Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 333 Still want to climb the mountain?

Late April is the best time to eat mantis shrimp. The males are fresh and delicious, while the females are plump and full of roe, with plenty of meat and the flavor is at its most intense during this season. After May, the female shrimp have finished spawning, and the male shrimp have become thinner, so the taste changes.

Especially these days, most of what's available on the market is still wild-caught, and it's truly delicious.

It's just too much work; my fingers hurt from peeling them. Wild crabs have harder carapaces and sharper spines. These creatures are practically invincible in the sea, except for humans; even crabs ten times their size are no match for them and become their prey. They can easily smash open a crab's shell with their fists.

To put it another way, if you were to encounter a mantis shrimp in the sea, you would definitely be the one who gets killed in the end; it could easily break your leg bones.

But in China, nothing is inexhaustible. If there is, it's because the species can be sold for money, so too many are raised. Foreign friends often wonder why most pictures of marine species on Baidu in China are of them on plates. They don't know that it's simply because terrestrial species are too large to fit on a single plate.

After two hours, the six and a half people had eaten and drunk their fill, leaving the table a mess of plates and bowls.

Xie Xiaolong got up and poured hot water for everyone. Xiao Wei took out cigarettes and the three men lit them up. They chatted and digested their food while resting for half an hour. Then, they got up, tidied up, went downstairs, paid the bill, and left.

Mu Lijuan took a taxi back with her child. Xie Xiaolong followed Xiaowei and Chen Hui back to the guesthouse. Chen Hui checked out of the guesthouse, Xiaowei drove to the front door of the guesthouse, put the suitcases in the trunk, and everyone got in the car and left.

The trip to Andong, which started strong but ended weakly, was thus ruined.

More than an hour later, the car arrived at the foot of Phoenix Mountain again. Xiao Hong, sitting in the passenger seat, looked at the bare, rocky peaks in the distance and turned to ask Chen Xiao, "You still want to climb the mountain?"

Chen Xiao glanced at Chen Hui, pouted, and said, "Alright, stop being so spineless. I won't be willful anymore."

Xiao Wei said, "There's supposed to be a temple at the foot of the mountain. Let's go take a look. We won't go up the mountain. You won't understand it from here. You'll understand when you get to the foot of the mountain." As he spoke, he drove the car onto the road leading to Phoenix Mountain.

Climbing Phoenix Mountain doesn't actually start from the foot of the mountain. There's a road that winds around the mountain, and you have to follow the road to the mountain gate halfway up the mountain to reach the true foot of Phoenix Mountain. There's a flat area here with temples and other buildings. From here, the road is blocked off by car, and that's when the real climb begins.

It was called a temple, but it was actually a Taoist temple, dedicated to Sun Simiao, the Medicine King, and was called Ziyang Temple. At that time, the temples that were later built to make money didn't exist yet. There used to be a temple, but it was burned down and destroyed during those ten years.

The five of them bought tickets and went inside for a visit. Tourist attractions at this time were still very simple, without the ulterior motives of later generations. Visiting was just visiting; not many people offered incense, as most were too shy. Only local believers would openly offer incense and pay their respects. There were no lotteries, no fortune telling, and no donation boxes.

From here, you can clearly see the magnificent scenery of Phoenix Mountain. At the entrance to the mountain, there is a cliff and waterfall right in front of you. Chen Xiao stared at the mountain for a while and said to Xiao Hong, "I really can't climb it. I didn't believe it at first. Do you think I'm being a little too willful?"

Xiao Hong said through gritted teeth, "Tell these things to your Chen Hui. From now on, whenever I want to go somewhere, I'll just sneak off with Xiao Wei." You have to understand how it feels to see such beautiful scenery so close yet be unable to go.

Chen Xiao pursed his lips and remained silent.

This is an irregular, narrow, long slope that follows the contours of the mountain. Ziyang Temple and the ancient city gate are built here. A stream flows down the mountainside. In summer, it is cool and quiet. In autumn, the mountains are covered with red leaves, and the desolate ancient city exudes a sense of sadness and bleakness.

We took pictures and walked around to see all the sights below. Before we could finish, Chen Xiao couldn't take it anymore. After we finished sightseeing, we went back to the car, drank some water, rested for a bit, and then drove down the mountain, heading west.

After leaving Fengcheng, we drove straight to Meigouying. We needed to go back to Longcheng first to make some arrangements and settle Xie Xiaolong's affairs before returning to Fengtian. Xiaowei would definitely be there for the restaurant's opening, so this route was the most cost-effective.

As they approached Meigouying, Chen Hui said, "How about we stay here for a day? We didn't have much fun in Andong, and we couldn't even climb Phoenix Mountain. Let's spend a day by the sea before heading back." Xiao Wei said, "Sure, let's stay here. Where should we go? To the cigarette factory or the power plant?"

Chen Hui said, "Let's go to Bayuquan, without going into the city. The city is just a place to see the Liao River, and there's nothing to do by the sea, just wasteland. What would you do there? Bayuquan is a scenic area; you can eat, stay, and have fun. Last time I came here, I told my dad about it, and he laughed for a long time, saying that if you want to play by the sea, Bayuquan is the only place, otherwise you'd have to go all the way to Dalian. By the way, the power company has a sanatorium there; let's just stay there for one night."

Xiao Wei said, "That's fine, we're not in a hurry. The key question is, how do I get there? I've never been there before."

Chen Hui said, "Just ask around, it's just heading south along the coast."

Xiao Wei looked around, turned the steering wheel, and parked the car in front of a roadside grocery store. He got out, bought a few bottles of soda, and asked the store owner, "How do I get to Bayuquan from here?"

The shopkeeper smiled and said, "You came from Xiuyan, right? You got lost after leaving Xiuyan; you've gone quite a roundabout way."

Xiao Wei asked, "Where are we? Don't we have to get to Meigouying first?"

The shopkeeper said, "Bayuquan is to the south. The shortest route is from Xiuyan to Gaixian. This is Dashiqiao, so you'll have to go more than a hundred li around. Go straight ahead from here, turn left after you leave the city, but don't cross the railway. Just turn left when you see the level crossing. Keep going straight and you'll reach Gaixian. It's about a hundred li. Once you get to Gaixian, ask someone for directions. It's not far from there."

Xiao Wei brought out some soda for everyone on the bus, saying, "We took the wrong route. The driver said to get to Bayuquan, we had to go through Gaixian, this is Dashiqiao. He said we went about a hundred li (about 50 kilometers) too far. Oh, that's not far, but I was shocked when he said over a hundred li." In Northeast China, people are used to measuring distances in li (a unit of distance) instead of kilometers, so it can be quite surprising if you're not used to it. Once you start driving, you get used to measuring distances in kilometers.

Xiao Wei got on the bus and followed the directions given by the grocery store owner. After driving for more than two kilometers, he saw the railway in the distance. He looked left and right and saw that there was indeed a crossroads. He turned the wheel and went left.

After more than half an hour, the car entered Gaixian County. We asked around and found out that we could go swimming in the sea here, but the Dianye Sanatorium was over there, so we had to keep going. We drove for nearly 20 kilometers and asked around several times before finally finding the Dianye Sanatorium. Everyone was quite tired, so we got out of the car and checked into our rooms to rest.

The sanatorium is very close to the sea, about two kilometers away. It is a four-and-a-half-story building. Chen Hui specially asked for a room on the top floor facing the sea. At this time, there are very few buildings in the entire Meigouying area. This area has a lot of buildings because it is a seaside resort area. Even from the fourth-floor room, you can still clearly see the deep blue sea in the distance.

(End of this chapter)