Chapter 15: Aunt and the Tailor (Part 1)

After receiving the news of his daughter's marriage, Sir Joe rushed back from England by boat.

The three little girls' new clothes arrived before Sir Joe: short-sleeved woolen sweaters for spring and summer, short jackets and skirts, Western-style long skirts and nightgowns, more than ten pieces of each type.

Before I could even try them on, Mrs. Qiao gave me another warning: "There are rules for what to wear and when. In the morning, before breakfast, change out of your pajamas into a short-sleeved woolen sweater before sitting down at the dining table. These habits will stay with you for the rest of your lives. If you have guests, you must change into a Western-style long skirt when entertaining them at home. If you dress incorrectly, not only will I punish you, but you will also be pointed at and laughed at. You are not old enough to wear cheongsams yet, so I made a few slightly looser short jackets and skirts and low-heeled shoes. When you are a few years older, you will have to change out of the woolen sweater and wear cheongsams and high heels when you go out."

The three girls nodded like little chickens pecking at rice.

At this time, Aunt Zhao came to report to Mrs. Qiao: "The car that went to the dock to pick up Mr. Qiao has returned. With him is Mr. Saumur. Mr. Qiao invited him to Paris to order a wedding dress for the eldest daughter."

Mrs. Qiao asked the three maids seriously, "So, what clothes should we change into now?"

The three girls said in unison: "Western-style long skirt."

Mrs. Qiao said that the child is teachable.

A misty early summer rain fell. The car door slammed shut outside, and Mrs. Qiao immediately lined up with her four daughters at the top of the steps. Several maids stood behind them, each holding an umbrella.

Mr. Qiao was the first to emerge from the steps. Having been at sea for nearly a month, lacking fresh fruits and vegetables and vitamins, his thick mouth had ulcers at the corners. His hairline was slightly bleary—it seemed the hardness of British drinking water was still a bit high these days. His hair was a bit gray at the temples. He was below the British average, but above the Chinese average. He wore a suit and tie, and had a slight beer belly, but he still looked like a handsome young man.

He was very happy to see his wife, daughter and many little cuties lining up to welcome him.

After everyone greeted him as "Uncle," "Uncle-in-law," and "Dad," they all accepted an extremely warm hug from Mr. Qiao.

Then, Master Qiao introduced their second person—Monsieur Saumur, a Frenchman who had once been the tailor to the British royal family. He was quite tall, and standing next to Master Qiao, he looked like an old man and a big potato. Monsieur Saumur politely exchanged kisses with everyone, which frightened Yunyan and Zhenzhen. Qiao Maling smiled and comforted them, "Don't be afraid, he just wants to say hello."

After introducing the second person, a plump, white woman, about twenty-four or twenty-five, came up from the bottom of the stairs. Her hair was flaxen, her face was freckled, and her full lips were pale and flaky from vitamin deficiency. In her arms was a little boy, about four or five years old. He had dark brown hair and eyes as blue as the windswept coast, but his facial features revealed he was of mixed race.

Chu Wang immediately realized that something was wrong...

Sure enough, as Mrs. Qiao and Qiao Maling looked puzzled, Mr. Qiao tilted his head to the side, waved at the white woman, gestured to Mrs. Qiao, and said, "Hey, you should call her Madam. I taught you Chinese."

The white woman called out in very stereotyped Chinese: "Hello, Madam..."

Mrs. Qiao nearly fainted, but was supported by Zhao Ma and Qiao Maling. She managed to steady herself and asked in a trembling voice, "Wh-when did it happen?"

Mr. Qiao seemed a little ashamed to face her. He lowered his head and raised his eyebrows. "That happened a few years ago."

Mr. Qiao's face wasn't looking good either. He stopped looking at Mrs. Qiao and turned to Qiao Ma Ling with a forced smile. He said, "Ma Ling, this is your aunt Michelle, she's Portuguese. This is your brother Leon. Leon, this is your sister Ma Ling."

Michelle's face was pale as she spoke softly in English, "Ma Ling, I often hear your father mention you."

Qiao Leon shouted in a childish voice, "Sister."

Qiao Maling: "..."

Lin Chuwang looked at his aunt's shaky figure in the wind and rain, and couldn't help but sigh: The Qiao family has added a white concubine for no reason, it's really a fire in the house...

