Chapter 46: Passion Returns to Zero
As dawn broke, sunlight dispelled the thin mist that had shrouded the city.
Tang Mingli, lying on the bed, slowly opened her eyes and stared blankly at the sliver of sunlight that pierced the room through the gap in the curtains for a moment before stretching comfortably.
Last night before going to bed, I was worried that I would sleep in until the sun went out again, so I told Fuci to open the curtains a crack after he got up this morning.
She couldn't get up as early as him, but she didn't want to miss important things because of oversleeping.
Around eight or nine o'clock, the sunlight would fill the room through the crack, and she would naturally wake up.
It must be said that Fu Ci's handling of the gap in the curtain was truly excellent.
It would prevent her from being woken up too early by the glaring sunlight, and also prevent the room from being too dark so that she could sleep in a comfortable environment for too long.
After lingering in bed for a few more minutes, Tang Mingli, who had a good night's sleep, was in a very good mood. She got out of bed and hummed a little tune as she went to wash up.
After getting ready, I went downstairs, where only Zhang Guihua was there.
Upon inquiry, it was learned that Mr. Fu and Mrs. Fu had gone for a stroll in People's Park after breakfast.
The park is just across the street from the compound; it's only two streets away, very close.
Although it's very close, the elderly people in the compound don't go there often because you have to buy a ticket to get in.
However, Zhang Guihua also told her, "It was Aunt Li and the others who dragged us along."
Tang Mingli wondered, "That's strange. Is there some kind of event in the park today?"
Zhang Guihua replied, "I don't know either. I think I heard Aunt Li say that there's a new electric carousel in the park recently, and I want to go and see what it's all about."
Electric carousel?
Even though it was decades later, Tang Mingli was still unfamiliar with the name and was wondering what this electric carousel was while eating breakfast.
Suddenly, a brilliant idea struck her.
An electric carousel, it can't be the same as a merry-go-round, can it?
This thing may not be very technologically advanced, but did it really exist back then?
Hmm, I'll ask Grandpa and Grandma when I get back this evening.
Tang Mingli's plan for today was to have breakfast and then head to Guangcheng Hostel to inquire about their available tour routes. After that, she would have lunch at a nearby state-run restaurant, and then stroll along the more commercialized streets to see how the city had changed in the past six months since the reform and opening up. Finally, she would return before the evening rush hour.
After breakfast, she went out as planned.
But the first unexpected event occurred as soon as he was discharged from the hospital.
It turns out there's no direct bus to the compound; you have to transfer.
However, unlike in later times, bus stops at that time did not have detailed information about the stops along the route of each bus listed on the bus stop sign.
At that time, the bus stop only had a very simple sign indicating which bus routes stopped there, and that was all.
She spent a lot of time asking passersby before she finally figured out how to change it, but that had already wasted almost half an hour.
She thought half an hour shouldn't be a problem.
Even if it affects you, it's okay. There are always variables when you go out, so just be flexible.
Tang Mingli maintained a very positive attitude and was not affected by the unexpected incident.
We arrived at Guangcheng Hostel relatively smoothly.
If she hadn't heard it from her mother-in-law, she probably wouldn't have dared to go in just by looking at the storefront.
Unlike later travel agencies, which are located on the ground floor of a street-front shop with a bright entrance and a clear view of the reception desk, this one was situated on the second floor of a dilapidated little Western-style building. If it weren't for the handwritten "Guangcheng Inn" sign hanging at the entrance, no one would have guessed it was in such a place.
Tang Mingli went up to the second floor, where the only staff member of the inn was idly swatting flies. When he saw her coming to ask questions, he looked incredulous.
You said you came to inquire about travel routes?
Tang Mingli hummed in agreement.
The staff were delighted and quickly invited her to sit down.
"Wait for me a moment, I'll go get the documents and explain it to you in detail."
"good."
"Don't go, it won't take up too much of your time."
Seemingly afraid she would leave, the staff member kept turning back as they entered the room, which was only a few steps away.
It must be the leader's office.
Tang Mingli took the opportunity to look around and make sure there was no one else besides this staff member.
Can a tour organized on this scale really give people peace of mind?
She was very uneasy.
But since she was already there, she sat down and listened to the staff explain things to her.
A short while later, a staff member brought out a file bag.
The moment Tang Mingli took out the documents and unfolded them, she understood why the other party had said it wouldn't take up too much of her time.
There are pitifully few routes.
Besides the one-day tour within the city, there is only one five-day tour outside the city.
However, seeing the names of the cities she could visit outside the city offered Tang Mingli some comfort, as they were places she was interested in.
When they heard that she was interested in traveling outside the city, the staff explained to her in detail the places they would visit.
At first, Tang Mingli nodded occasionally in agreement, quite satisfied with their arrangements, as they visited tourist attractions that were of high quality.
But as I listened, I gradually realized something was wrong.
Isn't this supposed to be a four-day tour? Why does the itinerary sound like it's all about visiting other cities within the city?
Tang Mingli voiced her confusion.
The staff member replied matter-of-factly, "Because it's only four days."
Tang Mingli: "Yes, isn't it four days?"
