Chapter 11
“There really is? You’re not just saying that for fun, are you?”
The system said in a prim and proper tone, “This kind of upgrade is not considered difficult. The system exists to provide better service according to the player’s needs. For example, in the later stages, if you encounter a blizzard-type natural disaster, the RV will refresh a corresponding snowfield driving reward, making it convenient for you to continue setting out on your journey.”
Setting out on a journey… listen to that.
He did not have such grand ideals, hey.
But if he could travel freely both on land and water, then the map areas he could set foot in would expand by far more than just a little.
When he was little and read stories about sea voyages, it was inevitable that he would feel a longing for that kind of life at sea. When he was in school, classmates would also come back after winter or summer vacation and say they had gone on a cruise, then take out videos they had filmed to show everyone.
No matter how many difficult stories about sea voyages he had read later, probably because he had never personally experienced them, Jiang Qingyu still yearned for that kind of travel.
Now that he knew he might have a chance to realize his old dream in the future, and perhaps in a relatively relaxed and comfortable way, Jiang Qingyu’s already good mood became even more wonderful.
In addition, after he started heading toward his next destination, the temperature rose somewhat. The weather these two days had been bright and sunny. During rare moments of leisure, when he saw Meimei lying lazily on the bed, basking in the sun and flicking her tail, she looked indescribably comfortable.
Jiang Qingyu finally got his wish and bought a motorcycle.
It was a little embarrassing to say, but he had never ridden a motorcycle before.
He was very smooth on a little electric scooter, and he had also bought a mountain bike, but as for a motorcycle… that was purely because his heart itched a little.
After buying it, he did not really dare ride it, so he simply put it in the space and admired it.
However, Jiang Qingyu was very open-minded about it: there was still a long road ahead in the future. Who knew, perhaps one day he would have enough courage to swing a leg over that “giant thing.”
Jiang Qingyu kept moving forward while buying things along the way.
Because things could be bought anywhere, he did not spend much time on the road every day. His main principle was that scenery could be seen at any time, so buying things came first.
However, compared to cities filled everywhere with buildings, highways, and shops, the towns here were very far apart. Mountains rose and fell on both sides of the roads, while the plains looked somewhat desolate.
Correspondingly, there were fewer traces of people, and not many vehicles came and went.
Jiang Qingyu changed the RV into the skin of an ordinary-looking off-road vehicle. Covered with dust and sand along the way, it did not stand out.
He first went to the courier station to haul a load of goods, picking up the spoils from his previous crazed shopping spree. By this point, he no longer had the mental energy to look at what items were written on the delivery labels. Whatever he opened was whatever he got.
If he got impatient with opening packages, he would simply throw them into the space and continue whenever he was in the mood.
The temperature difference between day and night here was large, and the wind and sand were heavy too. Jiang Qingyu dug out a hardshell jacket to wear and even matched it with a pair of sunglasses. After admiring himself in the mirror for a bit, he suddenly remembered something, took a mirror selfie, then posted it to Moments while holding back a wicked laugh. As before, it was visible only to a certain person.
“Arrived at the destination. A new journey begins~”
Heaven could testify that this was absolutely not his usual style when speaking or posting on Moments. But in order to let his eldest uncle’s family fully feel his current happiness, being a little annoying was necessary.
After sending the post, he stuffed his phone back into his pocket, not caring at all how his uncle’s family would grit their teeth after seeing this Moments post. Then he drove off in search of food.
Before coming here, he had heard that the hand-grabbed lamb here was very famous. Originally, Jiang Qingyu could not really eat lamb because he could not stand that gamey smell. But after seeing online that the sheep here did not have that odor because of all sorts of things like their development, hormones, and other messy factors, he decided to give it a try.
He had already thought it through. He could order a small portion and taste it. If it still had that muttony smell, he would give it to Meimei.
After all, she was not picky, and she was even less picky about meat. She loved eating everything, and everything tasted good to her.
Stir-fried beef with scallions, hand-grabbed lamb, a bowl of sour soup fried torn noodles, and a bowl of eight-treasure tea—this was his first dinner here.
