by Bangqing Han
“Shall we send to hurry her up?” Lute asked.
“No, don’t,” Pragmatic Li replied quickly. “Even if she doesn’t come, it’s all right.”
Crane Li turned around to see White Orchid sitting beside him. He said to her, “I asked you here as a favor, to grace the table.”
“You’re all politeness,” she replied with a smile. “In fact, you’re bringing us business, too.”
Grace Yang also exchanged a couple of pleasantries with White Orchid, which pleased Crane Li even more.
White Fragrance and her younger sister, Green Fragrance, tuned their pipa and consulted over what to sing, but Amity Zhu, guessing that Script Li was in no mood to listen to singing, signaled them with his hand to desist.
Script Li, ignoring his own girls, looked instead at those the other men had called and talked to them. After a long while, Bright Pearl finally arrived. He knew her from way back and made conversation, asking this and that before getting on to the old days with her. He was full of reminiscences from a decade ago. To please him, Pragmatic Li said, “Let her switch over to you, all right?”
“Why switch? Though it was you who called her, I can still talk to her, right?” Script Li responded.
“Then sit over here to talk; it’d be easier,” said Pragmatic Li.
Before Script Li could protest, Bright Pearl had already moved over to sit at his side, her shoulder pressing against his. Her maid, Second Sister, a quick-witted woman, immediately filled the water pipe for him. He took a puff but, feeling a bit awkward, said playfully, “Don’t you try to suck up to me by filling my pipe. If this causes Fourth Old Master to lose his temper and get jealous, a frail old man like me is no match for him in a fight.”
Bright Pearl chuckled. “Don’t worry, Your Excellency. If Fourth Old Master picks a fight, I’ll come to your aid.”
“So, you’ve got your eyes on my three dollars, have you?” Script Li responded in like spirit.
“Is it because you begrudge three dollars that you won’t even smoke the water pipe?” she asked. “Give it here, Second Sister; don’t let him have it, or else he’ll stay awake all night bemoaning the loss of his three dollars.” So saying, Bright Pearl snatched the water pipe the maid had just refilled. The maid could not help laughing, covering her mouth with a hand.
“How can you bully a frail old man like me? It’s a sin! Aren’t you afraid that heaven will strike you down?” Script Li protested.
Bright Pearl, who had just taken a puff of the water pipe herself, nearly choked. She blew out the smoke hastily and said smiling, “Look! His Excellency is on the verge of tears. There, there, I’ll let you have a puff.” So saying, she put the pipe to his lips.
He stretched his neck out, sucked in all the smoke in one breath, and then cheered, “Aiyo! It smells so sweet!”
Even Second Sister broke out laughing. “His Excellency is such fun!”
Old Merit said to Bright Pearl, “Now you’ve been tricked by His Excellency. He got to smoke your pipe, but the three dollars will not be forthcoming.”
Script Li clapped his hands and sighed. “Oh! Now that my trick has been exposed, I suppose it’d be too embarrassing for me to have another smoke.” This sent everyone at the table into loud laughter.
Lute sat quietly to one side, unable to put a word in. When she saw Amity Zhu leave the table to lie down on the divan for a smoke of opium, she took the first opportunity to slip away unnoticed and went over to ask him in a low voice, “Have you seen Mr. Luo?”
“Not for the last three or four days,” Amity Zhu replied.
“Mr. Luo has settled his bills at our place and isn’t coming anymore. D’you know that?” she said.
“Whatever for?” he asked.
“It’s a joke around town now. Green Phoenix forbids him to visit us, so he doesn’t dare come anymore. I’ve worked in sing-song houses ever since I was a child, and I’ve never heard of a client acting like Mr. Luo.”
“But is it true?”
“He sent Mr. Tang to pay his bills, and Mr. Tang told me.”
“Did you people go and invite him back?”
“We’ll just leave him be. Whether he comes again or not is entirely up to him. He’s been seeing me for four or five years now, and I do have some idea of his likes and dislikes. Since he’s fallen for Green Phoenix, even if we go and invite him now, he won’t be coming. We’d just be called meddlers. That’s why we’ll let things be. You just wait, Mr. Zhu, and we’ll see whether he’ll keep up with Green Phoenix for four or five years. In the end, he’ll still be coming to us, and we won’t have to invite him, either.”
