I was surprised to see Ah Hoe come in search of me at the temple. He seemed rather flustered and asked whether he could talk to me in private.
"Sure, Ah Hoe" I said and led him to Head Nun's garden where it was cool and quiet.
"Well," he said, clearing his throat. "I don't know where to begin. You know all along I've never been very sociable and kept to myself most of the time....."
Ah Hoe cleared his throat again. "Well, you know there's this laundry in town where I sometimes take my clothes to be washed. Lately, I came to know someone there and we began talking and well, I quite like her ....." his voice trailed away.
"Aha, so you've got a girl friend at last!" I teased him.
"Da, please don't laugh at me. I know I'm old, in fact I just turned 75. I'm not rich or handsome, and she's a lot younger than me but she seems to like me." He drew in a deep breath and continued, "Well, I was thinking of asking her to dinner at my hut but I'm not sure she will accept. What do you think, Da?"
"Of course she will accept! You're such a nice, honest guy she would be stupid if she can't see that. A quiet dinner at your hut is just perfect. It will give you a chance to get to know her better!"
"Do you really think so?" he gushed. "But I want you and Ning to come along as well. You know people will start to gossip if it was just two of us alone."
I laughed. "Alright, Ah Hoe, we will come if only to make you feel comfortable!"
"OK, so it's on, thanks, Da. I'll let you both know when." He ran off excitedly, just like a young boy going on his first date. Romance at last for Ah Hoe! Well, for some people, it happens early, for some it happens late, I hoped Ah Hoe had found his Ms Right at last.
The big day came with Ah Hoe all jittery and excited. He had planned a simple menu of grilled salmon, salad and some soup. Ning seemed pretty excited too and insisted on wearing his red bow tie for the occasion.
When we arrived at Ah Hoe's hut, his guest was already there. "Come in, come in, my friends," he said, welcoming us at the door. I was surprised to see that he was all spruced up in a spotless white shirt with his hair slicked neatly back from his forehead. I could hardly recognise him!
"Ning and Da, this is Pei Fei," he said, introducing us to the lady seated at the table. Pei Fei turned out to be rather a plump woman, probably in her forties. She wasn't very pretty but looked quite striking in her maroon dress and long black hair reaching to her shoulders. We made light conversation just before dinner and though I could see Pei Fei wasn't exactly impressed by Ning and I, she was polite and amiable but there was something about her which I didn't like especially the way she scrutinised everything in the hut with her shifty eyes.
Anyway everything went well with Ah Hoe being the perfect host and after dinner was over and Pei Fei had left, he turned eagerly to us and asked, "So what do you both think? She's wonderful, isn't she?"
Anyway everything went well with Ah Hoe being the perfect host and after dinner was over and Pei Fei had left, he turned eagerly to us and asked, "So what do you both think? She's wonderful, isn't she?"
Well, I couldn't find words to agree with him but Ning, being always diplomatic, said he thought so too. On our way back to the temple, Ning asked me what I thought of P.F.
"I don't know why but I just don't have any good vibes about her. I hope she won't cause Ah Hoe any trouble."
Ning laughed. "Your so-called sixth sense is working overtime again! We cats are not in a position to judge humans, you're probably worrying for nothing."
Well, maybe he's right, I still don't know much about human behaviour, so I decided to let things be.
A few days later, Ah Hoe informed us that he would be going to visit a sick friend in another village and would be away for something like two nights. He asked whether Ning and I could look after his hut for him during his absence. We readily agreed and on the day he went away, we went over to stay. He had left some food for us and after dinner, we sat on the porch enjoying the breeze.
It was like old times when Lao Lo was alive and I knew Ning was also thinking the same. We still missed him though it had been more than six months after his demise. It was about 11 when we decided to turn in for the night. Ning curled up at the foot of Ah Hoe's bed while I chose an easy chair near the window. It was a cool, pleasant night with a light breeze and soon we were both fast asleep.
I had always been a light sleeper and woke up with a start when I heard strange noises from outside the hut. I ran to wake Ning up and we both hid under Ah Hoe's bed ready to pounce on the intruder. After a while, we heard the window squeak open and someone climb through it. From under the bed, we could see in the darkness a pair of legs walking stealthily towards the bed.
