White-Haired A'e Dreamed of Water Snakes

White-haired A’e and Other Stories

Xi Xi

Yilin Press

March 2022

52.00 (CNY)

Xi Xi

Xi Xi， originally named Zhang Yan， a native of Zhongshan， Guangdong， settled in Hong Kong in 1950. She graduated from Grantham College of Education and once worked as a teacher and editor for Plain Leaf Literature， a magazine in Hong Kong.

She has produced a wide range of works， including more than thirty kinds of poems， proses， and novels. Her masterpieces include My City， Flying Carpet， My Georgia， White-Haired A’e and Other Stories， etc. The form and contents of her works were constantly innovated and have a far-reaching influence.

In 2005， she won the Huazong Literary Award hosted by Sin Chew Daily; in 2011， she was named the Writer of the Year by Hong Kong Book Fair; in 2018， she won the Newman Prize for Chinese Literature; in 2019， she won the Cicada Literature Award.

White-Haired A’e and Other Stories， a collection of short stories by Xi Xi， is split into two volumes. The volume “White-Haired A’e” gently presents the lifestyle of the urban elderly. The volume “Other Stories” includes short stories with various styles and a vanguard spirit written by Xi Xi in her later years. It represents the remarkable spirit that Xi Xi persisted in literary exploration in her old age.

White-haired A’e dreamed of water snakes.

White-haired A’e was boiling water in the kitchen when she saw four water snakes swinging their pump heads outside the window as if they were swimming into the room. She was terrified， but she was alone at home. She hurried back to her room， where she saw the same four water snakes outside the window. White-haired A’e was frightened and suddenly woke up.

White-haired A’e used to be alone in the daytime. Her daughter worked from 8:00 a.m. till 5:30 p.m. every day. When A’e was left at home， she always laid in bed upset and repeated that she didn’t feel well or somewhere hurt in her body. At the time， she had nothing to do all day. Thus， she felt that time passed so slowly until her daughter came back. As soon as her daughter entered the house， she followed her daughter around like a broken record. Her daughter washed rice and cooked， while she said she had a headache on that day. Her daughter beat eggs and soaked mushrooms while she said she had heard crows on that day. Her daughter set the table and spread the plastic tablecloth while she said the long TV series had been played many times.

Those days， her sons and daughter could do nothing about it， for their mother had no hobbies. She disliked reading， music， flowers， fish， afternoon tea， and shopping. As a seventy-year-old woman， she stayed at home all day long. The doctor suggested that she should do something. If she had nothing to do， the old woman would stay at home and sleep for a long time refusing to get up. However， what could an old woman do? Her children considered many activities， some of which would make them laugh when they thought them over. Playing the piano， embroidering， and knitting were hobbies of young girls. Swimming， climbing mountains， and playing ball games were sports for boys. Her daughter advised her to sweep the floor， clean the glass on the bookcase， and change the pillowcases when she was free. She was angry. “What? Do you think I’m a maid? I’m too old to do these things.” Her son advised keeping a dog that could accompany her. But White-haired A’e said dogs would shed hair， and she could do nothing about dog hair everywhere.

Moreover， she found it troublesome to walk the dog along the street. After thinking about it， her children had no good method， and she remained at home doing nothing all day long. “I must be dying，” she said.

What saved White-haired A’e from the abyss of loneliness? It was something her children never dreamed of. It was horses. They don’t know when White-haired A’e became interested in horses --- she read about horse racing in the newspapers， listened to horse racing comments on the radio， and watched horse racing programs on TV. She asked her daughter to bet 10 yuan for her at the Jockey Club， and she accidentally won more than 100 yuan. Since then， White-haired A’e’s life has changed. Now she has become a diligent reader who asks her daughter to buy her newspapers every day. When reading a newspaper， she is also holding a magnifying glass in her hand， listening to the radio， and taking notes on the paper with a pen as if she was a tireless student!

White-haired A’e is very busy. She is already sitting in front of the TV set， watching the morning exercises at 7 a.m. Her daughter opens the door and is going to work. She doesn’t turn around but stares at the screen， saying， “Remember to buy me the horse race evening news. I also want half a dozen sheets of draft paper and a ball pen that doesn’t leak ink.” Her daughter goes to work， and she enjoys her life in peace --- reading newspapers， taking notes， calling her son， and sharing her study experience. At present， White-haired A’e is busy seven days a week. On Monday， she looks at the schedule. On Tuesday， she collects opinions from horse critics. On Wednesday， she watches and listens to live horse races. On Thursday， she reviews the gains and losses of her research and listens to other people’s post-race comments. In fact， on Thursday， there are not only post-race comments but also the schedule for the next live horse race on Saturday. Everything starts all over again.

The real name of White-haired A’e is Yu A’e. In the past， her children used to frown and sigh， “Alas， our mother complains day and night. She should be called ‘Chang’e’.” (Note: Chang’e is the moon goddess in ancient Chinese mythology. In the Chinese language， “Chang” has the meaning “usually”. This implies that white-haired A’e usually complained in the past.) But things have changed. White-haired A’e no longer complains day and night. On Sunday， her sons come back to have tea and play mahjong with her. She shakes her head and says， “Enjoy yourselves. I have homework to do.” Her children are worried that she will be too tired and her eyes will hurt， but she is just fine. Her sons call to say that they are coming back. She goes to the kitchen， boils a big kettle of water， and makes a thermos of tea. Then she returns to her research. When her sons come back home， she just says， “It rained this morning. The horses will have to run in the mud tomorrow. I must be careful.” White-haired A’e was an old immigrant who moved here more than thirty years ago. In those years， her hair was not white at all， and some hair is going grey now. In fact， her daughter has whiter hair than her. White-haired A’e has no relatives here. All her aunts and uncles live in the place where she used to live. Her younger sisters and their children live in her hometown. She sends money to them every month to cover their living expenses and the children’s tuition. Whenever she says， “I’m dying”， her daughter says， “If you died， what would your sisters and their children do? Who would send living expenses to them and support them at university?” At that time， her only interest was to write letters home， and her only hope was to receive letters from home. Her belief， hope， and love were thousands of miles away. Her distant relatives seemed to be her religious belief.

