“A bicycle on which to commute to work. A sewing machine with which to sew new clothes. Eggs, milk, and meat to cure his children of malnutrition. These are a few of the basics the unnamed protagonist of Ruyan Meng’s debut novella Only the Cat Knows wishes he could afford. Yet, he only makes ‘thirty-seven yuan and seventy-five cents’ each month. The amount, imprinted in his mind, haunts him. This inability to afford what his family needs compounded with the fact that he has not received a raise in over a decade form the basis of the novella.”