Vinnie and Mandy looked at each other.
"China?" they said together.
Samir looked at them with great interest.
"Tell me the secret of that trick you just did," he said.
"We don't know," Vinnie admitted.
"Ah, you do not wish to tell me?" Samir asked.
"No, we really don't know," said Mandy.
Samir laughed loudly.
"Well, see me if you ever need a job.
That trick could make me—I mean you—a lot of money."
Samir walked behind a curtain at the back of the stage.
"Look at that!" said Mandy.
She could see a group of houses outside a nearby gate.
"I count four buildings," said Vinnie.
"Is it a little village?" asked Mandy.
"Village?" said a laughing voice below them.
The children looked down and saw a girl.
"That is Master Yuan's courtyard house," the girl said.
"Wealthy people live in such homes."
She looked a bit older than Vinnie.
Vinnie and Mandy jumped down from the stage.
"You're new to Chang'an," she remarked.
"Everyone knows Master Yuan.
You must be with the visiting performers.
The acrobats are my favorite."
"Acrobats?" said Vinnie.
The girl led them through a noisy crowd of performers.
Jugglers were lifting umbrellas with their feet.
"There they are!" cried Vinnie.
Young girls were jumping and flipping in the air.
"What's your name?" Mandy said to the girl.
"I'm Mei-Li," the girl replied.
"My parents are bakers.
They made two hundred buns for Master Yuan's celebration."
Mandy introduced herself and pointed to Vinnie.
"And he's my brother Vinnie," she said.
"What's the celebration for?"
"Master Yuan's son Jinying has passed the first level of the imperial exams," explained Mei-Li.
"What are they?" asked Mandy.
"They are very difficult tests.
There are three levels of exams, and each level is harder than the one before," said Mei-Li.
"If all levels are passed, the person becomes a mandarin.
A mandarin is a very respected official."
"That's a lot of work," said Mandy.
Mei-Li nodded.
"It takes many years of study."
Vinnie rejoined his sister and Mei-Li.
They walked past two monkeys dressed in red costumes.
The children giggled.
"I have to go to the market," said Mei-Li.
"It was nice meeting you."
"Can we come with you?" asked Vinnie.
"Sure," said Mei-Li.
They walked toward a large gate.
Then Mandy noticed a monkey trainer beating one of the two monkeys.
"That's not right!" Mandy thought to herself.
She marched over to the trainer as Vinnie and Mei-Li walked on.
"You shouldn't hurt your animals," said Mandy.
"Mind your own business!" yelled the trainer.
He put the monkey in a cage and walked off.
Vinnie and Mei-Li were already out of sight, walking toward the market.
"Poor thing," said Mandy, as she walked over to the cage.
"Don't worry, I'll save you."
Mandy opened the cage.
The monkey jumped out and ran across the square.
"Wait! Come back!" Mandy shouted.