Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 3 - 2017 | Page 485

The New Tales of Old Shanghai
The Independent Schools Foundation Academy, Wang, Peter - 12
I
am San Mao and I am known for the best adventures that I have been through. I was previously a cook. But now, I am retired
and spend my time writing books. 1930 Shanghai is a far cry from the 1980s. This is a “short” extract from my diary.
The bright beam of the sunlight woke me up, as I lied on the prickly dry haystack. My name is San Mao, I cook for the exasperated
workers from the French Concession organized by the French. We, the people of Shanghai, were colonized by the French, British,
Russians and Japanese. HUSH! The workers are snoring like boars. I can now quietly prepare their breakfast whilst they sleep. I
cook far from the camp, I don’t want to get beaten up by Chi Ling, he’s the strongest of all the workers.
OUCH! My pale face touched the steaming hot pot and it felt like a sauna. Trust me, cooking forty bowls of dumplings and
noodles is tedious. Perhaps I can add a rat’s tail to spice up breakfast. They wouldn’t find out!
***
Just finished serving breakfast. Those impertinent workers didn’t even say Thank you, that’s a damp squid . The workers actually
look like they are enjoying the meal. Maybe a rat’s tail is delicious? I should add some to my meal, just joking! I wouldn’t dare put
a rat’s tail in my meal!
We sat on our Pedicab. It’s basically like a tricycle but with seats to put objects on. We traveled through the nongtang, a Shanghai
lane. Some mischievous children ran across us playing with matches, with their mom chasing after them. Chi Ling rode his Pedicab
and crashed into mine and raced to the cotton factory. There he collected all the cotton for the clothes and put it all at the back
of the seat. What a show-off.
***
Smell the aroma of roses, we are on the Wai Bai Du Bridge. The Wai Bai Du Bridge is of course the most famous bridge in
Shanghai. I had finished cooking the delicious noodles with chicken soup when all of a sudden, Chi Ling crashed into me and we
both tumbled down to the edge of the bridge. I grabbed on to the edge and Chi Ling grabbed onto my noodles like a rope. My
legs were dangling in the air as I held on for dear life. One wrong move could lead to the cause of my death! We were
“stranded”...(Get it? Strand_of_noodle?) Chi Ling ate the end of the noodle and as he climbed higher and higher, he also ate the
Wonton as it rained down from the sky, that fool was wasting my food! At the drop of a hat, we climbed back onto the bridge. Great!
This is the safest trip ever!