By linking my account to the check-in system, I became a leisurely traveler.

Chapter 136 Going Home: A Little Happiness on New Year's Day [6.3 thousand words]

The baby ginger, now a month old, is still tiny, but that's in comparison to an adult horse.

Although it was not yet ready to be ridden, once it started to playfully jump around, it was beyond the control of a lean equestrian coach like Xiao Wang.

Everyone says that a horse isn't trained by cultivating a bond, but by training. No matter how good your bond is with a horse, you can't ride it without training.

Regardless of whether this statement makes sense or not, Li Younan has already begun using his extensive horse-training experience (scratch that, system skills) to train Little Ginger.

At this age, it's a bit of a stretch to call it training, but Li Younan has indeed begun to teach the young ginger some instructions.

When he first started doing this, most people at the equestrian base were skeptical of his approach. Indeed, no one had ever tried to start training horses at such a young age, and Li Younan's training methods were unlike those of conventional coaches.

This matter is indeed somewhat difficult for the baby ginger, who is only a month old.

But a few days later, when Li Younan tried to get Xiao Shengjiang to move his feet to the left or right according to his instructions, the people who came to watch were somewhat surprised.

This incident slightly satisfied Li Younan's vanity.

Living at the horse farm during this period, there were other things to do as well.

The chef at the horse farm was an uncle who was a distant relative of Lan Yiyi, and he worked part-time.

In terms of ingredients, Li Younan actually had no objections.

Lan Yiyi's family runs a horse farm. Every week, they drive a pickup truck to the city to buy enough ingredients for a week, ensuring they have meat at every meal and that the vegetables are very fresh.

In this kind of weather, it wouldn't spoil even if you didn't put it in the refrigerator, it wouldn't last a week.

However, northerners prefer noodles, and this cooking method, which clearly reflects the Northeastern flavor, is mainly salty, but overall the taste is relatively mild.

Eating these occasionally for a while to change things up is fine, but eating them for a long time will inevitably make you crave Mapo Tofu, Spicy Stir-fried Pork Kidney, and Braised Beef with Pork Knuckle...

One day, Lan Yiyi's distant relative had to take two days off, leaving no one to do the kitchen work. Everyone was prepared to make do for two days.

For Li Younan, this was a rare opportunity, and he offered to take charge of the cooking.

Originally thought to be an opportunity to improve the meals, Coach Wang jumped out and said confidently, "Brother Li, how could it be your turn to work hard? My family owns a restaurant, I can handle it."

At first, Li Younan thought that Xiao Wang volunteered because he didn't want to work hard and wanted to treat the guests well. So on the first day, Li Younan didn't insist and let Xiao Wang take charge of cooking.

I made a famous soup dish from Northeast China... but it was still quite light.

But later I learned that Xiao Wang's true thoughts were actually very simple: confidence in his own cooking skills and doubt about Li Younan.

The evidence is that Li Younan overheard Lan Yiyi's unintentional remark to Xiao Wang: "It's okay, let him waste it... He's a guest, as long as he's happy."

At first, Li Younan didn't understand what it meant, but soon realized what it meant and became furious.

The consequences of his anger were severe.

The next day, under Li Younan's strong leadership, everyone experienced firsthand the shock of a professional chef from Sichuan.

As expected, when Lan Yiyi's distant relative returned from his leave, he discovered he had lost his job... The sky had fallen.

Of course, I didn't forget to take photos during this time. Taking photos is quite important for a traveler, and there were so many moments to record during my time here.

Since acquiring photography skills, Li Younan has developed a greater fondness for human interest photography.

The main subject of the image, as well as the atmosphere and emotions it evokes, has always been a key focus for Li Younan.

During my short stay at the horse farm, there were so many wonderful moments to capture.

When he wasn't feeding or training the horses, Li Younan would wander around with his camera.

Of course, from other people's perspectives, he might seem a bit like an artsy young man.

Coach Wang had mocked Li Younan more than once, saying, "Brother Li, you shouldn't try to be a photographer."

In Coach Wang's opinion, Li Younan, who is so good at archery and horseback riding, is clearly a completely different extreme from photographer. It seems too incongruous for them to appear in the same person.

Li Younan didn't explain. Coach Wang had neither seen the photos he took nor allowed Li Younan to take photos of him.

However, Li Younan still managed to take a few photos of Xiao Wang riding a horse without his consent... His original plan was that if Xiao Wang didn't like them, he could just delete them later.

But later, Lan Yiyi saw a coach introduction board in the horse farm's reception room and decided to tidy it up.

