Making Mantos

"Physician Xu! Physician Xu!"

A small shrill voice could be heard in the yard. Suzhen hurried out of the kitchen where she had been kneading dough, flour over her hands. She peered about with a frown, not seeing anyone at first, until she realized two pigtails were sticking out from behind their fence.

Dusting her hands off, she hastened over. "Who is it?"

A thin little girl stared defensively back at her with serious black eyes, scowling. "Where's Physician Xu? Physician Xu has to come quickly!"

Suzhen crouched down, the better to see her face. "You're Xiunan, Jiang's daughter, aren't you?" she asked.

The girl nodded, suddenly shy, and chewed her lip.

A brief smile passed over Suzhen's face. "You look just like your mother. Pretty," she added, smoothing a few stray hairs sticking out from the child's head. "Now, what's the matter? Is anyone sick?"

Xiunan shook her head. Suzhen frowned. "Then what do you need Physician Xu for?"

"Brother fell from the ladder and broke his leg," she said reluctantly. "Mother's frightened out of her wits. She told me to call Physician Xu over."

Suzhen started up. "Oh dear. Wait here, Xiunan. I will call him up right away--he's sleeping."

She ran into the house. "Xuxian! Xuxian, wake up--you're needed."

Xuxian was sleeping so peacefully that she had let him sleep in this morning, but now it was different. She fell on him and shook him awake unmercifully. "Quickly, quickly, Madame Jiang's son fell off a ladder and broke his leg, and they're waiting for you. Hurry, Xuxian."

He sat up in bed drowsily, rubbing his eyes. "Who? Whose leg?"

She hustled him out of bed and passed him his medicine box as he rummaged in his drawers, trying not to yawn. "Quickly. Xiunan will tell you on the way. Make sure you bring the splints. Wait a moment--" and she dashed out of the house.

As Xuxian hurried out of the door Xiunan jumped up and down excitedly at the gate. "Physician Xu!" she shrieked, waving her arms. "Physician Xu, hurry!"

Appearing from the outdoor kitchen, Suzhen chased after him with something white in her hands. She pressed one into his hand and held out the other one to Xiunan. "Mantos. Eat something on the way. They're freshly steamed--careful, don't burn yourself."

Xiunan's fingers left grubby marks on the soft, hot little white roll but she bit immediately into it, ignoring Suzhen's warning. "Hurry, Physician Xu," she repeated through a full mouth, but she unexpectedly flashed Suzhen a sweet smile before turning away.

Xuxian juggled the hot roll in his hand and leaned over the fence to drop a kiss on Suzhen's cheek. "Thank you, my love," he said hastily, and ran after Xiunan.

Suzhen watched them go down the path for a while, then more leisurely returned to the kitchen where she had been making mantos.

As she arranged them carefully inside the bamboo steamer she heard a raspy meow, and saw a scrawny cat watching her from the doorway. He had a cut over one yellow eye and a broken tail, which gave him a rakish look. Sitting down carefully, he cleaned himself, though his dull reddish brown coat still looked as dirty as it had been before.

Suzhen eyed him for a while, warily. Satisfied that he was just sitting there, she returned to her work. "You're a smart one to come here, aren't you," she said dryly. "All the rats here will be yours. My hunting days are over. There is indeed better food to be had, as Qingqing once said."

Her hands worked the dough, slow but sure, testing the consistency, sprinkling more flour. The cat rubbed itself against the doorpost, trying to scratch a troublesome itch.

There was a comfortable silence for a while, with the steam filling the kitchen, and the dull rhythmic thumping of the rolling pin as Suzhen shaped the dough, and an occasional throaty meow from the strange cat, who sat there and watched her coolly. Suzhen picked up a knife, a small smile on her lips, and started to cut patterns into the dough of one roll. She carefully carved scales on the sides of one, petals into the other, so that the dough when steamed would flower into the shape she wanted.

As she worked away the tranquility was gradually disrupted by the growing sounds of voices arguing. A thud. Suzhen almost looked up, but her hands continued working steadily.

Another thud. Then a crash, the breaking of pottery, and a man's angry voice shouting roughly.

A woman's, high and upset.

Suzhen's hands stopped.

She slowly put down the manto and went towards the door of the kitchen, a thoughtful look on her face.

The slam of a door, and quick footsteps pattering over the pebbly path. As she reached the gate, a woman came running down the path panting, looking about fearfully as if afraid others would see her.

It was Madame Zheng.

Her eyes met Suzhen's and she stopped short, with a sudden change falling over her face making it as bleak and hard as stone. She stood irresolutely in the path in front of the gate, chin held high, yet from the tendons standing out on her neck it was clear that she could barely hide what had happened.

Suzhen looked silently at her, taking in at one glance her disheveled hair and cut lip. She moved forward quickly and opened the gate between them. "Hide inside," was all she said, but she moved back and made a swift, urgent gesture with her arm.

Madame Zheng stared at her, fear and pride struggling mightily. She swallowed with an effort, and her lips twisted slightly as if in a sneer, though they were trembling.

The door of the hut banged abruptly.

With a brief, searching look at Suzhen, Madame Zheng darted forward and ran up the path. She disappeared into the kitchen. Suzhen latched the gate and hurried after her, glancing backwards over her shoulder.

"Get inside," she said lowly, opening the wooden lid of the large urn they used to keep water in. She helped Madame Zheng climb inside and replaced the lid, then on second thought sprinkled some flour over it and put one of the bamboo steamers filled with mantos on top.

The cat watched on calmly, undisturbed.

Suzhen drew a deep breath, then looked up as heavy footsteps came down the path outside.