The woman, drawing courage from an unknown source, pulled her children out of the crowd. "I can do it! I worked as a kitchen helper in a wealthy family's mansion!"
The woman was only in her early twenties then. Thanks to adequate nutrition since childhood, she was very different from the other refugees in the ship's hold who were gaunt from hunger. It was clear at a glance that she had come from a well-off family.
The middle-aged man scrutinized her for a long time. Under the woman's anxious gaze, he reluctantly agreed, "Come out."
Under the envious eyes of everyone, the woman, holding her children's hands, stumbled out of the hold.
The middle-aged man led the woman into a narrow room and threw her a set of relatively clean, old clothes. "My surname is Zhao. From now on, you will call me Steward Zhao. Later, Granny Wang, who will help you in the kitchen, will bring you two buckets of water. Wash yourself clean of fleas and lice. You absolutely cannot bring these dirty things into the kitchen."
The woman had made pastries for her parents and in-laws at home before, so she felt somewhat confident. The family's head chef had taught her the secret recipe for osmanthus cakes in detail. The woman satisfied the adults' appetites with these cakes. The boatmen, whose ancestral home was in the south, also favored this delicacy. They kept the woman to help, and she earned her first wages to settle in a foreign land.
For a long time, she received no news from her relatives. The woman had no choice but to use her pastry-making skills to open a small workshop and painstakingly raise her children into adulthood.
Lin Xiang remained silent, a tear tracing a path down her cheek.
The woman gradually grew old. Her hands, which had never known hard labor, were now covered in bulging veins and were no longer nimble. Her children had also grown up and did not want their mother to continue working so hard. The woman had to close the pastry workshop that had supported her family through difficult times. She prayed devoutly to the deities, hoping to reunite with her scattered family before she died.
Life was so difficult and arduous. It taught people to yield, to swallow humiliation, to abandon dignity, to wear down courage in suffering, and to flatten hopes and aspirations for the future. Yet, beneath the thorns of this suffering, hope still sprouted and grew.
The hardships and difficulties of life ravaged her soul, but her pale spirit displayed a strength that could move even the gods.
The memories ended here. The tender affection hidden beneath the surface was enough to melt steel. Her time on the ship had exposed the woman to the faith of Mazu. Whenever the boatmen encountered storms, they would offer sacrifices to Mazu, praying for safety. With faith in the Heavenly Queen and the hope of life, the woman became a devout follower of Mazu and took root in a foreign land after crossing the seas.
Lin Xiang tried to follow the threads of karma to find Granny Zhang's husband and family, but unfortunately, she found nothing.
After a moment of thought, Lin Xiang believed it might be due to the lack of a direct karmic connection between herself and Granny Zhang's relatives. Perhaps trying again the next time Granny Zhang visited might yield results.
However, Granny Zhang would not live to see that day.
Lin Xiang waited for a long time, but Granny Zhang did not appear again. A bad premonition immediately arose in her heart.
The next time Lin Xiang saw Granny Zhang was at the hospital. The old woman was nearing her end and would soon depart from this world.
The old woman's children, respecting her faith, invited an old temple priest from the Mazu temple to see her off on her final journey.
Lin Xiang put down the flowers in her hands and quietly left the hospital.
Guided by the threads of faith, Lin Xiang arrived at the old woman's residence. The old apartment building was inhabited by overseas Chinese who had arrived around the same time as her. Lin Xiang gently knocked on the wooden door. After a while, she heard the old woman's confused reply, "Who is it?"
The old woman opened the door, saw Lin Xiang, and happily invited her in to sit down, preparing a pot of flower tea to entertain her.
"You didn't tell me you were coming, so I didn't prepare anything. This is truly impolite."
Granny Zhang chided her slightly, then couldn't help but laugh.
"It is I who am impolite, intruding without announcement," Lin Xiang said with a calm smile. "I was simply craving your osmanthus cakes, so I came to visit unannounced."
Granny Zhang laughed even more happily, poured Lin Xiang another cup of tea, and then got up to busy herself.
"Speaking of which, I haven't made pastries in a while. I haven't been out much, and my bones are getting stiff."
The kind old woman rubbed her arm and sighed, "Indeed, I am old. When I was young, I worked day and night. Now, in my old age, I am riddled with ailments."
Saying this, she took out various ingredients from the kitchen. "I don't have the strength to knead the dough anymore. You follow my method to make the osmanthus cakes, and I guarantee they will be different from those sold outside."
Lin Xiang obediently went to the kitchen. Under the old woman's guidance, she mixed glutinous rice flour and regular rice flour, sprinkled dried osmanthus flowers, and steamed them. After taking them out, she drizzled osmanthus honey on top, successfully making a basket of osmanthus cakes.
As soon as the freshly made osmanthus cakes were tasted, Granny Zhang nodded with satisfaction. "You have good comprehension, girl. The taste is no worse than mine."
Lin Xiang chuckled softly, stood up, and opened the wooden door.
Mazu, who had been waiting outside, came to the table and sat down, smiling gently. "Li Lanxin, your suffering has ended. Come with me."
Granny Zhang was stunned for a moment and asked with a puzzled look, "It's been a long time since I left my homeland that anyone has called me by my real name. Girl, how did you know my surname is Li?"
Mazu did not answer her question and exchanged a glance with Lin Xiang behind the old woman. The two goddesses revealed their glorious true forms before their believer. The old woman immediately recognized the two sea deities she believed in and was reverently led by the two deities towards an unknown distant place.
Robes and sashes fluttered, and heavenly music played. Guided by Mazu, Li Lanxin vaguely passed through a mist and arrived at the sea. The two goddesses' heads were adorned with halos, and lotuses bloomed beneath their feet, carrying the believer across the water.
Li Lanxin's face was filled with apprehension. Her graying hair and wrinkled skin gradually regained their luster, returning her to youth. The carefree girl Lin Xiang had seen in her memory reappeared.
"Go forward," Mazu gently comforted the believer. "The person you wish to see will be waiting for you ahead."
Dots of red light suddenly appeared on the dark sea. The intertwined Manjusaka flowers formed a path. Li Lanxin was somewhat uneasy and kept looking back at the two goddesses.
Mazu and Lin Xiang both offered blessings and smiles to the suffering believer. Only then did Li Lanxin feel at ease and step onto the fiery red flowers to begin her journey home.
This was Lin Xiang's first time escorting a believer in death, and she was filled with emotion. The thread of faith representing Li Lanxin was completely severed, and her karma receded from Lin Xiang.
"Will she really meet the person she wants to see?" Lin Xiang murmured.
"She will," Mazu replied with a serene expression, watching the believer's soul gradually disappear into the distance. "I, in my homeland, will send her to the underworld. Someone has been waiting for her in the City of Wrongful Deaths for a long time."
Lin Xiang suddenly understood. Her own power, bound to this land by faith, clearly could not extend to her homeland across the sea.