yournovel Chapter 388 You're Impressive
Chapter 388 You're Impressive
The two then stood in the middle of Chunxi Road, each holding an ice cream cone, watching the crowds coming and going.
There are indeed many handsome men and beautiful women on the street.
Girls from Sichuan Province have fair skin, good figures, and fashionable clothes; they look like fashion magazine covers when they walk down the street.
The boys were just as good-looking, tall and handsome, with exquisite hairstyles.
Of course, you can also see some chubby boys with thick beards.
Chengdu is still full of Liu Yifeis, it's still Chengdu Liu Yifei.
Looking at the handsome men and beautiful women, Shen Yuege suddenly said, "The Land of Abundance truly nurtures people. The people here are indeed good-looking."
"I'm still far inferior to you."
"I was raised in Shanghai. Shanghai nurtures people, but it produces a different kind of flavor."
"What does it taste like?"
"It's a flavor you can't quite describe. You have to taste it for yourself."
Lu Ran tasted it, but couldn't discern the flavor.
But he felt that Shen Yuege was right. Girls raised in Shanghai are indeed different from those raised in Sichuan Province. Their temperament is different, their way of speaking is different, and even their walking posture is different.
It's not a question of which is better or worse; each has its own merits.
The two strolled around Chunxi Road for over an hour. Shen Yuege bought a sweatshirt and also bought one for Lu Ran, a matching pair, one black and one white.
When it was time to pay, Lu Ran took out his phone to pay, but Shen Yuege held his hand and scanned the code herself.
"I told you it's on me, don't try to take it from me."
"You're the kind of person who doesn't even tell me beforehand when you're treating me to a meal."
"If I had told you in advance, you wouldn't have let me treat you. So I didn't say anything and just paid directly."
Lu Ran was defeated by her logic and followed her out of the mall, carrying the bag of clothes.
After leaving Chunxi Road, the two went to Kuanzhai Alley. Kuanzhai Alley is not far from Chunxi Road; it only takes about ten minutes by taxi.
Kuanzhai Alley consists of three alleys: Kuan Alley, Zhai Alley, and Jing Alley.
Kuanxiangzi is the widest, Zhaixiangzi is the narrowest, and Jingxiangzi is in the middle.
The three alleys are lined with old-style Sichuan-style houses, with blue bricks and gray tiles, wooden doors and windows, and red lanterns hanging at the entrances, giving them a strong old Chengdu feel.
As one of Chengdu's oldest tourist attractions, Kuanzhai Alley is just as famous as Chunxi Road.
Shen Yuege saw a shop selling "Three Great Cannons" in Kuan Alley and pulled Lu Ran inside.
"Three Great Cannons" is a traditional snack in Chengdu. It is made of glutinous rice, which is cooked in a pot, taken out, and then thrown onto a copper plate and bounced three times, making three "bang bang bang" sounds, hence the name "Three Great Cannons".
The shopkeeper was a middle-aged man in his forties. He was very skilled. He grabbed a ball of glutinous rice, threw it out, bounced it three times on the copper plate, rolled it in soybean powder, poured brown sugar syrup on it, sprinkled sesame seeds on it, and then served it to Shen Yuege.
Shen Yuege took a bite, her eyes lit up, and she took another bite, saying, "Delicious. It's chewy, sweet, and has the aroma of soybean flour."
Lu Ran also ate one, and it was indeed delicious.
The glutinous rice is very soft, the brown sugar syrup is very sweet, and the soybean powder is very fragrant. The three flavors blend together, creating a rich taste.
After leaving the Three Cannons shop, the two continued strolling through Kuanzhai Alley.
There are many cultural and creative shops on both sides of the alley, selling all kinds of Chengdu-style souvenirs, such as panda dolls, Sichuan opera face-changing masks, Shu embroidery, bamboo weaving, and so on.
Shen Yuege bought a panda plush toy, the size of a palm, from a store, saying she wanted to hang it in her RV as a decoration.
Lu Ran did buy some souvenirs, but upon closer inspection, they were all refrigerator magnets.
