New Tales of Old Shanghai
Stewards Pooi Kei Primary School , Chu , Ariel – 11
I
t has been a month since I have been to the library of Unfinished Stories . I felt that I needed to visit it . I called my friends and when they arrived at my front door , I pulled them into my bedroom where the library was hidden . I pulled out a book with the title “ Unfinished Stories Collection ” from my bookshelf . The book shelf vanished and in front of us was the library !
I stepped in and my friends followed . I began looking through the books on the never-ending bookshelves . Then , I saw a large book with a leather cover . The silvery words formed the title “ New Tales of Old Shanghai ”. I flipped open the cover and , surprisingly , the book wasn ’ t even written ! “ Lazy writers …” - my friend Crystina muttered . I gazed at the blank pages , wondering why the writer didn ’ t want to write the story . The writer ’ s name wasn ’ t labelled on the cover . I assumed that we would never find out .
“ Anyway , should we finish the story for the writer ?” - my friend Selina asked . I said yes and , at that very moment , a magic portal appeared right next to us . On the count of three , we hopped into the portal and travelled through a magic vortex . Within a few minutes , we were standing in front of a giant stone wall . Next to the wall was the rushing Huangpu river . “ I think we are in old Shanghai .” - my friend Jasmine said . Then , a farmer , pushing a vegetable cart came to us and asked , “ Who are you ?” I lied and said , “ We are from a foreign country , we come in peace !” I decided to keep our identity a secret since I didn ’ t know what his reaction would be if he knew we were from the future . The farmer said in return , “ Hello , strangers , welcome to Shanghai , our amazing city !” My friends raised an eyebrow , apparently their idea of ‘ amazing ’ was very different ! I reminded them that it ’ s the OLD Shanghai so we had to go along with the farmer ’ s idea . The farmer decided to give us a tour around the city . He put his vegetable cart aside and led us through a giant wooden gate . So we began our tour .
First , we visited a tea shop . The owners of the shop were a kind couple . They served us jasmine tea and the sweet scent of jasmine filled the atmosphere . Then , we went to the market square . There were many shops that sold fine china , silk , shoes and much more ! I bought a pair of purple shoes with flowers sewn on them . Lastly , we visited a temple . In the middle of the room was a glass case with a gold ring inside it . “ It ’ s beautiful !” - Crystina cooed . “ It was our founder ’ s ring . He left it here on the day our city was founded .” - the farmer said . We spent an hour looking around the temple . In the evening , we asked for a vacant room at an old inn in the market square near the temple . Our room had a great view of the temple . It was a moonless night and all was darkness . Although , not for long …
Moments after we ’ d settled down , a glimpse of light fell into our room . I saw it coming from the temple . We put on a few layers , grabbed a backpack and headed out to the temple . The chilly wind blew into our faces and we shivered . When the door creaked open , we spotted a masked person trying to lift the glass case and take the ring ! Selina quickly ran forward and punched the thief right in the face ! He passed out immediately . Crystina and Selina sealed the glass case with tape from my backpack while Jasmine and I made sure he couldn ' t escape . Just then , a man came in . I recognized him from a portrait in the temple . It was the founder himself ! “ I , founder of this city , thank you for stopping this thief from stealing my possessions . We shall have a celebration !” he said in a croaky voice . Together , we bounded up the thief and told a coachman to send him far away .
Next morning , when I looked out from the window , I saw the townspeople dressed in traditional Chinese outfits , setting off fire crackers and cheering . We put on the outfits that the founder gave us . Then , we headed to the festival . Everyone greeted us warmly . I noticed the founder was eyeing us , and then he went up to the farmer whom we ’ ve met before . He seemed to be interrogating him . I looked away and went to try some traditional Chinese festive food . Just then , the magic portal appeared next to the table of food . No one noticed its appearance . I whispered to my friends that it was time to leave . One by one , we walked into the portal . Before I stepped in , I