This humble Taoist priest wants to take the college entrance exam.

Chapter 233 That voice is incredibly powerful!
I rode my bicycle northward, nimbly leaving the bustling city center and gradually merging into the tranquility of the suburbs.

Chen Shi'an was indeed a skilled driver; even with a passenger on the back, he rode very steadily.

Whether it was her imagination or not, Li Wanyin felt the hard cushion under her bottom gradually becoming softer, as if something was supporting her, making her feel like she was sitting on a cloud. Even after so long, she didn't feel tired at all.

So much so that Li Wanyin was in the mood to hum a song:
"I head north, leaving behind the season that held you..."

Chen Shi'an found it amusing and asked, "Who is Wanyin leaving?"

Li Wanyin blushed and said shyly, "Lyrics, lyrics! Haven't you heard this song before? We're heading north right now!"

"Yes, the first time I heard it was when Sister Wanyin sang it now, it's beautiful."

"Hehe~"

The gentle singing continued to play softly behind me.

As the wheels rolled over the asphalt road on the outskirts of the city, the early winter wind, carrying the scent of withered grass and sunshine, rushed onto my face.

In the scenic countryside, on a road where no one knew her, the older sister grew bolder. She was no longer satisfied with just one arm around Chen Shi'an's waist, but wrapped both arms around him, resting her head on his back, watching the poplar trees by the roadside recede into the distance.

"Shi'an, you ride your bike so fast!"

"There's an even faster one, Sister Wanyin, hold on tight—"

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Shi'an had already reached the top of the uphill section, and what followed was a downhill section.

The bicycle sped down the hill under his control!
A feeling of weightlessness washed over her, and Li Wanyin's heart leaped into her throat. She clung tightly to Chen Shi'an's waist, the wind whipping her hair and brushing against her face. Finally, she couldn't hold back any longer:

"Aaaaaaahh ...

"Shi'an! Slow down!"

"It's going to fly! It's going to fall!!"

"Slow down, slow down, ahh ...

When Chen Shi'an got into a playful mood, he didn't care about her opinions and just laughed happily.

Finally, after driving down this slope, the car slowed down steadily.

Li Wanyin still seemed a little shaken, her heart pounding in her chest, and her pretty face flushed.

The older sister, panting heavily to calm herself, finally freed one hand to tidy her wind-blown hair, and lightly slapped him in an annoyed tone.

"That scared me to death! It was so dangerous..."

"Does Wanyin find it exciting?"

Li Wanyin had intended to take this opportunity to educate him on safe driving, but in the end, she honestly admitted:
"Thrilling, exciting!"

"Let's do it again in a bit."

"Again...?"

Li Wanyin gave in and begged for mercy, "No more, no more..."

"Hahaha."

Chen Shi'an also felt that he was getting more and more mischievous. When did he develop a hobby of teasing people?
When I first bought the car, I took Xiaozhi for a race. Now I took Wanyin for a race. Next time, I'll drag the class monitor along for another race. She always says she's brave, let's see just how brave she really is.

The suburbs are not as bustling as the city center, but they have a more leisurely atmosphere for holiday outings.

"Shi'an, look over there."

Li Wanyin had one arm around Chen Shi'an's waist and the other hand pointed to the roadside.

It was a harvested rice field with neat stubble. Several egrets strolled leisurely among the rice. The sound of a bicycle approaching made them flap their wings and take flight, drawing graceful arcs against the azure sky.

"so beautiful."

Li Wanyin couldn't help but exclaim, her voice filled with joy.

"Yes, the air here is much better."

Chen Shi'an took a deep breath, and the air, mixed with the fragrance of soil and grass, filled his lungs, making him feel refreshed and relaxed.

He slowed down slightly so that Li Wanyin could better appreciate the pastoral scenery under the warm winter sun.

In fact, Li Wanyin was already tired of the pastoral scenery, after all, she had grown up in the countryside since childhood.

But at this moment, they were not each other. As she rode her bike with Chen Shi'an through such scenery, she felt that everything in front of her was as beautiful as a painting.

Chen Shi'an didn't follow the map's navigation exactly, but just kept a general direction and rode north. Even though the ancient town in the north of the city was his destination, he didn't miss the scenery along the way.

After cycling for an hour, the two stopped to rest by an old-fashioned stone bridge.

