Memoirs of an Ice-Cream Lady (Part 11)
By Emily Ho
Editor’s Note: The author runs an ice-cream parlor on Hong Kong’s Lamma Island. When time allows, she draws caricatures and writes. The following are semi-autobiographical anecdotes blending fact and fiction.
Agent For Central Intelligence
In a small community like Lamma, it’s easier for a dinosaur to squeeze through the eye of a needle than for anyone to keep secrets. Thanks to the “volunteers” who patrol the streets and alleys, roaming through shops and restaurants, to collect updates about everyone living nearby.
Being so focused on running a shop alone, especially in the first few years, Emily seldom bothered about what happened outside its doors. She just wanted everything to go well inside the shop.
At work, Emily tied up her hair, often in two pigtails, and wore a white apron over casual short skirts or pants for hygiene reasons. She enjoyed looking like a “professional” and didn’t realize that some people chattered about her “dress code”. Maybe she was the first shopkeeper dressed like a professional on the entire care-free island.
One particular lady, like some Lamma folks, seemed to have no need to work hard for a living. As a daily pastime, she visited her acquaintances working in the shops and restaurants.
Sometimes this lady came to Emily’s shop on her daily ritual. She said that certain kai-fongs (neighbors) gossiped about Emily’s “sexy” and “cutie” look, even accusing her of dressing to “lure” customers. Of course, Emily felt hurt and wanted to hear no more of that.
But the lady kept visiting and warned Emily to trust no one. (Did that include her too?) Maybe her motives were good, but Emily lost patience at hearing the same thing again and again.
Finally, Emily told the visitor: “Please tell me who the nosy people are, and I’ll go to condemn them myself. Otherwise, stop talking to me about these gossips. You’ll just make everything no good!”
After that, the lady seldom visited Emily’s shop. When she did, she stayed silent while enjoying ice cream.
From Closed Doors to Open-Door Policy
At first, Emily knew only a few Lamma people -- just her neighbor, an old Englishman with his young Thai girlfriend, a real-estate agent through whom she had rented her flat, and the proprietor at the shop where she ordered cooking gas. (Lamma has no natural-gas supply so the residents must use electricity or buy bottled gas from shops.)
What a difference from New York City! There, Emily easily chatted with the locals when sitting on a park bench or lining up for burgers. Maybe the British on Lamma are less sociable than the Americans.
Although Lamma has some bars where people meet and socialize, Emily dislikes going there alone. Some local Chinese girls enjoy going together to the bars in Lan Kwai Fong or Wan Chai (both on Hong Kong Island) or even on Lamma, where they can encounter Western men. But Emily deplores the feeling of “hunting” or “being hunted”, regardless of the races involved.
Before opening the ice-cream shop, Emily even didn’t know about the local “network” of rich and powerful Chinese clans. Soon she had to deal not only with the many types of customers from the city, but also the Lamma locals.
Finally, the “door” had opened to all, with the results like water pouring through a dam.
Coming soon:
Foul Language Wrong Flavor
(more Memoirs of an Ice-Cream Lady)
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