The Sing-song Girls of Shanghai

by Bangqing Han

  Seeing that her niece, Clever, was about to cry, Little Sister was taken aback and exclaimed, “What’s the matter?”

  “I’m not going back!” Clever said in tears.

  Little Sister did not understand. She stared blankly at the girl and then asked, “Did you quarrel with somebody?”

  Clever shook her head. “No, it’s not that. This morning when I was polishing an opium lamp, I broke the glass lampshade. Their madam said I had to make up for it. I went and bought one at an imported goods store, but she said it wasn’t good enough. I had to buy another one from another store, and I asked for a good one. But when I took it home, they said it was still no good and told me to go and change it and to take the broken one along to get a match. The store said it would cost twenty cents, and they wouldn’t take the other one back either. As their servant girl, I only get one dollar a month. Since I started working there in the first month, I’ve earned less than three dollars, and I sent all that back home long ago. Where am I going to get the twenty cents?”

  Hearing this, Little Sister laughed. “Why make such a to-do about this? I’ve never seen such a silly child as you. Leave the lampshade here; I’ll go and get one for you tomorrow.”

  “Aunt, no!” Clever said at once. “I can’t cope with the work there. The minute I get up in the morning, I have to clean three opium lamps and eight water pipes. Then there’re the three rooms: sweeping the floor, dusting the furniture, emptying the spittoons; I get all the chores. In the afternoon, there’s the laundry, all those clothes, and I have to wash them on my own. I don’t get a minute off day or night. Sometimes, guests play mah-jongg, and I have to stay up all night. By the time the game is over at dawn, they all go to bed, but I have to clean the rooms.”

  “They have two other servant girls. Don’t they do anything?”

  “Would those two take on any work? I wake them up at noon for lunch, and they do the maestro’s hair, that’s all. When that’s done and they’re at leisure, they lie down on the divan, put up their feet, and smoke opium. If a client comes along, they laugh and joke with him and just enjoy themselves. As for me, I have to prepare the hot towels, fill the water pipes, and get run off my feet. By the end of the month, I watch them share the tips; sometimes it’s three or four dollars, sometimes five or six. That certainly makes them happy, whereas I never even see a little copper coin.” At this, she burst into tears again.

  Little Sister said earnestly, “You just do your duty; don’t take them as your example. As for the tips they get, you shouldn’t envy them for it, either. It’s only natural that you get a bad deal now, but once you’ve learned to dress hair, you’ll do all right. If you don’t listen to me, I can tell you what’ll happen. You’ve just come from the countryside, and if you walk out of the first house you work for, what will you do after that? Who’s going to take you on?”

  Clever said sobbing, “Aunt, there’re some things you don’t know. I don’t mind the work, but while I’m working, they horse around with me. If I don’t play along, they’re displeased and tell Mother I’m sulky when I work. And if some rowdy clients come along, they gang up with them and have fun at my expense. One client held down my hands, another pinned down my feet, and the two of them pulled off my pants.”

  So saying, she started weeping again. But Elan Ge and Snow Scent thought it funny.

  Little Sister also laughed. “Did they actually pull them off?” she asked quickly.

  “Of course they did!” Clever replied in tears. “In the end, it was the maestro who couldn’t put up with it and helped me up. When their madam heard about it, she said I was a little baby and she was fed up with me and my moods.”

  Snow Scent cut in, “Those clients were really out of order! Pulling a servant girl’s pants off, how could they do it!”

  Elan Ge said, “At a dollar a month, d’you have to worry that nobody will take you on? Don’t work for them anymore.”

  Little Sister, however, said nothing. When she had tidied up the room and Elan Ge and Snow Scent were ready to retire for the night, she said to Clever, “Even if you want to quit, wait until I’ve found another position for you. Go back now and carry on for a couple of days.”

  “You will look for a job for me, Aunt, won’t you?”

  “All right. Now go.”

  “Do I have to replace the lampshade?”

  Little Sister told her to leave the broken one behind. “I’ll go and get one tomorrow,” she said. “Now take more care when you’re working.”