Now that there were guests and younger generations present, it would be inappropriate for them to wait in the rain after such a long journey. Qiao Maling knew her mother must be feeling very complicated, but she couldn't let outsiders think that her family had broken the rules, so she forced herself to cheer up and said, "Mr. Saumier, my aunt, Leon, it's raining heavily outside, don't get wet, come inside first."

She suppressed her inner depression and told Zhao Ma to bring the guests into the house.

After everyone entered the house, Lin Chuwang followed Zhao Ma and heard Zhao Ma advising Mrs. Qiao: "Whose master doesn't have three wives and four concubines?"

Mrs. Qiao: “…”

Zhao Ma advised, "Besides, you are the elder and she is the younger. Since we are in Hong Kong, according to the rules, she has to greet you every day."

Mrs. Qiao almost lost half her soul in the wind and rain, but she gave a rather sharp "haha" laugh and said, "Greetings? I'm afraid I can't bear it!"

Mother Zhao: "Madam... we already have a child anyway, there's nothing we can do about it, just bear with it."

Mrs. Qiao took a long time to adjust her mood, and her face looked like a palette of colors.

"Very good... Who doesn't have a child in their family?" After a long while, she let out a breath, raised the corner of her lips, and followed everyone into the house with a smile.

Everyone sat down in the living room, and Qiao Maling was about to make some Ceylon tea, but Mrs. Lin stopped her. Mrs. Qiao winked at her and said sternly, "Go and get the Biluochun tea your uncle sent over and make a pot of it."

Qiao Ma Ling's face was slightly startled. "Which can?"

Mrs. Qiao described the common name of Biluochun in Shaoxing dialect, "That jar of 'shocking fragrance'."

Qiao Maling immediately understood and turned to get tea.

Qiao Maling took out a set of Ding kiln white tea sets. Since the children couldn't drink it, she only took five cups and poured five cups.

Watching Qiao Maling pick up the pot to add tea, twist the cup to pass the tea, and hold the cup with her sword-pointing finger... all done in one go, with a smooth and flowing posture, by a young oriental girl with outstanding appearance, it was like a rubbing of a lady's painting that was spread to Europe through the Silk Road in the Middle Ages. All the white people were amazed.

Seeing Aunt Michelle's large, lifeless green eyes shrink slightly in amazement, Mrs. Qiao showed a barely perceptible smug smile on her face.

Mr. Qiao understood his wife's intention to make a big fuss. He just smiled, picked up the cup and sniffed the tea, then turned around and carefully taught Michel and Mr. Saumur how to hold the cup and how to taste tea.

Mrs. Qiao's face froze, then she straightened up and asked Qiao Maling to take her three sisters to change their clothes.

After changing into white stockings, ballet shoes, and tight skirts, the three girls lined up in front of the guests. Qiao Maling was already seated at the piano. Before her fingertips touched the piano, she glanced up at her three sisters, smiled gently, and asked, "Tchaikovsky, Swan Lake, Act 1?"

The three little girls nodded in unison.

Everyone on the sofa couldn't help but sit up straight, ready to appreciate the little performance prepared by the girls of Jazz House for the guests who came from afar.

The music of the Goblet Dance poured out from Qiao Maling's fingertips. The three little girls, like three newly grown swans, tapped their pointe shoes in sync with the bass, creating a drumbeat that accompanied the rhythm. Their movements were perfectly aligned and graceful. A sliver of sunlight streamed into the living room through the window, creating a beautiful interplay of light and shadow, woven together by the flowing, water-like movement of their bodies.

After the dance, the three maids bowed and saluted the guests amidst the applause. Mrs. Qiao raised her head with a proud smile and told Zhao Ma to take the three maids back to their room to learn English.

The author has something to say: I wonder if there are any Hong Kong-themed articles with this background and the same period. Please recommend.

The original intention of writing this article was actually to talk about Hong Kong during this period.

The contradictory, inharmonious, funny yet interesting fusion of Chinese and Western cultures is much more interesting than the colorful Shanghai of the same era.

Therefore, many of the protagonists have remnants of the conservatism of the feudal era, while at the same time being influenced by the fresh Western culture.

Two phases collide, bang! Many stories, many sparks

We welcome your comments and let's discuss together.