Mei Lei

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"Life is but a walking shadow, a poor player

That struts and frets his hour upon the stage

And then is heard no more: it is a tale

told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

Signifying nothing." Macbeth, act v, scene v.

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This is a platform that I want to use for a 100,000 word novel. Let me know if it is worth the time and effort.

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It was very early in the morning and the edge of the sun had just barely cleared the Hong Kong horizon. I had just left a lovely young Chinese woman I had met in a bar that catered to American soldiers on R&R. (To civilians that was rest and relaxation, to the soldiers in NAM, it was rape and run.) She was active, vocal and a very good for the small amount of money I paid her.. She gave me more than my money's worth. R&R was fun.

I was thinking of breakfast at the hotel the Army was using for men on R&R when I heard a shout. In the early morning light I saw three men with knives and one man without. He was slowly backing away but there was a wall behind him. He would be pinned against that wall and likely killed.

I looked for anything that could be used as a weapon and saw a broken 2X4 about three feet long. I grabbed it with both hands and waded in. One went down and I was swinging at No. 2 when No. 3 turned to me. I made contact with No. 2's head and No. 1 made contact with my left side. I felt a tremendously sharp pain but made one last swing for the fences. The ground came up and hit me in the face.

~oOo~

Three days later, I woke up in the Navy hospital with a heavily bandaged chest. The news wasn't good. The knife blade had been coated with human feces and had punctured the left lung. Due to a raging infection, that lung had been removed. I would be discharged as unfit for duty unless I wanted to file paperwork to remain in the army. For a draftee the decision was easy, I was going home. Oh, two of the attackers were dead at the site of the attack and the other died on the way to the civilian hospital. I didn't remember hitting them that hard.

The next day I was visited by two Chinese men well dressed in western garb. The younger man was the man against the wall and was translating for the older.

"My father and I wish to thank you for your intervention. I am alive because of the help you bestowed upon me. You were very badly injured and my father wishes to reward you for your courage. As soon as you are allowed to leave Hospital, could you, please, call this number and there will be a car to take you to our home. There will be a feast in your honor."

"I am just a man who tried to help another man in trouble, but yes, a feast would be nice."

He spoke with very little accent and that meant a very good school or very good tutors

~oOo~

My name is Wade N. Waters; my mama blessed me with Wade for her father when I was born. My father caught the nurse on her way out of the room and added the N. Father wanted Richard, after his father, as a first name. Mama wasn't happy and I never used the initial. My life was more or less ordinary. I was a good student but my family didn't have the money for college. In Small Town High School, I was into sports, cheerleaders and girls who played sports. I never lacked for a date or sex and I was careful. No matter what the girl said about pills or a good time of the month, I used protection. It worked as there were 10 senior girls who rushed by their parents into early marriages. I was a local football hero but not good enough to interest any colleges into giving me a full ride.

Twenty-four days after I graduated, I received a letter dated June 30, 1966: Greetings from the President of the United States. You have been selected by you fellow citizens... Yeah, in 1966, there was a draft and young men were sent to Vietnam to fight the communists.

Four months later I was in NAM with the First Calvary Division. Eight months after that and after surviving several battles, I got seven days of R&R in Hong Kong. seven days away from my company and maybe five days in Hong Kong. With the stabbing I had three days before the removed my lung.

~oOo~

There was a car to pick me up and the house was huge. It was larger that the only mansion in Small Town. There seemed to be a lot of servants as the butler led me to a large dinning room.

There were ten people waiting for me: the young man, his father, three younger males and five females, one had to the mother and the others were maybe sisters.

"Welcome to the House of the Wang Chu Family. It is an honor for us to have you attend dinner with us. There will be western food and Chinese food. Please partake of the items with which you are comfortable."

There were many introductions. The younger sons all spoke English with differing levels of ability and all wanted to know more about the United States. The woman and young girls were quiet, too quiet and that somehow worried me. The oldest one, Mei Lei, was looking at me a bit too much to be polite and that worried me even more.

