The Silver Lotus

by Thomas Steinbeck

  It was Captain Hammond who suggested that Lady Yee take a leaf from her father’s lexicon and invite those tong elders with the greatest seniority and influence to an elaborate feast to mark the summer solstice, or some other celestial anniversary the Chinese were so fond of celebrating. Then, he said, his wife should unleash the incomparable Ah Chu and let him work his magic on the old gentlemen, for it was a sure wager that none of them, either in China or California, had ever experienced anything like the culinary genius of Lady Yee’s cantankerous but brilliant chef. The captain observed that it was always far easier to call upon a man’s better nature when he is well and happily fed. He went on to suggest that a fine bottle of brandy might be well received. It would warm old toes and perhaps old hearts as well.

  Once the elders had been sated with fine food and wine, Captain Hammond believed the tong elders could be influenced to acknowledge reasonable means for the sake of their constituency, especially if they were allowed to save face by assuming the mantle of credit. Lady Yee agreed, of course, and began to lay her plans to win over the tongs’ ancient dragons.

  Lady Yee’s research had unearthed two particular and pressing needs shared by all the fishing villages along the coast of Monterey. First, though the Chinese had some access to traditional folk medicines and a few apothecaries who acted as doctors, they had virtually no facilities to treat serious injuries, communicable infections, or childhood diseases. They also lacked all but the most rudimentary form of education for their children, and many would grow to adulthood in America with only a limited ability to understand or utilize the English language. In most cases, pidgin English was the best that could be expected, and this limitation only harnessed people to lives of stoop labor and social inferiority. There was an exception to this rule, however. Though the Chinese had distinct difficulties with the English language, which was understandable considering its irrational grammar and pronunciation, she came across any number of her countrymen who spoke very passable Spanish. Lady Yee ascribed this to the fact that the Mexican population of California was far less racially biased than the Yankees were, and in some cases intermarriage and cultural assimilation followed, as they had in other parts of the world.

  Lady Yee harbored no ambitious designs for building hospitals or schools. She knew that such manifest ostentation would be frowned on by every party concerned, even above and beyond the expected objections from the more conservative elements of both races. However she chose to influence the situation for the better, it was imperative that any substantive changes be almost indiscernible at first, at least until people gradually became used to the novelty, and that would take time.

  The most important element Lady Yee had to address was the medical problem. She knew that no local Western doctor would set aside his practice to care for poor Chinese fishermen, but on the other side of the dilemma, Occidental physicians knew nothing of the benefits derived from Chinese medicine, which in some instances was far superior to Western medical practices. What was needed was a Chinese doctor trained in Western medicine as well as Chinese pharmacopeia, and that was an almost impossible order to fill in California.

  Lady Yee decided to call upon her father for help. She wrote him a long letter describing the problem, asking him to assist her in finding a Chinese physician trained in Western medicine who was also preferably qualified in Western surgical practices. She understood that there had once been a Western medical school in Hong Kong run by an English missionary service, but she wasn’t in a position to make any inquiries on her own behalf. She said that she was willing to sponsor a Western-trained Chinese doctor to come to California under contract to work for the Macy Trust for five years. If the doctor happened to be married with children, the trust would sponsor his family as well. The candidate would be given a house and a base salary of a thousand dollars a year, and his patients would, in turn, pay what they could in cash or kind. All medical supplies would be provided, and a clean infirmary established at a location convenient for his patients. If the doctor were educating a qualified apprentice, as many Chinese doctors did, the apprentice would also be welcome as long as the doctor agreed to help educate local Chinese apprentices as well. Lady Yee requested her father to finance the search, for which she would recompense him in Yankee gold, or Western exports if he preferred.

  Finding Chinese schoolteachers who could speak viable English was no easy matter either, and Lady Yee asked her husband to use his San Francisco commercial contacts to initiate a search.

  The captain said he would be happy to be of assistance. It was Lady Yee’s money, and she could do with it as she pleased. But he cautioned his wife that she should avoid anything premature where the various tong elders were concerned. He suggested that it might be best not to mention anything about her plans for the present, as this would give power-jealous people too much time to fashion obtuse objections and thus create hobbling impediments. The captain observed that to put all the elements in place might take a year or more. Housing for the medical staff and teachers would have to be seen to, and a location for an infirmary secured and adapted to fit its purpose. These complex arrangements would take time, and it would be best if they were kept secret for the present. If matters turned sour, it would be best not to be caught wrong-footed with promised obligations impossible to fulfill.

