The Sing-song Girls of Shanghai

by Bangqing Han

  A manservant supervising the work came up to report, “Mr. Chen is here, too. They’re on the boat over here.”

  Jade looked around. The boat was some twenty yards away. He asked Cloud to take River Blossom by the hand and walk over to the embankment. There, they saw three large Wuxi-style boats moored in a row. The largest carried the coffin and a group of monks, the second was occupied by Cloudlet Chen and the geomancer, and the last by Fair Sister and her family. Jade handed River Blossom over to Fair Sister and then went with Cloud to Cloudlet’s boat to greet him and sat down for a friendly chat. Half an hour later, the geomancer announced, “It’s time.” Whereupon Cloudlet told Laurel Blessing to relay orders for the local cannoneers to take up their positions and for the undersupervisors to made sure that their coolies were ready for work. He also sent word to Fair Sister to tell River Blossom and the others to change into mourning clothes. With the geomancer leading the way, Cloudlet, Cloud, and Jade set off toward the grave.

  Soon afterward, the cannon was fired and the coffin taken off the boat. The monks at the head of the procession beat on their religious instruments, while the family walked behind the coffin, weeping as they went along. At the sight of this, Jade felt sick to his stomach. He struggled to control himself, but it was no use. Dizziness suddenly overwhelmed him. He saw nothing but blackness; his legs gave way, and he fell to the ground. Cloud and Cloudlet, greatly alarmed, reached out to hold him up, calling his name. Fair Sister was in a panic. She abandoned the coffin and rushed forward to undertake a series of folk remedies, including pinching his upper lip, calling on the deities, and what not. Fortunately, Jade gradually came to and opened his eyes. Everyone was somewhat reassured.

  The geomancer pointed out that a foreign-style building to the left was a Western restaurant where they could rest for a while. And so Fair Sister and Cloud helped Jade walk over there. The autumn sun was fierce, no different from midsummer. Since Jade was suffering from the heat, once he was inside the building and had taken off his gown, he felt much cooler. Then he had some lemonade and was all right.

  As soon as Cloud went out to stand on the porch, Jade tried to sneak out. But would Fair Sister let him go? He pleaded, “Let me go and take a look. I’m fine now. Let go of me!”

  She tried her best to dissuade him. “Second Young Master, you’ve just got a bit better, so how can I let you go? It’s too much of a responsibility for me.”

  Cloud heard them and said loudly, “Are you intent on scaring everybody to death? Now quiet down a bit.”

  Jade returned to his seat, dejected and restless. He took hold of a piece of white jade that he wore at his waist and cut it hard with his nails, wishing he could smash it to pieces.

  Fair Sister consoled him gently, “I’ll go and take a look, Second Young Master. You just sit here. When they’re done, I’ll tell Laurel Blessing to ask you over. How about that?”

  “In that case, go quickly,” Jade said.

  Before she went off, Fair Sister asked Cloud to make sure Jade stayed in the restaurant. Jade looked through the window toward the burial mound. As it was only a short distance away, he could see everything clearly. All things necessary, including the steps leading up to the mound and the inscriptions on the tomb, were ready. Yet River Blossom could be seen circling round the grave, crying in great agitation; he did not understand why. Just then Laurel Blessing came to invite him over, so Cloud left the Western restaurant with him, and they headed for the tomb. River Blossom was still crying, and as soon as Jade arrived she rushed into his arms.

  Stop them, Brother-in-law!” she kept shouting.

  “What’s the matter?”

  “Look! They’ve shut Elder Sister inside. How can she come out again?” No one except Jade knew what she meant. She pushed him, saying in tears, “Talk to them, Brother-in-law, tell them to open a door there.”

  There was nothing he could say to comfort her, so he resorted to white lies. River Blossom was not ready to leave it at that. She turned around, rushed up to the tomb, and tried to remove the plaster with her hands. The plasterers had no way of stopping her. In the end, it was Fair Sister who pulled her away. Fair Sister placed her back in Jade’s charge and said, “Well, it’s finally over. Please go back first, Second Young Master. We’ll take care of things here.”

