“Papers, please!” An attendant requested from behind a glass counter.
It was early morning, and the line was a mix of rich, tired, poor, and frantic souls waiting for what may well be the last boat out of Shanghai. Not everyone had tickets, but that didn’t stop bribery.
Liangfeng dug around in her pockets before producing her ticket and travel documents. The counter woman gave them a quick look over and stamped them with a red seal. “You are cleared. Next passenger!”
The Jade Mirage by all accounts was the most luxurious vessel operating in China. A retrofitted Japanese Imperial Navy ship, what it lacked in original design for austere conditions, it made up for in reliability. The former central mess was converted to accommodate a banquet, while most other cookery would be individual portions. Guests could order to their room outside of the two primary meals, with lunch as a buffet style experience.
As the porters were loading up several hundred kilos of pork into the hold, Alexander took out his paperwork to be stamped. An old folk song played in his head, something heard during the war. My love’s in Germany…
There was a lot of time left before they needed to disembark. The fog hadn’t even risen from the water, the sun above the horizon line, as Alex took his first steps into the cabin where he’d stay. Two days sharing a cabin with Ma Liu, Heinrich, and a fourth passenger.
“So, what should we eat?” Heinrich had unpacked all his necessary belongings, and walked back into the cabin with a kettle and a fresh bag of black gunpowder tea. Their suite consisted of a small common area, and three separate sleeping compartments. A menu had been placed on the table for them to order from at their leisure.
“Roast chicken with hawthorn sauce doesn’t sound too bad.” Ma Liu opined, reclining on the couch.
“I’d prefer dumplings. Something we can munch on throughout the journey. With a whole plate of food like that… I dunno. It’d get cold.” Alex said. ‘Also it’s 6 in the morning.. you want a whole roast chicken now?”
“If it gets cold, it becomes inedible? How Is it remotely different with dumplings?” Ma Liu asked.
“With dumplings, you have the safety of the wrapper. If the wrapper outside is cold, the germaphobes among us can peel away at it and find the morsel inside.” Heinrich gave a knowing glance to Alex. “I’m personally not opposed to chicken, but I’m with Alex it’s 6 in the damn morning. We should be getting youtiao and soy milk.”
Ma Liu looked over the menu. “Hot soy milk and youtiao is only 12,000. Not too bad.” Heinrich pressed a buzzer on the door panel, and in a few moments an attendant arrived.
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“How can I assist you?” The voice sounded oddly familiar.
“Qianlian, why the fuck are you on this ship?!” Alex couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
“I’m a waitress, duh! They have all us bar staff pulling waitress duty before the bar opens at night.. So what do you want gentlemen?” She was doing everything to keep her composure.
“Beef Jianbao with chive sauce.” Alex requested.
“Youtiao and hot soy milk please.” Heinrich said.
“I want the chicken with hawthorne sauce.”
“I am deeply sorry sir, we don’t have the chicken yet, it’s still being prepared. If you like, I can offer you a Western breakfast if that is suitable?”
“What is in the Western meal?”
“Fried egg with white pepper, cilantro sauce, lamb sausage patties, and cubed fried potato with French cheese.”
“That actually sounds… decent.” Ma Liu gave a hearty laugh, not having much experience with Western food. “I’ll take it. If you can add a cup of hot soy milk, that would be appreciated.”
“Right away, sir.” Qianlian made a deep bow and exited the room, making a B line straight for the kitchen. Several kitchens were on board to cater to the various needs of passengers and crew, with two set up specifically for these kinds of early morning orders. Breakfast could be taken either in a common hall, or as room service.
“Why did you choose the Western meal?” Heinrich asked, pouring out a cup of tea from the kettle.
“Well, when you grow up eating nothing but shaokao and millet, it becomes apparent there’s more to life than that. Hui food is not common outside of, well, Hui majority areas. Lanzhou noodles are one dish, but we have many hundreds more as most peoples do. It is also not common to find Western food, and so this is the option I chose.” Ma Liu took the cup Heinrich had just poured and threw the liquid over his shoulder into the sea. “Never drink the first pour, Heinrich. You should know this by now.”
“Right… I apologize.” Heinrich poured two fresh cups of black tea, and cut off a piece of rock sugar from a block provided to each cabin.
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“Ma Liu, I wanted to discuss something with you.” Alex sat down across from the Colonel, taking a moment to close the window.
“What is it?”
“The triad that you suggested I work with, they are working with the Church. They also know about the elixir or… whatever this mystical item is we are trying to hunt for. Is this something most people know about by now?”
“No, it isn’t. I will see about sending a radio message to the men in Harbin once we dock in Dalian… that is concerning to me.”
There was a knock on the door. In came Qianlian with a tray of food fit for a king. “Enjoy your meal, gentlemen.”
Ma Liu had by far the largest portion, with the eggs rolled and cut into a shape easy to pick up with steel chopsticks. The lamb sausage was spiced with cumin, and the potatoes had a strong scent of pepper, the cheese still bubbling and binding it the fried morsels together. The cilantro sauce, while on the side, was plenty to get a taste in every bite without mixing the plate into a mass of food.
Alex was greeted with a large plate of 14 dumplings, freshly pan fried. Time would tell if he’d be able to keep this as a lunch meal.
Heinrich had the most modest plate. A large cup of soymilk and 6 youtiao the length from his wrist to fingertips. Simple, but just how he liked to start the morning.
“Western food isn’t that bad. The green sauce isn’t spicy, as I thought it would be. I am pleasantly surprised with how nice this is to start a day with.” Ma Liu gazed at the rising sun over the Shanghai harbor, thinking of how soon he’d be back home. They still had a half hour before the ship took up anchor, but all seemed to be going well for now.