Li Younan then went around taking photos of all the equestrian instructors present, and they developed the photos and hung them up, with accompanying text descriptions of the instructors below.

When Xiao Wang returned and saw this scene, he felt as if the sky had fallen, because only his side was empty.

Then came a lot of questions and confusion: where did the other people's photos come from?

After finding out that it was Li Younan who took the photos, he shamelessly pestered Li Younan to take pictures of him again. What a shameless guy...

At this moment, Lan Yiyi calmly took out the photos that had already been developed for Xiao Wang.

Over this period of time, everyone's understanding of Li Younan gradually deepened, and he acquired more and more labels.

Xiao Wang nodded to Lan Yiyi with feigned seriousness and said, "Brother Li is an enigmatic man. He can do this and that, and you never know when he will show you an unexpected skill that will surprise you."

Lan Yiyi smiled strangely and said, "That's right... Apart from her acting skills being a little lacking, every single one of her skills is amazing."

Xiao Wang said, "But it seems that Brother Li is most satisfied with his own acting skills."

Lan Yiyi paused for a moment, a complicated smile appearing on her face... It seemed that was indeed the case.

After a period of fermentation, the online short drama they created became a hit, both expected and unexpectedly.

As expected, everyone had a mysterious confidence from the beginning that this well-made web series, especially with its action design featuring real horseback riding and archery, and a plot full of exciting moments from the start, was bound to be a hit.

The unexpected level of popularity was still quite astonishing.

Because the videos are free to post, the show has received over a million likes on Li Younan's homepage.

This naturally brought Li Younan a large number of fans, and his fan base visibly increased by nearly a million.

However, a significant portion of these fans are simply drawn to the short series, and many are commenting below about when a second season will be released.

Li Younan obviously couldn't reply to this. With the current cast and crew, and most importantly, Chen Rui going back to school, it's unclear when the second season will be filmed.

After a while, some of the new fans realized that Li Younan was not a streamer who specialized in making web dramas, so they unfollowed her.

Of course, this group of fans was not large, and Li Younan's fan base eventually remained at 280 million.

Without a doubt, this is already the number of fans of a truly top streamer.

While the plot of that web series was somewhat mindless and many parts certainly didn't hold up to scrutiny, the point of watching web series is to abandon your brain and purely enjoy the process.

From this perspective, this show is indeed very enjoyable.

Li Younan also abandoned basic logic, watched it carefully, and became increasingly satisfied with his acting skills.

Li Younan didn't care about the martial arts moves and swordplay scenes; in his opinion, they were all meaningless.

In the few scenes where he interacted with the female lead, he truly showcased his superb acting skills. Although he had few lines, just a glance or an unintentional micro-expression revealed the character's inner thoughts.

Sometimes I can't help but think that I do have talent in this area. To reach this level without the help of a system is really amazing, and I shouldn't underestimate myself...

As for the occasional scattered comments, such as "The whole show is pretty good, but the male lead's acting is really bad... Oh well, I'll let it go for his looks, so I won't nitpick."

Li Younan ignored it.

Negative reviews, I won't watch.

They were unaware of the intense emotions beneath their calm expressions, emotions that were like a volcanic eruption.

The pleasant and leisurely life has come to an end.

In mid-December, the weather was already very cold, and Li Younan needed to go back home to prepare for the Spring Festival.

That day, when Lan Yiyi was leading Xiaobaicai and calling Li Younan, Li Younan casually mentioned that he was planning to leave.

Lan Yiyi was stunned for a moment, then quickly came to her senses: "Oh, so fast..."

Li Younan nodded and said, "I've been here quite a while now, thank you for your hospitality during this time."

"Don't say thank you..."

"One thing at a time, this trip was really enjoyable. I suggest you get a driver's license so you can pick me up next time I come to visit. And also, please take good care of Little Ginger... Even though it's mine, I'll still have to ask you to look after it for me in the end..."

Lan Yiyi, who had been feeling somewhat down, suddenly perked up after hearing those words. She looked up, her eyes brightening, and nodded repeatedly, "I know without you reminding me."

She lowered her head, the wind gently blowing her coat and the scarf around her neck fluttering. Lan Yiyi said, "See you next time then. I was thinking of teaching you wrestling. Come over in June, and I'll take you to the Naadam Festival!"

"Definitely," Li Younan said.

Before leaving, Li Younan went to say goodbye to Xiao Shengjiang.

This little thing seemed to sense that Li Younan was about to leave, and it showed a surprising reluctance to part.

