Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 2020complete | Page 564

Xiao Lu observed Uncle Shek with punctilio to ensure that she would do everything right
in lighting the joss sticks, like where to place them. Uncle Shek was a stickler for getting
things right.
Xiao Lu’s family roots were in Foshan. Her great great great grandparents had farmed the
lands and raised family, and this had continued through the generations until about 50
years ago. Uncle Shek was the last farmer before technology took over everything in
Foshan. They call it the Farming Technology Revolution. Now drones and automated
machines do all the farming. Uncle Shek still reminisces about the old times.
Uncle Shek laid out the dishes. Chicken marinated to perfection, assorted vegetables,
fresh fish with a delicious sauce and a lovely boiled soup. “A delicious dinner Uncle.
Lucky I’m not living with you otherwise I would get very fat indeed!” Xiao Lu joked.
“You youngsters are not getting the exercise we once did. You don’t even walk these
days. Its always drones. Drone here, drone there.”
“That’s why I’m in the gym every day, Uncle. More people walk and exercise on the
pavements now that there is less vehicle traffic. More space is made available.”
“Well, they should take advantage of it. Health is Wealth”.
“Thank you for the wonderful dinner.”
Uncle Shek always had the last say. They embraced before Xiao Lu stepped into the
drone and gave the drone instructions to go home.
When she got home, she planned the next day’s activity. Maybe venture into Macao? It
is a bit crowded there with the entertainment complexes and theme parks. Macao had
changed since its gambling enclave days. Gambling casinos were still around but those
were overshadowed by the theme parks, entertainment theatres and family leisure parks.
Tourists from all over the world converged onto Macao at all times of the year. Drones
had to be shared due to the limited drone parking spaces.
-2 weeks later-
The drone lands outside the Hong Kong restaurant He Wei booked on the 8 th floor. The
receptionist greets Xiao Lu on the balcony and shows her in.
He Wei is seated at the table and stands up.
“You’re finally here! It’s great to see you in person again.”
Food is brought to them by a combination of robot and human waiters. The human
element is still essential in the service industry.
They catch up and talk nonstop. It’s 3 hours by the time they finish the meal.
“It’s my turn!”. He Wei pays. The itemized bill image floats and appears in front of her
one foot away. He Wei says “OK” to the bill, and the bill is settled.
“You know in the past, waiters had to bring paper bills, take your credit card, process it
on a machine and then bring it back to you to sign?” Xiao Lu said, having done some
research on the old videos that were archived.
He Wei raised her eyebrows. “That doesn’t sound efficient at all! You’re always giving me
bits and pieces of history. It’s my turn now. You know what, Shenzhen now has the
world’s largest stock market by market capitalization.” He Wei worked in the financial
industry.
Xiao Lu chuckled. “That doesn’t surprise me. Global Tech companies which have listed
in Shenzhen for the past 20 years have been phenomenal.”
“Everyone wants to be in Shenzhen. But to be fair, Hong Kong is not doing too badly as
well. I travel to Shenzhen every other week. Takes me 10 minutes by drone. I prefer
living in Hong Kong. Still has its charm. The country parks for walking, the dai pai