Now， White-haired A’e is too busy to reply to the letters from her relatives. She tells her daughter， “Write a letter for me and tell them I’m busy.” Sometimes， when someone rings the doorbell， she opens the door a little and asks through the crack， “Who’s there?” The visitor says， “We are from the church. Let’s talk about the doctrines.” She replies， “We believe in Buddhism.” Then she closes the door with a bang. More than ten years ago， White-haired A’e arranged gold lacquer tablets for ancestors and gods. She worshipped these spirits with incense sticks day and night. The auntie in the neighborhood used to help her with “villain hitting” on the city corner. No matter how many “villains” they hit， she had never gotten rid her of headaches and lower back pains. (Note: “Villain hitting” was a superstition in ancient China. The civilians said people got sick or suffered from misfortune because “villains” were playing tricks. So， they made a figurine with cloth and wood to replace the “villain” and then “hit” it by sticking needles in it or burning it. They then thought illness and misfortune would be driven away.) Now， there is not an incense stick in sight at home. Instead， there is a statue of Madonna on top of the bookcase.

White-haired A’e learned to read in primary school for several years. She said， “Few girls could go to school in those years.” When she was born， the country was still ruled by an emperor. Shortly afterward， the Revolution of 1911 took place. Though she hadn’t read much， she secretly passed the exam and was admitted to a department store as a salesclerk. “Because I was beautiful，” she said， “I was known as ‘the Black Peony’.” However， she only worked there for one day. Her father found out it and scolded her， saying that she was not promising. She was urged to return home and continue to be an elegant lady. She was in love with her cousin for seven years， but in the end she married another man. She said， “It could be good luck or bad luck.”

“What do the water snakes in the kitchen mean? They must have something to do with water，” she thought. White-haired A’e remembered that the day before， she put the water pot on the fire and went to take notes on horse racing. She didn’t remember the water pot until a burning smell came to her nose. Fortunately， it didn’t cause a fire. The pot was burnt， and she had a lot of trouble cleaning it. She kept muttering that she was deprived of her time to study horses. Though she had cleaned the pot as best as she could， it was recognized by her daughter. Her daughter said， “Mom， be careful!” But the old mother looked the other way and changed the subject， “I don’t understand the advertisements on TV.”

“Sell me the whole plot.”

“You have to buy five thousand cows together.”

“Alright， it’s a deal.”

“How do you raise cows? There is no rain here all year round.”

“Don’t you know there is petroleum underground?”

White-haired A’e asked her daughter， “Does a cow feed on petroleum?”

Don’t regard White-haired A’e as ignorant. She wonders whether a cow feeds on petroleum， because she is a layman in science and technology. In fact， she is a scholar who knows what’s going on in the world without leaving home.

She watches all the TV programs. She watched City Forum， and she said to her children， “It’s no good to send your parents to a nursing home.” She watched Women’s New Knowledge， and she said， “I want to use corn oil.” When her daughter came back home with spinach， she said， “Spinach is good. It has fiber.” One day over the summer vacation， when all her children were home， White-haired A’e solemnly announced， “Don’t celebrate my birthday this year. The fortune teller on TV said those born in the year of dog shouldn’t celebrate their birthdays this year.”

Two weeks after she dreamed of water snakes， White-haired A’e had won three prizes from horse racing lotteries， and all of them were trifectas， adding up to more than six thousand yuan. She happily told her daughter， “Ah， I remembered. I dreamed of four water snakes. They are good snakes. Water stands for money. That’s why I won the lotteries.” White-haired A’e won three lotteries in a row. However， she had dreamed of four water snakes， so she thought she should win a fourth lottery. Therefore， she worked harder to study the horses and jockeys.

In addition to winning lotteries， there was another thing that comforted White-haired A’e. On Wednesday afternoon， her son asked for leave and took her to change her ID card. An old woman said， “Madame， you are so lucky. Look how filial your son is! He accompanies you to change your ID card.” White-haired A’e looked around and thought， “It’s true. Not all the people are together with their sons.” Thus， she smiled happily in front of the camera. When she was pressing her fingerprint， her finger could turn flexibly. She was as new as her ID card.

At the age of seventy-six， White-haired A’e has no more white hair. She has forgotten many unhappy things. For example， her children leave her alone at home; her daughter-in-law doesn’t want her to live with them; she is bored day and night; she feels she is dying. All these have been put behind herself. As long as she has a magnifying glass， a stack of newspapers， half a dozen notepads， and a ball point pen， she can kill 24 hours a day. Of course， she has to take time to watch other TV programs in her busy schedule. One day， her daughter came back from work having bought snow peas and shrimp. White-haired A’e said， “What a coincidence! Today’s TV program introduced the cooking method of fried shrimp with snow peas.” Then， she took the evening paper from her daughter instead of following her daughter and watching her daughter wash vegetables， cook meals， and beat eggs. At dinner time， she was reluctant to part with her newspaper but had to stop reading it to eat. Now she has new topics every day. This day， she said， “I got to know I am a Scorpio.”