Travel together
At the end of last year, Wenlong accompanied me to Luofu Mountain. On the way back, I bought local specialties such as double skin milk and tofu flower at a small shop in a town in front of the mountain. More than two months have passed, and I always feel that the store and that street are like somewhere in my hometown. One day, I suddenly understood that with my old classmates of more than 30 years by my side, everything became inexplicably cordial.
Wenlong came to Shenzhen 30 years ago and has been working hard to become a local expert, and even his accent has changed. During the Chinese New Year in 2014, I made a phone call and said that I wanted to go to Shenzhen, and he said that he would come. After meeting, we ate fried noodles on the street, and directly checked in Luohu, Guomao, and Lianhua Mountain. In the evening, I drank a lot of wine, and the next day I went to the eastern mountains to see the wild sea. Like a bird, I flew over and flew away again. What kind of livelihood is he doing, how to persist under the epidemic, I never ask, I don't know, I only know that he is in Shenzhen, and he will make a phone call if he wants to go.
To be honest, I didn't dare to go out alone. When I was in the workplace, I took the opportunity to play on a business trip, and I always had company by my side. I had a holiday and spent most of my time going out with my wife. After leaving the post, I am bored at home, and when I want to go out, I first have to think about who to go with. I studied in Europe that year, and I often went out in groups on weekends. On the streets of Maastricht, a woman dressed in black with a large bag on her back was seen walking alone in the night. I looked nervous, wondering where she was going, where she was going to stay at night, and if she would meet any bad guys? Venice's water streets were crooked, and we were left behind when we were shopping, and the three of us went our separate ways to find our way. Looking at the empty streets, against the bright moon, I turned around and panicked.
The one who accompanies me the most is Brother Lian. One year, when I visited a friend in Jiangsu, he drove there overnight. On the way back, he took me to the Xiaolangdi Reservoir by the Yellow River. Caught up with the reservoir to divert sand, a few yellow dragons rushed out from under the dam, making a huge roar, which was very spectacular. This incident was a spectacle that kept me talking for years. Another year, I went to Wuhan on a business trip, and he drove back again. We looked at the Danjiangkou Hydropower Station, caught up with the South-to-North Water Diversion Gate, and witnessed a historical moment together. Another year, I was in Golmud to attend my niece's wedding, and he and his friends came and we went to the space city via Dunhuang. He thanked me for taking everyone into the rocket launch site, and I thanked him for pulling me into the desert. Without them, I would never have traveled that far, alone or with my wife.
In August 2021, we went to Guizhou together. When I rented a car from Guiyang Airport, it was already noon, and I was hungry. He was driving, I used my mobile phone to navigate to find food, I saw Xiuwen, remembered Longchang, we invariably patted our thighs, and said Wang Yangming is here, hurry up and worship. Unexpectedly, at the back of the Wang Yangming Memorial Hall, we also "met" the imprisoned Zhang Xueliang and Miss Zhao Si. In a quiet courtyard deep in the mountains, General Zhang repaired the history of the Ming Dynasty, and Miss Zhao's red sleeves added fragrance, and there was a different kind of romance in helplessness.
In the second half of last year, I was out running for more than 40 days. The most pleasant thing is that the Zhao family first went to Zhoushan, and then entered Sichuan. Along the way, Brother Zhao drove, Sister Yu Zhang Luo ate, and I was only responsible for playing and drinking hard. In the end, they still had the patience to accompany me to study by the sea. The craziest thing to run is to drive with two post-80s, through Henan and Anhui to Jiangxi, and for six days I watched the Lushan Giant Buddha and Zhoukou Water City that I had not heard of before, climbed Jiuhua Mountain and Huangshan, and checked in Taoxichuan, Hongcun and other Internet celebrity spots. The longest one, two weeks away. First Brother Jianting accompanied him to the beach, then Wenlong accompanied him to Shenzhen and Huizhou, and then went to Quanzhou with the teachers of the Prose Literature Society to see hairpins and Dehua porcelain. The loneliest time, in a hotel in Hainan, I read two books in three days, and I had a high fever when I was fine. On the last day, I arrived at Haitang Bay, covered with bath towels and basking in the sun by the sea, blowing the lonely wind for two hours.
At that time, I especially missed the trip to Dayuan Mountain. Accompanied by the local Lao Gao, he lived on the island for a few days, slept listening to the waves, got up in the morning to catch the sea, and even took a boat to the fishing village on the sea and enjoyed a feast on the water. Essentially, people are lonely, and they have fun when they have company. Lao Gao said that if he didn't accompany us, there were some places where he wouldn't go alone. What is rare is that thousands of miles away, two people fall in love, and they can play together at once.
It's been a month since the beginning of the year, and everyone else is planning a new job, and I'm thinking about a new trip. When you think about where you want to go, as usual, think about who you can go with. On my travel map, there is the border between Shanxi and Inner Mongolia. If you want to drive north, pass through Taiyuan, worship Wutai Mountain, check in Datong, and then pass through Baotou and Hohshi, and return from northern Shaanxi to the south. In such a big circle, there must be someone who can drive, someone who can talk together, and it is best to have a local guide to visit. In August 2021, my wife and I drove around Yulin, went to Jia County in the evening, and contacted the local teacher Guo. Working in the Federation of Literary and Art Circles, he gathered several local cultural people, some who studied folk customs, some who took photography, and some who engaged in calligraphy and painting, and chatted all night, many of which he could not see in person.
I haven't been to Tibet yet. A few years ago, I was waiting for my wife, she had altitude sickness and couldn't go for a long time. Now I am looking forward to having a suitable companion and want to go with Brother Cui. Every time I go to Hainan, I take refuge in him. He has been there alone for more than ten years, very chic and casual. Someone went, he opened a house, offered a set of sheets and covers, and left the rest completely at the mercy of the guests. He was a lone wolf and drove to many places alone. Last year, I planned to drive to Xinjiang, and from there to Tibet, Yunnan, and Guangxi, and take National Highway 219. Catching up with the 60-year-old natal year, I feel that it is not appropriate to toss and give up for the time being. If he really wants to leave this year, will I have the courage to follow?
What about the others, if there is really a place, on a whim, but you can't find a suitable partner, what should you do? Do more homework and meet interesting people in the book, such as Su Shi and Chaoyun in Huizhou, Zhang Xueliang and Miss Zhao Si in Xiuwen. Then, follow them in the dark, trace and punch in, communicate in the air, and it seems that you can also visit.