Pages 83-103 Summary

As Chen is waiting in line at the exams, Hong explores Chengdu. He is delighted by the wide variety of food and eats a great deal. He decides he will deliver the letter given to Chen by the schoolmaster which is addressed simply to "Ye Pan, Southwest Chengdu." Hong asks passersby for directions, but is brushed off brusquely by many of them. Finally, he is pointed in the direction of Ye Pan who, he is told, is a barber.

Hong finds Ye Pan with a customer in front of his shop. Rather than approach him directly, Hong watches him from a distance deciding if he can be trusted. Finally, Ye Pan spots him and calls angrily for him to come closer. He demands to know why Hing was spying on him. Hong answers truthfully that he was deciding whether Ye Pan...