Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 12 | Page 404

The Shanghai Noodle Mystery
Sha Tin Junior School, Wong, Bob – 9
I
n Shanghai,1914, Xin Zheng, The Master Of Chinese Noodles was born. She was a master at the divine art of
making Chinese Noodle. Her Chinese noodles were as smooth as silk. Her noodles singlehandedly put
Shanghai on the international map.
Shanghai, 1965
Fai Zhang was born. His parents were Lin and Ya Zheng. His parents hated Xin Zhang because she would never
sell her priceless Chinese Noodle recipe for the chance to make the family rich. Fai Zheng was the star of the
family. Xin Zhang would like to teach him the art of Chinese noodles. Fai Zheng would often spend hours with
his aunt learning how to make Chinese noodles. But…
Shanghai, 1966
It was in the middle of a hot summer. The hot summer was burning.
On a hot, summer’s day, Xin Zheng said “Fai, would you care to give me the recipe for Chinese noodles? It’s just
beside the fan.
Fai Zheng was panicking. He couldn't find the Chinese noodle recipe. He decided to keep quiet and search again.
He saw the recipe glowing crimson.
“That’s odd”, Fai said. He touched it and the next thing he knew; he was being absorbed
into the recipe…
Ancient Shanghai, the Ming Dynasty
Fai Zheng tumbled headfirst into the pavement. His first thought was “Where am I?”
He was standing in front of the Imperial Shanghai palace. Immediately he was in the hands of two guards
muttering “Let’s take him to the visiting king for questioning”
Fai found himself in a courtroom full of guards and someone who looked like royalty.
“Tell me your story”, the king said.
Fai did, telling the king everything about himself and his aunt’s noodle recipe.
The king nodded. He said “We have known of a man called “The Forbidden One”. He steals priceless recipes to
sell for a lot of money. He might be after your aunt’s recipe. He often sneaks from dimension to dimension to steal
recipes. The recipes he steals turn crimson then transport the person who touches it here. “You might be able to
catch him in the “Warehouse of Doom”. It is a dangerous place that no person has entered for 300 years. Legend
says that the spirits of Chinese generals who were sent to the Cursed Realm still lurk there.”
Ancient Shanghai, Ming Dynasty
In the middle of the night, Fai snuck into the warehouse under the cover of darkness.
It was simple. He just had to sneak into the main room where rumours said, you could summon the cursed spirits
to take you anywhere. Fai hid behind the barrels. Soon enough, a dark figure entered the room. He checked for
intruders, then begin chanting.
Fai had no idea what that did, but he knew he had to stop the dark figure. Fai jumped and kicked the book out of
the dark figure’s hand. He saw his aunt’s noodle recipe in between page 104 and 105. He touched the recipe and
went flying out of the Ming Dynasty……
Modern Shanghai, 1965
Fai found himself back at the place where Xin Zheng lived. She didn't seem to notice him. Fai whispered ”What’s
the time?”. The answer that Xin Zheng gave him was shocking. It was the exact same time he left to the Ming
Dynasty. “I guess that means no more time traveling”, Fai said to himself.
The End