Listening to Lute’s words and line of reasoning, he felt this was a woman of interesting qualities. He was about to ask her for more details when he heard the others calling out repeatedly for Mr. Zhu, so he had no choice but to return to the table. It turned out that Script Li had just made Bright Pearl challenge all the guests to the finger game. Pragmatic Li, Crane Li, and Old Merit had all played, and it was Amity Zhu’s turn.
After Amity had played, her challenge was done. Now all the courtesans who knew how to play held out their hands asking for a game. All of a sudden, everyone was playing: sleeves danced, bracelets tinkled, lamps swayed, and flowers quivered. One could not quite make out the numbers called or see the gestures. A little annoyed by the din, Script Li called out, “Serve the congee; we want it now.” Only then did the courtesans give up the game and gradually disperse. Bright Pearl, unlike the others, stayed until after congee had been served.
Since Crane Li wanted to go to bed early, he took his leave together with Pragmatic Li the minute dinner was over. Second Kuang accompanied them back to the Long Peace Inn on Pebble Road. Once back in their room, Pragmatic Li lit the lamp on his bed to get himself a smoke, while Crane Li told Second Kuang to make his bed.
“What’s the matter, aren’t you going to Grace Yang’s?” Pragmatic Li asked in surprise.
“Not tonight.”
“Don’t give up having fun just because I’m around. Go there, it’s all right,” said Pragmatic Li.
“I didn’t get any sleep last night, so I’ll turn in early tonight.”
After a long interval, Pragmatic said slowly, “The one thing you mustn’t do in these foreign settlements is to gamble. If you want to gamble, go back home and do it there.”
“I wasn’t really gambling; it was just a few mah-jongg parties in the sing-song houses.”
“True, mah-jongg parties don’t count as gambling. Well, as long as you don’t gamble … Just don’t go and get yourself into money problems.”
Crane Li could not very well say anything to that, so he undressed and went to bed.
Pragmatic Li told Second Kuang to scrape the ashes out of his pipe. As he did so, Second Kuang asked with a smile, “What’s the name of the old courtesan you called, Fourth Master?”
“Bright Pearl. D’you think she’s any good?”
Second Kuang smiled but said nothing.
“What’s the matter with you? Surely you can tell me what you think.”
“I can’t see anything in her,” Second Kuang replied. “But His Excellency clung to her as if she was a treasure. Fourth Master, next time, don’t call her. Might as well let His Excellency have her.”
Pragmatic could not help smiling at this. Second Kuang also smiled and said, “Well, Fourth Master, what do you think of her? She’s going bald at the forehead and has lost most of her teeth, even her cheeks are sunken. When she was talking to His Excellency, she looked terrible when she laughed—her mouth opened, and all the skin on her face pulled together like the ruffles of a dress! Even I felt a bit embarrassed on her behalf, and yet she put on such airs. She should really take a good look at herself in the mirror—what does she think she is?”
Pragmatic laughed out loud. “Bright Pearl is really out of luck today! You may not know this, but she was terribly famous, and she has some twenty thousand silver dollars in hand, too. Lesser clients still fawn on
her.”
“If I were a client, even if Bright Pearl were to give me money, frankly I wouldn’t feel like it. Now the girl at whose place His Excellency gave the party—was her name Lute?—she’s the steadier type, didn’t even put on any powder, and wore a plain off-white cotton blouse, with no ornaments in her hair. She can’t be much younger than Bright Pearl, either. There’s nothing much to her, but she’s neat and clean, rather like a maid.”
“I must say your taste is not bad. You said she’s like a maid, but in fact she has too many clothes and jewelry, and that’s why she doesn’t wear them. Did you see the size of the pearl on her headband? That alone costs five hundred dollars.”
“I wonder how they get so much money.”
“Why, their clients give it to them, of course. Take tonight, for example; we were only there a little while, but the bill came to over a hundred. It may not matter to His Excellency, but it’s so unfair on us. The two of us had to come up with over twenty dollars. Next time we’re invited to a sing-song house party, I’m not going. Let Eldest Young Master go on his own.”
