“Hello!” Tauber said.

The tortoise didn’t move, as if it had become a fossil.

A song came from Blue Mountain; both Tauber and the tortoise were listening. When the man had finished singing, Tauber saw the water descend in the well.

“You’re home now,” Tauber said gently to the tortoise. “Where is your home? Is it Blue Mountain, or here? Maybe both? Why don’t you come with me to Niulan Mountain? The place where I live may look a little isolated, but in fact it is very lively! Tortoise, Yun villagers now all know who you are—just look how popular you are! Okay, we’re going to my place. There’s a brook nearby. You’ll like it.”

Holding the motionless tortoise in his hand, Tauber walked to Niulan Mountain. All the way, Tauber’s ears were ringing with the sound of the sea. Tauber thought, Wherever there was a tortoise, you could hear the sound of the sea. The association was so natural.

“Grandpa Tauber, let’s keep it.” Milan pointed to the tortoise in Tauber’s hand.

“Milan, you should know, it chose to stay here. It climbed up out of the well, up onto my lap, and won’t leave. Let’s take it to Niulan Mountain.”

“Great!” Milan flushed with excitement.

Tauber looked up at the sky and saw the eagle circling. It was time to go home. Whenever he stayed out too long, the eagle would come and urge him to be on his way.

Tauber and Milan climbed the mountain excitedly. Tauber knew Milan was too young to hear the underground chorus, but look how enthralled the little fellow was!

A swarthy, thin old man was standing in front of the gate of Yun Village Primary School selling flower seeds. He held up a clear plastic bag and shouted, “Roses, jasmine, camellias . . .” His voice wasn’t high. In the bag about a dozen different colored flower seeds were sealed in smaller transparent plastic bags. Teacher Zhang heard the flower seeds give off the sound of small stones colliding, and he couldn’t help but stare closely at the plastic bag.

“May I ask your name?” Teacher Zhang said nervously.

“My name is Lin Baoguang,” the old man said. “Buy two bags of seeds and plant them next to the fence on the campus. Even if the seeds don’t sprout, the students will like them, because it is a kind of faith.”

“Dr. Lin Baoguang, the saint! Of course I will buy them. Three yuan for a pack? I’ll take them all. Can you tell me why these seeds are small stones?”

“They are special varieties that I brought from Blue Mountain. Why are they small colored stones? That’s a good question. Because they are handed down from ancient times. Do you like them?”

“Yes, I do! Will they sprout and come out of the ground?”

“Never mind that sort of thing. Students will be patient.”

“Oh, of course! Thank you very much!”

Dr. Lin Baoguang left the primary school and headed toward the oil factory. Spring came late this year. In the early spring mists floated images of men laboring in the fields. It was a little hard for him to walk now, and he wondered if this was the last time he would come to Yun Village. He was very glad that he had just sold all his seeds. This was Yun Village, after all, the place that he had been paying close attention to since he was young. Teacher Zhang was definitely in on everything, and he guessed that most of the villagers in Yun Village were insiders, too. He heard someone calling to him.