Finally, Ah-Mei's father found a suitable location in the Eastern District, so they closed the herbal medicine shop in Sanxia. The whole family moved to Taipei and opened a small Chinese medicine shop. They also rented half of the space to a friend who opened a Western medicine shop. This way, both Chinese and Western medicine could complement each other and attract more customers. This idea actually came from Ah-Mei!
After undergoing military training, Ah-Tu’s IQ hadn’t improved much, but he had developed a bit of a "sergeant" vibe when leading the small crew. With Ah-Mei’s help, Ah-Tu had also assembled a small team of carpenters. The first business they took on in Taipei was to renovate the shelves in his father’s medicine shop.
Ashan asked Ah-Tu if he could navigate around Taipei now. Ah-Tu proudly patted his chest and said, "Of course! I’ve even invented my own method for finding my way. Plus, I’ve got my work buddies with me." He added that Ah-Mei had also made him some business cards, so if he really got lost, he could just hail a taxi and get back.
Now, Ah-Mei, Ah-Tu, Dacuhan, and Ashan were all living in Taipei, and they weren’t far from each other. It was surprising that after seventeen years, they had become "neighbors" again, though not in the same way as when they lived next door to each other in Sanxia.
終於阿美爸在東區找到了個適當的地點,把三峽的草藥舖子收了。全家搬來了台北,開了間小小的中藥店。店面的一半還找了朋友開了西藥店,中西藥一起賣又可互補客源。這還是阿美出的主意呢!
阿土經過軍事的磨練,雖然智商沒有太大的進步,可是帶起小工來,倒有點像班長的味道。阿土透過阿美的協助,也有個小小的木工班底。到台北的第一件生意就是接了老爸藥店的櫥櫃裝璜工程。
阿三問阿土現在會不會認路了?阿土拍著胸脯說,當然會啦!他已經自己發明一套認路方法,何況還有小工作伴。而且阿美也幫他印了名片,萬一真的迷路,叫個計程車就回來了。
這一下阿美、阿土、大川及阿三都在台北了,而且住的是相距不遠。沒想到隔了十七年,大家又做「鄰居」了。只是不像在三峽是貼著隔壁的鄰居。