The food was very good and the four Chinese dishes I sampled were kind of bland but I was a southern gentleman and exclaimed pleasure for every morsel that passed my lips. There was a very good rice wine that I wanted more of but it would have been impolite to ask.

After the meal, father, first son and I retired to a office where more of that very good rice wine was served. There was talk of the family plans to manufacture hardware and fastening items for the American market.

I grinned, "My father has a small machine shop and makes nut, bolts and screws in every size possible. He sells mostly in a three county area in central Mississippi. He would like to expand but doesn't have the money."

"Is your father near a seaport and would he wish to become a distributor for our similar products?"

"My family is inland and about 175 mile distance from the Gulf of Mexico. The quality would have to be very good to interest my father."

"The Family has purchased a warehouse in Oakland, California. Could you or a brother manage it for us? The warehouse will receive and send the hardware to other distributions points."

"What about the present manger?"

"He will serve to assist the new manager or be discharged."

Okay, I love to fish so the next question was automatic, "Are you able to made hunting and fishing equipment like fiberglass fishing rods, various reels and outdoor clothing?"

The son explained the question to the father and they went back and forth for a few minutes while I sipped the really good rice wine.

"We would require an engineer to explain the method of manufacture. There are several English engineers in Hong Kong. Inquiries will be made to determine who is best qualified to do this. My father is quite sure that we can make the outdoor clothing and will make a decision on the reels and rods after an investigation. As a son, I am unable to make commitments in my father's name; it must be the same for you. You, however, can make a commitment in your own name."

My hackles stood up, "I will need more information about any commitment before I can make any promises. My father would very disappointed if I make a bad decision."

"My father wishes me to attend a university in America. Since you saved my life, he believes that you must be responsible to insure that I will have a happy life. He wishes for you to take me under your wing, so to speak. In order to insure that you will help me in America, the Family will also pay for your education, with housing and food."

I had a sinking feeling that there was more to be heard, "And?"

"My father and I are indebted to you for saving my life and feel that the closer to you I am the better off we will both be. However, he wants a promise, a commitment from you. My oldest sister is sixteen and when we graduate from college, you will take her as your mistress or if you prefer as Third Wife. She will be trained to prepare American meals. This will bind our two families together and make it easier for us to be partners in the business of making and selling products for the American market."

Now wait a minute here, I wasn't ready to commit to a permanent or temporary relationship with a mistress or a wife, Third or not. Time to stall.

"Can I delay the decision to accept your sister until the end of college? I would also like to get to know the lady before the marriage. As I understand it, a Third Wife would be less than the First and Second even if the Third Wife was the first married?"

"A husband should always accept the first married as First Wife but a mistress can be welcomed at any time. But the acceptance of the offer must be made before any decisions about the business can be made."

"If I have no have children with this mistress, how will that effect the nature of the business agreements?"

"You may use her as you please. However, the Wang Chu Family would desire that a boy child is born to help cement the two families together. An honest effort to impregnate my daughter will suffice."

"What happens if I say no to this mistress or Third Wife?"

"The business end of the relationship will go forth but without the trust needed for maximum corporation. Like marriage, partners business need to trust each other. Mei Lei will for lack of a better word be a spy in your household. She will tell our father if you or your family is cheating us."

"I will need to discuss this with my father before I can answer."

"Father has made inquiries. You may take your release from the army here in Hong Kong and the army will arrange to fly you home, most likely on a Naval aircraft. Discuss the offer with your father and send word that I should join you in America. That will be the acceptance of the commitment."

Maybe I should have asked sooner but better late than never, "Why did those men attack you?"

