The Flower Drum Song
（Excerpts）
PART ONE
1
To the casual tourists， Grant Avenue is Chinatown， just another colorful street in San Francisco； to the overseas Chinese， Grant Avenue is their showcase， their livelihood； to the refugees from the mainland， Grant Avenue is Canton.[4] Although there are no pedicabs， no wooden slippers clip-clapping on the sidewalks， yet the strip of land is to the refugee the closest thing to a home town.The Chinese theatres， the porridge restaurants， the teahouses， the newspapers， the food， the herbs…all provide an atmosphere that makes a refugee wonder whether he is really in a foreign land.And yet， in this familiar atmosphere， he struggles and faces many problems that are sometimes totally unfamiliar.
Wang Chi-yang was one of those who could not live anywhere else in the United States but in San Francisco Chinatown.He was from central China, speaking only Hunan dialect, which neither a Northerner nor a Cantonese can understand.His working knowledge of the English language was limited to two words: “yes” and “no.” And he seldom used“no,” for when people talked to him in English or Cantonese, he didn’t want to antagonize them unnecessarily since he had no idea what they were talking about.For that reason, he wasn’t too popular in Chinatown;his “yes” had in fact antagonized many people.Once at a banquet, his Cantonese host claimed modestly that the food was poor and tasteless and begged his honorable guest’s pardon, a customary polite remark to be refuted by the guests, and Wang Chi-yang, ignorant of the Cantonese dialect, nodded his head and said “yes” twice.
But Wang Chi-yang loved Chinatown.He lived comfortably in a two-story house three blocks away from Grant Avenue that he had bought four years ago， a house decorated with Chinese paintings and couplet scrolls，[5] furnished with uncomfortable but expensive teakwood tables and chairs， and staffed with two servants and a cook whom he had brought from Hunan Province.The only “impure” elements in his household were his two sons， Wang Ta and Wang San， especially the latter， who had in four years learned to act like a cowboy and talk like the characters in a Spillane movie.[6] At thirteen he had practically forgotten his Chinese.
Wang Ta, the elder son, was less of a rebel.Quiet and unhappy at twenty-eight, he was often embarrassed in his father’s company.But he was reluctant to correct the old man’s old habits and mistakes, for Wang Chi-yang was a stubborn man.In this house he was the “lord”; his words were the law.His servants still addressed him as Old Master Wang and worked for him seven days a week at ten dollars a month.They were loyal to him and respected him, although his stern looks, his drooping mustache,his large frame, his loose gown of blue satin, his constant cough, his unyielding demands and orders would have been very unpleasant to any servant hired in America.The only person who refused to be awed by him was Madam Tang, the widowed sister of his late wife.Madam Tang came often to give him advice.She regarded her sixty-three-year-old brother-in-law as extremely old-fashioned and backward.“Aiyoo, my sister’s husband,” she often said, “please put your money in the bank.And buy yourself a suit of Western dress.In this country you truly look like a stage actor in that satin gown.”
But Madam Tang’s advice went into Old Master Wang’s one ear and promptly came out of the other.Not that Old Master Wang didn’t trust the banks; he just couldn’t compromise with the idea that one’s money should be kept in strangers’ hands.In China, his money had always been in the hands of his close friends, and it had always been safe even without a signature.And his friends had always brought him profit and interest twice a year and he had accepted them without a question.He believed that banks in this country would probably do the same, but in a bank everybody was a stranger.Money, in his opinion, was like one’s wife, he just couldn’t let a stranger keep it for him.
As for Western clothes， wearing them was out of the question.He had always worn long gowns， silk gowns in the summer， satin gowns in the spring or autumn， fur gowns or cotton-padded gowns in the winter.It would be unthinkable for him to change into the Western clothes with only two or three buttons and an open collar.Furthermore， a piece of rag tied around one’s neck seemed to him an outrage， besides being ugly and an indication of ill omen.He would never dream of tying one around his neck.The Communists in Hunan Province had tried to discard the long gown and make everybody wear the Lenin uniform，[7] which， in his opinion， was more formal than the Western dress since it had more buttons and a closed collar.To him， even that was too much of an undesirable change； and it was one of the reasons why he had escaped the mainland of China five years ago.No， he would never wear anything but the long gown.He was going to die in it and be buried in it.And he didn’t think that his long gown would bother anyone but his sister-in-law.He had often walked on Grant Avenue in it and nobody had paid much attention to him.Even the American tourists seemed to regard him as a natural phenomenon on Grant Avenue.
Old Master Wang loved to walk on Grant Avenue.Every other evening, after dinner, he walked down Jackson Street, turned south on Grant Avenue and strolled for six blocks until he reached Bush Street, then he crossed Grant and turned back.He regarded the section beyond Bush as no longer Chinatown but a foreign territory.At the border of Chinatown he stopped and looked at the brightly lighted Chinatown thoroughfare for a moment, at its skyline with the pagoda roofs, at the lantern-like street lights, the blinking neon signs of English and Chinese in red, blue, yellow and green.He looked at the cars which crawled endlessly into the heart of Chinatown, then he took a deep breath and started the journey back.The street was gay and noisy, and yet it had its tranquil quality, as no one seemed to be in a great hurry.
He strolled down the street and studied every poster and advertisement that was written in Chinese.During the New Year festivities he loved to read the orange couplet banners posted on the door of each shop.If he found the poetry on the banners well composed and the calligraphy having character and strength, he would read it aloud twice or thrice with his head shaking rhythmically in a scholarly manner, and then grade it.He graded all New Year poetic greetings on Grant Avenue,memorized the best ones and wrote them down when he came home.
He also enjoyed the articles displayed in the shop windows—the exquisitely carved furniture, the brass and earthenware bowls, the straw hats and bamboo baskets, the miniature trees, the lacquer, the silk, the tiny porcelain, the jade, the silk brocade of gold and lavender….His great favorite was an intricately carved eight-foot tusk in a large gift store near California Street.He went in and inquired the price.The owner of the store,who spoke some Mandarin, managed to make him understand that it was a rare mastodon tusk that had been buried in Siberian ice centuries ago.The carvings, which told a story of a festival at an emperor’s palace, took twenty-five years to complete.The price, therefore, was $15,000.
For three weeks Old Master Wang stopped in front of the window,admired the tusk and wondered whether he should buy it.Finally he made up his mind.He could enjoy the tusk on Grant Avenue as much as he could enjoy it privately at his home; why should he own it? Besides, it would be act of selfishness to deprive others of the pleasure of looking at it by removing it from Grant Avenue.He was glad of the decision; for four years now he had enjoyed the tusk every other evening as much as if it were his own.
He didn’t find much pleasure walking on upper Grant Avenue, for it smelled too much of fowl and fish.When passing Washington Street, he would take a quick trip to the Buddhist church that was being constructed a block down, make a five-dollar donation and then return to Grant.He seldom went farther to Kearny, for he regarded it as a Filipino town and he had no desire to go there.He always walked past Grant on Jackson and went home through Stockton Street or Powell Street, avoiding the chicken and fish marts on upper Grant.
