The 6^th Year of Qian Long

[September 1741]

The man looked at his drenched companions and said crossly, "Next time Ke Sun, buy stronger umbrellas." This was directed at one of his companions, a gawky thin man who looked embarrassed. The other two men looked at their unfortunate companion peevishly. They were both thinking the same thing, ‘Ke Sun’s in big trouble.’

"Si Ye," one of the companions, a brawny man reported, "There’s a house not too far off from here. We’ll ask the owner if we can crash at his place until the rain stops."

The man nodded and they trudged along the banks of Da Ming Hu in the direction of the house.

Their sources had said it was quite rainy in Shan Dong during summer. Upon arriving in Ji Nan, Si Ye had Ke Sun buy four oil skin umbrellas. Unfortunately, Ke Sun had tried to be clever and bought cheap umbrellas from a cut-price rogue hawker who had sensed he wasn’t from Shan Dong. The heavy downpour had poked millions of holes in the flimsy oilskin.

By the time they reached the house, all four were wet and miserable. The brawny man, Fu Heng, rapped on the door, praying that the owner would be kind enough to put them up until this downpour ended. He had heard that Shan Dong downpours were like waterfalls, heavy and seemingly never-ending.

A kindly woman in her late thirties opened the door. "Goodness me, my good sirs. Do come in quickly!" She let them in without even them asking who they were. The four men filed into the house gratefully. The woman then led them to the main living room.

"Husband, we’ve got guests!" The woman called out.

A smallish but distinguished-looking gentleman in his late fifties entered the main room. "Good evening, sirs. Welcome to my humble home. " He greeted them in his heavy Shan Dong accented dialect. Si Ye and his companions returned the greeting. The woman then left the five men in the room while she went off for towels and dry clothes.

Si Ye introduced himself, "My surname is Ai and my given name is Li. But my friends call me Si Ye. In my home, I’m the fourth child." He explained that he was a businessman from Beijing who had come to Shan Dong to conduct some business. He then introduced his companions; Long Do the accountant, Ke Sun his personal aide and Fu Heng his bodyguard.

The older man introduced himself, "My surname is Xia, as in Summer. My given name’s Yuan Zhi. ‘Yuan’ as in Faraway, and ‘Zhi’ as in Aspiration. My wife you’ve met. And Yu Her…Yu Her!"

"I’m here, Dad." A gentle voice like a clear silver bell spoke. A girl of about seventeen or eighteen entered the room, carrying towels and dry clothes. She was tiny, barely came up to Si Ye’s chin. He found himself admiring her willowy figure, discreetly of course.

"My only daughter, Yu Her." Mr.Xia said "Yu Her, meet our guests."

Yu Her smiled demurely, " Evening, good sirs. " She handed them the towels and clothes. "Mama said I was to take you to the guest room where you can change. Dad?" Yu Her glanced at her father.

Mr.Xia nodded. " See you later, sirs."

Yu Her led the four guests to the spare room that doubled as a guestroom. "Just leave your clothes here, sirs. I’ll see to it that they are washed and dried." She hesitated then continued, "We couldn’t find any clothes your size, only Dad’s spare clothes. I apologise if they’re too small for you."

"It’s alright, Miss Xia" Si Ye said magnanimously. "The important thing is that we all get warm and dry. Right gentlemen?" His companions promptly chorused their agreement.

Yu Her bowed and left. Si Ye found his eyes lingering on her retreating figure longer than what was considered polite. Remembering that he was a guest in this house, Si Ye hastily began drying himself and changing into Mr.Xia’s clothes.

**********

In the living area, Mr.Xia browsed through some books whilst Yu Her did some calligraphy. Father and daughter looked up when their guests returned.

It took every bit of self-control to keep herself from laughing. Dad’s clothes were too small for their guests who were all nearly 12 "chi" tall. The trousers ended above their ankles whereas the shirtsleeves ended a long way from the wrist. Her sides shook as she tried to contain the giggles that threatened to erupt.

