After lunch, everyone rested in the yard for a while, their newly full stomachs not feeling so full.
Zhang An took Su Ying and his family for a walk in the mountains.
Zhang An's parents did not go because Zhang Jianguo had just been called over by the villagers to help.
And Wang Fang still had to stay at home, because people came to the door from time to time, and some of them couldn't leave.
Moreover, they feel that there is nothing much to see in the mountains, and they have seen it for decades.
Most of the time I went there just to accompany Su Ying and her family, so in the end I just let Zhang An accompany me.
All the way up the creek, Zhang An led the way carrying a small bamboo basket on his back.
Su Ying's family followed Zhang An, and the group walked towards the mountains.
People coming and going along the way had beaming smiles on their faces.
"It's better here in the mountains. Even the air here is much better than in our county."
Looking at the green mountains and green waters, Wu Qiuping sighed.
Because of the coal trucks that frequently come and go in the county town, the streets are covered with a layer of dirty coal ash.
When it rains, there is a layer of black water. When it is sunny, if you go out for a walk and come back, you will have a more or less black layer on your body.
This is not only the case in the county, but also in several towns below. This is all caused by the dust from coal mining.
But it doesn't matter now. It will be the most serious in a few years, Zhang An thought to himself.
Although the environment is poor now, I can still make money.
When coal mining is finished or no longer allowed in most places, the coal boss will take the money away.
In the end, a poor and dirty environment is left, and that is the most difficult time.
At that point, not only would there be no source of income, but the county would also have to spend money to clean up the environment. That was the beginning of the nightmare.
Zhang An led the way and took everyone to Guanyin Cave first.
There are still many people here to make wishes, and there are some fruits, candies and cakes placed in front of the Guanyin statue.
After walking around Guanyin Cave, they walked to Guanyin Bridge.
At this moment, there was a sign hanging on the stone wall next to it, which read "Danger! Please stay away from the edge of the cliff!" in large characters.
Zhang An had never seen this warning sign before. He probably put it up because he saw so many people coming to the village recently.
Guanyin Bridge is actually very wide. As long as you don't commit suicide and run to the edge, you won't fall.
Of course, this sign also reminds those who come with children to take care of their children.
After all, if you fall from a bridge into such a deep valley, your bones will really be shattered.
"This bridge is so high." Su Ying only dared to stand in the middle and look down at the deep valley below from a distance.
"Zhang An, how deep is it down here?"
Looking down, you can't see the ground, it's all green evergreen trees.
"No one has measured this. I estimate it is over eighty to one hundred meters."
After coming down from Guanyin Bridge, Zhang An planned to take Su Ying and her family to Dishuitan.
It can be regarded as one of the more peculiar natural scenery in this mountain.
At the beginning, Wu Qiuping and Su Shaowen could keep up.
But after walking for a while, they began to be out of breath.
Zhang An also slowed down and asked them to walk slowly.
"Auntie, uncle, you can use this as a walking stick."
Seeing that they were not walking easily, Zhang An took out his sickle, cut down two small trees suitable for walking sticks, and handed them to them.
Although these two people are only in their forties or fifties, they are used to sitting in offices all year round.
My physical fitness is just that, not as good as those old men and women in their sixties in the village.
After walking for more than an hour, the group finally arrived at Dripping Lake.
Looking from a high place, you can see the river on the mountain flowing down from the high cliffs and along the high stone walls.
"This is a natural waterfall. I didn't expect there to be such a big waterfall in this mountain."
Wu Qiuping has already visited other waterfall attractions, especially the largest waterfall in China.
Dishuitan is actually a very deep canyon, with a large high river flowing down from the mountain.
This river ditch is the one under Yingzui Cliff that Zhang An saw when he went into the mountain last time.
The river water flows down from a height of tens of meters, and you can see some flying water droplets and mist below.
On the lush evergreen trees nearby, you can occasionally see small animals such as squirrels jumping around.
The Dripping Pool is still in the dry season, and huge and smooth boulders are exposed at the bottom of the pool.
You can also see many irregular pebbles in the gurgling river.
These were washed down by the river from the upper reaches, and over time, they settled here.
You might not be able to see it from a high place until Zhang An leads them down from the ground.
Only when you reach the bottom of the pool, which is tens of meters deep, can you fully realize that this waterfall is not small.
"It doesn't look very big when you look at it from a distance, but when you look down, you'll find that it's quite a big waterfall."
