Chin-Chin

Short Fiction | Story of a young boy figuring out 'money' in the 1990s

What do you call a Chinese person who makes a lot of money?

Chin-Chin

**

'Do you think money grows on trees?', Mother raised her voice.

Suraj nodded his head sideways. He had already looked around where the money plant grew. There were no coins even.

No money from the money plant just like no gulab jamun from the jamun tree. What an unreliable world.

'Then?! How did you lose the money?', Father joined in.

When Mother had first handed Suraj the 10 rupees, she asked him to keep it safe. He promptly kept it in his shirt pocket thinking that would be safe. Mother had immediately pulled it out from his pocket. 'I said keep it safe!', she had glowered at him. He just stood there and watched her open his bag and keep it in his pencil box.

'Why are you chewing your pencils? Is your lunch not enough for you?', she banged the box shut and rushed both Suraj and his younger brother outside to catch the school bus.

Suraj was to hand that ten rupee note to Vinita Miss for his field trip to Cubbon Park.

He kept checking his pencil box all morning to see if the money was safe in there. When Vinita Miss came to their class after lunch break to collect the money, Suraj was shocked that the money was missing from his pencil box. He quickly scanned all around his bench, and checked his entire school bag. When Vinita Miss finally came to his bench, Suraj sat frozen in fear. He didn't know what would be more trouble for him - to say that someone had stolen his money or that he had lost it.

He didn't say anything.

Vinita Miss wrote a note in his diary for his parents. 'Ten Rupees for field trip not given. Please send tomorrow'.

'Did you eat that Mewad ice-cream with the money?'

'I heard they put drugs in that to get children hooked'

'Tomorrow you will start stealing money from us!'

Suraj shook his head and began to weep.

'Send him out of the house. Let him see how hard it is to earn a rupee', his father thundered.

Suraj was wailing now. Mother held him and whispered in his ear, 'Say sorry beta. Say you will always be careful. Papa works hard to pay the school fees, no? Don't cry now.'

'Sa..sa..sorry...'

They usually came to the Chinese restaurant for their birthdays. Last year, they had come here after their school Annual Day as well, where Suraj's brother had performed in a group dance.

After finishing dinner, Father went to the washroom. Suraj thought this was the right time to ask his mother what today's occasion was. Just then the waiter appeared and gently placed a folder on the table. Mother took the folder and the waiter smilingly bowed before leaving. Suraj felt something suspicious about the waiter's smile. He then leaned into his mother who had started checking the bill.

'How much is it Mama?'

Mother pointed to total amount printed in large font at the bottom: Rs.268/-

Oh! That's a lot of money! I hope Papa does not get angry that we ate so much!

Only yesterday, he was struggling with that Maths problem where the mango seller sold mangoes all day to earn 120 rupees. If food for four people costs as much as 268 rupees, there is no way the mango seller can feed his family with just 120 rupees!

Suraj realized his father had still not returned from the washroom.

Did something bad happen to him?

He stood up and looked around the restaurant. The waiter was now standing at the counter where a Chinese man sat wearing a black suit.

Were they discussing about us?

He relaxed only when his father reappeared from the washroom.

While going through the bill, Father asked, 'Did you bring the money?'

'I thought you had the money', replied Mother.

'Don't you always bring the money in your handbag?'

Father was nodding his head now.

What?! We don't have the money! What will they do now? Will they call the police? Will they beat up Papa?

At the table opposite to theirs was a boy younger than him. The boy was now sitting underneath the table and making gestures in his direction. Suraj looked around to see if it was indeed him the boy was calling out to. So Suraj bent underneath their table and made eye contact with him. The boy smiled and called him to sit with him under their table.

The boy's family appeared to be wealthy.

Should I just run away and join that table before things start getting messy here?

The waiter returned and was still smiling as suspiciously. Father took out a silver coloured thing from his wallet. The waiter opened the folder and his father placed the thing in it.

Hmmm when we don't have money, we have to give our gold and silver?

The waiter came back now and gave a pen to Father, who then promptly signed on some paper.

The waiter then returned that silver thing to Father. And Father gave him ten rupees in return.

'Thank you sir, goodnight ma'am'. The waiter's smile was not suspicious anymore.

Is he letting us off because Father gave him ten rupees? What did Father sign? Did he promise to pay up tomorrow?

On the way out, Father stopped by the counter and shook hands with the Chinese man. He stood up and waved them out of the door.

Phew!

Suraj stood on the platform of his father's scooter and relished the cool breeze all the way home.

When he got into bed, Suraj remembered that movie where some bad people trick an old man into signing some papers. The next day, the bad people throw that old man out of his house saying that it's their house now because he has signed the papers.

Suraj got out of his bed and started looking out of the window to see if there were any Chinese men lurking around their house.