Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 2 -1 2019 | Page 168

New Tales of the Ming Treasure Voayages
Island Christian Academy, Francillion, Piyali - 10
I woke up shivering with aching bones. It was early November. The sun was rising and the streets were
quiet. I looked at myself on a piece of shattered glass. My face was black with yesterday’s soot. I rushed to
get ready for a busy day.
I went to see Mr. Cheung, a local Nanjing priest. His temple, across our hut, was massive and popular but
Mr. Cheung remained humble. When I reached the temple he was on the dark end, lighting up candles.
“Mr. Cheung!” I shouted. “It’s me, Chen.”
He turned around and smiled.
“Ah Chen!” He said. “I have been waiting for you. Come, son.”
Since my father had died, Mr. Cheung was the one my family had to look up to and he was always willing
to help us out.
We walked down the corridor which led to the priest’s chamber. Mr. Cheung sat on one of the cushions
and rummaged through his drawer while I poured some Cha 1 into two bowls. Finally, he sat down in front
of me.
“Have you heard of Zheng, the famous Nanjing adventurer?” he started. “He is going on an expedition
tomorrow but his designated helper got injured and he is urgently looking for somebody reliable. Zheng’s
willing to pay about 100 gold coins, lodging and food. I can recommend your name if you are interested.”
I thought for a moment and then nodded.
“Great! I’ll tell your mother. For now, can you go dust the sculptures?”
The next day, after mom had finished packing my sack, I ran to the docks. There stood Zheng He. He
looked very different than in the paintings!
Beside him was the ship doctor, Pang. He pushed me aggressively as he followed Zheng. Someone told me
that Pang was Zheng’s favorite in the crew. He was totally fascinated by the boss and disliked anyone else
getting close to Zheng.
It was not long before we boarded the ship, excited for the adventure awaiting us.
Our first stop, a few days later, was the coast of Champa 2 . Zheng’s only intention was to refill our water
tanks there and shortly after we sailed off to continue our route south.
After another week of travel, we reached a beautiful beach in Siam 3 . Zheng ordered the crew members to
prepare our camp and to get some food for dinner. In the meantime, Zheng asked a few crew members to
go swimming with him. I was among the chosen ones. Zheng was starting to have confidence in me and the
complicity between us was growing. It did not take long before I got dirty looks of pure hatred from Pang.
At night, all of us gathered around the fire. We were quickly joined by locals attracted by our ship. Their
leaders shared some fresh coconuts with us. In return, we gave them some of the treasures we had in our
stock. We all enjoyed this moment of calm when we exchanged stories about our customs and traditions.
And, after a hearty dinner of dried fish and rice, a quick round of checkers and a game of cards, we went to
sleep.
When I woke up, everything was dull. I felt dizzy. I saw Zhao, my best friend on the ship, run up to me.
“Zhao. I feel… I feel...”
I had blacked out.
I woke up on a cotton bed, surrounded by people. Zheng and Zhao were there too.
Pang, the doctor of the ship stood in front of me.
“Chen, you have high fever!” He said.
I fainted again after hearing him mumble “He will die.”
1
Milk tea
Central Vietnam
3
Modern day Thailand
2