The Sing-song Girls of Shanghai

by Bangqing Han

  “Then we’re too few,” Mallow Yao said. He went and wrote out two more invitations and handed them to the maid, Clever. She took them downstairs to show to the bookkeeper.

  “Mr. Hong at Twin Pearl’s in Sunshine Alley,” the bookkeeper read out the first invitation. He was getting on to the next one when Amity Zhu’s man, Longevity, who had been sitting to one side, suddenly pushed forward and said, “I’ll take this to Mr. Hong.” So saying, he snatched the invitation and went off.1

  ::

  1. This is a heaven-sent excuse for Longevity to go to the Zhou house, where his lover, Golden, works.

  CHAPTER 17 :: Twin Pearl secretly criticizes her mother, and Benevolence Hong severely reprimands his nephew

  Longevity took the invitation slip and headed straight for Twin Pearl’s in Sunshine Alley. When he came through the front door, he saw Worth sitting in the parlor with one foot on a chair and a long pipe in his mouth. Longevity had no choice but to approach him and put the invitation on the table, saying, “It’s for Mr. Hong.”

  Worth did not bother to look at the invitation. He just said, “He’s not here. Just leave it here.”

  Longevity had to withdraw. But before he went, Worth sneered and said loudly, “So, we’ve got a new fashion now. Sing-song houses won’t need menservants anymore!”

  Longevity, pretending not to hear, left quickly with his head bent. He had just reached the mouth of the alley when he came upon Benevolence Hong, so he stood to one side and told him about the invitation from Mr. Yao. Benevolence Hong promised to go, whereupon Longevity left.

  Benevolence Hong dropped in on Twin Pearl first. He asked for the invitation and looked it over in the parlor and then went upstairs. The madam, Orchid Zhou, was having a tête-à-tête with Twin Pearl. When he came in, Orchid Zhou greeted him and got up right away, saying to Twin Pearl, “It’s best if you have a word with her. She’ll listen to you.” After that, she went downstairs.

  “What was that about?” he asked.

  “She said Twin Jade is not feeling well.”

  “But why did she tell you to have a word with her; what about?”

  “It’s all because Twin Jewel wags her tongue too much. That girl is just no good. She wants to do well, but she hasn’t got what it takes, and yet she still tries to put on airs. And she happens to run into this Twin Jade, who won’t stand for being second in anything. These two will never get along.”

  “In what way did Twin Jewel put on airs?”

  “This was what she said: ‘Twin Jade had no silver water pipe, so they got her one from my room. As for her party clothes, I’ve worn them, too.’ Twin Jade happened to hear it, so she refused to wear those clothes anymore and also refused to take the silver water pipe. She’s spent the whole of today in bed, refusing to get up, saying she’s unwell. Because of that, Mother gave Twin Jewel a tongue-lashing, and now she wants me to speak to Twin Jade and tell her to get up.”

  “What are you going to say to her?”

  “I really don’t feel like speaking to her. In fact, I find Twin Jade exasperating. She’s just had a few more party calls, and she acts like a grand dame, scolding and beating Twin Jewel as if she’s the madam who owns that girl.”

  “Twin Jade is a shrewd one. It’s a good thing you’re not a girl sold to the house, otherwise she’d look down on you, too,” he said.

  “Well, with me she’s all lovey-dovey. Whatever I tell her, she agrees to. I’m even more effective than Mother.”

  Just as they were talking, they heard Worth call out downstairs, “Maestro Twin Jade called to a party.” Clever Baby answered from the room opposite, “Coming.” So Benevolence said to Twin Pearl, “There’s no need for you to talk to her. Now that there’s a party call, she has to get up.”

  “The way I look at it, if she won’t get up, that’s her lookout. The worst she can do is stop working. If you let her have her way while she’s still a virgin courtesan, in the future she’ll think she owns the world.”

  She had scarcely finished speaking when they heard the voice of Orchid Zhou downstairs cursing all the way into Twin Jewel’s room. Then there was the sound of slapping, followed by the weeping of Twin Jewel. From this they knew Orchid Zhou had given her a beating.

  “Mother is unfair as well,” said Twin Pearl. “If beatings are in order, then Twin Jade should get one, too. The fact that she does slightly better business shouldn’t put her above the rules. Why is life so hard on girls whose business is not good?”

