A song from Chengdu revived a closed-down pub.

As the last note faded, the courtyard fell silent for a moment.

Yang Yaohui slowly put down the microphone and bowed deeply to everyone.

Applause followed.

Ayinur sat under the old apple tree, her eyes slightly red.

Although she couldn't quite put her finger on what was so good about the song, she felt that every line in it seemed to have grown out of the courtyard where she had lived.

Just then, her cell phone rang in her pocket.

Ayinur took it out and glanced at it, only to find that it was a call from her daughter who lived far away.

She wiped her hands on her apron before answering the phone: "Why are you calling at this hour? Have you eaten?"

On the other end of the phone, the woman heard her mother's familiar voice, and the tears she had already stopped welled up again.

She tried to make her voice sound normal: "I've eaten, Mom. I just wanted to ask if we have any apples left?"

Ayinur paused for a moment, then subconsciously looked back at the cellar in the corner of the courtyard and said, "Yes, of course we have some. I saved some for you. They all grew on that old tree. If you want some, I'll send them to you tomorrow."

The woman covered her mouth, and after a long while, she spoke again: "Don't send it."

A hint of disappointment flashed in Ayinur's eyes: "Are you tired of eating it? Then Mom won't keep so much next year."

The woman quickly shook her head, even though her mother couldn't see her: "I'm not tired of eating them, Mom. Don't give them away or send them. Keep them at home for me."

Ayinur's grip on the phone tightened slightly: "What do you mean by that?"

The woman smiled through her tears: "It's almost Chinese New Year, I want to go home for dinner."

The other end of the phone suddenly went silent.

Ayinur opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

She had been waiting for these words for far too long.

After a while, she raised her hand to wipe her eyes and replied repeatedly, "Okay, Mom will save them for you, I won't touch a single one. When are you arriving? Mom will come to pick you up."

"No need to answer, just wait for me at home."

Looking at the wooden crates filled with apples in the yard, Ayinur finally shed tears, but she couldn't hide the smile on her face.

"Okay, Mom will wait for you at home."

……

Over the next two days, Su Fan followed the production crew to visit several places in the new province.

Seeing Su Fan leisurely outside, Deng Zongqi, the director of the Spring Festival Gala, couldn't sit still any longer and made a phone call.

As soon as the call connected, Deng Zongqi asked in a deep voice, "Su Fan, have you forgotten that you have a show to participate in?"

Su Fan feigned ignorance and said, "Director Deng, I've participated in many programs. Which one are you referring to?"

"Try pretending with me again? Everyone on the Spring Festival Gala production team is waiting for you, and you're out having a blast with a bunch of people in Xinjiang. What, planning to wait until New Year's Eve to come back?"

Su Fan quickly explained, "What do you mean by 'playing'? I'm working. Besides, didn't we agree before that I would go back after the last stop?"

"Then tell me, has the last stop actually ended?"

"It's almost over."

What does "almost the same" mean?

"There's just a little bit of finishing work left."

"The finishing touches are up to the production team. You need to come back right now. The song passing the review only means you've got the right to perform on stage. It doesn't mean you don't have to do anything else. How to design the stage, how to adjust the accompaniment, how to coordinate the lighting, how to move the camera—all of these need to be finalized one by one. Others have already rehearsed several times, and you haven't even shown up yet."

"Okay, I'll have someone book the tickets in a bit, and I'll go back tomorrow."

Deng Zongqi was still worried: "Send me the flight information after you've booked the tickets."

Su Fan couldn't help but say, "Isn't that unnecessary? Are you afraid I'll run away?"

Deng Zongqi sneered, "If you were an ordinary person, of course I wouldn't worry. But you're the kind of kid who tends to cause trouble as soon as you're out in the world. Who knows if you'll turn around at the airport and run off with some other province's cultural and tourism bureau?"

Am I the kind of person who has no principles?

"Enough with the small talk. The song 'Jiang Sheng Ru Jiu Nian' is excellent, and the production team has high expectations for it. That's why we can't be careless with the stage presentation. Come back soon so we can finalize the plan and have more time to make adjustments later."

Su Fan replied earnestly, "Understood. I'll report to the production team on time the day after tomorrow."

……

After the trip to the new province came to an end, this long-running cultural and tourism live stream also came to its last shot before the end of the year.

The production team did not prepare a grand farewell ceremony.

Su Fan led the group from Han Tang Entertainment to stand on the banks of the Ili River. Behind them was the valley shrouded in twilight, and in the distance, the snow-capped mountains reflected the setting sun. The evening breeze blew from the river, gently lifting the hems of their clothes.

Su Fan took the microphone, looked at the camera, and remained silent for a moment.

The comments in the live stream gradually slowed down.

Everyone knew that the time for parting had come.

Su Fan said, "After leaving Qin Province, we climbed the city wall together, saw the Terracotta Army, went to the desert in Ning Province, and sang around a campfire on the grassland in Meng Province."

"Later, we followed the Yellow River to Lanzhou, and then all the way to Yili today. Along the way, we saw many landscapes and met many people who were originally strangers."

"Some people have spent their whole lives guarding the poplar forest, and some people wait for their children to come home under the old apple tree. We originally just wanted to do a travel live broadcast, but in the end we realized that what people really remember is never just a certain mountain or a certain river, but the people who live there, the stories they told, and the moments that touched us."

"China is vast, and we still have a long way to go. The journey is long and the future is bright. See you next year!"

……

After saying that, Su Fan waved at the camera.

The staff from Han Tang Entertainment also stood beside him and said goodbye to the viewers in the live broadcast room together.

The camera did not turn off immediately.

As the sun slowly set behind the snow-capped mountains, the Ili River continued to flow quietly.

The comments in the live stream room had already filled the screen.

"I originally just came in to see what kind of tricks Su Fan could pull, but I ended up following him to the very end!"

"Why did it suddenly end? I used to wait for it to start every day without feeling anything, but now that it's goodbye, I feel so empty!"

"From 'The Song of Xi'an People' to 'The Scent of Apples,' this isn't just a travel program; it's clearly helping us rediscover our hometown!"

"When I heard 'Those who are working hard away from home should also go home and visit their families,' I immediately left the live stream and booked a ticket home!"

"I used to think that traveling was just about taking photos and checking off tourist spots, but after watching the show, I realized that what's truly worth remembering about a place is always the people and their stories!"

"Where should we go for our first stop next year? Can we vote now? I'm afraid some cultural and tourism officials won't be able to sleep tonight!"

……