  Clever promised and then took her leave and returned to Sunset’s in Generosity Alley. The Taoist priests in the parlor were chanting the story “Luoyang Bridge,” attracting a crowd of idlers to watch and listen. She paid no attention to any of it but went straight to the little back room to see the madam, Sister Wei, and reported, “The imported goods store refused to make an exchange. My aunt will get one tomorrow.”

  “You’ve been to see your aunt?” Sister Wei asked.

  “Yes.”

  “So, a little thing like that sends you running to your aunt,” Sister Wei said in vexation. “Did you think if you told her, you wouldn’t have to make up for it?”

  Clever did not dare answer back. She went upstairs and saw that the second party in Sunset’s room was not quite over yet. The guests were Manager Zhai of Northern Fidelity Pawnshop and several clerks who, as it happened, were precisely the rowdy ones. Since she was going to quit anyway, she thought, there was no need to go and fawn on them. Instead of going into Sunset’s room, she went into the mezzanine cubicle and, groping in the dark, lay down on an opium divan. But with the waves of laughter coming from the party, how could she sleep? A while later, she heard tables and chairs being moved, followed by the clatter of ivory tiles, and she knew they had started playing mah-jongg. She was just going to get up when she heard the two servant girls coming out of the room to call the menservants for hot towels and to look for her downstairs.

  “Clever is upstairs. She’s probably gone to bed,” said Sister Wei.

  “So she’s taking it easy. Go and get her,” said one of the girls.

  “No, not me,” said the other. “If she doesn’t feel like working, we’ll take over. It’s not as if we can’t do without her.”

  This sent Clever back to the divan feeling hopeless and despondent, and soon she fell asleep. When she woke up, the sun was shining high in the sky. She sat up on the divan rubbing her eyes and then listened carefully. All was quiet downstairs: the chanting had ended. The only noise came from Sunset’s room, where the menservants had brought in breakfast after the mah-jongg party and the guests were still fooling around with the two servant girls. She decided to stay out of their way. After going to the kitchen to clean her face, she saw to tidying the empty rooms first.

  A while later, Little Sister came. Clever thought the cleaning could wait and concentrated on eavesdropping. She heard Little Sister going into Sister Wei’s room to give her the replacement lampshade, asking, “Will this one do?”

  Sister Wei laughed merrily. “My! You got taken in by the child and actually went and bought it! It was only because she was careless when she worked that I said she had to replace it, so she’d learn to be more careful. D’you think I was serious about it?” So saying, she gave Little Sister two ten-cent coins for the lampshade, but the latter refused them adamantly. Sister Wei had no choice but to thank her and then insisted that they sit down and chat for a while.

  “This child is not a bad worker, but she’s a bit of a loner,” Sister Wei said. “In a sing-song house, what does it matter if a couple of clients horse around with her a bit? But she gets terribly upset about it.”

  This made Clever angrier than ever. She did not want to listen anymore and went back to cleaning the room. After Little Sister had taken her leave of Sister Wei, Clever caught up with her and followed her all the way to a corner of the lane before asking, “Aunt, you will look for a place for me, won’t you?”

  “Don’t be so impatient! Eve
n if there’s an opening, you’ll have to wait till the season’s over. Where can you get a position now?”

  Clever pleaded with her repeatedly before returning to the house.

  Little Sister was gone for several days without news, and Clever was too busy to visit her at Snow Scent’s. On the fourteenth of the third month, Clever got up early. She was polishing water pipes in the parlor when a sedan chair came to the door. A maid lifted its curtain and helped a lady out. Though middle-aged, she was still handsome and carried herself with confidence. The way she dressed was somewhat old-fashioned. Clever guessed that she must be a wealthy housewife. Her face suffused with anger and her chest thrust out, the lady came through the front door and demanded in a loud voice, “Is this Sunset Wei’s?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Clever answered.

  Without further questions, she headed upstairs, maid in tow. An astounded Clever questioned the sedan-chair bearers at the door and learned that the lady was Mallow Yao’s wife. She dashed into Sister Wei’s room to tell her the news. Wondering what it was about, Sister Wei rushed upstairs with Clever and followed Mrs. Yao into Sunset’s room.

  Sunset was sitting primly in front of the window, still at her toilet. The minute Mrs. Yao saw her, she demanded loudly, “Are you Sunset Wei?”