  He was just about to speak when he saw Clever Baby come in from the room opposite. Twin Pearl asked her, “Hadn’t they had one row already? Why was there another beating?”

  Clever Baby whispered, “Twin Jade is refusing to answer party calls. Do talk to her, Third Maestro. If she’d just go, everything will be all right.”

  Twin Pearl sneered and just sat there. Benevolence stood up abruptly and said, “I’ll talk to her. She’s sure to go.”

  He walked over to Twin Jade’s room at once. She was lying in bed. The room, only lit by a tall bedside lamp, was enshrouded in half darkness.

  “I heard you’re not feeling quite well,” he made conversation cheerfully. She was obliged to greet him: “Mr. Hong.”

  He sat down on the edge of her bed and asked, “I heard you’re going out on a party call.”

  “I’m not feeling well, so I’m not going,” she answered.

  “It’s of course best not to go if you’re not well. But if you don’t go, your mother will have no choice but to send Twin Jewel in your stead. If that’s the case, won’t it be better to go yourself?”

  The minute she heard that Twin Jewel would go instead of her, Twin Jade naturally became agitated. She thought for a moment and said, “You’re right, Mr. Hong, I’ll go.” So saying, she sat up.

  He was happy to have effected this change and hastened to call Clever Baby over to light the lamp and help Twin Jade get ready. Then he went back to Twin Pearl’s room and told her about the new development. Twin Pearl praised the way he had handled it. Just then, Golden brought in supper and set it on the square table in the middle room. Benevolence said to Twin Pearl, “You better have dinner. By the time you get ready, it’ll be time for you to answer calls, too.”

  “Would you like a bite before you go to the party?” asked Twin Pearl.

  “No, thanks. I’ll go now.”

  “Then send for me right away. It won’t take me long to finish supper and wash my face.”

  He promised to do so and then left for the dinner party at Sunset’s in Generosity Alley. Twin Pearl sat down in the middle room and told Golden to relay a message to Twin Jade: “If you feel like eating, come and have supper with me.”

  When Twin Jade had heard about Twin Jewel’s beating, most of her anger had melted away. Now that Elder Sister took the trouble to send the maid to ask her to supper, she was eager to grab this opportunity to please and immediately agreed to come. She sat down cheerfully opposite Twin Pearl, while Golden and Clever Baby took the other chairs around the table.

  During the meal, Twin Pearl said to Twin Jade in a casual manner, “Twin Jewel is not a girl who talks much sense; she just babbles on and on. I, too, get annoyed at the sight of her. Now, you’re different; your business is good, and Mother likes you, so don’t take what she says to heart. If she should say anything that jars on your ears, just come and tell me; don’t go and tell Mother.”

  When she heard this, Twin Jade did not utter a word.

  “Do you think I’m siding with Twin Jewel?” Twin Pearl went on with a smile. “That’s not true. The way I look at it, now we’re courtesans in a sing-song house but in a couple of years we’ll all get married. As courtesans, no matter how popular we are or how good a show we put on, there’s not much substance to it. If you look at it this way, it’s best not to take things too seriously, right?”

  Twin Jade put on a smiling face as she answered, “Now it’s you, Elder Sister, who’re being supersensitive. I may be stupid, but I haven’
t got to the point when I can’t tell good advice from bad! You’re speaking to me for my own good, so how can I possibly blame you for it?”

  “As long as you understand, I’m glad.”

  During this conversation, they had finished eating. Clever Baby immediately hurried Twin Jade off to get ready for the parties. Twin Pearl also went to wash and powder her face. Benevolence Hong’s call chit did not come until after nine o’clock. There was also a chit for Twin Jade, sent by a client named Zhu at the same party at Sunset’s. Instead of waiting for Twin Jade, Twin Pearl was going to leave first. But just as she was getting into the sedan chair at the door, Twin Jade came back from another party, so Twin Pearl told her to turn the sedan chair around, and they went together. At Sunset’s, Benevolence Hong pointed at a youth and said to Twin Jade, “It’s Fifth Young Master Zhu who called you.” Twin Jade went to sit down behind him.