The strangest thing was that when Li Younan was about to leave, Xiao Shengjiang, who was holding his trouser leg, suddenly knelt down with a thud... which stunned Li Younan.

He patted the little guy's head, which was no longer small, and comforted it, saying, "Grow up quickly, kid. In the future, I'll buy a big truck and convert it into a campervan, and put a little stable inside for you. I'll take you with me whenever I travel to the west." Li Younan certainly hoped that the little ginger could understand these words, but it would be too strange if this thing actually understood them.

Little Ginger just stared at him with a puzzled expression.

Li Younan pinched the little ginger's mouth and nose, making the little thing sneeze, and Li Younan laughed out loud.

This did somewhat lessen the sadness of parting.

When he left, Little Ginger was already lively and energetic again, probably thinking that Li Younan would come to see him on time the next day, just like before.

After Li Younan left, Lan Yiyi happily patted Xiao Shengjiang's head and said with satisfaction, "Well done."

The weather is getting colder and colder, and New Year's Day is getting closer and closer.

……

Two days later, Li Younan returned home. There were still a few days until New Year's Day.

The reason it took two days is because he spent one day in Chengdu, mainly buying some gifts.

Besides gifts for his mother and some important relatives and friends, Li Younan specially bought a Zoro figure for JK Long. It wasn't too expensive, only a few thousand yuan.

Right now, he can just hand over the money without batting an eye for something at this price.

The speed at which people can make money these days is truly astonishing. By accepting just two or three advertisements each month, one can earn a six-figure income, and over a year, it's easy to accumulate a seven-figure income.

And this rate of earning money seems to be increasing further as his fan base continues to grow.

For the influencer industry, maintaining a sense of novelty is not an easy task, and consistently producing creative output is even more difficult.

Therefore, many online celebrities choose to monetize their following as soon as they have a certain number of followers, but this only damages their public image and causes them to disappear from the public eye quickly.

Either some dirty secrets are dug up, or the content of the video is fake, which is commonly known as a "story collapse".

Li Younan felt that his house probably wouldn't collapse, and that everything he had said was true.

However, a while ago, JK Long sent him a video, which was an exposé video, mainly targeting fake online streamers. In it, he mentioned a video of Li Younan helping his grandparents renovate their old house.

His logic wasn't very rigorous; most of it was guesswork. His conclusion was that Li Younan must have used the excuse of renovating the old house to film that video to increase viewership.

Li Younan naturally ignored it, and the video only received about 10,000 likes.

Although some people in the comments section made random comments without knowing the truth, such as "These days, internet celebrities are all staged; anyone who believes them is being fooled!"

"Is there even a need to say it? How many of these videos of renovating old houses are actually real?"

Even though some die-hard fans argued in the comments section, saying they watched Li Younan's live stream the whole time, the comments were still controlled by the blogger who posted the debunking video.

Li Younan simply laughed it off. As long as the other party didn't bother him, he would just ignore it. There was no way to completely eliminate such noisy voices. Responding would only bring traffic to the other party, which was unnecessary.

People who try to gain traffic by creating trouble will eventually be backfired by that traffic; it's just a matter of time.

It’s not the right way.

Li Younan sent the figurine he was going to give to JK Long to the address he had previously sent things to. He was about to send a message to JK Long when, unexpectedly, JK Long sent a message first.

JK Long, still in a cocky tone, said, "New Year's Day is almost here, so I've prepared a little something for you as a holiday gift." JK Long then sent over another photo.

Li Younan looked closely and realized it appeared to be a flashlight.

This kind of flashlight may not be cheap, but it will definitely come in handy if you're often outdoors.

Li Younan was somewhat surprised and touched, not expecting that the two would be so surprisingly in sync when it came to giving gifts.

Li Younan said, "How could I accept this? Hahaha... But I also gave you a gift, and I think you'll like it."

JK Dragon paused for a moment, then calmly said, "You don't need to do that. I gave you a small gift and you feel bad about it, so you deliberately say things like that, and then rush to buy something else. It's meaningless, so boring..."

Li Younan was speechless. Was this guy really thinking of him? He then sent a message to JK Long, saying, "Is that the phone number you left when you gave me the drone last time? You can check the logistics information for that phone number and you'll know."

The person on the other side, JK Long, immediately went silent. After a while, they coldly sent a "Heh".

Li Younan said smugly, "It seems we have a tacit understanding on this matter. I really like this flashlight, thank you, and I hope you'll like what I bought for you too."

JK Long asked, "What did you buy for me?"

