But the rains which came on the day T.K. travelled to the shop were not like these short showers. On that day the Valley woke up to an unfamiliar smell: the flower-sweet breath of overnight rain. The sky was a brooding grey. From early in the morning, people went out into the streets, walking in the warm rain. They left their umbrellas at home and splashed childlike through the puddles, their feet clad only in flimsy rubber slippers. They shopped for food at the market, where water streamed off the tarpaulins and made the ground soft and slippery. Sometimes raindrops would hiss on the charcoal fires upon which sardines and cuttlefish grilled; the smell it made filled the air with the scent of the sea.
Johnny wondered if the weather would affect his plans. He worried that all the little fuses and wires he had prepared might have become damp during the night. Who could have thought of rain at this time of the year? He felt a sudden shiver of doubt. It was too late now. All was set in motion. If he was to become the most famous man in the Valley he had to carry on regardless. He would not fail.
The intricate system of wires, fuses, and timers ran all over the shop, hidden from sight behind panels, skirting boards, door hinges, and floorboards. Johnny went to the main control box in his money room as soon as he arrived at the shop. All seemed fine. A sleepy-eyed boy had arrived early, his thin singlet drenched in rain.
Go make some tea, Johnny said, and fetch yourself a new shirt from the shop.
Once he was alone Johnny ran through the entire circuit, testing connections and switches to make sure nothing had been affected by the damp. Only one isolated part of the system, which lay behind some earthenware pots in a roofless corridor, had to be hastily replaced. As he fixed the small defect, Johnny resisted the temptation to smile. It would be his finest day yet.
When T.K. arrived at the shop, business was brisk. People sat patiently on high stools, waiting to be served. They drank complimentary cups of coral-red Pu-erh tea, which were the hallmark of the shops legendary hospitality. Johnny himself was serving behind the counters that morning. Customers remarked that he seemed to be exceptionally vigorous and enthusiastic. Everyone was pleased to see him serving in the shop again; they shared jokes with him and teased him about his good health. It must be marriage, they said, winking and roaring with laughter.
Ah, here is the man who made it all possible, Johnny proclaimed loudly when T.K. came into the shop. All heads turned. A chorus of greetings bubbled across the shop. Soong Sir, good morning, people said, making little bows.
T.K.s long white eyebrows lifted in bemused pleasure.
Please, everyone, excuse us. Its not every day that Mr. Soong visits the shop, and when he does, we all know that something important is happening, Johnny said. We have some private business to attend to.
What is it? Maybe buying the whole of the Kinta Valley from the British? someone said, and everyone in the room laughed politely.
T. K. Soong does not need my help to do that, Johnny said, smiling, as he led T.K. away to the money room.
A new pot of tea was ordered and brought to the room. Oolong was T.K.s favourite, and Johnny laid out the cups while the tea steeped gently in the pot. Two minutes. Then Johnny poured the water away, filling the pot again with just-boiled water.
I see youve learnt how to make tea properly, T.K. said.
Yes. You taught me that, of course, Johnny said. Before he sat down he shut the heavy door and bolted it twice.
I see you are well liked in the shop, T.K. said. True to your reputation as a man of the people.
I try my best. Johnny looked at T.K.s long wispy beard.
So before you tell me what your problems are, tell me how you find my daughter, T.K. said. Is she satisfactory?
What is it? Maybe buying the whole of the Kinta Valley from the British? someone said, and everyone in the room laughed politely.
T. K. Soong does not need my help to do that, Johnny said, smiling, as he led T.K. away to the money room.
A new pot of tea was ordered and brought to the room. Oolong was T.K.s favourite, and Johnny laid out the cups while the tea steeped gently in the pot. Two minutes. Then Johnny poured the water away, filling the pot again with just-boiled water.
I see youve learnt how to make tea properly, T.K. said.
Yes. You taught me that, of course, Johnny said. Before he sat down he shut the heavy door and bolted it twice.
I see you are well liked in the shop, T.K. said. True to your reputation as a man of the people.
I try my best. Johnny looked at T.K.s long wispy beard.
So before you tell me what your problems are, tell me how you find my daughter, T.K. said. Is she satisfactory?
Of course, Johnny lied. He did not know whether she was or not, or even in what way she was meant to be satisfactory. The truth was, he wasnt interested.
Now, tell me what are all these problems you have created for yourself, said T.K.
