The riverside road, paved with bluestone slabs, is completely hidden by the green leaves of the roadside trees. It is not a famous scenic spot, but the locals of Mingcheng all know this place.
No matter how many new housing developments or villas are built by Ming Lake, in the eyes of the locals, nothing compares to a single courtyard here.
It's not about price, scenery, or convenience of life. Only those who own property here are the "true masters" of Mingcheng, the true old residents of Mingcheng. Everyone else is an old resident from out of town.
Regional discrimination exists everywhere.
Qinglan Bookstore is just an ordinary bookstore on Yanhe Road.
A wooden door, a glass wall; the room is bright and clean during the day, and bathed in warm, cozy yellow light at night.
The wind blowing here seems to have made it much lighter.
The bookstore owner is a fairy, the epitome of beauty in the eyes of the older generation of Mingcheng people, and the most compelling proof that Mingcheng people are superior to all other races.
On the evening of the same day she received Aferona's call, the noble Mingcheng native Yang Qinglan received Li Changzhou and Li Qianxia at her bookstore (actually, she was going out the next day, and she came to give the shop assistants some instructions, so the two siblings accompanied her and also freeloaded some food and drinks at the store).
The shop assistants had already left for the day, and the wooden door was closed. The three of them sat at a long wooden table, each with a cup of milk tea, a dessert, and a few books beside them.
“The first question,” Li Qianxia adjusted her glasses (which didn’t actually exist), “please name the three most famous films from Sicily and even the whole of Italy.”
“The Godfather, Malèna, and one more—” Li Changzhou, unable to name a third, looked at Yang Qinglan.
Yang Qinglan exchanged a glance with him, then turned to Li Qianxia and said, "Cinema Paradiso?"
“Correct! Now for the second question,” Li Qianxia adjusted her glasses (which didn’t actually exist), “What are the most famous Italian dishes and desserts?”
"Pasta?" Li Changzhou asked cautiously.
The reason for this uncertainty is that the London plane tree is not native to France, but to England.
Dutch peas have nothing to do with the Netherlands. They first appeared in the southern part of China, near Southeast Asia, and are simply called "ese peas" in English.
Maybe the pasta isn't Italian, but Swiss or Austrian?
However, Li Changzhou's considerations were unnecessary.
“Correct. Dessert?” Li Qianxia’s sharp gaze turned to Yang Qinglan.
“I know that.” Yang Qinglan smiled slightly. “When I was making the dessert menu for the shop before, I looked up information about tiramisu. It’s Italian.”
“Correct!” Li Qianxia, like a female teacher, adjusted her glasses again (which didn’t actually exist). “What’s the climate like in Sicily?”
"Mediterranean Sea." This was nothing to Li Changzhou, who was the top liberal arts student.
"Best time to travel?"
Li Changzhou calculated: "Every year in April, May, September, October, and November."
"It'll be in October." Teacher Li Qianxia said mysteriously, with a sly smile, without saying whether it was true or not.
She adjusted her glasses (which weren't actually there) and asked again, "What is the state religion of Italy?"
Li Changzhou looked at Yang Qinglan.
“Catholicism?” Yang Qinglan tried to answer.
"Wrong!" Teacher Li Qianxia pushed up her glasses again (which didn't actually exist). "Catholicism is the largest religion in Italy, with approximately 87.8% of Italians practicing it, but it hasn't been officially designated as the state religion by the government!"
“This question is clever and deceptive,” Li Changzhou said to Yang Qinglan with a smile.
Yang Qinglan smiled slightly, feeling that the two of them were like high school classmates discussing math problems (which was not true, Li Changzhou was a boy-boy and a girl-girl; hers was even more high-class, with each of them having their own desk).
"Last question!" Teacher Li Qianxia's expression and tone became serious. "Who will be responsible for the expenses of this trip to Sicily?"
"Miss Yang?"
"Aferona".
"All correct!" Teacher Li Qianxia slammed her hand on the table, afraid that someone might change their answer after the bell rang.
There are only incorrect answers to this question, not a single correct answer—anyone except Li Qianxia can answer it.
“I need to remind you two,” Yang Qinglan said, picking up her water glass, “we’re going to rob something, not go on vacation.”
Her gaze was mainly focused on Li Qianxia.
Ever since Li Changzhou said he was going to Sicily, she's been like a monkey in heat, unable to sit still for a moment—in fact, she'd long wanted her brother to send her the new photos so he could take her around the world.
This is only human nature.
"What robbery?" Li Changzhou laughed. "We're going to wipe out the Mafia!"
"Brother, you're shameless!" Li Qianxia praised her brother happily.
“You can use a different word.” Li Changzhou’s smile deepened.
Yang Qinglan smiled, put down her cup, and said, "Get some rest."
"I'll wash the cups~" Li Qianxia hummed, "I want to take you to romantic Türkiye~", happily collecting the plates and cups and taking them to the kitchen sink to wash.
Yang Qinglan got up and prepared to put the books on the table (some belonging to the three people, and some taken by guests) back on the bookshelf.
"I'll help you." Li Changzhou stood up.
He held all the books in his arms and handed them to her one by one, while Yang Qinglan put them back on the bookshelf.
“Although,” he handed over the copy of “Life is a Vast Ocean,” “we’re going to rob something—”
"Isn't the goal to eliminate the Mafia?" Yang Qinglan took the book "Life is Like a Sea" and glanced at him with a smile in her eyes.
"We're going to rob things," Li Changzhou emphasized again, and continued, "Although we're going to rob things, we can also take a look at the sea while we're at it."
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