The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane

The chapter opens with Paul, who is now 7, calling for his mother after he has a nightmare. Although their pediatrician, Dr. Katz, assured Li-yan that nightmares are normal for children who are starting school, Li-yan is worried that her son picked up her anxieties. She promises herself to make sure not to let him listen to her phone conversations with her brothers about weather abnormalities affecting tea trees in Spring Well. In recent years, the climate change caused the dry season to last longer, while the monsoons have become more intense, and this weather pattern is stunning growth of tea leaves. Li-yan can taste the change in her tea, but since she’s not a scientist, she can’t explain what it means.

Afterward, Li-yan prepares breakfast for Paul and Jin and drives her son to school. On the drive back, she has time to reflect: She is now 37; her business is successful because the price for good tea has risen over the years, and Pu’er prices skyrocketed again. Li-yan’s company is now very big, with offices in China and the USA and a fermenting factory in Menghai. Farmers, as well as customers, trust her because they know her as an honest and diligent businesswoman. Her three nieces, who are now 19, also work for her: First Sister-in-law’s daughter works in her shop in the Fangcun Tea Market, Second Sister-in-law’s daughter travels through the mountains and monitors the quality of tea that the farmers sell them, and the Third Sister-in-law’s daughter handles her Internet sales. The three women have no intention of getting married anytime soon, as they are all focused on their careers.

Jin’s business is also going well: Not only did he keep his cardboard business during the recession, but he also invested a lot of money into real estate. Ci-teh and Li-yan still don’t talk, but Li-yan knows from her family that Ci-teh now grows coffee on the land she subleased, and Yunnan has become a tourist attraction for coffee lovers.

Despite their success, Li-yan has never stopped thinking about her daughter. When she found out about Roots & Shoots Heritage Tours, she wondered if her daughter ever went to China to look for her. She also sent numerous email inquiries to no avail.

Li-yan also started teaching a cultural class about tea to the Los Angeles chapter of Families with Children from China. On the weekends, she goes to garage sales, looking for Yan-yeh’s tea cake, in case her daughter decided that the cake wasn’t worth keeping. Li-yan realizes that she will “never stop suffering from the loss of Yan-yeh” (326) and continues to search for her daughter.

The chapter ends with email correspondence between Haley, who is a student at Stanford, majoring in Biology and Earth Sciences, and her senior thesis adviser, Professor Annabeth Ho. In her email, Haley talks about her research proposal: “The Impact of Climate Change in Sensory and Medicinal Attributes of Tea (Camellia sinensis) Grown from Tea Trees in the Tropical Regions of China” (327). Haley wants to explore how climate change is jeopardizing the natural protection of tea trees and how it affects the health of the tea leaf. In her reply, Professor Annabeth Ho admires Haley’s ambitious project and asks her a few questions: if she has a personal interest in this topic; if she planning to travel to Yunnan for research; and if she would consider adding a third aspect to her thesis, namely, how to reconcile the philosophy of tea with the practicalities of growing and processing it.

In her email response, Haley explains that the year before she went to the World Tea Expo, where she sampled tea from all over the world. There, she saw a whole section dedicated solely to Pu’er and realized that the tea would become more popular in America over the years. At the expo, she also found out that Yunnan, despite making up only four percent of China’s territory, has “as much flowering plant diversity as the rest of the Northern Hemisphere combined” (330). There, she also met a man named Sean Wong. When she showed him her tea cake, he suggested she take it to the place of origin, so she plans to do just that.

In a follow-up email, Professor Ho asks Haley if she knows this man well enough to travel with him to such a remote area and urges her to answer her questions more specifically. Haley then responds that she has a personal interest in her thesis topic because her mother is a biology professor, and her father is an arborist, and she has learned to take care of trees by his side, and therefore sees firsthand what effect the global climate change has on trees. She also adds that she already made plans to travel to Yunnan mountains as a part of a study group from Tufts Institute of the Environment, and the trip is scheduled for the upcoming spring break, during the tea picking season. Professor Ho then responds with apologies for not realizing earlier that Haley was the daughter of Constance Davis, whom she knows “for the quality and importance of her work” (333). 

