Fiction: Group 2
Mei Qiu's Ticket To Europe
ISF Academy, Wing Hei Chan, Katrina - 9, Fiction: Group 2
es! I could smell the aromatic scents floating from the kitchen. Dressed in a soft white apron, I
knew Mother was making my favourite dish for dinner, her prized crispy roast pork! My name is
Mei Qiu and I am eight years old. My family lives in Guangzhou. In the heart of the Pearl River
Delta, it is an important city for foreign trade connecting to countries all over the world. Guangzhou is a
busy, crowded city, rich in culture, art and most importantly to me, delicious food (except the bitter
dishes!).
I don't just love food, I also love drawing, reading myths and legends and most of all, sculpting! You would
never be able to guess this...well, maybe you could...the hobby I love most is to make FOOD clay
sculptures! I strongly believe my love of making food sculptures might be my ticket to seeing the amazing
world beyond Guangzhou...I have a dream that my food sculptures (and myself!) will make it onto one of
those big trading ships sailing to Europe one day…
So let me tell you how I make these special sculptures: I’ll use my red bean pudding sculpture to illustrate!
First, I steal a red bean from my Mother's pantry...(whoops! I mean
borrow
. Stealing is terrible!) I observe it
very
carefully. I then roll hundreds of little clay beans. Secondly, I decide what shape I want the pudding
bowl to be. I wanted a round hemisphere. Thanks to my lovely Father, he installed a kiln in our house! I
bake the sculpture in the kiln and carefully take it out to cool. I then paint each bean bright red and design a
detailed criss-cross pattern on the bowl.
Now, I must tell you about my best friend, Sze Cheng. I have a feeling she may help me with my dream.
We live a block away from each other and play every day after school (as soon as we finish all our
homework!). Her Mother is a trader in Guangzhou. She trades paintings and beautiful china such as vases,
teapots and plates to countries all over Europe. Her products get sent to Italy, Norway, Germany, France
and England!
One day, I taught Sze Cheng how to make red bean pudding sculptures. When Sze Cheng's mother saw us
rolling the hundreds of little clay beans, a lightbulb floated up in her brain. She thought, "I wonder whether
Europe would like beautiful Chinese food sculptures made by a sweet eight-year-old girl?” She kindly
asked me, "Do you think one day, you would like to trade your lovely food sculptures with people all over
the world?" How lucky that we both had identical ideas! From that day onward, Sze Cheng and I continued
to make food sculptures, hoping that eventually they will make it onto a trading ship!
I realised my dream may actually come true! One day, I’m going to board a ship along with my little red
bean pudding bowls…and I'm definitely bringing my family and Sze Cheng's family with me!
Y
