The New Tales of Old Shanghai
Heep Yunn Primary School , Au Yeung , Ingrid – 11
I
t was the year of 1932 , in the old streets of Shanghai , stood an old ‘ tent ’ made of rags . A young girl of 16 was weeping . Big fat tears ran down her cheeks . All because of this wicked war , she began to think ; I have lost my mother , father , and even my baby brother ! The girl was called Mei Ling .
Her mind flew back to a few days ago … She was going the forest to find something for dinner when the soldiers of Japan came into her home and took her mother to be a comfort woman , killed her father and took all their food ! And now her brother did not have enough milk so he passed away …
Sitting in the shabby hut , Mei Ling ’ s eyes glowed with anger . She promised herself that the men of Japan would not win .
Now , I would like to inform all readers that Mei Ling was a very stubborn person . Once she had made up her mind about something , she would certainly not change her decision . Now , she was as determined as ever .
Suddenly , ‘ click ’ went her brain , she had thought of something ! ‘ Call me a genius ,’ she muttered as a big grin stretched across her face . All she needed was a good night ’ s sleep and a good brain to persuade .
Meanwhile , two girls were walking in the forest near Mei Ling ’ s home . Ming and Yi had travelled from Hong Kong to seek help from the people of Shanghai . Suddenly , two soldiers from Japan appeared to stroll in the woods . The two girls quietly made way to Mei Ling ’ s tent went inside and patted Mei Ling awake . ‘ Who are you ?’ said Mei Ling surprised . ‘ We are Ming and Yi , nice to meet you .’ Mei Ling was very tired so she let the two girls sleep beside her .
The next morning , the girls introduced themselves properly . Mei Ling found out that Ming and Yi were orphaned sisters . They had come to Shanghai to find adoptive parents , but then realised that Shanghai was at war . So , they decided to help . Also , the girls were especially good with a sword because they had learnt Kendo from an early age .
At noon , after lunch , they set out . Travelling by little donkeys , they made their way into town . When they reached a door of any family , they would knock and ask if any of the occupants knew any kind of martial arts . If there were , they would ask if they were willing to join the army they were recruiting . By the end of the afternoon , they had an army of 600 men . They arranged to meet at the town plaza the following morning , armed with weapons and then wait for a signal to tell the mayor about their plan . They all went home to have some peaceful sleep .
The following morning , the girls arrived at the town plaza early . It was because the mayor of Shanghai , Mr . Tong was about to have a speech with the remaining soldiers of Shanghai , which were only a few thousand , as had died in the battles before .
The speech began , ‘ Dear soldiers , the Japanese army have arrived in our beautiful country . Although we are out-numbered by a few hundred soldiers , let ’ s give them a taste of their own medicine !’ The soldiers cheered at the mayor ’ s words although they knew there was not much hope .
Suddenly , a small sized bomb blew up and the mayor was blasted off the stage . The Japanese soldiers formed a tight circle around the Chinese soldiers but failed to see the recruited citizens in hiding .
Mei Ling quietly made a signal to her army . They were going to help . Mei Ling quietly made her way behind a few Japanese soldiers ; she jerked her head at her army ’ s direction and signalled others to follow her lead . When all the citizens took her places , she took the dagger out of her belt and waited for the others to take out their weapons . Mei Ling smiled to Ming and Yi , with a confident smirk on her face ; she stabbed the dagger into the Japanese soldier ’ s back and then retracted the knife quickly to stab another approaching soldier . While the citizens were fighting , a Japanese general called Akio slipped away . He was a very cowardly general and he wanted to escape . After dodging around , he found that he had no hiding place .
The general made his way back to the battlefield . When he reached it , a horrible sight greeted his eyes , the Chinese were winning .