Chapter 4: The Scent of Fresh Grass

It was the first time he had called her “Sis” since waking from his fall. Huixiang thought he had finally remembered her. Then his question made her laugh through her tears.
“Not yet. Mother asked Granny Wang to make inquiries with the Sang family last time… Oh, never mind that. Don’t worry. Father and Mother will have a matchmaker look for someone. They’ll find you a wife you’ll be happy with. Come on, let’s go home. We can talk there.”
Zuo Shaoyang felt a flicker of disappointment.
Still, perhaps that was for the best. A blank page left room for the finest picture. He would find his own wife. If a matchmaker’s promises could be trusted, pigs could climb trees.
Huixiang emptied the copper coins from the pouch at her waist and offered them to the girl.
“Thank you for saving my brother. This isn’t much, but please take it as a small token of our gratitude.”
The girl smiled and shook her head. Instead, she held out a hand toward Zuo Shaoyang.
He stared for a moment, then followed her gaze down to his own hand. He was still holding her flower-shaped bronze mirror.
“Oh! Thank you.”
He hurriedly handed it back.
She tucked the mirror inside her jacket, smiled, and went over to the firewood beside the path. Hoisting the shoulder pole, she gave the load a couple of settling bounces. Then she glanced at Zuo Shaoyang. Her dark cheeks reddened slightly, and she lowered her head and walked away.
Huixiang followed her a few steps.
“You’ve been so kind. Thank you! Next time you come into town, if you pass Guizhi Hall, do stop in for a cup of tea!”
“Wait a moment!” Zuo Shaoyang called.
The girl stopped and turned. Her cheeks were flushed, whether from the cold, embarrassment, or both.
She had rescued him from a ledge halfway up a cliff. He still hadn’t worked out exactly what had happened to him, but that could wait a little. He couldn’t simply let her leave without properly acknowledging what she had done.
He hurried after her.
“Thank you for saving me. May I ask your name?”
She shook her head, shifted the pole on her shoulder, and started walking again.
She was so small that, set on the ground, the load of firewood stood well above her. Each of the two great bundles was made up of pieces as thick as a teacup. Balanced on her shoulder, they looked almost comically large. Yet the sight made his heart ache.
He caught up with her.
“Let me carry that for you.”
Without waiting for an answer, he took hold of the pole and ducked beneath it.
As he drew close, he caught that refreshing scent of fresh grass again. Now he understood.
It came from her.
The girl quickly lowered the firewood and stepped aside.
Zuo Shaoyang planted his feet, bent his knees, and tried to straighten.
Nothing happened.
The load was much heavier than he had imagined.
His face grew hot. He clenched his teeth, held his breath, dug his feet into the ground, and heaved. At last he staggered upright. Then he set off across the muddy snow, swaying with every step like a drunk.
“Wait! Put it down!”
Huixiang hurriedly dropped the herb-digging hoes into the carrying baskets, grabbed one basket in each hand, and rushed after him.
“Put it down, right now. You’ve just been injured. You mustn’t strain yourself!”
Zuo Shaoyang had already noticed that he no longer seemed to have any injuries. Perhaps entering this body had somehow healed them.
Besides, he had taken the load now. How could he put it down again? He would look ridiculous.
After only a few steps, he was already puffing like a pair of bellows. Still, he stubbornly lurched onward.
The girl covered her mouth and giggled. Hurrying up behind him, she grasped the pole with both hands and lifted it clean off his shoulder onto her own.
Then she gave him a radiant smile.
Her small teeth looked all the whiter against her dark skin, and even the faint freckles beside her nose seemed to brighten. Her large eyes sparkled. With a swing of her slender waist, she strode away as though the load weighed nothing.
Zuo Shaoyang stood where he was, gasping for breath.
Easy enough when someone else is carrying it. Put it on your own shoulder, and it nearly breaks your back.
Who would have thought such a small girl could be so strong? Children from poor families really did learn to shoulder their burdens early.
