novellhall Chapter 72 End of the Trip
Chapter 72 End of the Trip
In the early hours of the morning, Heishantou was still shrouded in darkness. Tian Xi, wrapped in a windbreaker, stamped her feet to keep warm, but still craned her neck to look eastward: "Why isn't it light yet?"
Liu Haochun handed her a hand warmer: "Let's wait a little longer. The weather forecast says it'll be foggy today, so it might be a bit late."
Li Yitong leaned against a pillar at the entrance of the yurt. Lin Feng walked over and draped his coat over her shoulders: "Aren't you cold?"
"Fortunately, Xiaotian's enthusiasm is just like mine when I was a kid looking forward to the New Year."
"If I don't see it after waiting for so long, I'll probably throw a tantrum." Lin Feng shook his head with a smile.
More than half an hour passed, and only a faint glimmer of dawn appeared on the horizon. The fog, like cotton, blanketed the grassland. There was no sunrise, not even a glimpse of the sun.
Tian Xiwei's shoulders slumped little by little, and finally she simply squatted on the ground, hugging her knees and muttering, "What the hell... all that waiting for nothing..."
Liu Haochun squatted down beside her and took out a piece of chocolate: "Eating something sweet will make you feel better. We'll come again next time. We'll see each other eventually."
“That’s right,” Li Yitong also came over, “I used to wait three times to see the sunrise.”
Tian Xiwei was still listless. Lin Feng squatted down in front of her: "Weiwei, you know what? Just like when you're doing multiple-choice questions, you can't always get it right, right?"
Tian Xi looked up at him, her eyes red: "But I just want to see..."
"Then we'll see next time," Lin Feng ruffled her hair. "The grassland isn't going anywhere. We'll come back whenever you want. Besides, we have grass skiing today. Didn't you say you wanted to be a 'grassland flyer' yesterday?"
Mentioning grass skiing, Tian Xiwei's eyes lit up. Although she was still a little sullen, she finally stood up: "Well... okay. But next time you come, you have to treat me to my whole lamb!"
"no problem."
On the way to the 186 Ribbon River that morning, Tian Xiwei's spirits had completely returned. As soon as the car stopped at the grass skiing area, she grabbed Liu Haochun and rushed over: "Haochun, Haochun! Let's have a race to see who can ski the fastest!"
The grass skiing track, like a green ribbon, winds from the top of the mountain to the bottom. Tian Xiwei sat on the grass skiing cart, and as soon as the staff let go, she screamed and rushed down, the grass blades being rolled up by the wheels.
"How was it? Exciting, right?" Tian Xiwei ran to the foot of the mountain to wait for her, her face covered in grass clippings.
"That was exciting!" Liu Haochun's cheeks were flushed and his breathing was a little rapid. "I almost bumped into the guardrail just now, it gave me a fright."
When we arrived in Manzhouli in the afternoon, everyone was stunned by the buildings in front of them. In Matryoshka Square, giant Matryoshka dolls dressed in colorful ethnic costumes had gentle smiles on their faces, and the onion-domed church next to them shone with golden light, as if we had stepped into a fairy tale world.
"Wow! This matryoshka doll is taller than me!" Tian Xiwei stood at the foot of the matryoshka doll, her arms outstretched but still unable to wrap her arms around it. "Brother Feng, take a picture of me! Make sure the whole matryoshka doll is in the shot!"
Liu Haochun was drawn to the Russian-style performance in the square, where girls in traditional costumes were tap dancing, their boots making a rhythmic sound as they stomped on the ground.
"They danced so well," she whispered to Li Yitong, "much better than I danced at the party last time."
"You're great too," Li Yitong encouraged her. "They've been training for many years, and you've only just started. Take it slow."
Lin Feng held up his camera, searching for the best angle in the crowd. He wanted to take a picture of Li Yitong, but she kept dodging, saying, "Don't take my picture, take more pictures of Xiaotian and Haochun."
"Just one picture," Lin Feng said, pulling her wrist and leading her to the church. "The lighting here is great; it'll definitely look good."
The night view of Manzhouli is even more stunning. The streetlights on Zhongsu Street emit a warm yellow light, and the outlines of the Russian-style buildings are particularly clear under the lights. Occasionally, blond-haired and blue-eyed tourists walk by, making you feel as if you have entered a foreign country.
