Scene 31 Time/Day Setting / Alishan Forest Recreation Area Railway Tracks and Forest Trails
Characters / Wen Aihua, Tang Huai-min, Chen Meng-ru, Michael
△ In a mild, sunny late-autumn weather, the forest recreation area is crowded with tourists. The four walk along the forest railway tracks, with lush artificial forests on both sides. Wen Aihua and Michael are busy taking photos.
Wen Aihua: In the past, I could only read image-and-text introductions on the internet. Now that I am here in person, it feels like Alice in Alice in Wonderland.
Michael: This place really is like fairy tales, very dreamy.
Tang Huai-min: This railway is the world-famous mountain forest railway. It was constructed during the Japanese colonial period in Taiwan for logging valuable timber in the Alishan region. This railway adds a lot of charm to Alishan.
△ The camera shifts to the forest trail. The trail area is in full bloom with several kinds of cherry blossoms and azaleas. Tourists stroll among the flower forests. Wen Aihua and Michael are busy taking photos.
Chen Meng-ru: Shall we take a group photo together?
△ The four lean close together and ask a passerby to help take a photo.
Scene 32 Time/Day Setting / Mountain Ring Road, Dabang Settlement, Tang Huai-min’s Home
Characters / Wen Aihua, Tang Huai-min, Chen Meng-ru, Michael
△ A car drives into the mountain road. Along the way are tea plantations and coffee plantations.
Wen Aihua: The tea plantations here are built along the mountains in an orderly and neat pattern, it feels very pleasing to the eye.
Chen Meng-ru: Alishan is listed as one of Taiwan’s Eight Great Scenic Spots. Everywhere here is beautiful scenery.
△ The car arrives at the Dabang tribe settlement and stops in front of a house. After getting out of the car, Tang Huai-min opens the trunk, takes out the luggage one by one, and hands it to the three of them.
△ Tang Huai-min pushes open the wooden gate of the courtyard and leads the three into the house.
Tang Huai-min: My family should all be out in the tea fields harvesting tea right now.
Wen Aihua: (curiously) There is no one at home, but the door is unlocked.
Tang Huai-min: Security in our tribe has always been very good.
Wen Aihua: I see.
Tang Huai-min: Put down your luggage first and rest a bit. Later we will go to the tea fields. The guest rooms are for the two ladies. Michael will squeeze with me.
Scene 33 Time/Day Setting / Tea Plantation
Characters / Wen Aihua, Tang Huai-min, Chen Meng-ru, Michael, Tang Zhong-yi (Tang’s father), Tang Pan Xiu-ye (Tang’s mother), Tang Mei-lan
△ The four arrive at the tea plantation. Tang Mei-lan notices them first and waves at them.
Tang Huai-min: I brought a few classmates back.
Tang Mei-lan: Mom heard you were bringing classmates back, so she went to the market this morning to buy fish and meat.
Tang Huai-min: This is my little sister Mei-lan.
△ Tang’s parents walk over.
Pan Xiu-ye: Welcome! You are Chen Meng-ru, you came last year around this time.
Chen Meng-ru: Aunt Tang has such a good memory.
△ Tang Huai-min introduces his classmates to his family in order.
Tang Huai-min: Wen Aihua, from Shanghai. Michael, my roommate, from the Venetian city of Venice in Italy.
Tang Zhong-yi: Treat this place like your own home. Don’t be shy.
△ Tang Huai-min and his sister Mei-lan lead the three guests to personally experience hand-picking tea.
Scene 34 Time/Day Setting / Tang Family Home
Characters / Wen Aihua, Tang Huai-min, Chen Meng-ru, Michael, Tang Zhong-yi, Tang Pan Xiu-ye, Tang Mei-lan
△ Inside the Tang family dining room, Huai-min and Mei-lan are busy running back and forth. Soon more than a dozen dishes are placed on the table.
△ In the living room, Michael watches TV, occasionally stealing glances at the feast in the dining room and secretly swallowing saliva.
Tang Huai-min: Dinner is ready.
△ The Tang family and the three guests take their seats one after another.
Pan Xiu-ye: (smiling) Huai-min insisted on cooking himself and wouldn’t let me interfere.
Wen Aihua: Most of the dishes on the table are things I have never seen before.