Wu Qiuping's voice was drowned out by the sound of water.
Su Ying asked several times before she knew what her mother was talking about.
Generally speaking, Dishuitan is not a place name specific to a place.
It is the same as Lezi Cave. In fact, it can be found in many places.
As far as Zhang An knows, there are several dripping pools in the county.
These are all naturally formed natural landscapes.
Since it is the dry season, the water cloth formed by the river water flowing down from it is not very big, maybe two or three meters wide.
"Actually, it is already very small, only four to five meters wide. Because it is the dry season now, by May and June, this stone wall will be covered with white flowing water, which must be at least ten meters wide."
Zhang An has seen Dishuitan during high water periods. During the rainy season, the ditch above is full of surging water.
Falling from a high place is truly majestic.
By that time, the pool below will be submerged by the river.
"Looking at these stone walls, I know they must have been washed away by the river for who knows how many years."
Su Ying pointed to the rocks behind the running water, which looked very smooth.
"It goes without saying that as long as this river has a history, this stone wall will have to be washed away."
Such a smooth stone wall would definitely not be broken out in just a few decades.
"Mom and Dad, look, there is a rainbow over there, it's so beautiful."
Following the direction of Su Ying's finger, Zhang An saw a curved rainbow.
I'm lucky today and it's not too late when I come.
When the sun was high in the sky, the sunlight shone on the splashing water mist, forming a small rainbow.
"This rainbow is too small. You have to wait until summer. When it rains, you can easily see those rainbows. They span from one mountain top to another, across the entire sky, and they are all very long and very big."
Su Ying often stays in the city, but she is not often seen.
Zhang An and the other mountain people were not surprised when they saw this thing.
Because whenever it rains in summer, there will be a rainbow in the sky.
And sometimes when it's sunny and rainy, it's easier to see.
"Hiss, this water is so cold."
Su Ying walked to the pond and put her hand into the water, only to find that the water here was a bit freezing.
"The water here is like this all year round. Even in summer, it's still so biting. I don't know why."
In this pool, even the children in the village who like to play with water will not come to play.
It is because the water in this pool is bone-chilling ice water all year round.
Moreover, the bottom of this pool is very deep. Zhang An once put down a very long bamboo.
But we still couldn't get to the bottom, and I heard from the old people in the village that even if the river upstream stopped flowing, the pool would not dry up.
But what is strange is that the water in these rivers is very cold in the pools.
But once it flows out of this deep pool, it is no different from normal river water.
You can still see some stream groupers swimming in the ditch flowing out of the pool.
"Come on, let's go up. This place is not suitable for this season."
After staying at the bottom of the pond for a long time, Zhang An proposed to go up.
The waterfall here falls from a very high place.
Therefore, these water droplets and water mist splash relatively high, so the moisture below is relatively heavy.
After staying here for a while, Zhang An felt that his clothes were getting wet.
Moreover, the sound of the running water down here is so loud that everyone can't hear clearly what they are saying.
Climbing up the river valley, Zhang An found a large rock for everyone to sit on and rest.
At this time, Zhang An started to take out food from his backpack.
Mineral water with melon seeds and peanuts, no, it’s pecans.
There is also home-made fried rice and some seasonal fruits.
There are many cherries and peaches in Zhang An's space, as well as kiwis and August melons.
But it is difficult to take out these, otherwise the explanation will not be clear.
Now Zhang An and his colleagues don’t have any idea about out-of-season fruits and vegetables.
From time to time, Zhang An would chat with Wu Qiuping and his wife, making them very happy.
Come this season, there are not so many fun things in the mountains.
It would be more appropriate to come here after a while, when the wild flowers in the mountains are in bloom and the mountains are covered with azalea.
You can also pick some wild vegetables on the ground, and small animals also like to come out and play.
From the time we came out at noon to now, the time is not short, and it is time to go down the mountain and return to the village.
I didn't realize it when I came up, but when I went back I found that the road was quite far.
In order to take care of this family who had not traveled much on the mountain road, Zhang An deliberately slowed down his pace.
But even so, Su Ying and her parents didn't look relaxed.
All of them are panting now, with a lot of sweat on their faces.
"Let's take a break."
Seeing this, Zhang An found a place on a big rock and asked everyone to rest first.
He took out a water bottle from his backpack and handed it to them to replenish their water.
"Hey, the ancients used to say that it's easier to go up the mountain than it is to go down the mountain. I didn't believe it. After walking for a while today, I realized that this statement is not true at all."