Back home, he always sat comfortably in his rattan chair and waited for Liu Lung, the deaf manservant, to bring him tea, water pipe and the four Chinese newspapers.He subscribed to all the Chinatown newspapers for many reasons, the main reason being to see if there was any political fight among the editors.He always followed an editorial war with great interest; occasionally he would take sides and write an anonymous letter to the one with whom he sided, praising his reasoning and his fluency of composition.He always read all the papers from page to page, including the advertisements.He had no strong political convictions.He disliked communism for one reason only, that it destroyed Chinese traditions and turned the Chinese social order upside down.
After he had enjoyed his tea, the water pipe and the four newspapers,he was ready for his ginseng soup.Liu Ma, the fat, talkative woman servant, who was Liu Lung’s wife and Old Master Wang’s information bureau, brought in the soup, eased the Old Master’s cough by beating his shoulders with the palms of her hands for five minutes, and in the meantime supplied all the household information of the day.“The cook had a visitor today,” she said confidentially in Hunan dialect.“A crooked-looking man.I did not know what they talked about, but they talked for a long time in the cook’s bedroom.”
Old Master Wang grunted.“Has Young Master Wang San studied his lessons in his room this evening?” he asked.
“Yes.I saw to it that he studied.”
“Are you sure he went to school instead of a motion picture?” he asked.
“He came home with many books this evening,” Liu Ma said.“And went straight to his room and studied.”
Old Master Wang grunted.“Has Young Master Wang Ta come home yet?”
“No, not yet,” said Liu Ma, then she lowered her voice and confided,“Old Master Wang, when I cleaned Young Master Wang Ta’s room this morning, I found a woman’s picture in his desk drawer.A picture with five colors, the very expensive kind.On it were some foreign words I did not understand.I told Liu Lung this morning, ‘No wonder Young Master Wang Ta has always come home late recently.’”
Old Master Wang grunted.“What does this woman look like?” he asked.
“She is a foreigner,” Liu Ma Said emphatically.
Old Master Wang stiffened.“What? Are you sure?”
“She has silk-colored hair, blue eyes and a large nose.She is a foreigner.”
“Ask Young Master Wang Ta to see me when he comes home.”
“Yes, Old Master Wang,” she said beating his shoulders more energetically.“Do you want to talk to the cook too? I suspected that visitor of his is a bad character.Perhaps the cook is trying to find another job again and the crooked-looking visitor is trying to help him.”
“No, I don’t want to talk to him,” Old Master Wang said.“He is permitted to receive visitors.It is enough beating.You may go now.”
After Liu Ma had gone, Wang Chi-yang thought more of the foreign woman in Wang Ta’s drawer than he worried about the cook.He knew that the cook wouldn’t leave him again.A year ago his cook had been lured away by a Cantonese cook who made three hundred dollars a month in a restaurant.But two months afterward his cook returned, saying that he had been unhappy working in a restaurant as an assistant.He didn’t understand their dialect and he had been pushed around; furthermore, he couldn’t save any money although he had made two hundred dollars a month.The chief cook, who gambled, had often borrowed money from him.Now he realized that he had really been very happy in the kitchen in the House of Wang, where he was the chief.And he had always saved at least ten dollars of his fifteen-dollar monthly pay and during the past three years he had saved almost five hundred dollars.But he had lost all of his savings at the gambling tables during the two months when he was making two hundred a month.With tears in his eyes he had begged Old Master Wang to take him back.Wang Chi-yang remembered the cook’s predicament and was sure that he wouldn’t be so foolish as to work elsewhere and try to make two hundred dollars a month again.
But the foreign woman in Wang Ta’s drawer bothered him.He waited for Wang Ta to come home but his son did not come.When the old clock on the marble mantel struck twelve he went to bed; he tossed under the huge square mosquito net, unable to fall asleep.He had brought the mosquito net from China and had slept peacefully for twenty years under it.He would feel naked without it.But tonight he felt disturbed as though hundreds of mosquitoes had been humming in his net.Was Wang Ta in bed with that foreign woman in some cheap hotel room now? He thought of it and he shivered.
The next morning he got up as soon as the clock struck eight, had his ginseng soup and inquired about Wang Ta.Liu Ma told him that the Young Master had come back very late and had gone out again early this morning.Old Master Wang was relieved, but he was still slightly disturbed by the fact that the younger generation was not obedient any more.His son should have at least waited and come to see him as ordered.Feeling a bit crabbed he dismissed Liu Ma and attended his miniature garden beside his bed.The garden was built on a huge Kiangsi plate, with a magnificent emerald mountain rising high above the water.There were caverns, roads,bridges, paths, pagodas and a monastery in the garden, with tiny goldfish swimming about in the lake.He fed the fish, watered the moss and the miniature trees in the mountain.He felt better.The beauty of nature always cured him of his bad mood.
Then he went to his large red lacquered desk beside the window and practiced calligraphy for an hour.He wrote famous poetry on his fine rice paper with great care and deliberation, his head moving slightly with the brush.Then he wrote the poetry all over again in grass style, his brush flying swiftly and smoothly on the paper.He was not satisfied with his grass style.For practice’ sake, he wrote casually some folklore sayings on top of it: “Tight lips catch no flies,” “Waste no time quarreling with women,” “Loud bark, no good dogs; loud talk, no wise man”…
Then he suddenly remembered it was Monday, the day for his weekly trip to the Bank of America on Grant Avenue, not to deposit money, but to have a hundred-dollar bill changed into small bills and silver.He put his stationery away, put on a black satin jacket over his long gown, took a brand new hundred-dollar bill from his locked iron trunk in the closet and went out.
The teller in the bank knew what he wanted and, with a smile, she changed the money for him without a question.He wrapped up the small bills and the change in his handkerchief, and with an anticipation of the pleasure of counting the money, he hurried home.Counting money had become almost a hobby to him, and he enjoyed it as much as he did attending his miniature garden.After he had counted the total sum, he sorted the bills according to their denominations, then sorted them once more according to their degree of newness, putting the brand-new ones on one pile, the newer ones on another and the old ones on a third.He treated the silver coins with more deliberation, taking pains to examine them under a magnifying glass to see which was the newest.He would spend the old ones first and the new ones later; as for the brand-new ones, he would save them in an exquisitely carved sandalwood box locked in one of his desk drawers.When he had nothing else to do, he would sometimes bring the box out and enjoy counting the shiny half dollars, quarters and dimes until their luster began to fade, then he would spend them to make room for other brand-new ones.He counted the money until Liu Lung, the deaf servant, came to his bedroom to announce his lunch.
