Reunited in Old Shanghai
Korean International School , Tong , Leia Chi Lok – 9
I
t was just an ordinary day in Shanghai in the 1920 ’ s . During this time Shanghai seemed to be run by the
“ Green Gang ”, a secret society . The leader of the Green Gang was a man called Qiang Shang , a notorious gangster , who was well-known by the local police .
Qiang Shang was a very busy man but he loved going to the movies . At the moment , his favourite movie star was Jing Tien . She was a young actress and the daughter of Jing Fung , an official in the Shanghai government . Her latest movie was called , " Tales of Lost Love ”, and it was about a soldier who fell in love with the daughter of the Emperor . Qiang Shang watched that movie at least 20 times .
Meanwhile , Jing Tien was busy filming her new movie and was collected everyday by a rickshaw driver who would pick her up in the morning , take her to her studio for rehearsals , and drop her home in the evening . The rickshaw driver was called Jiao Ring and he had been pulling rickshaws since he was 14 years old . He had always worked very hard and now , at the age of 42 , had bought his own rickshaw and managed to pay for his 2 children to go to school .
One morning , Jing Tien received a letter , she opened it to find out it was from Qiang Shang . She had never met him before but there were often rumours about him in the newspaper and whisperings from her father . Imagine her surprise when she found out that it was actually a love letter with a marriage proposal . She did not know what to do so , she did the next best thing and told her parents . Her father was even more shocked than Jing Tien .
The very next day , Jing Fung went to see Qiang Shang to ask him about the letter . He demanded to know why Qiang Shang wanted to marry his daughter when he had never met her before . Unexpectedly , Qiang Shang began to cry and explained that he had always wanted to be an actor but his father , who had started the Green Gang , had pushed him into the family business . After his father died , he felt that he had no choice but to carry on with whatever he did before . He told Jing Fung that he wanted to leave the Green Gang and set up his own movie studio . He wanted it to be the “ Hollywood of the East ”, and he wanted Jing Tien to be in all his movies as he had fallen in love with her while he watched her movies on screen . Jing Fung was speechless . He told Qiang Shang that he would need time to think about everything and talk to his daughter .
After he left , he went straight to the studio where his daughter was making her latest movie . He got into a rickshaw that was parked close by and gave the driver directions As the driver turned around , Jing Fung was shocked for a second time that day . The driver looked just like Qiang Shang , but it was Jiao Ring . The hair was certainly different , as were the clothes but he had the same eyes and nose ! Jing Fung asked Jiao Ring if he knew Qiang Shang but the rickshaw puller said that he had never heard of the Green Gang boss . When asked for more details about his family , the driver told him he did not remember his mother as she had died after he was born and that he grew up in an orphanage .
Jing Fung couldn ' t believe what he was hearing , was this rickshaw driver really the long lost brother of one of the richest man in Shanghai , was this possible ? The rickshaw driver took Jing Fung to the movie studio and told him he knew this place well because he drove the famous actress , Jing Tien , here every day , " That ' s my daughter !" he said .
There were just so many coincidences on that day .