Coach: Coaching the Grizzlies at the beginning, playing the bantam

The Moonlight Science Museum enters night tour mode, and Hannah's fluorescent bracelet draws air graffiti.

Lu Yong suddenly pointed to the sea of ​​​​salsa grass and said: "Look! Someone is releasing river lanterns on the beach?"

What was seen through the telescope was the blue tears phenomenon caused by Noctiluca scintillans. The cold light of the microorganisms flickered with the rise and fall of the tide, as if fragments of the Milky Way had fallen into a salt marsh.

The intern researchers in the Ecological Monitoring Room waved and invited them to operate the thermal imager.

The red beach on the screen turned emerald, and the green dot Hannah was tracking turned out to be a night heron, whose chest temperature pattern was replicating the movement of tourists during the day.

When Lu Yong switched back to visible light mode, the Suaeda salsa under the moonlight suddenly turned collectively, and the collective dance of the stems wrinkled the giant shadow projected on the wall of the science museum.

As the morning mist once again covered the glass building, Hannah had difficulty making a choice in the souvenir shop.

Lu Yong grabbed the seed box on the checkout counter and said, "Let's take a gamble. Which month will this Suaeda salsa seed bloom?"

They didn't notice that the QR code on the back of the package was linked to real-time monitoring, and the sprouting seedlings in the future would transmit growth data to the science museum's cloud.

Under the old locust tree in the parking lot, there were piles of salt sculptures left behind by tourists. Hannah crushed a broken red-crowned crane statue. When the melted salt particles seeped into the tree roots, a flock of sparrows suddenly flew up from the treetops.

Lu Yong took a picture of this ordinary morning scene with his mobile phone, but the memory video automatically generated by the album marked the Red Beach Science Museum as the "starting point of the story" - behind them, a new batch of tourists were pouring into the scarlet gate, and the morning sun stretched everyone's shadow like young Salicornia seedlings waiting to break through the soil.

.........

A day later, the two went to the museum.

The bronze door knocker glowed with patina in the morning light. Hannah stood on tiptoe to touch the animal head decorations on the PJ City Museum. The shutter of Lu Yong's camera rang crisply in the empty square.

She turned around and glared at him, the jasmine scent of sunscreen drifting in the wind: "Don't take my picture as a tourist who was here for a visit." He smiled and adjusted the polarizing filter. The glass curtain wall of the exhibition hall refracted her white dress into seven layers of phantom.

The cold air in the hall was wrapped in the salty taste of the Liaohe River estuary. Hannah stopped in front of the three-dimensional sand table of "Evolution of Wetland Ecology", her eyelashes trembling in the blue light cast by the touch screen: "It turns out that the Red Beach we went to last week was a bare saline-alkali land 20 years ago." Lu Yong's fingertips slid along the tidal gully of the holographic projection, and his instinct made him pay attention to the dam structure until Hannah's hair brushed the back of his hand and he suddenly came back to his senses.

"Look at the inscription on this bronze goblet." She almost stuck it to the display case in the Western Zhou Dynasty exhibition hall, "Does it look like the root system of Suaeda salsa?" The glass surface reflected the overlapping outlines of the two people. Lu Yong quietly stepped back half a step, using his body to block the crowd of tourists behind him. When the guide came over to add explanations, his mobile phone memo was already filled with sketches comparing bronze patterns and plant veins.

The jade pig dragon in the Hongshan culture exhibition area made Hannah's breathing slow down.

She stroked the grooves on the surface of the jade through the glass. "My father broke a piece of it once, and he was upset for a whole week in the camp."

The cuff of Lu Yong's shirt brushed across her wrist, and his warm body temperature was transmitted through the cotton fabric: "My master's thesis studied the drilling technology of jade artifacts in the Xinglongwa culture." He pointed to the double-linked bi in the display case, and his fingertips traced the trajectory of the rotating stone tool in the air. The afternoon sun suddenly penetrated the dome glass, stretching his shadow and casting it on the Warring States knife and coin exhibition area, like a ruler traveling through time and space.

