Chapter 4: Chinese Angelica

Besides the two pairs led by Shi Zhen and Qi Banxia, there were two others. Wang Man had entered the film and television industry after winning the Miss Hong Kong pageant. She first came to the public’s attention in the late nineties, starring in a wuxia film based on Jin Yong’s work. This was her first time on a variety show. Shen Yuyang had been runner-up on the country’s first televised singing competition fifteen years earlier. Each of them had brought along a friend from the industry to make up the other two pairs.

Haiyan TV’s star host, Wu Wei, was also waiting at the village entrance. That alone showed how seriously the organizers were taking the show.

“Hello, ladies! Welcome to Best Friend Battle. I’m your guide and assistant, Wu Wei.”

“Brother Wei, you’re older than several of us,” Shen Yuyang teased. She knew him well enough to be blunt.

“That’s just what we call everyone. I wouldn’t call you ‘Sister’ one-on-one.” Wu Wei cleared his throat. “But enough of that. We’re in Xiaoxigou Village, where the scenery is beautiful, the water is beautiful, and the people are even more beautiful. The villagers are warm and welcoming, but before we can enter the village, you’ll have to pass a little test. Ladies, look over here.”

The villagers smiled warmly. On the wooden table in front of them sat four porcelain bowls filled with a white liquid: locally brewed sorghum liquor.

“The production crew took the ladies’ comfort into consideration and negotiated with the villagers to switch the big bowls for smaller ones. Two ladies share one bowl. Finish it, and we can head into the village.”

“What could be so hard about that? I could drink the big bowl too.” Shen Yuyang managed two swallows before stopping to complain that it burned her throat. Her friend helped her finish the rest. Wang Man and her partner reached out to lift their bowl together.

Qi Banxia saw the two women to her left exchange a few words. Then Shi Zhen raised her voice. “She’s allergic to alcohol. I’ll drink for her.” She tipped her head back and swallowed the liquor with ease. Her cheeks turned visibly red at once.

“Little Qiu can’t drink either.” Lang Yiqiu had just reached for the bowl on the table when Qi Banxia picked it up.

“Hey, Banxia…” In the blink of an eye, the bowl was empty. Qi Banxia didn’t even change color.

Wu Wei assumed the women were engaged in a quiet competition. After all, Jiasheng and Taichuan had been rivals for a long time, so he hurried to smooth things over. “I’ve heard how well Banxia can hold her liquor. You’d think she was out for a casual drink, not just a glass of wine—though I hear she usually goes for Wuliangye. Shi Zhen’s a champion drinker too.”

The little incident passed, and the group entered the village to the villagers’ warm welcome, complete with singing and dancing. Qi Banxia kicked at a stone underfoot, a familiar heaviness settling over her.

She bit down on her slightly numb tongue and made up her mind to bury all her feelings…

Not far away, Jiang Baizhi had seen everything Qi Banxia did. She was surprised, but there was also something strange about it. This was the girl she’d known since childhood, only six months younger than her, her classmate and playmate. In the eyes of their families, they were now closer than anyone else. Qi Banxia always had a reason for doing whatever she did. She was simply a little quick-tempered and straightforward; she wasn’t good at hiding things.

Most of Yunnan Province had a subtropical plateau monsoon climate, with dramatic differences in elevation. The annual temperature range was small, but the daily range was wider, and the wet and dry seasons were distinct. It was close to eleven in the morning, and the sun was blazing. The group gathered in a clearing beneath a blue-fruited tree on the east side of the village to escape the heat.

“Next, we’ll play a game to decide where you’ll be staying for the next three days and two nights. First, let’s take a look at the photos.”

Of course, some of the local houses were better than others. Everyone wanted to win the best place. Wu Wei explained the game and its rules: each pair would get ten arrows and throw them into a pot from behind a designated line. The pairs would be ranked by how many arrows they landed. Ties would be settled with another round.

Everyone said they understood and eagerly got ready. Wang Man had spent much of her life in Hong Kong and had absorbed the Western gentleman’s tradition of archery as an after-dinner pastime. Her group hit nine out of ten targets, taking first place. Shen Yuyang’s group hit seven and came in second. Qi Banxia and Shi Zhen’s group hit five, tying for third.

The two pairs at the bottom faced off. Their first nine throws ended in another tie, so the final arrow would decide the winner. Qi Banxia and Jiang Baizhi were the ones to throw.

Qi Banxia went first. She hit the target with her first shot.

Jiang Baizhi stood behind the white line, two meters from the pot, eyes fixed ahead as she held her breath. In the corner of her eye, she caught Qi Banxia watching the match without blinking. Something seemed to cross her mind. The next second, her hand trembled, and her arrow veered off target, catching on the rim of the pot.

When it was time to choose rooms, the first two pairs picked the village head’s house and a stone-brick house. That left two stables and a thatched hut. Qi Banxia studied Jiang Baizhi’s sharp profile, the softness of her jaw, and guessed that, just as she’d done when they were children, Jiang Baizhi had let her win. After talking it over with Lang Yiqiu, Qi Banxia gave an unexpected answer.

They chose the thatched hut, the worst of the lot, and left the better stable for the other pair.

“Little Qiu and I want to experience life in a thatched hut,” Lang Yiqiu said with a smile. After two days together, Qi Banxia had told her to call her Banxia. It felt friendlier.

