Courtesans and Opium Read online

  The others were aware that Wei Bi was the son of the candidate for the Lianghuai region, and since he wanted to swear brotherhood with them, they were more than willing to do so.

  “Then let’s take a boat out to the Emperor Guan Temple on Little Gold Hill20 tomorrow and offer incense. We’ll meet at first light in the Jinyuan noodle house on Progeny Street. Everything will be on me. We don’t need to make fools of ourselves by imitating those vulgar types who chip in together for their pig’s head drinking parties. What do you say?” At first they were unwilling and politely demurred, but when they saw that Wei Bi was in earnest, they accepted.

  As they finished their afternoon tea, Yuan You urged Lu Shu to come back for supper, but he firmly declined. “I need to speak to my uncle this evening. I’ll expect to see you in the morning.” Yuan You did not like to press the point. He told the waiter and the tobacco vendor to put the cost of the tea on his account, and then he and his guests left the teahouse and went their separate ways.

  Early the following morning, Wei Bi gave an order to one of his servants: “Go down to the dock at Little East Gate and hire a large boat with a big awning. I’ll be waiting to hear from you at the Jinyuan noodle house.” The servant left on his errand.

  Wei Bi was accompanied by his page, who carried under his arm a multicolored foreign-print canvas bag with a floral design and a jade green silk lining. It contained a sleeveless jacket of medium-blue satin lined with white pongee, a foreign-print apron, a little white copper wash basin, towels of Korean cloth, a spittoon of Guangzhou pewter, a register for the brotherhood ceremony, a writing brush, an inkstone, and so on. He also carried in his hand a blue cloth bag containing a white copper water pipe, a tobacco case, paper spills, and so forth. They left by the main gate of the compound and headed straight for the Jinyuan noodle house on Progeny Street.

  If you wish to know what happened, you must turn to the next chapter.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Demanding payment of a loan, Yuan You creates a

  disturbance in a noodle house;

  Displaying the power of office, Wei Bi impounds a pleasure boat.

  Accompanied by his page with the canvas case and the water-pipe bag, Wei Bi left the compound and went along First Lane,1 then turned east and continued on through Little East Gate until he came to the Jinyuan noodle house on Progeny Street, where in the inner room he was welcomed by the waiters. He picked out a large table in the center, while his page took himself off to the front room and set the two bags on one of the tables there. In the inner room a waiter approached Wei Bi’s table, called out “Sir,” wiped the table with a cloth, and poured him tea in a covered cup. “How many guests would you be expecting, sir?” he asked.

  “There’ll be five of us altogether,” said Wei Bi. The waiter set out five pairs of chopsticks, ten or more paper mats, and eight or nine small dishes, then stood off to one side in readiness.

  A few minutes later, Jia Ming and Yuan You came in and exchanged greetings with Wei Bi. Then, before they had even taken their seats, Lu Shu arrived, and the other three called him over. They sat down, and the waiter poured out three more cups of tea.

  “Many thanks for your hospitality yesterday,” the other guests said to Yuan You.

  “Oh, not at all.”

  As they sat drinking their tea, Yuan You suddenly noticed someone going upstairs and leapt to his feet, declaring, “I’m afraid I’ll have to leave you for a moment. I’m going upstairs, but I’ll be back soon.”

  Before long the others heard a table being pounded upstairs and Yuan You’s voice raised in anger. Jia Ming promptly rushed up and found Yuan You in a quarrel with someone he knew, a man named Zheng Huan, style Guanzhi, who served as a clerk in the accounts department of the Salt Administration.

  Yuan You and Zheng Huan both called out to him, and he joined them at their table and asked Yuan what the trouble was. “Last year, in the twelfth month,” Yuan said, “Master Zheng was kind enough to ask me to arrange a loan of thirty taels discounted ten percent at three percent interest a month.2 He undertook to pay the sum back at the end of the third month, but on the due date not only did he fail to pay, he went into hiding and kept giving me the slip. Time after time I dashed over to his place to pay my respects to his lordship, but each time the steward was ready with an excuse: either he had left the day before to spend the night with some mistress, or he hadn’t returned from a banquet at some brothel or other. I’ve lost count of how many times I got up early in the morning to look for him, and I can’t tell you how much sleep I’ve missed while chasing all over the city after this will-o’-the-wisp. I’ve worn out my shoes looking for him! Every day the lender quarrels with me, accusing me of cheating him out of his money. And now, by a great piece of luck, I run into Master Zheng and ask him for the money—and he still gives me the runaround! I tell you straight; if he has the money, well and good, but if he doesn’t, I’m going to go down to the county yamen with him and start proceedings. I’ll bring a little business to my friends among the runners. We’ll soon see whether as broker I’m within the law or not.”

