Falling Leaves: The True Story of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter (24 page)

Towards the tail-end of my stay in Hong Kong in 1964, James was seriously dating Louise Lam. Because of his good looks,

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family background and Cambridge education, James was an eligible bachelor, much feted by mothers with marriageable daughters. From the beginning I suspected that Louise was special to James because, in her case, Niang was the mate maker.

Louise’s mother, Beverly, was a friend of Niang’s. It wasan unequal friendship, with Niang dominating her friend. Beverly was beautiful and presentable yet self-effacing. Burdened with five daughters and a difficult husband, she found it hard to cope. As soon as Louise was old enough, Beverly relegated her responsibilities to her eldest daughter. While Beverly played with her girlfriends, Louise organized her younger sisters’ daily lives, packed their lunches, arbitrated quarrels and supervised their studies.

Niang encouraged the romance because it suited her to have James take a wife from a family which was neither so poor that the Yens would lose face nor so rich as to undermine Niang power and control.

James took Louise out regularly once a week, neither more nor less. He was always gallant and courteous but never intimate ate. Once Gregory reported, somewhat gleefully, that he spied Louise dancing with a handsome escort at a well-known night club the previous evening. James merely shrugged. Gregory accused him of feigning indifference but I felt that he was cautiously suspending commitment while awaiting instructions from above. I was certain that if our parents had raised any objections, Louise would have been dismissed at a moment notice.

James and Louise were directed by Niang to have a simple wedding in America in 1966, far away from Father’s friends and business associates who were almost bankruptir themselves on similar occasions. ’Much more private than romantic’, according to Niang. They married in Maryland the home of Louise’s uncle. James was ordered not to inform or invite any of his siblings.

Before their wedding, Father instructed James to buy

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one of his newly constructed flats in Happy Valley, at full price, without regard to the shaky political situation or the deeply depressed state of the property market. For over two years, ever since being told to marry Louise, James had carefully saved up his miserable salary, dollar by dollar, in order to have a small nest egg when he settled down. Now he was commanded to exchange all his savings for one of Father’s speculative units which no one wanted at the time. Resentfully, James complied. When Louise protested that Red Guard sympathizers were practically at their door and his total net worth might be confiscated in one swoop, James threw up his hands and said, ’Suan le!’ (Let it be). Of the twenty-four flats Father built that year, none of the others were sold.

After Gregory and Matilda left for Canada, James became Father’s right-hand man. For the first ten years of his marriage he worked in Port Harcourt in Nigeria. Louise stayed in Hong Kong with their three children. James was allowed to come home to his family only twice a year: for six weeks from Christmas to Chinese New Year, and for eight weeks in the summer, to replace Father when he and Niang escaped the humid heat of Hong Kong for Monte Carlo.

Almost immediately after James’s and Louise’s marriage, Beverly and Niang had a falling-out. With her daughter safely settled, Beverly became more assertive and made it clear that she was no longer content to be Niang’s handmaiden. Their friendship quickly deteriorated from casual nods at social functions to mutual non-recognition.

After Gregory’s dismissal, James was appointed general manager of the Nigerian branch. Gregory was given 60,000 U S dollars as severance pay to establish himself in Canada. He and Matilda bought a house in Vancouver and had two children. Matilda trained as a pharmacist and Gregory gained steady employment as an environmental engineer for the Canadian government. However, he still dreamed of returning to the fold, erroneously believing that Father would recall him back to Hong Kong.

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From time to time, he would complain of ’usurpation’ by James or ’sabotage’ by Niang. His requests for business loans were invariably turned down. Though Father had a soft spot for his eldest son and looked forward eagerly to Gregory’s letters and visits, he was convinced that Gregory was feckless and incapable. Niang called him hu tu (muddle-headed), lazy and extravagant. As the years passed, Gregory’s dreams of building his own business empire faded. He became increasingly frugal, placing all his hopes in his two children and limiting his ambitions to waiting for his share of the inheritance.

After medical school, Edgar and I had no contact for many years. Edgar specialized in general surgery. Consultantships were hard to come by for Asians in Britain. Edgar initially moved to Canada in 1969 after receiving his FRCS. Well-paid jobs were scarce and opportunities limited. He decided to join me in California.