"The Chinese mainland is in the process of seeking products that will sell well in Europe and America. The communist wanted our Family to find partners to distribute the goods. Father refused because he doesn't trust the communist. My death would have served as a warning that the communist were angry. Since Father is a man of some importance in Hong Kong, the central government on the mainland has agreed to allow The Family members make arrangements for movement and delivery of the goods without communist interference. And will tax the manufacturer of the goods. The Family was seeking an American Partner when you entered that alley. Father asked some of his friends to check and was pleased with the information on your family. Your escapades in high school were noted. Father thinks that you will be an excellent husband for Mei Lei and it will be a very interesting marriage."

~oOo~

Three weeks later I made a call and Wang Dou Wei used his educational visa to come to America. We enrolled in Mississippi State University and for two years we were on the dean's list. We also dated and partied with many coeds. We were careful and used protection every time. We never shared a woman and we didn't have any steady or long term girlfriends. We also took classes in Tae Know Do for personal protection and the exercise. Dou Wei also wanted training in weapons so I taught him how to handle and fire handguns and rifles. He was better with the revolver but I was better with the shotgun and rifle. In our second year, the classes paid off when we were leaving a bar off campus and several red necks took offence at the CHINK because he had his arm around a white woman. When the police arrived there were seven 'good ole boys' on the pavement, none badly injured but all were hurting.

Dad's production of nuts, bolts and screws faded and turned into the operations center for the distribution of hardware shipped into Oakland where my older brother was managing the warehouse. The Wang Family found an engineer and with the samples I sent to them were producing some very fine rods, reels and outdoor clothing. With lower costs, we could sell the fastening and sporting goods at two thirds the wholesale price for other makers and still make money. Most of it did come from the nuts, bolts, screws, nails, hinges of all sizes, handles, knobs and other hardware. As more cabinet makers in the States began using our hardware the money rolled in.

It was the first of August of the third year of college that Mei Lei arrived and she moved in to the house that Dou Wei and I were renting and promptly took up residence in my bedroom.

"You will not sleep in my bedroom."

"Why not? I am eighteen and you are going to marry me in two years. My brother tells me that you and he are very busy learning in your college classes when you aren't pleasuring the women. Until you pass a examination for venereal diseases, you will NOT have sex with me. And once you have sex with me, you will not have sex with anyone else. You will NOT give me a disease."

She was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. Tight jeans and a tight t-shirt. I as angry but she looked damn good.

"You aren't what I expected."

She had a great laugh, "You expected a mouse to serve your every command. You may have arranged for a mistress but I am not your servant. I will be an equal partner. And I am my father's spy, you try to fuck over him and I will send him your balls."

"I haven't agreed to any mistress or marriage, arranged or otherwise to take place until I graduate from college."

"Good, because you will not stick that oversized cock of yours into my virgin pussy until you accept me as your mistress or as a wife."

"Dou Wei????"

He was smiling as he leaned against my open door, "She does seem to have an excellent command of American colloquiums, doesn't she?"

I was in a box, "You asshole, you told your father to send her to America."

"Father thought it would be prudent to have her here so you and she could become better acquainted. You will admit that she is an attractive young woman. She has a very nice body even by American standards even if she is a bit lacking in height. She stands just under five feet in her bare feet, weighs 101 pounds and she wears a 32A bra with a 33 ass and a 22 waist. You would have asked her to leave the bar with you last night instead of that redhead with the 38DD saggy tits if she had been in the bar and IF she would have allowed it."

Mei Lei looked at me, "If I cannot sleep in your bedroom, where do I sleep, the third bedroom of this house is being used as a common study area. And since we are to be, at the very least, man and mistress, I brought a ring to show that we are together, but if you prefer I won't wear it outside the house."

"Fine, you can have the room and the bed. Wear the damn ring anywhere you want. I will back on Sunday afternoon."

Ninety minutes later, I was home and explaining the latest event in my life to my mom and dad.

Mom listened and spoke first, "She certainly told you, didn't she? You know she really sound like a very intelligent woman. I think you should marry her. How many mistresses and hopeful fiancées come equipped with their own engagement ring."

Dad was more thoughtful, "You know if I could arrange a marriage between your sister, Rebecca and Dou Wei, I could have a spy in Hong Kong."

