When Bentley was finished speaking with the men, he turned to Marissa and Tristan and told them that both men had come from small towns in Guangdong Province. Chiang Lam was a monk from a Buddhist order that had managed to survive the Communist era. Tse Wah was a rural doctor, a contemporary version of the “barefoot doctor” of the Cultural Revolution. Bentley went on to say that the reason they had left the PRC was because they had been promised a lot of money. Both fully intended to return. However, neither one could say why he had been offered this opportunity.

“How did they happen to be chosen?” Marissa questioned.

Bentley asked the men, then said: “Chiang says that he was chosen because of his ability in martial arts. He says that there was a competition in his monastery. Tse says he was chosen because he is a doctor. He says that there was no competition, that people just came to him and made an offer he couldn’t resist. Tse has a family, a wife and a child, as well as parents and in-laws.”

Marissa glanced at Tristan. “I have a feeling the key lies with the doctor,” she said. Tristan nodded.

“Ask the doctor if he knows anything about infertility treatments,” Tristan said. “Particularly in-vitro fertilization techniques.”

“I speak some English,” Tse said suddenly, surprising everyone. “Chiang doesn’t, but I do. I have been studying English over the years from medical books from Guangzhou, where I was trained.”

“That’s encouraging,” Tristan said. “It sounds as if you’ve been studying well.”

“Thank you,” Tse said. “Unfortunately, I read English better than I speak.”

“Do you understand the term ‘in-vitro fertilization’?” Tristan asked.

“I do,” Tse said. “But I know very little. Only some mention in the books I have read.”

“Are you interested in in-vitro fertilization?” Marissa asked.

In spite of nervousness, Tse laughed. “It would be of little help to me. In China we have too many people and too many babies.”

“What about tuberculosis?” Marissa asked. “Is that a problem in the PRC? Have you seen much of it?”

“Not recently,” Tse said. “China has a national vaccination policy with BCG vaccine. Before 1949 tuberculosis was widespread, particularly here in the south of China. But the BCG has changed that.”

“What about heroin?” Tristan asked.

“We don’t have any heroin,” Tse said. “Drugs are not a problem in China.”

“What about venereal disease?” Marissa asked.

“Very little venereal disease in the People’s Republic,” Tse said. “The Communists got rid of venereal disease as well as opium, and launched a program of health care that emphasized prevention over cure. There wasn’t the money or the facilities for Western-style cure.”

“What about your practice?” Tristan asked. “What did it involve?”