Xiulan and The House of Surprises E-Book

alastair macleod

• Herausgeber: BookRix
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015

Beschreibung

This is the third in a series of novellas set in modern day Hong Kong.

A young woman , now a mother, grapples with ghosts, and messages from the past to succeed in a male dominated world through her committment to beauty.

Leseprobe

Alastair Macleod

Xiulan and The House of Surprises

To the beauty of Xiulan and to Kwan Yin. All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidentalBookRix GmbH & Co. KG81371 Munich

Xiulan and the House of Surprises.

The smog was bad in the city today. Xiulan was happy she had been able to move here to Park Island; she could see the sea from the balcony and since they had a roof apartment, she could also sit on the roof terrace and let Beauty play on a rug.

She would take her to nursery this afternoon and Mum would pick her up. Xiulan had to visit the jeweller’s shop and check on things.

The young man she had put in place was generally reliable but a visit from the boss unexpected was a way of keeping him on his toes.

This morning a letter had come from her old Master’s lawyer.

Master Wen had been dead now for nearly three years. He had brought good fortune to Xiulan and her family, fortune that was still continuing as the shop did well.

Her mother would be home early today. Her hours were still cut at the Chinese University despite the fact that English was still a popular subject and many wanted to take it.

But her mother wasn’t prepared just to become a granny and look after Beauty full time. Mother was a new breed, a two lives woman. After having her children, she wanted to work, using her degree and took up a post lecturing.

Up till now Xiulan had been happy to stay home with Beauty. It had seemed all she wanted, blissful, and she had been totally involved with the baby as the little one grew.

But now that Beauty was going to nursery, Xiulan found herself with some personal time.

Only an hour or two granted, but at first she was at a loss.

Then she had taken up Calligraphy more intensely. Deng was busy with his own shop, renovating it, making it look more like an artisan’s shop.

He said it’s what customers expected; an air of tradition, a sense that the shop had been there for centuries.

But he also had mentioned he had had a request to do more banners for a film.

Xiulan was not keen.

“Remember what happened last time you did that and you went away? Wang BingBing came between us when you returned.”

“That was a long time ago.” said Deng her husband. “I have changed.”

Although Deng had not yet revealed where he had first lived he had changed. Ever since he had made enough money to be able to provide a proper funeral for his mother who had died some time ago.

“You might have changed but the girls in the film industry haven’t.”

“The publicity helps the shop,” said Deng. “When I appear in the credits I get a lot more business.” “I don’t doubt that, it’s the kind of business you get that bothers me.”

Wen’s lawyer had said to call round this afternoon. She could do one feat and make two gains一举两得; check her own shop and see the lawyer.

Wen’s lawyer was almost as ancient as Wen had been. A small man too, and also stooped. But he had a smart office near the business district.

She sat waiting on a leather sofa placed on a marble floor.

Lawyers always made money. Her mother said she should have married one.

Mao Tsing rose as she entered.

“Welcome, welcome, to my humble office.”

He asked her how things were at Park Island.