The Sing-song Girls of Shanghai

by Bangqing Han

  Clever was overjoyed. “That couldn’t be better.” She hurried back to tell Little Sister, who took her over personally the very same day. So Clever stayed at Constance’s.

  It happened that Lotuson Wang and Benevolence Hong were having a casual supper at Constance’s. She showed Lotuson the pair of jade hairpins and asked, “Is sixteen dollars too much?”

  Benevolence Hong valued them at only ten dollars.

  “Offer them ten dollars and don’t go any higher than twelve,” said Lotuson.

  Constance told him about getting another servant girl. Lotuson found Clever’s face familiar. Upon questioning her, he realized that he had seen her several times at Sunset’s.

  By the time supper was over, Constance had already toasted seven or eight opium pellets and put them in the tray. Lotuson Wang wiped his face with a hot towel and lay down on the divan. She passed him the pipe, and he sucked in the contents in one breath. She took the pipe from him, cleaned the bowl, and filled it with another pellet.

  “If you want to buy jade, ask Mr. Hong to get it at the teahouse in the city god’s temple. It’s cheaper there,” he said to her.

  She wanted a green jade jewelry set, she told Benevolence Hong. He promised to get it for her and then took his leave and returned to the Flourishing Ginseng Store in South End.

  ::

  1. [It was a common saying that henpecked husbands would get rich. E.H.]

  CHAPTER 24 :: Constance protects a fellow courtesan to keep the peace, and Simplicity Zhao, a ruined man, feels no regret

  After getting his fill of opium while lying on the right-hand side of the divan, Lotuson Wang moved to the left-hand side to lie next to Constance and smoked three more pellets. Gradually, his eyebrows relaxed, and his eyes closed, as if he were far gone. Constance filled the pipe again, put the mouthpiece to his lips, and held it for him over the flame, but he held up a hand to show that he had had enough. She set the pipe down gently and was about to sit up, but he put a hand over her chest and held her down. “You have a smoke too.”

  “I don’t want any. How can I work once I get hooked?” she said.

  “But why would you get hooked? Little Rouge has always smoked it, and she’s not hooked.”

  “Little Rouge is different. She’s smart and good at the business. It doesn’t matter even if she gets hooked. I wish I were like her!”

  “You say Little Rouge is good at doing business, then why is it that she doesn’t even have any clients anymore?”

  “How d’you know she has no clients?”

  “I saw her account books for the last season. Aside from me, there were just twenty or thirty party calls from a few old clients.”

  “She should do all right with you and twenty or thirty party calls.”

  “You don’t understand. Little Rouge can’t get by. Her expenses are very high. There’re her parents and brother; she has to support all of them on her own.”

  “The parents and brother would be in a separate house, not much in the way of costs there. It’s probably her own expenses that are a bit high.”

  “She herself doesn’t spend much except for taking a carriage ride every couple of days.”

  “Carriage rides don’t come to much either.”

  “Then what else?”

  “How would I know?”1

  He did not ask any more questions, just toasted and smoked the two remaining opium pellets till he had finished the lot. Then he supported himself on the arm of the divan and sat up. She knew he wanted the water pipe and got up at once to fetch one and then sat down on the divan, leaning against him, and filled the pipe for him.

  After two pipes of tobacco, he asked again, “You said Little Rouge’s own expenses are high. Now can you tell me what they are?”

  She was slightly taken aback. “I was just talking. What other expenses would Little Rouge have? You mustn’t go blabbing to her. If you do, she’ll think I spoke ill of her, and she’ll be cursing me again.”

  “Just tell me. I won’t let on to her,” he said smiling.

  “What d’you want me to say?” she answered loudly. “You have been lovers for three or four years. Is there anything you don’t know that you have to come and ask me?”

  He sighed with a smile. “You’re a real coward. Considering all the things Little Rouge has said about you, isn’t it enough that you don’t pay her back in kind? Why d’you have to cover up for her?”

  She also sighed. “I’m not covering up for her! Why are you so obsessed by this? Little Rouge has got her parents and her brother to support, and she rides around in carriages, so naturally her expenses are higher than mine.”

  He laughed ironically and dropped the subject. After he was through with the water pipe, she remained seated shoulder to shoulder with him. In mutual delight and tender caresses, they spent their time, until the clock struck midnight, when the maid was called in to tidy up before they went to bed.

