Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 12 | Page 4

Huangpu River Mystery
Creative Primary School, Wong, Ching Kiu Adrian – 8
S
omewhere in the Earth about a hundred years ago, Shanghai had three cities called the International
Settlement, French Concession and the Old City. The first two cities were richer than the Old City. There was
a great river called the Huangpu River beside the three cities that all the people there depended on. The rich
people always threw poor people out of their way to get water and the poor people always went home late because
it took them so much time to get water from the river.
In some year in the 1920s, a mystery happened one night - Huangpu River dried up in one second flat. So the
stubborn villagers and warriors of the three cities began to fight between the cities the next day because they all
wanted water from the only underground water source at the border of the three cities.
In year 9899, there were two boys named Coolie and Roolie who were having a history lesson and they learnt
stories of the old Shanghai. After the lesson, the kids worried about the citizens, so they decided to go back in time
and help them to stop the war and help them to get water.
Roolie and Coolie went home and asked their dad, who was a Science professor, “ Can we build a time machine to
the 1920s?” they asked. “Oh well, no problem!” dad said. Hours and hours went by, the Funky Time Machine was
finally finished on the sixth night. “Then let’s have a try,” Coolie said. So they opened the portal and jumped into it.
They arrived to the 1920s in no time.
Roolie and Coolie saw roaring fire and collapsing towers. The people did not have enough water and so there were
no crops on their farms. They were starving to death. Roolie and Coolie tried to convince the town mayors to
build a salt water purifying plant at the end of the Huangpu River, so they could purify the sea water and let the
cleaned water flow into the Huangpu River and through pipes and into the people’s houses. All of the mayors were
surprised by their ideas and advanced skills that they all agreed to build it. After long hours of work of all citizens
from the three cities, the plant was finally completed. All the people, the rich and the poor, did not need to fight for
water anymore. Roolie and Coolie were called the ‘Peace Mayors’ of the Huangpu River and the Mayors and
citizens rewarded them a precious mineral of the river as an appreciation. Roolie and Coolie joyfully jumped back
to year 9899 through the portal in no time. This was how the mystical adventure ended.
The next day, when Roolie and Coolie were in history lesson again, they found their legendary work mentioned
in their history textbook! As for the precious mineral, it is now kept in the History Science Museum in a 10-meter
glass case as an important exhibit.