Unfortunately, Lu Ran liked other things, but wasn't that interested in them. However, he really loved these refrigerator magnets.
Just like how kids enjoy stickers.
When we reached the narrow alley, there were far fewer people.
Narrow alleys are narrower than wide alleys, and the houses on both sides are more densely packed. The light in the alleys is dimmer, but they have more character.
There are several teahouses in the alley, with bamboo chairs and tables, covered teacups, and the old Chengdu vibe.
Shen Yuege stopped in front of a teahouse, glanced inside, and said, "When we get old, let's open a teahouse like this, okay?"
Do you know how to brew tea?
"No. But I can learn."
"You can't learn it. Brewing tea looks simple, but there's a lot more to it than meets the eye. Water temperature, the amount of tea leaves, steeping time—everything has its nuances. You think just throwing tea leaves into a cup and pouring in water is brewing tea?"
Shen Yuege glared at him: "Can you not be so realistic? I'm talking about feelings, do you understand? It's that feeling where two people sit in a teahouse, drinking tea and watching the pedestrians on the street, quietly, without having to think about anything. You're talking about water temperature and tea leaves, that ruins the atmosphere."
Lu Ran laughed: "Okay, whatever you say. When we get old, we'll open a teahouse, you can be the proprietress, and I'll be the waitress."
"You want to be a waiter? With a face like yours, you wouldn't even bother to greet a customer, let alone be a waiter!"
"Then I'll be the boss. The boss doesn't have to greet customers, he can just sit and collect money."
"Who will make the tea?"
"Just hire someone to date. It's not like we can't afford to pay them."
Shen Yuege was both amused and exasperated by his answer, shook her head, and continued walking forward.
It was almost dark when they came out of Kuanzhai Alley. The two found a hot pot restaurant to eat at. Chengdu hot pot is spicy and fragrant, and they were sweating profusely after eating. Shen Yuege was gasping for breath from the spiciness, but her chopsticks never stopped, and she kept putting food into her mouth.
Lu Ran didn't eat much. He couldn't handle spicy food very well, and he gave up after a couple of bites. He sat across from Shen Yuege and watched her finish all the food on the table by herself.
"Aren't you going to eat? I can't finish all this by myself." Shen Yuege said she couldn't finish it, but her chopsticks were still scooping food out of the pot.
"You eat slowly, I'll just watch you eat."
Are you worried about the money again?
"It's not that I'm worried about the money, it's just that I really can't eat spicy food. My stomach will protest if I eat any more."
Shen Yuege scooped out the last piece of tripe from the pot, ate it, wiped her mouth, and leaned back in her chair with satisfaction: "Chengdu hot pot is really delicious. Much more authentic than Shanghai's."
"Of course. Hot pot restaurants in Shanghai have lowered the spiciness level several notches to cater to local tastes. Hot pot restaurants in Chengdu don't need to lower it because locals love spicy food."
"How do you know everything?"
"Because I looked it up. I looked at it when I had nothing else to do."
Why are you looking this up? You can't eat spicy food anyway.
"Not being able to eat spicy food doesn't mean you can't study it. It's the same principle as not playing football but being able to watch the World Cup."
Shen Yuege was speechless, choked by his logic, and stood up to pay the bill.
Lu Ran followed behind her and saw that she didn't even frown when she scanned the code to pay.
This woman is much more generous with money than I am.
The two people left the hot pot restaurant and slowly walked back to the parking lot along the street.
Chengdu's nights are lively, with streets full of people: some walking their dogs, some strolling, some sitting by the roadside eating skewers, and some standing in line outside milk tea shops waiting for their milk tea.
The city has a strong sense of everyday life, as strong as a bowl of freshly cooked spicy hot pot, steaming hot and comforting to look at.
As Lu Ran walked along the streets of Chengdu, looking at the plane trees on both sides and the dim streetlights, a thought suddenly popped into his mind.
He just wrote a song for Guizhou Province, and it's been quite successful, bringing a boost of popularity to the Wumeng Mountains.
