dhibooks Chapter 387 Ice Cream
Chapter 387 Ice Cream
The two got up, washed up, and ate breakfast.
Lu Ran drove from the Wumeng Mountain Scenic Area towards Sichuan Province.
To travel from Guizhou Province to Sichuan Province, you have to go through a very long tunnel.
The tunnel is called "Xueshan Pass Tunnel". It is more than 7,000 meters long and is one of the longest tunnels at the border of Guizhou and Sichuan.
Lu Ran drove into the tunnel. The lights inside were bright, but there was a faint smell of diesel fuel in the air, left by a large truck.
It took more than ten minutes to get out of the tunnel.
This was extremely difficult for the two who rarely went into tunnels.
After all, such a long tunnel always gives you the feeling that it has no end once you drive in.
The moment Lu Ran emerged from the tunnel, he felt as if a huge curtain had been drawn back before him, opening up a vast expanse of light.
However, Lu Ran's eyes couldn't handle the sudden bright light outside.
After a few seconds of adjustment, Lu Ran finally got used to it.
The scenery in Sichuan Province is completely different from that in Guizhou Province.
Although the two provinces are adjacent, they are very different in terms of geographical environment and climate.
The mountains in Guizhou Province are the kind that stretch endlessly, one after another. When you drive, you are always winding through the mountains and you can never see the end.
Sichuan Province is different; after exiting the tunnel, you are greeted by a vast plain.
The plains are planted with rapeseed and wheat. The rapeseed has not yet flowered, and it is a lush green expanse. The wheat is also green, and the two shades of green intertwine in the fields, like a giant chessboard.
The distant mountains stand vaguely at the edge of the plain, unlike the mountains in Guizhou Province that seem to press in front of you, but rather they recede far, far away, as if giving the plain enough space.
For a moment, it gave me a feeling similar to that of the North China Plain.
"This road is so straight." Shen Yuege sat in the passenger seat, looking at the straight highway ahead, and said with some emotion, "I've been driving in Guizhou Province for several days, with so many twists and turns, I've almost forgotten what a straight road looks like."
"Sichuan Province is a basin with plains in the middle, so of course the roads are straight. Guizhou Province is a mountainous area, so where would you find straight roads?"
"Where should we go? Chengdu first?"
"Didn't you want to see giant pandas? Chengdu Zoo has them. Let's go to Chengdu first."
Shen Yuege turned to the Sichuan Province page of the travel guide and began to study the attractions in Chengdu.
She flipped through the pages for a while, then suddenly said, "Chunxi Road. That's a nice-sounding name."
"Chunxi Road is Chengdu's most bustling pedestrian street, similar to Nanjing Road in Shanghai. Don't you dislike shopping malls?"
"Not liking shopping malls and wanting to go shopping are not contradictory. I don't necessarily have to buy anything, I just want to go and take a look."
Lu Ran smiled but didn't reply. That's just how his wife is; she says she doesn't like shopping, but the first thing she does when she arrives in a new city is look for a pedestrian street.
A woman's mouth is a deceitful devil.
After driving for more than an hour, the two entered Luzhou, the first city in Sichuan Province.
Lu Ran didn't plan to stop in Luzhou; he drove straight through the city and onto the highway towards Chengdu.
Luzhou is not a large city, but it is very clean. The Yangtze River flows past the city, and several cargo ships are slowly moving on the river.
The entire journey from Luzhou to Chengdu is on the expressway, a little over 200 kilometers, and takes just over two hours.
Lu Ran parked his RV at an RV campsite outside the Third Ring Road in Chengdu, paid the fee, and connected the water and electricity.
The campsite was located by a river, where many willow trees were planted. The willow branches drooped down to the water's surface and swayed in the wind.
Shen Yuege got out of the car, stretched, and took a deep breath: "The air in Chengdu is much better than in Shanghai. It's neither humid nor dry, just right."
"Chengdu is located in a basin, so the air humidity is naturally moderate. Unlike Shanghai, which is near the sea and is humid and sticky."
"How do you know everything?"
"Because I looked it up. I looked at it when I had nothing else to do."
"How much have you actually researched when you have nothing better to do?"
"A little bit more than you think."
Shen Yuege shook her head; she was already used to Lu Ran's "I've checked" response.
The two tidied up and took a taxi to Chengdu Zoo.
Chengdu Zoo is located near the North Third Ring Road. It's a moderately sized zoo with a fairly comprehensive selection of animal species.
But Shen Yuege came here for only one purpose—to see the giant pandas.
Although giant pandas can be seen in Shanghai, the experience is quite different.
Only by seeing giant pandas up close in their native habitat can one truly appreciate their endearing and lovable nature.
The giant panda enclosure is located on the east side of the zoo, occupying a large area.
The aquarium houses six giant pandas: three adult pandas and three cubs.
