It was Lohan’s fourth uncle, a wizened old man, who entered.

“I want to—I want to ask you for some lilies, too . . . ,” he said hesitantly.

“No problem. What’s the matter with you?”

“I just don’t feel right. I know it’s not an illness—Kim told me that. I don’t want to feel sick all the time. I want to be healthy.”

“Uncle, you’re wonderful! I think you’re teaching me about life. I’ll get it for you.”

She took out some fresh lilies, some fresh Poria cocos, and some dried patchouli. The room was filled with the fragrance of the plants.

The old man smiled.

“So this is life, isn’t it?” He shed a cloudy tear. Milan threw himself into the arms of his granduncle. The old man took two water chestnuts out of his pocket and gave them to Milan.

“Try walking more, digging more, and planting more. You’ll feel better,” Mia suggested.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll try it. Mia, you’re the pride of our family! I never thought . . .”

He went out with the herbs in his hand, sniffing them and laughing.

In the golden sunlight, Mia leaned against the door. She heard the nearly inaudible mezzo-soprano folksongs coming from Blue Mountain. Accompanied by the songs, Yang came into her garden. These days Yang was always cheerful.

“Our herb hill is dancing. This has never happened before! When I was halfway up the hill, it vibrated. I lost my footing and rolled down the hill, but I wasn’t hurt. The strange thing was that I felt so refreshed as I rolled down, and I heard Lohan clapping and cheering. So I’ve come here. Where’s Lohan?”

“He went to the village to distribute a flu vaccine. I think he’s on the hill now. Let’s go over there and take a look,” Mia said.

They walked to the herb hill. The hill was quiet in the sun, and a big green lizard was squatting motionless beside the path.

“The gatekeeper won’t let us by. Let’s go up from the west,” Yang said softly.

Mia followed Yang to detour around to the path on the west. She was a little nervous.

Halfway up the hill, they ran into Lohan, who seemed drunk.

“The bell rang from Blue Mountain,” said Lohan. “It was the bell of the new era. Our herb hill was completely revived. I rushed over here as soon as I heard the bell . . . How thrilling! All kinds of small animals ran out . . . Is it because we grow herbs that the hill has changed? What do you think, Mia?”

“This hill belongs to our Deserted Village. Yang has been its guardian for decades, and now we’re dancing with it and with the message from Blue Mountain. This hill must be feeling a new lease on life!” Mia said.

The three of them sat side by side on the big rock. The sun was shining, and it was quiet all around. Something was moving in the grass—the lizard again. Mia thought that perhaps it had climbed up so quickly to express its joy. The lizard looked seriously at the three of them—the only way it could express its joy. Mia could understand it. She crouched down and looked at it, passionately communicating her feelings with it. Yang moved closer and crouched down, too. He was emotional as he lowered his voice to say, “This greenwood guy is in love with our doctor Mia. I know it.”