' No , Mother refused to ,' ' Independence practices , I see ,' She let out a chuckle . ' But I guess it is rather harsh this time .' ' You bet ,' ' Is the Kwok ' s order ready ?' Mrs . Waang bellowed , pushing the wooden door of the kitchenette open .
I stood by the door frame , sighing in contentment as the warm steam breezed by . January was intolerable in Shanghai , winds never took down a notch , they could not care less about slapping one across the face , rather , they were willing to punch one in full blast . The aroma of minced pork and ginger seeped into my nostrils , baiting me to fall in love with the buns here , nonetheless , I already had .
' Jing , hand me your basket , would you ?' Mrs . Waang poked her head out . ' No , rather , just come in .' ' If it isn ' t my favourite girl ,' Ah Wang , one of the chefs , beamed at me . ' Here with our boss today ?' ' Yup ,' I smiled politely , refraining from cringing at his greasy hair . ' Dad ' s back .' ' Good news , huh ?' He returned to his work . ' Haven ' t seen the guy myself for quite a bit .' ' That ' s what everyone says ,' ' It ' s the truth , my dear , it ' s the truth ,'
I nodded , shifting from one foot to another , observing in amazement as the kitchen operated in a brisk manner . Workers here were poles apart from the amahs at home , they never bickered , never quibbled , never gossiped , they performed their tasks with solemnity .
' Here you go ,' Mrs . Waang shuffled the basket forward into my arms . I stumbled backwards , the weight of the buns eating me away . ' Sacrificial for enjoying our food ,' She smirked . ' Worth it though ,' I puffed out a breath . ' You have quite a mouth on you , little miss ,' I laughed , ' I ' ll see you around , Mrs . Waang .' ' You know the way out ,' ' Goodbye and have a nice evening ,' ' You too , little one ,'
The sky was tinted with smears of red , eminent with tints of orange and yellow , swirling with a burst of warm colours . Patches of thin cloud wandered around , creating a pebble ceiling for the earth . The silhouette of moon could be seen with squinted eyes , craters obvious on the surface .
My shoulder bumped open the unlatched front door , which creaked in response . It was never locked , people sauntered in and out , it had become a tradition to leave the door agape , no one bothered to slam it shut .
I stumbled towards the kitchen , squeals of quibbles could already be heard outside . Our amahs were notorious for gossiping , they knew all the rumours going around the town ; they took the issues seriously , discussing them like men quarrelling over politics . My mom stopped minding them whiles later , it was futile .
' Aiya , why didn ' t you call out for us ?' Ping Jie rushed out , a scowl across her features . ' You guys probably couldn ' t hear me anyways ,' I rolled my eyes . ' She has a point ,' Someone belched out at the back . ' I ' m not going to shout for nothing , you know ,'
' Yeah , yeah , whatever ,' Ping Jie huffed . ' Your father ' s in the study , go find him now if you wish to speak with him alone , dinner ' s nearly ready .'
' Thanks ,' I scrambled out the door , scurried deeper into the house .
The door to the Study was unbolted , a small creak left open , a sign that Father was at home . He hated when the Study was closed , said it was troublesome to force it open ; the doorknob was broken , that was why , but he never
did remember to fix it . I got a glimpse of Father furiously jotting down notes on a paper , the cap of the pen rouletting on the desk , edging closer to the brim .