"Yes, four days. Starting from Guangcheng, two days will be spent on the round trip, leaving two days. If you visit three attractions a day, you can only go to the city and the surrounding suburbs."
Tang Mingli was dumbfounded; she had completely forgotten about the traffic conditions at that time.
This is no longer the 21st century with its extensive highway network; in fact, the road conditions on most national highways are not good, so traveling long distances can indeed take a lot of time.
Okay, she understands.
However, after listening to the staff explain the other things to note, her enthusiasm for the trip had almost completely vanished.
When traveling with a tour group, you still need to get a certificate from the local street office and bring enough food coupons, otherwise accommodation and food will be a problem.
With her enthusiasm extinguished, Tang Mingli completely abandoned the idea.
What's the difference between this and the last time Fu Ci took her out?
This is such a hassle and troublesome trip, and the place we went to wasn't even as appealing as the place I took her to. I might as well just stay home and sleep.
Once outside the hotel, Tang Mingli had already put the matter behind her and was only thinking about going to a state-run restaurant for a good meal so that her trip wouldn't have been in vain.
The tour group was very disappointing, but thankfully they didn't serve food.
Although resources were scarce at that time, there were no shortage of skilled chefs who could cook delicious meals from simple ingredients.
After eating, Tang Mingli felt sleepy again due to her biological clock.
Seeing the bright sunshine outside, she ultimately gave up her shopping plans and took the bus home.
The moment she boarded the bus, she told herself that she shouldn't make too many plans when going out in the future.
Just as I reached the peak of drowsiness, I finally got home.
As soon as she opened the door, the cool air from the air conditioner hit her face, which moved her to tears.
She had never understood the meaning of the saying "It's always good to stay at home, but everything is difficult when you're away from home" as she did today.
Just as Madam Fu returned to her room to rest, she heard the door open and went to check.
Just then, she saw Tang Mingli blush and let out a long sigh of relief, and asked with concern, "Did you get hot outside?"
"Absolutely, this summer is really hot."
Tang Mingli was completely unaware that she had actually said this every year, and that made Old Madam Fu laugh every time she heard it.
"I made mung bean soup with osmanthus flowers, and it's in the refrigerator. Why don't you have a bowl to cool off?"
"That's great!" Tang Mingli needed this, so she immediately went into the kitchen to get a bowl and filled herself a bowl of chilled mung bean soup.
The cool, sweet soup made me feel much better.
She sighed countless times that one needs good material conditions to live a comfortable life.
In the early 1970s, the Fu family had a refrigerator, air conditioning, and heating in winter, and their living standards were far ahead of some ordinary families decades later.
Having personally experienced this era, I feel even more strongly that the country's nationwide poverty alleviation strategy is truly remarkable.
Madam Fu was very concerned about how Tang Mingli's visit to the hotel went today, but seeing how hot she was, she patiently waited for her to finish drinking the green sugar water before speaking.
However, this matter cannot be explained in a few words. In addition, Tang Mingli is now more inclined not to go, but this matter must be discussed with her family before a final decision can be made.
So she said to the old lady, "Grandma, I'm all sweaty and sticky. I'd like to go upstairs and take a shower first, and then I'll talk to you about this tonight, okay?"
Madam Fu naturally had no objections; she was also looking forward to taking a nap.
"Okay, you should go upstairs now. I'm getting ready to go to sleep too."
Tang Mingli hummed in agreement and said sweetly, "Sweet dreams, see you when you wake up."
Madam Fu's heart almost melted again.
-
Tang Mingli's "See you when you wake up" usually means "See you in the evening."
After taking a shower and changing into my pajamas, I collapsed onto the bed and slept until my mother-in-law got off work.
That's perfect. Of all the women, the three of them were the most enthusiastic about the trip at the beginning, while Grandpa was the one who followed the arrangements.
Once everyone was present, Tang Mingli shared the information she had gathered from the travel agency that day.
She relayed the information very objectively, without much personal bias.
She thought that her grandmother and mother-in-law would have similar thoughts to her after hearing about such a troublesome and arduous trip.
To everyone's surprise, the two became even more excited after hearing this.
Fu's mother: "The hostel even has a minibus, which is very convenient."
Madam Fu nodded: "Indeed."
Fu's mother: "I was quite interested in the attractions we visited, especially the museum."
Madam Fu nodded again: "Me too."
Mother Fu: "I think this out-of-city tour route is pretty good. What do you think, Mingli?"
Tang Mingli looked at the two elders, whose eyes were shining with excitement, and couldn't bring herself to say anything against them.
She was worried that her mother-in-law and grandmother wouldn't understand how tiring it was to ride the minibus all day, so she specifically asked, "Don't you really think it's tiring to ride the bus for so long?"
"How could I be tired? It's the car that's moving, not the person."
It was Mrs. Fu who said this, and immediately her mother chimed in, saying to Tang Mingli, "Don't worry, Mom and I once took a bus for three days and two nights."
Tang Mingli had no idea about this heroic experience before, and was so shocked that she couldn't help but ask, "Where did you go after sitting for so long?"
I really couldn't do this unless I had to handle something extremely important or meet someone extremely important.
When asked about this, Madam Fu became a little angry.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
