Xiulan and the House of Surprises.

The smog was bad in the city today. Xiulan was happy she had been able to move here to Park Island; she could see the sea from the balcony and since they had a roof apartment, she could also sit on the roof terrace and let Beauty play on a rug.

She would take her to nursery this afternoon and Mum would pick her up. Xiulan had to visit the jeweller’s shop and check on things.

The young man she had put in place was generally reliable but a visit from the boss unexpected was a way of keeping him on his toes.

This morning a letter had come from her old Master’s lawyer.

Master Wen had been dead now for nearly three years. He had brought good fortune to Xiulan and her family, fortune that was still continuing as the shop did well.

Her mother would be home early today. Her hours were still cut at the Chinese University despite the fact that English was still a popular subject and many wanted to take it.

But her mother wasn’t prepared just to become a granny and look after Beauty full time. Mother was a new breed, a two lives woman. After having her children, she wanted to work, using her degree and took up a post lecturing.

Up till now Xiulan had been happy to stay home with Beauty. It had seemed all she wanted, blissful, and she had been totally involved with the baby as the little one grew.

But now that Beauty was going to nursery, Xiulan found herself with some personal time.

Only an hour or two granted, but at first she was at a loss.

Then she had taken up Calligraphy more intensely. Deng was busy with his own shop, renovating it, making it look more like an artisan’s shop.

He said it’s what customers expected; an air of tradition, a sense that the shop had been there for centuries.

But he also had mentioned he had had a request to do more banners for a film.

Xiulan was

Impressum

Verlag: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG

Texte: alastair macleod
Bildmaterialien: alastair macleod: street shrine to Kwan Yin in Hong Kong, photo purchased from Dreamstime royalty free photos.
Lektorat: alastair macleod
Übersetzung: alastair macleod
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 18.06.2014
ISBN: 978-3-7368-2102-6

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Widmung:
To the beauty of Xiulan and to Kwan Yin. All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental