Yes, I tried my best to help Liang Yan start her new life.
It happened that the next day was Saturday. That night I called some friends in Chengdu and we made an appointment to go out to the suburbs tomorrow. The weather happened to be nice.
Early the next morning, we gathered at the intersection of the highway.
I never expected that Gao Sheng would bring Zhu Ling with him. I thought he really planned to leave her alone. This guy is quite reliable.
Fu Zhiqiang also brought Li Jing with him, and I haven’t seen Li Jing in some days.
Cheng Xiaohu naturally stayed at home to take care of Cheng Lu, and An Yifeng was with us.
Li Yuchen also came, including Gu Lisa and Li Sheng.
This is the first time for these friends of mine to get together. Although some of them are not here, I am very satisfied that I was able to make an appointment with these friends in such a short time.
You must know that in this day and age, everyone has their own things to do, and you can't just make an appointment.
An Lan also brought Xiao Man with him. Xiao Man knew he was going out to play and was very excited along the way.
After a group of us gathered at the highway intersection, we set a destination, a resort more than 100 kilometers away from Chengdu.
This place was found by Gao Sheng. He said that it is a primeval forest natural ecological reserve closest to Chengdu. It has not only wild chestnut trees, but also cotinus, torch and other red-leaf tree species. It is the most primitive red-leaf viewing place around Chengdu.
Our plan was to go to the resort first, then rent bicycles and ride into the mountains, so that we could enjoy the red leaves along the way and pick chestnuts to eat on the mountains.
After an hour and a half of driving, we finally arrived at the resort called "Worry-free Valley". The name is quite poetic.
When we arrived at the resort, I realized that Gao Sheng had really not lied to me.
And we came at the right time at this time of year. The golden color all over the mountains and plains is really beautiful.
Occasionally, Zhou Mo comes to a place like this, which is really relaxing.
You will never see crowds of people here. Biking on the forest path, you can see the mountains and plains, and the forests are dyed, which is spectacular.
Along the way, we also met many citizens who came to visit like us. However, because this resort has not yet been fully developed, few people know about it. Even on weekends during the season, there are not many people.
There were five bikes in our group. Gao Sheng and Zhu Ling went together, An Lan and I went together, Xiao Man insisted on going with Li Yuchen, Li Sheng and Li Jing went together, and I asked An Yifeng to take Liang Yan on the last one.
Our group sometimes formed a group and sometimes drove side by side, talking and laughing along the way.
Gao Sheng rode in the front, waving to us and shouting: "Hurry up! There is a chestnut garden ahead. When we get to the chestnut garden, we will pick up chestnuts to eat. First come, first served!"
An Lan, who was sitting in the back seat of me, asked me very puzzledly: "Why are you picking chestnuts to eat instead of picking them from the trees?"
I laughed. For An Lan to ask such a question proved that he did not have the childhood pleasure of picking wild chestnuts to eat.
I said to her very seriously: "The growth of chestnuts can be divided into three steps. The first step is to bloom, which is a long, fluffy yellow flower, like a caterpillar. The second step is not to bloom.
After the flowers fade, a round, thorny ball will grow, which is the chestnut. It is called a chestnut pod, and the chestnut grows inside. The third step is that after the chestnut matures, the chestnut pod splits and the chestnut falls to the ground.
."
An Lan hugged my waist tightly and smiled in my ear: "How do you know so much?"
I smiled and said, "This is life experience. When I was a kid, my dad often went to the mountains to hunt wild chestnuts to eat. You know the area behind our hometown, right? There used to be a lot of wild chestnut trees."
"Is it still available now?"
I shook my head and said: "No, it will disappear after returning farmland to forests."
The farther we rode, the better the scenery became. We could see the red leaves all over the mountains and fields, and hear the singing of kingfishers.
It's a good time to ride a bicycle at this time, it's not too hot or too cold, and the weather is pleasant.
We soon arrived at the chestnut garden. A little way past the chestnut garden is the primitive natural ecological reserve.
After we parked our bicycles on the side of the road, we ran to the garden to pick up wild chestnuts to eat.
It is indeed a chestnut garden, with wild chestnut trees everywhere.
Gao Sheng had already picked it up before us. He and Zhu Ling were playing around while picking up the chestnuts. They seemed to be in harmony.
Of course, the one I was most concerned about was Liang Yan. I turned around and glanced at him and An Yifeng. They seemed to have little communication, and An Yifeng was the only one picking chestnuts.
I asked An Lan to pick it up first, and then walked over to Liang Yan.
"What? Don't you like this kind of activity?" I asked her after coming to her side.
Liang Yan glanced at the chestnuts on the ground and asked me, "Are the ones on the ground edible?"
It seems that like An Lan, she has never experienced the fun of the countryside. I smiled and said: "You don't know, the chestnuts on the ground are the best."
"Why?" She looked up at the chestnuts on the tree again and asked with a blank look on her face.
An Yifeng came over at this time and answered: "Because it can fall automatically from the tree, it must be extremely mature. And it is usually very big. Look at this."
An Yifeng took out a big chestnut and said, "I'll peel it open for you and you can try it."
With that said, An Yifeng peeled off the shell of the big chestnut with his hands and handed the white chestnut meat to Liang Yan.
Liang Yan was stunned for a moment, then took it and put it in her mouth and chewed it slowly.
She frowned at first, but after a while, her frown relaxed.
"How is it? Is it sweet?" An Yifeng asked.
Liang Yan nodded and said, "Well, it's true."
So I said to her again: "Go and pick it up quickly. When the time comes, pick up a bag and go back to make sugar-fried chestnuts to eat. It tastes amazing!"
Liang Yan finally smiled, nodded and went to pick it up with An Yifeng.
I just returned to An Lan's place, and found that Li Yuchen had taken Xiao Man to her place at some point. The three of them started picking it up together, and they were talking and laughing.
Especially Xiaoman, I was in a daze at that moment, as if they were a family of three.
I suddenly lost my desire to pick up chestnuts, and I admit that I was jealous again.
At this time Gao Sheng ran towards me and said to me: "Boss, let's go smoke a cigarette and let them pick it up themselves."
“Is smoking allowed here?”
"Okay, go to a smoking place on the roadside."
I glanced at An Lan again, and she was completely immersed in it, and she, Li Yuchen, and Xiao Manzheng were having a great time picking it up.
When Gao Sheng saw this, he patted me on the shoulder and said, "Let's go, there's nothing good to see, you just like to eat these dry vinegars, what's the matter? Don't you still believe An Lan?"
That's right, it's all my own pride that's causing trouble.
Gao Sheng and I left the chestnut garden and went to the trail outside, where there is a special place for smoking.
Light a cigarette and sit on a bench by the roadside for tourists to rest.
The chestnut forest is quiet, and there is no sound of human voices, and the mountain is even more secluded with the singing of birds.
The wind in the forest is very cool, the trees overhead are rustling, and some yellow leaves are falling like butterflies.
I took a puff of cigarette and asked Gao Sheng: "What's going on between you and Zhu Ling? Why haven't I heard from you? Are you getting along with her?"