Tuo Lin happily stepped out of the courtyard and headed for the street. "Master, look, that's Uncle Shi. His family makes a living quarrying stone and supplying it to the city. In his spare time, Uncle Shi uses stone from his own quarry to repair the roads. The broad, level avenues in the city owe a lot to his family's efforts. I saw the character 'stone' on him."
"I pay my respects to the Human Master." When Uncle Shi saw Tuo Lin, he hurriedly bowed. Though Tuo Lin called him Uncle Shi, he was far older than Uncle Shi.
"Uncle Shi, thanks for all your hard work. How's your shoulder? You were so mischievous as a child. You fell out of the tree in my courtyard, and it still hasn't fully healed after all these years."
Uncle Shi smiled wryly. "It never will. It aches whenever the weather turns wet, but it doesn't affect my work. Thank you for your concern, Human Master."
Tuo Lin nodded and continued onward. "Master, that's Xiao Anzi. He's famous for asking questions. He's like that, and so is his teacher, and his teacher's teacher, and his teacher's teacher's teacher. They take their questions to every corner, but they also answer people's questions. They're good people. I saw the character 'ask' on him."
"Master, that's Shopkeeper Ma. His family has traded horses for generations. Xiang City may not be large, but some people love horses and gallop along the river outside the city. There's even a horse race every year. I saw the character 'horse' on him."
"That's Brother Tang. He loves growing flowers most of all. I saw the character 'tang' on him."
"That one, that one..."
With every person Tuo Lin pointed out, Lu Yin seemed to see a character on them. It