A powerful country in scientific research

The next day is Sunday.

Su Lei was woken up by his parents at five o'clock. After packing, the three of them went to Sujiatun, which is Su Ran's grandparents' home, with the things they bought at the supply and marketing cooperative yesterday.

Su Ran didn't go.

Today she made an appointment with Wu Hongying, He Cheng and Xu Kai to celebrate the progress in the exam.

Originally, the four of them wanted to go to a state-owned restaurant for dinner together, but considering that they were still students and might not have enough pocket money, Su Ran simply suggested that the four of them go hiking together and have a picnic on the mountain.

The weather is warm now, and it is perfect for a picnic when spring flowers are blooming. Su Ran is very satisfied with her proposal.

Wu Hongying and Xu Kai had never eaten outside, so they excitedly agreed to her proposal. He Cheng naturally had no objection, and there happened to be a Huangshan Mountain near the Haishi Library, so the four of them agreed to climb Huangshan Mountain today, and everyone brought some food.

It is now half past seven, and they agreed to meet at the library entrance at nine o'clock.

Su Ran was washing rice. She was going to steam some rice and use mushroom sauce to make some simple rice balls. In fact, she was just making mushroom sauce into a filling and putting it into the rice balls. She was also going to fry some mushrooms. After all, there were too many mushrooms in the space and they needed to be consumed.

After they cooled down, Su Ran put the rice balls and fried mushrooms into two lunch boxes respectively. Fortunately, her family had enough lunch boxes, otherwise the smells would easily mix together. Then she took three small cans and filled them with mushroom sauce.

After everything was done, Su Ran looked at the time. It was eight forty. It was time to go out.

She put on her coat, wrapped the lunch box and canned jars of mushroom sauce in a bag, and put them in her schoolbag. This schoolbag was very similar to modern backpacks, but its design was simpler. It was a gift from Grandma Jiang to Su Ran, and it cost a lot of money. Jiang Hongmei complained to her mother for several days because of this.

Su Ran put on his schoolbag and went out.

Because it was the weekend, there were quite a few people downstairs. They all lived in the same family compound and knew each other very well. Su Ran greeted them one by one.

"Ran Ran, where are you going?"

"Grandma Wang, my classmates and I have made an appointment to climb Mount Huangshan together."

"Not bad, not bad, go ahead."

Su Ran said goodbye to Grandma Wang with a smile, then walked towards the library.

The food factory’s staff quarters were not far from the library, so Su Ran arrived there quickly.

He Cheng and Xu Kai had arrived a long time ago, holding a cloth bag in their hands.

The two were chatting casually, and He Cheng tilted his head and saw Su Ran walking towards them with a bright look.

"I'm not late."

He Cheng looked at the bright smile of the girl in front of him, and his heart beat faster. "No, we came too early."

Xu Kai: "Su Ran, why are you carrying a schoolbag? It will be so tiring to carry it when we climb the mountain later."

Su Ran: "I brought a lot of food, so I can only carry it in my schoolbag."

While we were talking, Wu Hongying arrived. She came over skipping and bouncing with a lunch box in her hand.

The first thing she asked when she came over was "What delicious food did you bring?"

His foodie nature is fully exposed.

Su Ran smiled helplessly, "You'll know when we eat later."

When everyone was together, the four of them walked towards Huangshan Mountain while talking. As it was near the library, they arrived at the foot of Huangshan Mountain in a short while.

In early April, the weather in Haishi is getting warmer, everything is reviving, birds are singing and flowers are blooming, showing a vibrant scene. Looking up from below, you can see a green area, and the whole Huangshan is full of spring.

Su Ran felt that she could breathe more freely. In her previous life, she was busy with work and rarely traveled. During the time she traveled here, she was also busy with study and experiments. She basically did not go out except for school. Now she finally had the opportunity to get in touch with nature! Happy!

She looked up at the mountain, her eyes full of fighting spirit.

The four people started climbing the mountain, with Su Ran and Wu Hongying walking in front.

At this moment, Wu Hongying was vividly describing the interesting things that happened yesterday, and Su Ran was listening with a smile on her face.

Xu Kai at the back was also saying something excitedly, but He Cheng's attention seemed to be elsewhere.

He Cheng was looking at Su Ran in front of him at this moment. Seeing her steps were heavier than usual, he frowned. Her schoolbag must be very heavy. He tightened his hands holding the bag, wishing he could help her carry it.

"Hecheng, Hecheng..."

