My Manor

"Jiang, Moses Adams is here," Darlene Evelyn said to Jiang Hai at the door, her Henan accent stumbling slightly. Jiang Hai was busy in a room at that time.

This room was a guest room he had specifically vacated. The beds had been dismantled, replaced by ten large glass jars, each containing a hundred kilograms of white wine.

As soon as you walked in, the strong smell of white wine rushed straight into your nose.

Anyone who enjoys white wine would be delighted by this scent. However, those who don't, such as Dusler Gerard, the head of Jiang Hai's wine estate, would have no love for it.

Gerard believed that men, being inherently romantic, should drink red wine. If not red wine, then at least foreign wine. He couldn't bring himself to accept Jiang Hai's choice of white wine.

When Jiang Hai first brought the wine home, Gerard had visited several times, each time hesitant to speak, looking somewhat helpless.

But Jiang Hai wasn't concerned. He had no particular preference—much like how he once didn't like tea but now enjoyed it. He had never drunk liquor before, but that didn't mean he wouldn't in the future.

The afternoon after he received the wine from Zhang Dehai, Jiang Hai began working with the glass jars. He started thinking about what to put in them. In total, he soaked five jars of wine.

All five jars were similar. Jiang Hai added a lot of wolfberries, two deer whips, two wild American ginseng roots over ten years old, and a handful of dates, as it was all he had on hand.

Despite searching online for recipes, there was a problem: Chinese medicine was hard to find in the U.S.

If it could be found, it was usually from small black-market clinics. Chinese medicine had never been widely recognized in the U.S.

Westerners couldn't grasp the idea that certain tree roots could heal ailments. They didn't understand that instead of boiling these elements into a decoction, they could be scientifically extracted and made into medicine.

Chinese medicine was difficult to comprehend for Westerners, who valued data and science.

In recent years, many elderly Chinese immigrants have found themselves unable to afford U.S. medical prices, which could be as high as $1,800 for a cold. The medical advice often didn't involve typical medicine but vitamins, leaving the elderly to boil their own Chinese medicine at home. But when the scent wafted through the air, neighbors would call the police, thinking they were brewing something dangerous.

Despite the fact that over 70% of Americans still can't accept Chinese medicine, some clinics have popped up in the Western U.S., though this remains uncommon in Massachusetts.

So, while Jiang Hai had some recipes, obtaining quality Chinese herbs was a challenge, and he wasn't sure about purchasing them online.

For now, he continued soaking the wolfberries, ginseng, deer antlers, and dates, trusting that it would work.

Jiang Hai had been focusing on this project for the past two days, losing track of time.

Meanwhile, Darlene and Marianne, now able to speak, were learning Chinese alongside English. It was easier to learn to speak first and then write.

At home, they occasionally conversed with Jiang Hai in Chinese, but when outsiders were around, they stayed silent. This was partly because they were still wary of outsiders, and partly because Jiang Hai wanted it that way. He hadn't figured out how to explain their sudden ability to speak.

Even Aphra, except when in class or at home, rarely spoke.

"Moses Adams? Let him in," Jiang Hai said, pausing his work.

Upon hearing Jiang Hai's words, Darlene whistled. Shortly after, Jiang Hai heard a dog barking—it was Xiaobai, the loyal companion of the two girls, stopping Moses Adams.

"Hey, boss, what are you doing… making a specimen?" Moses Adams asked, walking up the stairs with his Boston accent. His excitement was evident, likely because he had good news, but his expression faltered when he saw what Jiang Hai was working on.

"You don't understand, this is for soaking wine, a very famous practice in China," Jiang Hai explained with a shake of his head.

"Oh, soaking in wine, I've seen that. I've been watching some Chinese movies and TV shows recently. I'll admit, there are a lot of things in China that we just don't get." Moses Adams seemed indifferent but acknowledged that China had many fascinating elements.

"Oh? You've been watching Chinese movies? What have you seen? Rush Hour? Or Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon?" Jiang Hai laughed. For many foreigners, their understanding of Chinese movies was limited to early Hong Kong films—Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, and Jet Li—who, even at their peak, were second-rate stars in the U.S.

"To be fair, I've seen Rush Hour and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but right now, I'm watching The Legend of Zhen Huan. I have to say, Chinese women are incredible. If the women here had that level of IQ, we'd have had a female president by now," Moses Adams remarked, grinning.

"There may be a day like that, haha," Jiang Hai laughed along with him.

"I'm not hoping for that day. I also recently watched a movie from over ten years ago called Gua Sha. Have you seen it? I think it's another tradition of yours," Moses asked, his interest piqued by the mention of traditional Chinese healing.

"Oh, that movie… It has some artistic liberties, but we do have Gua Sha," Jiang Hai said, acknowledging the difference in perception. In the U.S., practices like Gua Sha, cupping, and acupuncture, which are common in China, are often seen as strange or even mystical.

The movie depicted a Chinese immigrant in the U.S. who, after a conflict involving his son and his boss's son, slapped his child to appease his boss. In China, such behavior is not uncommon, but in the U.S., it was viewed as abuse. This difference in perception led to the family being investigated for child abuse.

This reflected the cultural divide between East and West, though over time, more Westerners have come to understand Chinese customs, even if they don't fully accept them.

"Well, if you ever have time, I'll take you to experience it. It's quite relaxing," Jiang Hai offered, then returned to his task.

"I'll pass on that, but I think something's missing from your wine. I remember seeing on TV that besides the ingredients you've used, there are also snakes and lizards," Moses Adams observed, noting the missing elements.

"Yes, snakes—preferably venomous ones—deer antlers, and geckos. But these are not easy to find," Jiang Hai replied, shaking his head.

"I know velvet antlers, which are from fawns, and they're easy to get. Haven't you been to the Appalachian Mountains? There are plenty of those, and there are snakes too. I think the only ones around here are rattlesnakes. As for lizards, I don't know about geckos, but there are a lot of other lizards," Moses said casually, mentioning the Appalachian Mountains.

"Yeah, if you can't buy them, try looking there. Well, I'll go there in the next few days. By the way, why did you come to see me? I've been rambling on without getting to the point. Just tell me what you need!" Jiang Hai asked, eager to hear what Moses had come for.