After lunch he took a nap.He was awakened by an itch in his throat and he coughed.He had been coughing for years and now he even began to enjoy that too.So he lay in his bed and coughed mildly and sporadically for an hour or so, then he heard his sister-in-law’s voice calling for Liu Lung.
“Has the Old Master waked up yet?” she shouted.
“Enh?”
“I said, has the Old Master wakened from his afternoon nap?” she shouted louder.
“Oh,” said Liu Lung after a moment, “I don’t know.I shall look.”
“Go wake him, I have something important to tell him!”
Wang Chi-yang lay in his bed waiting for Liu Lung to come in to wake him.The servant shuffled in quietly, opened the square mosquito net and called him cautiously, as though afraid of startling him.Old Master Wang opened his eyes slowly and grunted.“What is it?” he asked.
“Madam Tang has come,” Liu Lung said.
“Ask her to wait.” He seldom asked his sister-in-law to come in to talk in his bedroom where he received most of his guests.He always received her in the large living room furnished with the uncomfortable straight-backed teakwood chairs which often discouraged the visitor from staying long.Madam Tang had advised him to buy a few sofas and some soft chairs; he had said “yes” many times, but never bought them.He disliked sofas; sitting on a sofa often made him feel as if he were sitting in the arms of a fat woman.
He struggled out of the bed, took his water pipe and went to the living room where Madam Tang was sitting on one of the tall hard chairs waiting,her bright-colored umbrella and black leather handbag properly placed in her lap.She was fifty, but looked a few years younger in her blue silk gown with the short sleeves.She used no make-up except a little lipstick,and her hair was combed back and tied into a little bun, neat and well-oiled.“My sister’s husband,” she said as soon as Wang Chi-yang came in, “I have something very important to tell you.” And she opened her handbag and fished out a little newspaper clipping in English.
Wang Chi-yang sat down next to her and smoked his water pipe,knowing that there was nothing very important.“Here is a piece of news I cut off from a foreign paper,” Madam Tang went on, brandishing the newspaper clipping importantly.“I shall read it to you and translate it for you.It will serve as a good warning and make you realize that my advice concerning your money is sound.” She cleared her throat and, with difficulty and her individual pronunciation, she read the news aloud.“‘Lum Fong, manager of Sam Sung Café on Stockton Street, told the police how a well-dressed man came into the Café, ordered a meal, and when it came time to pay, slipped Lum Fong at the cash register this penciled message: “Give me all the money.I have a gun.” The Chinese went blank.“So sollee,” he said, “I no savvee.” “You monee,” whispered the bandit, trying to make the manager understand.“You monee! I have gun, I have gun!” But the manager was still puzzled.“So sollee,” he said.“No savvee.” The bandit, frustrated, started for the door.“So sollee,” Lum Fong called out.“Checkee please!” The thug paid eighty-five cents and left!’”
When she finished reading she looked at Old Master Wang significantly with her lips tightly pursed.
“What does it say?” Old Master Wang asked.
“A bandit robbed a Chinese restaurant on Stockton Street,” Madam Tang said.“The bandit had a gun; he almost shot Lum Fong, the owner of the restaurant.Fortunately Lum Fong had only eighty-five cents on him.The bandit robbed the eighty-five cents and escaped.” She paused for a moment for emphasis, then went on, “My sister’s husband, I have always told you to put your money in the bank.You will regret one day when a bandit comes in with a gun and robs you of everything.This piece of news will serve you as a good warning.I hope you will consider my advice and do as I have repeatedly told you.”
Old Master Wang grunted and smoked his water pipe.He was only slightly worried.Nobody knew that his money was locked in an iron trunk in the closet.If a bandit came in, he would just yield to him the contents of his sandalwood box.No, he was not going to let any strangers in the bank keep his money.Nevertheless he grunted and said to his sister-in-law, “I shall consider your advice, my wife’s sister.”
PART TWO
12
Madam Tang had not slept well last night.The quarrel in the House of Wang had been bothering her.She looked at her watch, 3:30 P.M.She decided to go to her brother-in-law’s house to see how things were going.Wang Chi-yang ought to be out of his bed by now, she thought.She never took an afternoon nap and this sleeping habit in the House of Wang irritated her.She waited twenty more minutes before she started in hopes that Wang Chi-yang would be wide awake when she arrived.
It was one of those foggy afternoons; everything seemed a bit gloomy.Far out in the Bay a foghorn tooted.Foghorns always made Madam Tang feel depressed; she welcomed the thundering noise of the jet planes any time, it wasn’t too pleasant but at least it was an indication of fine weather.She wondered why people must make foghorns sound so melancholy; poor weather itself is melancholy enough.
“How are you, madam?” Liu Ma greeted her as she arrived at the House of Wang.
“Not good, not bad,” Madam Tang said.“Serve me with some hot tea.Oh, I hate these chilly afternoons.”
“Yes, madam.”
Madam Tang went into the middle hall and the first thing she saw was Wang San, an eyesore that added depression to her already dejected mind.The boy was sluggishly standing in a corner, facing the wall, apparently suffering from another long standing punishment.“Well,” Madam Tang said with a deep scowl, “have you failed to recite Confucius again?”
“No, my aunt,” Wang San said, shifting his legs restlessly.
“Then what are you standing there for? Practice?”
“No, my aunt.The gold clock is gone.”
Instinctively Madam Tang’s eyes darted toward the table.A pain gnawed at her heart when she saw her sister’s clock was no longer there.She went to Wang San, her hands on her hips, and demanded, “You incorrigible rascal, how could you steal your own family treasure?”
“I didn’t steal it.”
“Nobody else has the gall to touch that gold clock.You are the only reputed thief in this house.Tell me where you have sold it?”
“I did not sell it.”
“You must have sold it to one of those greedy pawnbrokers on Kearny Street.Listen, if you tell me the truth, I shall ask your father to shorten this punishment.”
“I didn’t steal it,” Wang San said.
“Wang San,” Madam Tang said hotly, “I am ashamed of my sister for having brought you into this world.You not only steal, but also lie! You are indeed a disgrace to the House of Wang!” She opened her handbag,fished out a five-dollar bill and brandished it in front of Wang San’s face.“See here, this is five dollars.If you tell the truth, the money is yours; if you don’t, the money will go right back into my bag.If your father makes you stand here for three days without food or water, do not expect me to say a word for you.”
She looked at Wang San expectantly.Wang San looked at the banknote, swallowing hard, apparently fighting a battle within his mind.After considerable struggling, he finally triumphed over the devil of temptation.“I didn’t steal it,” he said, turning his head away.
Madam Tang tossed the bill back into her bag and snapped it shut.“Incorrigible,” she said.“Standing punishment is too good for you.If your mother were still alive, she would make you kneel on a washing-board instead of standing on a floor.” She went to the kang and sat down angrily.Liu Ma came into the hall with the hot tea.“Has the Old Master awakened yet?” Madam Tang asked.
