The scenery along the highway leading into Changhua Town was breathtaking. Surrounded by mountains and verdant peaks, with an endless sea of bamboo, Zhuang Rui felt that the scene resembled the setting of the movie "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".
With such beautiful scenery, Zhuang Rui slowed down the car and sometimes even got out to take a picture. As a result, it wasn't until almost 10 PM that they finally entered Changhua Town.
Changhua Town is a beautiful and rich magical land located on the western border of Zhejiang Province. It has unique culture and resources, and its specialties include mountain walnuts, tea, dogwood, ginkgo, and dried bamboo shoots. It is the political, economic and cultural center of western Lin'an and one of the central towns of Zhejiang Province.
Of course, the most famous thing here is Changhua chicken blood stone. As a gift that is often given by national leaders to foreign friends, Changhua chicken blood stone has long been famous at home and abroad.
The town is not big. Although the main road is paved with asphalt, you can still see from the car that some alleys are paved with long strips of bluestone, which has a kind of ancient town charm. Along the way, some attractions still retain the characteristics of ancient times.
Before coming here, Zhuang Rui had also studied some information about Changhua, but seeing is believing. After arriving here, this ancient town in Jiangnan gave Zhuang Rui a different feeling.
"Xiao Zhuang, that's enough. That's the road to Yuyan Mountain. Stop the car there..."
After entering Changhua Town, Uncle De asked Zhuang Rui to stop the car and got out.
"What's wrong, Uncle De? Shall we find a place to stay first?"
Uncle De waved Yang Wei down from the Hummer and said, "We're not staying here, Yang Wei. Switch cars. You take Xiao Song and have some fun in Changhua for a couple of days..."
"Why should I? Uncle De, I also want to see what's going on with that bloodstone..."
Yang Wei shouted unhappily. He had traveled for four or five hours, not to visit this remote town.
"This road isn't easy to drive on. The BMW's chassis is a bit low; it might get damaged if you drive over it..."
Uncle De explained to Yang Wei, but before he could finish speaking, a Mercedes-Benz with a Zhejiang A license plate sped past them, kicking up a cloud of dust. The car was also heading towards Yuyan Mountain.
"Tch, Uncle De, they're not afraid of Mercedes, so why should I be? As long as I don't break down on the road and can get back to Zhonghai, that's all that matters. I know the auto repair shops like the back of my hand..."
Yang Wei's words made Zhuang Rui burst into laughter. Wei was really familiar with the auto repair shop. Since college, he had been going to the auto repair shop almost every week. Driving probably requires some talent, otherwise Wei would have been driving for seven or eight years and his skills would still be terrible.
"Okay, as long as you don't mind the cost..."
When Uncle De heard that Yang Wei insisted on going, he didn't force him and invited everyone to get in the car. However, Peng Fei got out of the Hummer and volunteered to drive the BMW. With his driving skills, he could avoid some difficult roads. Zhuang Rui and Qin Xuanbing switched to the Hummer.
Just a few hundred meters outside Changhua Town, the road conditions became quite bad. However, there were still quite a few cars heading towards Yuyan Mountain, all bumping along on the potholed, muddy ground. Even the Hummer couldn't pick up speed and was struggling to move forward, swaying and rocking.
"Uncle De, you must make a lot of money selling chicken-blood stone in Changhua, right? Why can't you spend a little money to fix this road?"
Although the Hummer had good shock absorption, the people inside still felt quite shaken. Zhuang Rui felt as if he had returned to Hpakant, Myanmar.
Chapter 573 Farmhouse Tourism
"Youngest brother, let's switch. Let your older brother ride in the Hummer for a while..."
Needless to say, the BMW following behind was in a similar situation. Wei Ge, who had volunteered to get into the BMW earlier, had rolled down the window and was crying and begging to switch back.
"Brother Wei, you don't exercise much, so this bumpy ride will help loosen your bones..."
Zhuang Rui laughed as he drove, then pressed the accelerator hard, increasing the Hummer's speed and leaving the BMW behind.
"Hey kid, slow down..."
Uncle De almost hit his head on the car window because Zhuang Rui accelerated, and glared at Zhuang Rui fiercely.
Zhuang Rui quickly slowed down and laughed, "Hehe, Uncle De, we'll be there in a few dozen kilometers. By the way, you haven't told me yet, where did all the money from selling chicken-blood stone in Changhua go? Why don't you fix the roads?"
"Who's going to fix it? They've been mining chicken-blood stone since the Tang Dynasty, and by the Ming Dynasty, it had become a large-scale operation, but this road, tsk tsk, it's not much better than it was back then..."
Uncle De shook his head. These days, if there's something to make money, everyone's going to flock to it, but when it comes to spending money, they're all running faster than rabbits.
Logically speaking, all the owners who contracted the chicken blood stone mines should be rolling in money, but now not a single one of them is willing to spend money to repair the road. However, there are reasons for this.
In the 1980s and 90s, a few mine owners jointly invested in repairing this road, but fifty kilometers is not a short distance, and they did not have enough capital to repair the asphalt road. They just laid some gravel and hired a road roller to repair it.
