Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 12 | Page 488
that I was perfectly fine. When my father came out from his bedroom, he immediately fainted. When he woke up,
I told him precisely what has happened. He used his last few dollars to get us a trip on the ma-che and sent us to
the hospital.”
“An hour later, he brought in twelve pipe smoking visitors. He told us they were Government Officials and he
wanted me to tell them what happened by the Huangpu River about an hour ago. I told them precisely what I
had told father. At first, they laughed. Then, when they had carefully inspected me and my brother’s injuries, they
stopped laughing and called someone named Official Ming. When that official discovered what had happened, he
naturally did a thorough check for landmines on all the roads in Shanghai. Then, he gave back my father’s title and
renamed him Official Lian of Jail-Management. He also gave my father a salary raise to about 120 RMB. He also
gave my family a huge residence on the Nan Jing Road, called the Lian Residence. We could live there as long as
my father kept on working for the government.”
“Sadly, the house is no longer there. It got knocked down in the early 20th century in the Cultural Revolution.
Mao Zedong said it was a waste of space. About that time, I was studying in the former Shanghai University with
Jun Liu. With my father passed away, my widowed mother lived with Yi Xin, who was studying in middle
school. So, we didn’t need that residence... The End.”
“I love your story, Nai-Nai!” Pei Qi exclaims. Kai Lin and Tian Hao nod in agreement.
“Okay now, little ones... time to sleep! We’ll each have a xiao long bao for breakfast tomorrow. Kai Lin and
Tian Hao also need to go to school too.” Nai-Nai says soothingly.
“Nai-Nai, when are Ba-Ba and Ma-Ma coming back?” asks Kai Lin suddenly.
“Not too long, when they earn enough money in Beijing to heal Ye-Ye’s lung cancer. He is a great pipe smoking
addict. Now, goodnight!”
“Goodnight Nai-Nai.” The three children chorus together. As the cold wind blows by, Kai Lin switches off the
bed light and grandma closes the bedroom door behind her.