“He did not nap today,” Liu Ma said, serving her with the tea.“He is very upset about the clock.”
“Tell me, when was this clock stolen?”
“I do not know, madam,” Liu Ma said.“I do not have the faintest idea who has the gall to steal it.The Old Master thinks it must be Young Master Wang San, but I do not think so.”
“Why do you not think so?”
“There are so many people coming and going, how can anyone tell whose hands are clean and whose hearts are not black?” She cast a glance at the doors, then leaned forward toward Madam Tang and whispered,“Madam, do you know what Liu Lung saw the day before yesterday? He saw two people whisper in the back yard, then he saw them sneak into this hall.”
“Who were they?”
“Liu Lung said it was dark, but one looked like an old man and the other a girl.” She poured more tea into Madam Tang’s cup.“But I do not think so, madam.”
Madam Tang picked up her tea, sipped it and then nodded her head pensively.“Hm, very possible.”
“I said to Liu Lung,” Liu Ma whispered enthusiastically, “they have plenty to eat in this house, why should they steal? Liu Lung said perhaps they are used to borrowing things at night.He said a lot of people are like that; when they see expensive things, their hands just begin to itch.”
“Hm,” Madam Tang said, nodding, “perhaps Liu Lung is right.”
“Madam, do you know what else Liu Lung saw? He saw that beggar maid hide something from him this morning.Do you know what it was?Young Master Wang Ta’s foreign pen!”
“What? Did Liu Lung really see that pen in the girl’s hand?”
“Madam, Liu Lung is as deaf as a stone, but he has a pair of eyes as sharp as an eagle’s.”
Madam Tang put down her teacup heavily.“Yes, it is positive that the girl has stolen the clock!”
“Madam,” Liu Ma whispered, “please do not tell anybody that Liu Lung saw all these things.If it goes to the ears of that cunning old man,heaven knows what poison he is going to put into Liu Lung’s tea.I have told Liu Lung to hide our money, add an extra lock to your trunk, and keep his mouth shut.”
“I knew these people are not to be trusted,” Madam Tang said.“But the Old Master never listens to me.”
“You better take care of your own expensive things while you are in this house, madam.I still say that old man knows some sorcery.He can move things around without touching them.”
“Nonsense, there is no such thing,” Madam Tang said; nevertheless,she removed her handbag from the low table on the kang to her lap.“Liu Ma, check everything in the house and see if anything else is missing.”
“Yes, madam.I am going to find it out.Liu Lung said that beggar maid has her luggage hidden under her bed and covered with a blanket.I am going to examine it some day.Who knows if that gold clock is not in her bag?”
“Ask the Old Master to come here.”
“Yes, madam.”
After Liu Ma had left, Madam Tang lighted a cigarette and puffed on it vehemently.Of all petty crimes she hated theft the most; she was determined to catch the thief and restore her sister’s clock even if she had to hire all the private detectives in San Francisco to do it.She wasn’t so sure that May Li had stolen it; it seemed to her that the smiling Old Man Li looked more like a thief.However, she was not going to make any accusation until there was evidence.May Li has Wang Ta’s fountain pen,she thought.That was something to be studied, too.
Wang Chi-yang came into the middle hall, coughing.Madam Tang eliminated the usual greetings and expressed her sorrow.“My sister’s husband, I was shocked when I learned that my sister’s gold clock was stolen.”
“The gods are punishing me for having raised this unfilial son Wang San,” Wang Chi-yang said, sitting down on the kang with a deep sigh.“He can not recite a word of Confucius; he steals the fruits of the god of longevity; now he even has the gall to steal the family treasure.”
“My sister’s husband, punishing the innocent or rewarding the villainous is an unforgivable mistake.I have just questioned this boy, and I found that his answer is reasonable and innocent, therefore I doubt that he is the real thief.”
“For fifty years not even a straw has been stolen in the House of Wang,” Wang Chi-yang said with another sigh.“Since this unfilial dog was born, things began to disappear quite often.Who else could have stolen the clock? ”
“I just want to tell you something which your prejudice may not allow you to believe,” Madam Tang said gravely, pointing her ivory cigarette holder at her brother-in-law, “but it is true.That servant girl you hired has stolen Wang Ta’s gold fountain pen.Liu Lung saw it; he is deaf,but he has eyes as sharp as those of an eagle.He also noticed that the girl’s luggage, hidden under her bed, is covered with a blanket.My sister’s husband, some day your house will be stripped barren by thieves and yet you will still punish your own son for the crime!” She looked at Wang San and shook her head sadly.
Wang Chi-yang rose from the kang, went to the door and called, “Old Man Li! Old Man Li, May Li, come here!”
“My sister’s husband,” Madam Tang said, “you might as well tell everybody to come.That is the proper way to question a suspect.”
“Liu Ma, Liu Lung, Lao Feng,” Old Master Wang called.“Come here,all of you!”
“Did I not warn you before?” Madam Tang said.“Now you can see what is happening.One misfortune after another.”
“All the troubles have been brought into the house by Wang Ta,” Old Master Wang said gruffly.“Nobody but that unfilial dog is to blame.”When he returned to the kang, Old Man Li and May Li hurried into the middle hall from the back yard.“Did you call us, Old Mr.Wang?” Old Man Li asked.
“Yes,” Wang Chi-yang said.“Do you know that the late mistress’ gold clock has been stolen?”
“Liu Ma has told us,” Old Man Li said.“I feel sorry for the thief.He has stolen under the staring eyes of the god of longevity.Even if he escapes the law, he will never escape the celestial punishment.”
“When did you last see the clock?” Old Master Wang asked.
“Well, it is hard for me to remember exactly,” Old Man Li said.“You see, I never look at a clock; the sun and the moon are good enough to keep time for me; besides, I can not read the queer marks on a clock.May Li,when did you see it?”
“I saw it day before yesterday,” May Li said.“And I wound it, too.”
“You are supposed to wind it every morning,” Madam Tang said.“Did you not discover that the clock was missing yesterday?”
“Yes, but I thought Old Master Wang had removed it from the table here.It is not too safe to leave a gold clock in the middle hall…”
“Liu Ma,” Madam Tang shouted at the door, “what are you standing there for? The Old Master wants you to come here, all of you!”
Liu Ma pulled her husband out from behind the door.“You coward,”she said, pushing Liu Lung toward the middle hall, “you are not the thief,why are you so frightened? Go in, go in!”
“Where is the cook?” Madam Tang asked.
“The cook went out shopping,” Liu Ma said.
“Liu Ma,” Old Master Wang asked, “when did you last see the clock?”
“It was there yesterday,” Liu Ma said, then hurriedly she added, “Liu Lung saw it too.Did you not, Liu Lung? He saw it.He said it must have been stolen during the night.”
“My sister’s husband,” Madam Tang said, “if the clock was stolen during the night, the thief could not possibly be from outside, for the doors were locked and no windows were broken, and nobody heard any noise.”
