"Meanwhile..."

"You said your name is Xiang Dong?" Orion asked.

The man nodded but didn't say much else. He was dropping off a box of completed products for Orion to work with.

"So, is that a Chinese name?" Orion asked.

He nodded again and went outside to get another box of supplies. When he returned, Orion asked him another question, "Xiang is your family name and Dong is your given name, right?"

Again, the man only nodded and set the box down, going out to retrieve more. "I get it man, I do. Does that mean I call you Dong, or Mr. Xiang, or Xiang Dong?"

The man just replied, "Xiang Dong." And walked outside for more.

Orion nodded as he walked over to one of the boxes. He pulled out a test tube rack with several tubes in it. They were all of uniform size and shape. He nodded and set that on the workshop table. He then began setting out beakers and flasks. As Xiang Dong came back in, Orion was pulling a graduated cylinder from the box.