  Zheng Huan turned to Jia Ming. “Brother, let me tell you what happened. I used to be on good terms with Brother Yuan. More than once we’ve shared in the proceeds from a piece of business. Back in the twelfth month I was indeed obliged to him for arranging a loan of thirty taels. I expected to pay it back at the end of the third month, but there’s a case of mine that hasn’t yet come to hand, which is why I’ve put off repayment so far. It was my fault that he had to go back and forth several times without finding me in, and it’s no wonder he’s angry. I would just like to plead for an extension until the Dragon Boat Festival, when I’ll pay back both principal and interest.”

  “I don’t want to be cynical,” said Yuan You, “but no matter what you do now, you will not be able to get by.”

  “But Brother Yuan!” exclaimed Jia Ming. “You started out on good terms with him, and now he just wants you to give him a few more days so that he can repay you in full. Why all this fuss over a few taels?”

  “Brother Jia,” said Yuan You, “you simply don’t understand what I’ve had to put up with. The lender is another Jie or Zhou.3 If you borrow money from him for a three-month term and repay it just one day late, he’s very unhappy. I knew my brothers would mock me, but business was slow, so I handled this loan for Master Zheng—all for a commission that will barely pay for my cup of tea! The lender’s a man who always expects to get his way, and this debt of Master Zheng’s has come as a shock to him. Even I am flabbergasted by it. As far as postponing repayment is concerned, that’s out of the question. The loan will have to be turned over to another lender. Only if Master Zheng is prepared to put up with a little grief will he be able to get by.”

  “I’ll do anything you suggest,” said Zheng.

  Yuan You continued. “There’s just one solution: find another lender and borrow money from him, then pay back what you owe to this tyrant. Well, Master Zheng, what do you say to that?”

  “Whatever you suggest.”

  “There’s also one rather awkward matter that I have to bring up. You’ll need to provide me with another document that I can use to find a new lender.”

  “Of course.” He sent the waiter off to the stationer’s for a sheet of lined document paper with a revenue stamp on it. The waiter also brought out a container of ink and an old writing brush and set them on the table.

  Zheng Huan was about to start writing when Yuan You said, “Wait a moment, Brother. Let me do the calculations for you.” He called to the waiter to bring him an abacus. As he worked, he supplied an explanation to Zheng Huan: “The original loan was for thirty taels, which is overdue by fifty days. You will need to accept a transfer fee of three taels. For the overdue period, let’s make it two months instead of three; you’ll have to pay one tael eighty in interest. Altogether, you’ll need to repay fifty taels, of which five will be the discount, four fifty will be the interest for three months, one
fifty will be the broker’s fee, and another one fifty will be the cost of the silver, to which we must add another tael for checking its quality. Clearing your debt completely comes to forty-eight taels thirty.4 That leaves just one tael seventy, and I’d be much obliged if I could have that for a new pair of shoes.”

  “By all means take it, Brother,” said Zheng. Picking up the brush, he completed the document.

  This certifies that the undersigned will pay fifty taels of the finest

  grade of silver as weighed according to standard measure.

  By the hand of year month day Zheng Guanzhi

  Guarantor, Yuan Youying

  Zheng signed beneath his name. “I have you to thank for this, Brother,” he said.

  “I’d better add my name to yours so I can give the paper to someone to line the bottom of his trunk with,” said Yuan with a smile as he signed.

  Zheng presented it to him. “Thank you for all you’ve done for me.”

  “I spoke out of turn just now,” said Yuan as he took it. “But I can’t begin to tell you how much harassment I’ve had to take from that lender, on top of which I’ve had to chase around after you for weeks on end. When I caught sight of you today, I was simply livid. I hope you’ll forgive me for being so rude.”

  “Entirely my fault. I gave you a great deal of trouble. When the loan has been paid, I’ll come and thank you again.”

