The Sing-song Girls of Shanghai

by Bangqing Han

  “Good for you,” he said as he left.

  Out on Fourth Avenue, he saw the lights were getting sparse and the traffic had become quiet. It was past one in the morning. Thinking it would be more convenient to spend the night at Twin Pearl’s, he turned back and walked northward to Sunshine Alley. Unexpectedly, all the houses there had already turned off their door lamps, and the alley was pitch-dark. He felt his way to the door, where a faint light shone through the gap between the panels.

  He pushed the front door open and headed straight for Twin Pearl’s room. She was sitting with her back against the window, playing solitaire with a set of ivory dominoes, while Twin Jade stood by the table and watched. He sat down in a high-back chair.

  Twin Pearl paid him no attention. After a while, she suddenly asked, “The party broke up some time ago. Where did you go?”

  “I went to Constance’s,” he said and told her light-heartedly how matters stood between Lotuson Wang and Constance. He then put the package of jewelry on the table.

  “I thought you’d gone home. Golden and the others waited for quite a while before they went,” she said.

  “If they’re gone, I’ll wait on you,” he said.

  “Would you like some congee?”

  “No, thanks.”

  Her game of solitaire was not successful, so she left it and walked over to open the package of jewelry. She looked through it before putting it away temporarily in the cupboard. Twin Jade sat down in Twin Pearl’s chair, shuffled the tiles, and started a game of solitaire herself. Suddenly there came the sound of someone at the front door and a child’s voice asking, “Where’s my mother?”

  “She’s gone home,” a manservant answered from the parlor.

  Hearing this, Twin Pearl hurriedly came to the window and called out, “Eldest, come up here.”

  The child came up at a run. Benevolence recognized him as Worth’s son, called Eldest. He was only thirteen years old, and his eyes roamed the room ceaselessly, taking in everything.

  Twin Pearl told him, “I sent your mother to the Qiao residence to see a client. It’ll be a while before she gets back. You can wait here a bit.”

  Eldest made an answer and stood by the table to watch Twin Jade play solitaire. Although she did not say anything, Twin Jade immediately looked displeased. She pushed the tiles around, put them back into the box, and returned to her own room.

  “Twin Jade has been here several days now. Does she ever say anything to you?” Benevolence asked.

  “You’ve put your finger on it,” Twin Pearl said with a smile. “My mother has spoken of this several times now. If you ask her a question, she’ll give a brief answer; otherwise, she just sits there all day long and makes not a sound.”

  “Well, is she clever?”

  “She’s quite clever. After watching me play solitaire a couple of times, she could do it, too. Now all we need to know is how she does in business.”

  “It seems to me that her being so quiet makes her interesting. She’ll do better than Twin Jewel at least.”

  “As for Twin Jewel, let’s not even mention her. She’s of little use herself, and yet she goes around putting other people down. And when it’s time for her to speak, not a word comes out of her.”

  As they were chatting, Eldest moved his feet about listlessly, and when they were not looking in his direction, he slipped out and ran downstairs. When Twin Pearl turned around, he was gone. Furious, she shouted for him repeatedly. Eldest promptly reappeared.

  Displeased, she barked at him, “What’s the hurry? Wait for your mother and go home with her.”

  Eldest dared not disobey but was so embarrassed he wanted to hide himself. Yet that was not possible in the room. Fortunately, Golden came back almost immediately.

  “Your son has been waiting for quite a while,” Twin Pearl called out. “You’d better be off home.”

  Golden came upstairs and whispered a question in Twin Pearl’s ear. Twin Pearl just gestured to her. Only then did Golden take her leave from Benevolence and go home with Eldest in tow.

  “You with your playacting; it’s so transparent,” Benevolence said with a smile. “Only a child would be taken in. D’you think Worth’ll be fooled? Not likely!”

  “That kind of trick does smooth things over. Otherwise, when she got home, there’d be a terrible row.”

  “Which client did she see at the Qiao residence? Her client is in the Zhu residence. I’m afraid that was where she called on him.”2

  She snickered. “Oh, have a heart; don’t talk about her now.”

