A Spoonful of Malaysian Magic by Anna Tan

Author:Anna Tan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Teaspoon Publishing
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

The Rivers and Lakes

Collin Yeoh

The old man’s house was practically a time machine. The young man stepped out from behind the screen wall of the front gate into a spacious, cobblestoned courtyard enclosed on all sides by high walls. On the left and right were long and slim single-storey buildings. At the end of the courtyard was the double-storied main dwelling, its wide folding doors open welcomingly into the entrance hall. The curved roofs, carved lattice window frames, and lacquered wood furniture all looked like they could have come from hundreds of years ago. Only the ultra-modern steel-and-glass skyscrapers that loomed over the roofs belied the impression.

In the middle of the courtyard stood the old man, looking up at one of those skyscrapers pensively, his old-fashioned outfit of pristine white mandarin shirt and grey loose trousers adding to the illusion of a place out of time. The petite woman who had opened the gate for the young man called to him politely. He turned to his visitor, smiled widely, and strode across the courtyard to greet him. When his guest hesitated just half a second too long to shake his proffered hand, the old man leaned in conspiratorially and said:

“You were going to do that fist-and-palm greeting, weren’t you? Like we’re in a kung fu movie?”

Both men broke into laughter, the young man’s sheepish, the old man’s good-naturedly mocking. They shook hands vigorously.

“Master; it is an honour.”

“Don’t call me that,” the old man chided, his good humour unabated. “Come in and have tea. Is Tieguanyin okay with you?”

“Any Chinese tea is fine, thank you.”

“Ah! Another appreciator of the real thing. Much better than that cheap Western stuff. No wonder they drown it in milk and sugar, eh?”

They entered the entrance hall and seated themselves at an ornately carved table with four matching stools. The morning sun streamed through the open folding doors from the courtyard outside, bathing the room in bright, cheery light.

“Ah Chun, thank you.” The old man nodded to the servant woman as she served them a tea set.

“Will you be needing anything else, sir?” she asked.

“No, all is as we discussed. Please spend the rest of the day with your daughter, and remember to give her my regards,” the old man answered. The woman bowed low and left quietly.

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