Chapter 13
Before leaving this place, Jiang Qingyu also went to eat a meal of ice-boiled lamb.
If he had eaten it on its own, he would not have liked it, but the seasoning sauce at that restaurant happened to be very well made. The vinegar sauce covered up the taste he disliked very well. The lamb was very tender, but by comparison, Jiang Qingyu still preferred beef.
That steamer of thin-skinned beef shaomai was just right.
So he decisively abandoned the ice-boiled lamb and bought more than a hundred steamers of thin-skinned shaomai in one go, along with some eight-treasure rice pudding he had tasted and found decent.
Jiang Qingyu discovered that some snacks or pastries sold at little stalls actually tasted quite good. On top of that, he liked stalls that looked clean and well-kept, so he basically would not go wrong.
The temperature had risen a little over the past few days, and it was especially hot in the afternoon. The auntie set up her stall quite early. Perhaps because people did not like eating pastry-like snacks in this kind of weather, and because they would turn sour after too long, business was not particularly good.
Jiang Qingyu saw a sign for salted egg yolk taro cakes hanging beside the little cart and felt a little tempted. He went forward and bought two to taste.
The auntie strongly recommended them from the side. Jiang Qingyu saw that her cart, utensils, and oil-paper wrappers were all very clean, and she had even prepared disposable gloves and wet wipes. She was clearly very meticulous. On top of that, the taste was indeed good, so he bought all the remaining ones.
They were all made with real ingredients. The taro was delicate and dense, with a faint sweetness. The salted egg yolk was wrapped in a layer of pork floss, and he could even taste strands of meat. Clearly, good ingredients had been used.
Jiang Qingyu thought happily: his luck was pretty good.
At least he liked most of the things he had eaten.
Aside from that, he also ate a type of yogurt with a lot of ingredients in it. It was called something like milk-skin butter yak yogurt. There were small red beans and coconut jelly pieces inside, giving it a rich texture. Meimei also liked eating it, so Jiang Qingyu bought more of it, then drove away in satisfaction.
To be honest, he had not bought that many things here. Most of what he bought was food and drink, along with some packages that had been delivered, which were also scattered miscellaneous items, mostly tools prepared for his future camping.
Continuing according to his route, he was soon going to pass through the desert he had planned to take Meimei to play in—a natural, extra-large cat litter box.
If his itinerary did not change, there would be several more “cat litter boxes” like this, enough for Meimei to play to her heart’s content.
Before setting off, Jiang Qingyu happily ate a meal of spicy muddle fried chicken. It tasted somewhat like dapanji. Not only was it very fragrant, but every piece of chicken was coated in sauce without being greasy. If springy hand-pulled noodles were added in, it became even more delicious. The chicken was tender too. Jiang Qingyu had fallen in love with it the first time he ate it. The day before yesterday, he had just packed up a lot of it and tossed it into the space. Whenever he wanted to eat it, he could simply take it out.
Meimei got to eat fried chicken that had been rinsed in plain water. The spices had all been washed clean, so the little cat could eat it too.
The journey was smooth and unobstructed. The car stereo had been selected by the system as a top-tier configuration. Although Jiang Qingyu did not really understand things like equipment or brands, in any case, it sounded especially comfortable.
If it were a rainy day, a snowy day, or even just an ordinary, simple night, sitting in the RV, listening to music and drinking tea would be an indescribable kind of comfort.
Of course, listening to music while driving also put him in a good mood. Even after driving for several hours in one go, he did not feel tired.
Naturally, Jiang Qingyu was not in a hurry. He could take his time.
The road conditions were clearly a little worse than they had been two days ago. The asphalt road was full of potholes, with wind, sand, and dust blowing around. The vehicle also became dusty and gray, blending into the various cars passing by on self-driving trips without standing out.
The sound insulation of the vehicle was very good. There was no situation where the whole road would be forced to listen along just because one car was playing music. Jiang Qingyu shook his head as he hummed along, clearly in a very good mood.
A small cat bed had been placed on the passenger seat. Meimei lay inside, sleeping very sweetly.
Jiang Qingyu planned to park at an RV campsite for the night. It was safe and convenient, the grounds were spacious, and if he could get up, he might even be able to watch the sunrise.