Why not write one for Sichuan Province as well?
Sichuan Province is a great place, Chengdu is a great city, and its tourism resources are no less than those of Guizhou Province.
A good song can make a place popular, so writing one for Chengdu and promoting it is a way to do good deeds for myself.
Furthermore, Tutu Technology has a branch in Chengdu, where 63 new employees are currently undergoing training.
Chengdu is becoming a hot destination, and Tutu Technology's brand awareness in Chengdu will also increase, making it easier to recruit people, negotiate partnerships, and organize events.
Why not do something that kills two birds with one stone?
He had already thought of a song title—"Chengdu".
He knew all too well how popular "Chengdu" was in his previous life.
Zhao Lei's song has a simple melody and plain lyrics; it describes the feeling of walking alone on the streets of Chengdu.
There are no fancy words or complicated arrangements. It's just a person walking on Yulin Road in Chengdu at night, walking to the entrance of a small bar, sitting on the steps by the roadside, watching people come and go, and thinking about things that are hard to explain.
The magic of that song lies in the fact that it doesn't sing about Chengdu's tourist attractions, its food, or its history and culture, but rather about the feeling of Chengdu.
That slow, leisurely feeling makes you want to stop and linger a little longer.
This feeling is what makes Chengdu so attractive.
Lu Ran mentally went over the melody of "Chengdu." The intro was a simple guitar arpeggio, but it had a lot of character.
The melody of the verse is like talking, plain and simple, like chatting with an old friend.
The chorus melody is slightly higher, but not too high; it's the kind of tune that says, "I want to tell you something."
The song maintains a consistent tone, neither hurried nor impatient, neither sad nor happy. It's like someone walking the streets of Chengdu all night and then feeling that the city is quite nice.
That's the taste.
As Lu Ran was pondering this, Shen Yuege suddenly spoke up: "What are you thinking about? You haven't said a word the whole way."
"Thinking of a song."
Shen Yuege stopped, turned around and looked at him: "You want to write a song again?"
"What's wrong? Is it not okay?"
"Didn't you say you needed inspiration to write songs? It's only been a few days, and you've already got inspiration again?"
"Inspiration is something that can't be stopped when it comes. I wrote a poem for Guizhou Province before, and now that I'm in Sichuan Province, I think Sichuan is also great, so I want to write a poem for Sichuan as well."
Shen Yuege glanced at him, and the corners of her mouth slowly curled up: "This isn't inspiration, it's spreading your blessings evenly. You write songs for every place you go. Are you going to write a song for every province you visit?"
"That's not impossible. We could release an album called 'Beautiful Rivers and Mountains.' What do you think?"
Shen Yuege smiled, but for some reason, she felt that the name "Great Rivers and Mountains" was actually quite good.
In Chengdu, there are many street performers who sing for money.
Lu Ran pulled Shen Yuege to a street performer's stall to listen to music.
The singer is a man in his thirties. Although he is not old, his voice carries a sense of vicissitude.
When the song ended, everyone around applauded.
Shen Yuege couldn't help but clap her hands, and at the same time, she took out her phone and scanned the stall's QR code to pay several tens of yuan.
"Hey, your husband's right here. You're already spending money on other men?" Lu Ran teased from the side.
Shen Yuege rolled her eyes at him: "They sang so well, it's normal to give them a reward, right? Why don't you go up and sing a few songs too, and I'll give you some rewards."
"Provocation doesn't work on me."
"You're not scared, are you? A singer from Tomorrow can't beat a street performer?" Shen Yuege said with a mischievous grin.
"I can't beat him? Humph, I just don't want to bully him. In China, there isn't a male singer better than me yet." Lu Ran's tone was unconvinced, but he still didn't plan to go up.
With so many people around, it would be very dangerous to rush up there rashly.
"Fine, fine, you win."
Lu Ran, who had originally given up on going up, became unsettled upon hearing this.
I am a master-level singer, an all-around producer, and a top-notch singer, blessed by the system.
What does "I'm the best" mean?
No, we absolutely have to get our revenge.
...