Chapter 160: A Day Trip to the Ancient Town

Xiyan Ancient Town is located in Moxian County, west of Pingchuan. It was established during the Northern Song Dynasty and has a history of over a thousand years, making it the oldest ancient town in Pingchuan.

By the time Li Dong and the others arrived, it was already past eleven.

As soon as they got out of the car, everyone's attention was immediately drawn to the beautiful scenery before them.

What greeted their eyes wasn't just an ancient town but a vibrant landscape painting, with the flow of people adding life to the picturesque scene.

Xiyan Ancient Town is surrounded by water on three sides, and under the sunlight, the river shimmered with a golden hue.

"It's so beautiful!"

Even the usually carefree Qi Fangfang couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

The others all chimed in with agreement, and even Li Dong was somewhat immersed in the scenery. Only Meng Qiping, however, dampened the mood with his remark: "What's so beautiful? It's just a few old buildings."

Immediately, several glaring looks were directed at Meng Qiping, and Cheng Nan ground his teeth in frustration. Couldn't this guy just avoid being embarrassing?

Li Dong snapped back to reality and asked, "Should we eat first or take a look around?"

"Eat!"

"Explore!"

Meng Qiping and Zhang Mengmeng voted for eating, while the others preferred exploring.

In the end, the group favoring exploration won out. Zhang Mengmeng was firmly put in her place by Qi Fangfang, and Meng Qiping was left pleading with Cheng Nan to let him off.

No one came to his aid, and given Meng Qiping's tendency to dig his own grave, Li Dong couldn't be bothered.

After crossing the arched bridge outside the town, the group officially entered Xiyan Ancient Town.

It was the peak of the tourist season, and the long stone street of over seven hundred meters was packed with visitors.

With eight people in the group, it was challenging to enjoy the trip together.

Eventually, they decided to split up. Originally, Li Dong had planned to team up with Qin Yuhan, with Meng Qiping and Cheng Nan forming another group, and Zhou Haidong looking after Qi Fangfang and the others.

But the result ended up with the three men in one group and the five women in another.

Li Dong and Meng Qiping exchanged glances, wondering what three grown men would do together.

So, Li Dong gave up on the idea of splitting into groups and let the women lead the way while the three men followed behind.

As they wandered around, everyone bought a lot of small trinkets.

Li Dong and Meng Qiping quickly filled themselves with various small toys and snacks, and even Zhou Haidong wasn't spared.

The women ahead were having a great time, and Li Dong didn't bother with them. He asked Zhou Haidong, "Have Wang Cheng and the others settled in?"

Wang Cheng was the scout who had mentioned executing over a hundred missions. They had all come to Pingchuan alone this time.

Li Dong had arranged for Zhou Haidong to rent a few apartments for them so they could bring their families along.

Zhou Haidong nodded and said softly, "They are already on duty."

Since Meng Qiping was nearby, Zhou Haidong spoke somewhat vaguely, but Li Dong understood.

Meng Qiping didn't understand their conversation but didn't ask about it.

Li Dong didn't ignore him and asked, "Fatty, weren't you supposed to be working a summer job? What kind of work are you doing?"

"At a small packaging company that specializes in making cardboard boxes. I'm just helping out with some odd jobs," Meng Qiping briefly explained. "Lao Tie and Haozi are working with me, and Bai Su helped find the job."

Mentioning Lao Tie and Bai Su made Li Dong feel a bit distant and unfamiliar.

Even though he had left school not long ago, it felt like a lifetime ago.

Those people and events seemed to be fading from his memory.

Li Dong was lost in thought, reflecting on how much he had gained and lost in his life.

He initially wanted to go to college both to reassure his parents and to relive the warm memories of his college years in his previous life. Unfortunately, things turned out differently than he had imagined. Returning to college, he no longer had the same passion and novelty.

"Dong Ge?"

Hearing Meng Qiping call out, Li Dong was jolted out of his reverie.

Seeing Meng Qiping and Zhou Haidong looking at him, Li Dong waved his hand and said nothing.

---

"Li Dong, come over here!"

Hearing Qin Yuhan call out, Li Dong hurried over and asked, "What's up? Are we going to eat?"

Qin Yuhan gave him a look and said, "Since when did you become like Mengmeng, eating all the time? We just had breakfast, and now you're ready for lunch!"

Li Dong was at a loss for words. What does she mean by just having breakfast? He had only eaten a youtiao at around eight in the morning, and now it was past twelve!

Not arguing with her, Li Dong looked around and saw that they were at a small ring-toss booth. Qi Fangfang and the others were excitedly throwing rings.

Li Dong asked, "Do you want to try?"

Qin Yuhan nodded at first but then said with frustration, "I've tried over twenty times, but I haven't won a single prize."

She pointed to a crystal doll on the booth and added, "I want that one. Li Dong, can you help me win it?"

Li Dong, of course, couldn't refuse. He confidently said, "Don't worry, I'm good at this. I'll definitely win it!"

"Really?" Qin Yuhan was thrilled.

Li Dong thought to himself that this was just a few bucks, and there was no need to be so excited.

He spent five yuan to buy twenty bamboo rings from the vendor and began his attempt.

The first ring missed the mark, flying past the crystal doll by a significant distance.

Li Dong didn't get discouraged, adjusted his position, and threw another ring.

This time, it was closer but still missed.

The third, fourth, and fifth rings…

After throwing ten rings, the closest he came was hitting the crystal doll, but it still bounced off.

Qin Yuhan, who had been eagerly cheering for him, looked disappointed and comforted Li Dong, "It's okay. The rings have a lot of bounce. It doesn't matter if you don't win."

Qi Fangfang, who had already won a toy doll, sneered, "If you don't have the skill, don't pretend. Look at how embarrassing it is now."

Li Dong's face turned red. Being scorned by a woman was bad enough!

To make matters worse, Meng Qiping, who was bending over to help Cheng Nan, also said, "Dong Ge, just give up. I'll help you win it later."

Li Dong was furious. Even the fat guy was mocking him. How unfair!

And Fatty had managed to win something while he was left empty-handed… Of course, Zhang Mengmeng was also empty-handed and was begging Zhou Haidong for help.

Zhou Haidong stepped in, and on his second attempt, he won a prize. Out of ten rings, Zhou Haidong won four items.

Zhang Mengmeng was so excited she almost wanted to kiss Zhou Haidong, but Zhou Haidong, being a married man, quickly left, leaving Zhang Mengmeng somewhat disappointed.

Now, everyone had something, except for Li Dong, who was left staring at a few bamboo rings in his hands.

Winning at ring toss is largely a matter of luck, with some skill involved, but Li Dong considered himself not too bad at it. So, was his luck just exceptionally poor today?

Seeing Qin Yuhan looking at him with pity, Li Dong felt his self-esteem take a massive hit!