New Tales Of The Great Wall
Lauren L
t is another day. Again, nine-year-old Xiao Hui wakes with a heart heavy as stone. As usual, she looks for
her mother through an open crack in their wooden hut. She sees her straining her neck by the wooden gate
in front of their humble house. Xiao Hui knows whom her Ma is watching out for; she is waiting for the
same person, her Pa. He has been away for more than a month now and winter is fast approaching. Ma is
worried, as Pa does not have winter clothes. When two officials came to get him, they promised us Pa
would be back in a week.
ee, Group 2: Fiction, Glenealy School
I
Xiao Hui’s father, Meng Ming Hu, is a clever mathematician who is called away to help in the extension of
the Great Wall that was started by Emperor Qin to defend the country from enemies in the north. The wall is
getting longer with each new emperor adding on to its construction. Her Pa’s role is to calculate the number of
bricks needed for this new section of the wall in Hebei.
Since Pa left, Ma has been trying to carry on as before, always cheering Xiao Hui up when she is sad and
misses her Pa. But the little girl knows that Ma misses him more. As the days pass, their food supply gets less
and now they are only having two meals a day. That morning they settle down to some watery congee. Xiao
Hui’s stomach grumbles at the smell of it.
“
Xiao Hui,” Ma says suddenly, “You have been a very brave girl with Pa not around. I’m going to ask you
to remain this brave because we will go and look for him; find out what’s happened to him. It’s been too long.”
The girl has been secretly waiting for this day, wishing that her Ma would suggest this. Her heart is filled
with excitement over this adventure. They each pack some basic necessities in a piece of cloth and knotted it up.
Together with a few teals of silver that Pa left them, they also brought with them a warm winter coat for Pa and
a few buns to sustain them.
After four hours’ trek along a snaking, dusty road that is surrounded by lush green hills and a stream
running through it, they come upon a small roadside hut where a few other travellers have stopped for
refreshments. Mother and daughter took their seats, resting their very tired legs.
“
Those poor souls, doing such hard labor at the Great Wall, barely having anything to eat,” says one elderly
man. “When are they going to stop this, the wall is so long already?”
“
Many have died,” adds another small old man, “I am so relieved my son has not been called up yet to serve
in the construction.”
“
Did you hear about the poor lady who cried so much, when she found out that her husband had died, that
part of the wall collapsed, exposing dead bodies in the wall?” asked another.
Xiao Hui and Ma’s hearts sank upon overhearing this. They quickly left, not wanting to hear more. Xiao
Hui knows Ma fears the worst but the little girl has a very strong feeling that Pa is still alive. Pa has been very
close to her, teaching her mathematics whenever he is free. She misses Pa’s humour and wisdom greatly.
They journey on, stopping by the stream they saw earlier, to rest. They sit on some rocks and drink from the
stream.
“
This is such a scenic, beautiful spot, Xiao Hui. Listen to the birds and the insects. Your Pa loves
countryside like this. How perfect it would be if we were together again!” Ma wishes.
Just then, out of nowhere, a strong gush a wind sweeps through where they are sitting, blowing up leaves
and small twigs. Ma and Xiao Hui huddle together, thinking it must be an onset of a storm but just as it
suddenly appeared, the wind suddenly settled and all is serene and quiet again. They breathe a sigh of relieve. It
would be hard to find shelter here. Ma says they need to get going anyway because they need to find a suitable
place to spend the night before continuing their search tomorrow.
As they dragged their feet, they could see through the distance a familiar figure running in their direction.
Further behind, there seems to be two more people chasing after him, shouting.
Moments later, Ma and Xiao Hui realise that it is Pa. They could not believe their eyes. They now know
that the wind was an omen, trying to tell them something.
“
Pa!” “Pa!” they yell.
“
My girl, my wife…” Pa mumbles weakly and collapses into Ma’s arms. The three of them held each other
so tightly, tears streaming down their faces and joy filling their hearts.
“
Stop, Meng Ming Hu! Don’t think that you can run away. You are to come back with us right now,” the
older of the two soldiers orders as they continue to run towards the family.
“
Hold tightly together, my dears. They will never separate us again,” Pa whispers.
The three of them hugged each other so tight, their love for each other so overwhelming, that there is
another gush of wind and turbulence. When the dust and leaves settle, the family of three had turned into stone,