The girl was missing her right leg. In their old country, she’d be considered worthless. Birthing a girl you couldn’t marry off no matter the dowry? That called for things best left in the shelter of darkness and muffled under some old cloth. But in America, it was fine. She’d work here, with her mother, until one of them died.

A portly white woman pushed past me: “You have any for Pampers?â€?

“How many?â€?

“Twenty.â€?

“Twenty Pampers!â€? the kiosk operator called out to her little girl. The child, resigned to her duty, handed over a stack of clippings.

“Twenty worth fifty cents each. Two dollars,â€? the Chinese woman said. The white woman reached into her purse.

The old woman ran a smart con. Most people didn’t care about coupons, so she pulled them out of every paper and, if anybody complained, she’d just give them back. And the white woman saved herself some real money, even with her Sunday paper costing two extra dollars. Everyone was ahead in this game. If you know where to shop, you can buy anything.