“Fourth Master is joking again. On a trip to Shanghai you must have some fun, so it’s only right to spend a little money. If you don’t have it, there’s nothing to be done, but in the case of Fourth Master, just your annual surplus will last you forever.”
“I’m no miser, but there’s fun to be had in lots of places, so why go to the sing-song houses? Is it because they have a better name? Real suckers those punters are!”
Second Kuang chuckled at this. To their surprise, Crane Li was still awake and now laughed under his quilt. Hearing him, Pragmatic Li said, “I’m sure there’s no way you’ll take the advice I give. No wonder you’re laughing. Your Grace Yang, for instance; she’s somebody to reckon with, too, quite a celebrity in the foreign settlements.”
Intent on getting some sleep, Crane Li made no answer. Having cleaned out the ashes, Second Kuang handed the pipe back and withdrew to the outer room. Pragmatic Li smoked his fill, put away the opium tray, and also went to bed.
Although an opium smoker, Pragmatic Li made it a rule to get up at eight every morning. Crane Li, on the other hand, followed no fixed hours. The next day, Pragmatic had lunch alone in the room. Seeing that Crane Li was still soundly asleep, he did not wake him but just told Second Kuang, “You keep an eye on things. I’m off to the House of Floral Rain.” He headed for Fourth Avenue, and as he approached Generosity Alley, he suddenly heard somebody calling, “Mr. Li.” He looked up and saw it was Amity Zhu coming out of the alley. They greeted each other.
“I was just going to send you an invitation,” said Amity Zhu. “Dinner tonight for Mr. Script Li. We’re having it at Bright Pearl’s place, where it’s roomier. It’ll still be the five of us. I’m counting on you to keep His Excellency company, so I beg you not to refuse.”
“I’m afraid I must give my apologies. Later, I’ll tell my nephew to come and wait on you,” Pragmatic replied.
Amity Zhu pondered. “I really shouldn’t press you, but it seems the guests are too few. Would you do me this favor, please?”
Pragmatic could not very well turn down such a request, so he just made a vague promise, after which Amity Zhu saluted him and took his leave. Pragmatic made his way to the House of Floral Rain. He went all the way up to the third floor and saw the tables in the outer room and the opium couches inside had all been taken, it being the peak hour. A waiter who knew him realized he had come for a smoke of opium and invited him in, saying, “There’s room inside.”
Pragmatic Li saw that the smoker on the center couch was paying his bill and washing his face, so he sat down on the humble side of the couch to wait for him to leave and then moved to the head of the couch after the waiter had tidied things up. Within a short time, the tide of tea drinkers and opium smokers had risen even further, and there was not a seat left. Added to their numbers were peddlers of food, toys, and utensils, who carried their wares in their hands, or over their shoulders, or in trays at their chests, all ducking in and out of the crowd.
Pragmatic paid them no attention, for he was on the watch for game. The House of Floral Rain was a vast hunting ground for game birds.1 They flocked there in countless numbers to joke with and tease potential clients, making spectacles of themselves.
The sight of this did not appeal to Pragmatic. After he had smoked a couple of pellets, he sat up cross-legged. The waiter brought him a hot towel. He wiped his hands and face and then switched to smoking a water pipe. Just then, he saw a game bird of sixteen or seventeen, her face blotched with face powder and her neck rimmed with a layer of dark grease left from some distant past. She had on a padded jacket of pastel pink Suzhou silk with a smear of grease on the lapel that had turned the color of green tea. The pale turquoise silk handkerchief she carried in her hand was comparatively new, and, afraid people would not see it, she swished it energetically as she walked in.
The sight of her made Pragmatic smile. The game bird, thinking he was interested, stood in front of him and fixed her eyes on him, waiting for him to make conversation so she could take the first opportunity to lie down. Unfortunately for her, he did not show the least sign of interest despite her respectful vigil, so she had no choice but to go away. It happened that a waiter was leaning on the screen doors looking after the smokers, so she chatted with him. Something he said made her laugh and curse him, and she flapped her handkerchief in his face. He hastily backed away, and the momentum pushed him against a peddler of foreign and top-class local goods. There was a loud crash, and all the peddler’s wares ended up on the floor. Everybody crowded around to look. Seeing that trouble was afoot, the game bird made herself scarce.
