The Sing-song Girls of Shanghai

by Bangqing Han

  “I understand,” the maid answered, all smiles. “As if you need to tell me!” So saying, she hurried to the front terrace to take Perfection Chu downstairs.

  Pragmatic put away the opium sales slip and then left the House of Floral Rain and headed westward down Fourth Avenue for Great Prosperity Alley. From a distance, he saw the maid standing at the alley entrance, waiting. As he drew near, she walked into the alley; he followed. When they came to a turning, she pushed open both panels of a front door and showed him into a tiny courtyard with high walls. He saw that it was a very airy terrace house. Perfection was keeping watch at the upstairs window, but when she saw him come in, she drew back in haste.

  He went upstairs into the room. Perfection, all shyness and timidity, offered him watermelon seeds and then returned to her seat in silence. After the maid had brought tea and lit the opium lamp, Perfection finally lay across the divan to fill the pipe for him. He went and lay down on the right-hand side. After some desultory attempts at conversation, the maid withdrew. As he watched Perfection toast the opium, Pragmatic chatted to her casually. When he mentioned the maid, she referred to her at once as “Mother.” It turned out that the maid was indeed Perfection’s mother, known by the name of Third Sister. A moment later, Third Sister came up again to light the foreign lamp and close the window. She then said, “Mr. Li, you might as well have some supper here.”

  It occurred to him that if he went back to the inn, Amity Zhu would certainly invite him to the party. It was better for him to keep out of reach. So he named two small casseroles and fished out a dollar to have them ordered from the Garden of Plenty. After a token gesture of declining the money, Third Sister took it and went out for the food.

  Soon the food was delivered, accompanied by an additional four plates of cold cuts. Third Sister put two sets of cups and chopsticks on opposite sides of the table and addressed Perfection encouragingly, “Come and keep Mr. Li company.”

  Only then did Perfection come to the table, pour him a cup of wine, and sit down facing him. He took the wine pot to pour for her.

  “I don’t drink,” she pleaded.

  “Have a little,” Third Sister Chu urged her. “Mr. Li won’t mind.”

  They were about to commence with supper when they heard some noise downstairs. Somebody had just come through the door. Alarmed, Third Sister went down to ask the man into the kitchen. A while later, she called for Perfection to go down. Pragmatic thought it was a client and stole over to the staircase to eavesdrop, but the man’s voice sounded like the waiter at the House of Floral Rain, so he paid no attention and went back to his seat to drink. He had drained five or six cups of wine in succession when Third Sister and Perfection finally came back upstairs, followed by the waiter. Pragmatic invited him to have a cup of wine.

  “I’ve had some,” said the waiter. “Please go ahead.”

  When Third Sister invited him to sit down, he declined again. He just stood there for a while and then said “See you tomorrow” and left.

  Perfection solicitously urged several more cups of wine on Pragmatic. He felt a little tipsy and called for rice to be served, and she ate with him. After they had finished, Third Sister brought him a hot towel and then cleared the table and went off to the kitchen. Perfection again filled the opium pipe for him. When he talked to her, she answered less than half the time, but he still found her interesting. By the time he had smoked his fill, he fished a watch out of his pocket and saw it was already past ten, so he threw two silver dollars in the opium tray and stood up.

  “Where are you going?” she asked at once.

  “I’m leaving.”

  “No, please don’t go!”

  He had already walked out of the room before she caught up with him. In her agitation, she clutched his clothes with one hand and shouted, “Mother, come quick!”

  Hearing this, Third Sister ran upstairs in alarm and held on to him.

  “Our place here is nice and clean. Why d’you have to go? What’s wrong?”

  “I’ll come again tomorrow,” he said.

  “In that case, don’t bother to go tonight,” argued Third Sister.

  “I have to, but I’m definitely coming tomorrow.”

  “Then stay a little longer. What’s the hurry?”

  “It’s getting late. I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said as he went downstairs.

  Third Sister, afraid of spoiling everything, could not very well insist. She just said repeatedly, “Mr. Li, we’ll expect you tomorrow then.” As for Perfection, she only managed to utter “come tomorrow” once.

