Chapter Eighty-Eight: Going on a Trip Together

Chen Xin looked at the comments from netizens and the photos they had posted, smiling so broadly that she could hardly close her mouth.

Some were masters of cooking, others were complete kitchen fools. The dishes everyone made were wildly different, and some people even adapted the recipes to suit their own ideas, yet the deep sense of happiness in them all remained unchanged.

“What satisfies me most is seeing my food make people feel how beautiful life can be.” Chen Xin said to the computer with a bright smile, while Bai Mengqing beside her studied her in thoughtful silence.

“Qingqing, do you have anything going on before New Year’s? If not, how about coming with me to Zha Family Village for a few days? I’ll take you to a slaughter feast.” Chen Xin closed the laptop and turned to Bai Mengqing, only to see her hesitate for a moment before nodding firmly.

“Okay. I don’t have anything else to do. I’ve already applied for the make-up exam, and it’ll probably be held around the same time as the final exam. Then there’s my graduation thesis; I’ve already submitted the first draft. It should be fine after I revise it when school starts.”

Bai Mengqing’s parents were both busy. Her father had risen another step in his career, and New Year’s was the busiest time of all, with endless visits and greetings alongside senior officials. Her mother’s business was also at its best during the New Year period, so she had to stay at the company to direct operations. That left Bai Mengqing alone at home, and if she did not go to her grandparents’ place, she would not even have someone to talk to.

Before, she could still go out and play with classmates from junior and senior high school, but ever since that incident, she had become reluctant to leave the house. Now that her health was poor, she was even less interested in the revelry of old classmates dancing the night away and singing in KTVs.

Since it was settled that Bai Mengqing would go on a short trip with her before winter break ended, Chen Xin had to make preparations in advance. Tickets, accommodations, and everything else had to be arranged early.

They planned to travel by train all the way, stopping briefly in two ancient towns along the way.

One town was famous for tofu. It could be turned into seventy or eighty different dishes, and soy milk, tofu pudding, tofu curds, and tofu skins had all become part of the townspeople’s daily meals.

The other town was known for handicrafts. It was a settlement of ethnic minorities, and every woman there possessed superb embroidery skills. From the time little girls were old enough to hold a needle, they had to learn embroidery. Handkerchiefs, schoolbags, clothes, shoes, and socks of every size were all sewn by their own hands, stitch by stitch.

After Cheng Jie learned of the two of them traveling together, she insisted that they send back photos whenever they could. Since she could not go out and play, she would have to get her fill by looking at their pictures.

Zhou Hao happened to have leave before New Year’s, so he dragged Yi Bai along and insisted on going with them.

“Yi Bai has had a bit of a falling-out with his mother. The two of them quarrel every time they meet now, and he hasn’t been home in more than half a month. After New Year’s, Yi Bai’s father will be transferred back from Jiangjing. By then, with the old man mediating, things should be a little better. To ease the conflict between mother and son, I think it would be best for them to keep some distance for a while.”

For some reason, Yi Bai’s mother had gotten stuck in a dead end and could not get out of it. She felt she was clearly acting for her son’s own good, yet he despised her so much that she could not bear the grievance. She cried all day long, and her old friends even egged her on to go weep at Yi Bai’s workplace. That nearly made Yi Bai rush straight to the woman’s home to drag her son out and beat him up.

“Avoiding each other for now might be a good thing.” Thinking of that old woman gave Chen Xin a headache too. She had even come to the hospital once later on, indirectly asking whether Bai Mengqing truly was not dating her son, which left Bai Mengqing extremely embarrassed. In the end, it was Bai Mengqing’s attending physician who persuaded the old woman to leave.

Chen Xin had not been there at the time; the caregiver had been present and told her about it afterward. Even without seeing it herself, Chen Xin could imagine how awkward it must have been, let alone Bai Mengqing, who had actually been involved. After that, even Yi Bai no longer dared to step through the hospital doors. He could only ask Zhou Hao and Chen Xin to help apologize to Bai Mengqing on his behalf.

“If Officer Yi comes with us, won’t that make his mother misunderstand even more?” Bai Mengqing frowned.

“We just won’t tell his mother. We’ll leave separately, and nobody has to say a word. How would they know we left together? Even if someone sees us, we can say we happened to run into each other along the way. It’s not like anyone would follow us the whole time and expose it.”

Bai Mengqing only felt that Yi Bai’s mother was a little stubborn and had no bad feeling toward Yi Bai himself. If he wanted to come along, then so be it. With two more men keeping them company on the road, it would be safer anyway.

Zhou Hao handled the train tickets, buying four soft-sleeper berths, which happened to be in the same compartment. Once the door was closed, no one could see who was inside, making it easier to avoid being spotted and misunderstood.

This was Zhang Zhang’s first time going out with so many people, and he was especially delighted to have two uncles accompanying him. Besides, boys naturally admired soldiers and police officers, so in Zhang Zhang’s eyes, the two uncles were invincible heroes protecting his aunt and his other aunt.

The first town was about ten hours away by train. They boarded at seven thirty in the evening, and the train did not depart until just before eight. It would not arrive until five forty the next morning.

At that hour, there were not many taxis in town. After all, tourism had not yet developed there. The people touting rides outside the station were mostly vans, charging only three and a half yuan per person to reach the town.

The four of them shared a ride with another young couple. After asking the price from a van that looked decent enough, they got in. Along the way, the local driver kept chatting them up, seeming eager to persuade them to charter the vehicle for sightseeing.

But there were not many tourist attractions in the area to begin with. One underground karst cave was quite far away, and it took half a day by car. It was impossible to go there and back in a single day, so they would have to stay overnight. At that time, there were very few large hotels near the attractions, only small family-run inns operated by locals, and the sanitation was abysmal. Chen Xin was reluctant to take the child there.

The young couple had no real interest either and directly refused the driver’s pitch. After that, the van driver’s attitude changed dramatically, and he drove in a wildly reckless manner, nearly making the girl in the couple throw up right in the car.

Bai Mengqing was all right. Seated between Chen Xin and Yi Bai, she was protected carefully by Yi Bai whenever the vehicle jolted, and he did his best to keep her from being touched near the site of her fracture.

After they arrived in town, the young couple wanted to argue with the driver, but Chen Xin and Zhou Hao stopped them.

“He’s a local bully. If you make a scene with him now, be careful that other people won’t trip you up during the next few days. Just enjoy yourselves first. When it’s time to leave, file a complaint directly, or expose what he did online. But you should also be prepared: coming to this kind of ancient town before it has been properly developed is a matter of luck. They all protect their own people, so even if you complain, there’s no guarantee it will be accepted.”

Things like this did not only exist now; they would still be around even after the tourism market became regulated. It all came down to vision and perspective. Only after suffering a bitter loss would people begin to consider changing their ways. By then, however, the effort and money needed to reverse a tarnished impression would be far greater than what it would take now.