Fan Fiction ❯ Lang-Fa's Floral Sweater ❯ Chapter 1

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It was the early winter in China during the year 1890 and of course, it gets quite cold during any time of the winter. Now then, this is the story of how Wong Sup Yun tricks Li Lang Fa into giving away Lang Fa’s favorite floral sweater.
“Now children. It’s once again, time to get food to last the winter,” announced Mother Wong.
“Yes, Mama,” nodded the three children in unison.
“Ho Yea, fetch a lot of firewood,” she told to Ho Yea, the eldest son.
“Gheek Jorn, please be sure to catch large fish out by the pond,” she told Gheek Jorn, the second born, and away he went with the fishing net.
“Now Sup Yun, I need you the most. Since you are the most intelligent one, I need you to buy dried vegetables, herbs, and fruits with our winter savings. I expect you to haggle well,” she told her youngest and only daughter.
“You should know by now, that I am a great haggler. I will not be long,”
Sup Yun took the savings and carefully placed it in her ragged cloth shoes. Then she grabbed the old shopping basket and trotted out the door.
Unfortunately, Sup Yun couldn’t afford new shoes or pretty hair ribbons because her family was very poor and had to live in an unstable house in a rural village on the mountains. Yet, she always imagined herself in brightly colored dresses and a variety of hair accessories, shoes, and jewelry.
“I wish my Papa was a wealthy doctor instead of a rice farmer. Of course, it’s not my fault that I’m the only one with a good education. Oh well, off to the marketplace I go!” and there Sup Yun skipped, while she swung her empty basket around, and her really long, braided jet black hair whipped through the nippy winds until she arrived at the crowded marketplace. She could hear people talking and bragging about what they bought, and sellers haggling with their costumers, and also looking at the delicious, yet rather expensive items her family could never afford to get.
Sup Yun was about to head over to the preserved foods section until her sensitive foot stepped on something soft. She looked down and saw it was a beautifully decorated, colorful, floral wool sweater.
Sup Yun was thinking, This wool is made from young lambs. It is so soft and nice. Positively warm enough to last all of winter and part of spring. Oh, I must... Suddenly, she saw a lady yelling at her.
“Stop! You thief! Now look what you did! You’ve bruised the wool fibers!”
“What do you mean ‘bruised’? It is no longer alive! It has no nerve feeling!” Sup Yun shouted back.
“How dare you talk back to a Li!” exclaimed the owner of the sweater.
“Sorry, how could I tell?”
“Obviously, you beggar, you have porridge for a brain. The Li family name is royalty,”
Sup Yun asked, “How much will you pay for this sweater?”
The owner laughed, “This sweater will never be on sale! This is my favorite sweater.”
Sup Yun thought a bit because she had to have that sweater, or else her frail body will always get numb each time a cold breeze or snow comes by.
“I am ever so sorry. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Wong Sup Yun. I am in my young twenties and I have both parents and two older brothers,”
“How nice to hear. My name is Li Lang Fa, I’m about twenty-five and I’m a great saleswoman of bargains,”
“Wow, intriguing to hear. Oh dear me, there seems to be a rip on the vest you are wearing,” and Sup Yun pointed to Lang Fa’s rip.
“So there is! I’m quite bad on mending clothes. I let my servant do that, but he’s not here so will you do that for me?”
“Certainly! Yet, there will be a small price to pay,”
“Will do, as long as you mend my vest. Please follow me,” and the two ladies went to Lang Fa’s stand so Sup Yun could do her task.
Sup Yun did what she supposed to do and showed Lang Fa the vest.
“You’re a true friend and a miracle worker. Are you a tailor?” complimented Lang Fa.
“Thank you, but no, I am not a tailor. I am just an errand runner for my wise, old mother. Now about your price. I will want to borrow your wool sweater for the rest of the winter,”
Lang Fa forced a nervous laugh, “ That sweater is my favorite one.”
“I have a sharp knife and I can shred it to pieces. We had a deal,” Sup Yun threatened.
“Please don’t! I suppose you may borrow it as long as you take good care of it. You must wash it if necessary, mend it if needed, and don’t stretch it out, okay?”
“Trust me. I am a lady of my word. Thank you,”
“I’m still not sure. Your name means ‘one who tricks others,’” said Lang Fa with uncertainty.
“Well, are you a beautiful flower?” inquired Sup Yun.
“No, but it’s expression of my beauty,” replied Lang Fa.
“I am glad we settled that I will meet you again in three months. Good-bye,”
and Sup Yun walked off into the preserved foods area to buy what was needed for her mother.
After she was done shopping, she headed into a shortcut alley that is, obviously, a shortcut to her house. Anyway, she dressed out of her own filthy dress, and put on the floral sweater. It was a perfect fit and it didn’t really stretch it out. Then she put back her own dress in the shopping basket and walked off through the alley.
When she arrived at her house, Ho Yea was looking very relieved when she came back, “I thought you ran away with our savings again. Wow! Where’d you get the pretty shirt?”
“First of all, it is not a ‘shirt’. It is a sweater,”
“Same difference. Hey, Little Brother. Come and look at Little Sister’s sweater,”
Gheek Jorn came along with a came along with a salty, fish smell because he was still catching fish, “The fish are really biting today. We might be able to eat fish every night for the winter if I keep this up. Oh! I didn’t see you there. I’m sorry, Our family’s much too poor to buy something from a traveling saleswoman,”
Sup Yun was shocked yet flattered, “Dimwit! I am your little sister,”
Gheek Jorn squinted his eyes to look more closely because he had bad eyesight.
“Little One! I didn’t recognize you because of that floral sweater you had on. Where’d you buy that?”
“I did not buy this. I am borrowing it for the rest of the winter,” replied Sup Yun.
“Perhaps you should give this warm sweater to Mama,” suggested Ho Yea.
“Certainly not! It would be too long for our skinny, yet short mother. I already told you, it is mine to wear and that is that!”
“Stubborn as always,” said both brothers.
“You two must be joking! Of course I am not,”
Both brothers said at the same time again, “In denial, like always.”
“Ugh! Both of you are starting to annoy me very much!” and Sup Yun stomped into her house, put the groceries into the pantry, greeted her parents as they complimented her sweater, and ran to her bedroom to make a matching skirt for her sweater.