"Let's grab those legs and bite them hard," whispered Ning and he jumped out of hiding, grabbed a leg and bit hard. I did the same to the other leg though I reckon my bite wasn't as hard as Ning's (a cat monk doesn't have much practice biting humans, you know). We heard screams which sounded like that of a woman and after a brief struggle, I somehow managed to flick on the light switch on the wall and we saw to our shock that the intruder was ........... Pei Fei!
"Pei Fei!" yelled Ning. "We thought you were a robber!"
Pei Fei sat up, her hair falling all over her face. There was an ugly scowl on her face and she shrieked, "You busybody cats! You've ruined everything!"
Ning and I looked at each other, not quite understanding what she meant.
"Pei Fei, you're the one who broke into the house, not us. You had better tell us what you're doing here," I said, trying to be calm and civilised.
She scrambled to her feet and groped for words, finally she stammered, "Well, I ...I heard that Ah Hoe was going away and I wanted to see that everything was alright at his house....."
"Really? In the middle of the night?" asked Ning. "Sorry, but I don't believe you."
Pei Fei's face turned purple with rage, then she screamed, "Alright, alright! If you must know, I came in search of Ah Hoe's gold. Yeah, you heard me right, I was told that he has hidden in this Goddamn place tons of gold given to him by Lao Lo and I want that gold! Why do you think I'm so nice to that wizened old man? He's like a dried up old stick and I get the creeps just looking at him. And that dinner he gave was the lousiest I've ever eaten - all that fish, yuk! Does he think I'm a cat like you two?"
Then without warning, she seized both of us by the neck. "Look, I want that gold and if you two tell the old geezer what I've just told you, I shall hunt you both down and squeeze the life out of you, you hear?"
"Let them go," said a voice from the doorway. The three of us had not heard the door open and we looked up and saw to our surprise that it was Ah Hoe! His face was ashen and it was obvious that he had heard everything Pei Fei had said.
Pei Fei turned white and she dropped us like two burning coals.
Ah Hoe continued calmly, "There's no gold here, Pei Fei. All the gold I had was a small statue of the Lord Buddha which Lao Lo asked me to keep for him. He said should anything happen to him in China, I should sell it and use the proceeds to cover his funeral expenses and so on. There's no more money left and I am as penniless as the day I was born. Now you know the truth, kindly leave my house and I hope I never see you again."
Pei Fei opened her mouth to speak, then shut it again, then fled to the door and disappeared into the night.
Ning as usual was the first to recover. "Ah Hoe, we didn't expect you back so soon!"
"I managed to catch an early bus back and it looks like I arrived in time!" replied Ah Hoe. He crossed over to his bed and sat down, his hands trembling. We could see that he was hurt deeply by what Pei Fei had said and shocked that she had deceived him all this while.
"Ah Hoe, we're sorry you witnessed that ugly scene," I said.
Ah Hoe sighed, then said, "I knew it was too good to be true. I was stupid to think a young woman like her would go for an old man like me. Anyway, I'm glad my eyes have been opened, thanks to you two."
"I hope that's the last we shall see of that greedy woman," said Ning. "You're right, Da, she was nothing but trouble. Look, Ah Hoe, why don't I stay the night with you? You must be very tired, I can cook some soup for you and help you get down to bed."
Ah Hoe smiled. "Thanks, Ning. I would appreciate that."
On my way back to the temple, I thought of what the Lord Buddha had said about greed. He said that Greed is one of the Three Poisons leading to evil and binding us to suffering. It is of course also a major hindrance to one's enlightenment and so long as we hanker after life's materialistic pleasures, we shall never be free from this endless cycle of birth and death.
Incidentally we heard that Pei Fei left town shortly after this incident and no one seemed to know of her whereabouts since then.
A few days later, Ah Hoe informed us that he would be going to visit a sick friend in another village and would be away for something like two nights. He asked whether Ning and I could look after his hut for him during his absence. We readily agreed and on the day he went away, we went over to stay. He had left some food for us and after dinner, we sat on the porch enjoying the breeze.
It was like old times when Lao Lo was alive and I knew Ning was also thinking the same. We still missed him though it had been more than six months after his demise. It was about 11 when we decided to turn in for the night. Ning curled up at the foot of Ah Hoe's bed while I chose an easy chair near the window. It was a cool, pleasant night with a light breeze and soon we were both fast asleep.