However, most of the trucks that usually pass by this road are heavy trucks carrying stones. The gravel road simply cannot withstand the load. In addition, when it rains, the road becomes worse than before in less than two months. The millions that the mine owners invested have gone down the drain. Since then, no one has mentioned repairing the road again.
After the car slowed down, the people inside felt much better. It's a wonder that this Hummer was so bumpy; you can only imagine what Viagra must be suffering in his BMW right now.
Sitting in the back with Qin Xuanbing, Song Xingjun noticed that the traffic on this run-down road was almost as heavy as on a highway, and asked curiously, "Zhuang Rui, what exactly is this chicken-blood stone? Why are so many cars heading into the mountains?"
"Hehe, this is a long story. In ancient times, when a pair of beautiful phoenixes were soaring in the heavens, they often heard mournful cries. Looking down, they saw locusts swarming, plagues spreading, crops failing to grow, desolation everywhere, and the people suffering."
Seeing this, the kind and righteous phoenix resolved to use its own power to eliminate the locust plague, drive away the epidemic, and save all living beings. The grateful people begged the phoenix to stay and share the morning songs and evening melodies with them.
Moved by the people's sincerity, the phoenix built Phoenix Marsh on the summit of a mountain... Kangshan Ridge, and soon all the rocks around Phoenix Marsh turned white and transparent, like white jade, hence the name Jade Rock Mountain..."
"Zhuang Rui, this has nothing to do with the bloodstone, does it?"
Qin Xuanbing interrupted Zhuang Rui when she heard this, as she hadn't heard anything about chicken-blood stone after listening for a long time.
"Don't interrupt, this is the story. Later, a pair of powerful bird lions, also known as phoenixes, came to Yuyan Mountain. They were jealous of the phoenix nesting on such a beautiful mountain and decided to drive the phoenix away and occupy Phoenix Swamp."
One day, just as the female phoenix was entering the incubation period and the male phoenix was out foraging for food, he launched a surprise attack on the phoenix nest and attacked the female phoenix. The female phoenix bravely fought back, and the battle between the phoenix and the lion made the Jade Rock Mountain tremble with fear and the sun and moon lost their light.
When the male phoenix returned to its nest, the female phoenix had one leg pecked off by the bird lion, and its blood stained Jade Rock Mountain. In the end, the phoenix, filled with grief and indignation, still defeated the bird lion with its wisdom and strength. With tears in its eyes, it buried the phoenix eggs that had been trampled on innocently before taking flight.
Legend has it that the blood of a phoenix spilled onto Jade Rock Mountain, thus forming the bloodstone. Did you understand?
After Zhuang Rui finished telling the story, he noticed there was no sound from the back. Looking in the rearview mirror, he saw that both girls had tears in their eyes. He couldn't help but ask, "Hey, what's wrong with you two?"
"Zhuang Rui, that female phoenix is so pitiful..."
Qin Xuanbing's tearful voice left Zhuang Rui speechless. His future wife was usually very shrewd, so why was she acting so foolishly?
"You two, don't listen to Xiao Zhuang's nonsense about birds and phoenixes. Cinnabar stone is formed when cinnabar (mercury sulfide) seeps into kaolinite and dickite. Its composition is mercury sulfide, and the stone is dickite or kaolinite. The two are fused together, forming a natural gemstone..."
Uncle De explained to Song Xingjun and Qin Xuanbing what chicken blood stone was using relatively scientific language, but it was clear that the two women were more inclined to believe Zhuang Rui's myth. Women are always more emotional.
The 50-kilometer journey took the car more than two hours. It wasn't until after 5 p.m. that we finally arrived at the foot of Yuyan Mountain. There was a small town, or perhaps a village, here, and it was bustling with people. It even seemed a bit more lively than Changhua Town.
This village must be quite wealthy, because the houses Zhuang Rui saw were mostly two or three-story buildings, covered with mosaic tiles that shimmered brilliantly in the afterglow of the setting sun.
The village was originally located at the foot of the mountain, but some houses were even built halfway up the mountainside, occupying a huge area. If this were in Hong Kong, it would be considered one of the most luxurious villas.
Uncle De pointed to a large shed outside the village that looked like a vegetable market and said, "That's where the chicken-blood stone is traded..."
"Uncle De, shall we go take a look?"
Zhuang Rui looked in the direction of the sound and saw that there were still lights there. He couldn't help but feel the urge to go and see for himself. The two hours of bumpy travel were nothing to him. You know, in Myanmar, such a road would take at least a whole day to travel.
Uncle De shook his head and laughed, "What's the rush, kid? It's not like you're leaving tomorrow. No rush, let's find a place to stay and get something to eat first..."
"Where can we stay?"
Zhuang Rui had already driven his Hummer into this small village with a very modern decor. In less than a minute, the car reached the end, but Zhuang Rui didn't see any hotels or similar buildings.
"Hehe, I'll take you to a farmhouse for a stay today, and you can try some local dishes. Xiaozhuang, drive the car up a bit further up. I booked the place yesterday. If I had booked it late, we probably would have had to sleep in the car tonight..."
