Seeds of Plenty Read Online Free

had been left at home with the amah.
    “My father forced me to study Home Economics,” she continued, embarrassed. Everyone knew it was the “get-married” degree.
    “You should do nursing,” Winston said. “My father wanted me to study Chinese literature. I ignored him.”
    “You did?” She laughed at the thought of doing something so rebellious. But he was right. She should have studied nursing and she hoped he wouldn’t think less of her. They stood awkwardly in the doorway of her dormitory now.
    “You know you can still do nursing in Africa,” he said, suddenly.
    “Even without a degree?”
    “I’m sure they’ll take any volunteers they can get.”
    She didn’t know if he was asking her to go with him or just giving her advice.
    “Really?” she said, in disbelief that it could be that easy. She felt as if her conversation with him was already resetting her path or at least its possibilities. They were silent for a few minutes.
    “I have…I have tickets,” he stumbled over his words. “To the Royal Albert Hall. In London next weekend. Do you want to go?” He seemed shy and looked to the side when he asked her.
    “I’d love to.”
    She smiled up at him in the dim light. She guessed he was in his early thirties. She was only twenty-one. He had a kind face, even though he seemed a bit distant. It was the first time in days she had felt something other than despair. She recognized it as hope.
    ***
     
    That next weekend, he came to the women’s hall to pick her up. He was oddly dressed in a mismatched blazer and pair of trousers, probably borrowed, but she found it endearing, especially after the slick, tailored suits of her Hong Kong friends. They caught an afternoon train to London. As the lush, green English countryside glided by their window, they talked of their war-torn childhood.
    “When did you leave China?” she said.
    “During the war with the Japanese. Before the Communists.” He spoke reluctantly, staring out the window. “We fled our estate. Left everything behind. Some vases and paintings worth a fortune.”
    “At least you got out alive.”
    Suddenly, he looked as if he were in pain.
    She should have been more careful with her words; she bit her lip for talking too much. After that, he clammed up, and they both stared out the window in silence. She wanted to tell him about her predicament. Winston seemed unconventional to her, not like a typical Chinese man, but would he understand? In her mind, she was ready to go to Africa with him. But was he ready to go with her?
    During the symphony performance, Winston seemed captured by the music, and afterward, his mood lightened. They took the underground to Leicester Square and walked to London’s Soho Chinatown. With five-floors and greasy plastic seats, Wong Kei was famous for its noodles and won ton soup. The waiter put them at a large round table with a family full of noisy children. Like most Cantonese restaurants, Wong Kei was not known for its customer service or romantic ambience.
    Surrounded by the clatter of chopsticks, slurping of soup and barking waiters, Sylvia looked sideways at her date. Winston was not conventionally handsome, but when he walked into a room, people noticed. He had the solid build and height that characterized the northern Chinese and their diet of steamed mantou buns and thick, wide noodles.
    “When are you going to Africa?” she said.
    “In a month.”
    “Are you really looking for a wife to go with you?” she mustered up the courage to ask.
    “Yes, but no Chinese girl wants to go to Africa. They all want to stay here. Or go to America.”
    “I would go…except I have problems—” she said, looking down.
    “You would go?” Winston interrupted. “You would marry me?”
    “You don’t want to hear what my problem is?”
    “I can guess,” he said, but he didn’t look at her.
    ***
     
    Winston and Sylvia were married by the end of the month before any sign of her belly showed. It was a