Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 1 | Page 64

Ming Treasure Adventures
St Stephen's College Preparatory School, Cheung, Elana - 6
Xiu Ting was only six years old when her older twin brothers, Li Ming and Li Hang, left their small village to
become pirates in the imperial Ming Treasure Fleet. Her brothers had always dreamed of seeing the foreign world, so
when they heard that the Emperor was looking for a crew of young men and women to sail the seas, they
immediately sent a letter to the imperial capital of Nanjing declaring their interest. Within weeks, they had packed
their bags and were ready for their journey.
However, both brothers did not have any sailing experience. Therefore, they were assigned roles onboard the
ship. Li Ming wanted to know how to make the cuisine of the world, so he joined the cooks. As they travelled
around the world, he learned about the different spices and dishes from the local people. Li Hang, on the other hand,
wanted to learn how to fight to protect the ship from dangerous pirates. So, he trained until he was ready for battle.
During their voyages, Li Ming and Li Hang explored many new places in the world. They visited Java, a beautiful
tropical island, and saw lots of interesting wildlife and beautiful scenery. The people there were friendly, and had a
colourful culture full of traditional music and dances. Li Ming and Li Hang danced and sang with the local people for
many days until it was time to leave. To thank the people, they gave them gold, silk, wine and precious jewellery.
The local people were very touched and thankful.
However, not all the people they met were friendly. On the way to Ceylon, pirates who wanted to steal their
treasure attacked the Ming Treasure fleet. But, Li Hang fought bravely with the other soldiers and defeated the
pirates. Luckily, when they reached Ceylon, the nice local people gave them delicious curries and thanked them for
defeating the evil pirates. Li Ming learned a lot about cooking spicy food from the local people, and when they left
the island, the people of Ceylon gave them different spices to take back to China. Using these spices, Li Ming was
able to cook a lot of delicious curves for the people on the ship.
Li Ming and Li Hang sailed the seas for seven years with the Ming Treasure Fleet, and visited as far as Africa.
When they came back home, Xiu Ting was thirteen years old. They told her of their many adventures, and of
everything they learned from the people of the world. “You can learn a lot of fascinating people by travelling the
world,” said Li Ming. “I also saw the most breathtaking natural scenery and manmade architecture. I’ll remember it
forever.”
From then on, Xiu Ting also decided that she wanted to become a pirate on the Ming Treasure Fleet like her
brothers. She studied hard at school, and when she was finally eighteen, she had her very own adventure.