  When it came to tactical thinking in business, Lady Yee always bowed to her husband’s insightful perspectives, and she observed that it was one of the things about her handsome captain that made him more Chinese than Yankee. She listened carefully when he suggested that the time delay should be made to work in her favor. While she secretly made all the physical and business arrangements, Lady Yee would be best served by discovering what incidental needs she could serve on behalf of the tong elders specifically. Many small but timely considerations, if presently dispensed with enlightened disinterest, would make firm allies for her later endeavors. Once everything was in place, she could unveil her contribution as a fait accompli, giving possible opponents no time for obstruction. And if she desired complete support, Lady Yee should modestly claim that the greatest credit rests with the tong elders. In this manner, now wreathed in local prestige, the elders could be encouraged first not only to civically support these institutions, but second to protect them as well to save face as tong administrators. But the captain advised her to move cautiously and, as much as possible, anonymously. By way of referring to her possible opposition by certain elements, the captain laughed and said that old men, like old dogs, needed very special attention. It took them longer to get used to strangers, and one pushed their circumspect schedule at one’s peril. It was best to approach them inconspicuously, like a harmless snail. In time, if she remained prudent and patient, a small kindness here and an acknowledgement there would have the old burghers wagging their tails whenever she approached.

  Lady Yee took everything her husband recommended to heart, and began to model her diplomacy accordingly. While waiting for a convenient opportunity to arise in which to be of some service to the tongs, Lady Yee went quietly in search of properties to suit her purposes. And for this she utilized the services of her penny-wise lawyer, J. W. Bishop.

  The first priority by way of property was a location for the infirmary. It had to be a building large enough to house twelve beds on a split ward, as well as all the medical space required. It had to be close enough to the Chinese communities to be convenient, and innocuous enough to the rest of the community so as to be almost invisible. The property had to be a good investment on its own merits, and relatively easy to convert and improve upon for the purposes intended. With instructions in hand, Lady Yee sent Mr. Bishop out to fill her needs as unobtrusively as possible. Her personal connection to any transaction was to remain a secret.

  Her second consideration was housing for her future employees. The doctors would need modern, comfortable accommodations, within reason of course, and so would the teachers. Both groups would also require their own transportation, nec
essitating barn space and someone to look after the horses and rigs. In this quest, Lady Yee was almost immediately satisfied.

  Captain Hammond’s bank informed him, by way of a courtesy, that a handsome nine-acre property, obliquely adjacent to his own lot to the northwest, was up for sale. There were two modest houses on the property, three and two bedrooms respectively. Both were well founded and less than ten years old. The property included a full barn with six stalls, a dry hayloft, a water tower with dovecote, a large chicken house, and a goat shed.

  The owner, a successful Italian nurseryman named Franco Bellini, had shared the property with his cousin. Bellini’s wife and cousin had recently passed away, and the nurseryman was retiring and returning to Florence to spend his latter years and his considerable wealth among the relatives who said he’d never make good in America.

  The houses aside, though they were sound, well maintained, and worth the price asked, the five acres of beautifully pruned fruit trees were what convinced Lady Yee that she might just know a way to get one half of the property to carry the annual expenses of the other half. She easily convinced her husband to buy the property as a company investment on that basis alone, notwithstanding the beauty and the views.

  Lady Yee then hired four talented Chinese craftsmen to make whatever interior changes were deemed necessary to accommodate Chinese occupants comfortably. Handsome tiled ovens replaced open fireplaces, and the kitchens were rebuilt with iron stoves designed to accommodate Chinese cooking practices. The same considerations were also applied to the laundry rooms and the sanitary facilities. She employed the same Japanese gentleman who had taken care of her own orchards to oversee the new property. Mr. Bellini had planted apples, pears, plums, and lemons, all very complementary components if dried or sold as preserves. To ensure the ongoing fertility of his trees, Mr. Bellini had also set aside an additional half acre for his ten beehives. Lady Yee delighted at the possibilities the mutual properties possessed to produce income while satisfying personal needs. On her conceptual abacus, she could extrapolate potential remuneration that would ripple out over her financial landscape and satisfy numerous requirements, like a fan of modest but dependable beneficence. Captain Hammond resigned himself to the role of bemused observer. When it came to the Chinese transacting business with other Chinese, he had long since learned to keep his head down and rely on benign disinterest to save face, contention, and money.

  Lady Yee received a response from her father with a promise to spend his best efforts to accommodate her wishes, but he warned that the particulars were by no means easy to come by. Western-trained Chinese doctors with a competent understanding of Eastern pharmacopeia were about as common as clams’ teeth. The rarity alone would influence costs, but if Captain Hammond would send along legally notarized documents stating his financial sponsorship of the people in question, it might go a long way toward greasing the cogs of authority.

  Until now, Captain Hammond had allowed Lady Yee to do just as she pleased. He believed in her goals, and since she was financing everything with her own fortune, he saw no reason to insinuate himself beyond the contribution of friendly advice here and there. However, Lady Yee rightly worried that in the present atmosphere of severe immigration restrictions aimed at the Chinese, her husband might not find it politic to be seen as one breaching popular sentiments on the subject. She waited to pose the question, but she needn’t have worried, as her husband was quite amenable to the idea. He said that, in the main, he agreed with a policy restricting the import of illiterate Chinese peasants for the purposes of stoop labor. On the other hand, people of education and purpose, who could contribute to the well-being of the whole community, should be welcomed with open arms. He believed it was Cato who had once said that a nation’s greatness could only be judged by the accumulated wisdom of its citizens. Sadly, the captain reflected that venal self-interest had a way of eroding the best of intentions for most people. But despite his dark appraisal, the captain stood by his word, and two days later he handed his wife the appropriate papers, countersigned and notarized by Judge Kimmerlin personally.

