Chapter 9 Undercurrents
The car slowly drove into Hemu Village.
What comes into view are those cute little wooden houses with pointed roofs, scattered across the boundless snowfield like building blocks.
They are built from sturdy logs, looking solid and heavy, without any elaborate carvings, full of primitive and simple beauty, and blending in with this vast world.
Each wooden house's roof was covered with several centimeters of snow, like a fluffy white quilt. Icicles of varying lengths hung from the edges, shimmering translucently in the sunlight.
The roads in the village must have been carved out by snowplows, with snow walls piled up on both sides that were even taller than an adult's head. Walking through them felt like navigating a vast white maze.
Looking around, the world is only dominated by three colors: blue, white, and brown.
Above us was a pristine, clear blue sky, and beneath our feet lay endless white snow, dotted with the dark brown of the wooden houses of all sizes.
Following the navigation, Tan Chen carefully drove along the cleared road to the log cabin inn they had booked for the day. This was the choice they had made after some discussion on the way there.
Although it's past the peak travel season of the Spring Festival, Hemu is still bustling with tourists during the students' winter break. This village, nestled deep in the valley, is already small in size and has scarce accommodation resources, resulting in shockingly high prices.
Those poorly equipped, cramped wooden cabins easily exceeded 500 yuan in price.
At this price, in other ordinary cities, one could almost stay in a fairly high-end hotel with decent facilities.
Having won the prize, Xu Nianyi was willing to grit her teeth and experience the trendy B&B she had long admired, which cost 1,680 yuan per night. The room offered a panoramic view of the beautiful scenery through its huge floor-to-ceiling windows.
But she still hoped to live with the two girls so they could look after each other.
Therefore, she respected Su Xiaoxiao and her friends' budget and choices, and booked three wooden cabins at "Xuexiang Inn" for 568 yuan each, with an area of only 12 square meters.
After following the navigation through many twists and turns, we finally found "Snow Town Inn".
The car stopped in front of the wooden house on a patch of open ground that was somewhat muddy from being driven over by vehicles. The group got out of the car and, looking at the scene before them, fell silent for a moment.
The actual appearance of the wooden house was even more dilapidated than the photoshopped pictures on the platform. A faint smell mixed with animal manure permeated the air, bluntly reminding every visitor that this was a rural area close to the original nature.
What's even more disgusting is that on the open ground in front of the shop, which has been trampled black and stands in stark contrast to the pure white snow around it, there are unsightly yellow circular marks left by dog urine scattered here and there.
A heavy cotton curtain hung at the entrance of the wooden house. Lifting the curtain and stepping inside, an even stronger odor, a mixture of dust, old wood, and some kind of stuffy smell, hit you.
To prevent slipping, the owner laid dark-colored carpets at the entrance and on the wooden stairs leading to the second floor. However, on the surface of those carpets, several small clumps of dried and blackened dog poop were clearly visible!
"My God..." Wang Yue immediately covered her nose, her brows furrowing. Su Xiaoxiao's face also turned ugly instantly, her eyes filled with disgust.
The owner was a local woman with dark skin, wearing a thick cotton coat. She seemed used to all of this and greeted them expressionlessly, asking for their ID cards to check them in.
After completing the procedures, the group suppressed their discomfort and followed the aunt up the stairs to their rooms.
Opening the door revealed a scene that offered a slight sense of relief.
As expected, the room was extremely small. Apart from two small 1.2-meter beds placed side by side, there was almost no room to stand.
Fortunately, the bedding and pillows on the bed looked clean and tidy, and there were no obvious stains on the walls and wooden floors.
There's not much else, but at least this place provides shelter from the wind and snow.
Xu Nianyi has a typical "what's done is done" mentality. As long as the place to sleep is clean, she can accept it. Anyway, she plays outside during the day, and when she comes back at night, closing the door creates her own little world.
However, the situation was quite different in another equally cramped wooden cabin.