  When they were in bed, she tried again to talk him round, “Though Little Rouge has a ferocious temper, she gets on quite well with you, all things considering. Now that she’s as good as without any clients, and you’re the only one keeping the show going for her, who else would she love besides you? That time at Luna Park, when she went at you hammer and tongs, well, that was because she was afraid that you’d drop her once you started seeing me. If you did that, wouldn’t she have been desperate? The way I look at it, you should have some idea of what she’s like after three or four years together. If certain things displease you, see if you can’t let them pass. And if she’s not quite up to standard sometimes, don’t tell her off for it. Though she couldn’t very well blame you for saying anything, she’d say I put you up to it, and you’d be making an enemy for me. I don’t mind being run down behind my back, but if we met at a dinner party and she forgot about manners and rowed with me openly, wouldn’t it be embarrassing?”

  “You say she loves me, but it’s hard to see how that can be the case. When she and I first came together, she said to me, ‘A courtesan’s life is hard, and the worst thing is if one doesn’t have good clients. Being with you is the best thing that’s happened to me. Now if some stranger comes along and wants me to take him on, I certainly won’t do it.’ I replied, ‘If that’s the case, just marry me.’ She said that would be nice and all that, but she was just playing for time. At first, the excuse was that she had to pay off her debts before she married, but when the debts were paid she said her parents wouldn’t let her go. It looks as if she just doesn’t want to marry. I can’t figure her out.”

  “Well, it’s not that hard. She’s used to the life of a courtesan and can’t abide by all the rules in a family, so she doesn’t want to get married. In a couple of years, when she’s older, she’ll marry you all right.”

  He waved that argument aside. “Even if Little Rouge agreed to marry me, I couldn’t afford it now. The last couple of years, her three seasons of expenses came to about two thousand. This year, it’s even more outrageous. After settling her debts, her shopping, and the party bills, I’ve spent over two thousand on her, and the season’s not over yet. Just think, where would I get all that money to spend?”

  She sighed again. “Well, if I get a thousand a year, I’ll be very happy.”

  Lotuson was about to say more when he heard Clever coughing in her sleep in the middle room. This cut him short.

  The next morning, Lotuson Wang and Constance had just got out of bed when his steward, Talisman, came to report, “The maid at Little Rouge’s came to invite Master to drop over, saying there’s something to discuss.”

  Constance hastened to ask what it was.

  “It’s nothing,” said Lotuson. “I haven’t been there for a couple of days, so naturally they’ve come to invite me over.”

  She reflected for a moment and then said, “I think Little Rouge probably has something to say to you. Think about it, no matter when you come here, they learn about it the minute you arrive. Obviously, they sent someone to invite you ju
st now because they knew you were here. So even if there’s nothing to say, they’d think of something, just to make a fuss and make you uncomfortable. Don’t you think so?”

  He did not reply. Only after he had finished lunch and satisfied his appetite for opium did he think of going over to Little Rouge’s.

  Constance told him repeatedly, “When you get there, if Little Rouge asks where you came from, just tell her you were here. If she raises matters that’re not of much importance, just meet her halfway. Even if you don’t want to do that, you should tell her nicely rather than play tough. Little Rouge is all right as a person; she’s just a bit stubborn. If you make things clear to her, she’ll take it all right. You’ll remember this, won’t you?”

  Lotuson answered in the affirmative and went downstairs. Instead of riding in the sedan chair, he took Talisman with him on foot. As they left the house, he saw a child dashing off southward; it looked like Pearlie’s son. He wanted to call him back, but it was too late. Lotuson headed north out of East Co-prosperity Alley and cut through a side lane into West Floral Alley. Pearlie was waiting for him at the door and went upstairs with him into Little Rouge’s room.

  Little Rouge was seated languidly by the window, playing with a pair of jade hairpins shaped like lotus pods. When she saw him, instead of getting up, she just sneered, “You never think of coming to our place if we don’t send someone to invite you. How much official business could there have been these couple of days that kept you so busy you couldn’t come at all?”

