Chapter 8: Borrowing a Touch of Twilight Glow
In a low thatched cottage with earthen walls at the foot of the mountain, an old woman was making homemade incense.
Similar to Song You when he was in his temple, she had a wooden incense table that was about the size of a single-person desk. On it lay a wooden board about a chi[1] wide. A stack of red paper strips about the width of three fingers and a little over a chi long was pierced with an awl to the board. They were used for rolling incense. Below was an incense trough filled with incense ingredients. Upon closer inspection, he could vaguely discern several kinds of familiar materials. They had been crushed into greenish-yellow corn kernel-sized granules.
The old woman scooped up the incense ingredients with a sliver of bamboo about the same length as the red paper and poured them onto the paper in a neat line. Then she took a bamboo stick and folded the top of the red paper a few times to seal it. Rubbing it with her hands, she skillfully rolled up the entire incense stick.
After gluing the bottom of the incense, an incense stick was completed.
It only took about ten seconds to roll an incense stick. The old woman's movements were smooth, with just the right amount of force applied. It was truly enjoyable to watch.
Song You stood quietly at the side.
The old silver-haired woman was fully absorbed in her work.
The room was filled with the fragrant scent of herbs. Light shone in from the window at a slant, illuminating fine particles of incense floating in the air.
Even the calico cat felt very calm.