Modern travel is much faster and more convenient than in ancient times.
In the evening of that day, they checked into a homestay in Jixi.
The homestay is decorated in antique style and faces the street.
The courtyard planted with various flowers has an ancient charm. There is a delicate and small stone pond against the wall. Fish swim in the water, creating ripples.
"Yan Zi, what do you think about me building a small courtyard like this in the suburbs of City B?" Standing in this quaint courtyard, Jiang Changning felt like he had returned to the Qin Dynasty.
"Don't let your imagination run wild." Li Yan poured cold water on her. "With your little savings, you can probably buy a piece of land the size of a living room in the suburbs of City B. You want to buy a yard? You're just dreaming."
Jiang Changning said awkwardly, "I'll just rent it."
"No, you live in the suburbs, how can I find you to play?" Li Yan dragged her into the lobby of the B&B.
The spacious hall is decorated in a wooden Chinese style, with calm colors, elegant and symmetrical style, and exquisite palace lanterns. Li Yan praised the assistant who booked the homestay, "This place is really nice."
"It's a pity that you have something to do and can't stay for a few more days." Jiang Changning poured cold water back.
"Hmph, I can take a vacation."
The homestay has en-suite rooms with complete infrastructure, clear lighting, and retro window lattices with clear glass, through which you can see the green mountains in the distance.
The next day, Li Yan and her colleagues went to handle official business, while Jiang Changning traveled around Jixi County according to the map on his mobile phone.
Jixi County is a national historical and cultural city and a national cultural ecological protection area. It was called Huayang Town in the Han Dynasty.
With beautiful scenery and profound cultural heritage, it is known as the source of harmony, a famous cultural city, the hometown of celebrities, and the hometown of Anhui cuisine. It is a great place worth visiting.
Carrying the snacks he bought, Jiang Changning walked back and passed by a house. He saw an old lady embroidering something at the door.
At her feet was a bamboo embroidered basket, in which were several handkerchiefs, all of which were embroidered with flowers.
Jiang Changning was stunned when he saw it, while the old lady enthusiastically solicited business, "Girl, this is authentic Hui embroidery, if you like it, come and have a look."
"Okay." Jiang Changning squatted down to choose.
She immediately picked out a handkerchief embroidered with roses. The dark green branches and leaves and the entwined vines made the roses look extremely gorgeous.
Hui embroidery is famous for its realistic artistic effects such as imitation embroidery and photography.
The old lady even embroidered the tiny thorns, making the rose not only beautiful and vivid, but also presenting a three-dimensional effect.
"Grandma, how much is this?" Jiang Changning bit his lip. "How much is it?"
The old lady held up three fingers and said, "Thirty dollars."
This price sounded like the actual price. Besides, Jiang Changning fell in love with the handkerchief at first sight. Since money can’t buy what one likes, he didn’t bargain with her and just used his mobile phone to scan the code to pay.
When they returned to the B&B, Li Yan had not come back yet, so Jiang Changning was surfing the Internet and watching videos in the room.
I accidentally saw a live broadcast and heard a woman's excited voice, "I met a super handsome guy today."
The handsome guy in the video is He Lianyu, whom Jiang Changning met in the car.
He was wearing a crisply cut white shirt and black suit pants, giving off a cool and abstinent vibe.
Surrounded by many people, walking forward.
The woman followed him and took photos. "This handsome guy is not a celebrity. I heard people call him Mr. He or Mr. He. He must be the president of a large company."
He Lianyu got in the car and drove away. The woman said with regret: "He is so handsome, more handsome than those stars. It would be great if he could enter the entertainment industry."
"Okay, there's no more handsome guys to look at. I'll take you to continue exploring shops." The woman walked into a noodle shop.
Jiang Changning came out of the live broadcast room and continued to watch other videos.
Two days later, Li Yan finished her official duties and said, "Tomorrow we will go to the Huihang Ancient Road."
At five o'clock in the summer, the sky is already very bright.
I had a plate of Huizhou fried noodles for breakfast in a small shop beside the ancient road.
After filling her stomach and buying the tickets, Li Yan looked at the ancient road and waved her hand with high spirits, "Let's go!"
The ancient road is more than one meter wide, winding among the mountains. Time has left numerous traces on the stone slabs, and the mottled moss tells of the scenery thousands of years ago.
Just as Jiang Changning was walking along this ancient road, recalling the past, someone suddenly sang: "In the previous life, I didn't cultivate myself. I was born in Huizhou. When I was thirteen or fourteen years old, I was thrown out."
The simple melody echoes in this ancient road, as if taking people through time and space to see the sad past of Huizhou people who had to leave their hometowns and go out to become apprentices when they were in their teens.
"I left my hometown and walked on the ancient road, the lights were flickering and I lost the way home. Time flies and I have no news from home, when will I return to my home, which is only in my dreams?" Jiang Changning made up a poem.
"Wow, our little Ning has made great progress. She can speak eloquently now." Li Yan teased her.
Jiang Changning glanced at her and said, "Let's go."
Along the way, there are rugged mountains, sea of fog and clouds, and gurgling streams. From Jixi, we walk to Yuchuan and then to Yankouting, and then to Mopanshi.
According to legend, the "grindstone" is actually called "mengpanshi". According to records: During the Southern Song Dynasty, Hu Dan, a native of Dashimen in Jixi, dreamed at night that there was a pile of boulders in the Xiaoyao River on the Huihang Ancient Road.
When he came to see it the next day, he found it indeed. He was puzzled and then followed the ancient road to look for the meaning of the dream. Suddenly he saw that the ancient road ahead was interrupted, and then he suddenly realized it.
Perhaps it was God who sent him a dream, hoping that he would repair this road, so he immediately set about raising money to dig and build this dangerous ancient road, making it connected from top to bottom.
"Come on, Xiao Ning, write another poem."
"Go away, you just know how to tease me." Jiang Changning quickly walked past her and walked forward.
"Wait for me." Li Yan hurriedly chased after her.
After passing Mopanshi, you will reach the first pass in Jiangnan.
There is a tea pavilion at the foot of the pass, with four large characters in Wei style written on the door: "Jingtong Jiangzhe". Someone sells water and some snacks here.
"How much is this corn?" Li Yan looked at the yellow corn with greedy eyes and mouth.
"Five dollars a stick."
"How much is a pound of corn in the supermarket?" Li Yan turned around and asked everyone.
"Last time I bought it, it was one yuan per pound."
Li Yan bargained with the vendor, "Lower price."
"It's a small business and I can't make any money." The vendor was reluctant to lower the price.
Li Yan used the eloquence she had honed in court to convince the vendor and finally bought six cigarettes for twenty yuan.
A few people rested in the pavilion, drank some water, ate the corn, came out of the pavilion, and climbed up the stairs. There were high peaks and huge rocks on the north and south sides, with jagged rocks and steep cliffs.
In the stone wall of Beiyan, horizontal bars were manually chiseled and granite slabs about two meters long were embedded to build a plank road.
The stone plank stretches upward like a ladder to heaven, piercing deep into the white clouds. At the top of the ladder, there is a hole in the sky, which is the first pass in the south of the Yangtze River.
The gate is made of four large stone bars placed horizontally across natural rocks. The west side of the lintel is engraved with "The First Pass in Jiangnan" and the east side is engraved with the regular script "The Key to Huihang".
Although it has gone through wind and rain erosion, it is still vivid and lifelike.
(End of this chapter)