The stream flows gently beneath the bridge, its water crystal clear, with several small fish swimming in it.

Li Wanyin took out a bottle of mineral water from her backpack and handed one to Chen Shi'an. She then leaned against the bridge railing, looking down at the little fish in the water below like a child. She even took out her phone to take a picture of the black cat that had jumped onto the bridge railing as well.

"Sister Wanyin—"

Chen Shi'an called out, and Li Wanyin and the cat, bathed in the warm winter sun, turned their heads together and saw his camera.

"Ah, Shi'an, you're taking pictures of me again..."

"Hmm, well done."

"Let me see it~"

Li Wanyin jogged over to take a look, and then nodded in satisfaction.

Giving Shi'an a new phone was definitely the right choice; the quality of the photos he takes is getting better and better.

"Send me the photos later."

"it is good."

"Shi'an, are you tired? Do you want me to give you a ride?"

"It's alright, Sister Wanyin, just sit quietly in the car while wearing a skirt."

"Yes!"

"Let's go, let's keep going."

Chen Shi'an took a sip of mineral water, then put it back in his bag, which hung on his chest. He propped himself up on one leg with the bicycle, and Li Wanyin sat sideways on the back of his seat again.

"Fei Mo, are you leaving or not?"

"Meow."

The cat on the bridge railing also ran over. The afternoon temperature rose and it became warm, so it stopped crawling into the bag and jumped onto Chen Shi'an's shoulder.

The two people and the cat continued their ride.

With a bicycle as a means of transportation, Chen Shi'an can now go to a wider range of places within a limited time. With his sister and Mao'er accompanying him, the ride is not boring at all.

Although he had lived in the mountains far from the secular world since childhood, Chen Shi'an knew that he was inherently averse to loneliness. Now that his master was no longer by his side, he was fortunate to have met many interesting people after coming down the mountain.

While passing through nearby villages, we encountered a flock of ducks swaggering across the country road.

"Quack quack—"

The flock of ducks was quite large, probably several hundred, each one plump and white. They would stop every now and then, tilting their heads to look at the vehicles and pedestrians making way for them. Chen Shi'an stopped his car, braced himself on one foot, and waited with the cars, electric bikes, and motorcycles beside him for this group of "road bullies" to slowly pass by.

The car owners didn't honk their horns, and Chen Shi'an didn't urge them on. Li Wanyin even smiled and took out her phone to take pictures of the ducks.

"These ducks are so fat..."

"Meow."

"It looks delicious!"

"Meow!"

"Quack quack?"

It's a pity the siblings are going to the ancient town in the north of the city to play right now, otherwise Chen Shi'an would also like to buy two ducks from the owner to take back and try.

Seeing the traffic jam, the old man herding ducks sped up, tapping the ground rapidly with a colorful ribbon tied to the end of his bamboo pole to urge them on.

The last few dawdling ducks quickly spread their wings and ran and flew over. The old man herding the ducks smiled kindly at the car owners on this side, as if to say hello.

The ducks finally crossed the road, and the cars and motorcycles that had stopped on the side slowly started moving. Chen Shi'an also stepped on the pedals and continued riding forward with his sister behind him and the cat on his shoulder.

……

The northern part of Yunqi City is a gentle transition zone between the city and the countryside.

This area is known locally as the edge of the city.

Backed by the gentle slopes of Xuan Yue Mountain to the north, streams meander along the terrain at the foot of the mountain, weaving a dense network of waterways across the plain before eventually flowing into the Qingtong River that flows through the area.

This is a river that originates in the southwestern mountains. When it reaches the north of the city, it slows down and wraps around thousands of acres of farmland like a green ribbon.

The villages here are mostly built along the water. With the development of the times, the mud houses have all been replaced by beautiful self-built houses, mostly two- or three-story buildings. Every household has a small courtyard, and many families have planted persimmon trees. When Chen Shi'an and Li Wanyin rode their bicycles through the villages, they often saw many ripe persimmons hanging on the branches, looking just like little lanterns.

Even when the persimmons are fully ripe, very few people pick them all.

This is a custom. The persimmons left on the tree not only decorate the autumn and winter scenery, but also provide food for the birds that overwinter here. This is called "May all your wishes come true".

"What village is this? There are so many persimmons..."

"Let me see... Suyang Village."

