Script

Scene 1 (Jessica Yu)

INT. HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - DAY

Charlotte Tan, a young child, stares at a beautiful necklace in the antique display case. The necklace has a yellow colored chain (some of the color has faded away, leaving a little bit of black) and the pendant is jade. It is on the top shelf of the display shelf. 

 

CHARLOTTE TAN

“Whoa! What a beautiful necklace!”

Thinking that the necklace is beautiful, she takes a chair and stands on it, attempting to reach it. Charlotte succeeds in grabbing the necklace. With a burst of excitement, she loses her balance and falls off the chair with the necklace tightly held in her hands.

 

Sound: Loud thump!

 

CHARLOTTE:

(startled and frightened)

“Ouch!”

 

Sound: hurried footsteps getting closer and closer

 

GRANDPA:

(panicked, arrives to the scene)

“Charlotte! What on earth happened?”

 

CHARLOTTE:

(tearfully)

“I fell off the chair…but I’m okay”

 

GRANDPA:

(sigh of relief)

“Thank goodness.”

(Spots something in Charlotte’s hands)

“What are you doing with that, dear?”

 

CHARLOTTE:

“I saw this beautiful necklace on the display case, and I reached out to grab it.”

 

GRANDPA:

“I see. Come, dear, sit on the couch with me.”

 

Charlotte and Grandpa move to sit on the couch.

 

CHARLOTTE:

“Grandpa, where did you get this pretty necklace?”

 

GRANDPA:

(smiling fondly)

“That, Charlotte, is a family heirloom from my great, great, great grandfather, Tan Qiaodong!”

 

CHARLOTTE:

“Whoa, that’s cool! Where did he get it, and why is it so rusty-looking?”

 

GRANDPA:

(sigh of reminiscence)

“Well, sweetheart, we’ll have to go to the very beginning if you would like to know where it came from.”

 

The screen pans over to a window, showing the Canadian Pacific Railway, transitioning into the Title Screen

 

Title Screen

Jessica Yu and Marcus Leung Present to You

The Canadian Pacific Railway:

The Tale of Tan Qiaodong

 

Scene 2 (Jessica Yu)

INT. BOARDROOM - DAY

 

GRANDPA VOICE-OVER:

“It all started with the decision to construct the Canadian Pacific Railway.”

 

The boardroom members all sit around a round, wooden table. At the far end of the table is John A. Macdonald, the current prime minister.

 

JOHN A. MACDONALD:

“I hereby issue the construction of the transcontinental Canadian Pacific Railway!”

 

BOARD MEMBER 1:

“But, Mr. Prime Minister, who will supply the costs that will be necessary for this project?”

 

JOHN A. MACDONALD:

“The government shall fund the entirety of the construction.”

 

BOARD MEMBER 1:

“Another thing, Mr. Prime Minister, how will we obtain workers that will construct this railway? The salary will be very low, and conditions will be harsh. Surely no one here in Canada will want to work for it.”

 

CHARLES CROCKER:

(standing up)

“If I may, Mr. Prime Minister.”

 

JOHN A. MACDONALD:

“You may.”

 

CHARLES CROCKER:

“I would like to propose a plan to employ the Chinese immigrants who have moved here from China to Canada.”

 

BOARD ROOM MEMBERS:

(loud mumbling)

 

CHARLES CROCKER:

“Think about it, gentlemen. If the Chinese can build the Great Wall of China, this railroad will certainly be possible. Not to mention, we are currently experiencing influx of Chinese immigrants due to the poor economical state of China.”

 

BOARD MEMBER 1:

“And the employment fees?”

 

CHARLES CROCKER:

“Those Chinese immigrants will agree to any salary as long as they have income.”

 

JOHN A. MACDONALD:

“Well then, it is decided. We shall employ these Chinese people.”

 

GRANDPA VOICE-OVER:

“And so, it was decided. The Chinese immigrants would be hired to work on the railway. Soon, posters detailing this job would be posted on boards, polls, and walls. Many Chinese immigrants, desperate for a job and income, would sign up. My great, great, great grandfather, Tan Qiaodong, along with his friends, would be few of the 20,000 people who signed up and constructed the railroad.”

 

During Grandpa’s Voice-over, show the flyers/posters all around the city (on boards, lamp-posts, walls, etc) with many Chinese people looking at the flyers and deciding to sign up for the job opportunity. When Grandpa talks about Tan Qiaodong, show him and his friends at sea on a little boat.

 

Scene 3 (Marcus Leung)

PORT - DAY

Tan Qiaodong and his friends arrive at the docks on their small boat. They step off the boat, and take in their surroundings.”

 

TAN QIAODONG:

“We have finally arrived in Canada.”

 

Tan Qiaodong holds the jade pendant of his necklace that is on his neck.

 

TAN QIAODONG:

“While I do miss China, I will find better work here.”

 

LIANG SHIJI:

“It will be okay, Tan. Your jade necklace will ward off all the evil.”

 

GRANDPA:

“The four friends buy a small house with their small amount of money, and try to find a job, but everyone rejects them.”

 

Scene shows Cheng Foo asking for a job, but no one wants them.

 

GRANDPA VOICE-OVER:

“However, they soon see the flyers hiring Chinese immigrants to work on the Canadian Pacific Railway.”