Tang Huai-min: Just a few wild vegetables, sourced locally. Plus the stream fish and shrimp here—nothing fancy.
Wen Aihua: Wild vegetables are great! No pesticide residue, so it’s safe to eat.
Tang Zhong-yi: Help yourselves!
△ Everyone eats and chats. Chen Meng-ru notices that the usually quiet Michael has an astonishing appetite.
Scene 35 Time/Day Setting / Coffee Plantation
Characters / Wen Aihua, Tang Huai-min, Chen Meng-ru, Michael, Tang Mei-lan
△ The group is dressed in harvesting gear, walking through the coffee plantation.
Wen Aihua: (curiously) So coffee trees actually look like this?
Tang Huai-min: Coffee was only introduced and cultivated in the mountains in the past ten-plus years.
Michael: These are all Arabica coffee.
Tang Huai-min: Michael, you are the expert.
Wen Aihua: Brother Tang, you have tea plantations and coffee plantations at home—this is enough to keep you busy for a lifetime.
Tang Huai-min: That’s true. However, in our tribe, there are still many young people who go to the city to work.
Wen Aihua: (confused) There are such beautiful mountains and water here—why would they want to squeeze into the city?
Tang Huai-min: Although there are beautiful mountains and water here, unfortunately there are no good wages. During the farming off-season, tribal members go out to do part-time work to supplement their income.
Wen Aihua: I understand. It’s just like the countryside in our place.
△ The Tang siblings guide the three of them in harvesting coffee beans.
Scene 36 Time/Day Setting / Tang Family Courtyard
Characters / Wen Aihua, Tang Huai-min, Chen Meng-ru, Michael, Tang Mei-lan
△ In the Tang family courtyard, the group drinks tea and tastes tea snacks.
Wen Aihua: This tea has a lingering sweetness when it enters the mouth, and its fragrance is fresh and moist on the throat.
Tang Huai-min: The high-mountain tea produced in our Alishan area is said to have even been marketed to the other side of the strait.
Wen Aihua: That’s right. My father has also bought it to drink before. However, he is very stingy—he secretly hides the Alishan tea to enjoy it alone.
Chen Meng-ru: Since you like Alishan tea, Aihua, you should just stay here and not go back to Shanghai.
Wen Aihua: Ha! That still depends on whether Brother Tang agrees!
Chen Meng-ru: (suggestively) How could Brother Tang disagree? Brother Tang, don’t you think so?
△ Tang Huai-min smiles and nods.
Tang Huai-min: Actually, farming in the mountains is not easy during busy seasons. As you can see, our family members have dark skin from sun exposure, and we earn our living through sweat—it’s very hard work.
Tang Mei-lan: Brother, when you find a sister-in-law, there will be one more helping hand at home, and then I can be a bit more relaxed.
Chen Meng-ru: Ha! Mei-lan, your future sister-in-law is right in front of you.
Tang Mei-lan: Really?
△ Meng-ru purses her lips and signals with her eyes. Mei-lan looks at Wen Aihua.
Wen Aihua: Don’t tease me, Meng-ru.
Scene 37 Time/Day (Overcast turning to rain) Setting / Danayiku River Valley
Characters / Wen Aihua, Tang Huai-min, Chen Meng-ru, Michael
△ Two couples wander through the Danayiku river valley. Chen Meng-ru and Michael are holding hands. At first Wen Aihua does not want to hold Tang Huai-min’s hand, but when crossing the stream she is still pulled by him; Tang Huai-min beams with joy, secretly delighted.
Tang Huai-min: This river valley used to be as beautiful as a fairyland on earth. Unfortunately, the massive flood brought by Typhoon Morakot in 2009 destroyed its beautiful appearance, and the entire valley was hollowed out into a deep gorge.
Chen Meng-ru: I saw that news on TV. Morakot indeed changed its original appearance.
Tang Huai-min: After years of careful maintenance by the tribal people, the fish in the river have recovered, but the scenery can never return to what it was before.
Wen Aihua: So this is what you’d call beauty being envied by heaven? Heaven envied the beauty of this landscape, so it deliberately took away its appearance.
Michael: There are so many fish here in the stream. Tomas, can these fish be caught and eaten?
Chen Meng-ru: Idiot! All you think about is eating.