Just then, two servant girls walked in with their arms around each other’s shoulders. Absorbed in their own chit-chat and laughter, they stepped unwarily on a leather-backed mirror. One of them heaved herself off with a desperate push on one foot and managed to jump over it, but the other girl lost her balance and stepped on a thermometer, reducing it to powdered glass. How could a mere peddler sustain such loss? The man naturally demanded compensation from the servant girls.
But the girls insisted it was unfair. “Why did you throw your things on the floor in the first place?” Each side held to its own argument, and a shouting match almost ensued. The waiter had no choice but to take things into his own hands. He barked, “Go! Go! Say no more.” The two girls went away, still muttering. The waiter then fished a ten-cent coin out of his pocket for the peddler. The peddler dared not argue any more, just tidied up and left. The waiter, still enraged, cursed and swore. Pragmatic smiled and comforted him, which put a stop to the swearing.
Next, an old woman came in. Feeling her way along the wall, she got really close to the smokers and squinted at them. Seeing that Pragmatic Li was alone, she did not take her eyes off him. He was puzzled by this. Then the old woman faltered for a long while and finally asked, “Want to have some fun?” Only then did he realize she was a pimp. He smiled and ignored her. The waiter, carrying a water kettle to freshen up the tea, was annoyed that she was standing in his way. He glared at her and shouted, “Hey!” It gave the old woman such a fright she lowered her head and left without a word.
Pragmatic smoked two more pellets, scraping the ivory opium box clean with the toasting pick. It was approaching five in the afternoon, the teahouse was beginning to clear. Even the game birds had flown off to who knows where. Pragmatic told the waiter to put away the opium pipe and have the usual receipt made out. Then he fished out a dollar and added a ten-cent tip. The waiter took it to the cashier’s and called his assistant to bring hot water for Pragmatic to wash his face.
After washing himself, Pragmatic stood up, straightened his clothes, and got ready to go as soon as the waiter brought his receipt. At this point, however, he saw another game bird glide gracefully in, and his soul was enslaved.
::
1. For the different categories of prostitutes, see “The World of the Shanghai Courtesans.”
CHAPTER 16 :: A bargain for a rich patron carries hidden consequences, and a game of dominoes serves as a pastime
Pragmatic Li saw that the game bird was wearing a simple smooth-woven off-white cotton blouse under a satin-trimmed black crepe sleeveless jacket. An old maidservant walked behind her as she slowly approached the screen doors, looked inside, and stood still. When he got up close, her radiant complexion and limpid eyes really did seem quite appealing. He was just about to chat her up when the waiter came back from the cashier’s, and the old maidservant asked him, “Has Chen been?”
“No, he hasn’t,” the waiter replied. “Not for several days now.”
The maid, a little disconcerted, had nothing further to say. She took the game bird to the front terrace, where they leaned against the railing and looked at the carriages passing to and fro on Fourth Avenue.
“D’you know her name?” Pragmatic asked the waiter.
“She’s Perfection Chu. She lives nearby.”
“She looks rather like a respectable woman.”
“Respectable women are just your type. Perhaps you’ll go over and sit for a while, have some fun?”
Pragmatic smiled and shook his head.
“It’s no big deal. If you like her, drop in now and then. If not, you’ve wasted a dollar, that’s all.”
Pragmatic smiled but made no reply. The waiter guessed that he was willing, so he hastily set down the opium lamp he had been polishing and went out to beckon to the maid and whispered into her ear for a long while. After that, the maid came in, all smiles. She asked for Pragmatic’s family name and said, “Let’s go together now.”
This made Pragmatic rather uncomfortable. The waiter sensed it and said, “You two go first and wait at the alley entrance. What’s this nonsense about going together?”
The maid hastened to answer, “Then come right away, Mr. Li. We’ll wait for you in Great Prosperity Alley.”
Pragmatic nodded in assent, and the maid turned around to go. But the waiter called her back to tell her, “Now, be more refined. This gentleman is used to first-class houses. Don’t make fools of yourselves.”