Su Shaowen sat on the stone and had to sigh.
"Actually, this road is not bad, but you are not used to walking, so it is more laborious."
The old men in the village come and go in the mountains all year round, making it easy for them to walk several times a day.
"Speaking of Zhang An, we are all extremely tired. Why are you not even breathing?"
After sitting down, Su Ying found that Zhang An still looked very relaxed.
"What's the matter? I'm used to running in the mountains. When I come to the mountains, it feels like I'm back home. I always look like this when I run back and forth several times a day."
After Su Ying said this, the family realized that Zhang An was really not breathing right now.
And the most outrageous thing is that this man didn't even break a sweat.
"Shh."
Zhang An suddenly heard a sound and put his finger to his mouth, making a silent gesture.
Su Ying's family of three didn't know what happened, although they were a little confused.
But seeing Zhang An's actions, everyone became quiet.
Sure enough, a small "chirp" sound reached everyone's ears.
Zhang An followed the sound and then saw two fiery red figures in the forest in the distance.
Sure enough, he heard it right. When Zhang An heard these cries just now, he thought they were golden roosters because he heard them a lot in the space.
"This bird is so beautiful, just like the phoenix in the painting."
Sure enough, women all love beautiful things. When Su Ying saw two golden roosters, her eyes were filled with stars.
"This is the Golden Rooster, isn't it, Xiao Zhang."
Wu Qiuping remembered it as soon as she saw it. When they were educated youths, someone in the brigade had caught them.
Because it was so beautiful, Wu Qiuping never forgot it.
"Yes, they are what we call golden pheasants locally. Their nickname is Golden Pheasant. They are probably the most phoenix-like bird."
"So Zhang An, what are the two of them doing? How come they are fighting so easily."
Su Ying didn't understand. They were all of the same kind, so why were they fighting?
"What time is it now?"
Zhang An did not say anything directly, but asked Su Ying a question in a low voice.
"Spring, what's wrong?"
Su Ying hasn't reacted yet.
"Spring is here, so they are competing for a mate. Look, there is a female bird next to her."
Su Ying looked along Zhang An's finger and found a gray-brown bird next to it.
"Ah, that ugly one is the female bird. I thought they all looked the same."
Seeing the female bird, Su Ying couldn't accept why the male bird was so beautiful and the female bird was so ugly.
"Actually, in nature, males are generally very gorgeous, but females are the opposite."
"Because many males are responsible for guarding their offspring, their gorgeous appearance makes them more likely to attract the attention of natural enemies, and males are generally somewhat aggressive."
Zhang An explained it to Su Ying, and then she knew what happened.
Wu Qiuping and Su Shaowen next to them were obviously not clear either, and they both nodded.
Maybe a few people were talking too loudly, so the two golden roosters that were concentrating on the duel just now flew away towards the mountains.
"Hey, they ran away, but there were a few feathers there." Su Ying looked disappointed.
Zhang An took a look and saw a few chicken feathers left on the ground, so he ran over and picked them up.
"Here, don't be disappointed with this. If you come back in two months, you can see this thing in my house."
By two months, the ones at home should have grown up too.
"Ah, are you going to catch them in the mountains? Or not." Su Ying thought Zhang An was going to catch them in the mountains.
"Don't worry, this thing is very rare here. It's just luck to see it today. We won't go out to catch it."
"Because I already have several golden chickens at home. Mr. Huang Erye from the village used to give me some golden eggs, and now they are hatched."
Hearing what Zhang An said, Su Ying immediately wanted to go down the mountain quickly and go home to take a good look at the fire phoenix.
But the way down the mountain was not as fast as she wanted, not to mention she had to wait for her parents behind her.
Hurrying slowly, Zhang An and the others finally came down from the mountain.
After Su Ying got home, she was so tired that she sat on a chair to rest, forgetting all about the golden chicken and the golden chicken.
"It seems that I need to exercise more in the future. Zhang An has been climbing a mountain for a whole day, just like a normal person."
Su Ying watched Zhang An return home and helped him do this and that.
She couldn't help but wonder, was her physical fitness too poor?
"This is possible. If you exercise regularly, it will be good for your body."
On the side, Su Shaowen and his wife also made up their minds to remember to do more activities in the future.
When they just came down the mountain, they saw those old ladies who were older than them.
Carrying a large basket of things, they walked faster than them, as if they were elderly men and women.
If this continues, it will be completely unthinkable when I get older.