I looked at my father with amazement, "You would do that to your daughter? A marriage FOR MONEY?"

He had a wicked grin, "I married your Mom for the money to start my small machine shop. She and I have been very happy and Rebecca will at Ole Miss this fall."

"But I don't want to marry now and I don't want a mistress under the rules she has stated."

Dad still had the shit eating grin, "Well, Mei Lei said she was in no hurry and she seems to have her head screwed on tight."

Mom laughed, "It will do you good to stop screwing around and set up housekeeping with a woman who knows what she wants. Bring her home next weekend so we can meet her."

I did what I do when I need to think. I went fishing. I loaded my ten foot jonboat (ten inches deep, a flat bottom and two seats) with a two horsepower Mercury motor into the bed of my Ford pickup and went north on 35. At the Big Black River Bridge, I drifted down stream . I was testing a new fiberglass rod and spinning reel. I started with small (size 12) hook baited with a quarter inch of worm and in less than 30 minutes took over twenty bream, (brim to us Southerners, bluegills to Yankees), as fast I as could land them. As I found bigger and deeper holes, I changed hook to a size 8 and used a full worm.

Maybe I better stop and bore the shit out of you people that has never or never wanted to fish. Hook sizes are weird. The size 22 is very small and size 12 is much larger. It reverses after size 1and as the hooks get bigger the number gets bigger but with a 0 as in 3/0 (three ought) now if that means nothing to you, you need to get out and fish.

I took six nice bass and five much larger catfish. It was three hours before I turned around and motored back to the Ford pickup. I had made a decision. The rod would be made in sixteen sizes five feet, five and a half feet, six feet and six and a half with reels to match and in a light, medium and heavy and extra heavy action. The price would range $6 and $10 for a combo, rod and reel at the wholesale level. I needed some way to call the fishermen's attention to damn things.

I still had no idea what to do about Mei Lei.

Sunday at noon I was back at the house. SHE had put a third desk in the study room and had registered for 18 hours of fall classes. My queen sized bed had four pillows down the middle dividing the bed into two equal parts. I moved the pillows so that I had two thirds of the bed. She was quiet while we ate the dinner that she cooked. Damn, she was a much better cook than Dou Wei and I. The beef stew wasn't out of a can and she made real biscuits. Her tea was hot and very good.

It was after the dishes were washed, dried and put away that SHE asked for a house meeting. The three of us sat at the small table where we had just eaten.

"The cleaning lady that comes in on Wednesdays will now come in at noon on weekdays and to clean and cook dinners, supper to you, Wade. Her fees will be taken from the household account funded by my father. You two men don't clean up after yourselves. Millie and I will do the shopping for the house so I will need a car. That truck you have will be to hard for me to climb into. I want a small four door with room in the back for several bags of groceries. A Plymouth Duster will do nicely. My name has been added to the checking account that my Father has in the Mercantile and Planters Bank in Small Town and Millie and I will be food shopping Thursday mornings.

"There will more Chinese food on the menu. Weekends will be catch as catch can for food. If you want something special, put it on the list by the phone. As soon as you know that you will miss a meal, please leave a message. Oh, I don't drink or buy alcohol and except for that really fine rice wine that Father promised to send every second month, there will be no alcohol in this house. The parties that happened here will move somewhere else. There will be exercise every weekday morning for thirty minutes and the wake up time ever weekday morning will be six o'clock. Wade, I will accept the smaller side of the bed because you are much larger than I am. I sleep nude. Any questions?"

I looked at her, "What kind of exercise? And who the hell put you in charge round here?

"I think your army calls it the Daily Dozen with an all out run after and I am not in charge of the two of you only me. IF you want to eat as you have done in the past, you may continue to prepare it your selves. I will have tastier and healthier food. You may continue to eat the junk."

"What do you mean you sleep nude."

"I will shower and come to our bed naked every night. If you do not wish to see me without clothing, you may shower in the mornings."