Jiang Baizhi had been about to refuse, but Shi Zhen said nothing, so she kept quiet.

Once everyone had chosen their rooms, Wu Wei told them to meet back there at exactly 2:30 p.m. The production crew would provide lunch on the first day, but from then on, the women would have to fend for themselves.

The women understood the production crew’s tricks.

The thatched hut and the stable were on the west side of the village. The pairs split up and walked toward their lodgings. Lang Yiqiu noticed Qi Banxia wasn’t in high spirits. She cleared her throat, then began to sing in a voice like a lark’s:

“I leaned against the scarecrow, felt the breeze, sang myself to sleep. In the afternoon the guitar rang out over the insects, and the river ran on beside the rice fields…”

Singing could lift someone’s spirits and make them forget their troubles for a while. Listening could do the same. Qi Banxia pursed her lips, then finally smiled.

They reached the stable first. After saying goodbye, they continued toward the thatched hut, less than a hundred meters away. Lang Yiqiu’s singing was infectious, and Qi Banxia soon began humming along. Her lingering unhappiness drifted away on the breeze.

“Banxia, look at the bathroom. There’s just a few boards over the top.” Lang Yiqiu pinched her nose, unable to hide her instinctive disgust.

“There should be a little shelter behind the house where we can shower,” Qi Banxia said without thinking.

She followed Lang Yiqiu around to the back. Before they’d stopped walking, the young singer cried out happily, “Banxia, you knew it would be here! There really is a place to shower!”

“How would I know? I was just guessing.”

“Still, that’s amazing.”

They returned to the only room and set down their luggage and bags. The windows were drafty, the wooden door was worn, and there were no stools. The only place to sit was a narrow bed barely five feet wide.

Lang Yiqiu had grown up in a comfortable family and never had to rough it like this. Her delicate brows drew together. Qi Banxia, who seemed used to the place already, pulled out a bedsheet and began making the bed.

“Little Qiu, if you don’t mind, you can use the bedding set I brought.”

“Why would I mind? I’m so grateful.” Lang Yiqiu hadn’t brought any of the basics, and Qi Banxia was already starting to feel like the best teammate she could have asked for. As she spoke, she helped make the bed.

At the other place, Shi Zhen made the bed while Jiang Baizhi went into the kitchen to see what she could make for lunch. There was a fish, a basket of greens, two potatoes, and a few peppers.

She’d brought a jar of fermented black beans from home. Steamed fish with black beans would make one dish. She told Shi Zhen they should save one of the dishes in case they lost an afternoon game and needed something to eat.

So she stir-fried the greens, and shortly after noon, she set lunch on a battered wooden table.

There were cameras all over the house. She and Shi Zhen barely spoke. After lunch, they went to bed separately. The production crew came to see Shi Zhen once, saying that the two of them hardly interacted and needed to give the audience something to watch.

Shi Zhen flatly refused. “Then film the other pairs. Wang Man and Shen Yuyang should be good.”

The editors would cut the footage together later. If their scenes were limited, so be it.

“Banxia and Lang Yiqiu have some good moments too. It’s just that you two…”

“I’m tired. I’m going to sleep. We can talk about this later.” Shi Zhen shut the door with a loud bang, then turned around to find Jiang Baizhi looking at her.

Neither of them could have guessed that Qi Banxia and Lang Yiqiu would end up being the most entertaining pair of all.

“Little Qiu, stand back.” Qi Banxia held a pot lid up to shield her face and a fish in her other hand. The oil in the pan was already scorching hot. She’d taken a few days to learn to cook before the trip, but sadly, she seemed to have no talent for it. She hadn’t even mastered the basics.

Sizzle… The fish hit the pan, and hot oil spattered everywhere. A drop landed on Qi Banxia’s pale arm.

“Ah! What do we do?” Lang Yiqiu shouted. Both “beauties” were in a panic.

“Banxia, ginger.”

“What about ginger?”

“Ginger and garlic.”

“All right, pass them over.”

The ginger and garlic hit the pan, and the kitchen filled with fragrance.

“Banxia, you’re such a good cook.”

“Really?” Qi Banxia’s smile deepened. No one had ever praised her cooking before.

“Really. I don’t lie.”

“I believe you. I’ll show off again tonight.”

They’d decided to make things easy by slicing the potatoes and tearing the greens into strips, then tossing them all into the pan with some chili paste. The dish was what people called a kitchen-sink stir-fry. Qi Banxia thought it looked and smelled delicious.

Ten minutes later, it was ready. They sat on a borrowed bench and tucked into their handiwork. The fish had been hard to flip, so its underside was a little burnt. The greens had cooked too long and were impossible to pick up with chopsticks.

Luckily, the chili paste Jiang Baizhi had left her made the food just about edible. Lang Yiqiu must have been starving, because she ate two bowls of rice. Qi Banxia began to get the mistaken impression that her cooking was improving by leaps and bounds.

At the end of the meal, the young singer had eaten so fast that she gave a little burp. “That was delicious.”

Qi Banxia felt even more confident and started thinking about what to make for dinner. Yunnan, wild mushrooms… She could still remember going up the mountain with Jiang Baizhi and picking a small basketful. She could still taste that delicious meal long after it was gone.

“Little Qiu, should we try stir-frying some wild mushrooms tonight?”