Chapter 53: Return
Xiaomai came out of the shower and didn't bother to dry her hair. She paced back and forth anxiously in the bedroom.
He thought he would never see Pu Zhihe again, so he put the love letter in the novel and gave it to her. Now they were going to Dunhuang together, what should he do? He grabbed a handful of hair, trying to recall what he had written in the letter, but all he could remember were blurry characters.
He wanted her to read his letter, but he was also afraid that she would read it. Finally, Xiaomai stretched out his arms and lay straight on the bed, looking at the ceiling, thinking that he had been willful like his grandmother for once. Since he had already sent the letter, there was nothing to regret. It would be good if he had no regrets.
He and Pu Zhihe weren't surprised by Grandma's recent announcement of a trip to Dunhuang, and they agreed on the spot. Hang Liumei frankly declared she couldn't rest assured about going to Japan without seeing the progress of the new grottoes. Seeing everyone agree, she urged Pu Zhihe and Qi Xiuchun to go home and pack their bags, then meet up for dinner and try to leave tomorrow, leaving early and returning early.
Pu Zhihe came back earlier, put down her suitcase, and sat at the dining table, clutching her stomach. Hang Liumei asked with concern, "Is that coming?" Pu Zhihe nodded.
"Don't be afraid, I'll ask Xiaomai to buy you some brown sugar ginger tea. Drink it, eat, and have a good sleep." After saying this, Hang Liumei turned around and called Xiaomai.
Pu Zhihe quickly grabbed her wrist and said, "There's no need to let Xiaomai run around—"
"What's wrong with me?" Xiaomai heard her grandmother calling her, and only heard half of the sentence when she came out of the bedroom. Hang Liumei sent him out to buy things without waiting for Pu Zhihe to stop her.
He not only bought brown sugar ginger tea, but also a bottle of grape seed capsules and some red ginseng and pomegranate drink.
"The store downstairs didn't have ginger tea, so I bought it at the pharmacy. The clerk there said that the stomachache was mainly caused by physical weakness and it would be fine after recuperation." Xiaomai explained without waiting for her to ask.
The clerk must have been trying to trick him, selling him these useless things. Xiaomai was indeed easy to fool, so he obediently paid for them. Having been so used to seeing slick displays of deception, such honest kindness seemed even more precious. Pu Zhihe was looking at the advertising slogan on the packaging, thinking about how to respond to Xiaomai, when she heard a crunching sound nearby. It was Hang Liumei picking up pine nuts.
She put it bluntly: "Xiaomi, Xiaomai, my dear grandson, that man took advantage of you because you're young and inexperienced, and took advantage of you. Your problem is mainly due to your lack of love experience." Xiaomai and Pu Zhihe were so upset that they took the opportunity to leave. Qi Xiuchun thought they had quarreled, but Hang Liumei was the only one who was happy, peeling shells.
The four of them took an early morning flight the next day, a direct flight from Xi'an to Dunhuang that took only two hours. Hang Liumei took a nap before landing. Leaving the terminal, she looked back at the large characters "Dunhuang," which seemed to be the same as what she had seen when she had stepped off the train alone fifty years earlier.
Dunhuang, however, is completely different from what it once was. The newly built hotels on the Gobi Desert are magnificent, and walking through them feels like passing through a fortress, but without the desolate feeling of "the spring breeze doesn't reach Yumen Pass." Another turn brings you to a sea of shops, marking the beginning of the city.
Besides restaurants, there are also many fruit vendors along the clean streets. Hang Liumei pointed and said, "Now is the season for apricots and watermelons. Sister Xiuchun, do you remember that the water was too bitter back then? When the weather got hot, we relied on watermelons to quench our thirst."
"Of course I remember. When you first came, you got diarrhea as soon as you drank water. It made me so tired." After Qi Xiuchun said this, they both laughed.
Today's Dunhuang has expanded several times compared to the small county town in the past, but they can still make out the traces of the past.
"Xiaomei, do you remember this place? This is the sugar and salt bureau. I went there to buy something the day you came, but I missed you."
"Of course I don't remember, but it moved away when you went to Lanzhou. I didn't expect it to be such a big mall now."
"I just wanted to eat the pancakes sold by the rice and noodle shop next to the Sugar and Salt Bureau. I went to many places later, but I couldn't find a better one."
"You always buy it every time you come here. I'm tired of it, but you're not? Then I'll make it for you when we get back to Xi'an."
"You don't understand. I had never eaten anything good at home back then. When I came to Dunhuang, I had a full meal every day. It was the first time I ate such soft yeast bread. It's been so long, and the more I think about it, the better it is. In fact, it's best if you can't eat it. If you really eat it, it will definitely not be as good as it was back then..."
After putting down their luggage, they both said they weren't hungry, nor did they want to rest. They were so excited that they just wanted to go out for a walk. So Pu Zhihe and Xiaomai agreed to go for a walk along the Dang River. When they reached an exquisite antique-style building, Hang Liumei looked up and read the large words on it: "Dunhuang Bookstore. Let's go in and take a look."
The bookshelves were filled with Dunhuang-related books, and Hang Liumei and Qi Xiuchun searched the shelves for the names of their former colleagues. Pu Zhihe and Xiaomai were strolling around the other side when a particular cover caught her eye.
"Look, Xiaomai, isn't this the book you gave me, 'Dunhuang' by Inoue Yasushi?"
"Indeed," Xiaomai suddenly remembered the letter she had tucked inside and said something else, "Have you started reading it?"
"Not yet. We set off right after you dropped me off. But don't worry, I've got the book with me. I'll read it as soon as I have some free time."
