by Bangqing Han
“On the sixteenth, they’ll draw up the papers while I’ll get things ready to account for them to Mother, so we’ll be busy. Why don’t you give a dinner party on the fifteenth and get it over with?” she said.
Prosperity immediately invited Lotuson to the party. He also wrote out invitations to Ge, Hong, and Chen and told Promotion to deliver them at once.
Promotion rushed to Snow Scent’s in East Co-prosperity Alley. Sure enough, Benevolence Hong and Cloudlet Chen were still there, held up by the rain. Upon seeing the invitation Elan Ge said, “I’m sorry, I can’t make it. I have an appointment at Conical Hat Garden for that day.”
Cloudlet also declined, citing the same appointment. Benevolence was the only one to say he’d definitely attend and wrote a return slip for Promotion to report back. Then he noticed the sound of rain was gradually lessening and the bamboo awning had stopped dripping, so he took the opportunity to slip away and left on foot.
“When a courtesan is called to Conical Hat Garden for a stay of several days, how many party calls does it count as?” Cloudlet asked Elan in a leisurely manner.
“It all depends. There’re often three or four courtesans in the garden, and everybody pays in his own fashion. Then there’s the courtesan who’s her own mistress and who likes to have fun, so she makes an arrangement with the patron to spend the whole summer in the garden and takes that as a vacation. In that case, she’d of course be less exacting,” said Elan.
“Will you be taking Snow Scent with you?” asked Cloudlet.
“Yes, if she’s free. Otherwise, I’ll just send her a call chit from the garden.”
Cloudlet did some reckoning of his own and did not ask any other questions. He took his leave from Elan and returned to the Auspicious Luzon Lottery Store in South Brocade Alley.
The next day, Cloudlet Chen went to a ready-to-wear store he knew well in Bowling Alley and selected a new suit consisting of a light-colored jacket and a robe of stylish print. 1 Then he went to Clever Gem’s in Co-security Alley to give her a message. When she saw him, she asked, “When did you get to know His Excellency Qi?”
“Just yesterday,” Cloudlet replied.
“Now that you’re friends with him, I want to see his garden,” Clever Gem said.
“How would you like it if I took you there tomorrow?”
“But you’re still so careful and polite around him, it’s not a good time for me to go, is it?” she said.
“Tomorrow is the big midautumn do in Conical Hat Garden. It’ll be a merry crowd. Now I’m going to the drinking party, so if you want to sightsee, get ready early and come as soon as you get the call chit.”
She was naturally overjoyed. That night, Cloudlet and Clever Gem had a most satisfying time together.
The next day was the fifteenth of the eighth month, the Midautumn Festival. Cloudlet Chen got up extremely early and dressed and groomed himself to perfection. The clock had just struck eight when he woke Clever Gem to remind her of the arrangements, after which he rushed back to his shop, got into his private ricksha, and headed for Rustic Retreat.
When he reached the front gate of the Qi residence, his ricksha stopped beside the screen wall opposite the entrance. As he alighted, he saw that beyond the gate all the doors leading to the main parlor were open. The buildings were high, the distance long, and the way barred by fences and railings. Unable to enter, he withdrew and looked around him, but all was quiet. Then Constant Blessing pointed to the left, which seemed to be a small entrance for conducting daily business. Cloudlet found that it was still of fairly impressive proportions, so he went in. There in the gatehouse he saw a few handsomely attired porters sitting with their feet up, chatting. Cloudlet stood at the door ready to give his name, but one of the porters held up a hand to stop him, saying, “Whatever your business, go to the bookkeeping office.”
Cloudlet politely acknowledged this instruction and went through an inner gate. On one side were three interconnected rooms with the signboard “Bookkeeping Office” over the lintel. He walked in and saw that, of the several desks set out in a row, only the desk marked “No. 1” was occupied. There, a bookkeeper sat, talking to a man seated beside him.
