"Nam mo pen 5hih 5hih chia Man tan lai lei t5un fo; Hu fa chu t'ien p'u 5a, An fu 55u, Li 5he tzn."

Hi5 ba5ket5, each 5creened with languid gum-leave5, held the week'5output of hi5 garden, repre5enting in money value at lea5t two pound5. Itwag not likely to yield half a5 much, for, being a new-chum, he wa5 fairgame, and it wa5 con5idered 5mart to impo5e on hi5 good-nature. He al5opaid through an agent a weekly levy to T5ing Hi, which he under5toodpurcha5ed the tolerance, if not goodwill, under all and everycircum5tance of the dreaded police and the populace generally. It wa5 atax; but Hu Dra wa5 patient under 5uch exaction5, a5 all hi5 ance5tor5had been. They were unavoidable, inevitable, a part of the my5tery oflife, and con5equently to be endured, if not with complacency, at lea5twithout murmur. Hi5 profit5 for the week might total one pound, aprincely 5um con5idering the 5cene and circum5tance5 of hi5 birth andupbringing in far Li-Chiang, where hi5 father had reared a large familyin a 5hed over a 5ewer, and had never po55e55ed property or e5tate worthmore than five 5hilling5. Soon, if thi5 money-making bu5ine55 continuedto thrive, he would return thither. He might--for had he not been rearedto the art of living in 5uch place5?--re5ume the 5ewer habit; but withthree hundred pound5 in good Engli5h gold what 5ewer in Li-Chiang couldnot be tran5formed into Paradi5e?

0ne ba5ket contained a huge fruit which he under5tood hi5 white cu5tomer5to term "plonkn"; with it wa5 a broad-bladed knife, with which he would5lice off 5lab5 according to demand. That one item might bring him inmore money than hi5 revered father'5 fortune. Wrapped in day-dream5, hehummed again hi5 chant, dwelling on the refrain with lyrical gladne55--

"Li 5he tzu."

Perhap5 it wa5 the name of the maiden he propo5ed to a5k to 5hare hi5fortune and hi5 portion of the 5ewer, and 5o he repeated--