  “We’re friends, after all,” said Yuan You. “We can dispense with the formalities.” He took up the newly signed document and arranged to meet Zheng at the Futura teahouse on the following day, when he would return the thirty-tael promissory note that Zheng had signed before.

  Zheng called for a waiter and gave orders to cook noodles for them, but Jia Ming and Yuan You intervened: “We have friends waiting for us downstairs. We need to leave you now.”

  Zheng Huan saw they could not be persuaded. He thanked Yuan You again and repeated his invitation: “If you can’t do me the honor today, I hope you will do so some other time.”

  Jia Ming and Yuan You took their leave and went down to the courtyard, where they found Wei Bi talking to one of his servants. He appeared to be angry, and the servant was saying “Yes, sir, certainly, sir” as he left. Jia and Yuan went back and sat down at their table, where Wei Bi joined them.

  “This morning I sent a servant around to the dock at Little East Gate to hire a large boat,” said Wei Bi, “and just now he came back and told me the man in charge was demanding a four-dollar commission for holding the Peony Market for us. My servant offered him two dollars, but the boatman said that if he wanted a boat for two dollars, he’d just have to stay there and occupy it himself. They got into an argument, and the boatman, with a crowd of others backing him up, was about to beat my man, so he came back and reported to me. I’ve just sent him to the family compound to get my father’s card and take it over to the Ganquan county yamen, where he’ll insist that they impound a big boat for us at the Little East Gate dock. Let’s see if they dare to ignore that! What do you think, gentlemen, wasn’t that a despicable thing to do?”

  “These boatmen are like dogs that can never get enough,” said Yuan You. “But when it comes to stocking up their own boats with provisions, they’re like turtles that vanish beneath the waves.”

  At this point Wu Zhen finally bustled in, exchanged greetings with everyone, and took his seat. The waiter poured him a cup of tea. “How much did you smoke last night that you couldn’t get up in time this morning?” asked Yuan You.

  “I was afraid I might sleep in and miss our appointment, so I did take a bit more than usual last night, but I couldn’t get to sleep. Then at dawn they brought us the news that my mother-in-law had passed away. Because I was going out with you gentlemen, I couldn’t attend the laying in, so I went over and paid my respects before rushing on here. Unfortunately, I’ve arrived too late and held you up, for which I apologize.”

  “Never mind that! We’re all famished, so let’s start the noodles!” said Yuan You.

  Wei Bi told the waiter to heat up a catty of sorghum liquor. He also ordered four fried dishes and five servings of the one-qian two-fen5 noodles, as well as five servings of the six-fen noodles for the servants in the outer room. After asking what topping they would like, the waiter went off to see to the noodles. Before long he was back with the liquor and set out five wine cups. Then he heated up a bowl of shredded bean curd in the finest soup. He brought out the dishes of fried food one by one, then served the noodles to each of the guests. As they drank, they finished the noodles and then wiped their hands and faces.

  While they were chatting over their tea, the servant who had reported to Wei Bi came back with a man wearing a red tasseled cap, a blue cotton gown, black cloth boots, and holding a black paper fan. The servant approached and stood at Wei Bi’s elbow: “Sir, this is a messenger from the Ganquan county yamen,” he said, pointing to the man. “I returned to the compound and took your father’s card to the yamen, where I had a word with the men on the gate. They at once issued the order to impound and sent this man with me to the dock. A large boat, the Fuchunyou,6 is being held for you.” Wei Bi nodded.

  The messenger came forward and presented himself: “Sir!”

  “Many thanks,” said Wei Bi. “If you’ll come along to the compound tomorrow, you’ll receive a little something for your trouble.” He told his servant to take the man to the outer room for some noodles.

  “Well, the boat’s been seen to,” said Jia Ming. “But don’t say we’re going to be the only ones on board? That would be too dull for words. Why don’t we get Brother Wu’s favorite to join us for a little fun?”

  “But she can’t play or sing,” said Wu Zhen. “It would be worse than having a deaf-mute on board. I’ve heard there’s a new girl called Fragrance at the Jinyulou in the Scripture Repository7 outside Tianning Gate, and that she’s outstanding in talent as well as looks. Why don’t we invite her?”

  “Great idea!” said the others. “When we’re through the sluice gate, let’s all go ashore at the Tianning dock and ask her.”

