Читать книгу Eat a Bowl of Tea - Louis Chu - Страница 13

The following afternoon Lee Gong appeared at the Money Come at 1:30, before anybody else would show up. He had wanted to get there early so he could talk to Wang Wah Gay alone.

“You and I have been friends for many years,” Lee Gong began. “I know you just as well as you know me. You know I have no money. But I have a little girl back home in Sunwei.”

“Heh, heh,” chuckled Wah Gay. “Was that why you asked me who that young man was?” He felt flattered that his long-time friend thought well enough of his son to want him for a son-in-law. “Ben Loy is a good little boy,” announced the father proudly. “He’s working in Stanton now, a hard working boy.”

“I only want a hard working boy,” said Lee Gong. “A good boy. And when you want a daughter-in-law, all you want is a good girl, isn’t that it?”

“Yes, I suppose it’s all that matters.” Wah Gay removed the cigar from his mouth and stuck his free hand in his pants pocket. “Heh heh, it’s an excellent idea. A good girl. That’s all anybody can ask for.”

“Our Mei Oi is eighteen.”

“But nowadays you would have to get the consent of the young ones,” reflected Wah Gay. “You can’t just marry them off blindly like in the old days. They have to like each other.”

“That’s right, I agree with you. No use forcing them into marriage.”

Wah Gay thought for a moment. “I’ll send the young one home,” he said finally. “Tomorrow I’ll write a few words to my woman. I’ll tell her Ben Loy is coming home to get married. She will be very pleased.”

Lee Gong said he would write to his wife too.

Without having broached the subject to Ben Loy, Wah Gay proceeded to write to his wife, Lau Shee. To him Ben Loy’s marriage was something that had to be attended to sooner or later. The sooner, the better. If Ben Loy should not like Lee Gong’s daughter, he could always get another girl and be married. A sense of male superiority came over him, and he almost laughed out loud. A daughter-in-law is somebody else’s daughter. It should not be too difficult to obtain a daughter-in-law. There are many eligible daughters. Ben Loy would only have to choose. Ben Loy is a good boy. The girl who marries him is very lucky indeed.

The next day Wah Gay airmailed the letter to his wife. A sensation of relief swept over him, for he had wanted to send that letter for a long time. It had taken his old friend Lee Gong to make him pick up the writing brush. He took out another cigar and lit it. His face showed an inward glow.