Mr. Huang asks Li-yan if he can visit Spring Well when he goes to the tea mountains in the spring and begs her to take him to her tea grove. Li-yan gets mad at his persistence, but he explains that her trees are in danger: The Pu’er Tea College now has a “study base with a GPS system that can locate every tea tree over a thousand years old in Yunnan’s twenty-six tea mountains” (336). Li-yan is terrified, and Mr. Huang continues that “from high in the sky, they can see through mists, fog, and clouds to the outlines of mountains, boulders, and hollows” (336). He then says that the Pu’er Tea College is not the only institution to have access to GPS, insinuating that he, too, can now find the tea grove. Li-yan is so distraught that she walks away from him, but he catches up with her and begs her to listen to what he has to say.

He begins by claiming that his visits helped pave the way for Li-yan’s success because his friendship with Tea Master Sun ensured Li-yan’s acceptance into both programs at the Pu’er Tea College. Moreover, he now reveals to her that he has been her secret partner at Midnight Blossom Teashop all these years. He explains all this by his desire to repay Li-yan’s family and tells Li-yan a story she has never heard before. His wife died of cancer right after their son was born, and when doctors diagnosed Xian-rong with bone cancer at the age of 3, Mr. Huang set on a quest for the best Pu’er, hoping that it would save his son’s life. When he first arrived in Spring Well, he wasn’t a connoisseur, but a father desperate to find a cure for his dying son.

Li-yan realizes that at that time, her thoughts about San-pa so absorbed her that she never thought about Mr. Huang’s true motives. Mr. Huang goes on, explaining that Xian-rong had a recurrence in 2007, and those yellow threats from A-ma’s two tea cakes are what saved him again. He is worried that his son, or his grandchildren, might have cancer again. If A-ma is gone, he won’t know how to save them, and that’s why he begs Li-yan to show him the tea grove.

In the spring, when Li-yan, Jin, and Paul go to Spring Well, they stop by the Social Welfare Institute and drop off books and toys. Once they arrive in the village, Li-yan asks her A-ma to go with her straight to the tea grove, and there she tells her everything Mr. Huang has shared with her. Although it is hard for Li-yan to relay to A-ma what GPS means and how it can harm them, A-ma senses that their trees are in danger and that Mr. Huang is warning them. Li-yan insists that they test the yellow threats in the mother tree and find out their real properties. A-ma is so scared to show the trees to outsiders that she starts to cry. 

The chapter begins with Constance and Dan seeing Haley off at the airport as she is about to board her flight from Los Angeles to Guangzhou. They are worried because they haven’t met her companion yet, the man named Sean, but Haley assures them that she will be okay.

On the flight, she recalls her time at the tea expo, where she learned more about Pu’er and attended a presentation by the scientists from Tufts University who were researching the beneficial effects of Pu’er for human health. Even though Haley was skeptical at first, they convinced her with their thorough research. Afterward, she asked for their cards and eventually decided to join their study.

As she was walking around the expo, she noticed a handsome Chinese man, about five years older than her, pouring tea. She entered the booth, and the man introduced himself as Sean Wong. He offered her and the others in his booth several samples of aged Pu’er and seeing how much Haley liked it, explained that she was “drinking history” (349).

Haley liked Sean right away, and to prolong her stay in the booth, she told him about her tea cake. He assured her that her tea cake might be vintage and therefore very expensive. The next day she brought her tea cake to show him, and while she had many offers to sell it, Sean made an offer she couldn’t decline: to go with him to China for a week on “a pilgrimage to [her] tea cake’s place of origin” (350). The trip would allow Haley to meet farmers and collect her own tea samples. Sean, who speaks the language and knows everything about tea, would be very a helpful guide. Nevertheless, Haley realizes that this is not the only reason she agrees to his idea: Something about Sean entices her.

When Haley returned to Stanford, they exchanged emails and met once at his mansion in Los Angeles, which happens to be very close to Hummingbird Lane. During this visit, they finalize details about the trip, but nothing romantic happens between them.