  Jade knew that there was no point in staying behind in this desolate place, so he left with Cloud in the hackney, with River Blossom squeezed between them. They headed back to West Civic Peace Alley, and River Blossom pestered them all the way. When they entered Belle’s place, they heard many voices talking upstairs. The menservants told Cloud that Devotion Yin was at Flora Zhang’s, and Second Bai Gao and Wenjun Yao were also there. Cloud was delighted. He took Jade and River Blossom upstairs to Belle’s room, where he sat for a while before going over to Flora Zhang’s.

  ::

  1. It is a traditional belief that the spirit of the dead would return home for a final visit after a prescribed period, normally said to be the seventh day, the fourteenth day, or the twenty-first day after death.

  2. White and blue are colors of mourning in China. Normally, women tied their hair with red knitting wool.

  CHAPTER 44 : Wenjun tricks a rascal and gets off with a song, and Green Phoenix tackles greed by insisting on a low ransom

  As soon as Second Bai Gao and Devotion Yin saw Cloud Tao, they inquired about Water Blossom’s burial. Cloud filled them in briefly. On learning that Jade Tao was in Belle’s room, Devotion Yin sent the maid to invite him over, so Jade brought River Blossom with him to Flora Zhang’s room. When greetings had been exchanged and everyone had settled down, Second Bai urged Jade Tao to take care of himself and eat properly, while Devotion Yin just said a few simple words of condolence. Jade dreaded nothing more than the mention of his loss; he was instantly overwhelmed by sorrow.

  To change the subject, Cloud asked, “Did you continue with the Four Classics drinking game the night before last?”

  “We’ve had so many good drinking games in the last few days, which one are you referring to?” Devotion Yin asked.

  “Just yesterday we had a big gathering and Mr. Dragon Ma thought up a Four Classics drinking game that was quite neat. What’s clever about it is it’s neither too hard nor too easy and was exactly right for the total number of guests: twenty-four guests seated at six tables.” Second Bai said.

  Cloud asked what the rules of the game were. Second Bai pointed at Devotion. “Ask him. He’s got the manuscript.”

  “I don’t know if I have it with me; I’ll have a look.” So saying, Devotion took out his wallet and found that the manuscript, in the form of three sheets of poetry notepaper, was there. He took it out to show Cloud. While they discussed drinking games, Jade Tao took the opportunity to go back to the Belle’s room with River Blossom and sat there in total dejection. Belle sent a maid to keep them company, while Second Bai said to Cloud in a low voice, “Your brother looks a bit off-color. You should really try and persuade him to take better care of himself.”

  “Why don’t you spend a couple of days at Conical Hat Garden with your brother and get him to relax a bit?” Devotion Yin suggested.

  “We intend to go tomorrow. Even I have been feeling depressed these few days,” replied Cloud.

  Devotion looked around him and came up with an idea. He told Flora Zhang to give orders for a dinner party, saying, “Today, I’ll stand him dinner first. It’s a rare coincidence that all our good friends are here. There’re eight of us including our girls, just the right number for a table.”

  Before Cloud could object, Flora had already told the menservants to order the dishes. Wenjun Yao stood up and said, “There’s an opera performance in our house. I’ll go and do a show and then come right back.”

  “We’ll be waiting,” Second Bai said.

  Wenjun left without more ado. It was the time of day when the sunset glow spread across the sky and the dusk gathered. She went in a sedan chair via Fourth Avenue and West Civic Peace All
ey to East Co-prosperity Alley. When she entered the house and looked up, she saw the upstairs parlor was brightly lit and crowded with people. Loud music assaulted her ears. Upon asking, she learned that the client was Lai, the son of a powerful official. The news startled her, and she went into the back room to complain in a low voice to the madam, Big Feet Yao, that she should not have invited the attention of Lai the Turtle.

  “But I didn’t! He just showed up and asked for you, insisting on having a dinner show. Could we have refused him?” Big Feet Yao replied.