Of course, Jiang Qingyu knew very well that the chances of that were a little low.
When he arrived at the RV campsite, it was already a bit late. Beside many of the vehicles, canopies, tables, and chairs had already been set up, along with outdoor barbecue grills. People were drinking beer, grilling meat and vegetables, and the atmosphere was lively and bustling.
Jiang Qingyu even smelled the aroma of hotpot. It was probably a beef tallow broth base, and the fragrance was extremely aggressive. However, because the entire campsite was cooking at this hour, its destructive power was not that strong.
Except for people who had just driven here.
To be fair, Jiang Qingyu’s driving skills were average, and he did not drive aggressively either. He belonged to the relatively steady type, so naturally, he would not arrive earlier than the predicted time. By the time he drove in, he was already starving, and his stomach had begun to rumble.
The entire campsite was brightly lit. After Jiang Qingyu parked the vehicle, he got out and looked around. Most of the people here were young, and the atmosphere was extremely lively. It felt a little like a club activity back in university, or perhaps a mixer.
Jiang Qingyu rarely played an important role during such occasions, but he really liked the feeling of being among them. So almost as soon as he got out of the vehicle, a smile appeared on his face.
Should he also eat a little hotpot tonight?
Meimei had already eaten dinner on the road, but that did not stop Jiang Qingyu from preparing a little extra meal for her. Later, once the food was cooked and rinsed in water, she could eat it too.
Only, before Jiang Qingyu could return to the RV, someone nearby struck up a conversation with him in an extremely familiar manner.
“Hi! Traveling alone?”
Jiang Qingyu froze slightly, then turned toward the source of the voice. He saw several young people standing beside a nearby mid-sized RV. Several pairs of eyes landed on him at the same time, all looking as if they were very eager for an answer.
Jiang Qingyu did not know what was going on, but he still answered, “Mm. Alone.”
Someone else asked, “You haven’t eaten yet, right?”
Jiang Qingyu was a little confused. “That’s right.” Hadn’t he only just arrived?
“Great!”
“Pull him over!”
“Hurry up and ask!”
“Aiya, don’t be so rushed. It looks really weird.”
“What are you afraid of?”
Amid the overlapping voices, several people came over. He did not know who tugged him lightly and said, “Come join us?”
No. Were they always this enthusiastic? Join them for what?
Completely bewildered, Jiang Qingyu was pressed down at the long table. Camping stools on his left and right were soon occupied by people. Meat skewers were placed on the grill in front of him. The beef and colored peppers were paired very beautifully. Pineapple tenderloin, chicken wings, pork belly, and potato wedges were arranged neatly. Judging by the appearance, there were many varieties.
Before he could ask, someone beside him thoughtfully explained, “It’s fine. A lot of people at this table only just met. It’s livelier this way.”
The person on his right smiled and added, “Since we ran into each other here, it’s fate. Eating together and chatting is pretty interesting too.”
Jiang Qingyu asked, “You put this group together temporarily?”
“That’s right.” The boy grinned. “I don’t know who made the suggestion, but then we all got moving. Everyone here likes to have fun.”
“When we saw your vehicle drive over just now, we were guessing how many people would be inside. We didn’t expect it to be just you.”
“Mm.” Jiang Qingyu raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t find good travel companions.”
The person beside him bumped his shoulder lightly. “That’s why we said it’s fate.”
Because Jiang Qingyu had not been able to refuse in time before understanding the situation, it would be a little awkward to say he was leaving now. In any case, these young people did not seem to have any ill intentions. He could just treat it as joining in the fun.
Jiang Qingyu thought for a moment. “Then I’ll bring over some food to grill too.”
Everyone naturally welcomed this. Their first impression of him instantly improved by several points, and some even volunteered to go help him carry things. Jiang Qingyu politely refused, saying that he would be back soon.
Although the others had warmly invited him, he felt a little embarrassed eating and drinking for free. He brought over a basin of beef vermicelli fried mantou, and also picked out some seafood, meat, and vegetables to grill together and share with everyone.
