Ji Xia couldn't help but glance at him. Wasn't he supposed to be preparing the ingredients for making wine today and asking her to come over and help tomorrow?
Chen Qiuyu, quick to speak, instinctively asked, "Are your grapes ready? Are the jars clean?"
Xie An laughed and said, "It's alright, I'll just go back and call one of my brothers to prepare."
"Then you'd better hurry, we're leaving soon, or there will be too many people if we're late."
"Okay, I'll go back and make arrangements, and then drive over to pick you up."
Upon hearing that Xie An had a car, the group immediately agreed. Having a car to pick them up was much better than taking the bus and then transferring.
During holidays, buses are packed like sardines, and Ji Xia hates taking the bus the most.
After breakfast, Xie An arranged a time and place and left first.
Hou Fangqiu, Xiaolian, and the other two went to the department store to buy some snacks for the road. Ji Xia and Chen Jing each carried a military water bottle, filled two full bottles with hot water, and left with their cameras.
The two went to the nearest photo studio to buy film.
During the National Day holiday, not only were there many more pedestrians on the streets, but photo studios were also doing booming business.
Ji Xia and Chen Jing entered the photo studio, where a middle-aged man was holding a camera and directing customers' poses and movements, while also changing the background from time to time.
The two waited for a while until they finished shooting and took a break before they asked the photographer to buy four rolls of Kodak Gold 100 film.
At that time, film was quite expensive. A roll of Kodak cost 15 yuan, which was about half a month's wages for a worker. Ji Xia couldn't help but gasp in surprise.
Chen Jing didn't care at all. He took pictures of Ji Xia as they walked, capturing the festive atmosphere of National Day and even asking passersby to take some group photos.
He laughed as he took photos, saying, "It's rare to take photos of Beijing this time. When we're developing them, we'll make three copies of all the photos. We'll keep one, send one to our parents, and send one to our parents."
Ji Xia's eyes crinkled into a smile, her face beaming with uncontrollable joy: "Only three copies? What about the photo of me, Qiu Yu, and Xiao Lian? What about a group photo of all five of us? What if they want photos too?"
"Let them pay for their own laundry; it's none of our business!"
"I just advised Hou Fang last night to save money to buy a house. Are you sure they're willing to spend that much?"
These days, taking and developing photos is really expensive. Even if you take your own photos on your own film, it costs at least 50 cents per photo to develop them.
A roll of film has 36 exposures. They bought four rolls, which is 144 exposures. Each exposure costs 50 cents. Developing one batch costs 72 exposures. Developing three batches would cost more than 200 exposures. Adding the cost of the film, it would be almost 300 exposures.
If more are washed, the money will be even more staggering.
Ji Xia couldn't help but feel a pang of regret after doing the math. Although she wasn't short of money now, why did it cost so much to develop just a few photos?
She's starting to have some doubts about digital cameras in the future. You can just take pictures, upload them to your storage space or computer, and only print the ones that look good. Why go through all that trouble?
After mentally calculating the costs, Ji Xia's excitement immediately faded. Chen Jing looked around and, taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, grabbed the back of her hand and kissed it: "It's only a few hundred yuan, why are you looking so worried?"
"This is outrageous. I'll just take two rolls later and keep two rolls for later use. Also, I'm thinking of taking photos of my future design drafts for future reference."
"Okay, I'll take your advice. Two rolls should be enough."
He packed up the two rolls of film and walked to the roadside outside the department store where they had agreed to meet. Chen Qiuyu and the others were already waiting by the roadside.
Xie An was driving a Jeep, and Xie Xun was sitting in the passenger seat, waving and smiling at them.
Ji Xia glanced at it from afar, and when she saw the license plate with white background and black characters, her eyes narrowed slightly.
The color of this license plate seems different from ordinary license plates; it looks like the kind of license plate that is used exclusively by military, government, and judicial departments.
These two brothers are indeed from different backgrounds.
Xie Xun leaned out of the car window and called out, "Brother Jing, I know Fragrant Hills better than anyone. I can recite all the scenic spots by heart. I'll take you there."
"Really? That's wonderful! Thank you, thank you!"
Chen Jing shook hands with Xie Xun with a grateful expression. The two exchanged pleasantries for a while until Xie An urged them to get in. He then opened the back door and let them get in one by one.
The Jeep was quite spacious, with five seats in the back two rows. Chen Jing and Hou Fang sat in the middle row, chatting with the Xie brothers about the economic environment.
Chen Qiuyu got into the car and touched it from left to right, then giggled in Ji Xia's ear, "This car is so beautiful! If Asong knew we could ride in such a beautiful car, he would be so envious of me!"
"I'll take a picture of you as a keepsake, so you can take it back and show it to them later."
Ji Xia took a point-and-shoot camera from Chen Jing's shoulder and took two photos of Chen Qiuyu and Hou Xiaolian by the car window.
Xiao Lian looked at Ji Xia's skillful movements with envy: "Sister Xia, you've already learned how to take pictures in just a short while?"
"This is called a point-and-shoot camera, meaning a camera that even a fool can learn to use."
Ji Xia laughed dismissively, and then pointed out two examples of how to take photos with Ji Xia in the frame.
Having a car is indeed very convenient. A journey by bus takes at least an hour and a half, while a car takes only half an hour.
Fragrant Hills is located in the western suburbs of Beijing, facing Jade Spring Hill and Longevity Hill across the distance. It is surrounded by ancient trees and mountains, making it a famous tourist destination in Beijing.
The jeep arrived at the foot of the mountain. Looking up at Fragrant Hills, the mountain was covered in red, like a raging fire or a colorful cloud that had fallen from the sky and enveloped the entire peak.
Apricot yellow, orange red, bright red, pink, scarlet, and peach red—the colors are distinct and layered. In the chilly autumn wind, they resemble a tidal wave of red clouds, majestic and awe-inspiring.
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