Siheyuan, my new life

At 8:30 in the morning, Songhetang in Chinatown, San Francisco, had just opened for business. A foreigner in his thirties, dressed in a suit and tie, pushed the door open and walked in. The young man who was wiping the tables and chairs quickly asked in English: "Hello, sir, what can I do for you?"

The foreigner was speaking fluent Chinese and said, "Hello, young man. I am Garnett from Israel. Is Dr. Guo from Songhetang here?"

The young man said in surprise: "Hello, Mr. Garnett, you speak Chinese fluently. If we were not face to face, I would have thought you were a Chinese. My master is having breakfast at Liuji Tea House opposite. Please sit for a while. I will go and ask the master to come back." While speaking, he picked up the tea he had just brewed, poured a cup of tea for the other party, and invited Garnett to sit down.

Mr. Garnett smiled and thanked him, then sat down on the chair, picked up the tea and took a sip.

The young man quickly pushed open the door and ran out. After a while, an old man in a Tang suit and with a ruddy complexion followed the young man into Songhe Hall.

The old man clasped his fists slightly and said with a smile: "Hello, Mr. Garnett. My name is Guo. What can I do for you?"

Mr. Garnett stood up, smiled and bowed: "Hello, Doctor Guo. I currently work at the Israeli Consulate in San Francisco. My father used to do business in Shanghai, your country. This time he came to the United States for a trip. He felt unwell yesterday and is now staying at my home in the consulate. My father has always been a great admirer of Chinese medicine, so he asked me to come here today to invite you to visit him for treatment." As he spoke, he took out a business card and a hundred-dollar bill from his wallet and gently placed them on the coffee table in front of Doctor Guo.

Doctor Guo did not extend his hand, but glanced at the contents of the business card. He had lived in the United States for a long time, so of course he could read English fluently. He was secretly delighted when he saw the business card. Mr. Garnett in front of him turned out to be the commercial counselor of the Israeli Consulate in San Francisco. Thinking of the high-end car parked on the side of Yaotang Road, he smiled and said, "No problem. I'll get the medicine box and we'll leave now."

The young man next to him had already taken an antique nanmu medicine box from the side and handed it to the master with both hands.

Doctor Guo took the medicine box and said with a smile: "Mr. Garnett, please."

So the two of them walked out of the gate of Songhe Hall one after the other, and under the gaze of the young man, they got into the black Lincoln sedan on the roadside and drove slowly forward.

As the car drove out of Chinatown, Mr. Garnett, who was driving the car, suddenly stretched out a finger and gently pressed it on the forehead of Dr. Guo, who had not yet reacted. After a moment, he smiled and said, "I didn't expect you to listen to those bastards in the CIA and not tell anyone else about the 'Guben Peiyuan Soup'. This saves me the trouble."

Doctor Guo was shocked and asked in surprise: "Mr. Garnett, what do you mean?"

Mr. Garnett smiled and said: "Doctor Guo, you can only consider yourself unlucky. Who told you to have seen the recipe of 'Guben Peiyuan Decoction' with your own eyes? Just go on your way with peace of mind." After that, without waiting for Doctor Guo to speak again, he waved his hand, and Doctor Guo, who was originally sitting in the passenger seat next to him, disappeared. The black Lincoln sedan slowly accelerated and sped forward.

Almost at the same time, in the clinic of Baicaotang in Chinatown, Los Angeles, a foreigner who was less than 30 years old slowly took his finger away from the head of a Chinese man in his 50s sitting opposite him, sneering and saying, "Doctor Qu, you actually dared to violate the confidentiality agreement signed with the CIA, secretly recorded the single prescription of 'Guben Peiyuan Decoction', and told your son. You are really courting death."

Doctor Qu's face turned pale and he asked in surprise: "Who are you? How do you know about my relationship with the CIA?"

The young man sneered and said: "There is no need for you to know who I am. Let's go and call your son to go with us." After that, he flicked his finger, and a shadow suddenly disappeared above Doctor Qu's head.

Doctor Qu, who was originally very excited, suddenly calmed down, stood up, carried a black leather bag, followed the young man out of the clinic, and said to a young man who was picking up medicine in front of the medicine cabinet: "Zhiyuan, come with me after you finish picking up the medicine."

Qu Zhiyuan quickly agreed, wrapped up the herbs in his hand, handed them to the middle-aged woman who was waiting to get the medicine, then took off his white coat and hurried towards the two people who were already standing at the door of the pharmacy.

The three of them got into a Ford sedan parked outside Baicaotang and quickly drove out of Chinatown.

Near noon, two cars drove quickly into San Francisco's Chinatown, honking their horns continuously to remind pedestrians walking slowly on the road to get out of the way.

As passers-by watched in astonishment, the cars stopped directly in front of the main entrance of Songhe Hall. Four Americans in black suits got out of two cars, pushed open the door of Songhe Hall and walked in.

When he heard the car brake sound just now, the young man thought it was his master who came back. He almost got hit by the door when he walked to the door. He quickly stepped back two steps and saw the four burly men with menacing faces. He quickly smiled and said, "Four gentlemen, may I ask what can I do for you?"

One of the big men pulled out an ID card from his pocket, waved it in front of the young man, and said in a deep voice: "We are from the CIA. Where is Dr. Guo from Songhetang?"

The young man then remembered that this person had been here twice before, and he had heard from his master that he was a CIA supervisor, so he quickly said with a smile: "Hello, Mr. John, my master went out to see a patient this morning and will be back soon. Please take a seat and I'll make some tea for you."

Mr. John glanced at his watch. It was almost half past eleven. He frowned and asked, "When did your master go out? Where did he go? We have something very important to discuss with him."

How could the young man dare to hide anything from the CIA? He quickly replied, "Before nine o'clock this morning, the master got into the car of Garnett, the counselor of the Israeli Consulate in San Francisco. Mr. Garnett said that his father was sick and was at his home in the consulate."

When they heard that the man was Counselor Garnett from the Israeli Consulate in San Francisco, Mr. John and his companions' faces changed drastically, and they immediately asked, "How do you know that man is Counselor Garnett from the Israeli Consulate?"

The young man pointed to the business card still on the coffee table and said nervously, "That's Mr. Garnett's business card."

Mr. John stepped forward and grabbed the business card. After looking at it carefully, he couldn't help but curse, "Shit!" Then he ordered his companions: "You ask this guy to describe Garnett's appearance, and I will call the police immediately."