“Did anybody hear any noise during the night?” Old Master Wang asked.
There was a moment of silence.“I did not hear anything,” Old Man Li said.“Did you, May Li?”
“No,” May Li said.
“Neither did I,” Liu Ma said hastily.“I always sleep like a log; even Liu Lung’s snore can not wake me up.”
“Wang San,” Old Master Wang said, “did you hear any noise?”
“No,” Wang San said in English, then he quickly realized the mistake and added in Chinese, “No.”
“That is all the Chinese you can say now, is it?” Wang Chi-yang said angrily.“Now, get out!” Wang San, whose mind was already on the Chinese playground on Sacramento Street, bolted out of the room.
“My sister’s husband, you can save your breath, the thief is definitely not from outside.”
“Liu Ma,” Old Master Wang said, “you have been working for the House of Wang for more than twenty years; there has never been a case of theft except for some fruits and cakes stolen by rats and chipmunks;therefore I trust that you would not suddenly do anything ungrateful and disgraceful.And as for your husband, he is as deaf as a stone, not qualified to be a burglar at all.Now I want you to tell me who the thief is.”
“Liu Lung said he saw a girl’s shadow talking to somebody in the back yard one night last week,” Liu Ma said, then she hastily added, “but I was asleep.”
“May Li, was that you?” Old Man Li asked.
“Yes,” May Li said, “have you forgotten already, father? You and I were enjoying the moon in the back yard, and you were telling me about the flowers…”
“Liu Ma,” Madam Tang said, “tell the Old Master exactly what Liu Lung saw.”
“Liu Lung said it was dark, there was no moon that night; he said he saw two people whisper to each other, then sneak into the middle hall.”She turned to Liu Lung and shouted, “Why are you so frightened? Nobody is going to poison you!”
“En—n?”
“Oh, shut up!” Liu Ma said.
“Well, if he saw two people talk,” Old Man Li said, “it must be May Li and me; if he saw people whisper, they must be somebody else.We never whisper.”
“Whispering is only done by people who have secrets,” May Li said.“My father and I have no secrets, so we always talk aloud.”
“Young girl,” Madam Tang said, “it is ridiculous to hide your secret by saying high-toned words and by looking so upright.Somebody saw you in possession of a gold fountain pen, is that true?”
“Yes, Mr.Wang gave it to me.”
“Madam Tang,” Old Man Li said, “allow me to say a word.May Li and I are god-fearing country people.We would not look at a gold brick on a roadside even though we are poor; we would not even touch a grain of rice in other people’s bowls even if we were starving…”
“Old Man,” Madam Tang said, “I have never wronged anyone in all my life; punishing the villainous and rewarding the innocent is always my motto.If you are innocent, you have nothing to fear.My sister’s husband, I suggest that we examine their luggage.It is the only way to find out.”
“You can not examine our luggage!” May Li protested.
“Madam Tang,” Old Man Li said, “my daughter and I came into this house at the invitation of Mr.Wang.We did not come here to steal.Examining one’s luggage is a great insult.We are poor people, but we love our face more than you love your family treasure.It can not be done.”
“You see?” Madam Tang said to her brother-in-law, with a meaningful nod of her head, “they refuse to have their luggage examined.”
“You have no right to examine our luggage,” May Li said.“Nobody has the right to examine our luggage!”
“Young girl,” Madam Tang said sharply, “nobody is allowed to talk wildly in this house!”
“Calm yourself, May Li,” Old Man Li said, patting her on the shoulder, “calm yourself.”
“Old Man Li,” Wang Chi-yang said, “you and your daughter look like honest people.I have trusted you and treated you well.But, after all, you are two strangers my son picked up on the street.I know nothing of your background and your pedigree, it is natural for us to be suspicious.If you are really as innocent as you look, you should not object to the inspection.Now, here is a good chance for you to prove your innocence.Bring your luggage here and let us have a look.If we find nothing that does not belong to you, I shall give you twenty dollars as a compensation, and I shall allow nobody to say a word about it so that you will not lose your face…”
At this moment Wang Ta came home.He was somewhat surprised at this unexpected gathering in the middle hall, but he was glad, for he had something to say and he wanted everybody to hear it, especially his father.He went straight to May Li, took her hand and said, “May Li, the Reverend Han of the Presbyterian church has promised to marry us.I am taking you to apply for a marriage license.”
The information was so shocking that everybody in the room was dumfounded for a moment; finally Madam Tang found her voice.“Are you crazy, Wang Ta?”
“My aunt,” Wang Ta said, his voice none too polite, “I have decided to marry May Li.From now on please do not bother to look for a wife for me…”
“Madman,” his aunt interrupted him hotly, “can’t you see what has happened here?”
Wang Ta cast a glance at the others.“What has happened?”
“Your mother’s gold clock has been stolen.We are trying to find the thief.”
“Ta,” May Li said, “they suspect that my father and I have stolen the clock, because someone saw me use your foreign pen.”
“Father, this is ridiculous,” Wang Ta said angrily, “I gave her that pen as a present two weeks ago…”
“You see?” Old Man Li said triumphantly.“Did my daughter steal the pen? Did she? Mr.Wang, now they want to search our luggage for the gold clock!”
“Father, how can you accuse people of stealing without evidence—”
“We are trying to find the evidence,” Wang Chi-yang interrupted him sharply.“I am the master of the house! I want to examine their luggage and nobody is to stop me! Liu Ma, go bring their luggage here!”
“Wang Ta,” Madam Tang said, “why cannot you respect your father like a well-bred son? Your mother always believed in the ancient virtues,especially filial obedience…”
“May Li,” Wang Ta said, “I believe that you did not steal the clock.Let them examine your luggage.My luggage has been ransacked by customs officers more than a dozen times.No matter where I go, they always suspect me to be a smuggler…”
“Liu Ma,” Wang Chi-yang shouted, “did you hear me? Go bring their luggage!”
Liu Ma turned to Old Man Li and said, “Old Man, you’d better come with me.I never touch anybody’s property without its owner watching.”
“You don’t have to touch it,” Old Man Li said.“We shall bring it here ourselves.You just come and keep your sharp eyes on us.May Li, Mr.Wang is right, let them examine our luggage, shew!” Our sage has well said, ‘If nothing wrong is done, there is no need to fear the ghost knocking at your door at night.’ Come, May Li.” He started for the stairway; May Li followed him.Liu Ma turned to follow but suddenly she remembered her husband.“Liu Lung, come with me.”
“En—n?”
“Follow them, you lazybones!” She shouted, pushing him toward the stairway.
“Father,” Wang Ta said, “wronging innocent people is worse than stealing.This is the most disgraceful thing that has ever happened in this house.”
“That is my decision,” Wang Chi-yang said.“I suspect them and I want to examine their luggage, that is all!”