Beef was very hard to make taste bad, and this was also the restaurant’s signature dish. As soon as the dish was served, Jiang Qingyu calmly picked up his chopsticks and tasted it. Sure enough, the flavor was good.
The eight-treasure tea had a delicate sweetness. Red dates, longan, walnuts, sesame seeds, and other ingredients had also been added inside. Jiang Qingyu had told them not to add sugar, but it was still very tasty and fragrant.
As soon as the lamb was brought over, he subconsciously held his breath, afraid of smelling even the slightest odor he disliked.
However, when he tentatively sniffed it slowly, he did not smell the strong odor he had imagined. So he leaned down again and cautiously sensed it.
Mm. There really was none.
From the look of it, the meat had been stewed until extremely soft and tender, trembling slightly. If beef were in this state, Jiang Qingyu could imagine its texture.
Since he did not smell anything unpleasant, Jiang Qingyu boldly pressed the lamb into the dipping sauce and tasted it. Unexpectedly, it was quite good.
After eating a few pieces, Jiang Qingyu was conquered by it. It was genuinely delicious.
So he tried eating it plain, and there was still no muttony smell. Then he boldly began eating with his chopsticks, pairing it with the mildly spicy sour soup torn noodles.
There was truly nothing to say against the combination of meat and carbs. Jiang Qingyu’s first meal here was a very good experience. Smiling, he went to ask the server whether he could get some packed to go.
The server glanced at the clean plates on his table. “Would you like to pack one portion to take home?”
Jiang Qingyu spread out his hand toward her. “Can I get fifty portions?”
“Oh, wait.” He folded four fingers back. “One hundred portions. Is that okay?”
Right now, that was definitely not possible.
At this hour, they certainly could not put together one hundred portions of hand-grabbed lamb. But it was still possible to pre-order tomorrow’s dishes.
The people at the restaurant were extremely enthusiastic and arranged tastings of several other signature dishes for him, intending to increase the order quantity.
Facts proved that this decision was incomparably wise.
After Jiang Qingyu tasted them one by one, he passionately placed several hundred more orders. His straightforwardness when paying made the owner grin from ear to ear. The owner also asked whether it would be convenient for him to bring a bucket over; the restaurant could gift him a bucket of eight-treasure tea.
This did remind Jiang Qingyu of something. To be honest, he quite liked this tea. Since the owner offered to give it to him, naturally he would not refuse.
When he left, the owner even packed some for him, saying he could drink it at home too. It was cold at night, and drinking it would warm his body.
Without buildings blocking the view, the sky looked especially vast and open. Jiang Qingyu lay on the bed, the skylight open, with the starry sky directly above his head. It was so beautiful that he was speechless for a moment. Holding Meimei, he unconsciously stroked her head and murmured, “Actually, this kind of life isn’t bad either, right?”
Although he sometimes felt lonely and alone, Jiang Qingyu was certain that this was the kind of life he liked.
Always on the road, with new scenery every day.
Mm… wait. He did not seem to have bought the tickets for the museum he was going to tomorrow yet.
Jiang Qingyu immediately pulled himself out of his sentimental mood, picked up his phone, and bought the tickets.
The first-aid kits he had wholesale ordered from several online shops would also arrive tomorrow. He could go pick them up together then.
Jiang Qingyu had only recently discovered that some things were also very convenient to wholesale online. If he bought in large quantities, the price could be lower. The sellers did not find it troublesome either; they were only afraid he was not buying enough. The more, the better.
This was the good thing about e-commerce. Whatever he wanted, he could buy online, and no matter where he was, he could receive it.
Thanks to couriers. Thanks to online shopping. Thanks to peace.
Jiang Qingyu wrestled with shopping apps for a while longer. He bought several sets of hardshell jackets, windproof goggles, gloves, and other items. Daily-use medicines could also be bought online: medicine for colds, fevers, pain relief, anti-inflammatory medicine, and the like. There were no purchase restrictions either; he could buy as much as he wanted.