Her smile lingered before his eyes, bright as a summer flower. Dressed so simply, out gathering firewood in the mountains in this snow—her life must be hard. Yet she could still smile like that. She had to be a kindhearted, cheerful girl.
That was something rare.
Huixiang’s thoughts, meanwhile, were entirely on her brother.
“How could you be so careless? You were unconscious after that fall! You’ve only just come round, and already you’re trying to lift something heavy. You’ve never been strong. Even a sturdy farmhand would struggle with that load. Why didn’t you test the weight before trying to carry it? What if you’d strained your back or aggravated an internal injury?”
Zuo Shaoyang smiled faintly, took one of the baskets from her, and slipped it onto his back.
“I’m all right, Sis. Come on.”
He started after the girl.
“Wrong way! We’re going this way, not that way!”
He stopped, took one last look at the girl’s retreating figure, and turned to follow his sister.
Then he froze.
Turning back, he peered more closely at the firewood. With a startled cry, he hurried after her.
“Wait!”
The girl stopped and waited for him to catch up. She turned to look at him but said nothing.
He pointed to the forest musk deer tied to her load.
“Did you catch that yourself?”
The animal had been lashed to the firewood. When the bundles were lying beside the path, it had been pressed into the snow and hidden from view. While he was carrying the pole, it had hung from the bundle behind him, still covered in snow, so he hadn’t made out what it was.
Now the snow had shaken off as the girl walked, revealing the animal clearly.
A forest musk deer.
As a student of Chinese medicine, Zuo Shaoyang knew that the musk—she xiang—inside the pod beneath its belly was a highly prized medicinal substance. Back at the dispensary, he had seen only synthetic substitutes, never natural musk.
The discovery had sent him running after her.
The girl glanced back at the deer, then nodded. Her large eyes regarded him questioningly.
“May I have a look?”
She nodded again and lowered the firewood beside the path.
Zuo Shaoyang reached beneath the animal’s belly. Sure enough, there was a musk pod.
“Would you sell me this deer?”
He could feel his heart thumping as he spoke.
The girl looked troubled, but still said nothing.
Of course. She must be taking it home for food. With the New Year approaching, a deer like this would give her family a proper feast.
He hurried to explain.
“I don’t mean the whole deer. As you know, we run a medicine shop. This pod underneath it contains something we can use as medicine. You can keep the deer. Would you sell me just the pod?”
Her expression cleared. Smiling, she nodded and drew a billhook from behind her waist. She handed it to him, gesturing for him to cut the pod off himself.
Delighted, Zuo Shaoyang took the blade, lifted the animal’s hindquarters, and carefully removed the pod.
He held it in his hand, thrilled with his find.
Then he felt around his clothes for money.
Nothing.
“Sis, do you have any money? I want to buy this.”
“Yes, but only thirty-odd wen. What do you want it for?”
“It’s an excellent medicine for awakening the senses! Give me the money.”
He couldn’t understand how Huixiang could be so indifferent to such a fine medicinal substance. Perhaps she didn’t know its value.
She untied her purse and handed it over.
He squeezed it. There really wasn’t much inside.
Embarrassed, he offered it to the girl.
“This is all we have on us. I know it can’t be enough. Next time you come into town, could you stop at Guizhi Hall? We’ll pay you the rest then. Would that be all right?”
Huixiang immediately looked anxious.
“How much do you want for the musk? We can’t afford it if it’s too expensive.”
“Sis!”
“Listen to me!” she said sharply.
The girl smiled, opened the purse, and tipped out some of the copper coins. She counted nine, put the rest back, and returned the purse to Zuo Shaoyang.
He had no idea what nine wen would buy in the Tang dynasty, but it surely wasn’t much.
He tried to press the purse back into her hand.
“That won’t do. Only nine wen? I can’t take advantage of you. Please, take all of it.”
She shook her head, tucked the nine coins inside her jacket, and hoisted the firewood onto her shoulder.
Then she walked away, her slender waist swaying beneath the load.
Only that delicate scent of fresh grass remained—the scent of spring.