In the Qing Dynasty Canal Transport Exhibition Hall, a scaled-down cargo ship model is "sailing" in the light and shadow. Hannah leaned over to observe the traces of barnacles on the bottom of the ship, and Lu Yong's mobile phone flashlight illuminated the dark area: "I have seen an improved version of this watertight compartment design on fishing boats in Dalian."

She suddenly turned her head, and the tip of her nose almost hit his jawline: "Did you study this when you went out to sea during your internship?" The two of them intertwined in front of the display case until the exclamation of the elementary school student next to them broke the stagnation - the waves projected on the wall were sweeping their figures into the virtual Bohai Bay.

The salt crystals in the Geology Museum sparkled like diamonds under the spotlight. Hannah was struggling in front of the interactive experiment table, and the measuring cup for mixing salt water in her hand shook into a tiny vortex.

"Sodium chloride concentration must reach 18% before it can crystallize." Lu Yong reached out from behind to steady the vessel, his fingertips precisely on the scale line. When the first crystal precipitated on the slide, she excitedly turned around and let her lab coat brush against his chest, and the snowflake-like structure under the microscope suddenly trembled violently.

The reed fragrance from the intangible cultural heritage workshop floats in the afternoon wrapped in dust.

Hannah broke the sheath for the third time. The inheritor aunt took the broken piece from her hand with a smile: "Girls' hands are for typing, they can't do rough work."

Lu Yong switched his camera to macro mode, focusing on recording how her red fingertips tangled with the reed fibers. The final skewed coaster was carefully put into the backpack, and the crumpled scenic map was still stained with the fragrance of grass stems.

As dusk drifted into the souvenir shop, Hannah hesitated in front of the salt sculpture display stand. Lu Yong quietly bought a red-crowned crane-shaped keychain, and the sound of scanning the code at the checkout counter startled her: "Don't they say that souvenirs from scenic spots are all IQ taxes?" He put the cold salt sculpture on her wrist: "By the time of our golden wedding anniversary, it should have absorbed enough moisture to turn into mud on the beach."

The sunset outside the glass curtain wall was dyeing the red beach into a rosy color. As the security personnel broadcast the clearing of the area, she suddenly stuffed the sunscreen into his palm and said, "Let's go to the Liaohe River estuary to see the real migratory birds tomorrow."

On the way back, the car radio played news about wetland protection, and the museum brochure on Hannah's lap was turned to the page about bronzes.

While waiting at the red light, Lu Yong caught a glimpse of herself in the rearview mirror. The ends of her hair were still stained with salt crystals from the Geological Museum, which looked like tiny stars in the sunset. The reflection of the highway sign cast the word "Panjin" on the windshield, just covering her dozing face, as if leaving a gentle watermark on this journey.

Before the morning mist had dissipated, Hannah was lying on the hotel bay window studying the food map. The paper that was marked with stars last night was stained with light yellow marks by the soy milk.

When Lu Yong stuffed the power bank into her canvas bag, he glanced at the scribbled oath "eat at least thirty kinds" on the edge of the map, and smiled as he put the stomach-strengthening and digestion-promoting tablets given by the hotel at the bottom.

"The first stop must be Lao Yang's River Crabs!" Hannah dragged Lu Yong into the alley in the dim morning light. The burnt aroma of fried pastries mixed with the whistle of the fishing boats returning to the port hit them. Thirty layers of bamboo steamers were stacked on the tricycle at the entrance of the alley. The moment the proprietress opened the lid of the cage, the orange-red color pierced through the white mist, and the thumb-sized mitten crabs curled up on the lotus leaves, the crab shells still stained with dew from the mouth of the Liaohe River.

As Lu Yong raised his camera, Hannah had already opened the crab claws: "Quickly take a picture of this oozy crab roe!" Crab roe dripped down her fingertips and formed an amber pool in the stoneware dish. The proprietress handed over ginger tea with a smile: "Don't worry, girl, there are still five-spice braised, spicy fried, pickled in wine..." Hannah sucked her fingers and turned her head: "Can we have a small portion of each?" The light in her eyes was brighter than the crab roe, and Lu Yong silently swallowed the reminder of "high cholesterol".