Cloudlet saw that the man was none other than Lichee Zhuang, so he had to go up and greet him. The bookkeeper took him for Zhuang’s associate and just gave him a slight nod. Lichee asked Cloudlet to take the seat of honor. Cloudlet looked surreptitiously into the rooms on both sides and saw bookkeepers hard at work at the desks. None of them paid him any attention. Cloudlet felt there had to be some mistake, so he walked up to “No. 1,” saluted, and smiled ingratiatingly at the bookkeeper, to whom he related the purpose of his visit. Upon hearing what he said, the bookkeeper responded immediately, “Pardon my rudeness. Please sit and wait for a moment.” He called a handyman over and told him to notify the chief receptionist.
Reassured, Cloudlet sat and waited, but after a long time there was still no news. He saw there was a real bustle at the inner gate, with menservants going in and out on errands, but there was no sign of guests coming to the banquet. He suspected he had come too early and deeply regretted it.
Suddenly, he heard the sound of yelling approaching from the distance. Lichee Zhuang immediately rushed out. After that, some twenty or thirty coolies came in, carrying four huge packing cases. Lichee ran back and forth to make sure they did not bump into anything. The cases were brought to the passageway outside the bookkeeping office and set down lightly, whereupon Lichee opened one of them and asked the bookkeeper to inspect the contents.
Cloudlet took a brief look through the window and saw that the cases contained a total of sixteen panels of a cedar-and-poplar screen about half a man’s height, on which were carved all the characters of The Romance of the Western Chamber. 2 The buildings, scholars and ladies, and flora and fauna were all set with coral, green jade, pearls, and other colorful precious stones.
He had only seen two or three of the panels when the handyman came running back with the chief receptionist to ask the bookkeeper where the guest was. When told that he was in the office, the receptionist straightened his tasseled hat and walked in sideways. As he did not recognize Cloudlet, he stood respectfully and inquired the visitor’s name. After Cloudlet told him, he asked, “Where is your honored residence?” Cloudlet told him that, too.
The chief receptionist thought for a moment and then asked with a smiling face, “Do you remember on which day the invitation was delivered, Mr. Chen?”
Cloudlet replied that it was an appointment made face-to-face at dinner at Belle Tan’s the day before yesterday.
The chief receptionist again thought for a moment. “On that day, it was the announcer who went out with His Excellency,” he said.
“That’s right,” Cloudlet said.
The chief receptionist turned around and told the handyman to summon the announcer at once. To make conversation, he asked, “Who will you call to the party, Mr. Chen? I’ll get the call chit ready so it’ll be sent out early.”
Before Cloudlet could tell him, the announcer had come in, panting. He greeted Cloudlet and then handed a red piece of paper to the chief receptionist.
“You sure made a mess of things!” scolded the chief receptionist. “I didn’t have any information, and Mr. Chen was made to wait all this time. I’m going to report this to His Excellency.”
The announcer said, “I left word at the garden gate though I didn’t send in the slip. That was because His Excellency said there was no need for a written invitation. I thought I could send you the slip later, but I had no idea Mr. Chen would use this door.”
“Don’t make excuses! Why didn’t you send the slip over yesterday?” the chief receptionist retorted.
The announcer had no answer to that, so he stood in attendance slightly behind the receptionist, who, when he found out that Cloudlet had come by ricksha, ordered the announcer to take care of the ricksha puller. He himself then took Cloudlet through the house to the garden.
&nb
sp; By then, the bookkeeper had finished inspecting the screen and was talking to Lichee Zhuang. Cloudlet Chen took his leave from both of them. Lichee Zhuang was full of envy when he saw the chief receptionist respectfully leading the way to show Cloudlet Chen to the banquet.
After Lichee and he had spoken, the bookkeeper went to the office to fetch a money order drawn on the Great Virtue Money Shop. Lichee pocketed it and took his leave right away. When he left the Qi residence, he walked a short stretch before calling a ricksha and heading to Avenue Road to cash in the money order for eight hundred taels of silver. He took out half in cash and half in another money order and then went alone to Fourth Avenue for a foreign meal at the Western restaurant Sky in a Wine Pot. After that, he went to the Hall of Beauties on West Chessboard Street.
When Woodsy saw the joyful look on his face, she asked, “Have you struck it rich?”
