After a week of intense study, tomorrow is the weekend. I don’t have evening self-study today. When get out of class is over in the afternoon, Yuan Yuan and I agreed to come tomorrow morning and we will ride our bikes to Yunwu Mountain to see the maple leaves.

The training center requires all personnel to live in the school. There are four people living in our dormitory. Except for me, I am from the county, the other three are all in the city. One is a technician from the Municipal Power Supply Bureau and the other two are electricians from the Municipal Heavy Machinery Factory. Their situation is similar to that of Yuan Yuan. Although the school has regulations, as long as there is nothing special, they usually go home to live, so most of the time, I am basically alone in the room.

I went to the school bathroom to take a shower that night, and quickly washed the clothes I changed. Finally, I read a chapter on junior high school physics in the dormitory. This is something I have always insisted on. I also asked my fellow student Yuan Yuan to supervise me every day, afraid that I would not be able to complete the task due to laziness. Yuan Yuan's academic performance was very good. According to her, she went to school very early, and she was only two or three points away from the college entrance examination last year. I asked her why she didn't take the exam anymore. She said that her two brothers were in another place and that her parents wanted to have a child around her, so she considered her parents' feelings and simply worked first.

Early Sunday morning, just after I finished breakfast in the cafeteria, Yuan Yuan rode the rose-red "Phoenix" Kun car and arrived on time as we agreed. The little girl wore a white sportswear with pink edges today. Her long black hair tied into a relaxed and lively braid on the back of her head, and she also had a pair of huge black sunglasses stuck on her head. She was both beautiful and cute, healthy and lively. This was the first time I saw such a fashionable outfit, which made me stunned.

"What's wrong? Why are you stupid?" Yuan Yuan asked playfully with her long eyelashes flashing.

"You... are very energetic today." I quickly looked away from my gaze and exclaimed embarrassedly.

The two of them walked out of the guesthouse gate with a smile. I naturally took the bicycle from her hand and stepped on my legs. I supported my long legs and turned my face to wait for Yuan Yuan. The girl glanced at me happily, pulled my clothes, and jumped to the back seat.

"Sit down." I turned around and reminded me, let go of my feet and kicked forward.

"Aren't you afraid of riding a bicycle in the city?" Yuan Yuan chuckled and teased me.

"You are not as heavy as my little piglet. It's the same as if I didn't bring anything." I held the handlebars in both hands and teased easily.

"Who do you think is the little piglet?!" Yuan Yuan clenched his fist in anger and knocked me twice on the back, but it didn't hurt at all.

The sun had just risen from the east, and the sunlight pierced the mist of autumn like countless golden needles, covering the streets and surrounding scenery in the morning with a layer of golden light. I bent and pedaled the car lightly, Yuan Yuan chirped behind me, scattering the joy along the way in the crisp and pleasant bird songs.

Yunwu Mountain is located in the northern suburbs of the city. The main peak is more than 360 meters above sea level. The mountain is winding and undulating, like a dragon, with its head raised to the northeast and its tail dragging to the southwest. It looks very abrupt in the Huaibei Plain, which is a plain mountain. Not only is it beautiful in nature, but it also has many cultural monuments in all dynasties, so it has become a famous attraction at the junction of Jiangsu, Shandong, Henan and Anhui.

Come to Yunwu Mountain to see the red leaves, from ancient times to the present, has been a great preference for literati and scholars, and a great pleasure for ordinary people. The weather is clear today and it is another weekend time, so when we rode our bikes to the bottom of the mountain, we looked up along the mountain gate and saw that many people had already started climbing on the mountain road.

Yuan Yuan and I placed our bicycles at the parking lot at the foot of the mountain. We gave two cents to see the fare, and then we walked on the winding mountain road side by side. At that time, unlike now, a piece of green space as big as a palm would be enclosed and charged. No one would charge money in the entire Yunwu Mountain Scenic Area, and there were many mountaineering roads, which facilitated the entry and exit of the surrounding people.

"It's so beautiful here." I walked on the stone steps, looked at the towering ancient trees on both sides, felt the birds singing and flowers everywhere, and sighed sincerely.

"Aren't your hometown close to southern Shandong? There should be hills, right?" Yuan Yuan was already a little sweaty, and his fair and flawless face was flushed.

"The mountains in our hometown are full of stones. The ponytail pine grown in the cracks of the stones has been less than one person tall for decades, but it is also very spectacular. It is not the beauty of the beautiful mountains and rivers, but a kind of thick, and even a bit vast." I thought while comparing.

"Wu Ping, you are not like a junior high school student, but like a college student. Not only do you say something different, but you also make sense." Yuan Yuan praised with a smile.

"Don't laugh at me anymore. I'm not like a college student. I've only been in junior high school for a year and a half. If you have time, go to the county to have fun and I'll accompany you to our place to see." I blushed a little shyly.

"Okay, let's make up for it." Yuan Yuan was embarrassed when he saw me, and quickly explained, "My mother often said that having education and having diplomas is not the same thing."

"It's a pity that I didn't go to school well." I sighed with regret.

"As long as you work hard like now, you might be able to get into college." Yuan Yuan walked over and gently grabbed my right hand, "Let's continue climbing upwards."

Holding the girl's slender little hand, my heart suddenly became flustered. Yuan Yuan suddenly flashed with his clear big eyes and glanced at me shyly: "I just praised you, but now do you find something wrong with you?"