  Sunset started as she looked up. She took the measure of Mrs. Yao before replying coolly, “I am Sunset Wei, and who may you be?”

  Mrs. Yao sat down proudly in a high-back chair and shouted at her, “I don’t have time to bandy words with you. Where’s Second Young Master? Tell him to come out.”

  Sunset had guessed what the visit was about. Again she responded coldly, “Which Second Young Master do you mean? And how is he related to you?”

  Mrs. Yao roared, pointing a finger at Sunset’s face, “Stop playing the fool! Second Young Master is my husband and you’ve cast a spell on him. Do you know who I am?” So saying, she glared ferociously at Sunset, looking as though she was ready to spring at her. At this sight, Sunset could not help laughing out loud, but she did not reply to the question.

  Clever, being timid, wanted to smooth over any unpleasantness. She hastily fetched a teacup and some tea leaves and called out for the menservants to bring hot water. Then she said, “Please have some tea, Mrs. Yao.” After that, she offered her a water pipe, asking, “Would you like a smoke, Mrs. Yao? I’ll fill it for you.”

  Meanwhile, Sister Wei tried to keep Mrs. Yao from standing up and offered a torrent of explanations. “Second Young Master seldom visits us. He hasn’t been for ages now. He sends the occasional party call once in a blue moon but has never given a dinner party here. You mustn’t be misled by gossip, Mrs. Yao.”

  Just as everybody tried to put in a word to make peace, Sunset Wei stopped them, barking, “Silence! Enough of that claptrap!” Then she spoke to Mrs. Yao in a voice loud and clear, “If you want to find your husband, you should look for him in your own house. Did you ever entrust him to our care, so as to give you the right to come and look for him here? This sing-song house has never sent someone to your residence to invite our client over, yet you’re here now in search of your husband; isn’t that a joke? We’re a house open for business; anybody who walks in is a client. What do we care whose husband he is? Is there a rule saying that if it’s your husband, we’re not allowed to see him? Let me put it to you straight: Second Young Master may be your husband at home, but when he is here, he’s our client. If you’re smart, you should keep a close eye on your husband. Why did you let him out to have fun in sing-song houses? When he’s already in a sing-song house, d’you think you can drag him out? Go and ask around; is there such a rule in these foreign settlements? It so happens that Second Young Master isn’t here, but even if he were, would you dare scold him or box his ears? You can bully your husband all you want, but be careful you don’t bully a client of ours. Second Young Master may be afraid of you, but we don’t know you, lady.”

  This little speech left Mrs. Yao flabbergasted. She flushed crimson to her ears and almost burst into tears of desperation. While she was still trying to think of some argument, Sunset spoke again, “Now you’re a lady. Perhaps you’re so bored with being a lady, you have come to a sing-song house to have some fun, too? It’s a pity we don’t have clients for a tea party just now. Otherwise, I’d tell them to hold you down and rape you. How would you face people back home then? Even if you sue us at the new yamen, sex in a sing-song house is nothing out of the ordinary.”

  Just as Sunset was getting into her stride, the menservants downstairs gave a sudden shout, “A guest coming up.”

  “Perfect timing. Do ask him in,” said Sunset.

  Sister Wei lifted the door curtain and a man of forty-odd years walked in. He had three strands of whiskers and was very plump: it was none other than Manager Zhai of Northern Fidelity Pawnshop. Mrs. Yao was so frightened that her heart was in her mouth. She didn’t know whether to remain seated or to leave. Shame and anger had left her speechless.

  When Zhai came into the room, he did not take a seat but just looked Mrs. Yao up and down, unable to make out who she was. Sunset asked him jovially, “Do you know her? She’s the missus of Second Young Master Yao; Mallow Yao, that is. She’s come to our house today to settle his hash.”

  Zhai looked lost. Only after Sister Wei had gone over to whisper the gist of it in his ear did he understand. “Then it’s Mrs. Yao who has been ill advised,” he said with a frown. “I’ve dined with Mallow a few times and so count as a friend. It seems to me that your coming here doesn’t reflect well on him, Mrs. Yao.”