Uncle De was very familiar with this place, and he pointed out a road leading up the mountain, telling Zhuang Rui to drive up.
Surprisingly, once we arrived at Yuyan Mountain, the roads were much better than the way we came. Even the mountain roads had been repaired, and the BMW behind us easily drove up and parked in front of a three-story building.
Several cars were already parked in the open space in front of the small building. The Mercedes-Benz that Zhuang Rui and the others had seen earlier was also parked here.
"Holy crap, my new car..."
Wei Ge was howling like a banshee on the road, but as soon as he got out of the car, he didn't care about his loose muscles and scrambled out of the car. He looked around his BMW and felt more and more heartbroken. The area below the car door was already dented and bumped by the protruding stones on the road.
"Look at you, so pathetic. Other people drove over in Mercedes, didn't they..."
After parking the car, Zhuang Rui gloated and teased Wei Ge, saying, "Who told you to insist on coming along?"
"This...this is the best car my brother drives..."
Viagra rolled his eyes in annoyance.
Uncle De, who got out of the Hummer, ignored the two bickering brothers and went to greet an old man standing in front of the small building. When he was still three or five meters away, he called out, "Brother Wang, we're here to bother you again. This time, six people and three rooms, is that alright?"
"Teacher Ma, welcome, welcome!"
Old Wang looked a few years younger than Uncle De. Perhaps because he lived in the mountains, he was very energetic. After shaking hands with Uncle De, Old Wang hesitated for a moment and said, "Teacher Ma, didn't you book two rooms yesterday? How come there's an extra one?"
"What? Not enough rooms?"
Uncle De's expression changed slightly. Yesterday, Yang Wei hadn't mentioned coming, so Uncle De called and booked two rooms. Zhuang Rui and his wife would stay in one room, and he and Peng Fei would stay in the other. But now that Yang Wei was suddenly joining, they needed three rooms.
“Teacher Ma, as you know, these are the days when rooms are in highest demand. You said you wanted to reserve two rooms, so I booked the other 10 rooms. Now… now…”
The old man was very simple and honest. It was clearly Zhuang Rui and his friends who were in the wrong, but the old man was embarrassed to say it later. His three-story house was used for his own residence on the first floor, while the second and third floors were used as a guesthouse for guests. There were only 12 rooms in total.
The restaurant is also on the first floor. Because there are many diners, the restaurant occupies two rooms on the first floor.
"Brother Wang, is there... is there any room left in the village down there?"
Uncle De regretted not calling Old Wang when he left in the morning; otherwise, this wouldn't have happened.
Seeing Uncle De's anxious look, Old Wang thought for a moment and said, "Don't go downstairs. Let my wife and I cook for you, then you can squeeze in at my son's place..."
"Alright, alright, old brother, thank you so much..."
After thanking Lao Wang, Uncle De led Zhuang Rui and his group up to the second floor. Zhuang Rui and Yang Wei each took a room, while Uncle De and Peng Fei stayed in Lao Wang's bedroom on the first floor.
The room wasn't very big; it only had a bed and a wardrobe. However, you could tell that the bedding was clean and hygienic.
There was also a window in the room. After opening the window, you could clearly see the lush and green Dayan Mountain. At this time, the sun was setting, and everything in sight was golden yellow, which was very beautiful.
"Alright, Xiao Zhuang, the conditions here are a bit basic, there's no shower, but we're only staying for a couple of days at most. Let's unpack our things and go try some local farm food..."
Uncle De's voice rang out from the doorway. Zhuang Rui answered and threw the bag containing his change of clothes onto the bed. As for his wallet and other valuables, he naturally left them with him.
“Old Wang, it’s not like I’m not going to pay you. What’s wrong with asking for an extra room? They just arrived, aren’t they? Tell them to give up one room…”
As soon as Zhuang Rui and the others stepped out of the room, they heard a rude voice coming from downstairs.
Chapter 574 The pigsty is spacious enough for people to live in.
"This...this isn't right. We're all guests; there's no reason to kick people out..."
Old Wang's voice followed. His small building was the best in the village, so it was the first to be fully occupied. Many people who came to participate in the chicken blood stone trade fair chose to stay here first after being introduced by friends.
"Why all this nonsense? You charge 120 yuan a night, I'll give you 200 and have them move downstairs, that'll solve everything..."
After Zhuang Rui and the others went downstairs, they saw the owner of the arrogant voice. He didn't look very old, probably around the same age as Zhuang Rui and Yang Wei. At this moment, his finger was almost poking Old Wang's face.
There were three other people standing with him. One was older, and the other two were around thirty years old. However, it seemed that the young man was the main one, and they were all watching the excitement from the sidelines.
"Old Wang, time to eat! Is your sister-in-law's cooking ready yet? We've been driving all day, we're all starving..."
Uncle De and Lao Wang were on good terms. Just now, someone had given up their room for them, and seeing Lao Wang being harassed by others, Uncle De couldn't help but step forward and pull Lao Wang out from among those people.