When the seat belt sign goes off, Haley brushes off her memories and walks towards the front of the plane, looking for Sean. She doesn't see him, so she assumes that he must have missed his flight. An hour later, he comes up to her and starts a conversation about Yunnan ethnic minorities, offering her to visit the Akha tribe. Haley objects by saying that she read that they have a bad reputation for drinking, using drugs, and carrying out practices like killing newborn twins. Sean defends them, explaining that she doesn’t have the right to condemn their cultural beliefs. He leaves abruptly, and they don’t talk again until their plane lands in Guangzhou. Once there, Sean doesn’t mention their misunderstanding, and they board another flight for Kunming. They have one more flight ahead of them and a long bus ride. Even though Haley is exhausted, she can’t fall asleep because she is so excited not just to be in China, but to be heading to “the middle of nowhere” (352).

When they arrive, Haley quickly realizes that she will see a completely different side of China than what she saw with her parents all those years ago. She is surprised by the anti-sanitary conditions and squat toilets but quickly adjusts to her new surroundings. Once they are in Laobanzhang, Sean takes her to meet local farmers who harvest and process tea. He introduces Haley as an American scientist, and she sees an opportunity for scientific study everywhere. After a conversation with the farmers and lunch, Sean suggests that Haley show the cake to the locals, in case they know anything about its place of origin. Haley takes out her tea cake, but the people who gather to look at it can’t tell her much. She admits that “it feels gratifying that the tea cake is as mysterious to them as it’s always been to [her]” (356). When they offer to open it and to taste it, Haley refuses, and she and Sean go back to the town where they are staying.

Over dinner, Haley tells Sean that she is adopted and struggles from “survivor’s guilt” (357): She could have been raised in poverty and deprivation, but instead she grew up in a loving wealthy family. Afterward, Sean tells Haley that he wants to know everything about her and asks her if she sees herself as Chinese or American. She responds that she is “one hundred percent American and one hundred percent Chinese” (357). She surprises herself with this answer and wonders if this is the first time she truly realizes who she is.

During the next few days, they visit many other farmers: All greet them very warmly and let them taste their tea. When Haley shows them her tea cake, they only have guesses and can’t give any specific information about its origin. On the fourth day of their trip, they drive up to Nannuo Mountain and check into a rustic inn. The hostess cooks and serves dinner, after which they are offered homemade liquor. The proprietor invites them to join in a what he calls “call-and-response Akha love song” that has become popular since its performance on Chinese television. After the festivities, Sean walks Haley to her bungalow and kisses her. They get into her room and make love, and afterward, Sean confesses that he has loved Haley since the moment he saw her at the expo, and that’s why he brought her “to the place [he] love[s] most” (361).

The next day they drive to the Spring Well Village, where everyone is busy processing tea. Once the villagers notice Sean, they recognize him immediately and address him as “Xian-rong.” Sean explains this is his Mandarin name and introduces Haley to Paul. The boy explains that he is visiting his grandma and that he actually lives in Arcadia. Haley is astonished that they are “practically neighbors” (362). Haley also notices an older woman dressed in full ethnic minority clothing, who introduces herself as So-sa.

Pouring tea, Sean tells Haley that he would love her to meet Tina and show her the tea cake, but while they wait for her arrival, he suggests that she show it to So-sa. When Haley takes out her tea cake and lays it on the table, So-sa gasps and runs away. Sean and Haley are confused, and when So-sa comes back, she instructs Haley to follow her to a place where men are not allowed, so Sean can’t come with them. Haley doesn’t want to go anywhere alone with a woman who doesn’t speak a word of English, but So-sa quickly grabs her tea cake and runs away, so Haley doesn’t have a choice but to follow her.

The ascent is very tiring, and Haley catches up with So-sa only at the top. The woman turns Haley towards the view and holds up the tea cake: Haley instantly notices how much it matches the drawings. So-sa continues to drag Haley up the hill until they reach the tea grove. There, Haley sees the tree that has been “the symbol [she’s] dreamed and wondered about [her] entire life” (363). Haley notices a woman picking tea leaves and suddenly she feels memories washing over her. Even though she realizes the impossibility of it, she feels overwhelmed with waves of love. When the woman finally notices them, she comes closer and looks from So-sa to Haley. Li-yan recognizes her daughter, and Haley recognizes her mother as well, “because [she’s] seen traces of her in [her] face in the mirror” (364).