  There was nothing Wenjun could do except to show up at the dinner table and play it by ear. As she ascended the stairs, the maid announced, “Our maestro Wenjun is back.” Immediately, a tidal wave of Lai’s hangers-on rushed out in welcome. They surrounded her, shouting and leaping about in joy. She stood there erectly and glared at them. They cowered back, and instead of pestering her, they simply said, “The Young Commander has waited for you for a long time. Come in quickly.” One man walked ahead of her to clear the way; another put a stool behind Lai and asked her to sit down. Since Lai was completely surrounded by the eight or nine girls he had called to the party, there was no room for her, so she moved the stool farther away. Master Lai looked over his shoulder repeatedly to size her up. She sat there primly, with her hands in her lap, and he could not very well find fault with her.

  Wenjun noticed that only two guests were seated with the host. They were Prosperity Luo and Lotuson Wang. This reassured her somewhat. The rest of the two dozen men there looked suspiciously like street hooligans. They were not seated at the table but were just hanging around. These were probably Lai’s lackeys and hangers-on.

  A hanger-on came up to her, bowed low with shoulders thrusting up, and asked, “Which play will you do? Make your choice.”

  She thought that after she had performed she could make an excuse about being called to another party, so she said she would play Wenzhao Pass. Delighted to have received this decree from her, the hanger-on immediately reported to Master Lai that Wenjun would play Wenzhao Pass and narrated for him the plot of the play. Another hanger-on urged her to hurry off and get changed.

  When the play that had been going on was over, Wenjun went onstage in costume. Even before she had opened her mouth, one of the hangers-on shouted, “Bravo!” This triggered the others, who shouted “Bravo!” one after another. It was an avalanche that created havoc. Master Lai’s guest Lotuson Wang was a quiet man, and the noise gave him a bad headache. Even Prosperity Luo, who was rather boisterous by nature, could not stand this nonsense. But Master Lai enjoyed all this and laughed uproariously. Halfway through the performance, he ordered a servant to give out the tips. The servant poured a packet of silver dollars into a small basket and submitted it for Master Lai’s inspection. He then threw the contents onto the stage. There was a loud jingling noise, and then they saw shiny coins rolling all over the stage. The hangers-on gave another triumphant shout.

  Realizing that Lai had obvious designs on her, Wenjun’s desperation gave rise to a plan. She sang well during the performance, and once it was over, she called a maid to the backstage and laid out her plan. Then she changed out of her costume and joined those at the table, all smiles. Suddenly, Master Lai reached out his hand and pulled her into his arms. She pushed him away and stood up, pretending to be angry, but then she leaned on his shoulder and whispered into his ear.

  He nodded and said repeatedly, “I get you.” Thereupon she picked up the wine pot and poured wine for those at the table, starting with Prosperity Luo and Lotuson Wang. When she got to Master Lai, she held the wine cup to his lips, and he drained it in one gulp. She offered him another cup, saying it was to “make a pair.” He drained that, too. Only then did she return to her seat. His lust aroused, Lai could not keep his mind on the performance but turned his backside toward the stage to leer at her. Fortunately, he kept his hands to himself. Wenjun slapped and cursed him flirtatiously, pretending intimacy. Prosperity Luo and Lotuson Wang were both surprised by this. The hangers-on, who knew little about her, thought she was trying hard to please and did not suspect anything.

  Soon a manservant called out loudly, “A party call for the maestro.”

  “Where to?” the maid asked loudly.

  “The Old Banner,”1 the manservant answered.

  “Whatever next!” The maid turned to Wenjun. “You’ve still got three parties to go to, and now there’s the Old Banner as well.”

  “Drinking parties at the Old Banner last till dawn. It’ll be all right if I’m a bit late,” said Wenjun.

  The maid called out loudly in reply, “OK, we’ll come, but we have three other parties to go to first.” The manservant assented downstairs.

  Hearing this, Master Lai got worried. “Are you really going to all these parties?” he asked Wenjun.

  “Are there such things as fake parties?”

  He showed a hint of displeasure, but she pretended not to notice and whispered in his ear again. He nodded repeatedly and in an about-face actually told her to go early, saying, “Why don’t you hurry up then?”

  “There’s time enough. What’s the hurry?” she replied.

  As she dawdled, the manservant brought a lantern and stood to wait by the bamboo curtain, while the maid got ready the pipa and silver water pipe and handed them to the man.

