Eat a Bowl of Tea

Ben Loy’s cousin Wing Sim asks his wife, Eng Shee, to visit Mei Oi in the couple’s new apartment. Eng Shee initially resists, harshly criticizing Mei Oi for the rumors of her infidelity, but her father-in-law, Wang Chuck Ting, insists on the visit. Eng Shee goads Mei Oi by talking openly about unfaithful wives and illegitimate children. Mei Oi refuses to react, unwilling to give Eng Shee the satisfaction of upsetting her. Later, Mei Oi writes to Ah Song, begging him to contact her. When she receives no response, she tells her husband that she is unhappy in Stanton and that they need to move back to New York. She wonders whether it’s possible to outrun the gossip about her marriage.

Wah Gay worries that Ben Loy is inconveniencing the family by leaving Stanton and his job at the family restaurant. Wang Chuck Ting repeatedly assures him that Ben Loy is a good boy. A confrontation between Ah Song and another Money Come club patron causes Wah Gay to throw Ah Song out of the club angrily. When the rent collector Chong Loo suggests that Mei Oi returned to the city because there weren’t enough people in Stanton, Lee Gong grows angry and insults him. Wah Gay leaves the Money Come club with a hard, cold object (later revealed to be a knife) in his jacket pocket.

Wah Gay sneaks into his son’s apartment building. He hides in the shared toilets at the end of their hallway to wait for Ah Song, whom he correctly assumes will be visiting Mei Oi before her husband returns from work at midnight. Wah Gay waits for nearly an hour, growing increasingly angry with himself and his son. He finally decides to enter their apartment but is stopped by the sound of someone approaching the door to leave. Wah Gay hides and watches as Ah Song sneaks out of the apartment. Filled with rage, Wah Gay attacks Ah Song, cutting off his ear. He chases Ah Song out of the apartment, hoping to kill him, but loses him in the streets of Chinatown.

Fearing Ah Song will go to the police, Wah Gay leaves New York to spend the night with his old friend Mee Kee in Newark, New Jersey. Wah Gay and Mee Kee were roommates in middle school and often visited sex workers together. Wah Gay explains his situation to Mee Kee, and he agrees that it was necessary to teach Ah Song a lesson. Mee Kee suggests that their lives are predestined and reveals that his wife refuses to come to the US despite his pleas. Wah Gay hopes that he will be able to fight any charges with the assistance of the Wang Association. He thanks Mee Kee for sheltering him, and the two friends stay up talking late into the night.

Detective Percy B. Nolan approaches Lee Gong at the Money Come club to ask about Wah Gay, who is still in hiding. Lee Gong tells Wang Chuck Ting about the conversation, and Chuck Ting calls a number of people, including Ben Loy and Mei Oi, to try to find Wah Gay. He learns that Wah Gay is wanted for attempted murder. Chuck Ting contacts the Ping On Tong, an organization to which Wah Gay and Ah Song both belong, in order to gather support for his cousin. He is hopeful the dispute can be solved internally by the tong without involving the police. He feels confident that a moral defense—Ah Song destroyed a family and Wah Gay was right to defend his son—will be accepted by the tong. Wah Gay calls Chuck Ting and says he’ll be back in a few days.

In Newark, Wah Gay struggles with the shame of his actions and worries about going to jail. Although he is not sorry about attacking Ah Song, he realizes that the attack draws attention to Mei Oi’s affair, increasing the shame brought to both his family in New York and also his wife in China. He bitterly wonders why Ben Loy didn’t attack Ah Song or otherwise address the problem himself. He calls Lee Gong and asks him to contact Chuck Ting and to run the Money Come club in his absence. When Wah Gay gives instructions for him to pick up the keys, Lee Gong calls Chuck Ting.

That night, Mei Oi is awake when her husband arrives home from work. They exchange polite, stilted small talk until Mei Oi reminds her husband of a private joke, and he laughs and relaxes. Ben Loy tells his wife about Chuck Ting’s call and the news that his father is not at his clubhouse. Privately, Mei Oi remembers news of increased muggings in the neighborhood and wonders if her father-in-law was attacked. Remembering a commotion after Ah Song left the night before, she wonders if Ah Song himself was hurt. She momentarily regrets reigniting their affair but decides that Ben Loy’s impotence gave her no choice.