Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 3 | Page 263

A Peek into the Future
The Independent Schools Foundation Academy, Chan, Odessa - 11
Admiral Zheng He rubbed his hands together. This was going to be a journey he would be remembered by.
He looked up to the sky, and his heart skipped a beat. Splendid! He thought. Not a single cloud in the sky.
My voyage is already going terrifically. His colossal fleet were now sailing to India, where they could trade
for some spice called ‘pepper’. Apparently it was really good for cooking, and had a great taste.
Long days followed. Zheng He continued studying, and the fleet continued sailing. Then at long
last, the fleet entered the Indian coast.
“Bring the silk! Don’t forget the porcelain too!” Zheng shouted backwards to his men, running as
fast as he could, and believe me, it was faster than lightning. “And hurry!”
The Chinese were going to trade their silk and porcelain for the Indian pepper. They’d already
planned everything out; Zheng was going to let the girls dance for the Indian king Aarav, then he was going
to propose the gifts, and if all went well, the king would offer some pepper in return.
“Hi, we are traders from the East, and we’d like to see the Indian King Aarav.” Zheng He told an
armoured guard at the pier.
“Let me lead you to His Majesty. This way,” the guard told them. “By the way, what are you
going to trade for?”
“Oh, whatever is fine. Or maybe the pepper you have? It is quite famous, you know,” Zheng He
said, hinting .
“Our…. paper? I’m sorry, but we don’t have paper here. You must have gotten to the wro–”
“Pepper.” Zheng He pronounced it slowly again, interrupting.
“Oh! Pepper.” the guard smiled. “Yes, it is very famous,” he agreed. They were already in front of
the palace.
The palace was a majestic domed structure with white and gold columns and designs. They were
nothing like the palace of the Emperor Yongle back in China. Zheng He made sure to remember to tell the
emperor how it looked. That emperor sure loved other cultures.
When they arrived into the throne room, Zheng He bowed down to the Indian king, who was
dressed in a white and gold robe, matching to the walls of the palace. “Greetings, Your Majesty. I am Zheng
He, a visitor from China.”
“Are you some kind of entertainment? Come, and sit down. Let’s watch what you’ve got.” the
king had a strong Indian accent.
“Okay.” As Zheng He hesitantly walked over to his seat, he kept his hands behind his back clasped
together, which was their signal for ‘dancing time’.
The beautiful dancing girls the fleet had brought with them started dancing with their silk dresses
and long sleeves. As they danced, Zheng He decided that it was time to propose his gifts to the king. “King
Aarav, if you don’t mind, I’d like to propose to you some small gifts.”
“How small are you talking about?”
“Like some silk, some porcelain, or maybe another silk robe for you?” Zheng He smiled sort of
cunningly. He knew that every emperor or king loved new clothing.
“Let me see it first.” the king still demanded.
Zheng raised one eyebrow to indicate ‘stop the dancing, and bring out the gifts now’, and the
admiral’s assistant brought a bundle of silk, some porcelain cutlery and lastly purple and gold robe for the
king.
“Wow…” the king gasped, looking wide-mouthed at the gifts Zheng He was offering. “I…. I
don’t know how to thank you for this…” At this point, the king was practically speechless. His advisor
standing by him whispered something in his ear.
“Ah, yes, okay,” the king muttered back, and the advisor retreated to his spot. “I shall, in turn, give
you people a pot full of our precious pepper.” He announced.
Score! Zheng He’s heart was dancing with joy. Then, he felt there was something he needed to do.
Right away. I need the bathroom!
“I need the bathroom, Your Majesty. Where might it be?”
“Oh, of course. Here, I’ll bring you there.” the king answered, and quickly rose accompany Zheng
to the bathroom. No one seemed to notice why the king was offering to bring a total stranger to the
bathroom, when he could just ask one of his servants to do so.
Once the others were out of earshot, the king whispered to Zheng: “Truthfully, our pepper isn’t
that precious. India is an interesting country, but we don’t have anything valuable enough to thank you for
your gifts, but one thing. So here’s what I’m going to do; I am going to let you try out my engineers’ latest