"What's wrong?" I was a little confused for a moment, and my left hand scratched my head awkwardly.

"I love reading foreign novels all day long, why are you not gentlemanly at all?" Yuan Yuan pouted his little mouth in dissatisfaction and shook the big shoulder bag on his back.

"Oh--I'm sorry, I'm just a native child, I'm not a gentleman." While mocking myself, I quickly reached out and took Yuan Yuan's big shoulder bag from her delicate shoulder, "What are you carrying? Why are you so heavy?"

"I brought Coca-Cola, egg tarts, big liba, and delicious smoked red sausages." Yuan Yuan's curved eyebrows were slightly raised, and a series of cheerful words popped out from his thin lips.

To be honest, I have never heard of what Yuan Yuan said. I think in China in the early 1980s, even most urban people might not know it. I didn’t realize it at that time that this was a huge gap in itself, a life that was completely different from myself.

We continued to climb up the mountain, and halfway up the mountain saw dozens of stone murals on the stone wall. The big characters were like buckets, and the small characters were like fly heads, real, line, grass, and official characters, which were completely like the ancient inscriptions and calligraphy written by the Accountant's "Four Eyes" family that he regarded as a treasure. Along the way, my heart was beating, and I felt sweaty in the palms of myself and Yuan Yuan's palms, but the hands of the two were never separated. Yuan Yuan even explained to me enthusiastically. Here she probably often came here to tell some cultural anecdotes and legends, which made me look at them even more impressed.

"Yuan Yuan, you know so much." We stopped at Qianlong's visit to the south of the Yangtze River, climbed to the imperial stele pavilion written by Yunwu Mountain, looked at the extremely exaggerated big words of the Old Buddha, and sincerely exaggerated.

"Actually, I heard from my father that when he was working underground, he lived in Xingyuan Temple on the mountain for a long time and became good friends with the abbot of the then." Yuan Yuan lowered his head a little shyly.

Xingyuan Temple was originally named Dafo Temple. It was first built in the middle of the Tang Dynasty. Its ancient buildings such as the Great Hall, Bell Tower, and Sutra Tower were not only majestic, but also exquisite. Especially the large stone Buddha of the Tang Dynasty in the hall was about three feet high, and it is said to be as famous as the large Buddhas in Yungang and Longmen Grottoes.

We walked into the hall hand in hand, Yuan Yuan closed his eyes in front of the big stone Buddha, folded his hands together, and muttered something in his mouth. I stood by and looked at her pious expression, and felt very interesting, so I followed her and prayed silently in my heart.

"What are you praying for?" I asked curiously when Yuan Yuan finished his prayer.

"This cannot be said, it won't work if it says it." Two beautiful red tinges appeared on Yuan Yuan's curd-like cheeks.

"Are you a member of the group?" I asked casually with my mind.

"Yes, what's wrong?" Yuan Yuan's big flashing eyes were full of doubt.

"The Communist Youth League members should be atheists. Can your prayers be effective?" I said intentionally and funny.

"Why is it not working? As long as it is a beautiful thing, you will be blessed." Yuan Yuan shouted at me like a little girl quarreling, "Where did I see you worship Buddha?"

"I...I'm not a member of the League. I haven't even been a Red Soldier in school. I'm a naughty child king." I couldn't help laughing.

After leaving Xingyuan Temple, we came to Guanyun Pavilion in the back mountain. This is the highest point of Yunwu Mountain. Looking around, the sky is like washing, the peaks are continuous, the forests are dyed, and the colorful flowers are everywhere. At our feet, the maple leaves are like burning fireballs, shining in the sun, displaying all their vitality in the mountains and valleys.

"Is the clouds and mist beautiful?"

"Of course beautiful."

"Is the city good?"

"Of course."

"Do you want to come?"

"impossible."

"What if I find a way to get you there?"

I couldn't believe my ears, and I withdrew my gaze from afar, turned my face to look at the girl like flowers. At this time, her big, lively eyes were also looking at me steadily. As the eyes of each other were blending, I felt a palpitation and shortness of breath, and I couldn't help but lower my head.

"Yuan Yuan...I...I am a country child with a low education and poor family conditions. Maybe...I may not be able to adapt to life in the city."

The sky was high and blue, and a few white clouds floated lightly above our heads like feathers. We went down the mountain with anxiety all the way, and each other seemed to hear each other's heartbeat. I took the bicycle back at the storage car, and I rode up silently. Yuan Yuan hugged my waist and sat behind the car. We didn't say much.

"Hey-Wu Ping, will you have something to do next Sunday?" Yuan Yuan spoke softly behind me.

"It's okay, I just read books and wash clothes." I replied carefully.

"Can you do me a favor?"

"Okay, as long as you can help."

"My cousin is getting married soon. She needs some lights and sockets in her new house. Because I work in the power supply bureau, they asked me to do a favor."

"I thought it was a big deal? These tasks are easy to get to know. I often help people in the county." I breathed a sigh of relief and replied confidently.

"The Yunwu Mountain Temple Fair is held every year on February 19th of the lunar calendar, but it's fun and lively. Let's play together when the time comes." Yuan Yuan continued my words, and his warm cheeks pressed against my spine.

"It's time to finish my studies, so I'll go back to the county early." I answered to the truth.

"I won't let you go," the little girl said angrily, "I can definitely do what I say."

"Don't..." My heart couldn't stop trembling.
Chapter completed!