“Things are really unpredictable in business,” Lichee replied. “Last time, I made two hundred out of a deal of eight thousand and had to work flat out for it. This time, I had no trouble at all, and out of a deal of eight hundred I got a profit of four hundred.”
“Your lucky turn has come. This year, brokers aren’t doing very well, but you’re doing all right with a bit of business farmed out to you,” she said.
“Speaking of luck, Cloudlet Chen is the one who’s in luck.” He related in detail how Cloudlet had gone to Qi’s banquet.
“I don’t see what’s so great about it. With drinking parties, you need to call a girl, so you’re spending money up front, and if nothing comes of it, that’s too bad. Your business is more reliable,” Woodsy commented.
Lichee said nothing. After smoking a couple of opium pellets, he settled on a plan and told Mama Yeung to fetch the inkstone and writing brush. He wrote an invitation for immediate delivery to Mr. Bao at Longevity Bookstore in Bowling Alley, requesting him to come over right away. Mama Yeung relayed the message instantly. Then Lichee wrote out invitations to Fortune Shi, Benevolence Hong, Rustic Zhang, and Pine Wu. He thought perhaps Cloudlet Chen would return to his shop that night, so he wrote an invitation to him, too. He handed the lot to Mama Yeung, who gave them to different menservants for delivery. The order for dinner was also placed.
When he had finished his brief instructions, he heard clear female voices laughing and clamoring, “This way, old bawd!3 Come on, old bawd!” They came all the way to the upstairs parlor. Lichee figured that Old Bao of Longevity Bookstore had arrived and hurried out to welcome him. To his surprise, Old Bao was besieged by courtesans and servant girls who were relentlessly pulling and tugging at him. Lichee beckoned and called out, “Old Bao!” whereupon the man pretended to be furious with those around him and wrenched himself free. Nonetheless, some of the sillier virgin courtesans followed him into the room and continued to give him a pinch or a pat. One said, “What about a carriage ride today, Old Bao?” Another said, “Old Bao, where’s my handkerchief? You promised to give me one!” Outnumbered and overwhelmed, Bao kept muttering excuses to all around him.
Lichee pretended to be annoyed with Bao and told him off. “I asked you here on account of important business. Stop playing the fool!”
Old Bao rose abruptly to his feet, chastened. “Sorry. What’s the business?” He put on a serious face to await orders from Lichee Zhuang. Seeing this, the courtesans finally scattered and left.
Lichee began: “The sixteen-paneled screen has been sold to Harmony Qi. I got the price up to a full eight hundred dollars. They’ve only paid six hundred now, in case they find some flaw, and will pay the rest in a fortnight. I like to keep things simple and straightforward when I do business. Why count the pennies when it’s not a big deal anyway? I’ll pay you the full amount up front, and in a fortnight I’ll go and collect the rest so you won’t have to be bothered about it. What’d you think?”
Old Bao kept saying, “Wonderful!”
Lichee fished out a money order for six hundred dollars from his pocket and gave it to Old Bao and then handed over one hundred and twenty in cash and explained, “That’s less the forty dollars for me. I’ll give you your forty dollars later. The net price should be seven hundred twenty. Now go and settle with the seller, then come right back.”
Old Bao assented, wrapped everything up in a handkerchief, and took his leave.
“Where should we send you your invitation slip?” Woodsy asked.
“I’ll come right back. There’s no need for an invitation.” So saying, Old Bao peeped around the edge of the curtain. The coast was clear, so he hared off through the parlor. Just then, Mama Yeung came in from the opposite direction, and they bumped into each other.
“Old Bao! You’re not leaving, are you?” Mama Yeung shouted.
This brought the courtesans and servant girls swarming out from all directions. Working together, they tried to capture him, clamoring, “Old Bao, don’t go!” Without even replying, he made his escape down the stairs and out the door. The women, knowing they could not catch up with him, muttered a few curses, but Old Bao just pretended not to hear. He walked out of West Chessboard Street and headed for the Complete Imported and Cantonese Goods Store in Bowling Alley, whose owner, Third Shu, was the seller of the screen.