I had always been a light sleeper and woke up with a start when I heard strange noises from outside the hut. I ran to wake Ning up and we both hid under Ah Hoe's bed ready to pounce on the intruder. After a while, we heard the window squeak open and someone climb through it. From under the bed, we could see in the darkness a pair of legs walking stealthily towards the bed.
"Let's grab those legs and bite them hard," whispered Ning and he jumped out of hiding, grabbed a leg and bit hard. I did the same to the other leg though I reckon my bite wasn't as hard as Ning's (a cat monk doesn't have much practice biting humans, you know). We heard screams which sounded like that of a woman and after a brief struggle, I somehow managed to flick on the light switch on the wall and we saw to our shock that the intruder was ........... Pei Fei!
"Pei Fei!" yelled Ning. "We thought you were a robber!"
Pei Fei sat up, her hair falling all over her face. There was an ugly scowl on her face and she shrieked, "You busybody cats! You've ruined everything!"
Ning and I looked at each other, not quite understanding what she meant.
"Pei Fei, you're the one who broke into the house, not us. You had better tell us what you're doing here," I said, trying to be calm and civilised.
She scrambled to her feet and groped for words, finally she stammered, "Well, I ...I heard that Ah Hoe was going away and I wanted to see that everything was alright at his house....."
"Really? In the middle of the night?" asked Ning. "Sorry, but I don't believe you."
Pei Fei's face turned purple with rage, then she screamed, "Alright, alright! If you must know, I came in search of Ah Hoe's gold. Yeah, you heard me right, I was told that he has hidden in this Goddamn place tons of gold given to him by Lao Lo and I want that gold! Why do you think I'm so nice to that wizened old man? He's like a dried up old stick and I get the creeps just looking at him. And that dinner he gave was the lousiest I've ever eaten - all that fish, yuk! Does he think I'm a cat like you two?"
Then without warning, she seized both of us by the neck. "Look, I want that gold and if you two tell the old geezer what I've just told you, I shall hunt you both down and squeeze the life out of you, you hear?"
"Let them go," said a voice from the doorway. The three of us had not heard the door open and we looked up and saw to our surprise that it was Ah Hoe! His face was ashen and it was obvious that he had heard everything Pei Fei had said.
Pei Fei turned white and she dropped us like two burning coals.
Ah Hoe continued calmly, "There's no gold here, Pei Fei. All the gold I had was a small statue of the Lord Buddha which Lao Lo asked me to keep for him. He said should anything happen to him in China, I should sell it and use the proceeds to cover his funeral expenses and so on. There's no more money left and I am as penniless as the day I was born. Now you know the truth, kindly leave my house and I hope I never see you again."
Pei Fei opened her mouth to speak, then shut it again, then fled to the door and disappeared into the night.
Ning as usual was the first to recover. "Ah Hoe, we didn't expect you back so soon!"
"I managed to catch an early bus back and it looks like I arrived in time!" replied Ah Hoe. He crossed over to his bed and sat down, his hands trembling. We could see that he was hurt deeply by what Pei Fei had said and shocked that she had deceived him all this while.
"Ah Hoe, we're sorry you witnessed that ugly scene," I said.
Ah Hoe sighed, then said, "I knew it was too good to be true. I was stupid to think a young woman like her would go for an old man like me. Anyway, I'm glad my eyes have been opened, thanks to you two."
"I hope that's the last we shall see of that greedy woman," said Ning. "You're right, Da, she was nothing but trouble. Look, Ah Hoe, why don't I stay the night with you? You must be very tired, I can cook some soup for you and help you get down to bed."
Ah Hoe smiled. "Thanks, Ning. I would appreciate that."
On my way back to the temple, I thought of what the Lord Buddha had said about greed. He said that Greed is one of the Three Poisons leading to evil and binding us to suffering. It is of course also a major hindrance to one's enlightenment and so long as we hanker after life's materialistic pleasures, we shall never be free from this endless cycle of birth and death.
Incidentally we heard that Pei Fei left town shortly after this incident and no one seemed to know of her whereabouts since then.
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