“I do not understand you, father.You liked them.You were kind to them and treated them well.All of a sudden you think they are thieves and destroy all the good will and friendship you have built.”
“Stop using the word ‘friendship.’ I never tried to build a friendship between them and me and I do not need it.”
“Wang Ta,” Madam Tang chided, “if your poor mother were still alive and could see you now, she would never believe that she had borne a rebellious son like you.You are so changed; I wonder why.”
“Perhaps I have become wiser, perhaps I can not stand all these old-fashioned—”
“Listen, listen,” Madam Tang interrupted, “your father and I have lived thirty years longer than you have; no matter how old-fashioned we are, our judgment and wisdom will still be better than yours.Take choosing a wife, for instance; how could you choose a better girl than we could, while you have no experience with females at all?”
“That is what you think, my aunt,” Wang Ta said, turning away from her.
“Listen to me,” Madam Tang said hotly, “your father and I engaged you to an excellent girl whom you could never find yourself, but you did not trust us, you turned down this match.You have thrown your future and your happiness to the mud.Now you are going to ruin your own life by marrying a servant girl whom you picked up on the street…”
“That is enough, my aunt,” Wang Ta said.“I can take care of my own life perfectly well, if you will please stop looking for an excellent wife for me.You and my father have run the first part of my life, now I do not see why I should not have the privilege to manage the second part of it myself…”
“We have no time to talk about your life this moment,” his father interrupted him.“We are busy locating your mother’s gold clock, which is more precious than your worthless life!”
They waited quietly until Old Man Li and May Li returned to the middle hall with their luggage.Liu Ma and Liu Lung followed them closely.Old Man Li dumped his worn-out traveling bag in front of Wang Chi-yang and said, “All my belongings are in this bag.I have not touched a thing inside.Liu Lung can be my witness.If you do not mind dirtying your hands, please examine it.”
“Liu Lung,” Old Master Wang said, “take the things out of the bag.”
“En—n?”
“The Old Master wants you to pour the things out of that sack,” Liu Ma shouted into her husband’s ear.
“Oh,” he said.He picked up the bag and turned it upside down.Old Man Li’s gong, whip, his beard and a few threadbare clothes fell out on the floor.Madam Tang inspected the contents of the bag with a help of her foot.
“Here are my pockets,” Old Man Li said.He busily went through his own pockets and brought out a handkerchief, an old wallet, his wine flask and a few other cheap articles.He put them on the floor and searched himself again.“Here is my coat, there is nothing hidden in it.” He took off his coat and shook it like a magician, then he threw his coat on the floor and started searching his shirt and trousers.“There is nothing hidden in my shirt, nothing in my trousers, nothing in my shoes…”
“That is enough,” Old Master Wang said.“Liu Ma, take the things out of the girl’s luggage.”
Liu Ma turned to May Li and said, “Before I touch your bag, tell the Old Master that I have not touched a thing of yours.When the inspection is over, do not try to tell me that you have lost any of your junk.”
“Please don’t worry,” May Li said heatedly.“I would not care even if you have stolen everything I have.Steal anything as you please.But you can not steal the thing which I value the most—that is my clean conscience!”
“We have no time to waste in talking,” Wang Chi-yang said.“Liu Ma,pour the contents out of that bag.”
“Yes, Old Master.” Liu Ma picked up May Li’s bag, turned it upside down and shook it roughly.Some small articles fell out first—combs, a hand mirror, a few bottles of perfume, shoes, towels; then her flower drum,then her clothes, and finally the gold clock, which tumbled and rolled and landed at Old Master Wang’s feet.Madam Tang leaped up from the kang and picked it up quickly.“Look, my sister’s husband,” she cried.“Look,everybody! What is this? Is there anybody in this room who did not see the clock fall out from that girl’s bag?”
Wang Ta was so surprised that he shot a quick glance at May Li, who was staring at the clock in Madam Tang’s hand, petrified.“No, no!” She suddenly cried.“I did not steal it…”
“Young girl,” Old Master said sternly, “you have stolen the gold clock,nothing can hide your crime now!”
“I swear I did not steal it,” May Li said.“Somebody else stole it!Somebody else stole it and put it in my bag!”
“What nonsense!” Liu Ma said.“Would a thief steal an expensive gold clock and give it to you? Is there any such a fool? Old Master, no wonder she did not want to have her bag examined!”
“I did not steal it! I swear to heaven I did not steal it…”
“All right,” Madam Tang said, “if you insist that you did not steal it,we shall call the police and they will give you a trial.You can prove your innocence to them…”
“Madam， madam，” Old Man Li said hastily， frightened， “please do anything but call the foreign police！ We do not speak their language， they will not understand us and they may deport us！[8] May Li， no matter what crime people put on you， it is only like some dirty clothes you are wearing；a clean conscience is all that is necessary and matters.” He turned to Wang Chi-yang and added， “Old Mr.Wang， heaven is above and has eyes.My daughter has never touched anything that does not belong to her.Her heart is as clear as the dew on a lotus leaf.Now you have found the clock in her bag， you have pointed a knife at her throat.There is nothing a helpless girl can do but put herself at your mercy.” He bowed and started gathering up his belongings on the floor and stuffing them into his bag.May Li covered her face with her hands and sobbed.
“My sister’s husband,” Madam Tang said, “stealing is a crime which can not be encouraged.”
“Father,” Wang Ta said, “we are all refugees from the Mainland China.Please have some consideration.You do not want to have them deported because of a rusty old clock.”
“Hold your tongue!” Old Man Wang said angrily.“Do you still have the face to defend them? It is you who have brought me all this trouble!Old Man Li, you and your daughter are ungrateful and mischievous.I could call the foreign police and have you deported, but I am not a hard-hearted man.Now, pack your things and be off, and stay away from Chinatown.”
“Old Mr.Wang,” Old Man Li said, “we shall not come near this town again even if we are invited with sedan chairs and firecrackers, shew.” He picked up his bag and said to his daughter, “May Li, let us go.Let us go back to Los Angeles.”
May Li put her things into her bag, sobbing.After she had packed,she fished the fountain pen out from her bosom.“Mr.Wang, here is your fountain pen, I am returning it to you.”
“You may have it,” Wang Ta said.
May Li looked at him； her lips trembled and fresh tears welled out of her eyes.Suddenly she dashed toward the table， tossed the fountain[9] pen on it， picked up her bag and ran out of the house， crying.
“Mr.Wang,” Old Man Li said to Wang Ta, “I thank you for your kindness for inviting us to stay with you, but the insult we received in this house shall take months to be forgotten, and my daughter’s heart which you have broken shall take years to heal.” He flung his bag over his shoulder and strode out of the house.
Liu Lung watched him go, gasping, then he turned to Wang Chi-yang and tried to say something but his tongue couldn’t function.Suddenly he gave up the effort and hurried out of the front door.
“What is the matter with him?” Madam Tang said, puzzled.