Third Shu lived on the top floor of a three-story Western-style house. Lying on the opium divan, he was wearing nothing but a tight underblouse and slippers, the bottom of his pants untied. On the honored side of the divan, a boy servant called Extravagance was preparing the pipe for him. When he saw Old Bao, Third Shu simply said, “Please sit down.” There was no attempt at the usual etiquette.
Knowing his ways, Old Bao just untied his handkerchief, put the money order and the cash on the table, and asked Third Shu to check them. Then he said, “Lichee Zhuang said he spent a lot of effort on this small deal. He had to talk to them for several days and go there several times. What was more he had to sweeten their bookkeepers and porters, so Zhuang says he’ll keep all of the eighty dollars. I told him, ‘Just as you like.’ It’s not much anyway, so I don’t mind.”
“But it’s not right if you get nothing out of it,” Third Shu said and gave him twenty dollars.
Old Bao refused to accept it. “There’s no need for that. If you want to do me a favor, just give me some business.”
Third Shu did not press him, so Old Bao said, “I’m going.” Third Shu did not see him out.
Old Bao returned directly to Woodsy’s room in the Hall of Beauties. Fortunately, the courtesans and servant girls were all engaged in tea parties and did not bother him. Lichee Zhuang had four ten-dollar banknotes ready for him and paid him right away. Then a number of virgin courtesans heard that there was a dinner party at Woodsy’s and came over to surround Old Bao, clamoring, “Call me, Old Bao! Call me, Old Bao!” Seeing that he just grinned and ignored them, they became even more pressing. One of them pulled at his ear and shouted, “Old Bao, d’you hear me?” Another pinched and shook him with all her strength, saying, “Say something, Old Bao!” The older girls did not handle him physically, but they all joined in the persuasion. “Naturally, you’ll have to call one of us. How can you not do that when you’re at a party here?”
“Who says there’s a party?” Old Bao said.
“Isn’t Young Mr. Zhuang inviting you to a party?”
“Take a look at Young Mr. Zhuang. Is he having a party?” Old Bao countered.
One of the girls did not get it and turned to ask Woodsy, “Is Young Mr. Zhuang giving a party?”
“Who knows?” Woodsy answered offhandedly.
Upon hearing this, the girls looked at one another in bewilderment. Just then, a manservant came in to report to Lichee, “We looked in at all the smoking dens and teahouses on Fourth Avenue, but we couldn’t find any of the invited guests. We don’t know where else to look for them.”
Before Lichee had time to respond, the courtesans had started shouting in a chorus against Old Bao, “How dare you play tricks on us! Now you must call one of us.” They pushed forward to grind t
he inkstone, wet the writing brush, and look for the call chits to force Old Bao to call them. Old Bao was at a loss what to do.
At the end of his patience, Lichee shouted at them angrily, “Where did this lot of urchins come from to offend my friend? Get me the owner of the house so I can ask him if he knows the rules of a brothel or not?”
Sensing trouble, the manservant vaguely acknowledged Zhuang’s demand as he signaled with his mouth for all the virgin courtesans to make themselves scarce.
Woodsy tried to make peace and said with a smile, “Be off with you and stop pestering them. Our guests for the party haven’t even arrived yet, so how can we call the girls in advance?”
It was pretty mortifying for the virgin courtesans, who walked off in embarrassment.
Lichee said to Old Bao, “I know what. Call a girl of the house, but definitely not anyone you’ve called before.”
“Then there’s just Woodsy; there’s no one else.”
“There’s Jewel, too,” Woodsy suggested.
Brooking no protests, Lichee wrote a ticket for Old Bao calling Jewel Lu. He wrote out three other invitations, two for people in the same trade who were sure to come and one for Bamboo Hu. The manservant took them and had them delivered right away.
::
1. The best Chinese clothes were all tailor-made. The ready-to-wear stores apparently dealt in secondhand clothes as well as new ones.
2. [Originally a story about the romantic dalliance of a young scholar with a beautiful girl, this then became the basis for popular opera in many regions of China. E.H.]
3. [A pun on Old Bao’s name. E.H.]
CHAPTER 49 :: What’s returned to the owner becomes a target for theft, and a member of the family is marked for extortion
