Gray began to pay attention to the old villagers, whom he had completely ignored. In the past, he had refused to interact with old people, not even looking at them. Though Grandpa Onion had caused him to reconsider his attitude, he still seldom associated with seniors.

The transformation was brought about by an old man whose nickname was “Beard.”

Gray called him Grandpa Beard. He was very thin, only skin and bones, and he had phlegm in his throat all year round. It was strange that his eyes were so bright, as sharp as knives. Gray used to stay away from him.

“Grandpa Beard is related to us,” Dad said. “Gray, you look like him. I noticed this long ago.”

Gray disagreed. He had a square face, but Grandpa Beard’s face was like a loofah. Maybe Dad meant something else. Dad asked him to ease Grandpa Beard’s pain with acupuncture. In fact, the old man seemed to be in no pain at all, and he always smiled when he saw Dad.

“How do you know he’s in pain?” Gray asked Dad.

“Those things in his chest communicate with me,” Dad replied.

Gray was ashamed because he hadn’t noticed that Grandpa Beard was in pain.

He carried the medical kit to Grandpa Beard’s home. Grandpa Beard had built a rockery in front of his house. The rockery was big, and two little monkeys were jumping in it. They were Grandpa Beard’s pets.

Gray chose several acupuncture points. As he thrust the needle down to the “Tiantu” point, he was startled, for he could clearly see not only Grandpa Beard’s lungs, but also his pulsating heart. He felt a little dizzy.

“It’s okay, Gray, I have nothing to hide,” Grandpa Beard said clearly.

After a while, Gray’s vision returned to normal. He inserted needles into other acupuncture points and left them there. He didn’t dare examine Grandpa Beard’s internal organs for fear of fainting.

When he twirled the silver needles, the phlegm in Grandpa Beard’s throat disappeared. Gray took a quick look, and saw that the bronchi and lung lobes were clearing. Unable to speak, Grandpa Beard held Gray’s hand to convey his gratitude. After the treatment, Grandpa Beard exhaled a long breath and said, “The roses of those days, you could smell them from a mile away. Will you come with me to see the roses of the olden days?”

“Let’s set a time, Grandpa Beard.”

“No, it can’t be done that way. But we’ll meet again. Really, I can’t bear to part with you, Gray.”

When Grandpa Beard walked Gray to the door, Gray smelled the heavy fragrance of roses. When Gray asked if he had planted roses in the backyard, Grandpa Beard said no. Then he laughed and said, “If a man thinks of a plant day and night, the plant will linger around him.”

When Gray passed the rockery, the little monkeys jumped up and disappeared behind it. The movements of the two monkeys stirred a puff of wind, which Gray called rose wind. Gray felt refreshed. He believed that the old man who thought of roses day after day was living in happiness even if he suffered from chronic diseases. In his mind, he saw the old man’s clear lungs again.