Riding the wind of rebirth

“Exactly, our morning runs are a real ordeal now,” Yan Xiao complained. “No wonder our province is moving so many training bases here.”

That's true. Chengdu is currently experiencing its worst pollution, especially in winter. In winter, because there is no wind in the basin, pollutants from the entire basin are trapped in the air above the city and cannot circulate, making Chengdu a high-incidence area for diseases such as pneumothorax during the winter.

Liangshan Prefecture is different. Not only is the air quality excellent, but it also has hot spring resources, which allow for low-cost, temperature-controlled swimming pools, thus creating a provincial swimming base. Furthermore, the presence of Qionghai Lake and strong winds throughout the year have led to the establishment of a sailing and windsurfing base. Additionally, its high altitude makes exercise beneficial for cardiovascular health and oxygenation, hence the existence of an athletics base.

The same applies to cycling and triathlon.

The remaining advantage is the suitable climate, with spring-like weather all year round, which is why table tennis and badminton teams have also established their bases here.

Zhou Zhi's suggestion to Wu Renzhong that the autonomous prefecture could integrate culture, sports, radio, television, and tourism was not unfounded. The sports card is indeed a strong one to play.

The current pedestrian street in the city center is a cross street. If you were just walking, it would actually take less than fifteen minutes to walk the two streets together, but because there are always crowds of people, you can't walk very fast at all.

This is also the most fashionable and modern place in the autonomous prefecture, with electronics stores, clothing stores, snack bars, cinemas, flower shops, restaurants, and even pet shops.

The goods are also dazzling, from cheap clothing and shoes and socks that can be obtained at very low prices from the Lotus Pond Wholesale Market, to brand-name suits made of higher-end fabrics and fashionable sports brands. These two small streets, which are so concentrated, can actually highlight one issue: the gap between the rich and the poor in the autonomous prefecture is actually far more serious than in the outside world.

Especially in the remote mountains and on the cliffs, the impoverished ethnic minority villages have made poverty alleviation a tough and arduous battle that will continue to be fought on this land for the next few decades.

They were all just buying some warm clothes temporarily. No one was looking for big brands; they just bought a set of practical clothes each. This even attracted the curiosity of the pretty shop owner. At least it's not winter clothing season in the city yet, and it was a bit strange that this group of people, except for two, came together to buy winter clothes, and even bought matching sets.

Upon further inquiry, I learned that the clothes were from Chengdu, which made me chuckle. My own batch of clothes had just been shipped from Chengdu yesterday, and I would have to go back for another batch tomorrow.

After choosing their clothes, everyone strolled around the pedestrian street.

Although most of the goods are just average, the atmosphere is fantastic. Although the autonomous prefecture is not wealthy, it is quite large, with fifteen counties, which is three times the size of the Manzhou in terms of administrative planning. Because of the inconvenient transportation, most people from the fifteen counties choose to come here to buy goods, so it is very lively even on weekdays.

“Xichang is a bit of a tough place. It’s right in the middle of the Chengdu-Kunming Railway. It’s about the same distance from both Yunnan and Chengdu,” Zhou Zhi said with a smile. “So most of the goods here come from these two cities. The shipping costs are the same no matter which one you come from, and neither is cheap.”

"If we take Manzhou as a comparison, it's about 300 kilometers from Manzhou to Chengdu or Chongqing. In addition to railways and highways, you can now connect to the expressway from Longchang. There are also Yangtze River shipping routes, Tuojiang River shipping routes, and Minjiang River shipping routes. Although the latter two are not fully operational throughout the region, they can still form a transportation network in the surrounding cities. Commodity transportation is much cheaper than here, both in terms of time and economic costs."

"Now everyone knows the saying, 'If you want to get rich, build roads first.' But the reverse can also be said: 'If you suffer, you'll be blocked on both ends.'"

"Haha, did you make up that last line on the spot?" Liang Hong laughed.

"I made it up first, but that's the gist of it. So now that the town has been established, the first thing we've done is to quickly build a road towards the train station in the other direction."

"Indeed, inconvenient transportation has prevented many good things from being transported out of Liangshan Prefecture."

“Actually, what we know about local specialties is just the tip of the iceberg. Liangshan Prefecture has abundant mineral resources. If these things could be easily transported out, that would be incredible.” “Let others worry about that,” He Shiqing said with a smile. “You should focus on finishing your dissertation and getting your doctorate first.”

“Shiqing is absolutely right. Auntie values ​​education a lot. If you don’t get your degree soon, you’ll get a good beating when you get back!” Feng Xueshan, who knew Zhou Zhi’s family situation well, laughed even more exaggeratedly: “Although Uncle doesn’t say much, I think Auntie is mainly influenced by him.”

"That's not true, anyway, we already have a postdoctoral researcher in our family." Zhou Zhi hugged Mai Xiaomiao. "Right, Xiaomiao?"

"Huh? Are you talking about me?" Mai Xiaomiao asked, somewhat uncertainly.

“It’s not you.” Liang Hong teased her, pulling Mai Xiaomiao closer again: “You’re not a member of the Zhou family yet, so how could Zhouzi be talking about you?”

"Xiao Miao is very naive, don't tease her!" Zhou Zhi quickly greeted her.

"Oh dear, you're already feeling sorry for her!" Liang Hong pushed Mai Xiaomiao back to Zhou Zhi: "Fine, here you go!"

"Don't follow those bad people." Zhou Zhi took Mai Xiaomiao's hand: "She's our little Miao!"

This time, Mai Xiaomiao realized that everyone was teasing her, and she just sat next to Zhou Zhi and chuckled.

After strolling around the pedestrian street and passing by the People's Canteen twice, we finally went inside.

Since there were many people this time, everyone ordered the largest private room. Zhouzhi's favorite thing is that with a large group, they can order a lot of dishes.

The People's Canteen is best known for its beef and mutton dishes, including stir-fried beef liver with pickled chives and peppers, stir-fried beef aorta, stir-fried mutton intestines, steamed beef with rice flour, steamed mutton with rice flour, roasted small intestines, braised beef with soybeans, and stir-fried beef intestines.

The ordinary Sichuan dishes are actually very authentic, but Zhouzhi didn't order the usual dishes today so that everyone could experience the flavors of Liangshan. Instead, they had a "beef and mutton feast".

It's winter now, so it's a good time to nourish ourselves. We also ordered sauerkraut with lamb blood and lamb soup, and the lamb and radish soup that's a must-order in the cafeteria during winter.

The mutton soup at the People's Canteen is quite unique; it's a "clear broth mutton" that's become very rare.

As the name suggests, clear mutton soup is characterized by its very clear broth. Due to the combination of oil and meat, the broth made from black goats in Liangshan has a golden-yellow color, which is very appealing and has a sweet flavor.

Most mutton soups in later generations are "milky soups," which are actually made by emulsifying fat to make the soup thicker in color. The same is true for crucian carp soup.

After that, it's just a matter of adding a spoonful of milk, while dishes like clear mutton soup, which require a lot of effort, are rarely seen across the country. (End of Chapter)