Chapter 73

Yoda snapped out of his daze, finding it difficult to utter what he had intended to say.

She had been thinking that once Shi Xing finished designing, she could talk to him about Zhou Ying. She could also go out for a walk, clear her head, and relax.

But now...

Noticing Yoda's hesitation and silence, Shi Xing looked at him again, his gentle eyes filled with a hint of confusion.

It's not an excessive matter, Yoda said, "Zhou Ying wants us to visit her hometown. By the way, she also has a factory there and wants to renovate it like your previous project."

Shi Xing smiled, thinking it was something serious. He nodded in agreement: "Perfect timing, we haven't had a break in ages. Shall we go together?"

Seeing that Shi Xing's face showed no sign of reluctance, Yoda smiled along with him.

However, Yoda looked at the two people in the back seat, somewhat confused. "Are you really going together?"

Liu Si was counting the bags and packages that Wang had brought to the car when she heard Yoda's words. Without even looking up, she said, "Of course we'll go together."

After Yoda and Shi Xing made their arrangements, they prepared to set off. Both of them were the type to leave on a whim, and they had only mentioned it to Liu Si when, unexpectedly, she and Wang Mian suddenly became enthusiastic and insisted on coming along.

They even gave it the fancy name of "team building".

It was supposed to be a team-building activity, but apart from Liu Si and Wang Mian, no one else had any intention of participating. While designers often need to work overtime, taking a vacation is easy—just stop taking orders.

If you really don't want to stop working, you can choose to take on a project in another city, and then take a break there after you finish the work.

Therefore, in the end, only Liu Si and Wang Mian were accepted into the team-building group. On the contrary, Master Liu was very serious and urged Liu Si to arrive early so as not to be late and give a bad impression.

"Alright, let's go." Wang Mian huffed and puffed as he pulled out two large bags of snacks from somewhere. The originally spacious back seat became cramped after he got in. If Liu Si hadn't already tidied up the things that had gotten in earlier and piled them aside, Wang Mian probably would have had a hard time getting in. After all, it's quite a long ride for one person!

Yoda exclaimed in surprise, "You guys bought way too much! How long are we going to eat this?"

Liu Si looked at the food and supplies she had prepared and muttered to herself, "Is it a lot? Not at all. Half for the way there and half for the way back, just right."

He then looked at Yoda and said, "Sister Yoda, stop nagging. Since we're going out to have fun, we definitely need to be well-prepared, right, boss?"

Seeing that everyone was ready, Shi Xing gently tapped Yoda, who had turned around to the back, and said, "Okay. Fasten your seatbelts, let's go."

Liu Si immediately felt he had received significant support and slightly showed his teeth to Yoda, saying, "Yay! The boss is so nice."

"Didn't you say before that we were the best of friends?" Yoda looked at Liu Si, but only received a silly grin in return. Looking at Wang Mian beside him, well, he was just staring at Liu Si and grinning foolishly; this guy could be ignored.

Alright, Yoda reluctantly turned around and sat down. He looked at Shi Xing, who had been silently watching him with a slight smile on his face.

"Fine, it's three to one, might as well join." Yoda smiled and said, "Let's go, let's set off."

"Sister Yoda, this~" Yoda was also very excited to see Zhou Ying's smiling face. After all, it had been a long time since she had seen Zhou Ying since she left.

As soon as they approached, Zhou Ying rushed up and hugged Yoda. Once the others had also stepped forward, Zhou Ying released Yoda and gave Shi Xing and the others a hearty smile: "You must be tired from your journey. I prepared a meal and have been waiting for you."

Hearing this, Yoda and Liu Si exchanged guilty glances. They weren't tired at all, because Liu Si had prepared ample supplies, and whenever they had a spare moment, they would stop the car and eat. Liu Si even tried the lunchboxes from the roadside service station.

Only I know the sweet, sour, spicy, and savory flavors I've experienced along the way.

The next moment, everyone spoke in unison: "No need, thank you."

Zhou Ying was a little confused, thinking that everyone was just being shy. She continued to warmly greet everyone, saying, "Since you're all here, don't be shy."

Everyone: Food's in my stomach, but I can't bring myself to eat. /(ㄒoㄒ)/

Fortunately, he spoke up in time, thus avoiding an awkward confession.

"I heard there's a factory area that's looking to be renovated?"

When it came to formalities, Zhou Ying instantly became mature and composed: "Yes, it's the same as the project you did before; it used to be a mining area. It's just that the scale was very small."

Shi Xing nodded: "Let's go check out the scene first. Is now a convenient time?"

"Convenient, convenient. But...?" Zhou Ying looked at the group of people behind Shi Xing who were eager to go, puzzled. "Does everyone have to go? It's a bit far, we'll have to walk there."

Those who desperately needed to digest their food were secretly delighted and nodded frantically.

As they walked, Zhou Ying explained, "The original coal mine has been closed for a long time, so the roads have been abandoned. However, it's still possible to walk there."

They passed a house. Yoda couldn't help but stop and look: "What's this?"

The walls, built of loess and topped with sloping brick and tile roofs typical of the local countryside, are quite eye-catching on the roadside where people pass by.

"Oh, this used to be the village office's granary." Behind the granary was a path that looked like it hadn't been used in a long time. Zhou Ying walked forward, leading the way: "This path is a bit steep, and there are gravel on the surface. Everyone should be careful."

Although they all heard what Zhou Ying said, before they could even understand what "be careful" meant, Liu Si, who was walking in front, stumbled. The gravel under her feet became like a slipper, and instead of taking a step forward, she took four or five steps back.