Michael: I feel these fish are very natural and healthy. They should taste very delicious.
△ The sky is covered with dark clouds; thunder rumbles. Suddenly heavy rain pours down.
Tang Huai-min: Come with me. I know a place where we can take shelter from the rain.
△ The two boys take off their jackets to shield the girls from the rain.
△ The four run quickly and arrive at a platform, then hide inside a cave.
△ The cave is not deep, about ten meters, but it is spacious inside, with stone tables, stone chairs, stone beds, and kerosene lamps all available. Tang Huai-min lights the kerosene lamp and brings dry firewood from a corner, starting a fire.
Tang Huai-min: Wet clothes are uncomfortable and can easily cause a cold. Let’s take them off and dry them by the fire, and leave after the rain stops.
△ The two girls exchange uneasy looks, visibly anxious. Tang Huai-min immediately notices their concern.
Tang Huai-min: Please rest assured, ladies. Michael and I are gentlemen. We will not take advantage of you.
Chen Meng-ru: Then both of you swear it together to the heavens.
Michael: (confused) But we can’t see the sky here now, my dear…
Chen Meng-ru: (firmly) Anyway, you two must swear it together.
△ Wen Aihua looks at Meng-ru’s serious expression and cannot help but smile.
Wen Aihua: You two gentlemen just do it. Show your sincerity.
△ The two men have no choice but to raise their right hands and swear.
Tang Huai-min: Respected God, Michael and I hereby make a promise to You. We are gentlemen and will certainly abide by etiquette. Please bear witness.
△ Chen Meng-ru puts one hand on her waist and points at them, her attitude strong.
Chen Meng-ru: What if you break your oath?
Michael: (thinking for a moment) Then I will take responsibility for what I must take responsibility for. Then I should be marry you!
△ Wen Aihua cannot help laughing loudly at Michael’s honest answer.
Wen Aihua: Hahaha! That answer is way too hardcore!
△ Meng-ru also cannot help laughing, and Tang Huai-min joins in as well.
△ Michael looks at the three laughing, completely confused.
Michael: (blankly) Did I say something wrong?
△ The scene fades out, then fades back in.
△ The four sit around the fire, half-naked, honestly exposed to one another.
Michael: You are so sexy, my dear…
Chen Meng-ru: (waving a finger) You are not allowed to have those dirty thoughts.
△ Beside her, Tang Huai-min looks at Wen Aihua’s fair, well-proportioned body and becomes emotionally stirred as well.
Tang Huai-min: This is what our Tsou children call the “Fox Fairy Cave,” a place where they often come to take shelter from the rain.
Wen Aihua: Why is it called the “Fox Fairy Cave”? It must be a legend left by your tribe, right?
Tang Huai-min: Indeed. The story says that long ago, a young tribal hunter discovered Danayiku. Suddenly it rained heavily, and he found this cave to take shelter. The rain lasted a long time, and the hunter fell into a drowsy sleep. In his dream, he found himself still inside this cave, with many glowing gemstones embedded in the walls. Inside lived a fairy, wearing a pale yellow silk robe that dragged on the ground. The interior was elegantly furnished, fully equipped with furniture. The young man fell in love at first sight and refused to leave. The fairy told him that if he wanted to stay, he must remain with her forever and must never reveal the existence of this cave to anyone…
Wen Aihua: After hearing this legend, I actually sympathize with that young man. He accidentally discovered that his wife was actually a fox. Combined with homesickness, the double blow made him lose his nature. After returning to the tribe, he impulsively revealed the secret of the fox fairy and the cave to descendants who did not believe his experience. However, because he broke his oath, he was punished accordingly—not only could he never return, but he also aged overnight.
Chen Meng-ru: This story sounds somewhat like Japan’s Urashima Tarō, except the setting is moved into the deep mountains.
Tang Huai-min: Actually, when my grandfather was still alive, he told me that the stone tables, chairs, and beds inside the cave were prepared by the tribe for Dutch people in the early 17th century. After the Dutch were defeated by Koxinga, they fled here. Our tribe kindly took them in. Because the Dutch had long red hair, this cave was also called the “Red-Haired Cave.” Those Dutch soldiers soon became familiar with the tribe and integrated into it, even marrying our women.
Wen Aihua: Your grandfather’s account probably has some historical basis and is more credible.