  He promised casually and walked out of Great Prosperity Alley in the dark, heading straight back to Long Peace Inn on Pebble Road. Second Kuang happened to have returned to the inn at the same time. The minute he saw Pragmatic, he said, “Where have you been all day, Fourth Master? Aiyo! We had such a gathering tonight! Mr. Zhu hired an all-girl opera troupe, as did His Excellency. Our Eldest Young Master was told to hire one, too. Altogether, there are just three all-girl troupes in Shanghai, and we had them all! There were about a hundred and ten people. A lesser house would have collapsed under the weight. Why didn’t you go, Fourth Master?”

  Pragmatic smiled. Instead of replying, he asked, “Where’s your Eldest Young Master?”

  “He was in a hurry to go to Lucky You’s. He didn’t stay for dinner but left right after the show.”

  Pragmatic had figured that would be the case. He made no comment, just smoked by himself and then went to bed.

  The next day, he went again to the top floor of the House of Floral Rain after lunch. Since it was still early, there were not many smokers. The waiter, having nothing to do, toasted opium for him. The conversation turned to Perfection. The waiter said, “She had never worked before; not until this year did she go into the business. As far as looks go, there’s little to find fault with. Her only weakness is that she’s not good at entertaining. But you like respectable women, so that’s all right.”

  Pragmatic nodded in agreement. He had just smoked a couple of pellets when other smokers drifted in one after the other. The waiter went to look after them.

  Pragmatic sat up to smoke a water pipe and saw the squinting old woman of the day before come groping her way in. When she got to the divan across from Pragmatic where three people were smoking, her eyes crinkled up in a smile as she said, “Master Constant, Second Miss is missing you so. She’s wondering why you didn’t come and told me to come here and have a look. Isn’t it fortunate that you happen to be here?” Seeing that the three men all wore blue cotton gowns and black silk sleeveless jackets, Pragmatic knew they were probably servants. The three men did not pay much attention to the garrulous old woman, so she said, “Master Constant, be sure to drop in later. The other gentlemen will please come over together.” After that she left, groping to find her way out.

  When the old woman had gone, Third Sister Chu turned up alone, without Perfection. Seeing Pragmatic, she said immediately, “Mr. Li, do come over to our place.”

  Slightly irritated by this, he said to her a little pertly, “I’ll come later. You go first.”

  She sensed his displeasure and hastily walked away. To distract attention, she took a turn in the restaurant before she left.

  He did not finish smoking until after five. When he left the House of Floral Rain, he went again to Perfection’s in Great Prosperity Alley for a casual supper. This time, they were on familiar ground. He chatted with her and found that they got on very well. As for the pleasures of the flesh and the gratification of erotic desires, those are details we need not go into.

  The next morning, he heard in his sleep the sound of suppressed weeping. When he opened his eyes, he saw Perfection lying facing the wall, whimpering. Startled, he asked at once, “Why are you crying?” But despite his repeated questioning, she did not answer. He sat up, draped his clothes over his shoulders, and thought up the most fanciful explanations for her behavior. Unable to solve the puzzle, he bent down to put his cheek against
hers and asked, “Have I offended you in some way, or are you upset because I’m too old for you?”

  She waved a hand from side to side to indicate “no.”

  “Then why? Do tell me.” He frowned in puzzlement. His repeated questions only brought a brief answer from her, “It’s got nothing to do with you.”

  “Even so, you can tell me about it.”

  But she still would not speak. Not knowing what to do with her, he got dressed and got out of bed. Third Sister Chu heard him downstairs and fetched water for him to wash and then lit the opium lamp. As he washed, he stopped her to find out why Perfection was crying.

  Third Sister sighed before she answered, “Well, you can’t blame her, really. There’s something you don’t know, Mr. Li. I raised her from her birth till she was eighteen and never dreamed of letting her go into the business. Last year, she got married to a shopkeeper’s son. His family was not badly off; they had a jewelry store in Hongkou district, and the young couple got on very well, so she was doing all right, wasn’t she? But then something happened in the first month of this year, and because of that she still ended up in the business! Now don’t you think she’s got cause to feel aggrieved, Mr. Li?”

