“Right behind this peach grove,” the girl pointed out. Xu Caitong thought for a moment and nodded. The girl said her name was Yue’er, and the village was called Moon Village, named after the beautiful Moon River that encircled the village, bringing them happiness, joy, and prosperity.
Xu Caitong followed Yue’er around the peach grove to the small village behind it. Yue’er bringing back a strange woman caused a stir in the village. They gathered at Yue’er’s house, asking her to recount the story over and over. Yue’er said she saw her sister by the Moon River, near the peach grove, with the little lamb.
Yue’er’s grandparents, uncles, and aunts, over ten people in total, surrounded Xu Caitong. The grandmother asked, “Where are you from? Why are you dressed like this? Are you not a celestial being or someone from another tribe?”
“I’m from Hong Kong,” Xu Caitong told them.
“Hong Kong?” They looked puzzled. Yue’er’s grandfather said, “Never heard of that place.” The others also hadn’t heard of it; the younger ones suggested asking the elders where Hong Kong might be, to help her find her way back. They looked at Xu Caitong with curiosity, as if she were an alien. They scrutinized her from head to toe, noting how vastly different she was from them, with her hair flowing over her shoulders and attire completely unlike theirs.
They asked her which prefecture Hong Kong belonged to, who governed there, how she ended up in Moon Village, with whom, and where she was headed. Xu Caitong shook her head vigorously, not because she didn’t know, but because she didn’t know how to answer them. Hong Kong, she said, was a developed international metropolis in the south of China.
“The south of China? The barbarian lands?” said a young man with a ponytail, wearing wide-sleeved robes and a goatee, Yue’er’s uncle. “I’ve only heard of lychees being abundant in the southern barbarian lands, is that where you’re from?”
“Yes, it’s somewhere near there,” Xu Caitong replied.
“Don’t worry, many minds are better than one. If you don’t mind, please stay at our humble abode for now, and we’ll discuss further plans,” Yue’er’s grandmother, who looked to be in her forties or fifties, said kindly.
“Thank you, madam,” Xu Caitong said, genuinely grateful. She was exhausted, having barely slept by the Moon River all night.
