Riding the wind of rebirth

When everyone returned to the grain station, Yan Xiao and the others got up as well.

"Little Shunzi is already up?" Zhou Zhi dismounted and took Little Shunzi from Feng Xueshan's arms: "Has he had his milk yet?"

Feng Xueshan laughed and said, "They just finished eating, and they're still having breakfast. Oh? Liang Hong and Honghui rode horses too? Was it a good ride?"

“Hmm, not difficult at all.” Liang Hong also dismounted from her horse: “But you have delicate skin, so you’d better wear a pair of gloves later.”

"Oh, you actually went to play behind our backs!" Yan Xiao saw Zhou Zhi and the others come in, dropped his chopsticks and ran out: "You guys are too much!"

"You can't get up either!" Zhou Zhi laughed. "What a waste of sleeping so long yesterday."

"Stop talking nonsense, when are we leaving?" Yan Xiao asked impatiently. "Didn't Honghui say he'd never ridden a horse before? How come he rides so well?"

Yang Honghui was reluctant to get off the horse once he entered the courtyard. He rode around in circles in the yard, looking relaxed and carefree: "Hehehe, Zhouzi said I'm a naturally gifted athlete."

"Young Yang is indeed quite good." Old Chi Ri saw it from upstairs as well: "His riding posture and horse control have the feel of an old hand. It must have taken Zhouzi at least three months to learn to ride like you."

"Hehehe..." Yang Honghui was extremely smug: "We sports people are definitely better at this."

“I learned how to raise horses at the same time. What you’re doing now is just enjoying what’s readily available. It’s like fishing. The bait is already on for you, and you just have to wait for the fish to bite,” Zhou Zhi said, expressing his dissatisfaction.

"Honghui, come down, let me have a turn!" Yan Xiao was extremely envious.

“You ride your own horse!” Yang Honghui said, “Grandpa Chiri said that people and horses need to develop a tacit understanding, right, Grandpa Chiri?”

Old Chi Ri waved and laughed from upstairs, not joining in the younger generation's banter.

"No rush, we'll set off right away." Zhou Zhi smiled at Yan Xiao, "Today we're having a picnic by the reservoir. First, go to the kitchen and get the feed box, then go to the stable, and I'll teach you how to saddle and load the pack animals..."

"Did they learn these things too?" Yan Xiao looked at Liang Hong and Yang Honghui with disbelief: "I don't believe it."

"It's always good to have more skills." Zhou Zhi laughed. "Don't you really want to learn? If you really don't want to learn, I'll arrange for Yang He to take over."

"I didn't say I didn't want to learn." Yan Xiao is the kind of person who won't budge if you try to lead him, but will only back down if you ignore him. He happily ran off to the kitchen to move some boxes.

Besides food, there's also camping equipment. Although today was just a trial run, since many of the group members had never ridden a horse before, Zhouzhi still felt they should practice first so that things wouldn't fall apart when they actually set off tomorrow.

The camping equipment was packed up and stored in the car all along; all we had to do was move it out. The boys were all quite handy, and in no time they had unpacked all the horse and mule packs.

With the addition of Liang Hong and Yang Honghui, two experienced officers, the overall safety of the horse team is now more reliable.

When it was time to set off, the entire convoy was led by Zhou Zhi and Mai Xiaomiao, followed by Yang He and Feng Xueshan, then two mules, then Yang Honghui and Yan Xiao, then two more mules, and then A Zi and Liang Hong.

Xiao Shunzi was carried in a front-facing baby backpack by Zhou Zhi. The only difference between this and a kangaroo backpack was that Xiao Shunzi's arms and legs could be left outside to move around. With the addition of the Black Dragon team, the entire team was complete. This ensured that the front, middle, and rear of the team were all well-supported by experienced members, making it quite safe.

After packing up, everyone said goodbye to Old Chiri, Tu Liangzhi, and Aunt Jilie, and set off from the road behind the grain station toward the mountaintop reservoir.

The journey begins by passing through half of the villages, where the slaughtering of pigs and sheep is in full swing. Many families have been busy since early morning, and some large, fat pigs have already been scalded. When the group arrives, they are warmly invited to stay for a meal.

Zhou Zhi waved his hand repeatedly, only smiling and saying that he was going to take the team on a trip. Their holidays were precious, and they had to make the most of the time to explore the surrounding area. He added that since everyone was having a family gathering today, he wouldn't disturb them.

Even so, the villagers along the way enthusiastically stuffed Zhouzhi with pig liver, pork belly, sheep intestines, sheep legs, and a whole chicken, giving the caravan even more ingredients.

Once outside the village, the caravan entered the winding mountain road, leaving the hustle and bustle behind as the forest became tranquil.

The road is an asphalt road, very narrow, only wide enough for one vehicle to pass at a time. However, there is a passing bay built every so often, which is the daily patrol route used for maintaining the pumping station and reservoir.

It's late autumn now, and this area is all native forest. The trees are covered in all sorts of colors, making them incredibly beautiful in the sunlight.

There are tall fir and pine trees, and sunlight shines slanting down through their gaps, turning their canopies into a deep dark green and a bright emerald green.

Both of these trees are quite domineering; where they grow, there is basically no room for other trees. Underneath them, there are only needles and some ferns, while the trees themselves are covered with moss and lichen.

After walking through this forest and entering the native forest belt, the scenery suddenly changes, becoming colorful and vibrant.

The leaves of the oak tree turned pale yellow to yellowish-brown; the Chinese tallow tree, Chinese tallow tree, and sweetgum became a deep crimson; the pond cypress, mountain pepper, lacquer tree, maple, and oak changed from orange-yellow to reddish-brown; while the ginkgo, soapberry, horse chestnut, pomegranate, and tulip tree were all golden yellow.

With many native tree species that don't change color continuing to maintain their various shades of green, it can be said that the forest has ushered in its most colorful season.

Feng Xueshan was initially a little nervous riding the horse, but now she was captivated by the beautiful scenery and her whole body relaxed, making the horse beneath her much more comfortable. She softly said, "This is so beautiful!"

“We’ll see how truly beautiful it is when we go to the hot springs tomorrow,” Zhou Zhi said. “The scenery here can’t compare to that.”

"Are there still mushrooms in the forest?" Liang Hong asked at the back of the group. Her voice was so loud that it startled a flock of tits in the oak and oak forest. They flapped their wings and flew up in a large cloud in the air.

"Oh my god, what kind of birds are these?!" Yan Xiao exclaimed in surprise, "Such a huge flock!"

Zhou Zhi glanced at a few lone birds in the bushes: "Those are white-rumped munias, which belong to the Passeridae family, just like sparrows, and their habits are similar to sparrows."

“These birds like to huddle together in a nest of ten or so in winter, and we call them ‘Ten Sisters’,” Azi said with a smile.

"This is much prettier than a sparrow," Yang Honghui said. (End of Chapter)