Women of the Silk by Gail Tsukiyama

Author:Gail Tsukiyama
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-07-20T04:00:00+00:00

Canton

It had been almost two years since the engagement of Lin’s brother was first announced. The marriage had been postponed twice while the two families worked out matters of the dowry. When at last a final date was chosen, Lin arranged for some time away from the silk factory, then purchased the boat tickets for her and Pei’s trip to Canton.

As the day of their departure neared, Pei grew increasingly nervous. Yung Kee was the largest village she had ever been to, and it seemed immense compared to her own small village. Canton was an entirely different story: It was a big city filled with people from all over the world. Pei could easily be swallowed up in its grip.

“Are there many white devils?” asked Pei.

“More white devils than you ever dreamed of,” Lin said.

“What are they like?”

“You’ll see for yourself,” answered Lin.

On the morning they were to leave, Pei couldn’t eat a thing. She checked her bag over and over again to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything. Her mouth felt dry and sour as she waited, and even Sui Ying’s constant reassurances did little to help. Only when they finally said their good-byes and began their journey toward the river did Pei feel a small sense of relief

The boat station was a small, crowded lean-to, roughly constructed out of mismatched pieces of wood, with a roof of woven straw. People jostled each other with their makeshift suitcases, baskets of food, and bamboo cages filled with live chickens and ducks. The constant drone of voices seemed to make everything vibrate, and the stench of food, fowl, and human sweat nauseated Pei. But as far as she was concerned, there couldn’t have been anything more exciting.

When the boat finally arrived, creaking and puffing to a stop, Pei stood back and stared at the flat-bottomed monster in amazement. In the ten years she’d been in Yung Kee, Pei had never been on anything larger than the midsized houseboats docked by the side of the river. This boat had two decks and was enormous. The top deck held rows and rows of wooden benches, but the bottom level had no benches, and passengers there would have to either stand or sit on the wood-plank floor for the entire trip to Canton. Pei watched the hordes of people pour down the wooden ramps towards them, some looking anxiously for loved ones, others just trying to get out.

“Are you all right?” Lin asked, when they were finally making their way up the wood ramp toward the top level.

“It’s so big,” Pei said, stepping onto the large, open deck, which rocked gently below her feet.

“This is nothing,” Lin said. “Wait until you see the ships in the Canton harbor!”

They made their way slowly down the narrow aisle filled with people pushing their way toward any available seat. Those already seated stared hard at them and their clean, white clothing as they passed. Pei had long since learned to cope with the rude stares of those who found the sisterhood strange and filled with too much freedom.

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