  “Well, what happened?”

  “Let’s not talk about it. It won’t help anyway, and it may humiliate her husband. Better not say anything.”

  As they talked, he had finished washing, and Third Sister took the basin downstairs. He, however, felt uneasy and mystified by what she had said. He lay down on the divan to smoke and puzzle over the matter.

  In a moment, Third Sister came in to inquire about breakfast. He again asked her, “What was it? Do tell me. I might be of some help to her, you never know. Tell me and we’ll see.”

  “Mr. Li, if you’re willing to help her, you’d be doing a good deed, but I’m too embarrassed to tell you. If I did, it’d seem like we’re out to swindle you, Mr. Li.”

  He lost his patience. “Oh, for heaven’s sake! If you have anything to say, just say it!”

  She sighed again and then told him the story from the beginning. “I have to put it down to her bad luck! She went to a wedding at her maternal uncle’s in the first month. Her husband, eager to put up a good front, let her take a set of jewelry from the shop with her. At night, she put it beside her pillow, but when she got up the next morning, it was gone! Lots of people went searching for it up hill and down dale, all to no avail. Her uncle and his family were scared to death. They said if it couldn’t be found, they’d kill themselves by taking raw opium. Since her parents-in-law are still alive, how could she face them? They were really at the end of their wits. Then someone said perhaps she could go into the business. If she met a good client who took pity on the ill-fated girl, he might be willing to help her cover up this affair and in the process save seven or eight lives. I was at my wit’s end, so I agreed to it. Now, Mr. Li, since her husband’s family is not badly off and she gets on with him all right, if it weren’t for this why would she have to make a living as a prostitute?”

  Perfection, who was lying in bed, started weeping heartrendingly when she heard this. Pragmatic, all uneasy, scratched his ears and cheeks, unable to comfort her.

  “You know, Mr. Li, this business is hard. Even the first-class houses only take in three or four hundred a season. For a respectable woman who’s just come out, things are of course even tougher. Would it be easy to earn enough to replace a set of jewelry? Sometimes when we talk and the subject of business comes up, she bursts into tears. She says if she doesn’t get enough business, she might as well die, for she’ll never find happiness again.”

  “She’s too young to talk about dying!” he said. “We’ll discuss this later. There must be some way out. Go and talk to her; tell her not to cry.”

  Third Sister immediately clambered onto the bed and whispered something in Perfection’s ear, after which the sound of weeping gradually subsided, and she got dressed and got up. Only then did Third Sister get off the bed. She said jovially, “The first guest she’s had since she came out happens to be you, Mr. Li. It’s probably not in her stars to die just yet. You’re like a savior who’s come to her rescue, don’t you think so, Mr. Li?”

  Pragmatic bowed his head deep in thought and said not a word.

  Third Sister suddenly thought of something. “Aiyo! I kept chatting away and forgot to ask: what will you have for breakfast, Mr. Li? I’ll go get it.”

  “A couple of rice balls will do.”

  She dashed out at once to buy the food.

  Perfection’s cheeks, flushed scarlet, were clear and smooth as a mirror, and her jet black eyes had puffed up from crying. Pragmatic, moved to love and pity, stared fixedly at her. Overcome by shyness, she got off the bed with her head lowered, stepped into a pair of slippers, and hurried off to the back half of the room. A while later, Third Sister returned with the rice balls, and Perfection also came in to wash her face and comb her hair. Pragmatic smoked another couple of pellets of opium and then got up to put on his jacket, taking five dollars out of his pocket to put in the opium tray.

  “Are you going?” Third Sister asked.

  “Yes, I am.”

  “And you won’t be coming back again?”

  “Who said so?”

  “Then what’s the hurry in paying?” Third Sister took the five dollars from the opium tray and put it back in his pocket.

  A bit taken aback, he asked, “Does that mean you want me to get you a set of jewelry?”