  He put on a smiling face and sat down. A smiling Pearlie picked up the conversation. “Well, Mr. Wang came the minute he was invited. You might say he gave us face; we weren’t humiliated. You should thank me for this, my maestro!” So saying, she wrung out a hot towel, put a cup of tea in the opium tray, and lit the opium lamp. “Please have a smoke, Mr. Wang.”

  He went and lay down on the honored side of the divan and started to smoke. Little Rouge said, “You suffer so, coming here! We’re all so clumsy, there’s nobody fit to fill the pipe for you.”

  “Who’s asking you to fill the pipe?” he replied with a smile.

  Pearlie, having performed her duty, made herself scarce. Lotuson had already sated his appetite for opium before he arrived, so after just one pellet he sat up and changed to the water pipe. Little Rouge showed him the pair of jade hairpins.

  “Did the jeweler bring these to show you?” he asked.

  “That’s right. I bought them at sixteen dollars. Is that more expensive than those at the teahouse?” she said.

  “You’ve got several pairs of jade hairpins already. What d’you want another pair for?”

  “You can buy a pair for someone else, but when I buy one, I’m in the wrong, is that it?”

  “I don’t mean it that way. You really don’t need more hairpins; just buy something else.”

  “I certainly shall, but that can wait. I may not need another pair of hairpins, but I was so angry I had to buy them to make you come up with another sixteen dollars.”

  “Then just take sixteen dollars and buy anything you like. These hairpins aren’t particularly nice, so don’t buy them. Fair enough?”

  “I’m not particularly nice, either, so how would I get to buy nice things?”

  He affected a hushed voice. “Aiyo! How modest our maestro is! Who doesn’t know the maestro Little Rouge of Shanghai? Not particularly nice, you say!”

  “How can I count as a maestro when I can’t even compare with a streetwalker? Why, being called maestro overwhelms me!”

  Knowing he was no match for her in this verbal contest, he dared say no more but just resumed his position on the divan and started to toast opium in silence. As he did so, he stole a look at her. She sat against the windowsill pouting, with her head hanging down, holding the pair of hairpins in her hands and carefully counting the number of lotus seeds on them with the tip of her fingernails. He felt very sorry for her but did not know what to say to comfort her. Just then, the menservants announced, “Mr. Wang’s friend is here.”

  Lotuson stood up in welcome. It was Benevolence Hong. The minute he came into the room he said, “Just now I went to look for you in East Co-prosperity Alley. When they said you were gone, I knew you’d be here.”

  Little Rouge offered him watermelon seeds and said smiling, “Mr. Hong, you’re certainly good at finding your friends. Mr. Wang has only just got here, and you’ve found him already. Mr. Wang seldom comes here, you know, he’s at East Co-prosperity Alley most of the time. Today, it’s just because we invited him that he condescended to drop in. He’ll be going back to East Co-prosperity Alley later. Next time you want to look for Mr. Wang, you should just go there. If he’s not there, then it’s hard to tell where he might be. Just wait at East Co-prosperity Alley, and you’ll be sure to see him, for when Mr. Wang finishes his business he always goes back there. That place is just like Mr. Wang’s residence.”

  As she went on and on about this, Benevolence Hong cut her short with a laugh. “Oh, stop that! Every time I’m here I hear you going at it. It’s enough to bore even me to death.”

  “You’re right, Mr. Hong. I’m not born to be good at chit-chat,” she replied. “So whenever I speak people are upset. I’m not like those who know how to talk and smile and make the client happy. That’s why even for a tea party the client prefers to go to them. It’s so cozy to go there with friends and have a chat, but if he comes here, he gets an earful of exasperating nonsense from me, and even his friends get upset. What would possess Mr. Wang to think of coming here?”

  Benevolence said in earnest, “Little Rouge, don’t be like this. Even if Mr. Wang is seeing Constance, he’s still affectionate toward you, so just let things be. If you insist that Mr. Wang should stop seeing Constance, it won’t mean much to him. He’ll just listen to you and not go there anymore. But it seems to me Constance is having a hard time, too, so if you let Mr. Wang look after her a bit, it’s charity on your part.”

  These words calmed her towering rage and left her without an answer. Benevolence Hong and Lotuson Wang talked about other matters. When dusk approached, Benevolence wanted to take his leave, but Lotuson stopped him and then went and whispered in Little Rouge’s ear. She said in response, “Then go. Who’s holding you back?”