  “But why? I think it’s great!” said Sunset. “Second Young Master hasn’t been doing well in business all this time, but with such a wife he’s bound to get rich.”1

  He held up a hand and signaled her to be quiet and then turned to Mrs. Yao. “Please return to your residence now, Mrs. Yao. If there’s anything you want said, tell Mallow to come and say it.”

  Unable to do or say anything and with pent-up rage driving her to the point of tears, Mrs. Yao rose hastily and, taking her maid, made for the stairs.

  Sunset sneered, “Do stay a little longer, Mrs. Yao. If Second Young Master comes round, I’ll send the maid to invite you back.”

  When Mrs. Yao got downstairs, she could not control her tears anymore. She started wailing and moaned and cursed in a muffled voice as she got into her sedan chair to go home.

  With Mrs. Yao gone and her own toilet finished, Sunset thought back on what had taken place and found it increasingly funny. “Second Young Master cuts quite a figure; now let’s see if he can live this down. A married lady coming to a sing-song house to drag a client off, well, she beats even the streetwalkers.”

  Sister Wei also sighed. “She’s a lady, what more does she want? Yet she had to walk in here and ask for a slap in the eye. What rotten luck!”

  “You can hold your tongue. Count yourself lucky you didn’t get a mouthful from her,” said Sunset.

  Sister Wei smiled and went away.

  “Why should your mother get a mouthful from her?” asked Manager Zhai.

  Sunset told him smiling, “My mother is just too nice. Now even if Second Young Master comes to us every day, there’s no reason we should deny it. But my mother insisted he hadn’t come for ages, as if we should be afraid of her. As for this girl, Clever, she was even more exasperating. The other day when we had the religious chanting, the whole house was filled with guests, both upstairs and downstairs. When we called for her to make tea, she couldn’t be found, and guests moving to another room didn’t get fresh teacups, either. But today, when Second Young Master’s wife got here, you should have seen how hard she tried to please. Without waiting to be told, she went ahead and made a cup of tea for her and then wanted to fill a water pipe for her. It was Mrs. Yao this, Mrs. Yao that. She skives off work, but she sucks up to Mrs. Yao! Unfortunately for her, Mrs. Yao wasn’t in the least aware of it, so all that fawning was completely wasted.”

  Clever happened to come i
n with a basin of hot water for Sunset to wash her hands. Hearing this, she answered back, “Mrs. Yao is a guest, too. Why shouldn’t I have made tea for her?”

  Sunset smiled at Zhai. “Listen to her. Isn’t it infuriating? Mrs. Yao a guest! Is she a client of mine?”

  “Client or not, it’s none of my business. You were the one who had a shouting match with her, and now you blame me for fawning on her!”

  Sunset glowered. “Why d’you have to be so contrary? If you don’t like working here, then leave. I’m sure Mrs. Yao likes your fawning.”

  Clever went downstairs pouting. She made short work of her cleaning and had lunch. She waited till the sun began to set and then snatched a free moment to go once more to Snow Scent’s in East Co-prosperity Alley. Here, she told Little Sister what had happened and said in tears, “If I don’t work, I get scolded; but if I do, I still get scolded. Whatever it is, it’s always my fault. You told me to put up with it for a couple more days, Aunt, but I can’t put up with it anymore.”

  “In that case, where would you go?” said Little Sister.

  “Anywhere. I don’t mind if there’re no wages.”

  Little Sister thought about it but said nothing.

  “Come here and help your aunt. You can look for a place later; how about that?” Snow Scent suggested.

  “That’d be nice,” Clever replied.

  Little Sister decided to go along with it. That night, she settled Clever’s wages at Sunset’s and took her bedding out.

  As it turned out, Clever only spent one night at Snow Scent’s. The next morning, Snow Scent took out a pair of green jade hairpins after lunch and told her to return them to Constance at Big Feet Yao’s across the way. She was to say, “The green is a good shade, and they look rather similar to mine. Sixteen dollars is not at all expensive.”

  Clever delivered the message to Constance very clearly, so Constance asked her, “Are you a new girl?” Clever told her the truth.

  “We’re just looking for another servant girl. If the maestro doesn’t need you, come and work here,” said Constance.