In October 1970, while Father and Niang were staying with me in Fountain Valley, a surprisingly civil letter suddenly arrived from Edgar. He expected me to help him get a job in the California hospital where I was working.

My initial reaction was one of pleasure and gratification. I had such hunger for affection from my family that even this sort of olive branch was welcome. I showed Edgar’s letter to Father.

’Let me ask you this,’ he said. ’Are you happy where you are? Do you get along with your colleagues and is there a bright future?’

’Yes. I love my job and can see myself staying there for the rest of my life.’

’In that case, Adeline,’ Father continued, ’I strongly advise you not to answer this letter. We all know how Edgar feels towards you. I predict that nothing good will come of it. The more successful you are, the more jealous he will be. You have carved out an excellent career for yourself. Go ahead and

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pursue it. America is a big country. There is no need for Edgar to come over to your little corner. He has the rest of America in which to create a niche for himself.’

I looked over at Niang. She nodded. ’Always listen to your father, Adeline,’ she said. ’He knows all of you like the back of his hand.’

I took Father’s advice and did not answer Edgar’s letter. I certainly wasn’t going to disobey my father just to please Edgar. My silence was interpreted as a deliberate insult and he never forgave me.

He underwent further training in St Louis, Missouri, where he married an American girl of German descent who was twenty years younger. He moved from city to city in California searching for an ideal location to establish his practice. For a while, they settled in a small town in the San Joaquin Valley. Most of the population were born and bred in the immediate vicinity. They found life there unbearable. After a few years Edgar sold his practice and moved to Hong Kong while his wife attended college in America. They had no children and the marriage was an unhappy one.

In Hong Kong, Edgar worked at a private, missionary hospital. Though he was hard-working and conscientious, he had neither the talent nor the panache to join the ranks of the ’society surgeons’. He also didn’t speak Cantonese. His fluency in both Mandarin and English proved to be no asset in Hong Kong. Behind his back the nurses whispered that Edgar was really a dai luk yee san (doctor from mainland China). It was also difficult to break into the tightly knit circle of local physicians, most of whom had graduated from Hong Kong University with referral patterns entrenched since medical school. Outside doctors were seen as unwanted competition.

After two years he returned to the US and bought a practice in another small town in the San Joaquin Valley. His young wife graduated from college and they divorced. In

1986 Edgar married his office nurse, a white divorcee with two

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sons. They had three daughters and appeared to be well suited.

In 1964 Susan graduated from college in America and returned to Hong Kong. She worked as a schoolteacher at Maryknoll Convent School and lived at home with our parents. Pressure was soon brought upon her to marry. Susan was very beautiful and had a string of admirers. Niang questioned her every move, every letter, every phone call. There was a dentist whom Susan had been seeing for three months. Niang kept asking if he had proposed. Susan resented her interference and would say nothing. This infuriated Niang. She decided to find out for herself.

The next time the dentist telephoned, Niang intercepted the call. After reminding him that he had now been taking Susan out for three months, Niang curtly asked what his intentions were. When told he was not sure, Niang haughtily replied that Susan had many suitors and could not ’waste any more time’ seeing him while he sat on the fence. In short, he should not call again until his mind clarified. With that, she hung up. Faced with such a formidable potential mother-in-law, the dentist never called again.

Susan, who had - overheard the conversation, was livid. Mother and daughter had a horrendous argument. Susan packed her bags and threatened to move out. Niang took to her bed, while Father scurried from one to the other, attempting to placate them both. One night two weeks later, the sound of Father sleeplessly pacing the livingroom awoke Susan. Next morning, the sight of Father’s anxiety-ridden features finally broke Susan’s resistance and she apologized to Niang.

The rapprochement was temporary. Both knew that it was only a matter of time before a new conflict erupted. Soon afterwards, Susan was introduced by Gregory to Tony Liang, graduate of Massachussetts Institute of Technology and son of a prominent Shanghai businessman who had prospered in Hong Kong. They decided to get married.

