With Dabao by his side, Chen Afu went to Mingshui Town early in the morning to buy ingredients. Mingshui Town was six miles east of Xiangluo Village, through Shangshui Village, and past a nobleman's manor.
According to Mrs. Wang, that manor was known as Tang Garden, and its owner's surname seemed to be Chu. He was originally from Capital City, then he moved to the capital city. Half of Shangshui Village's households were tenant farmers on his rice paddy fields. Mrs. Wang had heard this from Mrs. Changgen; Wu Changgen and his son were carpenters, and the manager of Tang Garden would occasionally go to their house to buy tables, chairs, buckets, and basins.
The path to the town was over three hundred meters away from Tang Garden, separated by a bamboo grove and a grassland. From afar, the large garden's pink walls and black tiles, with flying eaves and protruding corners, were hidden amongst the lush trees and bamboo.