  He smiled and let the matter drop. A night of love passes quickly, and pleasant dreams are hard to transmit, so we will not attempt to capture them in our narrative.

  The next day, Benevolence Hong was going to wind up Lotuson’s affairs after lunch, so Twin Pearl took the package of jewelry out of the cupboard and returned it to him. He bade her good-bye and strolled out of Sunshine Alley. As he passed through Fourth Avenue, he ran into Whistler Tang, and they saluted each other.

  “Where’re you off to?” Whistler asked.

  Benevolence told him briefly and then asked, “What about you?”

  “I’m on the same kind of errand as you. I’m to pay Prosperity’s bills for him at Lute’s.”

  “It seems the two of us have turned into peacemakers. What a joke!” Benevolence said, seeing the funny side.

  Whistler laughed, and they went their separate ways. Benevolence headed for the Galaxy Jewelry Store, where the manager invited him in. After weighing the jewelry in the package, he selected the various pieces required from his stock. Everything on the list could be had ready-made except for one of the pair of rings. The one that was supposed to have a double joy–double longevity pattern he had in stock, but the other, which required the words “Constance of the Zhangs” set in a cutout square, had to be made to order and called for another day. So the ready-made ring and all the other new pieces were put into paper boxes, wrapped, and tied up. Benevolence then wrapped up everything in a handkerchief that he tied up crossways into a small bundle. He then waited for the manager to work out the total cost after deducting the value of the old jewelry. The sums were clearly written down on a sales slip, and Benevolence was asked to check it. He, however, had no time for such details and just put the slip away together with Lotuson’s list, took the small bundle, and walked out the store. Thinking it was still early, he thought he’d rest a little somewhere else before delivering the jewelry to Constance.

  As he was wondering where to go, he saw Simplicity Zhao come running down from the north. His eyes fixed on the road, he dashed past Benevolence without seeing him.

  “Simplicity!” Benevolence called out loudly.

  Seeing it was his uncle, Simplicity came up in a hurry to greet him. They stood shoulder to shoulder by a white wall to talk.

  “Where’s Rustic Zhang?”

  “Rustic and Pine Wu are together all the time. I have no idea what they’re doing.” Simplicity replied.

  “Why do you keep giving parties at Jewel’s?”

  He hesitated a long while before he finally answered, “The way Lichee Zhuang and the others spoke, I could hardly refuse to play along, so I gave another dinner party there.”

  Benevolence sneered. “A party or two matters little, but you’re not getting swindled by them, are you?”

  Stumped for an answer, Simplicity just said vaguely, “It’s nothing, no swindle there.”

  “What’s the point of keeping it from me? I’m not going to lecture you,” Benevolence smiled and said. “In the end, it’s best if you have a mind of your own.”

  Simplicity dared do no more than express his agreement again and again.

  “Where’re you off to now?”

  He had no answer to that, either.

  Benevolence laughed. “What if you’re going for a cup of tea at a sing-song house, what’s so unmentionable about it? I’ll come with you.”

  Afraid that Simplicity was infatuated with Jewel
, Benevolence wanted to go and see how things were. Simplicity had no choice but to fall in with him.

  “Coming to this international city of Shanghai and having a bit of fun is OK even if it means spending a little money,” Benevolence said slowly. “Only this is not the time for you to have fun. If you have a business and are spending your own earnings, that’s up to you. But that’s not the case now, is it? You have nothing except what little you brought from home. It won’t get you very far in sing-song houses. What if you use up your money and still have no way of making a living? How are you going to account for yourself back home? Even I wouldn’t be able to face your mother.”

  Chilled with fear, Simplicity listened respectfully in silence.

  “The way I see it, it’s no easy task finding a job in a place like Shanghai. Living in an inn, your expenses can’t be low. It makes no sense for you to muddle along like this. Now that you’ve had quite a few days of fun, you’d better go home. I’ll look out for you, and if there’s any job available, I’ll write to send for you. What d’you say?”

  Would Simplicity dare demur? He just expressed his agreement all the way, saying he should indeed go home. As they talked, uncle and nephew found they had arrived at the Hall of Beauties on West Chessboard Street. Benevolence set the matter aside for the moment and went upstairs with Simplicity.

