TWO

CHAPTER TWO - MIRACLE IN MUXUE

No sooner had she arrived at the wharf when the skies thundered, followed by bright coloured sparks of lightning. Qianyu found this strange as the island of Muxue had winter all year round and never had thunder or lightning ever made its way to the island.

The phenomenon was followed by two men alighting from the boat, which was strangely intact despite stories she had heard of as a child of the many obstacles undergone in travelling to the island. How quickly these men walked, Qianyu thought. Muxue residents barely had the need to run at all. The men briskly made their way through the crowd, followed by a skinny-looking young man carrying their belongings,mainly consisting of medium-sized bundles of clothing. All of a sudden, it began to rain, for the first time on the island.

Clouds which were normally dormant moved slightly, and small raindrops poured from the skies. The crowd pushed their way to the nearest shelter, forgetting their interest in the three men. During the commotion, Qianyu was pushed forward and coincidentally crashed into someone who happened to be moving past her. She hurriedly apologized, and the man, apparently blushing, just smiled out of courtesy. Dou Teng had never talked or been in close proximity with a girl of his age. He had spent his childhood in a monastery thanks to the arrangements made by his father when he was eleven. Before that, the only girls he had known were his maids, whom he saw and addressed as his 'sisters'. His birth mother had been a mystery to him,as it was said she had died giving birth to him and his father refused to have any portraits drawn of her while she was alive as she was said to be "too beautiful".A strange feeling had developed inside him when Qianyu had crashed into him earlier. He had politely smiled in response to her apology, before rushing off at full speed to hide in a corner to contemplate his confused feelings.

"What happened, my dear brother?" asked Yixiao, heavily panting behind him. "Whydid you run so quickly?"

Dou Teng set down whatever he was carrying down on the ground beside him and shook his head. "Just strange," he uttered. "I don't know, either. It's strange, indeed!"

............................

Qianyu inspected the strange stares on each of her new employees. The competency of her newly-inherited textile store proved a major issue. When Ji Yan won over the store in a bet with her former lover, the store had not been doing well. Bad debts had resulted in her faking her death in order to escape debtors, and left it in the care of her assistant, the accountant Liang Qing whose parents Ji Yan revealed to be a close friend of her mother and uncle. So far, Qing had proven trustworthy and a diligent employee, definitely a valuable resource to the store.

However, Qianyu knew clearly that the issue rested in the overall quality of the goods they received from suppliers. She decided that to be one of the top players in the industry, it would be crucial for her to get hold of a new supplier. She was highly determined to get the store back in business as well as to bring glory to her forefathers, even if she didn't know who they are. She had earned a windfall in the gambling den that day, but if the money was not efficiently put to use, it would begone in a mere few months.

Qianyu finally called it a day. A surprise awaited her at her magic farm. Jilin, the young farmer who had asked for her hand in marriage some time ago, had not been idle while waiting for her return. He had seen to the magical crops and done all he could to ensure their healthiness. Muxue's all-year round winter meant that they could not grow normal crops, and their crops would not grow elsewhere. Their magical crops needed no watering, but planting them was already a major headache.The snow, magical as it was, turned out to be rather stubborn. The idea was to bury seeds deep in the snow and ensure their germination with wine.

Wine was brewed from magical grapes as well in Muxue. Jilin often came by to help take care of Qianyu's vineyard. Grapes grew in the wild in Muxue and needed no caring of, but once in a while, the long vines had to be trimmed and grapes harvested as soon as they were ripe in order to ensure that this would make space for the next harvest. Jilin dashed into the vineyard, ignoring Qianyu as soon as she had arrived. Qianyu's heart sank. Although she had never loved Jilin, they were childhood friendsand he had played along with her in her game of pretence, so that the gamblers would fall for her ploy. But at the very end, when Qianyu 'broke off' with Jilin, Jilin was practically heartbroken.

"I don't want my share of the money, "Jilin had told her. "We may have been make believe lovers at the start, but I do like you. I changed. I developed feelings for you over the time we were together."

Qianyu disagreed. "You know why I'm doing this. It's for Aunt Ji Yan, as well as your father. Your father died from poisoning by others because of gambling debts. Aunt Ji Yan died because of debts from the store she won from that gambler who gambles her money away each day. And we deserve to win back our hard-earned money."She had then walked out on him. News spread quickly of their breakup, and this allowed her to try her hand at gambling. But before that, she had firstly watched the gamblers' behaviour on several occasions, to understand their gambling habits and how frequently they won their bets. This allowed her to estimate the odds of winning.By confusing the gamblers with rumours and the fact that she was at her last coin,thus allowed her to chance upon a windfall.

She approached Jilin, grabbing his right hand from behind. Jilin faced her with his back. "I won," she whispered. Jilin held still for ten long seconds before disconnecting his hand from hers. "I'm not here for the money," he said. "I need a favour from you."Qianyu heaved a sigh of relief. "I promise to help you, given the capacity to do so."

"My mother has been bedridden for a very long time," Jilin began. "The doctor has pronounced that she has only three months to live. Unless, if a miracle happens."At the mention of the word 'miracle' Qianyu's eyes lighted up. Her mind then filled with images of the three men's appearance within the island, as well as the strange phenomenon in the skies.

"Miracle," she repeated. "What can be done to help your mother's sickness, should there be a miracle?"

"I need an alchemist," Jilin said. "Only an alchemist would be able to brew a cure for her sickness. Even if we can't get our hands on a good one, it will be worth a try." Qianyu sensed Jilin was close to tears. "Very well," she answered. "I promise you.But we should be prepared for the worst. If I can't find us an alchemist, what do you propose we do in order for her to leave in peace?"

A long silence overcame them, shortly ended by the words "We will get married."

Qianyu shivered at the thought. She couldn't marry Jilin, despite the fact that he had a good soul and could do anything for her. She just didn't love him. She felt bad for him and his predicament. The only she could do was to console him. Embracing him tightly from behind, she held him fast. Just one kiss, she thought to herself. She couldn't bear seeing him in this condition. After all, they had grown up together, both brought up by single parents.