Mr.Xia glared at his daughter and she fled into the kitchen next door, giggling. He apologised to his guests, "Forgive me, sirs. My daughter can be impudent at times."

Si Ye replied amiably, "Never mind, Mr.Xia. Actually we should be thanking you for letting us shelter and for loaning us dry clothes." Truth was, Si Ye did feel rather foolish but the only other option was to go naked. It would have been rude to barricade themselves in the guestroom so they had swallowed their prides and went to the living area.

Mr.Xia still looked distressed. "Sirs, at least allow me to make it up to you by treating you all to lunch."

"Mr.Xia, you really shouldn’t. We’re just here until the rain stops and we shouldn’t really be imposing on your family. And please, call me Si Ye."

"Please sirs. I insist."

"Very well, we’ll join your family for lunch." Si Ye turned his attention to the calligraphy. The writing was especially graceful and delicate. " You wrote these?"

"My imp of a daughter did," Mr.Xia replied, with a slight touch of pride.

Si Ye scrutinised the calligraphy. It was labelled [Gold Ingots].

[Gold Ingots

Drop them in mud

Smear them with ink

Mix them with copper coins

The value still doesn’t change

If only we could regard our own worth like a Gold Ingot]

The simplicity and the forthrightness of the words appealed to Si Ye. "It’s very good. With such calibre, I wouldn’t be surprised if this writing was selected as top during the imperial exams."

"Thank you Mr.Ai, you’re too kind." Yu Her had re-entered the living room with a plate of steaming dumplings.

earlier. It wasn’t very nice of me."

"My dear girl, Mr.Ai and his friends may have let you off but your dear old dad hasn’t," Mr.Xia said dryly. "You are hereby sentenced to cook lunch and dinner today. On your own. Now shoo."

"Dad!" Yu Her pouted but obliged him anyway.

Si Ye found his eyes unwittingly following Yu Her as she disappeared into the kitchen. Something about the way she pouted quickened his heart. Her simple but meaningful poetry and her graceful writing had sparked his interest in her. He wanted to talk to her and to know her a little better but their current circumstances were not ideal. Si Ye reluctantly turned his attention to Mr.Xia.

"Now gentlemen, try some of our famous Shan Dong dumplings. I guarantee you, it’s the real thing, not the rubbish some cut-throat roadside hawkers feed you" Mr.Xia invited his guests to have a seat.

It was a wonder they all managed to sit comfortably, considering how tight the trousers were. As the topic of conversation shifted from Shan Dong dumplings to poetry and the Four Books, Si Ye found his thoughts occasionally flitting back to Yu Her.

**********

By the time lunch was ready, the "stag party" was in full swing. Mr.Xia and his guests were involved in heated discussion about the need for a navy.

"Si Ye, I’m afraid I have to disagree with you. Look at the late Ming dynasty. With their navy, they even reached as far as the West Coast of India. "

"In my humble opinion, Mr.Xia, an international navy is out of the question currently. The land borders of the Qing Empire currently stretches thousands of ‘li’ and guarding these borders requires money. " Si Ye added a little too vehemently, "The Ming Dynasty collapsed as a result of excessive extravagance and having an international navy was *and* is still an extravagance. If we needed a navy, one for guarding the coasts and beaches of China will suffice."

Mr.Xia noticed that Si Ye seemed rather hostile at the mention of the Ming Dynasty but decided that he was just enthusiastic in defending his opinion.

"Dad, gentlemen, lunch’s ready!" Yu Her announced. " I’m sorry gentlemen but you’ll have to agree to disagree for now."

"Yu Her," Mr.Xia said sternly, "Can’t you see that we’re having an important conversation now?"

She looked back unflinchingly. " Dad, our guests are hungry. * You *are hungry. *I *am hungry. Mama is hungry. Besides, you always told me that intelligent conversation is best avoided on an empty stomach."

As if on cue, Ke Sun’s stomach rumbled loudly. Yu Her looked at her father with a triumphant expression on her face. Mr.Xia grumbled," Stubborn young lady" as he followed his guests and Yu Her into the dining room.