  “Oh, it’s not that!” she said pleasantly. “If we have money in hand, we might spend it, and then we’d never save up enough. It’s better to leave it with you, Mr. Li. You can give it all to us in a few days, right?”

  Only then did he nod in agreement and say, “Fine.”

  “Come again later,” Perfection urged, and he gave her his promise. Then he put on his jacket, went downstairs, and returned to Long Peace Inn on Pebble Road. Unexpectedly, his nephew Crane had already returned. Upon seeing him, Crane could not help smiling, which rather embarrassed Pragmatic. Second Kuang, also grinning, submitted an invitation. It was Mallow Yao asking him to a dinner party that night at Sunset’s in Generosity Alley.

  “Are you going?” Crane asked.

  “No, not me. You go ahead.”

  Soon the inn attendant brought them lunch. When they had finished eating, Pragmatic Li went by himself to smoke at the House of Floral Rain, while Crane Li went to Grace Yang’s in Generosity Alley. When he walked into the room, the maid, Thrive, was doing her own hair at the table by the window, while Grace was still in bed. Crane Li drew back the bed curtains and stretched a hand out to fondle her, but she had already woken up with a start and turned around to grasp his hand. He sat down on the edge of the bed.

  “When did you get back from gambling last night?” she asked.

  “We broke up at nine this morning. I haven’t slept at all.”

  “Well, did you win?”

  “I lost.”

  “You’re a fine one! All this time, I’ve never heard of you winning once, and yet you still want to go and gamble with them.”

  “Say no more. Get up quick, and we’ll go for a drive.”

  She draped some clothes around her shoulders, sat up, and buttoned up her undershirt, saying to Crane in some annoyance, “Go away!”

  “My sitting here doesn’t bother you, does it?” he said teasingly.

  She replied with a smile, “I won’t have it!”

  It happened that a manservant came in with the water kettle just then, so Crane Li walked away to light the opium lamp and smoke. Now Thrive had finished doing her hair and busied herself with preparing tea and hot towels. By the time Grace had finished her coiffure and had taken some lunch, the sky had suddenly turned dark and threatened to rain.

  “Let’s forget the carriage ride. Why don’t you sleep for a while?” she said.

  He shook his head.

  “Let’s play a game of dominoes then! Does Eldest Young Master feel like it?”
suggested Thrive.

  “All right. Who else is there?” he said.

  “Laurel Zhao from upstairs is quite fond of dominoes, too,” said Grace.

  Thrive hurried off to ask Laurel, who came downstairs at once. Grace said smiling to Crane Li, “The minute she hears of dominoes, she rushes in. Now I know why you’re still so keen after you’ve lost twenty or thirty thousand.”

  Laurel gave Grace a pat and said jovially, “You make it sound as if it’s all true.”

  Crane Li looked at Laurel. She was about twenty-five or -six, with the word “opium –smoker” written all over her sallow face. As she made casual conversation with him, Thrive had pulled the table to the middle of the room and produced the bamboo tiles and ivory chips. Crane Li, Grace, Laurel, and Thrive each cast the dice to determine their seating positions and then started to shuffle the tiles. Crane saw two fingers as black as charcoal on Laurel’s right hand and knew she must be heavily addicted to opium. Who would go with a courtesan like that? he wondered. To his surprise, before they had got to the fourth round of the game, a client had come for her. This was followed by an invitation for Crane Li from Sunset’s, so everybody decided to call it a day. When they counted the chips, Crane Li turned out to be the winner.

  “You went out and lost twenty or thirty thousand and then came here to win two or three dollars from us. Isn’t it infuriating?” Grace laughed at him.

  Crane Li thought it was funny, too. At this point, Laurel went upstairs by herself, and Thrive started to tidy up.

  Crane Li did not set off for Sunset’s until after the menservants had lit the lamps. As he walked up to the door, he ran into Amity Zhu, so they went upstairs together. Mallow Yao welcomed them in and asked them to sit down, after which Sunset offered them watermelon seeds.

  Crane Li said to Mallow Yao, “My fourth uncle sends his apologies.”

  “The Tao brothers can’t come either. They’re visiting their ancestral graves,” said Amity Zhu.