Seeing that He Cheng was distracted, Xu Kai called him.

He Cheng, who was staring at Su Ran's schoolbag, quickly came back to his senses, "Sorry, I was distracted just now. What did you just say?"

Xu Kai waved his hands, "It's okay, it's okay. Let me say it again."

"Just the day before yesterday, when I got home and told my parents about my grades, they were so happy that they kept praising me and gave me more pocket money. Hahahaha, yesterday I used that money to buy a lot of snacks at the department store. Let's eat together when we get there. Thanks to you and Su Ran, otherwise I wouldn't have done so well in the exam this time."

He Cheng: "Okay, I brought a lot too, let's take turns eating. No need to thank us, your progress is also due to your hard work." There was a smile in the pleasant voice.

His eyes flashed, and he continued, "Speaking of food, it seems that Su Ran should have taken a lot."

Xu Kai: "Yeah, look at her schoolbag, she must have taken a lot."

He Cheng: "Yeah, it looks like a lot."

He Cheng looked at the backs in front of him and said loudly, "Su Ran, Wu Hongying, you two should give us the things. It's tiring to carry them. You need to conserve your energy."

Su Ran, who was standing in front, hesitated for a moment when he heard what they said. The schoolbag was actually not that heavy, but it would be tiring to climb a mountain, and it might be a bit difficult to climb with it on his back.

Thinking of this, Su Ran took off his schoolbag and handed it over, "Thank you, you've worked hard."

Before Xu Kai could react, He Cheng's hand reached out to him. He took the schoolbag and put it on his back, "We are classmates, don't be so polite."

When Wu Hongying saw Su Ran handing them the schoolbag, she also handed the lunch box to Xu Kai, "Thank you, Xu Kai."

Xu Kai took it and put it in his own bag, "It's okay." He was too thick-skinned to react to He Cheng's intentions and started to talk to He Cheng again.

He Cheng solved the problem that he had been thinking about, and stopped being distracted, listening carefully to what Xu Kai said.

Su Ran and Wu Hongying in front had lighter steps because they were no longer carrying any weight, and they climbed the mountain faster.

Hai City is located in a plain, so although Huangshan is a mountain, it is actually not very high. The four people climbed for about an hour and reached the top of the mountain.

Except for He Cheng, the other three were sweating profusely from exhaustion and were now sitting on the ground panting.

Su Ran took a few minutes to recover. She stood up and looked at the ant-like buildings at the foot of the mountain. She felt much better. Although the scenery was not as good as the mountains in the tourist attractions she had climbed in her previous life, it was still soothing.

He Cheng was also looking into the distance. He had been in Haishi for five years and had never been here. Haishi was very big, but he never knew it was so big. As far as he could see, there was no end.

This is not the first time Xu Kai has come here, but before he always came with his father, or as a family of three. With his parents around, he didn't dare to do anything. Now he finally has the opportunity to do something he has been thinking about for a long time, and he is determined to have a blast!

"I'm Xu Kai!"

"I want to join the army!"

"Xu Kai wants to join the army!"

Su Ran, He Cheng and Wu Hongying, who were originally frightened by his voice, looked at him in surprise after hearing his next words.

He Cheng joked: "You are so ambitious! Why haven't I heard you say that you want to join the army before?"

Xu Kai, who was panting heavily after shouting so hard, smiled embarrassedly and said, "Because my parents don't allow me to go, I never mentioned it."

Wu Hongying asked in confusion: "Why don't your parents agree?"

Xu Kai sighed, "My uncle was a soldier before, but he was injured on the battlefield and broke his leg. My parents were afraid that I would get injured on the battlefield, so they were very opposed to me joining the army."

After hearing his words, Su Ran pursed her lips. The previous generation of soldiers had indeed experienced a lot of gunfire and bullets, and countless soldiers had sacrificed their lives. Uncle Xu Kai's injury was considered a good thing, at least he had the chance to go home alive.

Su Ran: "There shouldn't be any wars in the future, we've been at peace for so long."

He Cheng was silent for a moment, "I hope so."

Xu Kai didn't say anything either.

Seeing that the atmosphere was a little depressed, Wu Hongying hurriedly changed the subject. She smiled and said, "Let's find a place to eat. My mother knew I was going to climb the mountain yesterday, so she bought me an egg cake."

Xu Kai also became excited, "I also brought a lot of good things, let's eat quickly."

Su Ran turned around and looked around, then pointed to a relatively flat area and said, "How about that?"

Xu Kai: "Okay."

