Yunding Ranch

Chapter 13 Party Invitation

A trace of doubt and astonishment flashed in Lu Li's eyes, obviously he did not expect such an answer.

The cowgirl seemed very satisfied with Lu Li's reaction, and immediately burst out laughing, which made Lu Li even more confused, "Are you that Chinese? Liz's friend, who came to take over the Beech Ranch?" The cowgirl He guessed Lu Li's identity in no time. In this small town, everyone knew each other, and any trouble could not escape everyone's ears.

Instead, Lu Li became vigilant. After staying in New York for a long time, vigilance is the basic awareness of self-protection - he just arrived here, and the other party already knew his identity. This feeling is really bad, almost reflexively, Lu Li turned on the protection mode.

The cowgirl noticed Lu Li's inadvertent alienation, but she didn't mind, and explained with a smile, "The Beech Ranch is next door, follow this road for about one kilometer. This is the Marshall Valley Ranch."

It was only then that Lu Li realized that he had made an own mistake and found the wrong place! "I thought..." Lu Li pointed to the beech forest in the distance, and the cowgirl looked back along Lu Li's finger, "The oak forest? The main part is here, and only a small part is in Liz's." In the ranch..." Looking back, the cowgirl saw Lu Li's annoyed expression, and suddenly realized, "You thought it was a zelkova tree?" The cowgirl smiled and shook her head, "It seems that you are a city boy." I couldn't even tell the difference between a beech tree and an oak tree.

"No one stipulates that rural boys must know everything." Lu Li fought back, "Not everyone in Austin is a cowboy, is it?"

The cowgirl thought about it seriously, and nodded in agreement, "Indeed, not everyone who wears a cowboy hat can be called a cowboy, just like Justin Bieber, he's not even a man."

Lu Li was stunned for a moment, and then his smile immediately burst into bloom, "I mean there are still workers and students, but...you are right." The cowgirl tasted the teasing in Lu Li's words, and her cheeks couldn't help Wei Wei became hot, "What's more, you also said just now that there are not many outstanding cowboys like you, right?"

The cowgirl raised her head and looked at Lu Li. There was a faint light in her dark and bright eyes, like a crystal clear lake, "You mean the horseback riding just now? Besides my daily life, I am also a professional woman." Cowboy, I was just practicing for the rodeo."

"Rodeo?" Lu Li had only heard about it, but had never been there to watch it himself.To be more precise, in the past three years of college life, his extracurricular recreational activities were really pitiful, not because he didn’t want to participate, but in fact, he was very keen to participate in different challenges. Unfortunately, because of tuition fees and In relation to living expenses, he had to make a trade-off. "It sounds exciting."

"Of course!" The cowgirl's succinct words revealed a burst of pride, "The spring rodeo will be at the end of May, and you are welcome to watch the competition. This is the biggest event in spring every year. Believe me, the lively scene will definitely It's something you've never seen before."

"I definitely don't question this, for a person who doesn't even know how to ride a horse." Lu Li's self-deprecation made the cowgirl smile, but Lu Li didn't immediately agree, because he didn't know whether he would stay or not. Come down; more precisely, before starting this journey, he had decided to put the beech pasture up for auction.

Although Lu Li is very grateful for Liz's generous gift, he is not a blind and impulsive person. He knows his own situation better than anyone else. He does not have the financial ability or management ability to shoulder the operation of the entire ranch. Instead of letting the ranch be destroyed In your own hands, it is better to leave it to professionals to continue the family ranch of Liz.Coming to Beech Ranch in person is more of a farewell to Liz and expressing my gratitude.

"I should go to the Beech Ranch." Lu Li pointed to the front, "I hope I won't find the wrong way this time."

The cowgirl laughed heartily, her charming eyes curved into two crescent moons, "You are a very interesting guy, no wonder you can become friends with Liz." The cowgirl slightly lifted her chin, " Welcome to Texas, I'm Chloe, and we'll be neighbors from now on."

"Neighbor." The word rolled lightly on the tip of Lu Li's tongue, and then disappeared. He smiled and said, "I'm Fourteen, thank you for your kind 'guidance'." This was obviously protesting just now Chloe burst out laughing at Chloe's little prank, with a smug smile on her lips, "Fourteen? Your name is Fourteen? This is really weird!"

Lu Li couldn't help but smile, and vividly explained the embarrassment he had caused, which made Chloe burst out laughing.She didn't expect such a little story behind the name at all, and more importantly, this Chinese/Chinese person is really interesting, subverting her previous stereotypes, which is a windfall.