Li Younan said mysteriously, "You'll know when you receive it."

……

After returning to the county town, Li Younan first went home, started the car that hadn't been used for a long time, and let it idle for a while.

On the one hand, it can clean the carbon deposits in the engine, and on the other hand, it can charge the battery for a while.

It was almost time, so I went to pick up my mom from get off work, right on time.

Li Younan's mother is named Xiao Xue. She was transferred to the finance department of the county's rural commercial bank a few years ago and has been working there ever since. She can basically go to work and leave work on time every day.

Li Younan drove his car directly into the gate of the county's rural commercial bank.

Generally speaking, this place is not open to the public, but when the security guard saw Li Younan's car, he raised the barrier for him without even asking any questions. He probably thought he was a big customer. This is an implicit advantage that comes with driving a better car.

In the past, Li Younan would park his car outside when picking up his mother, so this was the first time he had driven it in directly.

He parked his car in the courtyard of the Agricultural and Commercial Bank and leaned against the car door to wait for his mother to get out.

At that moment, Xiao Xue was going downstairs with several colleagues.

Xiao Xue's close colleagues are all around the same age, with only a few years between them. They are all young people who have just entered the workforce.

At this moment, a colleague whose son passed the civil service exam last year was recounting the event with some pride, but also with a hint of melancholy.

She said, "My son took the provincial civil service exam. He has only come home once since last year, and stayed for three days."

A faint bitter smile appeared on her lips. "When he was studying away from home, I didn't feel that much reluctance. But once he started working, I suddenly realized that he had really become independent. He had gradually established himself in the province, had a place to live, and his work was going well. He would probably find a local girlfriend in the future, and he would probably come back even less often."

Her tone was relatively calm, but it resonated with several people.

Another person nodded and said, "What do you think is the point of raising a son for so long? It feels to me like picking up a small animal and slowly raising it, but this small animal is a wild, protected species, and eventually it has to be released back into nature, just like that feeling..."

Then someone else chimed in, "You know, if a child isn't capable and just stays at home sponging off their parents, that's a real headache. But if they're really capable, once they go out there, it's hard for them to come back, which is also a bit sad. Haha, it seems like there's nothing in this world that can be perfect, especially when it comes to raising children."

Xiao Xue listened silently without saying a word.

They walked together to the stairwell, and everyone looked up to see Li Younan leaning against the car, waiting for Xiao Xue.

These female colleagues all know Li Younan, and some of them have even hitched a ride with him.

Everyone was stunned for a moment. Li Younan came over and greeted the aunties, and offered to give those who were going the same way a ride back.

However, they had a gathering today, so in the end, Li Younan picked up his mother and went home alone.

When Xiao Xue got into Li Younan's car and left, the colleagues who stayed behind all glanced at Li Younan's car, their eyes filled with a faint...envy.

Li Younan was driving and didn't notice his mother's gaze. He suddenly realized that his mother seemed to have been staring at him ever since he got in the car. He chuckled and said, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Xiao Xue shook her head and smiled warmly, "It's nothing, I just feel really happy..."

Li Younan paused for a moment: "Oh..."

Xiao Xue stretched comfortably and said, "It's so nice to be happy every now and then."

"Let's go back and make dumplings!"

"Ah."

……

For the next period of time, Li Younan stayed at home and did not embark on the next journey.

Since starting this kind of life, he has discovered that there are so many places to travel to, but what he misses most is that time travel experience.

The truly beautiful scenery can only be found in purer places. From the perspective of natural scenery, aren't places that have been built by humans also a form of pollution?

The weather is getting colder and colder. Before the Chinese New Year, my mother took her annual leave and planned to go to Hainan.

It's not Chinese New Year yet, and although there are quite a lot of people, it's not to an exaggerated degree.

In fact, every winter, the mother and daughter would go to Hainan for a period of time, because Li Younan's uncle works and lives in Hainan all year round, and this year was no exception. They would go together after his cousin Lu Xiaolan started her winter vacation.

Li Younan hasn't been to Hainan since he got the system, but there are four check-in points on Hainan Island. Although that's far fewer than in other provinces, Hainan is a relatively small island, so the density is quite high.

My eldest uncle was one of the first Sichuanese to go to Hainan to develop his career. He initially opened a Sichuan restaurant, and recently he also took over a guesthouse, planning to open one with a swimming pool.

This made Li Younan a little excited, since he couldn't swim yet.

I'm determined to learn to swim this time.

We set off on December 20th.

(End of this chapter)