  In the midst of all this quiet chaos, little Macy insisted on being a part of everything her parents did. Though under the ostensive care of Li-Lee, whom she loved and considered a playmate and sister, Macy far preferred to sit quietly in her father’s lap while he read his newspapers out loud. She didn’t understand what was being said, but the fact that she was being read to was enough entertainment. She also loved to sit by her mother while she worked out sums on her abacus. Sometimes, when she was feeling playful, Macy would move the beads about when her mother wasn’t looking. This caused some problems until Lady Yee purchased a small abacus for Macy to play with. She loved to push the beads back and forth in imitation of her mother, and soon prided herself on being able to copy her mother’s every move, though she really couldn’t count above her own five fingers. But thanks to her mother’s interest and sought-for approval, Macy was soon doing very well at simple math, and by the time she was old enough for formal schooling, Macy could compete mathematically with children twice her age. And thanks to her father’s habit of reading to her from newspapers and business periodicals, little Macy had also developed a very interesting and unique vocabulary and a rather sophisticated way of speaking English. However, she far preferred speaking Chinese with her mother and Li-Lee, especially if she was really happy about something, and conversely when she was truly angry. The rest of the time she was content to jabber away in English. It sometimes occurred to Captain Hammond that perhaps his daughter would turn out to be an autodidactic polymath like her mother. Two of the same breed in one family was sure to prove most interesting, if not somewhat daunting.

  9

  FIVE WEEKS LATER, Mr. Bishop came to Lady Yee with what he believed might be a perfect location for her proposed infirmary. It was a disused sea salt warehouse that stood one hundred yards west of the coastline railroad tracks on the edge of the dunes, and it was a short half mile northwest of China Point. The warehouse complex included three outbuildings and sat on a fair-sized six-acre lot. The land alone was well worth the investment even if the buildings were pulled down, but the location had the advantage of relative isolation, and since it had occupied the same site for twenty-six years, it would hardly draw attention to itself even if slight improvements, like a fresh coat of barn paint, were applied. There were no dwellings of consequence nearby, and therefore no neighbors to complain about who came and went. Mr. Bishop believed that if it were quietly put about that Hammond, Macy & Yee intended to use the property for business purposes, not an eyebrow would be raised either way. And by the time the truth became known, it would be too late for naysayers to object since they’d have no reasonable grounds for opposition. As the proposed infirmary dealt with matters of public health, Captain Hammond was sure he could garner support from the State Sanitary Commission, as there were presently no existing medical facilities available to the local Chinese. He believed he could make the case that this might present dangerous complications if, as had happened before in 1887, another epidemic of influenza or smallpox should arrive off the deck of some foreign ship. The biased reality might have gone unspoken of in better circles, of course, but it was a sure bet that the county-run hospitals would never open their wards to poor Chinese regardless of the public danger. As in the past, poor aliens would be sequestered under guard, with minimal care offered to alleviate their suffering, and nature allowed to take its heartless course. This too had come to pass before, and the consequences were too shameful to be recounted in refined company.

  After long appraisal and consideration between husband and wife, Captain Hammond went to his bank and made arrangements to purchase the old warehouse on behalf of Hammond, Macy & Yee. It would later be transferred to the Macy Trust when the dust settled, but in the meantime Captain Hammond needed a warehouse.

  After the Bellini houses had been dressed out to fit future needs, Lady Yee put her craftsmen to work making all the
necessary repairs and modifications to the warehouse. Because the carpenters were Chinese, none of the locals ever found out just what their labors implied for the future use of the buildings. For that matter, the carpenters were never informed either. They simply worked from Lady Yee’s drawings and recommendations, and every two or three days Captain Hammond would visit the warehouse, inspect the work, and report back the results.

  Lady Yee, on the other hand, was careful never to be seen in the neighborhood of any of her projects. She preferred to manage her affairs at a distance by using intermediaries. Then, if called upon, she could publicly feign disinterest. Perhaps the word “public” was slightly misleading, since Lady Yee rarely went out in public for any mundane reasons, and when she did, she traveled veiled and dressed in black. Except for private excursions with her husband to see this or that sight, Lady Yee far preferred her gardens and orchards, her studies, and the company of her beautiful daughter. However, she was also familiar with the observation that familiarity generally led to contempt, and so chose to remain aloof to social contacts not of her own making. What little power she possessed to influence matters could only be maintained if she adopted a regal and unapproachable bearing. As her husband had humorously pointed out, it would serve her purposes far better to have people be in awe of Lady Yee than to have them believe she was just a uniquely intelligent and beautiful Chinese girl named Silver Lotus who had rebelled against all tradition and, in search of adventure, had married a barbarian Yankee. Lady Yee wasn’t sure she liked the texture of her husband’s appraisal, but she certainly agreed in principle, and acted accordingly.