novelden Chapter 179 Staying Overnight
Chapter 179 Staying Overnight
Finally, everyone could get a good rest, and their tense spirits relaxed.
Li Xiangyang and Wang Ergou, carrying their equipment, led Anna towards the educated youth settlement.
"The village is truly peaceful and serene."
With the danger over, Anna looked at the scattered farmhouses on both sides of the road and said softly.
"Yes, although spring should be coming, it's still very cold," Li Xiangyang smiled. "At this time, everyone stays indoors, and there's not much work to do."
Reaching a fork in the road, Anna suddenly stopped: "Wait a minute."
She took a small metal whistle from her bag: "Since I promised to teach you the whistle for taming tigers, why don't we do it now?"
Li Xiangyang was stunned for a moment: "This..."
“Don’t worry, sounds at this frequency don’t travel very far,” Anna explained, “and the sound is very soft and won’t disturb the villagers.”
Wang Ergou also became interested: "Can this thing really calm down a tiger?"
"It works not only on tigers, but on other creatures as well. This involves some religious knowledge; the pronunciation of 'Om' is considered the primordial sound of the universe in Indian culture and is widely used in meditation, chanting, and other rituals in Hinduism and other religions."
"It represents the cycle of creation, maintenance, and destruction of the universe, encompassing all energy and information within it."
"From an acoustic perspective, its frequency is relatively low, producing a deep, sustained vibration."
"This low-frequency vibration can resonate with the mind and body, thus having a relaxing and soothing effect."
"Through long-term interaction with tigers, tiger trainers may have discovered that this sound can soothe the tigers to some extent, and thus use it as a calming tone."
After Anna finished explaining, she demonstrated and handed the whistle to Li Xiangyang: "You try it."
Li Xiangyang took the whistle and blew it like Anna did.
The sound was sharp and piercing, completely unlike the melodious and gentle tune Anna played.
“No, no,” Anna couldn’t help but chuckle, “you have to put your tongue away…”
She leaned closer to Li Xiangyang and carefully explained the key points.
“Look, it’s like this…” Anna demonstrated again.
Li Xiangyang tried a few more times and gradually got the hang of it.
“Good,” Anna said with an approving smile, “you learn very quickly.”
“That’s right,” Wang Ergou joked from the side, “What can’t my brother learn?”
The three chatted and laughed, and soon arrived at the educated youth settlement.
The courtyard was lit up, and the sound of voices could be faintly heard.
"Wait here for a moment," Li Xiangyang said. "I'll go tell the people at the educated youth settlement."
Just as he was about to step forward, Anna called out to him, "Li Xiangyang."
"Um?"
“Thank you all,” Anna said earnestly. “It’s not just about today. I’ve really learned a lot these past few days.”
Li Xiangyang smiled and said, "Of course. Remember to look for us if you come again."
“Definitely.” Anna nodded solemnly.
Li Xiangyang walked into the courtyard of the educated youth settlement and knocked on the door.
The door opened, and Zhang Li poked her head out: "Li Xiangyang? Something up so late?"
"It's like this," Li Xiangyang pointed behind him, "I recently brought a foreign expert to the mountains for an investigation, and now they can't get back to the city. Could they stay the night?"
"Foreign experts?" Zhang Li's eyes lit up. "Please come in quickly."
Hearing the commotion, the other educated youth also came out one after another.
Li Xiangyang called Anna and Wang Ergou into the courtyard and gave them a brief introduction.
Hearing the commotion, the other educated youths crowded around Anna and brought her into the house, asking her about her experiences abroad.
Although Anna's Chinese wasn't very fluent, she answered every question seriously and occasionally made some humorous remarks that made everyone laugh.
Li Xiangyang and Li Xiaoyun stood in the courtyard, talking by the moonlight.
Wang Ergou and Ma Hongxia hid in a corner and whispered to each other.
"Alright," Li Xiangyang said after a while, "it's getting late, we should head back."
"Be careful on the road," Li Xiaoyun said reluctantly.
"Don't worry." Li Xiangyang nodded with a smile.
After saying goodbye to Li Xiaoyun, Li Xiangyang returned home, where the house was as cold as an icebox.
I left in such a hurry and it's so late now, the heating is all frozen because no one's been taking care of it.
I've really exhausted myself these past few days in the mountains.
Climbing mountains, dodging wild animals, rescuing people...
Every task requires a high degree of concentration; just thinking about it is exhausting.
Li Xiangyang simply went back to the old house. Exhausted, he heated the kang (a traditional heated brick bed), took off his shoes, and crawled into bed, falling into a deep sleep.
When Li Xiangyang woke up the next day, his whole body felt like it had been run over by a car, and his muscles ached.
He quickly got up to start a fire, stretching his stiff body while planning what to do next.
"Looks like I'll have to buy a watch too, and a bicycle for Xiaoyun so she can get around more easily. It would be best to also buy her a telescope..."
After muttering to himself for a while, Li Xiangyang even laughed at his own words.
There are many things I want, but these days you can't just buy them with money; you also need tickets.
Forget about a telescope, but we can still manage to get a watch and a bicycle.
Last time I got married, I asked the old Party Secretary to help me get the necessary documents for buying things, so it's a bit inappropriate to ask him again this time.
After much thought, Li Xiangyang decided to seek out Cheng Shichang.
It's been a while since we last met. I imagine that with his uncle's help, this kid has a bit more say in the family now.
Thinking this, Li Xiangyang washed up, stewed a big pot of meat, ate breakfast, and told Xuanmao and Xiaohu not to cause trouble while he was away before riding his bicycle towards the village entrance.
The spring morning breeze still carried a slight chill, but it was no longer as biting as in the dead of winter.
The road was muddy and the bicycle wheels made a squelching sound as they rolled over it.
When Li Xiangyang arrived at Yangjia Village, several village women who were picking vegetables under the eaves quickly lowered their heads and pretended not to see him.
Li Xiangyang didn't care.
The people of Yangjia Village treated him quite well.
After all, he and the Yang family were almost mortal enemies, but because of Ma Laosan, although the villagers didn't like him, they didn't dare to offend him.
He stopped in front of an old man chopping wood in his yard: "Grandpa, is Cheng Shichang in the village?"
The old man looked up at him, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "I'll stay at the Liu family's house."
He pointed to the east end of the village as he spoke.
"Thank you, sir." Li Xiangyang nodded.
When they found the Liu family's house, the gate was ajar.
Just as Li Xiangyang was about to call for help, Cheng Shichang came out of the house.
"Li Xiangyang?" Cheng Shichang seemed surprised, but immediately smiled. "Come in and sit down."
Once inside, Cheng Shichang poured Li Xiangyang a glass of water: "Thanks to you for what happened last time. Without you, my uncle wouldn't have spoken up for me at home..."
"Let's not talk about that," Li Xiangyang waved his hand. "I came here today to ask for your help."
"Tell me about it."
"I want to buy a men's watch and a women's bicycle, but the tickets..."
"That's all? No problem. Here's what we'll do: we'll go into town today, and I'll take you to my dad's shop. I guarantee I'll get it done for you."
"Thank you then."