  Twin Pearl saw that there were seven men seated at the table. Besides the host, Mallow Yao, there were Crane Li, Lotuson Wang, Amity Zhu, Cloudlet Chen, and others whom she knew well. Only this boy looked unfamiliar. She asked Benevolence Hong surreptitiously and learned that he was Amity Zhu’s little brother, whose informal name was Modesty. He was only sixteen and not yet married. Twin Pearl thought him very handsome. With his well-defined eyebrows and fine eyes, he looked rather like Amity Zhu, but he was shy and timid and just sat there looking ill at ease. Clever Baby went up and presented him with the water pipe, but he would not smoke, so she gave the pipe to Lotuson Wang.

  Just then, Mallow Yao challenged Amity Zhu to a round of the finger game. Amity Zhu was sitting next to Modesty. During the game, the latter took the opportunity to steal a glance at Twin Jade. As it chanced, she was also looking stealthily at him. Their eyes met. She smiled ever so slightly, but he looked away in embarrassment.

  After Amity Zhu had had five rounds, Mallow Yao wanted to play against Modesty. But the latter excused himself by saying he didn’t know the game.

  “Nonsense! Everybody knows the finger game!” said Mallow Yao.

  “Just give it a go,” Amity Zhu said encouragingly.

  Modesty Zhu had no choice but to stick out his fist. He won the first three rounds but lost twice in the end. He had just taken up a penalty cup when Twin Jade pulled at his sleeve from behind and said, “I’ll drink it.” Taken by surprise, he gave a violent start and dropped the cup. It went spinning off the table, spilling wine all over her. In desperation, he grabbed a napkin to wipe her off. She covered her mouth and said laughing, “It doesn’t matter.” Clever Baby hastened to pick up the cup, which, fortunately, was made of silver and therefore not broken. Everybody at the party laughed out loud. At this, Modesty flushed crimson to his ears. His penalty wine was left undrunk, and he just bowed his head and tucked his hands into his sleeves, trying to be inconspicuous but finding nowhere to hide.

  “Would you like us to drink the two penalty cups?” Clever Baby asked, but he didn’t even hear her. Twin Jade took one cup from her and drank it for Modesty; Clever Baby drank the other, so he was clear.

  By the time all the girls had arrived, Twin Jade had to leave for some other party, but Twin Pearl stayed behind. Knowing that Mallow Yao was always keen on getting others drunk, she waited until after Benevolence Hong had taken his turn as banker before she went home.

  After she left, Mallow Yao was still in great spirits and refused to stop. Already a little tipsy, Benevolence Hong heard that it was pouring outside. He decided not to get drunk and made his escape from the party when people were not looking. He headed due north out of Generosity Alley and then took a ricksha back to Twin Pearl’s in Sunshine Alley. Arriving in her room, he saw Twin Pearl sitting alone playing solitaire with a set of ivory dominoes. He took off his jacket, shook the water off it, and gave it to Golden to hang up on the clothes rack.

  He sat down casually and saw that it was still dark in the opposite room. Obviously, Twin Jade had not yet come back from her round of parties. But Twin Pearl said to Golden, “You can go home when you’re ready.”

  Golden made an affirmative noise and hastened to prepare tea and opium; she then made the bed and blew the lamp out.

  “It’s still early; Twin Jade’s not back yet. What’s the hurry?” he said with a smile.

  “Worth has been asking for her to go back,” Twin Pearl said. “I kept her here because it’s been raining and I knew you’d come. If she doesn’t go back now, there’s going to be another row.”

  He could not help smiling at this.

  Twin Jade did not return until after Golden was gone. After that, a group of guests dropped in and crowded into her room for a tea party. There was a lot of noise and laughter.

  Twin Pearl, who had finished her game of solitaire, felt she should not go to bed right away, so she came over to lie down opposite Benevolence on the divan and chatted to him as she toasted the opium.

  “So Mr. Wang is seeing this Constance. Does Little Rouge know about it?”

  “Of course she does,” he replied. “But as long as she gets the money, why should she be jealous?”

  “As far as personality goes, Little Rouge is not dissimilar to our Twin Jade.”

  “Who is Twin Jade jealous of?”

  “I don’t mean getting jealous. They both think very highly of themselves and want to steal the show. It’s as if they’re going to be courtesans all their lives and never get married.”

  As they were talking, Twin Jade suddenly walked in to show Twin Pearl a silver water pipe.

  “What d’you think of this design?” she asked.