Tang Huai-min: I think so too. Our tribe generally has red hair and blue eyes, which are inherited Dutch traits in appearance.
Michael: I don’t quite understand parts of this story, but I think it must be an interesting story.
Chen Meng-ru: If there is a chance in the future, I’ll tell it to you again. The clothes should be dry now. While the rain has stopped, we should leave quickly, otherwise we will have to spend the night here.
△ The four stand up, put on their clothes, and the two couples hold hands as they walk out of the cave.
Scene 38 Time/Day Setting / Tang Family Courtyard
Characters / Chen Meng-ru, Tang Huai-min
△ Late at night, in the quiet Tang family courtyard, Chen Meng-ru and Tang Huai-min walk side by side.
Tang Huai-min: I truly thank you for helping me start things off just now, Meng-ru.
Chen Meng-ru: I know you like Aihua, and I’m happy to be your matchmaker. I asked you out specially because I have something to discuss with you.
Tang Huai-min: At your command, matchmaker.
Chen Meng-ru: You once saw Michael and me setting up a painting stall at Beitou Park. Since Aihua rarely gets the chance to go to Sun Moon Lake, I want to let her experience setting up a painting stall.
Tang Huai-min: That’s a great idea.
Chen Meng-ru: Lend me your ear.
△ Tang Huai-min leans in. He listens and nods with a smile.
Tang Huai-min: No problem. I’ll prepare the equipment and costumes.
Scene 39 Time/Day Setting / Road to Sun Moon Lake
Characters / Chen Meng-ru, Michael, Wen Aihua, Tang Huai-min
△ A car drives along the road toward Sun Moon Lake.
△ Chen Meng-ru takes out her phone and calls.
Chen Meng-ru: This is Meng-ru.
Chen Zhi-jia: Sis, it’s me! Mom and Dad went to a relative’s wedding banquet. They’ll be back later.
Chen Meng-ru: Little brother, tell Mom and Dad that I will be bringing my boyfriend and two classmates home later.
Chen Zhi-jia: (surprised) Boyfriend? Really?
Chen Meng-ru: Really. That’s all for now.
△ Meng-ru ends the call.
Chen Meng-ru: My brother answered.
Wen Aihua: This trip has fulfilled a wish I’ve had since childhood. Thank you all.
Tang Huai-min: Compared with the great mountains and rivers of China, the scenery on this island seems somewhat minor in comparison.
Wen Aihua: The scenery here is small but beautiful. Especially the strong human warmth. I once read in a travel magazine that “the most beautiful scenery in Taiwan is its people.” I completely agree.
Chen Meng-ru: We Taiwanese have always been kind and hospitable.
Scene 40 Time/Day Setting / Chen Family Home, Sun Moon Lake
Characters / Chen Meng-ru, Michael, Chen Zhen-xing, Li Wan-hua (Chen mother), Chen Zhi-jia, Tang Huai-min, Wen Aihua
△ The car arrives at the Chen family home at Sun Moon Lake, Nantou. Mr. and Mrs. Chen are shocked to see a blond, blue-eyed Michael holding their daughter’s hand at the door, followed by two classmates.
Michael: (bowing) Mr. Chen, Mrs. Chen, hello.
△ Mother Li Wan-hua pulls her daughter aside to speak.
Li Wan-hua: Ah-Ru, what is going on here? You told your younger brother you were bringing a boyfriend home—how come it’s a foreigner with red hair?
Chen Meng-ru: Mom, Michael is very honest and kind. He comes from Italy in Europe.
Li Wan-hua: I don’t care which “li” he comes from. I don’t want you to marry off to Europe. You’d better find someone else—anywhere in Taiwan is fine, I don’t care.
Chen Meng-ru: Mom, are you the one getting married or me?
Li Wan-hua: Ah-Ru, Mom is thinking for you. If you marry to Europe, it will be very troublesome for me to go see you in the future.
△ Michael and Tang Huai-min shake hands with Chen Zhi-jia respectively.
Michael: Nice to meet you, brother.
Chen Zhi-jia: Me too. Where are you from?
Michael: I am from Venice, Italy.
Chen Zhi-jia: Oh! Italy is a distant land. It is far away from Taiwan.
Michael: Yeah.