Around the corner, the bamboo shoots stall was frying with the sound of oil. The stall owner, who was in his sixties, coated the young reed shoots with batter, spun the silver wire colander in the hot oil twice, and the canary-like crisp balls fell into the coarse porcelain bowl. "Is this the reed shoots that Tanchun wanted to eat in Dream of the Red Chamber?" Hannah squinted at the heat as she bit through the burnt shell. Lu Yong used a tissue to catch the oily spots at the corners of her mouth: "Bamboo shoots only grow at the confluence of salt and fresh water in the Liaohe Delta. We won't be able to eat them when we go to Daqing tomorrow." She suddenly stuffed the half-bitten fried bamboo shoots into his mouth: "Then we have to eat enough today!"

The midday sun melted the crab shells on the asphalt road. Hannah squatted in front of the plastic stool of the Suaeda salsa bun shop, watching the boss knead the dark red wild vegetable juice into the dough. When the steamer was opened, the purple bun skin reminded her of the Western Zhou bronzes in the museum. "Does it look like an unearthed cultural relic with hair?" She waved the bun in front of Lu Yong, and he gently poked her forehead with the end of his chopsticks: "This is the wisdom of Panjin people in regulating saline-alkali land." When the two of them were sharing the buns with millet porridge, the uncle at the next table suddenly pushed a dish of shrimp paste over: "This is the authentic way to dip it!" The moment the salty and fresh taste exploded on the tip of his tongue, Lu Yong saw fine beads of sweat oozing out of Hannah's nose, which were more transparent than the salt crystals in the museum.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, they shared the last river crab under the awning. The old man selling sugar paintings poured the melted maltose on the bluestone slab. Hannah insisted on painting a red-crowned crane: "It should look like a museum souvenir!" The flowing sugar threads drew amber arcs in the scorching sun. While she was concentrating on licking the sugar painting, Lu Yong secretly took a photo of her eyelashes covered with sugar residue. In the background of the photo, the dried shrimps drying on the bamboo plaque were shimmering silver, as if the entire Bohai Bay was exposed to the sun in this street.

"Try this!" Hannah poked a trembling thing with a bamboo stick. Lu Yong leaned back subconsciously: "What is this?" "It's the steamed clam cake, one of the three treasures of Panjin!" She turned her wrist, and the clam meat on the rice cake glowed pearly in the sun. "The boss said it must be eaten while hot. It will have a fishy smell when it's cold." He gasped because of the burn when he bit it. Hannah laughed so hard that she knocked over half a bottle of vinegar. The dark brown liquid spread on the plastic sheet in the shape of the Bohai Bay.

As the sun sets, they slump on the plastic chairs of the oden stand. Hannah counts the bamboo sticks: "Twenty-seven kinds... still three missing." Lu Yong rubs his stomach and smiles bitterly: "I still have two boxes of stomach-strengthening and digestion-promoting tablets in my suitcase." The proprietress suddenly brings two bowls of milky white soup: "Here's some reed root tea for you, it helps digestion." Hannah sips the sweet soup and watches the evening breeze lift the dust screen of the stall, revealing the sign behind it that says "Daqing Pit Roast Reservations."

"Are we going to eat pigeon roasted on the kang tomorrow?" She poked at the Daqing food guide on Lu Yong's phone. He took off his glasses with oil stains and wiped them: "I heard that the whole fish feast in Sartu District has 32 cooking methods..." Hannah suddenly put the iced soda on his face: "Now help me think about what to eat in the last three!"

The barbecue stall in the twilight became the ultimate battlefield. The river knife fish on the charcoal fire curled into a silver bow, and the boss lady sprinkled chili powder on the clams on the iron plate as if casting a magic spell. When Hannah bit into the swollen roasted mud snail, the snail meat with the salty freshness of the seawater splashed in her mouth. Lu Yong's eyes were red from the spiciness, but he still insisted on turning the sizzling garlic scallops: "Does this count as the 30th type?" "Of course it does!" She stuffed the last scallop meat into his mouth, "Even the pattern on the shell counts as one type!"