  Twin Pearl saw the brand of the Galaxy Jewelry Store and knew it was a new gift from a client of hers. She asked, “How much did it cost?”

  “He said it cost twenty-six dollars. Is that expensive?”

  “That’s about right for such quality. Not bad at all,” Twin Pearl replied.

  Hearing this, Twin Jade was even more pleased. She took the water pipe and returned to her room to entertain her guests. Twin Pearl commented, “Look at her, what a show-off!”

  “If she’s good at doing business, that’s for the best. Otherwise, everything would fall on your shoulders, and you’d surely feel the burden, right?” he said.

  “Of course you’re right. I wish her the best of business, for everybody’s sake.”

  As they were talking, the guests in the opposite room had noisily dispersed. Now it was quiet all round. Twin Pearl took off her jewelry and was about to go to bed when they heard Twin Jewel talking to somebody downstairs in a low voice. The conversation was interspersed with the sound of sobbing.

  “Is that Twin Jewel crying?” Benevolence asked.

  Twin Pearl sniffed. “If she’s going to cry like this, she shouldn’t have wagged her tongue so much.”

  “Who is she talking to?”

  “A client.”

  “So Twin Jewel has a client here, too?”

  “He’s not bad, and he’s really quite fond of her. But Twin Jewel is always a bit silly and doesn’t manage things properly.”

  He asked for the client’s surname.

  “It’s Ni. His father owns the Great Prospects Grocery Store at the Great East Gate.”

  He asked no more questions but just closed the door and went to bed with Twin Pearl. Yet downstairs, Twin Jewel’s complaint to her client and her weeping continued. Although the words were muffled, the sound of her intermittent sobbing and sniffling carried a sense of overwhelming sadness that made Benevolence toss and turn, unable to sleep. He did not doze off until the clock had struck four and the noise downstairs gradually subsided.

  At eight the next morning, Benevolence was still roaming the kingdom of dreams with its golden princess when unexpectedly Golden pushed the door open and came into the room, calling softly, “Mr. Hong.”

  Twin Pearl woke up first and asked, “What is it?”

  “Somebody to see Mr. Hong,” Golden replied. Twin Pearl shook Benevolence awake to tell him.

  “Who is it?” he asked
. Golden had no idea. Puzzled, he got dressed hurriedly and got out of bed, dragging his shoes along as though they were slippers, and told Golden to bring the man upstairs.

  Golden took the man into the upstairs parlor. Benevolence saw that it was a stranger and asked, “Why are you looking for me?”

  “I’m from the Welcome Inn on Treasured Merit Street. There’s a certain Simplicity Zhao; is he related to you?”

  “Yes, he is.”

  “Last night, Mr. Zhao had a fight on New Street. His head was broken, and he had blood all over him. The police sent him to Hope Hospital. This morning, I looked in on him, and he told me to come and find Mr. Hong.”

  “What was the fight about?”

  “I’ve no idea,” the man said with a smile.

  Benevolence had a fairly good idea of what had taken place. After a moment of reflection, he said, “All right. It’s nice of you to take the trouble. I’ll go there later.”

  The man immediately withdrew. Benevolence returned to the room to wash his face.

  Twin Pearl asked from behind the bed curtains, “What is it?”

  “Nothing.”

  “If you’re going, have some breakfast first.”

  He told Golden to order ten steamed dumplings. After he had eaten, he said to Twin Pearl, “You get a little more sleep. I’m going now.”

  “Do come back early this evening,” said Twin Pearl.

  He gave his promise and then put on his jacket and left.

  The sky had just cleared after prolonged rain. The morning sun was dazzling, and the weather mild. He went straight to Hope Hospital and asked for Simplicity Zhao. A man took him upstairs and pushed open a screen door. It was a huge foreign-style room with seven or eight iron beds arranged in two rows. Several patients were lying in bed. They had the mosquito nets gathered up and thrown over the bed rail. Simplicity Zhao occupied the last bed in a row. His head bandaged and his arm in a sling, he sat there cross-legged. The minute he saw Benevolence, he got up and greeted him, shame written all over his face.

  Benevolence sat down on a rattan stool by the bed, and Simplicity told him the whole story: how he had been beaten by the two gangsters Xu and Zhang and had got injuries to his head and face. He tried to make out he’d had a rotten deal, but his gibbering did not make much sense.