Carried horizontally like a pampered emperor by Greeter Golem #1 and Greeter Golem #2, Supreme Elder Jin Bao arrived at the open-air marble veranda of the Blood-Nail Foot-Massage Row.
The afternoon breeze blowing off the surrounding Meat-Potato orchards was cool and sweet, carrying the scent of roasted lamb-fat and osmanthus blossoms. Along the shaded marble veranda, thousands of copper-bound wooden foot-tubs hummed in a neat, peaceful chorus.
“Here we are, Grandpa #88!” Golem #1 said cheerfully, setting the rosy-cheeked, limp Supreme Elder down onto a wide, cushioned rattan reclining chair near the end of Row #1. “Please place both feet into the herbal water! The temperature is set to 108 degrees, with 500-Hz deep-meridian acupressure rollers!”
PLOP!
Golem #2 gently lifted Jin Bao’s ankles and lowered his bare, wrinkled feet into the steaming ruby-tinted herbal water of VIP Tub #88.
At the exact same moment, Golem #3 placed a small side-table next to Jin Bao’s elbow, setting down a tall frosted glass of purple Chilled Sweet-Spring Sour-Plum Juice with two clinking ice cubes, alongside a porcelain plate piled high with four golden, flaky Fresh-Baked Meat-Potato Pies!
“Enjoy your foot soak, Grandpa!” the four Greeter Golems bowed in unison and marched back toward the train platform to catch the next batch of hunched-over seniors.