The long table quickly filled up, and another small table was added beside it. In the whole RV campsite, this spot was the liveliest. The young people seated near Jiang Qingyu were very talkative. They were around the same age, so naturally, they had many topics in common.
They had set off from different places and briefly gathered here. Some of them had the same destination, while others did not. Everyone ate, drank, and chatted, their spirits high.
None of them could have imagined that disaster would descend not long after.
When that day came, perhaps like Jiang Qingyu, they would still be on the road to their destinations.
Although Jiang Qingyu no longer needed to run an online account to earn extra money, he still occasionally posted content on his account about the recent unstable weather, urging everyone to stockpile supplies.
The traffic on his account could not be called especially good, but there were still some views. Some people accepted his advice, and naturally, some people refuted him or scolded him in the comments.
Jiang Qingyu did not really care about that. If the other party came into his private messages to curse at him, he would even reply.
But the reply was also very brief, just a few words: Buy more supplies.
It made the other person feel as if their punch had landed on cotton—angry, yet also a little amused.
Now that Jiang Qingyu had run into these young people, he could not help wanting to say a little more. So, quietly and indirectly, he steered the topic in that direction, suggesting that everyone could stock some dry food in their vehicles in case of emergencies.
But as they chatted, who knew how the conversation ended up shifting to apocalyptic stockpiling novels? Recently, this type of novel and short drama had been especially popular.
That was not bad. It just happened to align with Jiang Qingyu’s original intention.
He excitedly joined in. He had only guided the conversation for a couple of sentences when, somehow, the topic drifted toward supernatural incidents. As for a certain desert they would pass through next, there were many legends online and among locals, strange and eerie incidents that sounded frightening while also making people eager to personally experience them.
Jiang Qingyu was dumbfounded for a few seconds. He tried hard to pull the topic back, but clearly everyone was more curious about horror stories. He could only give up, obediently grill meat and eat, while listening to them chatter.
For a while, the table was filled with laughter and cheerful voices. The atmosphere was harmonious. Some people had already started discussing changing their destinations. Most of them came from wealthy families and did not need to work. They had pulled a group of friends together for a self-driving trip and decided their next destination entirely based on their mood. After a few of them discussed it, the itinerary was changed.
The power of language was strong. Jiang Qingyu, who had originally not been very interested, listened from the side until he felt itchy with curiosity: should he also go join the fun?
If he was afraid of trouble, he could go a day or two later than them, or not set off together with them and take another route. That way, he could still go broaden his horizons. Since their destination was the same, if they encountered any danger or difficulty, perhaps he could even help.
A desert no-man’s-land sounded full of mystery and unknown excitement.
Oh, of course, he had to go during the day. He absolutely would not participate in nighttime exploration. His main style was being both timid and curious.
His RV had just had its performance upgraded and was fairly reliable. He probably would not encounter a situation where he was trapped alone deep in the desert.
As they talked and chatted, this temporary dinner gathering also more or less came to an end. There were still some ingredients Jiang Qingyu had brought over that had not been eaten. He borrowed their equipment to grill the remaining shrimp and meat, without adding much seasoning, and brought them back for Meimei to eat.
Seeing this, the others thought Jiang Qingyu wanted to pack the food back as a late-night snack, so they all came over to help. He quickly explained that he was going to feed a cat, though he did not deliberately say it was his own cat. Everyone understood and no longer reached for the bottles and jars of seasonings, instead taking the initiative to help him.
Although they had only met by chance, Jiang Qingyu still got along with them quite happily.
He carried the grilled food back. Meimei circled around him, meowing nonstop, clearly terribly anxious.
The shrimp shells had been grilled until crispy. When Meimei ate them, they made crunching sounds, which was especially cute.
Before the “party” broke up, they had created a small WeChat group face to face. In just the time it took him to feed Meimei, the group had already started vibrating crazily, with messages and memes flooding the screen.
He did not know who suggested having a breakfast buffet, saying they should have one more lively meal before each setting off on their own journeys. Jiang Qingyu looked at the messages and could not help smiling. Subconsciously, he started planning what he should bring.
As for the matter of stockpiling supplies, he should try persuading them a couple more times tomorrow, right?