Xiaomai breathed a sigh of relief when she heard this. Fortunately, her grandmother came over and said she was hungry and wanted to eat, and pulled them out of the bookstore.
When it came to eating in Dunhuang, Hang Liumei and Qi Xiuchun were far more knowledgeable than the two young people. They weren't partial to internet-famous restaurants; authentic flavors were what mattered. So, they sat down at the Donkey Meat and Yellow Noodle Restaurant. Soon, a plate was placed before each of the four of them: pale yellow noodles topped with a topping of stir-fried diced tofu. Slices of braised donkey meat were placed on a separate plate. They could pick one up and dip it in the prepared dipping sauce.
Pu Zhihe tasted a piece of donkey meat, and it didn't seem to have a distinctive flavor. If she hadn't been told, she might have mistaken it for braised beef in soy sauce. But the yellow noodles lived up to their reputation: the noodles were chewy and the toppings were flavorful. No wonder Teacher Hang was so obsessed with them.
"Zhihe, are you saying you haven't been here before? Let me tell you, you can't not drink apricot peel tea when you come here, and the taste of apricot peel tea brewed by each restaurant here is different. How about you try it?" After Qi Xiuchun finished speaking, he waved to find the waiter.
"There's also some sweet stuff," Hang Liumei reminded him, snapping a noodle in a hurry. She looked up and asked, "Hey, where did you buy the book?"
It turned out to be the copy of Dunhuang that Xiaomai had given her. A corner of it had popped out of Pu Zhihe's bag. She took out the book and handed it to Hang Liumei: "This is what Xiaomai gave me before you came here. If you're interested, take it and read it first."
The waiter brought four cups of apricot peel tea, but he didn't hold it firmly and spilled it all over the table. The others screamed and groaned. Hang Liumei was so startled that she dropped her book on the floor, and Xiaomai's love letter fell to the side. Others didn't recognize the paper, but how could she not recognize it after reading it from beginning to end twice? She bent down and quickly picked up the book and letter. Looking up, she saw that everyone was busy clearing the table. She nimbly put the letter back on the title page and returned it to Pu Zhihe: "I won't read it anymore. I don't like reading now because of my presbyopia. But this book is very well written. You should read it carefully when you have time."
Pu Zhihe didn't take it seriously, but Xiaomai understood and looked at his grandmother with wide eyes. Qi Xiuchun saw the strange expressions on the faces of the two and asked, "What's wrong with your eyes? Are you blinded by sand?"
Hang Liumei diverted her attention and asked, "Where are we going after we finish eating?"
"Not going to the research institute?"
"The appointment is tomorrow morning."
"You're so grand now?"
"I said we had a reservation for tomorrow morning. I only told the dean that we were coming back, but I didn't alert anyone else."
Qi Xiuchun laughed again when he heard this: "In the past, you could enter the place whenever you wanted, but now you have to buy a ticket."
Hang Liumei shook her head: "It's a good thing. Isn't it what we hoped Mogao Grottoes would be like today?"
"Then let's go climb Mingsha Mountain this afternoon. The weather is nice today, so we can watch the sunset."
Two stone walls, adorned with eaves and green tiles, stood before the rolling sand dunes, serving as the gateway to Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Lake. It was the tail end of the tourist season, and the landscape was teeming with tourists. Camels pulled people endlessly into the distance, and following their path, a winding procession coiled around the mountain ridge.
Pu Zhihe saw Hang Liumei staring at the camel, so she went up to her and asked her if she wanted to play with it.
Hang Liumei shook her head. "I won't sit. The camels are too skinny. Once they shed their fur, their skin and bones are clearly visible, which makes them even more miserable. Alas, they are tied up like this and walk back and forth in the open air. We didn't abuse camels like this back then."
As they were talking, a tall, portly man across from them was about to climb onto a camel, but he had gotten into an argument with the staff for some reason. Hang Liumei looked at the small camel he had chosen, its eyes watery and pitiful. As she approached, she said loudly, "If you're that big, you should choose a stronger one. If they don't want your business, forget it. There's no point in just riding around. Why not go up the mountain and see the night view of Crescent Moon Lake?"
The other three hurried to follow, fearing Hang Liumei would get into trouble. The two people opposite also turned around. The staff member, still unhappy about Hang Liumei's intrusion, immediately retorted, "Why don't you do business with him? I won't let him ride one for two people. If he wants to play, he and his child have to buy one each!"
The man was already sweating profusely, and the staff urged him: "Do you still want to play? The people behind you are queuing up, and we don't wait for anyone here. If you don't want to sit, get off quickly." He was so angry that he grinned and took the child off the camel's back. When he turned his head and saw Hang Liumei, he opened his mouth in shock.
"Hey, wait, you, you are Teacher Hang?" he asked, pointing at Hang Liumei.
Now it was Hang Liumei's turn to be stunned. She had finally gotten recognized for meddling in other people's business, but she had no impression of this person at all. This man had a round head and a wide mouth, and his facial features moved exaggeratedly when he made expressions. His skin was white and delicate, and his shoulders and waist were thick, making him look like an executioner in a TV drama.
Seeing that his expression was quite kind, even if they had known each other before, it should not be a grudge. Hang Liumei bravely nodded and said, "My name is Hang Liumei. Do you know me?"
As soon as she finished answering, the other party burst into laughter. The four of them saw that he was grinning so hard that his teeth were exposed, like Zhu Bajie who had eaten ginseng fruit. After laughing enough, he said, "Teacher Hang, it's me, Xiaowei, Zhao Xiaowei! Don't you remember me?"
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