  ::

  1. Obviously, Little Rouge’s lover, Little Willow, has come to the house, hence her nervous reaction.

  2. Golden’s lover, Longevity, is the steward of Amity Zhu.

  CHAPTER 13 :: At the deflowering of Jewel, someone waits in the wings,1 and on the mah-jongg table, a trap is set for Crane Li

  When Benevolence Hong and Simplicity Zhao entered Jewel’s room, she had already finished doing her hair and had just changed her clothes. The minute she saw Simplicity, she asked, “Why did you get up so early this morning?”2

  Simplicity gave her a look to stop her from saying any more. She pooh-poohed this. “What’s all this sneakiness? Others are a bit smarter than you, you know,” she said, to his embarrassment.

  She then turned around to make a little conversation with Benevolence. Seeing him put a parcel on the table, she snatched it, tore it open, and took out the smallest box on top to see what it was. It happened to be the ring with a double joy–double longevity pattern. She put it on without asking for permission and ran over to Simplicity, yelling, “You said there weren’t any. Look, isn’t this a double joy–double longevity ring?” She thrust the ring right under his nose to make her point.

  “This is from Galaxy, and you wanted one from Lucky Dragon. They said they didn’t have any,” Simplicity answered with a smile.

  “How can that be? Didn’t Lichee Zhuang get one from Lucky Dragon? That was the day of your first party—he said there were more than a dozen. And just a couple of days later, they’re all gone? Who are you trying to fool?” she retorted.

  “If you want it, you tell Lichee Zhuang to get it,” said Simplicity.

  “Give me the money then.”

  “If I had the money, I’d have got it yesterday. Why would I be saying Lichee Zhuang should get it?”

  She pulled a long face. “Aren’t you a sly one!” She plumped her buttocks down squarely on his thighs and rocked with all her might, demanding, “Are you going to be sly?”

  Meekly, he begged to be let off.

  “Get me the ring, and I’ll let you off.”

  He just smiled, not committing himself either way.

  She turned her head around, hooked an arm about his neck, and murmured, pouting, “This won’t do! You go and get it.” She said this several times, but he still kept silent. Getting angry, she shouted at him, “D’you dare refuse?” Simplicity got a bit irritated, too, but she just would not let go and kept wriggling her body against his as if she wanted to squeeze molten silver out of him this instant.

  Just when they had reached this impasse, she suddenly heard the servant girl calling outside, “Second Miss, come quick, Young Mr. Shi is here.”

  She turned pale and dashed out of the room. Simplicity and Benevolence were actually left without anyone to keep them company. Benevolence took the opportunity to ask Simplicity, “What ring does Jewel want? Are you going to get it for her?”

  “It was all because of Lichee Zhuang letting his tongue run away with him. At first, they wanted a pair of rings for her. I refused, so to fool them Lichee said, ‘There aren’t any ready-made ones. You can place an order for them in a couple of days.’ That’s why now she goes on and on about ordering rings.”

  “It’s really your own fault, so don’t blame it on Lichee. He’s an old client of Woodsy’s, so naturally he takes their side. You said Lichee was fooling them; in fact, he was fooling you. Don’t fall for his tricks anymore, understand?”

  Simplicity grunted in agreement but did not reply. Mama Yeung happened to come in to take the teacups out. Benevolence stopped her and said, “Tell Jewel to bring the ring, we’re leaving.”

  Mama Yeung had no idea what it was about, but she said yes anyhow and went down to find Jewel. When Jewel came in and saw the expression on Benevolence’s face, she hastened to say, “I’ll put it back into the box for you.”

  “Leave that to me.” He reached out for the ring, and she dared not tangle with him. Instead, she pulled Simplicity aside and said many things to him secretively. When Benevolence had repacked the parcel, he just said, “Let’s go,” and then turned around and walked out. Simplicity hurried out on his heels in a fluster. Jewel did not detain them, either, just made an appointment with Simplicity, “Come back later,” and kept reminding him all the way to the staircase landing.

  Out in the street, Benevolence asked, “Are you going to get her the ring?”

