest in stillness,
sleeping in a quiet corner of the wallet,
its metallic sheen softening—
washing away the rust of its humble past.

No longer in circulation,
it lives on as a token—
proof that leaving can also be a form of rebirth,
the beginning of a wondrous second half of life.

〈一枚Rmb硬幣的奇幻旅程〉∕陳去非

一枚面值僅一元的Rmb硬幣
靜伏在黯色的零錢包底
一顆被遺忘的金屬種子
跟隨主人潤出牆國
越過太平洋的浪濤與雲層
踏過中美洲潮濕的藤蔓叢林
終於踏上傳說裡自由豐饒的美利堅 

初到異鄉，它像流浪者重獲姓名
結識了：美金的傲然、歐元的紳士氣度
楓葉幣的冷冽之美、披索的熱情與香料氣味
在一次次掌心交接之間
它看見他們進進出出
奇怪的是，他們身上總是
帶著自信的光芒，永不知疲倦
即便身經百手仍優雅如初

而它——這枚Rmb硬幣
逐漸變成主人錢包裡唯一的元老
一段不欲輕觸的私密遺物
只要指尖一觸它的冷意
便喚醒那些難堪的記憶：
每週996，五險一金的剝減
最後，薪資薄如紙翼
連三餐與租金都拮据得
像一道無解的考題 

如今在自由空氣裡
它陪伴主人重學呼吸
努力換得的收入
是真正屬於自己的重量
Rmb硬幣終於可以沉穩地躺平
在零錢包的一隅安眠
金屬光澤漸漸柔和
把過去卑微的銹痕洗去
不必再流通，它活成一枚證物──
證明離開，也能是一種重生
開啟後半段生涯的奇幻旅程