Bitter Sweet Harvest Read Free Page B

wall. He had it taken down to make the room more spacious.”
    They did not notice that Ming Kong had followed them into the room. He looked around him, taking stock of the length and width of the room. “It will certainly do for the moment.” He strode over to the bay windows that looked over the road and peeped out. The narrow road was lined on both sides with parked cars.
    “It’s not bad. Not bad at all. Good job An Mei,” he said approvingly, ruffling her hair. “I know it was a tall order to ask you to find us accommodation in the time we gave you. Anyway, you have chosen well. Location is important when buying properties. And this is good: within walking distance to the town centre. Tightening our belts and economising again will not be a bad thing in our new situation. We have to start afresh once again.”
    An Mei slipped her arm around her father’s waist and smiled, two dimples dipped and her lips parted.
    “Good girl,” said Nelly crowding into the room. She was proud of her charge and reached out her hand to stroke An Mei’s face.
    “Hey, I am twenty-four years old and have been here in the UK for over two years! Right now, I feel like a child again with everyone addressing me like I’m ten years old!” She felt a surge of affection for her parents and her aunt Nelly.
    She moved to the front window and looked out. Not many people were around. A group of young mothers with pushchairs and prams had gathered to chat, taking up the whole of the narrow pavement. She reflected on the hushed conversation she’d had in the hotel with her mother and aunt just after their arrival. A shadow fell across her face and tears glistened in the corner of her eyes. Quickly she dabbed them away. She felt her mother’s hands on her shoulder and she leaned back towards her, luxuriating in the comforting warmth of her mother’s arms. “I’m alright,” she said. “Come, I’ll show you the rest of the house.”
*****
    Mei Yin ducked and bent low to avoid hitting her head on the low doorway that led into the converted roof space. Once in the room she straightened up. The room stretched from the front of the house to the back. The ceiling sloped down at one end. Windows flanked both ends of the room, filling it with light. “We can probably make this into a bedroom with a study area at the far end. The three larger rooms in the middle floor below will be the bedrooms. The fourth is just a box room, so it could probably be made into a storeroom or a small office. What do you think?” She looked at her husband, noting the puffiness round his tired eyes. She wished she could inject some enthusiasm into him.
    Ming Kong nodded absent-mindedly to Mei Yin’s ideas for the house. He was engrossed in his own plans of how to start anew in England. His mind twirled and turned over the meeting schedules already lined up with his business associates.
    “Fine, fine. I’ll leave it to you.” He walked out of the room and headed to the stairway. A flurry of footsteps caught his attention. He caught a glimpse of the fast retreating back of An Mei. The bathroom door slammed behind her. Then the hurried, urgent sound of bolts drawn tight.
    “Hmm! Must have eaten something bad!” He hesitated and then called out. “Are you okay?”
    “Yes, yes”, came a muffled reply.
    Ming Kong nodded and made his way down the stairs.
    Inside the bathroom, An Mei sat on the side of the bath. She listened intently to her father’s receding footsteps. She had received an urgent message while her mother and father were touring the house. A young boy, no older than eight years old, had rung the doorbell, checked who she was and then pushed a paper message rolled up in a ball into her hands before rushing away. Now, sitting on the bath, she unrolled the dirty piece of paper. “Meet me at noon tomorrow at The Bear,” it said.
*****
    She stepped into The Bear. A group of students were huddled in a corner, engaged in serious conversation, their