Ten years later, Zhuang Qingqing had graduated from university.
Instead of choosing the job assigned by the school, she carried her camera and took her little wild donkey to Qilian, a place she had always longed for.
It's July, the most beautiful time of year on the grasslands.
She spread her arms and fell straight down onto the green grass.
The sky is blue with white clouds, the ground is an endless green grassland, and in the distance, horses are leisurely grazing on the grass.
"That's great."
"At the foot of the Qilian Mountains, my heart is filled with longing..."
As Zhuang Qingqing was muttering to herself, a large donkey's head popped out in front of her.
"Oh...ah..."
The little wild donkey came close to her, licked her, and then nudged her.
“You stubborn little donkey, that’s all. You drank all the soda I brought. Mom said I can’t let you drink too many sweet things.”
Zhuang Qingqing hugged the donkey's head, stroked it a few times, and then let go.
"Oh...ah..."
The little wild donkey brayed a few times in dissatisfaction.
Seeing that Qingqing remained unmoved, it finally lay down dejectedly.
A man and a donkey lay on the grass, leisurely gazing at the surrounding scenery.
After a while, a pika's head peeked out from the distant hillside. The little wild donkey squinted at it, and its eyes lit up immediately.
It has been staying in Beijing for the past few years and hasn't been to Qilian for a long time. It has almost forgotten what pikas taste like and is craving them so much.
The little wild donkey hurriedly nudged Qingqing and gestured towards the south.
"What's wrong?"
Zhuang Qingqing stroked the donkey's head and sat up.
She turned her head and looked south, and immediately saw the little rabbit.
She took out the slingshot her mother had made for her when she was a child from her bag, picked up a pebble, and aimed it at the pika in the distance.
Taking a deep breath, she decisively let go.
"Whoosh!"
*Smack!*
The pebble hit the ground not far from the pika, startling it. It turned around and quickly scurried into its burrow.
"Oh...ah..."
The little wild donkey grinned, as if mocking.
It held its head high, looking down at Qingqing.
"What are you doing? I just made a mistake. Next time I see a pika, I promise I'll catch one for you."
Zhuang Qingqing felt a little embarrassed by its gaze.
"Oh...ah..."
The little wild donkey made no other move, still looking down at her condescendingly.
"Oh, alright, alright, I know I can't compare to my mom, is that alright? If my mom were here, she would definitely have hit it with a slingshot."
Zhuang Qingqing hugged the donkey's neck, pressed the little wild donkey down forcefully, and then leaned in to kiss it.
She took out a notebook from her pocket, placed it on the little donkey, and began writing an article that she had been conceiving for many years.
"Oh...ah..."
The little wild donkey raised its head and glanced at Qingqing before lying back down on the grass.
It opened its mouth and took a bite of grass, sniffing it as it chewed.
Once on the grassland, it felt that even the smell of the air was much better than in the capital.
In its drowsy state, just as it was about to take a nap, it saw a Tibetan fox running towards it from the distant grassland.
The little wild donkey quickly poked its head out and carefully examined the little Tibetan fox.
After a while, it sighed and lay down listlessly again, even the grass it was chewing tasted bland.
Zhuang Qingqing knew what the little wild donkey was thinking.
She quickly rubbed the little wild donkey's head to comfort it, then looked up at it again.
Seeing that the Tibetan fox hadn't left, she quickly picked up her camera and pressed the shutter button on the fox in the distance.
"Click~"
"Click~"
In the distance, the Tibetan fox looked this way, and seeing people there, it was so frightened that it immediately turned and ran away.
"That stubborn little donkey is afraid of us."
"Oh...ah..."
The little wild donkey brayed listlessly.
Zhuang Qingqing plucked some tender grass, stuffed it into the donkey's mouth, and then pushed it again.
“Little stubborn donkey, let’s go. I came here this time to take some good pictures of Qilian and capture all the animals that live there. You have to help me.”
"Oh...ah..."
The little wild donkey snorted, then nudged Qingqing, signaling her to come up.
"Forget it, I'm already so old, you don't need to carry me, I can walk."
Zhuang Qingqing stroked the little wild donkey's head and touched it affectionately.
"Let's go."
"Oh...ah..."
The little wild donkey was a little unhappy. It took a deep breath and followed Qingqing listlessly.
Ten years have passed, and Zhuang Qingqing feels that the biggest change on the grassland is the increase in pikas. She encounters several pikas every few steps, and she can't keep up with taking pictures of them.
Holding the slingshot, she fired several more times, but unfortunately, she still missed.
After walking for a while, Zhuang Qingqing's legs suddenly gave way. She was startled and looked down, only to find that she had actually stepped on and killed a fat pika.
"Oh...ah..."
The little wild donkey's eyes lit up, and it quickly came over, lowered its head, and put the food in its mouth.
After chewing a few times, it swallowed it, its face full of enjoyment.
Delicious!
"Oh...ah..."
The little wild donkey hurriedly nudged Qingqing, urging her to trample a few more to death.
“Little stubborn donkey, Mom said you’re too fat now and can’t eat too much meat. You need to eat more grass. When we left the capital, Mom told me to take good care of you.”
"You stubborn little donkey, didn't you promise your mother too?"
"Oh...ah..."
The little wild donkey's two long ears drooped down, and it could only continue to follow Qingqing listlessly.
Zhuang Qingqing smiled, picked some tender grass, and stuffed it into the donkey's mouth so that it would have something to chew on.
Continuing westward, she noticed a significant increase in the number of marmots on the grassland, their burrows scattered everywhere.
The groundhog wasn't afraid of her; instead, it called out to the groundhog in its burrow and curiously gazed at the person and donkey in the distance.
Zhuang Qingqing scratched her head, feeling that there were far too many pikas and groundhogs on the grassland.
When she was a child, she lived here, and it wasn't like this before.
After thinking for a while, she still couldn't figure it out, so she simply picked up her camera and pressed the shutter button on a bunch of groundhogs.
"Click~"
"Click~"
Zhuang Qingqing took photos along the way, using color film, which was different from what she used before, and could produce vivid color photos.
She came here to fulfill her mother's wish from back then.
When night fell, she found a sheltered slope and set up her tent.
After eating some military-grade compressed biscuits that her father had sent her, she crawled into her tent to prepare for sleep.
The little wild donkey looked around, as if it had remembered something.
It crept into the tent and lay down next to Qingqing to keep her warm.
Zhuang Qingqing did not refuse, and she comfortably fell asleep while holding the little wild donkey.
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