Just then, they came across an old lady drying persimmons in her yard. Chen Shi'an was bold enough to stop his bike right in front of the house and greet the old lady inside.

"Grandma——"

The old lady was hard of hearing and could not hear people calling her for a long time, but she did not expect that she would hear this young man as soon as he called her.

That voice was incredibly powerful!
She looked up in surprise, squinting at the young man and woman sitting on bicycles outside the courtyard gate, still somewhat puzzled.

"Young man, who are you looking for...? Are you Ah Hong's classmate?"

"No, Grandma, I just think your dried persimmons look good, and I wanted to come and buy some to try."

"Oh! Dried persimmons? We don't sell these, we make them ourselves... Ah Wen and his family next door sell them. Young man, you're not from our village, are you?"

"Yes, I'm just strolling around here. There are many persimmon trees in our village."

"Yes, yes, our village grows the most persimmons. If you don't mind, Grandma will give you some to try. But don't buy any, my family is tired of them and doesn't like them anymore..."

"Grandma, are you home alone?"

"Yes, they've all gone out to work..."

It's rare for an elderly woman to have young people chat with her, after all, she's old and hard of hearing, and young people generally don't have the patience to talk to her.

Although she didn't know Chen Shi'an, she had a very good impression of the young man. The key was that the young man's voice was 'powerful'. She was so hard of hearing, and she hadn't heard such clear speech in a long time.

The old lady generously took out a bag and filled it with several dried persimmons.

"That's enough, Grandma, I'll just have a taste, I don't need so much..."

“Take these and eat them. Every year the persimmon tree bears a lot of fruit, and it’s a pity to let them fall, so we make them into dried persimmons. But my family doesn’t like to eat them, and they go bad if left for too long…”

"Thank you, Grandma. So much..."

"Young men, what are you doing here? What's so fun about our village?"

"We were thinking of going to visit a nearby ancient town."

"Oh, Quetou Town..."

Chen Shi'an didn't take anything and left, but chatted with the lonely old woman at the gate of the courtyard for a while.

I learned through conversation that Suyang Village is a well-known persimmon village, with every household growing persimmons and having a persimmon cake making technique passed down through generations.

The "Magpie Head Town" mentioned by the old lady is the ancient town in the north of the city that Chen Shi'an and Li Wanyin are going to visit. It is said to have been built during the Northern Song Dynasty and is named after the small mountain behind it that resembles a magpie's head.

“We hold market days on even-numbered days here, especially on the 2nd and 16th of each month. The town is so lively then. When I was still able to carry loads, I used to carry homegrown vegetables, pickled vegetable paste, bamboo sieves, and cloth shoes that I made myself to sell… Now that I’m old, I can’t do that anymore. It’s even more lively if you come in the morning.”

"Really? Grandma looks to be in pretty good health."

Chen Shi'an smiled.

When Chen Shi'an goes to a place, unlike others who just visit and check off tourist attractions, he prefers to interact with the locals and learn about the local customs and culture.

Sitting in the back seat, Li Wanyin didn't urge them on. Chen Shi'an chatted with the old lady, and she listened with great interest, as if she had only just truly entered this place.

I have to say, this little brat is incredibly bold.

If it were her, she wouldn't dare to start chatting with a complete stranger so casually.

Li Wanyin had no doubt that if she had enough time, this brat might even dare to go to someone else's house for a free meal and try the local delicacies.

"Grandma! Thank you for the dried persimmons. We'll be going now."

"Grandma, thank you for the persimmon cakes~" Li Wanyin, who was behind her, helped carry the bag of persimmon cakes and thanked the old lady with a smile.

Grandma: Huh?

Well, someone else is speaking, and she didn't hear them clearly.

Chen Shi'an smiled and thanked Li Wanyin on her behalf.

The old lady then heard her clearly and asked with a smile and curiosity, "Are you two siblings?"

"correct."

"Good, good, good, the siblings are both very handsome."

"Thank you, Grandma!!"

Li Wanyin said it very loudly this time.

Whether the old lady heard her clearly or not, she just smiled innocently, and Li Wanyin smiled along with her.

The two people and the cat continued their ride.

After passing Suyang Village, the ancient town in the north of the city is also close.

Ten minutes later, the siblings arrived at their destination.

(End of this chapter)