As soon as Su Xiaoxiao entered the room, she shed her well-behaved and cute demeanor from others. She sat heavily on the foot of the bed, which had poor elasticity, and her face revealed her deep disdain and dissatisfaction without any attempt to hide it.
“Hemu is really beautiful,” she complained, her voice tinged with annoyance, “but if I had known the accommodations would be this bad and ridiculously expensive, I wouldn’t have come here! The cost is way higher than our original plan to ski at General Mountain, we’ve really ripped off!”
Her eyes held a calculation that belied her age and appearance. She lowered her voice and said to Wang Yue, "We can only hope that this investment will be proportional to the return. I hope we can meet a few truly rich and generous people here, so that all the money we spent and all this suffering won't have been in vain."
Wang Yue, who was tidying up the cosmetics she had brought, nodded in agreement upon hearing this.
While skiing was the ostensible purpose of their winter vacation trip, the more important reason was that they had all heard that the "skiing circle" was a gathering place for many well-off men with leisure time who sought excitement and style.
To some extent, they came with a "hunting" mentality, hoping to meet promising potential partners in this icy world.
The two quickly exchanged a knowing glance, carefully concealing their true thoughts and dissatisfaction, and put on relaxed and cheerful expressions again. They went out to meet Xu Nianyi and Tan Chen to solve the lunch problem.
We had lunch at a small restaurant nearby that had two tables occupied.
Looking at the menu on the wall, the group was once again stunned by the numbers.
The legend of "Hemu Coin" is fully embodied at this moment.
A bowl of white rice: 38 yuan;
A serving of stir-fried romaine lettuce: 58 yuan;
A serving of hot and sour shredded potatoes: 68 yuan;
A plate of braised chicken: 188 yuan...
The price listed after each dish challenges their understanding of normal prices.
Tan Chen is someone who would never compromise on food. He seemed oblivious to Su Xiaoxiao and Wang Yue's expressions of silent gasps, bewildered glances, and hesitation as they stared at the menu. Based on the four people's appetites and Xu Nianyi's preferred tastes, he decisively ordered several dishes and a soup. A rough calculation showed that the meal would cost nearly 600 yuan.
Su Xiaoxiao and Wang Yue's faces visibly darkened again.
Xu Nianyi observed the expressions and understood the situation.
She took the initiative to speak, trying to ease the slightly awkward atmosphere, "Tan Chen has a big appetite, so he ordered a lot. You two girls have small appetites and didn't eat much. How about this, you each give me 50 yuan for this meal, and Tan Chen and I will split the rest. Is that okay?"
This amount is clearly very generous compared to the total price and the actual amount they might eat.
Sure enough, upon hearing this, Su Xiaoxiao and Wang Yue's expressions instantly brightened, and they nodded almost without hesitation, their tone becoming cheerful, "Great! Thank you, Sister Niannian! You're so kind!"
Seeing their relieved expressions, and even a hint of smug satisfaction at having gained an advantage, Xu Nianyi had other thoughts in mind.
She clearly realized that there was a significant difference between herself and Tan Chen, who were already economically independent and had mature consumption habits, and Su Xiaoxiao and the other students who had not yet entered society and had limited budgets.
Especially in places like Hemu where prices are exorbitantly high, if the meals and activities for the next few days are bundled together, it could put considerable financial and psychological pressure on the two students, and may even accumulate more potential unpleasantness.
So, at the dinner table, while the atmosphere was still relatively harmonious, Xu Nianyi made a suggestion, "I think the weather is quite nice this afternoon, and the village isn't very big, so why don't we split up and explore? Anyway, we can walk around here, and everyone will have more freedom to go to the places they're more interested in. Unless we need to drive to the ski resort tomorrow, then we can go together, okay?"
Su Xiaoxiao and Wang Yue exchanged a glance and agreed.
So, after lunch, the four parted ways at the restaurant entrance.
Su Xiaoxiao and Wang Yue walked excitedly toward the center, where tourists were more numerous, it looked more lively, and it would be easier to bump into their target.
Xu Nianyi and Tan Chen, on the other hand, enjoyed some undisturbed time alone.