When the Russian feast was served, Tian Xi stared at the Russian roast meat on the plate, swallowing hard. The ribs were roasted to a perfect crisp on the outside and tender on the inside, drizzled with a thick black pepper sauce, and served with pickles and mashed potatoes.
"This piece of meat is huge!" She picked up her knife and fork, but didn't know where to start. In the end, she simply grabbed a small piece with her hand and stuffed it into her mouth. "Mmm! It's even better than roasted lamb chops!"
Liu Haochun sipped her cream of mushroom soup; the mushrooms were very fresh, and the cream wasn't too rich. Looking at the Russian letters on the menu, she whispered to Li Yitong, "Sister Yitong, how do you say 'thank you' in Russian?"
"спасибо," Li Yitong taught her, "the pronunciation is 'spasiba'."
Liu Haochun repeated it once, and although it was a bit difficult to pronounce, she still remembered it. She picked up her cup and said "Spasiba" to the waiter. The waiter smiled and replied with something, and her face instantly turned red. She quickly lowered her head to drink her soup.
Lin Feng looked at them, raised his glass, and said, "To the night view of Manzhouli, and to this delicious meal, cheers!"
"Cheers!" The four glasses clinked together.
On the fifth day, when they went to the Manzhouli border gate, Tian Xiwei pressed herself against the binoculars on the gate, straining to see across the border: "Wow! We can see Russian trains! Haochun, look!"
Liu Haochun also went over to look. In the distance, a green train slowly passed by on the tracks, the Russian letters on the carriages clearly visible. "It really is," she whispered, "So going abroad is this close."
"That's called having one foot in two countries," Lin Feng said with a smile, "but you can't actually step across."
They took a group photo in front of the boundary marker. Tian Xiwei stood in the middle, standing on tiptoe, with Liu Haochun and Li Yitong on either side, and Lin Feng at the very back.
In the afternoon, during the welcoming ceremony on the Barga Grassland, the herdsmen presented everyone with hada scarves and a cup of wine to welcome them. Tian Xi looked at the wine in her bowl and asked curiously, "Is this good?"
"It's a bit strong, don't drink it." Lin Feng stopped her, took a small sip himself, and the spicy taste instantly burned from his throat to his stomach. He couldn't help but frown, "I'm not used to it."
Li Yitong and Liu Haochun simply touched their lips to the rim of the bowl, thus completing the ceremony. The herdsman smiled and said, "Our welcoming drink is a token of our hospitality to guests from afar; it doesn't matter whether you drink it or not."
On the shore of Lake Hulun, Tian Xiwei, imitating the herdsmen, opened her arms and shouted, "I will come back to the grassland again!"
As the plane landed at Beijing Airport, the sun shone through the clouds. Tian Xi stretched and yawned, "Finally here. No matter how comfortable the bed is on the grassland, the blankets at home are still the best."
"You feel better now," Liu Haochun said, rubbing his lower back. "My legs still feel weak when I walk; I've been riding horses too much."
Lin Feng, carrying three large bags of local specialties, walked behind and said with a smile, "Who insisted on racing the horse master yesterday, saying they wanted to 'tame the wildest horse on the grassland'?"
"Well, they weren't tamed..." Tian Xi stuck out her tongue, then suddenly remembered something and grabbed Lin Feng's arm, "Oh right, Feng-ge, come to our place for dinner tonight! Hao Chun and I will cook you a big meal to thank you for taking us to the grasslands!"
"Oh? You guys make this?" Lin Feng raised an eyebrow, recalling the "volcanic eruption" scrambled eggs from last time, and couldn't help but laugh. "Are you sure it's not a culinary disaster?"
"This time it'll definitely be different!" Tian Xi patted her chest confidently. "Haochun and I are going on a big shopping spree at the supermarket. I guarantee you'll be amazed!"
"Okay," Lin Feng nodded, "then I'll come over for dinner tonight."
After dropping the two off at their apartment, Tian Xiwei collapsed onto the sofa as soon as she entered, exclaiming, "I'm exhausted... Haochun, are we really going to cook dinner tonight? All I want to do right now is lie down."
"I said I'd thank Brother Feng," Liu Haochun said, taking out his phone. "I checked the recipes: stir-fried duck with ginger, chicken soup with mushrooms, and steamed fish. These dishes don't look too difficult. Shall we give them a try?"
"But..." Tian Xiwei looked at the steps on her phone for "processing whole chickens and ducks," her face scrunched up like a bun. "How are we supposed to handle these live animals?"