  “I’ll see in couple of days.”

  Benevolence snorted. “That means you are going to get it. I know what you think: you’ve spent a couple of dollars at Jewel’s, and you don’t want that to go to waste, so you figure that if you spent more, she’d warm up toward you, right? Let me tell you frankly: Jewel will never grow fond of you. You’d better put it out of your mind before it’s too late. Even if you do get the ring, she’ll just take you for a pushover. D’you think she will warm toward you?”

  Simplicity listened and thought about it all along the way. When they were going to part at Treasured Merit Street, Benevolence stopped to say, “Even with those friends of yours, in a place like Shanghai, you have to be on guard all the time. Lichee Zhuang, for instance, doesn’t really count as a friend. As for Rustic Zhang and Pine Wu, though they’re from your hometown and should be reliable, they can’t be depended on now they’re in Shanghai. First you’ve got to have a mind of your own. Whatever other people say, the less you listen to them the better.”

  Simplicity dared not risk a single comment. Benevolence nagged him a little more and then went off by himself to deliver the jewelry to Constance.

  Having bade good-bye to Benevolence, Simplicity didn’t know where to go. The advice Benevolence gave him meant that he could not very well ask him for a loan. If he wanted to amuse himself in Shanghai, he had to think of a way to tide things over. Since he was at a loose end, why not look up Pine Wu for a chat? Perhaps he might run into some opportunity, one never knew. So he called a ricksha and headed for the Bund. Seeing from afar the words “The Righteous Company” on a white wall, he told the ricksha man to stop there and paid the fare. People were just laying in stock at the company’s entrance, and an endless stream of coolies carrying shoulder poles filed in and out. A bespectacled man wearing a padded jacket, who looked like the bookkeeper, stood by the door staring at the Whampoo River. A coolie rested one end of his carrying pole on the ground, talking to him. Simplicity went up and saluted the man, asking, “Is Pine Wu here?”

  The man made no reply, just smirked, turned his nose up, and ignored him. Embarrassed, Simplicity was about to walk away when the coolie was good enough to point him in the right direction. “If you’re looking for
someone, go and ask at the bookkeeper’s office. This is the warehouse; there’s nobody here.”

  Simplicity looked in the direction indicated. Sure enough, there was a low wall with another door displaying a small black lacquered sign with gold characters written on it. When he went in, he saw it was a huge foreign-style house. This was no place for him to wander about, he thought, so he just hung around, not daring to make his inquiry. Luckily, some coolies, dragging their carrying poles by one end, dashed in through a side door. He followed them and saw another small plaque with the words “The Righteous Company: Bookkeeping Office,” under which was a sign of a hand with its index finger pointing inside the door.

  Simplicity summoned up his courage and walked in. Inside the bookkeeping office, he saw tall counters on both sides of the room, with more than two dozen people hard at work. He approached a young apprentice and explained what he had come for. The apprentice looked him up and down and then tugged at a rope on the wall. A handyman came promptly to answer his call.

  “Go and get Wu. Tell him somebody’s looking for him.”

  After the handyman was gone, Simplicity made himself inconspicuous on one side of the room and was kept waiting until he nearly lost patience. Only then did Pine Wu dash into the office, looking very businesslike in a body-hugging Chinese suit of unbleached imported wool. When he saw Simplicity, he was a bit taken aback and then said, “Let’s go sit for a while upstairs.”

  He led Simplicity through the bookkeeping office, around a couple of corners, and up a flight of stairs, urging him to tread lightly. Once they were upstairs, he pushed open one of a row of doors. Simplicity saw a narrow foreign-style room rather like a blind alley, piled full of various brass, iron, and glass utensils, with just a side table and a leather stool by the window.

  “Have you seen Rustic?” Simplicity asked.

  Pine Wu quickly held up a hand to silence him and then whispered, “You sit here a while. When I’m done, we’ll go to North End together.”

  Simplicity nodded and sat down. Pine Wu closed the door quietly and hurried off. On the other side of the door, foreigners were coming and going all the time. The sound made by their leather shoes frightened Simplicity so much he sat bolt upright, held his breath, and broke out in a sweat.