  Master Lai told her to go again. She pretended annoyance, “What’s the hurry? Are you tired of me?”

  His heartbeat quickened. He wanted to hold her close and feel her up but was afraid that she’d take offense and so spoil everything. Before she left, she whispered a few remarks in his ear. He again nodded repeatedly. His hangers-on stared as Wenjun sailed off. Prosperity Luo and Lotuson Wang knew only then that she had used a ruse to get away. They were full of admiration for her.

  Master Lai remained in high spirits and continued to drink and watch the show, but several of his hangers-on put their heads together and discussed the matter in whispers. A moment later, they chose a representative to come forward and ask Master Lai why he had let Wenjun go.

  “I was the one who told her to go. It’s none of your business,” he replied. The hanger-on withdrew, silenced.

  Prosperity Luo and Lotuson Wang waited until the fourth course was served before they took their leave together. Master Lai, who had little idea of etiquette, let them go without even seeing them off. The two of them parted company downstairs, each getting into his own sedan chair. Lotuson Wang returned to his residence on Fifth Avenue, while Prosperity Luo went to Green Phoenix’s in Generosity Alley, where the servant girl, Little Treasure, saw him into her room. Green Phoenix and Gold Phoenix were both out on party calls, so Pearl Phoenix, the awkward girl, was the only one to keep him company.

  Soon the madam, Second Sister Huang, came upstairs to greet him, and they started chatting, so Prosperity did not feel lonely. Second Sister asked him, “Well, Green Phoenix is going to buy back her freedom. Did she tell you, Mr. Luo?”

  “She did mention it, but it seems that nothing has come of it.”

  “That’s not quite true. When the girls raise the issue of buying back their freedom, they always manage to get it done. Would I be the one to stand in her way? What I want is not her person but for her to do business. If she can’t buy back her freedom, naturally she won’t be keen on working for me. It’s better to let her do it, right?” she said.

  “Then why did she tell me nothing came of it?” he asked.

  Second Sister sighed. “I don’t mean to say anything against her, but Green Phoenix is a sly one. We who run brothels buy our girls when they’re only seven or eight, and we have to bring them up till they’re sixteen before they can do business. On top of food and clothing, we have to teach them everything to do with the trade. How much thought and care would you say goes into it, Mr. Luo? And we can’t tell whether business will be good. If it isn’t, we lose our capital and our time, and there’s nothing we can do about it. If we’re in luck and get a presentable girl, then busin
ess may look up. Suppose we own ten girls and nine of them aren’t much good, the only one who does well naturally has to make up for our full investment. Don’t you think that’s right, Mr. Luo? Now Green Phoenix wants to buy back her freedom, and she tells me that since she was bought for a hundred dollars, even if she gives me ten times that, it’ll only be a thousand. Now, Mr. Luo, would you say it’s fair to use the original purchase price as a basis for reckoning?”

  “If she says a thousand, how much are you looking for?”

  “Heaven be my witness, I don’t mind taking this to the teahouse for arbitration.2 Just on party calls alone she brings in over a thousand dollars a season, and that’s not counting her patrons’ gifts and the pocket money they give her. Even if she pays me three thousand as her ransom price, it’s only a year’s party bills. After she leaves me, she’ll continue to do booming business, right, Mr. Luo?”

  He reflected in silence for quite a while. Pearl Phoenix took the opportunity to withdraw to one of the high-back chairs against the wall and start dozing. When Second Sister caught sight of her, she swung her arm and gave her a swipe. The girl fell down on the floor but did not wake up; her outstretched hands kept scratching on the floorboards.

  “What are you up to?” Prosperity broke into a smile and asked.

  “I’ve lost something,” she managed to say.

  Second Sister pulled her up and gave her another vicious blow. “It’s your wits you’ve lost!” Finally wakened by the second blow, Pearl Phoenix got to her feet, grimaced, and stood in attendance on one side.

  Second Sister turned again to Prosperity. “Take the likes of Pearl Phoenix, I’m just wasting food on her. Can she do business? Would anyone want her? I’ll gladly let her go for just a hundred. Would I ever say that Pearl Phoenix can’t go unless she matches Green Phoenix’s ransom price?”