Fiction: Group 4
Heep Yunn School, Lam, Melissa - 15, Fiction: Group 4
The fiery ball rose and fell in the skies of Zhongshan. The wild blue yonder was as magnificent as it
could be, and so were the great rolling fields under it. The splendid sight was the pride and glory of the
people there, but not to one. This particular fellow roamed the fields every day, trying to find a patch that
was new to his eyes.
It was just the break of dawn, but he was already up and about. “There, Boxer, here you go.” He
muttered absent-mindedly as he fed a hungry horse an apple, his humongous sleeve dangling awkwardly.
“No, not my braid, Clover!” He gasped as he attempted to rescue his long braid from the jaws of another.
He groaned inwardly as he surveyed the gooey saliva on his hair with distaste.
The boy knew every grass and every rock in that area of Zhongshan. He had even named all the
animals that belonged to his farm, which his father and uncle owned. Traipsing through the meadow, he
tugged at his stiff cheongsam, which was getting stiffer and more irritating every day. He longed to escape
from the fetters of this tedious and monotonous life, where his effort was never appreciated. Lin Yixing’s
eyes seemed to glaze over with a pearly sheen as he mused about how his life would become if he moved to
the city, the glorious city. Then his eyes snapped into focus abruptly as he sighed, “But that will never
happen.” From time to time Yixing allowed himself to be submerged into a dreamy state, he was
immediately disillusioned by the fact that this family business had been run, father to son, for over ten
generations — and he could never let his family down.
That morning, when Yixing sat down for breakfast, he was welcomed with the usual clamor. At the
table, there sat four families, all relatives of his. It was in their culture to live with so many people, yet
Yixing didn’t like it. He felt like a chick being cooped up in a henhouse, squashed to death by rampaging
roosters and hens. At the same time, there was an increasing burden on him, since in all the four families,
there was not one male descendant, apart from himself. Just the night before, his hopes had been let down
by the birth of a baby daughter of Aunt Xuan. If no other boy was born, he would have to inherit the
family business and run it himself. He was destined to be stuck in Zhongshan for all his life.
It was then that he realized, the tumult of voices seemed unusually loud. High-pitched screams were
emitted through a circle of his relatives. What could they be screaming their heads off about?
He pushed through the small crowd, only to see — a baby boy in the arms of Aunt Xuan!
She had obviously told the story a few times already. “— I undressed my lovely baby boo to give him
a bath, but then I saw his private parts and shrieked! Darling came rushing over to see what the fuss was
about, and amazingly, he’d changed from a girl to a boy overnight! I have two deductions about the
transformations— first, that I had seen it wrongly last night due to the darkness, though quite unlikely, of
course— second, because Big Xuan and I prayed to the gods last night to thank them for my baby, though I
had longed for it to be a boy.”
She stopped gushing to pause for breath. The people around her cooed and exclaimed, while Yixing
grinned to himself. Aunt Xuan was notorious for her bad eyesight— she had once mistaken a horse for a
sheep, Boxer for Molly to be exact. Yixing was standing five yards behind her at that time, and he had
accurately identified their names. It was no surprise to him that Aunt Xuan had mistaken his new cousin to
be a girl.
All of a sudden, the sudden realization struck him like a horse’s hooves on a piece of rocky ground.
Aunt Xuan had given birth to a possible inheritor! He had been liberated! Lin Yixing was free!
Yixing packed a tiny bag with all his belongings: his comb, his blanket, and all his earnings, which
wasn’t much. He left a note on his table, explaining his dream to live in the city. When he passed the dining
room, he heard his father saying, “No, Xuan, it wasn’t the gods that assisted you; it was our government!”
All of them snorted. “You and your government! Can’t you see how weak and helpless the Qing
government is right now? Why should we support the government when is a sick man of the East?”
“No, I believe that the Qing government is doing everything in their power to save this country!
They’re trying to save it from the Western dogs, whose ghastly blue eyes have been centered on this rich
land of wheat and sweat— and our government will win someday! They’ll restore our country to a peaceful
and powerful one, instead of having cities, such as Hong Kong, that opens the door to the Western dogs
into our once-strong borders!” His father retorted.