“Please don’t mind him, madam,” Liu Ma said.“He is bewitched by that old man.”
“My sister’s husband,” Madam Tang said, “you can see now that it is dangerous to take strangers into a house.I hope this will serve you as a good lesson.”
“Madam,” Liu Ma said, “did I not tell you before that they looked like thieves to me? The way they sneaked and the way they whispered to each other made me think they were going to steal something a long time ago.I told you before, Old Master, nobody could bring a bit of dust out of this house if I have kept my eyes on him.”
“The clock is restored,” Wang Chi-yang said sternly; “this unpleasant incident is all over.From now on nobody is to remind me of it.Wang Ta, I want to make this clear to you: this is my house, nobody is allowed to invite people to stay here without my permission…”
Before he finished, Liu Lung returned hurriedly.He looked more uneasy than before; he went to Wang Chi-yang and once more his mouth worked like that of a fish, but no sound came out.“Liu Lung,” Madam Tang said, “what is the matter with you?”
“What are you trying to do?” Liu Ma shouted.“Oh, you lazybones,get out and try to find some work to do!” She started pushing Liu Lung toward the kitchen.“Get out!”
“Old Master….Old—Old Master!” Liu Lung said.“That girl did not—she did not…”
“Get out, get out!” Liu Ma cried, pushing him angrily.
Wang Ta quickly stepped between them.“Liu Ma, leave him alone!Liu Lung, what did you say?”
“She did not steal the clock,” Liu Lung said, his voice trembling.“Liu Ma stole it.She stole it and put it—”
“Shut up!” Liu Ma shouted.“You ungrateful old beast, are you mad?”
“Let him talk!” Wang Ta said sharply.
“She stole it,” Liu Lung said.“She told me to put it in Old Man Li’s bag.I did not do it.She—”
Liu Ma grabbed him and slapped him.“Shut up, you old beast! Oh,Old Master, this deaf old turtle is mad; he must have been bewitched by that old man…”
“Old—Old Master,” Liu Lung said desperately, “she put the clock in the girl’s bag.She did it! She did it!”
“Get out, you ungrateful old beast,” Liu Ma cried, slapping him again,“get out!”
By this time Wang Ta had brought the bamboo stick out from behind the kang.He thrust it in Liu Lung’s hand and said, “Liu Lung, beat your wife, beat her!”
Liu Lung grabbed the stick.Suddenly a wild look came to his face.Liu Ma flinched from him.“What are you going to do? I dare you to touch me, I dare you…” Liu Lung stepped forward and slashed his wife with the stick.Liu Ma tried to fight back but Liu Lung whipped her so violently that she finally retreated toward the door, shrieking and swearing.Liu Lung chased her to the back yard and presently a sound beating was heard.
“Wang Ta,” Madam Tang said, “go stop that beast beating his wife.”
“Stop him? No!” Wang Ta said.“This is the first time that bamboo stick has been put to its right use.” He left the middle hall hurriedly.
The beating and screaming went on.Madam Tang got up from the kang and walked up and down nervously.“My sister’s husband, this is the most horrible thing I ever saw.Allow a man to beat his wife like a wild dog … ”
Old Master Wang poured himself a cup of tea and said quietly, “This is his own privilege; I am in no position to interfere.”
“This is your house,” Madam Tang said.“Such a scandalous thing will spread all over Chinatown in two days.Just think of your reputation,my sister’s husband.”
“I have loved my reputation above everything,” Wang Chi-yang said gravely.“Today I begin to feel that my reputation is like an artificial flower.I wonder if it is worthy of any more care.”
“What makes you sound so pessimistic? You are changed all of a sudden.”
“My wife’s sister,” Wang Chi-yang said with a deep sigh, “you are the closest relative I have, let me be frank with you.I have done many wrongs in my life, but I have always managed to conceal them very well.Many people believe that I am a perfect gentleman, having no flaws either in thoughts or in conduct.But today Old Man Li said something that somehow awakened me.My wife’s sister, it would really be happier if one could be like Old Man Li, wearing rags on top, but having a clean conscience.”
“Ah,” Madam Tang said, fanning herself rapidly with her handkerchief, “now you even wish to be in that old man’s shoes.You are changed indeed!” Suddenly she saw Wang Ta come down the stairway with a suitcase and his overcoat.“What? Where are you going?”
Wang Ta came into the middle hall.“Father, I am going away.”
“Do not be foolish, Wang Ta,” Madam Tang said.
“I have decided it is better for me to be independent,” Wang Ta said.“Please do not try to stop me.”
“Where are you going?” Wang Chi-yang asked, coughing.
“I am going to join Old Man Li and his daughter.I am going to tell them that we are the real thieves, we have stolen their happiness.I am going to beg for their forgiveness and ask May Li if she still cares to marry me…”
“Oh, stop this madness,” Madam Tang said.“I cannot stand this nonsense!”
“My aunt, you do not have to stand for it any more, for I shall never see you again.Frankly, I am disgusted with this house and everybody in it!”
“Get out!” Old Master Wang said angrily.
“My last advice, father.You are a sick man, both socially and physically.If you still insist on being blind, you will…”
“I do not want your advice!” his father shouted.“Go starve yourself! I am glad that you will leave me here to enjoy a few years of peace! Never come back to my house again, you ungrateful dog.”
Wang Ta hurried out of the house, slamming the front door.When Wang Chi-yang’s cough subsided, he turned to his sister-in-law quickly.“My wife’s sister,” he said painfully, “please go find out where he is going.”
“He is not going anywhere,” Madam Tang said.“If he does not want to come back here, he is going to stay with me.” She grabbed her purse and left.
Old Master Wang groaned and grunted and took a sip of tea to soothe his still itching throat, then he sat on the kang quietly for a moment.Suddenly an unbearable loneliness closed in on him.He felt as though he were sitting all alone in a small boat on a vast ocean, without a speck of land in sight, with dark clouds looming in the distance.He didn’t know that with Old Man Li, May Li and Wang Ta gone, the house could be so empty and forlorn, like a frightful endless dark ocean.With a shiver he quickly rose from the kang and went back to his room.
He didn’t know why but his bedroom also looked deserted now.It had been cozy and warm before and he had always felt secure and comfortable in there; but now it resembled another lonely ocean, with every article in the room reminding him of how forlorn he was.At his age he should live in a house full of offspring.Not that he wanted many chattering relatives to bother him, or waves of children tottering in and out of his room, but he must have a feeling that he was not alone, a feeling that he was forever surrounded by his own flesh and blood.The cry of a baby in the next room, the laughter of a teen-age daughter, the scolding of his wife, or even the quarreling of two daughters-in-law would provide a house with life and warmth that was so necessary to a man of his age.
For a moment he sat at his desk and let this terrible loneliness gnaw at him.When he could not bear it any longer he took out his brush and paper and practiced calligraphy.It was no use.He tried to tend his miniature garden, but the work only increased his unhappiness.He must do something positive to relieve himself of this depression.
