At eight o'clock in the morning, when the weather was still a little chilly, Shi Jing's phone rang.
She glanced at the incoming call and saw that it was Zhao Xunkan's number.
"Have you arrived?"
"Yes, Shi Jing, we'll be at your school gate soon," Zhao Xunkan said on the other end of the phone.
"Okay, we've packed up and are ready to go now."
After hanging up the phone, Shi Jing called Jian Rong, and the two said goodbye to the others before dragging their luggage out the door.
At the start of summer vacation, the area in front of Beijing universities is bustling with traffic. Some are local residents, parents picking up their children in person. The majority are taxis waiting to solicit passengers.
When the two arrived at the school gate, they stood there for a while before spotting a black SUV parked in a parking space ahead. A familiar face peered out from the SUV's rolled-down window.
"Shi Jing, over here!" Zhao Xunkan shouted from both inside and outside the phone.
Outside the driver's compartment, Jiang Qingyue waved to her and greeted her.
"Okay, wait a minute, I'll go get the car," Shi Jing said with a smile to the person on the phone.
She found a less crowded spot and handed her suitcase to Jian Rong, saying, "Jian Rong, I'm going to get the car. Wait here for me."
After saying that, she jogged to her usual parking spot to get her car and drove it back to the school gate.
Zhao Xunkan and Jiang Qingyue also got out of the SUV and actively helped carry the boxes when they saw the vehicle arrive.
After moving the boxes, the two first got to know Jian Rong's name briefly.
Zhao Xunkan looked at Shi Jing and asked, "It takes about three hours to get from here to Qingfeng Mountain. That's a bit long. Do you need me to drive?"
"I'll be fine, don't worry."
“Okay.” Zhao Xunkan didn’t insist. “If you get tired on the way, just tell me, and we can switch at a service area.”
"okay".
"I've sent the navigation to your phone. We'll follow this route in a bit. I've checked, and this route is relatively smooth."
During the peak summer vacation period for university students, traffic jams on highways are inevitable. Zhao Xunkan specifically checked and found this slightly roundabout route that would significantly improve traffic flow.
Shi Jing checked his phone, and Jian Rong leaned over to look as well: "Hmm, there are far fewer cars on this road."
"Okay, then let's follow this route."
After a brief discussion, Zhao Xunkan took a bag from the SUV.
"Well, I bought some fruit and snacks to keep on the way."
Shi Jing lifted the bag; it was quite heavy.
"Why did you buy so much? Let me share some with you."
"No need, no need," Jiang Qingyue quickly waved her hand. "We bought a lot, and there's still some in the car."
Hearing him say that, Shi Jing didn't refuse and put the snack bag into the car.
"Then let's set off immediately."
The car was parked by the school gate for a few minutes. With cars coming and going outside Beijing University, they couldn't just occupy the spot indefinitely.
The four of them got into their respective cars and drove off.
There were many vehicles on the roads in Beijing. They didn't dare to go on the elevated roads, as they knew that at this time, the elevated roads wouldn't be much easier to navigate than the underground roads.
We drove on and off the road, and it took almost two hours just to get out of the city. Fortunately, the road conditions improved a lot after we got on the highway.
Zhao Xunkan had specifically studied this route. There were many more vehicles on the highway than usual, but fortunately there was no congestion.
They drove until they reached a service area, rested for about ten minutes, and then continued their journey.
It was almost 11 o'clock when we got off the highway. It would take about another hour to get to Jian Rong's house from here.
"Shall we eat something before we continue?" Zhao Xunkan asked over the voice call.
"Hey? Let's have dinner at my place instead," Jian Rong suggested. "It's not far."
Shi Jing agreed with Zhao Xunkan's idea; it would be too much of a disturbance for the three of them to go to Jian Rong's house for a meal.
"There are so many of us, let's have lunch nearby first," Shi Jing said, then reassured Jian Rong, "We're going to stay here for several days, so let's have lunch at your place another day."
"But I've already talked to my mom, and they've already cooked the meal."
"...When did you say that?"
“I sent my mom a message when I got on the bus,” Jian Rong said matter-of-factly. “If I dared to let you eat out when you came to my house, my mom would definitely spank me.”
Shi Jing was both amused and exasperated, but since Jian Rong's family had already made preparations, they couldn't just stand her up like that.
"How about this, let's find a supermarket nearby and buy some things."
"No need for that, there's no need to be so polite," Jian Rong quickly replied.
"I checked, there's a supermarket about two kilometers from here, let's go there. Qingyue, turn right ahead." Zhao Xunkan's voice came from the other end of the phone, the last sentence clearly addressed to Jiang Qingyue.
Shi Jing followed the car in front of him around the corner, saying as he drove, "Don't stop us. We've come all this way to have some fun; we can't just show up empty-handed."
Since Jian Rong's family was very hospitable, Shi Jing naturally had to be equally courteous.
When the group arrived at the supermarket, they first went to the liquor and tobacco section and bought two bottles of baijiu (Chinese liquor) and two bottles of red wine.
"No, you guys bought this for way too much."
Looking at the prices on the shelf, Jian Rong hesitated, realizing that four bottles of wine would cost over a thousand yuan. Shi Jing patted her shoulder and laughed, "These two rich kids should each carry two bottles of wine, right? I'll go buy some nutritional supplements; I won't buy anything too expensive, after all, I'm still a student."
Hearing Shi Jing's words, Zhao Xunkan couldn't help but click his tongue: "Don't you feel guilty saying that?"
Jiang Qingyue was also amused by what she heard.
“It’s not a loss at all. Jian Rong and I are classmates, how can I tarnish our friendship with money!” Shi Jing said righteously.
It wasn't that she was unwilling to spend money, but she and Jian Rong were, after all, classmates, and an expensive gift would put pressure on Jian Rong's parents. Besides, Nan Zhuowen might be coming in a few days, and if she bought something too expensive, what would Nan Zhuowen do with it?
Zhao Xunkan and Jiang Qingyue, on the other hand, don't need to worry about that. They'll be here for several days, and if they decide to take over the resort in the future, they'll definitely have to come back many times. It's good to build relationships with the locals in advance.
"Don't worry, they know what they're doing. Let's go pick out a few boxes of nutritional supplements."
As he spoke, he pulled Jian Rong to the nutrition products shelf.
Do you have beekeepers in your mountains?
"No, I haven't heard of any beekeeping in the area."
"Alright, I'll just take two bottles of honey then." Shi Jing picked through the options and chose two bottles of branded honey. In addition, she weighed some fruit and picked up a case of milk.
These are all food items, and the total cost is just over two hundred, which shouldn't be considered excessive.
"Alright, that's enough, let's go."
After shopping, everyone continued their journey.
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