The Storms of Chai

291

You and Anseng sit at a table near to the tavern’s crackling log fire. Yeng Zhi brings you each a bowl of steamed rice, mixed with chopped vegetables and diced lamb. While you are eating this delicious food, the main door opens and in comes an old man clad in a flamboyantly embroidered blue overcoat. The patrons greet him with applause and he acknowledges them with a jovial smile and a bow of respect.

‘Ah, it’s Shou Len,’ says Anseng. ‘It looks like we’re in for a treat this evening!’

Tzu warmly welcomes the old man. He helps him off with his rain-sodden coat and hat and hangs them on a hook behind the taproom counter.

‘Shou Len is a Riddler,’ says Anseng. ‘He’s well known in these parts. I wonder what riddles he has in store for us tonight.’

Tzu escorts Shou Len to a table next to yours and turns to his patrons and says: ‘Place your wagers, my friends. Let’s see who among us have the wit and wisdom to win tonight!’

The taproom patrons place varying amounts of Ren (the currency of Chai) into folds of paper and inscribe their names upon them. Then they come forward and place their sealed bets on Shou Len’s table. If you would like to wager on the first riddle that the old man is going to pose, you should now decide how many Gold Crowns you wish to bet and deduct them from your Action Chart.

Anseng passes you a piece of paper in which to wrap your wager, and he hands you a stick of charcoal with which you can inscribe your name. Sommlending Gold Crowns are readily accepted in Chai (1 Gold Crown = 10 Ren). Anseng decides to wager 20 Ren. You are obliged to make a minimum bet of 1 Gold Crown.

Once all the bets are in, Shou Len clears his throat and calls out his first riddle.

‘Xian Tzee is 54 years old. Yisu, her mother, is 80 years old. How many years ago was Yisu exactly three times the age of her daughter?’

Tzu has a large hourglass on the taproom counter. The moment Shou Len has finished posing the riddle, he turns the hourglass over and its sand begins to trickle from the upper part into the lower part of the glass. You have one minute precisely in which to answer Shou Len’s riddle (you should allow yourself only one minute to calculate your answer).

If you think you know the answer to this riddle, turn to the section that is the same as your answer.⁸

If you are unable to determine the answer within one minute, turn to 187.