Cheng Ran told Xu Lan and Cheng Feiyang about staying away from home on Saturday to go to Mount Emei, as a friend had invited him.
Xu Lan's eyes stared at him from all directions. After all, the old couple had seen Cheng Ran's maturity, but from Xu Lan's perspective, sometimes it was precisely because of Cheng Ran's maturity that she couldn't help but worry about something...
"Who are you going with? How are you going to get to Mount Emei? Where are you staying? Who are they? Your new friends? Could it be... that classmate named Jiang Hongshao?"
Cheng Ran was stunned. Looking at Xu Lan who "revealed the secret", he realized that he had underestimated his parents who usually seemed silent. It turned out that they actually saw many clues and movements, and not saying them out did not mean they did not know.
Cheng Ran often calls Lao Jiang. This situation has been going on since the Shanhai period, so they can guess something.
Cheng Ran nodded, and it seemed that Xu Lan was relieved. She was not a strange girl to him when they were in Shanhai before. Moreover, they had seen the letters that Cheng Ran brought back before, which were not very honorable. It was obvious that he didn't want them to see them. Sometimes they would sneak a peek at the cover and see the beautiful handwriting and the name "Jiang Hongshao", and they would be quite suspicious.
Besides, Xu Lan didn't completely let go. The atmosphere of democracy and freedom at home was just an illusion. Democracy still depended on mom and dad. For example, when Cheng Ran went to class, she secretly opened the drawer and pulled out a photo from a pile of books inside. The girl in the photo should be her. The photo was taken abroad. She was pretty, cheerful and lively. She was really beautiful.
Xu Lan smiled for a moment, then calmly put the photo back exactly as it was, recreating every step before taking the item, and even picked up a strand of Cheng Ran's hair that had fallen on the ground and put it in the gap between the drawers to ensure that nothing went wrong. It was as precise as a researcher doing an experiment in a closed laboratory.
Therefore, Xu Lan knew much more about Jiang Hongshao's existence than Cheng Ran thought.
"What are you invited to do? You're not studying painting, so you don't need to go far to sketch... Are you going to travel to see the sunrise?"
"Her grandfather came and invited me to play with him. Maybe he wanted to have some fun."
Xu Lan nodded, finally feeling relieved. "Then how are you going to get there? Or how about asking your dad's company to drive you there?"
"No need. There is a direct bus from Nanmen Station to Baoguo Temple. No need to go back and forth. It's troublesome."
Cheng Feiyang then said, "Don't ask so many questions. Cheng Ran is sensible now, just like an adult. I'm afraid most adults are not as mature as him. Bring your mother's cell phone with you, and contact her directly if you have any questions."
Cheng Ran nodded and said, "There may be no signal on the mountain at that time." At that time, the coverage rate of telecommunications infrastructure was not high and the technology was not developed, but this was the space for Cheng Feiyang's Fulong to expand in the future.
Cheng Feiyang nodded, "That's true. The hotel has an internal line, right? I can just call from the hotel phone when the time comes."
After explaining things to his family, Cheng Ran returned to his room and pondered the new information he had obtained: the Hongzhushan Hotel, 200 meters above the Baoguo Temple on Mount Emei, where Jiang Hongshao's grandfather had collapsed.
This hotel was founded in 1935. It was originally Chiang Kai-shek's official residence. The overall layout is backed by mountains and faces water. It has a 100,000 square meter natural lake and virgin forest. The villa-style floors are hidden on the side of the peaks, in the valleys, and in the corners of the lake. In the hotel surrounded by mountains, there are towers, waterside pavilions, small bridges and walking paths along the lake. On the whole, it forms a unique landscape where natural scenery and towers blend together.
At that time, Chiang Kai-shek met with military officers from Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou provinces in a room in his villa, conferred official titles on them and made promises, asking them to be loyal to him in order to compete for the world.
After 1949, the hotel received successive national leaders and Chinese and foreign dignitaries. In the past few years, it was still a foreign hotel, and only Building No. 5 and Building No. 8 were open to ordinary guests. However, those who could stay here in these years were either rich or noble.
Later, the martial arts novelist Jin Yong also lived in Building No. 8, and felt that "the balcony is deep in the forest, the scenery is brought into the room, the room is in the scenery, the scenery follows the people, and the people are in the painting", and he wrote the inscription "The scenery of Hongzhushan Hotel must be the best in the world."
From the place where Grandpa Lao Jiang was staying, Cheng Ran could get a glimpse of the situation, which probably narrowed the scope of speculation about Grandpa Lao Jiang's identity.
But all this is meaningless. If it weren't for Jiang Hongshao, he wouldn't want to deal with people in this field.
It's late at night, let's go to bed early.
…
Jiang Hongshao left school after school on Friday. She saw her mother's Passat at the school gate. She put her schoolbag on the seat, turned back and took a deep look at No. 10 Middle School. Jiang's mother drove straight out of Chengdu and headed for Mount Emei.
At night, Jiang Mu's car meandered along the mountain road, the headlights piercing the darkness. In front of Baoguo Temple, after turning around a dark forest, they could see the villas with a bit of golden splendor on top of the mountain.
Jiang's mother's car entered the hotel, passed the front desk of Building No. 5, and drove straight to the internal road. The guard in front was standing at the sentry post. After greeting Jiang's mother, the guard let the car pass. The car drove forward along the road for a while and arrived at Villa No. 3, which is not open to the public and is also known as the "Marshal Building."
In front of Building No. 3, a man named Liu Gao, whom Jiang Hongshao called her uncle, had been waiting for a long time. He came over to help carry the only suitcase of the mother and daughter, and said to Jiang's mother with a smile, "Cousin is still as beautiful as ever. Uncle has gone to bed. He is not in good health, so he goes to bed early and wakes up early. These days, I see him go to bed at nine o'clock, and often get up at four or five in the morning to walk along the trail, but he is in good spirits. Xiao Zhang, the clerk, said that the old man is more energetic after coming here. The elderly who stay in the places they walked in the past are actually much younger."
Jiang's mother nodded. "Then don't bother him. I'll talk to him tomorrow morning."
Liu Gao smiled and said, "Okay, sister, your and Hong Shao's rooms are ready, and the meal in the restaurant is also ready. Xiaoyue didn't have an appetite this afternoon, so she said she would wait for you to eat together. You must be hungry, let's go eat something first."
Liu Gao led the way, and the luggage was delivered to the room by the waiter. Jiang Hongshao and her mother walked into the restaurant and saw their cousin Zhao Yue at the dining table, and next to her was a young man.
The young man smiled at him.
Jiang Hongshao was stunned.
Liu Gao laughed and said, "Hongshao, your Lu Wei, Brother Lu, remember, the old man used to like him the most. He would always call him across the courtyard to play chess and cards with him. Lu Wei, Hongshao's grandpa rarely invited people to dinner, but back then, he wished you could live in our house! Hongshao was even more so. When you were studying in the United States, she admired you very much and seemed to have visited you once. Did you meet at that time? You must have met many times. Haha..."
Jiang Hongshao has a slim figure and just stands there.
The man named Lu Wei smiled slightly and moved the chair next to him. "Little Shaoyao, long time no see."
We all have nine years of compulsory education, how come you are so outstanding? You guessed that I would have to post a second update.
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