  He said something more.

  “Whether you come here or not is entirely up to you,” she said.

  So Lotuson went out with Benevolence, both saying “after you.” Little Rouge took a couple of steps to see them out, murmuring, “Constance is waiting. You’ve got to look in or you’ll feel out of sorts.”

  “I’m not going there,” he said smiling as they went downstairs and out the door.

  “Where to?” Benevolence asked.

  “To your girl’s place.”

  The two of them went north heading for Twin Pearl’s in Sunshine Alley via Co-security Alley. As Lotuson had once summoned Twin Jade to a party, Clever Baby led him into her room. Benevolence Hong followed him in and saw Twin Jade lying in bed. He walked over to her and asked, “Are you not well?”

  Twin Jade patted the side of the bed and said with a smile, “Do sit down, Mr. Hong. Sorry about this.”

  He sat down to chat with her. Twin Pearl came over from the opposite room to exchange a few words of greeting with Lotuson and invited him to smoke opium, while Clever Baby filled the water pipe for Benevolence.

  Benevolence saw it was a silver one and then spied a row of five water pipes displayed on the dressing table, all silver. “How come Twin Jade has so many silver water pipes?” he asked in surprise.

  “That’s because my mother fawns on Twin Jade,” Twin Pearl said teasingly.

  When Twin Jade heard this, she protested in mock vexation, “Elder Sister always talks nonsense! Mother fawning on me, indeed; what a joke!”

  Smiling, Benevolence asked for the story. Twin Pearl said, “You remember the incident of the silver water pipe last time? Well, Twin Jade told a guest to get her one, so Mother took all t
he silver water pipes left by Eldest Sister and Second Sister and gave them to Twin Jade, while Twin Jewel didn’t even get one.”

  “If that’s the case, why are you feeling unwell again?” he said.

  Twin Jade answered, “I’m running a fever. I had guests playing mah-jongg here the night before last, and I didn’t get any sleep, that’s how I got this fever.”

  As they were talking, Lotuson Wang had toasted himself an opium pellet, but the bowl of the pipe was clogged up. Twin Pearl was the first to notice. “Come and smoke in my room. There’s an old pipe over there,” she said.

  They all went over to Twin Pearl’s room. Only then did Benevolence tell Lotuson which pieces of green jade jewelry he had bought and how much they cost and that everything had already been handed over to Constance in person. After that, Lotuson asked him, “Some people say Little Rouge has a lot of expenses herself, do you know what they mean?”

  After some pondering, Benevolence answered, “Little Rouge hasn’t any great expenses, except for taking carriage rides, which might add up.”

  Hearing that it was just carriage rides, Lotuson did not dwell on it any further.2 They chatted until the lamps were lit, when Lotuson took his leave hastily to keep his appointment with Little Rouge. Benevolence stayed for supper in Twin Pearl’s room. As an old client, he usually had casual meals there together with Twin Pearl and Twin Jade, and no extra dishes were ordered. But Twin Jade did not come over this evening.

  “Why is Twin Jade unwell every couple of days?” he asked.

  “Don’t you believe her! Running a fever indeed! It’s because Mother is too fond of her that she fakes illness.”

  “But why would she do that?” he asked.

  “The night before last, there wasn’t any call for Twin Jade to begin with, but just after Twin Jewel and I had gone out to parties, four chits came for her. There weren’t any menservants or sedan chairs at hand, so they went to call back Twin Jewel in a hurry. It happened that Twin Jewel was asked to follow her client to another party, so the menservants were told to take Twin Jade to her party in the sedan chair and then go and fetch Twin Jewel. By the time they had brought Twin Jewel back here and gone again to Twin Jade, it was getting late. When she got to her fourth party, it was over, and the client had left. When Twin Jade came back, she complained to Mother. Since she doesn’t like Twin Jewel, she said it was Twin Jewel who held things up and that Mother should scold her. Mother didn’t say anything because the client who wanted Twin Jewel to follow him to another party was in her room just then. That upset Twin Jade, and she went back to her room and started throwing things, making a real clatter! Then it happened that some guests came and played mah-jongg, and she didn’t get any sleep all night, so the next day she said she was unwell.”