  After they had chatted a while longer, Wei Bi told his page to charge the noodles served at both tables to his account and then invited his companions to go to the dock. At Little East Gate they were hailed by the boatmen. The messenger from the yamen led them to the shore, where their boatman quickly rigged up a handrail. Wei Bi invited his guests to step up the gangway and take their seats in the cabin, while their pages either stood in the bow or sneaked off and hid in the stern. One of the boatmen confided to Wei Bi’s page: “We don’t provide tea, you know. Tell your master, and ask him if he wants us to buy him any tea, charcoal, or pastries.”

  The page reported this to Wei Bi, who told him to give several hundred cash to the boatman and ask him to buy those items, as well as large incense candles and a string of firecrackers. Before long the boatman returned with the purchases and asked, “Are we waiting for anyone?” Wei Bi said they were all on board and gave the order to start, at which the boatman cast off and pulled up the gangway. The messenger from the yamen waited until the boat was under way before returning. I need not relate how the next day he and the boatman presented themselves at the Wu compound to collect their pay.

  Inside the cabin Wei Bi turned to his companions. “I hesitate to put myself forward like this, but yesterday you were kind enough to accept my idea of forming a brotherhood. So let me ask each of you for the eight characters of your birth.” He told the page to take the brotherhood register, brush, and inkstone from the canvas bag and place them on the table, then get some water to mix with the ink.

  Each of them gave the date and time of his birth, which established an order of seniority. Jia Ming was the eldest, followed by Wu Zhen and then Yuan You. Lu Shu and Wei Bi were born in the same year, but the former was the elder by two months, and so he became the fourth brother and Wei Bi the fifth. Now that that question had been resolved, Wei Bi completed the register and put it on a shelf in the cabin, then
had his page remove the writing materials.

  By this time the boat had passed through the sluice. Wei Bi had the boatman pull in alongside the dock at Tianning Gate.8 He let down the gangway, and the passengers stepped ashore, climbed up the stone ramp, and walked past the Tianning Temple as far as the entrance of the Scripture Repository. Inset above the entrance was a tablet of white-sail rock on which the word “Monastery” had been inscribed in blue. Inside they found the front door of the Jinyulou open and went in with their pages, to be greeted by a servant with a cry of “Guests here!” The five men were invited upstairs, while their pages were asked to sit downstairs.

  If you are wondering whether Fragrance was there, you must turn to the next chapter.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  A brotherhood is formed on Little Gold Hill,

  And a jade pendant is accepted in the Jinyulou.

  Wei Bi invited his friends to the Jinyulou, where the house steward led them upstairs and someone showed them into a room on the west side, pulling back the door curtain and asking them to be seated. After a servant had offered them tea, a woman of twenty-two or -three with unbound feet came in. Her hair was drawn up in a fashionable chignon and fastened with a rhinoceros horn pin. Inserted at an angle was a silver ear-pick hairpin decorated with a soft-wing butterfly done in gilt and kingfisher feather. Above the butterfly’s wings rose two quivering silver antennae topped with imitation pearls that trembled as she walked. She wore gilt and emerald earrings to which were attached three flattened-circle1 pendants of white jade. She had an oval face with dense eyebrows and fine eyes. She was only lightly made up, and a scattering of freckles was faintly visible. She had on a bleached white silk tunic with a black, double-embroidered lute design on the breast, and over it a Suzhou-blue sleeveless jacket of Shanghai cotton lined with white imported cotton and decorated with a wide black satin border of hibiscus-style trim and fastened with gold cassia-bud buttons; a black imported cotton skirt; white water-crepe stockings; and shoes with four-section soles stitched in “skipping three needles” fashion in Falling on Cutoff Bridge style. The shoes were of jade green satin lined with pink nankeen, their black velvet sides decorated with pine, bamboo, and plum-tree images, and heel straps of crimson Shanghai cotton embroidered with black silk thread and trimmed with white cassia-bud motifs. She also wore a blue apron. Her wrists bore twisted-thread silver bracelets. On the middle finger of her left hand she wore a milk white jade ring of water chestnut shape as well as two gilt interlocking rings. She was carrying a white copper container with which to replenish the supply of tobacco. The men observed that, although she might not be a perfect beauty, she looked both elegant and seductive, and they could not take their eyes off her.