"Should I ask Brother Feng later?" Liu Haochun was also a little hesitant, but he still gritted his teeth and opened the shopping app. "Let's buy the ingredients first, there are video tutorials anyway."
When Raymond Lam returned to his residence, Li Yitong was helping him sort out the local specialties.
Milk tablets, beef jerky, a Mongolian knife, and a cashmere scarf from the grasslands for her parents—the sofa was piled high with them. "This is enough for your parents to eat for half a year," Li Yitong said with a smile as she packed the milk tablets into a jar.
"My mom loves these things," Lin Feng said, taking the jar and closing it. "She even said on the phone last time that she wanted me to bring some milk tofu made by the herdsmen." He suddenly leaned closer, his nose brushing against her neck. "But right now, I'd rather eat something else."
Li Yitong's cheeks flushed instantly, and she pushed him away, saying, "Stop fooling around. You smell all sweaty. Go take a shower."
"Together?" Lin Feng raised an eyebrow. "To respond to the call to conserve water."
"No way!" Li Yitong turned to leave, but he swept her up in his arms. "Boss! Put me down! We're going to Xiaotian's for dinner later!"
"No rush," Lin Feng lowered his head to kiss her, his voice hoarse, "There's still time."
Soon, the sounds of water and laughter filled the bathroom. Li Yitong leaned against the tiles, looking at the man in front of her who had shed his serious demeanor, feeling both angry and sweet inside.
He's always like this, serious for no more than three seconds, yet he always manages to leave her defenseless. "If you keep doing this, I really won't be able to get up tonight," she said, pushing him away, but her fingertips accidentally brushed against his abs, making him chuckle and pull her even tighter.
When the two finished showering, Li Yitong was too weak to stand and could only let Lin Feng carry her back to bed. "It's all your fault," she said, pounding his chest, her voice trembling with tears, "How am I going to face Xiaotian and Haochun later?"
"Don't worry," Lin Feng kissed her forehead, "I'll give you two hours to rest. With your strength, you'll definitely recover."
He picked up his phone, scrolled to the movie box office page, and said, "Look, 'Take My Brother Away' has made 470 million in 17 days. It'll easily reach 500 million."
Li Yitong leaned over to look, and the numbers on the screen were still slowly increasing: "It's much better than expected. Many people thought there was no market for it."
"The market isn't something you can guess," Raymond Lam said, turning off his phone, lying down, and holding her close. "It's something you can feel. Audiences will like a touching story."
He suddenly pinched her cheek, "Just like I find you beautiful, you also..."
"Shut up!" Li Yitong covered his mouth, her ears so red they looked like they could bleed.
In the supermarket on the other side, Tian Xiwei was holding a duck, looking troubled. "Haochun, how do I prepare this?"
"Just chop it into smaller pieces with a knife?" Liu Haochun took out his phone and checked.
"I don't know," Tian Xiwei tossed the chicken and duck into the shopping cart. "I'll buy them first! Oh, and I also need to buy ginger, garlic, and dried chili peppers—you can't do ginger-fried duck without these!"
The two pushed their shopping cart through the supermarket. "These shiitake mushrooms look good," Liu Haochun said, picking up a box. "They'll definitely make delicious chicken soup."
"This fish is fresh," Tian Xiwei pointed to the sea bass in the tank, "That's it, steamed!"
When checking out, looking at the bag full of groceries, Tian Xiwei suddenly felt a little panicked: "We bought so much, are we really going to be able to cook all of this?"
"Come on!" Liu Haochun cheered himself on. "We're 'Happy Superman' and 'Sweetheart Superman,' nothing can stop us!"
Back at their apartment, the two put the chickens and ducks in the sink to soak, then started taking pictures and posting them in their group chat: "@BigBigGeneral, look how many we bought! We're going to show off our skills tonight!"
Raymond Lam quickly replied: "Do you know how to handle whole chickens and ducks?"
Tian Xiwei: "Although I haven't had any hands-on experience, I have a lot of theoretical knowledge! There are videos available! Don't worry!"
Lin Feng looked at his phone, remembering the plate of shiny black scrambled eggs from last time, and decided to go check it out himself. He tucked Li Yitong in, saying, "I'll go check on Xiao Tian's first. They probably can't handle it. You can come back after you've rested."
"Mmm," Li Yitong mumbled sleepily, "Don't let them get too tired."