When he came out of his room again, Madam Tang had returned to the house.“He is gone,” she said breathlessly, fanning herself with her handkerchief.“He wants to go into the grocery business with a friend.He is just as stubborn as you are.Are you going out, my sister’s husband?”
“Yes,” Wang Chi-yang said, putting on his black satin cap.“I am going to see Reverend Han of that foreign church he mentioned.”
“What for?”
“Do you think that lunatic can really make a living and support a girl and an old man? They will starve to death in a few weeks if I do not find some way to give him this.” He showed his sister-in-law a check that he had just written.
“What? Five thousand dollars?” Madam Tang said, frowning.“He will throw it into the gutter.Oh, my sister’s husband, he did not want your money.Did he not say that he wants to be independent? He is going into the grocery business.You’d better tear this check up before it falls into the hands of somebody else.”
“Perhaps you are right,” Wang Chi-yang said after a moment, tearing up the check.“He seems to hate my money.But I should give Reverend Han some money for the wedding.I do not want the wedding to look too shabby.”
“Ah, Wang Ta will take care of it himself.Perhaps he will not go to see Reverend Han at all.He is anxious to go into the grocery business with a friend in Los Angeles.” She stopped fanning herself and asked seriously,“Do you really approve of this marriage?”
“To be frank with you, my wife’s sister,” Wang Chi-yang said, “when that unfilial dog said that he was going to ask May Li whether she still cared to marry him, I was kind of pleased.”
“Ah, you have changed indeed, my sister’s husband,” Madam Tang said.Now she realized that Wang Ta, her favorite nephew, had sworn he would never return; she felt a sudden pang.Despite the fact that he had refused to have anything to do with her from now on, she had never missed him so much before.She felt a strong urge to do what her brother-in-law had just intended to do—give the boy some money in some roundabout way.The rascal had the ill luck to fall in love with a girl poor as a nail, plus an old father who had nothing but a wine flask to his name.They might really starve if she did not take care of the matter.“Well,” she went on, “the boy has set his mind on marrying that girl, there is nothing we can do about it anyway.He is as stubborn as a mule.Hm, grocery business.Perhaps it is some business worth looking into.” In an effort not to betray her secret desire, she decided not to say a word more, quickly picked up her purse and started for the door.
“Are you going so soon?”
“Yes, I am busy,” Madam Tang said and hurried out of the house without looking back.
Old Master Wang stood in the middle hall for a moment, feeling very old and tired.For the first time in his life his stubbornness, which had been his strongest fort, began to tumble down.He picked up his cap, put on his satin jacket and went out of the house.He wanted to see Chinatown and let the familiar signs and smells remind him of his home town in Hunan Province.He couldn’t stand this feeling of being alone and deserted in a foreign land.He wanted the feeling of familiarity and intimacy, the consciousness of still being among his countrymen.
Walking along a side street toward Grant Avenue, he thought of his remaining years and was glad that he could see the end of his journey in the not too distant future.Perhaps in ten years he would be gone and everything would be forgotten.He realized now that this was a world of the younger generation and that the best way to conduct himself was to live in it like a polite guest, taking what was offered to him and being content with it.He nursed a faint fear that the younger generation, which seemed to be rebellious and undisciplined and totally lacking filial piety,was going to ruin this world.He was glad that he was not going to live long enough to see it.But he managed to console himself with the fact that Wang Ta, perhaps the younger generation as a whole, did have a sense of fairness and uprightness, as Wang Ta had demonstrated a while ago.Wang Ta’s attachment to May Li and her father, his decision to follow them,apologize to them and to live with them, all seemed to him the right thing to do.Perhaps it was the only move that would help relieve him of his guilty feeling, the most uncomfortable feeling of having wronged some innocent people.
The inhabitants in Chinatown were quietly working as usual.The man at the noodle factory was there, grinding a hand machine; the seamstress was there, sewing away, bending over her work fourteen hours a day, her children playing at her feet; the barber was in his shop giving a customer the elaborate treatment, shaving his face and trimming the hair in his nostrils.The grocer was patiently watching a housewife select the salted fish, the thousand-year-old eggs, the taro roots and the dried seaweed, his abacus ready; the retired old man was still sitting in his store that sold nothing, reading the Chinese newspapers from cover to cover,perhaps for the third time, till new ones were delivered to him in the late afternoon.The restaurant was not crowded, with a few customers sitting at the counter sipping tea and picking their teeth.
On Grant Avenue the cars crawled like an endless parade.There was the Chinese tranquility and patience; nobody seemed to be in a great hurry,and nobody could be even if he wanted to.The herb merchant, sitting behind his shiny counter, his hands in his sleeves, watched the street without an expression on his face.As Old Master Wang passed the herb store he wondered what the herb doctor was doing inside.Perhaps he was reading the ancient medicine book, or practicing his calligraphy, or diagnosing the case of a patient, or just sitting behind his desk serenely,meditating.He was the only man in Chinatown with whom Old Master Wang could easily identity himself.He was old-fashioned, full of classical learning, with emphasis on calligraphy and the beauty of composition.He was the one who also hated change and always dreamed of going back to the old village in China, to die in China, and be buried in a good coffin,with numerous offspring visiting his grave every spring, making offerings and burning incense for him.
As Old Master Wang passed the herb store he wondered if the herb doctor also had identical problems.He controlled a strong desire to drop in and pay him a visit.It was no use having their old-fashioned ideas strengthened with further association, he thought.He hastened his steps and turned on Jackson Street, feeling like a man who had just betrayed his best friend.He felt very sad about what he had just seen and thought.Perhaps in fifty years most of the familiar sights and smells in Chinatown would be gone.Perhaps there would be no more clatter of mah-jongg behind closed doors, no more operatic music of drums and gongs, no noodle factories, no old-fashioned barbershops with all the traditional services, no more retired old men reading Chinese newspapers, no more grocers with abacuses, no more thousand-year-old eggs, taro roots or dried seaweeds….For this was the world of the younger generation, everything was changing, slowly but steadily.Even he, old-fashioned as he was, was now deserting his herb doctor, his best friend and the only man in Chinatown with whom he could happily associate.
On Jackson Street on the corner of Stockton Old Master Wang sighted the massive building.He had passed the seven-story building numerous times but had never looked at it.He had always regarded the building as an ill omen and had always quickened his steps when he passed by it.Now he stopped in front of it and looked at it for a long time.He looked at the red lacquered sign with these characters: TUNG WAH HOSPITAL.It was an impressive sign, hanging under the red-tiled pagoda roof.The characters were well-written, although lacking strength in some strokes, but on the whole they were the product of years of patient practice in the Sung School.Then he looked at the revolving door, braced himself a little, took a deep breath, mounted the marble steps and entered the building.