Lu Li took half a step back and was about to get back into the car. It was not long before sunset. His place tonight hadn't been settled yet, and he didn't know what was going on at the Beech Ranch. He still needed to go there as soon as possible, "Be careful at night." Vampires are infested, neighbor!" The same words had a different taste in Lu Li's mouth.

"Mr. Vampire, this is Texas, you'd better be careful." Chloe shouted jokingly, but Lu Li didn't turn around, but just shrugged slightly in response.

Watching Lu Li's figure off, the smile on Chloe's mouth still didn't dissipate, a palpitation flashed in her eyes, she hesitated for a moment, "Fourteen." This time Lu Li stopped, stood by the car door and turned around, " There is a party at the Blackmane Horse Ranch tonight, do you want to join us?" Without waiting for Lu Li to respond, she added, "Today is the [-]th wedding anniversary of the McCartneys, they held a grand party, Invite all the neighbors in the neighborhood to join, I think they will welcome you. You know, Texas is a hospitable land!"

Such parties are not uncommon in the United States, and the hosts are very hospitable. Lu Li has also attended parties held by classmates and friends before.After thinking about it, he's fine tonight anyway, and there's no plan for dinner; what's more, it's the spring break, so he nodded, "No problem."

"The Black Mane Horse Ranch is on the other side of the town. You can ask anyone, and they will guide you." Chloe added, Lu Li gestured an "OK" gesture, and Chloe couldn't help showing it With a smile, "Then, see you tonight."

Lu Li nodded, "See you tonight." Then he got into the driver's seat, started the engine again, and drove away.

Leaving the Marshall Valley Ranch, a vast expanse of grassland stretches toward the horizon, and the gentle hills roll up and down, but they can't block the sight until you can see the vast sea of ​​trees and mountains at the end, and the sky is full of golden colors. The sunshine is full of spring/color, and the immature emerald green melts into the warm light tones, as if the slow-paced life can be smelled in the air, as well as the leisure and happiness hidden in it.

In a blink of an eye, you can see a wooden house in front of you. This is a typical ranch house. You can see a similar appearance in many movies. The house is completely made of wood. The part on the left near the road is a warehouse. It is full of dry straw piles, and a giant wheel tractor about one floor high is parked; next to it is a residential house, which is a two-story building, facing south, with iconic pointed eaves, and a small building on the second floor. The balcony faces east and is staggered from the porch in front of the gate on the first floor. On the porch is a wooden rocking chair and a hanging basket-style net chair; there is a small garden in front of the house, and the appearance of the lush green land is obviously carefully planned There are a few shovels and plows randomly placed beside the garden; a little to the east of the garden, there is a vegetable field, the low green seedlings seem to have just been planted, and two red buckets are thrown at random. beside.

Every corner is filled with a strong breath of life, as if there were people living here just 10 minutes ago.

Lu Li stood outside the car door, his footsteps nailed in place, motionless.This is the place where Liz lives, maybe even the place where she was born, grew up, aged, and died, a place that has witnessed the ups and downs of her life, and the random and ordinary details show the most authentic life.

In his mind, Liz's face was still slightly blurred, he and her just met by chance.But at this moment, looking at the scene in front of her, the image of Liz began to become vivid and concrete. She squatted on the ground and carefully took care of the marigolds in the garden at the door. She carried a red bucket to water the vegetable field. Sitting on that rocking chair, admiring the starry sky... It seems that traces of her life can be seen in every corner.

The lady lying on the hospital bed and discussing with him the influence of "Harry Potter" and "The Catcher in the Rye" on different eras; the one sitting in a wheelchair looking at the blue sky and listening to rock music with him The old man; the woman who strolled on the hospital tree-lined path and lamented that autumn in New York is so pleasant... At this moment, it overlaps with the pasture in front of me.

Raising his head, Lu Li easily saw the beech forest that had just sprouted buds obliquely in front of him. Different from the rough and lush oak trees, this beech tree showed a completely different appearance. It was flexible but strong and stretched upwards. The straight and interlaced branches weave a whole fine net layer by layer, covering the clear blue and translucent gold of the sky, and the vigorous young leaves dance with the breeze, rustling and performing a lullaby , like a hometown with open arms, welcoming wanderers home.

Lu Li knew that this was the Beech Ranch.

(End of this chapter)