On New Year's Eve, she exchanged greetings with many people, including Jiang Hongshao, Yu Xiao, Xie Houming's family, Yang Xialiuying, Yao Beibei, and Qin Xizhen. Qin Xizhen's relationship with her family seemed to have eased, but she had quit her job and moved back home after all. Although the money she got from Cheng Ran was enough for her to rent a house outside, Qin Xizhen was still a good girl at home. She said that her father would call her if she didn't come home at 8 o'clock every day. It was a habit she had developed over the years, and it was not a big deal for her to rent a house independently.
Of course, the main contradiction in the family has not been resolved, and has even become more profound, but the New Year still has to be celebrated, so both sides should compromise for the time being. In Qin Xizhen's words, "I haven't talked to my dad yet. My dad has a temper. The long and persistent war will still be fought next year..." He looked like a heroic man digging holes deep and collecting grain.
On the first day of the new year, I was woken up by my mother before dawn. In the dim morning light, Xu Lan's silhouette was looming, and she patted Cheng Ran's face, "Wake up, wake up..."
Cheng Ran woke up and saw that the alarm clock showed past five o'clock.
What... is going on
"Hurry up and get dressed. We're going to climb the mountain on New Year's Day. I told you yesterday... Go early and come back early to avoid traffic jams on the road."
From the stove came the sound of Cheng Feiyang boiling water to cook noodles for the family.
Cheng Ran thought about it, sighed and got up. If you were to say which mountain in Shanhai is the best place for climbing mountains and worshipping temples every year, then Mount Li with its stone Confucian Temple is the best choice. People from the entire Shanhai City would climb mountains and worship temples in the early morning on the first day of the new year. On the section of Huanhai Road at the foot of Mount Li, private cars could forget about passing through, and the buses were often packed. Even at rush hour, the narrow paths on the mountain, the back mountains and the front mountains, were completely blocked by people, and the queues of people slowly moved up and down the mountain. Fortunately, the temple had taken these situations into consideration when it was expanded in the 1980s, so there was no shortage of toilets.
The only way to avoid these situations is to get off the bus early in the morning, so in the past, Cheng Ran's family would get up before dawn and catch the earliest bus. The buses were still in operation at this time, and the city bus company had added many routes specifically to meet the demand for mountain climbing and temple worship in the city.
However, Cheng Feiyang and Xu Lan are not believers. They climb the mountain just for the custom and more for the purpose of going through the motions. They usually just take a quick look and buy a bunch of incense before going up the mountain, burn it at the door of the main hall and then leave.
After getting up, Cheng Ran thought for a while and said, "Don't we have a car now?" After the establishment of Fulong Company, it purchased a batch of vehicles for commuting, including Santana and Iveco. Only then did Cheng Ran realize that this was no longer a situation where the whole family needed to squeeze into the bus.
"Yes, but those who can drive have gone home for the New Year holiday. Who will drive you?"
Cheng Ran actually wanted to drive himself, but when he thought about the strict inspections during the New Year, firstly, he didn't have a driver's license, and secondly, Cheng Feiyang and Xu Lan would definitely be worried, so he dropped the suggestion.
Cheng Ran was a little amused, thinking, Cheng Feiyang, who are you? If you call the driver, who will refuse? But being able to relive the days when I used to catch the bus and climb the mountain with my parents, I will just... take it as it comes.
So the family got on the bus to Mount Lishan at six o'clock, and then started to climb up from the back of the mountain. Walking along the way, we could see the cable car going back and forth above our heads. We often met acquaintances on the way, and everyone nodded and said hello and exchanged a few words. This is the interesting part of a small city. The place is small, and it seems that the world is also small.
When you reach the Main Hall halfway up the mountain, this is usually the highest point for ordinary mountain climbing and temple worship.
Generally, people who come up here will eat some vegetarian food near the temple. The food in the temple is pretty good. However, Xu Lan and Cheng Feiyang brought some braised dishes and noodles. The family of three burned incense and ate something on the spot. When they were about to leave, they met Yang Xia's family who had come up the mountain.
Yang Xia was tall and wore a white T-shirt and coat, white canvas shoes, and a sun hat. She followed her parents to the main hall to burn incense and touch Buddha, attracting many men's attention along the way.
When they suddenly bumped into Cheng Ran's family, both sides felt it was a bit of a coincidence.
The two parents chatted for a while, while Cheng Ran and Yang Xia stood outside the temple's threshold, looking over, and the mountains, lakes, and cities dotted in between were all in sight. The sky was clear overhead, and the wind blew the duckweed between the temples.
Suddenly, it was as if there were many memories. They had climbed the mountain like this many times before. But it seemed that they had never climbed the mountain alone. Usually, they would go with a few friends in the yard. When they went up the mountain, the boys would mostly show off their physical strength to the girls. These memories floated into his mind, and Cheng Ran suddenly remembered how the boy had been attracted to the girl in those distant times.
I remember the stone flower bed on the left side of the Main Hall that was eroded by wind, sun and rain. When Xiao Chengran and a group of others were climbing up the mountain, he suddenly climbed up to the flower bed, but he didn't reach the top and fell off the bed instead. Fortunately, there were steps and the flower bed was not high from the ground. He rolled down a flight of steps before stopping. He twisted his foot and scraped his hands. The tourists next to him were all laughing. It was a typical example of a young man who was too stubborn and reaped the consequences. Then Yang Xia came over and pulled him up.
The sun was very warm that day, and Yang Xia was as pretty as ever. I guess I felt something touching at that moment.
But this feeling didn't last long. Yang Xia, who pulled him up, began to criticize him nonstop. Cheng Ran spread out his hands, which contained crushed flowers. Little Yang Xia sneered and told him not to play such childish tricks. He acted like a person with ADHD all day long. It was embarrassing to be with him!
When these memories came to his mind vividly, Cheng Ran suddenly smiled slightly.
"Remember that flower stand..." Yang Xia pointed in that direction and said with a smile.
"Yeah, I still remember it. I thought it was so high before, but now it seems that it's not that high..."
Yang Xia said softly, "When you went to pick flowers... who were you giving them to?"
"It should be prepared for you."
"Hmm..." Yang Xia was stunned. She didn't expect Cheng Ran to be so straightforward. Her face turned red. But she smiled to cover it up. "It's a pity that I didn't succeed. I fell down."
"Yeah, it was embarrassing, wasn't it? I had planned to climb up and pick it down gracefully, like Chu Liuxiang, the best martial artist in the world... But I failed to show off... I remember you said at that time, it was so embarrassing."
"Ah, did I say that..." Yang Xia was a little embarrassed, then smiled, "But now it seems..."
"You were pretty cute back then."
"Um… ?"
Yang Xia didn't meet Cheng Ran's gaze. The two adults had already finished their conversation. She hurried over, then remembered something and turned around to wave at him, "Don't forget to watch a movie this afternoon!"
Cheng Ran smiled, turned around, and saw a group of young men at the bottom of the stairs who had been staring at Yang Xia from the beginning and were looking at him with envy and jealousy.