Problems? said Johnny, hating T.K. even more now. Like I said, they are not really
Just tell me.
Johnny looked at him with flashing eyes. Three small things, he said as calmly as possible. The first concerns a new shipment of sackcloth which I was proposing to sell on to Gims warehouse in KL. The second is a new venture rice which I am thinking of importing from Thailand. And finally, just a small question concerning your tin-mining businesses when you die.
Pardon? I am still very much alive.
Of course, of course. But I am merely planning for the future.
I do not know what you mean, T.K. said. Tin mining has been a family business for a very long time.
Best to keep it in the family, then.
Yes, I suppose. But I have not devoted much thought to it.
Johnny cleared his throat. Father, he said, did I tell you that Snow and I, well, we are planning to have a baby. It will be a son, of course.
T.K.s eyes widened.
Yes, Johnny continued. Lies, he found, came easily to him now. I hope Snow has not mentioned anything. It is the kind of thing best kept between father and son-in-law, I think.
I see now, I see, T.K. said, mouth pulling into a wide smile. I see why you have been so mysterious about your so-called problems. Problems, indeed! You have no problems, you merely wanted to make an old man happy.
So you are agreed the tin mines are to stay in the family?
Of course! There is no question of anything else. The rubber business too, and the tea plantation everything will go to you to hold in trust for my grandson. What else can I do? I have no sons of my own, after all. What a happy man I am! Thank you.
So you are certain it will all pass to me?
Who better? I may have had my doubts about you, but now I see that you are an able man indeed!
Johnny smiled and bowed his head. He checked the time on T.K.s watch.
One more cup of tea? Johnny said.
Why not, said T.K. as Johnny poured the tea. Whats more, I propose a toast.
They lifted their cups, holding them level with their chins.
To Johnny Lim, and to my grandson, T.K. said.
They moved the translucent cups slowly, touching them together with the faintest clink.
The first explosion was loud, clean, and sharp. The second, which followed exactly six seconds later, was louder still but blurred by the sound of shattering masonry and splintering wood. The initial blast, which happened just as the two men concluded their toast, spilt tea over T.K.s shirt. As he dabbed at it with a handkerchief, Johnny leapt to his feet and ran to the door. Fire! Fire! people were shouting in the kitchen.
Dont move an inch, Johnny said to T.K. Youll be safe here. The walls are solid stone and the door is thick. T.K. looked at him with puzzled eyes and continued dabbing at his shirt. As Johnny went out he pulled the door to and locked it from the outside.
The money room was midway between the shop and the kitchen. From where he was standing, Johnny could see flames engulfing the kitchen, and a mass of fleeing customers.
Hurry, hurry! Get out! he screamed at the workers still in the shop. Get everyone out before the whole place goes.
Another small explosion, this time in the shop, shattered the glass cabinets and sent bales of cloth tumbling from the shelves. Sharp screams. People looked around. The blast seemed to come from the ceiling, but the rafters looked intact. Noise seemed to come from all around them. They did not know where danger would come from next.
The fire was spreading in the kitchen now, encouraged by more small explosions which belched and spurted amidst the flaming mass. The old wooden rafters began to crash down onto the blackened stoves and the sacks of rice. There was no means of escape through the rear of the building now. Johnny heard screams. Someone, maybe more than one person he couldnt see trapped in the fiery tomb. He saw a figure stumbling blindly in the flames; it passed like a shadow across his field of vision, howling in terror. He turned his back and went to the front of the shop, where the air was clear.
Everybody, run! he screamed as loudly as he could. Stand far away!
The crowd now assembled outside moved slowly backwards. They saw Johnnys face contorted with anguish. His eyes could barely open in the heat of the fire and his face was black with soot; his mouth grimaced, turning upwards, smile-like, at the corners. Behind him they could see the first of the flames from the kitchen begin to leap and lick at the main room at the front of the shop. Smoke was now smothering Johnny, but still he stood at the doorway with his arms stretched out on either side of his body to prevent anyone from going back into the fire.
Come out here with us! people shouted.
Instead, Johnny turned around and dived into the smoky, fiery sea.
There were small gasps and cries of confusion, followed by a prolonged silence. Everyone knew that Johnny had gone back in to save those who were still trapped inside. He was going to save his father-in-law. He was risking his life for people who were in all likelihood already dead. But if anyone could save those poor souls, it was Johnny.