The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane

Anxiously waiting for the selection results, Li-yan decides to take a vacation for the first time in many years and visit her family. From her correspondence with Teacher Zhang, she knew that her family was doing much better now because their tea was in high demand. However, she was hoping “everything to be more or less the same, believing that [their] culture and traditions are so old and deep that they would withstand all attempts to transform them” (182).

As soon as she arrives on Nannuo Mountain, its changes strike her: Old bamboo houses are gone; new concrete houses have inside plumbing and electricity; and almost everyone wears Western-style clothing. When Li-yan reaches her village, no one recognizes her. To her disbelief, she sees that her old house is gone and a new structure made of glass and aluminum stands in its place. Finally, A-ba recognizes her, and the whole family comes out to greet her. Li-yan notices that only A-ma still wears traditional Akha clothes and a headdress.

Later that night, as the family feasts on pork, goose, and fruit, A-ba and the brothers tell Li-yan about everything that has changed in their village since she left eight years ago. Li-yan is shocked that everyone has dismissed their traditions and instead focuses on business—growing, processing, and selling tea. They also ask Li-yan many questions about her new life, and everyone is especially eager to know when she will get married. Everyone hopes that the Pu’er program will accept Li-yan because then she could “sell [their] family’s tea and make it famous!” (186).

When Li-yan visits Ci-teh the next day, she is astonished how much her friend has changed: Having consolidated her family’s land, she has become one of the wealthiest and most influential people in the village. Ci-teh has also gained weight and no longer wears her tunic and headdress. She also paid the ruma and the nima for a spiritual cleansing for her brother, Ci-do, after which they allowed him to return to the village. When Ci-teh asks Li-yan why she doesn’t want to get married, Li-yan gives an elusive answer, yet deep inside she realizes that she doesn’t want to repeat the mistakes of the past. A-ba, too, passes messages through sisters-in-law, insisting that Li-yan needs to get married as soon as possible because it’s “[her] duty to the nation and to the family to have a child” (188).

When the following week Li-yan visits Teacher Zhang, he gives her much needed words of encouragement, telling her that there’s no one more qualified for the program than she is. Li-yan and A-ma hardly have a chance to talk in private, and they are alone just once during Li-yan’s three-week stay when they visit her tea grove on her last day on Nannuo Mountain. Once they are alone, A-ma advises Li-yan to stay true to herself and “the right person will find [her] and love [her]” (189).

A-ma’s words give Li-yan strength to bid farewell to her family and travel back to Kunming. Once she is in her apartment, she finds a note from Teacher Guo, telling her to visit him immediately. He then announces to her that out of 2,000 applicants, she was the only student accepted to both programs: She will now learn how to become a tea master and how to become a tea evaluator. Li-yan sells all her possessions so that she will have money without taking an extra job and immerses into her studies.

Over the next 12 months, she spends her time side by side with Tea Master Sun, and Li-yan feels like “the sadness and loneliness [she’s] felt about the past dissipates like clouds after a storm” (191). Li-yan learns how to distinguish not only flavors, but the body and texture, and find even the most nuanced notes. When it’s time for Li-yan to enter the tea trade, her options are limitless, but Tea Master Sun offers her to join a business that finances a shop in the largest wholesale tea market in China. First, she would have to work hard to make sure that investors receive their money back, but then she will own the business 50-50. Without hesitation, Li-yan signs a contract with Green Jade, Ltd. and sends a note to Teacher Zhang, asking him to tell her family and their neighbors to find the best tea for her to sell.

The chapter ends with a birthday letter from Haley to her adoptive mother, who turns 50. The letter reveals how caring Constance is towards her daughter and how much they love each other. 

Li-yan’s new job takes her to Guangzhou, but living in such a big city is overwhelming for her. Every morning, when she reaches the Fangcun Tea Market, Li-yan is astonished by how huge and busy it is, but once she enters her Midnight Blossom Teashop, she finally relaxes. There, she receives her customers and brews tea. Although the tasting lasts for hours, the buyers usually leave her shop with a big purchase. Her sales are good, and she soon pays back investors’ money and becomes a part-owner of the tea shop.

After work, Li-yan follows her usual routine: She goes to the Martyr’s Memorial Gardens to unwind and enjoy nature. There, she notices a woman sitting on the bench nearby. Li-yan has seen the woman in the park before: She just sits and watches young women pass by, without talking to them or asking them to meet her son, as was common for that time.

A month later, the woman approaches Li-yan and introduces herself as Mrs. Chang. The women begin to talk, and Mrs. Chang tells Li-yan her story: She used to be a high school English teacher, while her husband was a philosophy professor at a university. During the Cultural Revolution, they were labeled “black intellectuals” (198) and forced into exile in the countryside. Their son was born three months after their exile, and they had to learn how to farm to be able to support themselves. When their son was 5, Mrs. Chang’s husband died from pneumonia, and she had to raise him alone. She managed to convince the authorities that after years of isolation, China will need English teachers again, and the country allowed them to come back.

Unlike Li-yan, Mrs. Chang doesn’t romanticize the countryside, nor does she miss it. The two women become close friends and talk every day in the park, except on Sundays. Li-yan, in return, tells her about everything she’s been through, and Mrs. Chang assures her that she did “the best possible given [her] circumstances” (199). With time, Mrs. Chang begins to ask Li-yan to meet her son, Jin. Li-yan refuses, but finally agrees to meet him after some time.

When Jin arrives in the park, Li-yan is surprised by his good looks: He is average built, in his late 30s, with wide, intelligent eyes. From Mrs. Chang’s stories, Li-yan knows Jin he is an entrepreneur and that his business is thriving, yet the fact that he drives a Mercedes surprises her. The two go to have lunch, and Li-yan ends up enjoying herself much more than she expected. They make plans to see each other again the following week, and as soon as Jin drops Li-yan off, she calls Ci-teh and tells her that she just went on a real date.

During the months that follow, Li-yan and Jin meet three times a week, and they often spend their time on the peaceful Shamian Island. Li-yan has gotten to know Jin as a modest and intelligent man, and although the two talk a lot, he does not tell Li-yan anything about his past. Li-yan, too, never mentions her marriage to San-pa nor their daughter. Jin insists that she should have a passport and a single-visit visa to the United States, just in case, and he uses his connections to get both. Li-yan realizes that by doing this, Jin has given her hope, so she begins saving money for a plane ticket. Although they get along well, Li-yan is worried about how Jin will react if she shares her story with him. He, too, remains secretive about his past, so their conversations always look “inward and forward but never backward” (209).