After the group met at the foot of Fragrant Hills, they introduced themselves and then waited for the resort staff to carry their luggage and belongings up the mountain using specially made carrying poles.
They carried water bottles and some personal belongings and strolled up the mountain.
Fragrant Hills is most famous for its maple leaves and the Summer Palace. There are ancient stone steps leading up the mountain, so climbing isn't particularly strenuous. There are also pavilions and stone benches along the way.
The forest was lush in summer, and a gentle breeze brought coolness to our faces. Everyone chatted and laughed along the way, so no one felt tired.
During this time, two male classmates brought by Tan Guangyi struck up a conversation with Li Yao. Tan Guangyao stood right next to Li Yao, never leaving her side, which Li Yao found quite interesting.
She wondered if a good life should also include a youthful love, even if she was more attracted to his body than to him, she wouldn't reject being with him, but she wouldn't love him more than herself.
Li Yao wasn't sure either. After thinking about it for a long time, he finally decided to let things take their course. After all, he had never met such an exceptional guy who also had feelings for him before, so he might as well let things happen naturally.
She's rich and beautiful, so she can easily afford to date someone who's also rich and beautiful.
After thinking it through, Li Yao calmed down and decided to see how this guy would flirt with her.
The dozen or so people chatted and laughed all the way to the Summer Palace. And sure enough, as soon as they entered the gate, the breeze inside carried away all the heat from their bodies.
After sitting down in the pavilion, Li Yao asked Tan Guangyao to instruct someone to distribute the fruit she had brought to everyone. After everyone quickly washed up, they saw the staff carrying lychees, rambutans, sliced mangoes, and durian pulp in ice platters into the pavilion.
Before the plates were even served, everyone could smell the stench of durian, and the group quickly moved to seats upwind.
A boy with his hand stuck in his nose asked, "Brother Guangyao, what smells so bad?"
Tan Guangyao was also somewhat surprised. After taking a closer look, he pointed to the durian and said, "This is it, a durian. It's more common in the south, but rarely seen in the north. It smells pungent, but tastes delicious. You should try it."
After Tan Guangyao finished speaking, one of the boys immediately recognized the durian and said, "It's durian, it tastes just like this. I ate it once when I went to the south. Anyway, people either really like it or they really don't."
Everyone scoffed after hearing this, thinking he was spouting nonsense.
Seeing that no one was making any, Tan Guangyao picked up a lychee and started peeling it, saying as he did so, "This was specially brought to you by your sister Yaoyao this morning, chilled. Don't just look at it, eat it, don't be shy."
After saying that, he handed the peeled lychees to Li Yao. Li Yao glanced at Tan Guangyao, then took a lychee and ate it, saying, "It's quite sweet, perfect for eating now, and it's cool and refreshing. You should have some too."
The variety of fruits available at that time was not as rich as it would be in later years. In the north, apples, peaches, grapes, and watermelons were the most common, while mangoes, lychees, and rambutans were relatively uncommon.
However, seeing that the two of them had started eating, everyone stopped being polite and picked out what they liked to eat. Li Yao even took a piece of durian and put it in her mouth under Tan Xinxin's surprised gaze. She nodded as she ate, saying that the durian she picked yesterday was good, sweet and sticky.
No wonder Tan Xinxin was surprised. Li Yao had only remembered to buy durian yesterday, and only after asking the system did she learn that durian was a common fruit in the south in 1979, because durian was produced in the south.
Durian does exist in the north, but it's extremely rare. Back then, information wasn't readily available, and transportation wasn't as efficient, so durians were expensive to sell in the north, and few people had ever tasted them.
Everyone was disgusted by the smell and didn't eat durian much because it was expensive and they had never tried it before. Tan Xinxin had never eaten durian before, so when she saw that Li Yao didn't seem to find it unpalatable, she picked up a small piece and ate it.
To be honest, it was soft, sweet and sticky, and Tan Xinxin quickly fell in love with the taste. She almost got into a fight with her cousin Tan Guangyan over the last piece of durian. Li Yao could only say that she had some more at home and that she would ask Tan Xinxin to come and get it when she returned in a few days.
Seizing the opportunity, Tan Guangyan quickly said, "Sister Yaoyao, me too, me too! I want some too!"
Li Yao smiled and said, "Yes, yes, everything you want to eat is available here."
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