Homage

Besides the Han river in the southeast corner of Hubei province, there was a typical, small traditional Chinese village called 'Duo Lün Duo' that had just over 700 residents. In and around this tiny village, every historical monument and place dating back to the Han Dynasty was still preserved, and the villagers still lived their lives as they always had, and all of them were farmers.

Despite their small size, all the residents of this village were hardworking and honest individuals that we would be hard-pressed to find in this contemporary world.

Today was a very special day for this village as a successful businessman was going to visit the village, nonetheless someone who had roots among them. So all the villagers came out and made various decorations to welcome him.

After shortly arriving at the village, all the residents came out to receive the return of their prodigal son, Donghai Lin. In return, he presented them with a lot of souvenirs for the residents; clothes, blankets, food… etcetera...

They organized a small get-together event for him.

It was a very simple, but nonetheless, a very positive event for him since all the residents seemed to be 100% sincere and glad to see him, unlike those two-faced people back in the city and in the line of business he was currently dealing with on a daily basis.

Later that afternoon, Donghai Lin ordered his men to leave the village and come tomorrow to pick him up by chopper as he wanted to have some privacy in this place.

He then visited the graves of his parents, bringing along two bouquets of daffodils in his hands, and first cleaned up the dusty graves of his parents, which were just next to each rubbing the stone slabs with the sleeves of his white shirt.

Then he placed the flowers carefully on their graves and lighted incense sticks and then he kowtowed before the graves and said. "Mama, your Xiao er is finally here to see you again. Sorry for coming this too late and… um… (sniffle) I bring flowers for you…. And they were your favorite." He then chuckled and wiped the pair of tears on his face.

He did the same before his father's grave and said, "Hey, pop. Did I look cool in this suit? (sniffle) Now, I'm ready to see you once again… I followed what you said to me that day… and here I'm. Thank you. Thank you so much, and I love you both."

Then he left after giving a last kowtowed to their graves for the last time.

As he hurried back to the village and walked down the hill, he saw the street lamps and candle lamps with red papers raised showing the beautiful scenery of the village beside the quiet and gentle brook of the Han river that he had never seen before in his life.

"Really beautiful!" exclaimed Donghai Lin in delight.

Soon he returned to the guest house as he was joined by the village's old chief Lu Xun and his family; wife Xi Mingze and their only daughter Lu Liu, a beauty who was in her early 20s.

They engaged in a very relaxed conversation and talked about various matters happening in the village for the past two decades.

"Little friend, Xiao Lin, is the accommodation satisfactory to you?" Lu Xun, the village chief, asked with a warm smile.

Having a brilliant smile plastered across his face, Donghai Lin responded in a very delightful tone. "Everything is great and I like everything about this place."

"Good-good," Lu Xun chuckled and his wife added. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask, okay?"

Donghai Lin nodded.

"Alright, then we'll take our leave. My daughter will bring you for your evening drinking appointment." Lu Xun, the village Chief said and then turned to his daughter and said, "Liu er, you take care of your Xiao Ge."

Then the two old couples walked out of the guest house, leaving the two.

After they left, the room reverted to a state of tranquility, which was awkward, and Donghai Lin asked in a gentle tone to ease the tension. "So, Lu Liu, your family seems lovely, and it must be wonderful to grow up with them?"

"It might be right. But, Xiao Ge, I cannot say that from my perspective sometimes they are so nosy that it is a pain in my neck. Ugh, sometimes I even thought about running away from this village and starting over somewhere." Lu Liu replied with an expression showing frustration. "Alright, I'll bring you to Grandma Ju's place…. She will serve you the finest wine in the world, by the way."

Then the two also walked off the guest house and headed toward the far corner on the east side of the village. Following a short stroll and chatting about simple things, they found themselves standing just beside a traditional-looking Chinese mansion that was built right beside the Han River.

After entering through the front door, the two passed through several rooms before entering a room marked 'Favorite of the Duo Lün Duo'.

Inside, a neatly decorated room, lit with candles and lanterns, adds a calming atmosphere to the atmosphere within. Lu Liu gestured to the round table in the center as she spoke. "Xiao Ge, have a seat? I'll go there and inform Grandma He about your arrival." and she stormed out of the room.

A variety of meat and vegetable dishes were arranged over the table, and the steam that rose from them filled the room with a redolent smell that could make anyone hungry.

As Donghai Lin looked around, he found various ornate murals depicting mythological beasts, particularly four murals depicting the real-lifelike picture of Azure Dragon on the east side of the wall, and Vermillion Bird on the south wall. On the west wall is a white tiger, and on the last wall is a black tortoise and five other murals of people wearing back from the Han Dynasty.

At that time, the door creaked, and an old woman with a hunched back walked inside the room with a bottle of Chinese white wine in her hands.

Donghai Lin saluted her with his hands, clasping them together in greeting.

"You must be Xiao Donghai Lin, the only son of the late Donghai Wang?" Grandma He asked with a smile that was so bright and pure that anyone could not see the wrinkles on her face. "Have a seat." And then filled the cup with white wine from the bottle.

Donghai Lin nodded his head and said. "Granny He, I can take it from here myself. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy drinking on my own."

The old lady looked at his eyes meaningfully for a moment and said, "Fair enough, you have already paid for this room!... Well, I'll just stay there outside. Whatever you need, just give a word from here and I'll be here in the next few minutes." And she also left the room.