I'm in the county town, and you say I'm a big shot?

Chapter 289 Journey to Western Sichuan

"Bai Ou, how about we go to Shanghai to see the World Expo?" Fang Qingye asked.

The young woman flatly refused: "No, my company organized a group trip to see it a while ago, and besides, I'm tired of living in Shanghai."

"Going to Huijing for fun?"

"Ah, I just got back from a business trip!"

"Shall we go to Hangzhou to visit West Lake?" Fang Qingye suggested another place.

"There are too many people. Are we going to see the lake or the people?" Bai Ou muttered.

"Everywhere is crowded during National Day," Fang Qingye sighed.

He decided to stay put, fish for a few days, and play badminton in the evenings.

But he had to consider the girl's feelings; she finally had a day off, how could she stay home all day?

“Hey, I suddenly remembered a place with few people that we’ve never been to before,” Fang Qingye suddenly said.

"Where?"

"Didn't I tell you that I have a college classmate named Li Ye who is teaching in Bazhou, western Sichuan? Why don't we go and see him? Neither of us has been to western Sichuan, but I've heard the scenery there is quite nice."

“Great! I’d like to meet your classmate too.” Bai Ou immediately agreed: “You should contact him quickly so we can fly over. We still need to buy plane tickets; I don’t know if they’re still available.”

"I'll contact Li Ye first."

Fang Qingye didn't chat on QQ, but instead called Li Ye directly.

After a while, the call was finally answered, and Li Ye's voice came through: "Qingye, what's up calling so late?"

"Yes, are you going home for National Day?" Fang Qingye asked.

"No, it's too much trouble. I'll go during the Chinese New Year."

“That’s perfect. My girlfriend and I are planning to visit you during the National Day holiday,” Fang Qingye said.

"Welcome, welcome. But Aoba, the conditions here are rather harsh, and the altitude is high. Be careful of altitude sickness. You should explain this to your girlfriend."

"It's alright. You stayed there for over two years and nothing happened, so what's a few days for us?"

"Alright then, I'll tell you the route."

The two discussed the specific route they would take and some precautions over the phone.

"By the way, bring more clothes with you. It's quite cold here in the mornings and evenings, and there's already frost in some places."

"Okay, Li Ye, is there anything I can bring you?" Fang Qingye asked with concern.

"No need, you guys can come and have fun."

Now that the arrangements were made, Fang Qingye quickly went online to buy plane tickets. Seeing that there were flights from Jinghai to Chengdu on October 1st, she immediately bought two tickets.

He also told Bai Ou to prepare for her trip to western Sichuan.

Early on October 1st, the two of them, each carrying a suitcase, drove to Jinghai city and dumped the car in the courtyard of the city court. They then happily took a taxi to Dongxing International Airport and boarded a plane to Chengdu.

Two and a half hours later, the plane arrived at Shuangliu Airport. After getting off the plane, the two rushed to Chadianzi Bus Station to catch a bus. They ate a bowl of dan dan noodles at the station and caught the last bus of the day.

Li Ye's teaching location is Lixian County in Bazhou Prefecture. Traveling west along National Highway 317, one can see natural landscapes such as forests, valleys, glaciers, and meadows. The autumn scenery is breathtaking. However, after passing through Wenchuan, which was hit by the 08 earthquake, the scene remains shocking even two years later.

After a three-and-a-half-hour bus ride, they finally arrived at Lixian Bus Station. As Fang Qingye and her companion dragged their suitcases out of the station, they heard someone call their names.

"Aoba!"

He turned his head and saw Li Ye standing not far away, smiling at him, with a girl with pigtails standing next to her.

The two smiled and hugged.

"Not bad, you're much stronger than when you were in school," Fang Qingye said after looking Li Ye up and down. Li Ye used to be a typical Jiangnan scholar, fair-skinned and frail, but now he's much darker, but more masculine.

"Come, let me introduce you. This is my colleague, Liu Xigesang." Li Ye waved to the girl with dark reddish-brown skin who looked a bit like a Tibetan girl.

Liu Xigesang?

The name sounds a bit strange.

“His father is Han Chinese and his surname is Liu, and his mother is Tibetan, so his name is a combination of Han and Tibetan,” Li Ye said with a smile. “He graduated from Aba Prefecture Teachers College last year and now teaches at the same school as me.”

"This is my college classmate Fang Qingye, and this is..." Li Ye looked at Bai Ou beside him.

"Bai Ou, she's my girlfriend. I told you about her on QQ," Fang Qingye said with a smile.

"Oh, right, a graduate student from East China University of Political Science and Law. Hello," Li Ye greeted.

At this moment, the girl named Liu Xigesang greeted the two of them and looked Bai Ou up and down carefully, saying with envy, "Sister Bai Ou, you are so fair-skinned."

The white lotus root is indeed very white, especially in this place where Han and Tibetan cultures meet, it makes the fair skin of the women from Jiangnan appear even more striking.

She smiled and said, "Liu Xigesang, you look healthy and rosy-cheeked, and very beautiful."

Indeed, compared to women from mainland China, Liu Xigesang has an oval face and a rosy complexion, giving her a natural and healthy beauty.

After the four introduced themselves, Li Ye helped Fang Qingye with her luggage and said, "Come with me to our school now, stay for one night, and then I'll show you around. The scenery here is quite nice."

"I'll do as you say," Fang Qingye said.

"Gesang." Li Ye turned to look at the Tibetan girl. "Why don't you go home?"

Unexpectedly, the girl refused: "You promised to go shopping with your classmate. I've already told my parents that I'm not going back."

"Alright then," Li Ye replied, then turned to explain to Fang Qingye and the other person, "Gesang's family lives in the county town."

Fang Qingye naturally didn't say anything, and she and Bai Ou exchanged a glance, both understanding the message in each other's eyes.

Their relationship is more than just that of colleagues, isn't it?

It seems that Gesang has a crush on Li Ye, and Li Ye seems to treat the girl well as well.

The four of them boarded another minibus and after more than an hour, they arrived at a town called Shangliu Township.

"There won't be any more buses once we get to the village, so I'll have to find a mule cart or a tractor. You guys wait a bit," Li Ye said with a smile.

Li Ye wandered around the town alone for a long time before returning, followed by an old Tibetan man driving a mule cart.

“This is Uncle Qiangba from our village. He came to town to sell his yak jerky and was heading back. He gave us a ride,” Li Ye said.

"Li Ye, do you always hitch a ride with the villagers when you go back to the village?" Fang Qingye asked.

“Yes, most of the villagers know me and give me rides back and forth. It’s a journey of more than an hour, which is quite tiring,” Li Ye explained.

After placing the suitcases in the middle, the four of them squeezed onto the mule cart. Uncle Qiangba whipped the mule like a whip, and it began to walk along the path into the mountains.

The sun is now setting in the west, and the mountains and forests are quiet except for the clattering of mules.

"Gesang, sing a song for my classmate?" Li Ye said.

“Okay.” Liu Xigesang didn’t refuse, cleared his throat and began to sing, his voice youthful and clear:

We are together today, Gesangla.
Let's dance the joyful Guozhuang, Gesangla!
May we all be happy, may we all be blessed, Gesangla.

We are together today, Gesangla.

As darkness fell, the group finally arrived at Yuewan Village, the village where Li Ye was teaching.

(End of this chapter)