Jiang Qingyu was not polite.
Preparedness prevented trouble, after all.
Now, browsing shopping apps until he fell asleep had already become part of his daily routine. He slept very sweetly this time. By the time Jiang Qingyu woke up again, the sun was already hanging high in the sky. He sat up drowsily and clearly felt that the air humidity was not as high as in the previous few days. It was somewhat dry.
So he got up, washed up, applied skincare, and dug out the humidifier. Because Meimei was there too, he did not add any essential oils.
He did not make breakfast himself. Instead, he went out to eat. After making cat food for Meimei, Jiang Qingyu put on his jacket and went out in search of food.
There was always cat food in Meimei’s bowl. She was not picky, so when she was hungry, she would go eat it.
Of course, she still preferred the cat meals Jiang Qingyu made.
At this hour, it could no longer really be considered morning. Jiang Qingyu found a small shop that looked clean, went inside, and ordered a bowl of fried hubuo.
This hubuo was made by cutting thin baked flatbread into strips and stir-frying them. It was very chewy and had a great texture. At first glance, it even looked like a plate of spicy strips. Every strip of hubuo was coated with sauce. There was especially plenty of beef inside, as well as minced meat in the sauce, giving it a very rich texture.
Jiang Qingyu really liked it and finished the whole large plate.
After eating, he followed the usual routine and went to place an order.
Just imagine having such a steaming hot, richly flavored bowl of fried hubuo on some winter night in the future, with a mouthful of beef and carbs, the spices making the entire dining area fragrant. If it was snowing outside, and he could admire the snow through the vehicle window, it would be as cozy as it could possibly be.
After spending another sum of money, Jiang Qingyu went to the museum for a stroll and casually filmed some video material.
These places, including film and television scenic areas, restaurants, and street vendors—after the apocalypse arrived, who knew what they would become?
He was not someone with an especially good memory. If the things his eyes recorded were not remembered by his brain, then he would use the camera to store some memories.
In the afternoon, Jiang Qingyu continued searching for delicious food. No matter what, eating and drinking were the number one priorities.
He had heard that the lahuhu [1] here was very famous and could be eaten in many different ways. Apart from lahuhu skewers, there was also things like lahuhu stir-fried chicken and lahuhu hot pot.
When Jiang Qingyu first heard about it, he could not imagine what these dishes would taste like. But the moment he saw what lahuhu was, he instantly thought of something so delicious it made his throat swallow.
This lahuhu, in the words of the internet, would make even shoe soles taste good if mixed with it.
Jiang Qingyu tried the lahuhu skewers and was simply amazed.
Whether vegetables or meat, each skewer was fully soaked in the lahuhu soup. Covered in sauce and eaten hot, there was no need to mention how wonderful it was.
He ate a skewer of beef, rice cake, and cauliflower, then made a prompt decision to buy the entire pot.
The lady owner asked in surprise, “All of it?”
Jiang Qingyu nodded firmly. “Mm. All of it.”
He licked his lips. “Um, also, by the way, can I reserve the next pot too?”
Lady owner: ?
In the end, he successfully ordered several pots of lahuhu.
The lady owner called her younger sister over and started another pot to make the lahuhu skewers Jiang Qingyu wanted, letting him choose whatever he liked and make as much as he wanted.
That way, it did not delay her from doing business with other customers, and she could still complete Jiang Qingyu’s order.
Jiang Qingyu wandered next door and bought some crispy milk sticks and milk-skin yogurt to eat as snacks.
The milk flavor was very rich, yet it was not overly sweet. The buttery aroma was exceptionally mellow. The first bite did not have the particularly strong impact of a dessert, but it was very easy to keep eating, with a slight chewiness.
As usual, Jiang Qingyu unceremoniously bought out the store’s inventory.
It was also on this day, just as Jiang Qingyu was hesitating over whether to go eat the highly praised bowl-steamed lamb nearby, that a phone call ruined his mood.
Footnotes:
Lahuhu: A spicy local delicacy from Ningxia.