He Cheng: "Okay."

Wu Hongying: “Yes, it’s right there.”

Then He Cheng took out a piece of cloth from the bag and spread it on the grass. It was agreed before that he would be responsible for the placemat.

After the mats were laid out, the four people each found a seat and sat down, with one person sitting in each direction of the east, south, west and north.

On Su Ran's left is Wu Hongying, on his right is He Cheng, and opposite him is Xu Kai.

After sitting down, the four of them took out the food they had brought.

Wu Hongying brought egg cake and boiled eggs. The portions were not large, just two pieces for each person. She opened the lunch box and placed it between the four of them.

Xu Kai also opened his bag and took out the biscuits, soda, a bottle of canned fruit and a bottle of canned meat that he had bought at the department store yesterday and placed them next to Wu Hongying's lunch box.

Su Ran and Wu Hongying were extremely surprised. This was a very generous move by Xu Kai.

Wu Hongying smiled and said, "Xu Kai, why did you buy so much? Did you spend all your pocket money?"

Xu Kai waved his hand, "It's a rare opportunity for me to go out with you guys, why don't you buy some delicious food."

Su Ran pursed her lips and smiled, "If you like, we can make an appointment every month, but next time Xu Kai, don't spend so much money. If you do this again, I won't invite you next time."

Xu Kai was very excited when he heard the first half of her story, but when he heard the second half, he scratched his head in embarrassment, "Okay, I'll bring less next time. Let's make an appointment to go out and play together next month."

Wu Hongying excitedly echoed, "Okay! Next time we can go hiking or go to the park."

Xu Kai also offered his own suggestions for the next place to visit.

Seeing them getting excited, Su Ran hurriedly stopped them and said, "Okay, there's no rush to decide where to go next time. There's still a month left. Let's eat quickly. By the way, He Cheng, what did you bring?"

He Cheng knew that she was afraid that Xu Kai and Wu Hongying would continue arguing and wanted to divert their attention, so she asked him.

With the corners of his lips slightly curved, he took out the pastries that the nanny had made that morning, as well as some oranges and strawberries, and laid them out one by one.

When Su Ran saw the exquisite pastries he took out, she didn't react much. After all, she had been to many high-end restaurants in her previous life and had eaten a lot of delicious Chinese pastries, so she was not very interested.

But when she saw He Cheng take out strawberries and oranges, her eyes lit up. She had never seen strawberries in all the time she had been here. Thinking of the sweet and sour taste of strawberries, Su Ran swallowed her saliva and thanked He Cheng that she could finally satisfy her craving.

Wu Hongying also looked at He Cheng with bright eyes. The pastries that her idol brought out were so beautiful that she wanted to eat them just by looking at them. As for the two kinds of fruits, she had only eaten the yellow one, which her father bought at a high price on the black market a long time ago. She had never eaten the red one!

Her boyfriend is so amazing, he has such rare fruits!

Xu Kai comes from a well-off family and has eaten strawberries before, but strawberries are not common nowadays. His desk mate is quite amazing as he was able to get some strawberries.

Among the four people, Su Ran was the only one who hadn't taken her things yet. The other three looked at her tacitly.

Su Ran then realized that she was so busy looking at what they brought that she had forgotten about herself.

She took her schoolbag from the side, opened it, and Su Ran took out two lunch boxes first. She didn't touch the jar of mushroom sauce. She planned to give it to them after going down the mountain so that they could take it home and eat.

Su Ran opened the two lunch boxes, and a fragrance immediately wafted out.

Xu Kai leaned in and sniffed, "It smells so good, Su Ran, what did you bring?"

Wu Hongying also looked at Su Ran's two lunch boxes with curiosity. Why did Ranran bring rice? She made it into a ball. She didn't know how it was cooked, but it smelled strangely good.

There was another one, it must have been fried, it smelled so good. She swallowed her saliva, her egg cake didn’t smell good anymore, she wanted to eat what Ranran brought!

He Cheng didn't react much. He had never been very greedy since he was a child. He was not picky about food and could eat anything.

Su Ran smiled and explained, "This is a rice ball. I added mushroom sauce to it. It tastes very good. You can try it. The other one is fried mushrooms. I don't have much seasoning at home, so I only used salt to season it. Don't be disgusted by it."

After saying that, she took out the chopsticks again. She put them inside before going out. It was inconvenient to wash hands in the mountain, so she brought chopsticks with her on purpose.

Only then did the three of them realize that it was Su Ran who did it.