Shen Yuege stood in front of the glass wall, watching a giant panda munching on bamboo, and didn't move for five minutes.
"Look at it, so round and chubby, black and white, so cute." She stared intently at the giant panda, speaking as if to a baby. "Look at the way it eats bamboo, one bite at a time, chewing so slowly, so enjoying itself."
Lu Ran stood next to her, also looking at the giant panda.
Giant pandas are indeed cute, with round heads, round ears, and round bodies, like a big black and white ball of flesh.
It sat on the ground, its two front paws holding a bamboo stalk, and used its teeth to peel off the outer skin, eating only the tender inner part. Its peeling movements were very skillful; it was clearly an experienced user.
It's hard to believe that this adorable animal is also known as the iron-eating beast.
It was once Chi You's mount.
The contrast is indeed the most lethal.
"How much bamboo does it eat in a day?" Shen Yuege asked.
"It is said that an adult giant panda eats dozens of kilograms of bamboo a day. They eat a lot, so they poop a lot too."
"I'm asking if you've eaten or pooped."
"I'm just stating the facts."
"After all, giant pandas just eat, poop, get hungry, and then eat again every day."
"..."
Shen Yuege glared at him and continued watching the giant panda.
The giant panda finished eating one bamboo stalk and went to grab another one next to it. When it grabbed it, it didn't hold on properly and the bamboo slipped from its hand. It paused for a moment, looked down at the bamboo on the ground, then looked up at the crowd of onlookers, and then slowly bent down to pick up the bamboo and continued eating.
The whole process was like a silent comedy film, making everyone watching laugh.
Shen Yuege was also amused by its appearance and laughed so hard that she was doubled over, tears streaming down her face.
"Its expression just now was like, 'Huh, where's my bamboo?'" Shen Yuege said with a smile, "Then it realized it had fallen on the ground, and felt too embarrassed not to pick it up, so it did. It was so cute, I had to record it."
She took out her phone, recorded a video of the giant panda, watched it several times, and then recorded it again.
Even after leaving the panda enclosure, Shen Yuege was still excited, talking non-stop about how cute, adorable, and interesting the pandas were. Lu Ran listened, occasionally responding, thinking to himself that if this were his previous life, a video of the pandas posted online would easily get millions of views.
The two of them left the zoo and took a taxi to Chunxi Road.
Chunxi Road is located in the center of Chengdu. It is an east-west pedestrian street that is about one kilometer long.
Both sides of the road are lined with shopping malls and specialty stores, offering everything from luxury goods to fast-moving consumer goods, catering to all price ranges.
The streets were crowded and bustling, with everyone carrying shopping bags of various sizes.
As soon as Shen Yuege entered Chunxi Road, she began to look around, observing the shop signs, the mannequins in the shop windows, and the clothing of the pedestrians on the street.
"Look at that girl's dress, it's so pretty," she said, pointing to a girl in a floral dress in front of her.
"It's winter now, aren't you cold wearing a skirt?"
"She's wearing leggings underneath. If you don't understand women's fashion, don't make random comments."
Lu Ran wisely kept quiet.
He has no say in this matter.
Of course, he only kept his mouth shut, but his eyes were still busy.
It's rare to see such a beautiful, freezing woman in winter; you can only really enjoy it in Chengdu.
Of course, it was just for fun.
The two walked slowly along Chunxi Road. When they reached an intersection in the middle of the road, they saw a group of people gathered there, setting up phone stands to film videos.
A girl dressed in Hanfu stood in the middle, holding a round fan in her hand, striking various poses.
Someone nearby shouted, "Three, two, one, start!" The girl started walking, taking a few steps, turning around, covering her face with a round fan, putting the fan down and smiling. Her movements were smooth and she looked very professional.
"The internet celebrities are filming videos," Shen Yuege whispered. "There are so many internet celebrities around Chunxi Road, they all come here to take photos."
"You're an internet celebrity too, why don't you go up and film one?"
"I'm a superstar, not an internet celebrity. The title of superstar is several levels above that of an internet celebrity."
Lu Ran couldn't help but laugh at what this "Queen of Pop" had said.
The two continued walking forward, past shops lining both sides of Chunxi Road, selling everything from clothes and shoes to bags, cosmetics, food, and drinks.
Shen Yuege stopped in front of a Mixue Ice Cream shop and bought two ice cream cones.
Lu Ran took it, somewhat puzzled.
"Is it normal for you to buy ice cream on such a cold day?"
"Winter is the perfect time to eat ice cream; you'll know once you take a bite."
Lu Ran licked it.
Hey, you know what, it tastes pretty authentic.
Eating ice cream in winter is really refreshing.
"See, I didn't lie to you," Shen Yuege said coquettishly.
"Of course not, this ice cream is too sweet."
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