Chapter Ninety-Four: Why, then, has Master Fu come here?

“Good day to you, Sir Fu!”

At once, Zhang Xiaolan sprang to her feet and bowed with great respect.

“Ha-ha! Miss Zhang, how gracious of you!” Old Master Fu replied just as warmly, returning the salute and motioning for her to sit without ceremony.

Thus they were properly acquainted. Though Old Master Fu had not given his full name, Zhang Xiaolan did not mind in the least. She was already delighted to have made a new elder friend.

The small party remained in the pavilion, sharing melon, fruit, and light snacks as their midday meal. True to the old saying that one should not speak while eating or sleeping, they did not talk much over the food.

This suited Old Master Fu very well. He found the young lady courteous and modest, respectful toward her elders, attentive to his comfort, often asking whether the food suited his taste or quietly adding more water to his cup.

From her manner of dress, she seemed to come from a wealthy family. Yet after they had finished eating, Zhang Xiaolan began her favorite pastime once more: curious questioning. So this food was not free after all!

“Old Master Fu, you do not come here like the others to burn incense and worship the Buddha. Do you carry a basket up here for a spring outing or simply to stroll and enjoy yourself?”

This was the question she had long wanted to ask, for she also wanted to know what other pleasant or interesting things there might be in this place.

“Miss Zhang, there is nothing much here for leisure. Only the road to the monastery has been built up by human hands; everywhere else is nothing but wild mountains and forests.”

This time it was Lin Li who answered first. He had noticed Zhang Xiaolan’s lively nature and habit of asking endless questions, and feared his master might grow impatient.

Besides, this was a desolate place. Apart from the temple, there was no other scenery to admire. Anyone who lived here would know that, and yet she still asked. But how could Lin Li know that Zhang Xiaolan was not from these parts at all?

“Then why has Old Master Fu come here?”

Zhang Xiaolan did not care for Lin Li’s words. She only grew even more eager to know why, if they knew this was a barren place, they had come here for neither worship nor an outing.

“For these things, of course.”

Seeing how much she wanted to know, Old Master Fu lifted the cloth that had covered the basket. Inside were herbs of all kinds. It seemed he had kept them covered against the blazing sun.

Zhang Xiaolan leaned in with great interest and said with a smile, “These are all medicinal herbs. I know this one—it’s plantain, and this one is houttuynia. Did you come all this way just to dig up these herbs? They are hardly precious medicines. In my hometown, plantain grows all along the roadside.”

So they had climbed the mountain simply to gather herbs. To her, these plants were not especially valuable; she had even known some of them since childhood.

“How could your hometown be filled with plantain?”

Old Master Fu was astonished. These days people were not well off, and although such herbs were not rare treasures, they could still save lives and cure illness.

Because the common folk knew their uses, people now gathered them too greedily, often tearing them up by the roots and leaving no chance for them to grow again. That was why they had become scarce. So when he heard Zhang Xiaolan say they were common by the roadside, he could not help but be puzzled.

“It is not that they grow everywhere. It is just that people where I come from do not like the taste of Chinese medicine. They all go to see Western doctors instead. Only the older people know a little about it.”

As she spoke, those memories came back to her. But how could Old Master Fu and Lin Li possibly understand what Western medicine meant?

“Oh? Then how did you come to know of it?”

Old Master Fu’s interest in her deepened still further, and he began discussing herbs with her. Since he too practiced traditional medicine, it was only natural that he should be curious about a young lady who knew such things.

The plot requires a transition chapter; the rest will be even more exciting!