The afternoon sun was gentle and bright. They strolled slowly along the cleared, winding path, deliberately avoiding the crowds on the main road. The surroundings became quiet, with only the crisp sound of their feet crunching on the compacted snow remaining.
Reaching a deserted clearing with exceptionally thick and fluffy snow, and confirming there was no danger, Xu Nian smiled and jumped back, letting herself sink deep into the incredibly soft snow, leaving a clear and complete human-shaped imprint on the pristine white snow.
She gazed at the sky and couldn't help but giggle, her arms swaying up and down like butterfly wings, drawing unique patterns.
Tan Chen stood to the side, watching her childlike side, and the corners of his mouth involuntarily turned up slightly. Without hesitation, he fell backward into the snow next to her.
If only time could stand still at this moment! In her favorite place, with her by her side.
Xu Nianyi was pulled tightly by Tan Chen's warm, large hand and quickly climbed out of the deep snowdrift.
He jumped up and down, stomping his feet, trying to shake the snow off his cotton-padded coat and snow boots.
It's a pity that she's dressed like a polar bear, and her clumsy movements are adorable.
Following other people's travel guides, they found the famous giant swing set up on the snow slope.
Xu Nian excitedly sat down, while Tan Chen pushed her steadily and rhythmically from behind.
The swing swayed high in the air.
Tan Chen, standing diagonally behind, took out his phone and captured several photos of his incredibly radiant smile, as if it could melt ice and snow.
Relying entirely on foot and having to be careful not to slip, I quickly became quite tired.
The two found a coffee shop with a nice interior design. Outside the huge floor-to-ceiling windows was the magnificent snow-capped mountain scenery that Xu Nianyi wanted to see.
I chose a comfortable sofa by the window, nestled in, ordered an iced Americano, and picked up the Go board that the owner had placed on the bar. In the warm indoor space, facing the snowy landscape outside the window, I leisurely began to play Go.
"Your chess skills are still as superb as they were in junior high! Let me have a turn, or I won't play with you anymore!"
Thinking back to junior high, they were the same way. They would find a bubble tea shop, use a grid notebook or composition paper, and play Connect Four by drawing circles and crosses in the neat grid.
In most cases, Xu Nian lost, but she became more courageous with each defeat. Tan Chen would give her a word or two of pointers or let her win a couple of points.
As evening fell, they followed the crowd to the sunset viewing platform next to the village.
As the sunset painted the sky a warm orange-red, the drifting clouds were edged with gold.
Suddenly, a ray of sunlight shone precisely on the top of the highest snow-capped peak in the distance, just like a spotlight on a stage, and the magnificent spectacle of "Golden Mountain Sunrise" arrived as scheduled!
Even after the sun had completely set, the world didn't turn dark; instead, it seemed as if a blue filter had been applied, creating an exceptionally peaceful and dreamlike atmosphere.
As the lights gradually lit up the small wooden houses in the village below the mountain, Xu Nianyi used her mobile phone to record this fairytale-like scene.
By the time they reached the bottom of the mountain, it was completely dark. The path down was extremely difficult to walk, and Tan Chen occasionally had to help them to avoid falling.
Near the foot of the mountain, there are snow tubing rides offered by locals.
Xu Nianyi paid immediately, as the mountain path was now completely impassable.
The two sat inside a huge rubber tire, forcefully pushed down the snow slope, and sped down the snow track created by the tires. The cold wind lashed at their faces like knives, yet it brought a wild and exhilarating thrill.
Xu Nianyi gripped the handrail tightly and couldn't help but shout excitedly.
After skiing down to the foot of the mountain, the two, still feeling quite refreshed, found a bench to sit on and were about to open a review app on their phones to figure out where to have dinner.
Xu Nianyi's phone rang, and Su Xiaoxiao's name appeared on the screen.
She had barely answered the phone, before she could even say "hello," when Su Xiaoxiao's extremely angry, even shrill, voice came through the receiver:
"Xu Nianyi! Give me my money back!"
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