Fortunately, Wang Mian steadied himself from behind and prevented him from falling.

Even supporting each other, the two were not having an easy time. The path was strewn with pebbles and granular mud, and their feet kept sliding down it. The others could only stand at the foot of the slope and watch Zhou Ying climb up in a few steps, exchanging bewildered glances.

"Try doing it like me." Zhou Ying turned around lightly and walked to the group in a few steps. If it weren't for the few small stones that splashed up with her steps, one would think that the slope beneath her feet didn't exist.

Seeing that everyone was still not reacting, Zhou Ying slowed down and explained step by step: "Just like this, squat down a little and lower your center of gravity. Don't be afraid, the more you hesitate, the less likely you are to get up."

Yoda crouched down and slowly climbed up, imitating Zhou Ying. It helped, but it was still very difficult.

You have to keep moving forward on the path you chose, even if it's difficult.

Fortunately, the road ahead was relatively flat. After rounding a mountain ridge, a sea of ​​purple flowers came into view.

Wow~

"it's beautiful!"

Liu Si exclaimed happily.

Seeing that everyone enjoyed it, Zhou Ying thoughtfully waited on the side, casually finding a large protruding rock to sit on, waiting for everyone.

Compared to the somewhat tired crowd, Zhou Ying looked energetic.

The entire hillside was covered with deep purple wildflowers. Slender and supple stems and leaves covered every visible corner, and the neatly arranged leaves swayed in the breeze, supporting the flowers that looked like strings of firecrackers.

Liu Si kept asking Wang Mian to take pictures from different angles among the flowers. Zhou Ying smiled, bent down and picked a fruit hanging on a plant at her feet. She pinched off a corner of the pod, which looked similar to a string bean, blew on it, and it made a soft whistling sound.

Although each note is very short, they are strung together to form an unknown, cheerful tune.

Yoda walked over and looked at Zhou Ying, who sat so naturally and comfortably on the rock. Compared to when he saw her in the city, she now seemed to be connected to this land, full of upward vitality and strength.

Yoda finally understood why Zhou Ying chose to come back: everyone has their own best place to unleash their vitality.

"Zhou Ying, I think you're like..." Before Yoda could finish speaking, a loud shout came from behind him.

"Sakura, what brings you here?" Following the direction of the voice, Yoda turned his head and saw an old man carrying a basket on his back. Although he was not close to the group, his shouts echoed clearly from the opposite side of the hillside to Yoda's ears.

Zhou Ying stood up and called out in the same voice, "Third Uncle, I'll take some people up the mountain to take a look. Are you here to gather pig feed?"

The old man opposite waved his hand, wondering what was so interesting about the mountain. He put down his basket, head down, and deftly wielded his sickle, picking up petals and tossing them into his basket.

"Cutting pig feed?" Yoda asked curiously.

Zhou Ying laughed and said, "This whole area is for pigs to eat. The grass grows really fast, and people come here often."

Yoda lowered her head. She had originally wanted to tell Zhou Ying that she felt Zhou Ying was like these flowers, even more radiant and dazzling in her hometown.

Zhou Ying watched as Yoda almost saw through the ground, and she also looked down: "What's wrong? What were you trying to say?"

Yoda looked up: "Haha, it's nothing. We've rested enough, let's go."

Holding a whole bunch of flowers, Liu Si smiled happily at Yoda: "Sister Yoda, this looks like a lavender garden. Do you want some? I'll share some with you."

Yoda looked at the purple flower swaying in the wind on Liu Si's head, closed his eyes, smiled, and shook his head: "As long as you're happy."

After restarting, the road was smooth and we arrived in no time.

"This is it. Do you think it's okay?" Zhou Ying pointed to a flat area not far away, where even overgrown weeds couldn't hide the marks of the ground being dug up.

No wonder the latter half of the road was so flat; the open-pit coal mine had altered the original shape of the ground. In the middle of the desolate grassland, half of the mine tunnel was exposed, with wooden supports leaning precariously against the side of the tunnel.

Through the entrance to the mine tunnel, which was blocked off by haphazardly placed templates, the tunnel appeared narrow and cramped. Further inside, it was pitch black, with no end in sight.

Shi Xing stepped forward, took a closer look, and then turned to Zhou Ying apologetically, saying, "This won't do. The project I designed before used mechanical mining, and the remaining tracks and internal safety measures in the mine are worth visiting. The mining methods here are too outdated; they are obsolete production processes, and the safety of visiting cannot be guaranteed."

For safety reasons, these old-fashioned traditional coal mines usually have very narrow interiors. Putting aside whether they are worth visiting, just ensuring the safety of the mine tunnels and meeting air quality standards would require an investment that Zhou Ying and her team could not afford to make them accessible for visitors.

Shi Xing mentally assessed the situation he had seen along the way and continued, "Moreover, the transportation here is inconvenient. It took us more than an hour to walk up here. Even if it is developed, it won't have much tourism value."

Shi Xing's words made a lot of sense. Even Yoda knew that the area here was indeed too small to support development like the coal mine area Shi Xing had previously designed. However, seeing Zhou Ying gradually fall silent, Yoda gently touched Shi Xing's hand, signaling him to be more tactful.

Zhou Ying stared at the abandoned mine, trying hard not to look so disappointed, and said to everyone, "I just thought I'd give it a try. Mines like this have been closed for many years. Maybe its final value is just to restore it to its original state."

Seeing Zhou Ying trying so hard not to let her emotions affect everyone else, the crowd, like her, fell into a somber mood.

"Actually, you could try modifying other places."