Chook Chook by Wai Chim

Chapter One

    â€˜ Mei! Mei, it’s time for dinner! ’
    Ma’s shrill voice travelled from the house, reaching out towards the far corners of our farm. My snow-white hen cocked her head to the side and looked up at me with curious eyes.
    â€˜You heard her, Little,’ I said. ‘It’s time for dinner.’
    My chicken did a small two-step dance and bobbed her head in response. I sprinkled around the rest of the feed and watched Little and our other chickens peck at the grains. Lo, my rooster, had already had his fill. He was busy preening himself in the corner of the chook pen.
    A short while after Pa had died, I found Little and Lo lost in a field when they were just fluffy baby chickens. I’d spent most of last year raising them in secret with my brother, Guo, because Ma didn’t like having animals on the farm. But Ma found out and sold my chooks to the one-eyed butcher at the market. Luckily, I managed to get them back. In the end, Ma decided to let the chooks stay and we got some other animals too. Now we had chickens, sheep and ducks as well.
    â€˜ Mei! ’ Ma called again.
    It was time to go. I gathered my bucket and headed back to the house. The summer had been extra hot and humid this year, so I was sweaty and sticky when I got to the top of the hill where our little farmhouse looked out over the fields. It glowed brightly inside and I could hear the sound of Ma laughing. She was not alone.
    â€˜Oh Mei, there you are,’ she said as I came in. Sure enough, Ma was seated at our dining room table with a big burly man, his pockmarked face glistening with sweat. There was a pot of tea between them. Ever since he had given back my chickens, the one-eyed butcher had started visiting our farmhouse, having tea with Ma and bringing over bits of meat from his shop. Now Jin and Ma were friends. I had to do my best to be nice when he was around to keep Ma happy.
    Ma came over to kiss my scowling face. ‘Look what Jin brought us for dinner.’
    She went into the kitchen and came back with a large pig’s head laid out on a platter. The oversized ears lay flat against the back of the head, its fat cheeks all puffed out, squeezing the eyes shut.
    I made a face.
    â€˜Oh Mei, don’t be so childish,’ Ma said. ‘Good meat like this is hard to come by. It will make a lovely soup for our dinner. We must thank Jin for his generosity.’
    â€˜Come on now, Mrs Lin, you’re embarrassing me,’ said Jin, smiling and showing off his yellow teeth. He gave me a wink with his good eye. Instead of the gaping hole of his eye socket, Jin now had a glass eye. It didn’t really line up with his good eye so it seemed like he was always looking at something behind you. It was hard not to stare.
    â€˜Where’s Bao?’ I asked, helping myself to one of the sweet egg rolls Ma had put out for tea. Bao was the butcher’s son and a couple of years younger than me.
    â€˜He’s visiting his aunt and uncle in the city this week,’ Jin said.
    That was too bad. I liked it when Bao came over. We would play with the chickens or he would help me care for the sheep. I shrugged and bit into the flaky, eggy biscuit, letting it slowly dissolve in my mouth.
    The door swung open and there was my brother, Guo, scraping his heavy work boots on the mat out front. He called out as he took the clunky shoes off and dumped them by the door. I rushed over and wrapped my arms around his waist. He had become a lot skinnier from all the hours he spent working in the fields and his lean cheeks were hollow. I could tell from his eyes that he was tired.
    Guo ruffled my hair and gave me a smile. Ma had cut my hair short a while ago saying I was too grown up for pigtails. Now when Guo messed it up, it stuck out at wild angles. This always made me laugh.
    â€˜Hey, son.’ Jin stood up, holding out his hand. Guo shook it firmly. My brother had grown a lot in just a year; he was as