Chapter 105 Summer Palace
The store is not big, and there are only two waiters at the front. One is responsible for taking orders, and he is the young man just now, and the other is an auntie who is responsible for collecting dishes and wiping the table.
When there are a lot of people, you have to go to the counter to order, and then pick up the food yourself after listening to the number.
Li Yu and Garrett took on the task of running errands. Xiaoyun also wanted to help, but Garrett stopped her and said, "Ladies should enjoy service."
The small shops on the street don’t pay much attention to the presentation of the food. They just use a large bowl, a layer of noodles, a layer of side dishes, and some fried sauce in the middle, and that’s it.
Pick up the chopsticks and stir them together to mix the sauce, vegetables and noodles. Lift them upwards and you will see the noodles covered with sauce.
The noodles are hand-pulled, chewy and springy, with a rich sauce and rich layers. The diced pork belly wrapped inside is fried with fat, and it tastes dry and fragrant without being greasy. Coupled with the crispy side dishes, you can't stop eating it.
Wenxi thought, if it could be served with some garlic, it would be absolutely delicious! Unfortunately, during work hours, she still had to be reserved.
Joshua and Garrett had rarely used chopsticks before, and their fingers looked like they were newly attached and not very flexible.
Joshua joked: "Before I came here, I asked Zerlina to accompany me to a Chinese restaurant just to learn how to use chopsticks. Oh my god, it was so difficult!"
But after taking a bite of noodles, he no longer complained about the difficulty of using chopsticks. His pair of handsome sky-blue eyes widened involuntarily, as if he had discovered a new world.
After finishing the bite, he wiped his mouth and exclaimed: "Wow, no wonder many people on the Internet say that Country Z is a food mecca. A simple dish of noodles can be made so delicious."
Garrett said, "Sir, I finally understand why so many people on the Internet say that Country Y is a dark cuisine."
Joshua glanced at him and said, "Don't slander your own country. The Internet is just magnifying its shortcomings."
Garrett buried his head in his noodles and stopped talking.
Wenxi changed the subject: "Don't underestimate this bowl of noodles. It takes a lot of effort to make it delicious."
Her hidden attribute is that she is a foodie, and she talks about these things very clearly. After listening to Joshua, he felt that he could make a bowl of this himself when he got home.
After dinner, they went to the first stop of their trip, the Summer Palace, not far from Peking University.
The main place to visit in Beijing is the royal gardens, and the Summer Palace is one of its representatives.
It is a large landscape garden built by the mountains and rivers, which draws on the design techniques of Jiangnan gardens. It has suffered many disasters in history and has been restored many times. It is still the most complete imperial palace and garden.
From the moment he checked in, Li Yu diligently acted as his tour guide, talking about everything from historical trajectory to construction characteristics, from aesthetic theory to artistic principles, and from symbolic meaning to value impact.
He also gave a detailed explanation of each major attraction. Apart from asking questions, no one in the group chatted and everyone listened attentively.
Li Yu has a clear voice and a natural charm in his every move. In this space and time that has witnessed history, he takes everyone to appreciate the beauty of craftsmanship embedded in nature.
It even attracted several other foreign tourists, who followed them and listened.
Wenxi once again saw the radiance emanating from Li Yu. When he was immersed in what he loved, his seriousness and confidence were particularly prominent, and there was no trace of inferiority at all.
Wenxi complained in her mind: "You still say your English is not good, what's wrong with that? I hate this kind of humility that doesn't care about other people's lives." But her eyes were full of admiration.
They walked in the corridor. Joshua looked at the mottled light and shadows and listened to Li Yu's voice. In a trance, he seemed to really see the history and culture that Zerlina had talked about.
Every blade of grass, every brick and tile they passed by seemed to come alive, telling him one unknown story after another.
He looked up at the painting on the beam and asked Li Yu, "What is this painting about?"
Li Yu followed his gaze and saw a figure painting: "This painting is Chang'e flying to the moon." After he answered, he told Joshua this mythological story.
In addition to character allusions, the paintings on the beams also include landscapes, flowers, birds, fish and insects. Each one is brightly colored and lifelike.
Joshua was deeply attracted by these artistic treasures. He felt that countless inspirations were rushing into his mind like crazy, and he wished he could pick up a pen and draw them one by one on the spot.
They wandered around the Summer Palace until the evening and visited almost every possible attraction there.
As the setting sun poured down from the horizon and spread over the surface of Kunming Lake, they stood on the Seventeen-Arch Bridge, quietly looking at the sparkling gilded dream.
The group did not leave the Summer Palace until the light gradually faded.
Joshua didn't even go for dinner and asked the driver to drive directly back to the hotel. He couldn't wait to go back to drawing.
I painted until late at night, and then excitedly called Zerlina via video.
Zerlina's smiling face appeared in the camera: "Honey, have you recovered from the jet lag?"
Joshua was very excited: "Dear, thank you for your suggestion. This trip has just begun and it has brought me a lot of inspiration. I am already looking forward to the next trip."
Zerlina guessed that he must have gone straight to the tourist attractions as soon as he landed: "Really? That's great. Where did you go today? The Summer Palace?"
"Yes!" Joshua was like a child who had found a treasure, and he shared his experiences of the past half day with her incessantly.
Afterwards, he said, “I seem to really feel what you said. Those buildings carrying history, they surrounded me with their elegant artistic atmosphere, and I was immersed in them unconsciously.”
Zerlina asked, "So where are you going tomorrow?"
Joshua said, "Chengde Mountain Resort."
Zerlina was slightly puzzled: "Aren't you going to see the Forbidden City and the Great Wall?"
"No plans yet," Joshua said, "This time we're mainly going to visit the gardens."
"Okay then," Zerlina still suggested, "If you have more time, you must visit these two places. They are miracles in human architectural history."
After hanging up the phone, Joshua thought for a while and then called Wenxi to change the itinerary.
What could Wenxi do? Of course he had to listen to him and change it immediately.
So they spent the next two days visiting the Forbidden City and the Great Wall, spent another day in the Chengde Mountain Resort, and then went to Suzhou.
After visiting the Humble Administrator's Garden and the Lingering Garden, Joshua was still not satisfied and asked Garrett to change his flight ticket so that he could stay for another week.
After discussion, Wenxi and Li Yu took them to see the temple gardens and suburban scenic gardens near Suzhou, and finally visited several water towns.
Along the way, they met many men and women wearing Hanfu and taking photos. Joshua suddenly wanted to try it too.
So Wenxi asked Xiaoyun to contact the studio and urgently send a few sets of Hanfu. How could she miss such a good advertising opportunity?
(End of this chapter)
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