Fiction: Group 4
The blacksmith saw Yixing staring and chuckled. “Come on in, young man! Are you from the
country?”
Yixing bowed his head shyly. The friendly blacksmith continued, “What’s your name? Mine’s Li
Xiaolong. Are you interested in forging metal?”
“It does look pretty interesting. How do you manage to keep your sleeves clean? My name’s Lin
Yixing by the way—I came here from Zhongshan today to pursue my dream! But quite frankly, I don’t
know where to start.”
“Why don’t you start your dream here? You could first earn some savings, then start your own
business! It just so happens that my boss ordered me to hire someone for him today because of the increasing
workload. C’mon, I’ll teach you how to forge metal.”
And that was how Yixing became a blacksmith. During the first week of his job, he remained eager
and restless, even after he met his boss, a stout and surly fellow who yelled at him every minute of the day.
Hammering and humming all day, he was a satisfied and joyful blacksmith. However, fatigue and aching
arms soon overwhelmed him, giving a huge blow to his strength, something that he had always took pride
in. His boss was outraged. “Lin Yixing! I didn’t pay you for standing here meditating! Get your hammer out
and finish ten pieces of metal by noon, or else I’ll fire you immediately!”
The boss’s fiery outburst reminded Yixing of his father’s disownment of him. A sense of melancholy
rose inside him as he wondered who would play Mahjong with him, how much more work he would have
to complete without Yixing’s assistance, and whether Yixing would be accepted if he ever headed back
home. He would have to put up with this demon of a boss and persist until he could build a home for
himself. This life was ten times more demanding and difficult than his old one, and he missed being on the
carefree fields with Boxer and Clover. Still, this was the life he’d hoped for.
The days passed with the accompaniment of iron and steel. Yixing became more tough and strong
with the daily exercise, and he was grateful for persevering in his job when he had had doubts. This was the
path he had taken, and he had chosen the hardship along with it. Therefore, he couldn’t groan nor grumble
at the job—he was the one responsible for taking this path, and he would embrace all the challenges that had
been streaming towards him for the past few weeks. To everyone’s amazement, Yixing endured his job with
astonishing determination, and people betting on him not being able to last a year in the job all found their
wallets lighter. In fact, Yixing lasted two years in the job, and only quit because he had realization of a new
dream— opening a pet store.
Now, owning pets were not quite yet the rage in Hong Kong. However, he had often seen dogs
being tied on a leash by foreigners, and had found the idea refreshing as well as having the potential to start a
new trend. Imagine the whole city having a dog or a cat as a partner— people would grow more intimate
with nature, and learn to appreciate animals as one of their own kind. He was keen to start the business, not
only because of the profit, but also for his affection towards animals. Furthermore, he had secret aspirations
in mind— he wanted to be a part in overturning the corrupted government, and build a new one from
scratch.
While Yixing was setting up his own business with ardour and ferventness, at the same time joining a
secret organization plotting to overturn the Qing dynasty, a great catastrophe was occurring in his
homeland. A wave of famine had plagued the Zhongshan residents, and had been a severe blow to the Lin
family. The government performed no action whatsoever to this serious disaster, and the family had no
choice but to migrate to another country. They were passing by Hong Kong two years later, haggard and
barren of energy, when they suddenly recalled that Yixing was, too, staying there!
Years had passed since Yixing left Zhongshan. Embraces were exchanged, huge, sloppy kisses were
planted on cheeks, and tears were wept. His family gazed at Yixing’s shop, “Aunt Xuan’s Blessing”, which
had risen to popularity throughout the whole city. They gazed at his accomplishments and at the adversities
he had once come across, but overcome. Every one of his relatives came close to tears when they saw how
much Yixing had grown, for better or worse. Everyone, that was, except for his father, who stood there as
still as a plank, never moving, never caring.
Yixing never saw his father alive again. He was found to be lying on the balcony of Yixing’s home
that night, a knife plunged deep into his back. A crimson puddle blossomed underneath his mangled body,
staining his blue cheongsam deep bright red. A message was written on the floor in the exact shade of red—
“Turn against Qing and Qing will turn against you”. Beside the message lay a bouquet of flowers with a
note inside, with the words: ‘Yixing’.