 

During Grandpa’s Voice-over, Yip Sang finds a sign saying:

“CHINESE IMMIGRANTS NEEDED TO CONSTRUCT RAILWAY! $1 PER DAY! SIGN UP NOW!”

 

GRANDPA VOICE-OVER:

“While the pay is low, they still decide to sign up for the job. Soon, they move into the tents to begin construction work.”

 

During Voiceover: the four friends pack their things and move to the tents to begin work.

 

Scene 4 (Jessica Yu)

INT. TENT - MORNING

Tan Qiaodong writes a letter to his mother in his tent. The tent space is very cramped and seems uncomfortable. Because of this, Tan Qiaodong must resort to writing the letter in his lap instead.

 

VOICE-OVER (while Tan Qiaodong writes the letter):

“Dearest mother. My friends and I have found work. Although the conditions are harsh and the pay is low, I need to gather as much money as I can for our family.”

 

Someone can be heard shouting “Time to work!” in the distance.

 

VOICE-OVER (CONT.D):

 “I must keep this brief, as the chief has just called us in for work. Don’t worry about us, and focus on yourself. Sincerely, your son.”

 

Tan Qiaodong walks out of the tent to find Cheng Foo and Yip Sang waiting for him to go to work.

 

TANG QIAODONG:

(Puzzled)

“That’s odd. Where is Liang Shiji? Usually he is the first one up in the morning.”

 

CHENG FOO:

“I don’t know. I haven’t seen him at all this morning.”

 

Tan Qiaodong decides to find Liang Shiji. He arrives at Liang Shiji’s tent, and enters, only to find Liang Shiji lying on the floor, dead from hypothermia. 

 

TAN QIAODONG:

“Liang Shiji!”

 

Liang Shiji’s skin has turned a grayish-blue from the cold, and is very still.

 

GRANDPA VOICEOVER:

“Over the course of the night, Liang Shiji had died of hypothermia.”

 

Short Time Skip

 

GRANDPA VOICEOVER:

“He was hauled away, leaving only three friends behind...”

 

Tan Qiaodong watches as Liang Shiji is dragged away, leaving only three friends behind.

 

Scene 5 (Marcus Leung)

CHARLOTTE:

“What! That’s so sad. I can’t believe the person in charge of them would allow them to stay outside in the cold like that!”

 

GRANDPA:

”Yes, it indeed is horrible. Now, moving on:”  

 

Scene shifts back to Tan Qiaodong and Yip Sang entering a cave.

 

TAN QIAODONG:

“We have to move fast.”

 

Yip Sang throws the dynamite and both of them run away. The dynamite explodes and makes the mountain move, but Yip Sang tips and falls, and the falling rocks fall onto him.

 

TAN QIAODONG, outside the cave:

“Yip Sang!”

 

At night, Cheng Foo walks back to the tent, noticing that only Tan is at the tent

 

CHENG FOO:

“Where is Yip?”

 

TAN QIAODONG:

“Yip is gone. He was crushed under rocks from the mountains.”

 

Scene 6 (Jessica Yu)

INT. HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - DAY

 

GRANDPA:

“During this time, poor living conditions and the lack of medical care resulted in many illnesses. These illnesses, if not cured, led to death. This, unfortunately, was the way Cheng Foo met his demise.”

 

INT. TENT - NIGHT

Cheng Foo is lying on the floor of the tent. He looks very sickly and pale. Tang Qiaodong sits beside him, wiping away the sweat from Cheng Foo’s forehead.

 

CHENG FOO:

(raspy voice)

“Tan, I don’t think I have much longer to live anymore.”

 

TANG QIAODONG:

“Don’t say that. I am sure that you will be able to go through it.”

 

CHENG FOO:

(waving him off)

“You best leave now. It is near sleeping time, and we don’t want to get caught by the chief”

 

Reluctantly, Tang Qiaodong walks away to his own tent.

 

The next morning, Tan Qiaodong steps out of his tent only to see Cheng Foo being carried away. It appears that he has passed away from scurvy. Tang Qiaodong cries from sadness. 

 

Scene 7 (Marcus Leung)

After finishing his work for the day, Tan Qiaodong sits on a mountain, looking at Donald Smith nail down the last spike and smiling at the reporters.
 

DONALD SMITH:

“Hello Everyone! I am Donald Smith and today I am going to put down the last spike of the Canadian pacific railway! 3,2,1, go!”

(He accidentally breaks the spike.)

“Don't worry everyone, we have plenty of spikes!”

 

This time he successfully puts down the spike.

 

Tan walks back to the tent and packs everything up, and then leaves.

 

He walks back to the house that he and his friends owned, which is now just his property.

 

GRANDPA (VOICE OVER): 

“However, in the end, Tan got his happy ending.”

Tang hugs his baby and his wife in his house.

 

Scene 8 (Marcus Leung)

Scene shows Charlotte and Grandpa sitting down on a couch.

 

CHARLOTTE:

“At least he got his happy ending. What happened to his friends and family?”

 

GRANDPA:

“Well, they had a funeral in China to commemorate his friends and all the other lives lost during the construction of the railway.”

 

CHARLOTTE:

 “I understand now! I didn’t know that this necklace would have such a sentimental value!
Anyways, I have to go now. I have homework to do.”

 

GRANDPA: 

“Bye.”

Charlotte walks away.