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At Niang’s insistence, the wedding was held in Honolulu and was small and private. Neither Father nor Niang attended and the rest of us weren’t even informed. Susan received no dowry. She became Mrs Tony Liang and brought to her marriage precisely two suitcases of old clothes. Nor was she given any jewellery. Tony’s mother, a kindly, old-fashioned woman, was astonished when she saw Susan’s scant belongings. Placing her arms around Susan, Mrs Liang asked sympathetically, ’Are you sure you are Mrs Joseph Yen’s real daughter and not her stepdaughter?’ With that, old Mrs Liang took off her rings, bracelets and necklace and gave them to Susan.

Tony inherited his father’s businesses and business acumen. The young Liangs rose to prominence among Hong Kong’s high society. Susan’s name and photograph were often in the South China Morning Post and Hong Kong Standard. In public, Niang was being constantly upstaged by her daughter.

She became very critical of Susan. Her jewellery was too gaudy, her gowns too revealing, her make-up vulgar, her taste atrocious. Susan was a selfish show-off and lacked filial piety. For Mother’s Day, Susan bought her a box of chocolates. The box was too small and the chocolates too cheap.

Susan began to dread seeing Niang. She had a happy marriage and her in-laws were proud of her. Her home visits became more and more infrequent, reduced eventually to the obligatory Sunday night dinners. With Edgar and me in America, Gregory in Canada and James in Nigeria, Susan had become Niang’s sole scapegoat.

Shirley Gam, a close childhood friend of Susan’s, came to Hong Kong from New York for a whirlwind visit. The only convenient time for the two to get together was Sunday. Susan called Niang to excuse herself from Sunday night dinner. The conversation did not go well. Susan changed her plans and gave a Sunday luncheon instead for Shirley and their classmates. That evening, promptly at seven, she appeared as usual at Magnolia Mansions.

Niang was cold and abusive all through dinner, calling Susan

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ungrateful, unfilial and untrustworthy, and bringing up a litany of Susan’s every transgression since early childhood. She accused Susan of conceit and shallowness. She started to cry over Franklin’s death and said she wished it had been Susan instead. This was more than Susan could endure. She exploded, ’Franklin was a sadistic monster and I’m glad he’s dead! Even though you’re my mother, I think you are vicious and vindictive. You love no one but yourself. You certainly don’t care for me, and you never have.’

Niang was completely taken aback. White with anger, she slapped Susan across her face. ’How dare you speak to me this way! I’ve spent so much money on you, sending you to the best schools and even to the United States! You are nothing, Susan! Nothing except for me! And to think you dare say such awful things when you owe me everything!’ She slapped Susan again, this time with all her strength.

Susan calmly picked up her purse and took out her chequebook. ’How much do I owe you?’ she asked.’Whatever you think the sum is, let me write you a cheque for it. Remember, I am now a married woman, with a daughter of my own. Treat me as an adult, not your slave who owes you everything.’

Niang screamed, ’Get out! Get out now! Don’t ever come back! As far as I am concerned, you are dead! Dead!’

Father rushed out of the front door after Susan. He looked shrunken and tired. As they waited for the lift in the hall he said sadly, ’You didn’t have to make such a scene, Susan. Your mother was just offended that you didn’t invite her to Shirley’s luncheon. Why didn’t you include her? She felt left out.’

Tears ran down Susan’s swollen face. ’Daddy, you don’t understand. You’re too good for her.’ As the lift door was closing, she added, ’Daddy, I’ll phone you for lunch next week.’

They met for lunch at the main diningroom of the elegant Hong Kong Club, a short walk from Father’s office at Swire House (then called Union House). They were given a quiet corner table, away from a musical group playing Beatles’ tunes.

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They sat in low armchairs across from each other and ordered drinks.

Father looked terrible. His features sagged as he gazed vacantly past Susan. One side of his face drooped slightly from an old bout with Bell’s palsy, always more noticeable when he was under stress. When he blinked, only the eye on the healthy side would close, giving the appearance of a roguish wink.

’Has it been bad, Daddy?’ Susan asked. ’Has Niang taken to her bed again?’

It was as if he had not heard. Robot-like, he reached into his inside pocket and took out a thin sheet of paper. Susan could see Niang’s distinctive handwriting, almost identical to her own, through the transparent, pink, airmail stationery. Father put on his glasses and read off a list of rules and conditions to which Susan had to adhere if she wished to remain a member of the Yen family. Slowly, she shook her head.