Era: Rise from the Wilderness

"Don't be afraid, it's just a rat snake, it's not poisonous."

Li Yunjing said in a deep voice, but his body remained alert.

Although he recognized this non-venomous snake, which is common in the north, being bitten by it was still unpleasant.

The green snake seemed to be disturbed, and slowly stretched out its body, which was more than two meters long.

It raised its head and stared at the group of uninvited guests.

"Yun Jing... let's go quickly..."

Lu Ruoxi's voice was trembling, and her fingers were tightly gripping Li Yunjing's arm.

Li Yunjing felt the soft touch on his arm and the warmth of the girl's body, and his heart beat faster.

But he quickly regained his composure and whispered, "Slowly back away, don't run, don't disturb it."

The seven people cautiously backed away, their eyes fixed on the snake.

They only breathed a sigh of relief after retreating more than ten meters.

"That scared me to death!"

A girl patted her chest, her face deathly pale.

Lu Ruoxi then realized that she was still holding Li Yunjing's arm, blushed, and quickly let go.

But that sense of security she had just felt stirred up a strange feeling within her.

"Don't be afraid!"

"It's just a snake in the grass in summer, it's a very normal thing."

"We'll just leave it alone. Of course, if it dares to attack us, I'll chop it in half with one strike!"

Li Yunjing put away his sickle and looked at the still-shaken crowd: "Let's continue now that we've rested enough. There's an open space ahead where we can have lunch."

Continuing up the winding mountain road, Li Yunjing walked at the front, occasionally using a sickle to clear away the thorns and weeds blocking the way.

After the close call, everyone was extra careful and stayed close behind him.

The mountain road became increasingly steep, and the girls were so exhausted that they could no longer speak, only panting heavily.

Ma Xingyuan was sweating profusely, his shirt was soaked through.

"Hang in there, we'll be there soon."

Li Yunjing turned around to encourage her, and then pulled Lü Ruoxi along.

After walking for about half an hour, the view suddenly opened up before us.

A wide-open mountaintop platform appeared before us, and the mountain breeze carried the fresh scent of grass and trees.

"arrive!"

Li Yunjing was the first to reach the summit.

The crowd cheered and rushed forward.

The moment I stood atop the mountain, all my weariness transformed into awe.

The sunlight streamed in unobstructed, creating a breathtakingly open vista.

Looking eastward, one sees endless salt fields, gleaming silvery-white in the sunlight, like giant crystals inlaid on the earth.

The salt fields are arranged in neat, uniform squares, creating a wonderful geometric aesthetic.

To the south, there are vast cornfields.

It was the height of summer, and the corn stalks were taller than a person, a lush green expanse that rippled in the wind like waves of green.

The ridges divide the land into neat squares, as if drawn by a giant with a ruler.

A main road divides the town into east and west sides, with the west side featuring a mix of single-story and tiled houses.

The factory dormitories, made of red bricks and gray tiles, are connected in one row, with several tall chimneys standing quietly.

To the east, several newly built buildings have sprung up, their white exteriors standing out prominently in the sunlight.

That was the first apartment complex in town.

These buildings were all constructed in the last two years, and were all built by state-owned enterprises in the town and distributed to the factory workers.

Looking at the construction area, Li Yunjing knew that a few years later, his family would also be allocated an apartment there.

The rules have changed, and you now need to pay some money.

Continuing south along the road, there is an impressive office building on the west side of the road.

The building is six stories high, with white tiles on the exterior walls and four large red characters "XX Group" shining brightly in the sunlight on the roof.

That was the town's leading enterprise, and the workplace that countless people dreamed of.

Li Yunjing's father works in that building!

"My goodness... our town is so big!"

Ma Guofeng opened his mouth wide.

Lu Ruoxi stood beside Li Yunjing, the mountain breeze blowing her ponytail.

She took a deep breath, her eyes sparkling with excitement: "So beautiful."

At this moment, standing atop the mountain overlooking their small town, these young men and women truly experienced for the first time what it meant to "see all the mountains as small from the top."

The skyscrapers that seemed unattainable on ordinary days now appear to be nothing more than chess pieces on a chessboard; the streets I walk through every day now seem like thin lines.

Looking at the scene before him, Li Yunjing was filled with emotion.

This was my hometown in 1990—simple, unpretentious, yet full of vitality.

Those salt fields, cornfields, factories, and buildings will undergo tremendous changes in the near future.

"Come on, let's take a group photo!"

When Cui Yanyan pulled the black camera out of her handbag, everyone was stunned.

It was a Canon EOS 650, with a silver-black body and a lens that gleamed faintly in the sunlight.

In an era when film rolls are considered a luxury, the appearance of such an imported camera on a picnic is like magic.

"My goodness! Yan Yan, you even brought this?"

Ma Guofeng was the first to rush over, his eyes wide open.

"Can I take a look?"

A girl asked cautiously.

"Don't touch the camera!"

Cui Yanyan quickly protected the camera, saying, "My dad brought this back from Guangzhou; it's very valuable!"

The five young people immediately huddled together, chattering excitedly as they examined the film. Ma Xingyuan tried to press the shutter button, but Cui Yanyan slapped him away: "Don't press it randomly! Film is expensive!"

"How do you use this thing?"

"I heard it costs several cents to take a photo!"

"Yan Yan, could you take a picture of me alone?"

Surrounded by people, Cui Yanyan was both proud and nervous, protecting the camera as if it were a precious treasure.

Only Li Yunjing and Lü Ruoxi stood aside, watching this lively scene with smiles.

Li Yunjing was used to the camera functions of modern smartphones, so he wasn't particularly interested in this old-fashioned camera.

Lü Ruoxi, on the other hand, comes from a well-off family and her family already had cameras, so she was no stranger to them.

Neither of them were surprised. The young girl, Cui Yanyan, came from a well-off family; she was the daughter of the general manager of the only shopping mall in town.

It's perfectly reasonable for her to be able to produce something like this.

Keep in mind that in those days, Cui Yanyan's father was already driving an extremely rare car!

"Look at them,"

Lu Ruoxi smiled slightly, sunlight dancing on her eyelashes, "like she'd seen some rare treasure."

Li Yunjing nodded: "These days, there aren't many people who can afford to play with cameras."

He recalled his past life, when he saved up three months' salary after starting work to buy his first digital camera.

Looking at these excited teenagers now, I suddenly realize that this simple joy is more precious than any high technology.

"Okay, okay!"

"Let's take a group photo first!"

"We'll take individual photos of you as many of the remaining rolls of film as possible!"

Finally, unable to resist everyone's persistent pleading, Cui Yanyan carefully hung the camera around her neck and cleared her throat: "Let's make it clear first, only three shots, there's very little film!"