When the street lights came on, they walked back with the unfinished reed wine. Hannah suddenly squatted in front of a pile of clam shells on the roadside and picked up a moonlight-colored shell: "It's more beautiful than those in the museum." Lu Yong used his mobile phone to illuminate the inner wall of the shell, and the iridescent pearl layer reflected her flushed cheeks. "Keep it to keep company with the agate from Daqing." He took out the velvet pocket that contained the salt-carved keychain, and the shell made a crisp sound when it fell into the bag.

The mirror of the hotel elevator reflected two figures covered in cumin seeds. Hannah leaned against Lu Yong to count the food on the food map: "In fact, I ate thirty-three kinds of food, and the reed root tea given by the boss lady should be counted as one..." Her voice gradually became unclear, and her forehead rested on his shoulder, leaving a faint oil mark. When Lu Yong pressed the floor button, he saw a Suaeda salsa plant in the potted plant in the corner of the elevator poking its head out from the decorative shells. The dark red stems and leaves swayed lightly in the air conditioning wind, like a miniature landscape of the Red Beach.

When the morning light once again filled the room, the packed suitcase stood at the entrance. Hannah checked the contents of the canvas bag for the last time: a velvet bag filled with clam shells, a half-pack of uneaten dried shrimps, and a folded food map. Lu Yong put two unopened boxes of stomach-strengthening and digestion-promoting tablets into the car refrigerator. The snack street in the rearview mirror was waking up in the morning mist, and the steamer at a stall was emitting the first wisp of white steam, as if Panjin was making a final attempt to keep them.

On the isolation strip of the highway, the saltwort began to turn a crimson purple in autumn.

Hannah was looking through the food photos in the camera, and suddenly she found that in the corner of a photo of grilled fish, Lu Yong's rolled-up sleeves were stained with crab roe, and the salt crystals from the day at the museum were still stubbornly clinging to the thread of his sleeves.

When she reached out to brush it off for him, she heard the navigation prompt "300 kilometers ahead to enter Daqing territory". The salt grains on her fingertips shattered into star-like spots of light in the sunlight, like thirty-three flavors lost in time.

.........

The asphalt road suddenly became soft when entering Daqing. Hannah rolled down the window and what blew in her face was not the expected smell of oil, but moist air with the sweet smell of reeds.

When the navigation prompted "Lianhuan Lake Hot Spring Scenic Area is 15 kilometers away", the cuffs of Lu Yong's shirt were still stained with salt grains brought from Panjin, which looked like tiny diamonds in the sun.

"The room actually comes with a private hot spring!" Hannah pushed her suitcase into the entrance and rushed to the French window. The shimmering lake surface was reflected in her pupils and shattered into thousands of gold foils. Lu Yong squatted to check the floor heating switch, and suddenly a cold can was pressed against the back of his neck - she didn't know when she took a can of blueberry juice from the minibar. "Replenish anthocyanins first." She sat cross-legged on the small mountain of suitcases, and soda drops dripped onto the hot spring diagram in the hotel brochure, just blurring the outline of the chain of lakes.

As the scenic area's electric car passed through the reed marsh, startled water birds flew over Hannah's sun hat.

She grabbed Lu Yong's camera strap to keep her balance, and the lens cap slid into the back of his collar as the car was shaken.

"Look at that!" She suddenly pointed to the left. In the morning mist, water chestnut pickers were standing up from among the lotus leaves. The freshly picked water chestnuts in the wooden basin were still dripping with emerald lake water.

Under the glazed tiles of the Tang Palace Hot Springs, Hannah was worried about the twelve-piece bathrobes in the locker room.

"The belt should be wrapped like this." Lu Yong demonstrated through the bamboo curtain. Before he finished speaking, he heard the rustling sound of fabric falling to the ground.

When she emerged wrapped in a jacaranda, the lotus hairpin on her bun was the one she bought at the snack street last night, and the plastic petals were stained with cumin seeds from the grilled fish stall. (End of this chapter)