Tian Sisi and her friends had just returned home when Xu Qianwen mentioned that someone named Junzi called twice during the day looking for Tian Xinhua, asking him to call back.
Tian Xinhua knew immediately it must be Luo Jun calling to invite them out, and sure enough, once he made the call, Luo Jun’s voice came through: "Brother, where have you been all day? I’ve been looking for you!"
"I went to see my cousin at the battalion, what’s up?"
"Tomorrow, we are going to the grasslands for two days. Do you and Sister Sisi want to come?"
"Yes! Brother Junzi, we’ll come to find you early tomorrow morning!" The phone’s sound isolation was poor, allowing Tian Sisi to hear and she hurried over to shout into the phone.
"Great, let’s not miss each other tomorrow!" Luo Jun happily hung up.
The next morning, Tian Xinhua and their group of six set out by car towards Hu City. Tian Lili was forcefully included by Xu Qianwen, and Tian Xinhua had made it clear beforehand to Xu Qianwen that if Tian Lili misbehaved, he would discipline her. Xu Qianwen was uncomfortable with this but agreed, considering her daughter could get to know the son of a commanding officer.
Before getting into the car, Tian Lili caused some trouble; she insisted on sitting in Sisi’s passenger seat. Ignored by everyone, including her own brother Tian Weihua, Tian Xinhua simply said coldly, "If you don’t want to sit, get off the car!" Xu Qianwen immediately pushed her daughter into the back seat, reminding Tian Lili to listen to Tian Xinhua.
Tian Lili felt extremely wronged all the way until they unloaded, but no one noticed her discomfort as everyone was busy.
Luo Jun and Lei Gang also drove a jeep, and their group included eight people: Lei Gang, Luo Jun, Liu Datou, Zhang Jie, Lu Yunfei, Ma Jiajia, and two other boys named Wu Tianfang and Han Zhifei, who had watched a movie together the other day.
"Let’s go buy some food first," Luo Jun told Tian Xinhua.
"I’ve prepared some dry food and water already, but if it’s not enough, we can buy more," Tian Xinhua pointed to the flatbreads, dried meat, and roasted grains in the car.
"That’s enough, won’t we have food on the grasslands? Besides, we brought guns; we can hunt wild game to eat," Lei Gang was carefree.
They were heading to the Huite Xile Grasslands, which in Mongolian means "Cold Plateau." Since the Huite Xile Grasslands are situated at an altitude of over 1800 meters and represent a rare type of high-mountain meadow grassland, it’s very suitable for visits.
On the way, Luo Jun shared many local customs, such as:
"When the host offers you milk tea, you must accept it with both hands or right hand only, never with the left hand, as it would anger the host.
When the host offers a toast, the guest should immediately accept the drink and dip their ring finger into it, then touch it to the sky, ground, and towards the stove, as a way to honor the heaven, earth, and fire gods.
Mongolians are very hospitable; when encountering a stranger, they warmly welcome them, and guests should finish the milk tea and try some food offered by the host, as not doing so would upset the host.
Sisi and the others listened patiently, knowing that these were important messages. If they offended the local herders on the grasslands due to a misstep in etiquette, they might be in big trouble, even risking their lives.
Lili scoffed and rolled her eyes, opting to sleep with her eyes closed. For some reason, she always felt sleepy and a bit dizzy after waking up these days. (Sisi laughed)
The scenery of the grasslands was indeed stunning. Sisi was so busy capturing the beautiful landscapes. The sky was so blue, the grass was so green, and the space between heaven and earth was so vast. Almost every photo could be used as a desktop wallpaper—it was beyond description.
There were quite a few herders on the grassland, driving herds of cattle and sheep, occasionally shouting or singing to the sky in their hoarse and rugged voices. Though not melodious, their songs had a charming flavor that was probably the true essence of grassland music.
Lei Gang and Luo Jun were very experienced in dealing with these herders, and they spoke Mongolian fluently. Few locals spoke Chinese, and among their group, only Lei Gang and Luo Jun could speak Mongolian.
After a delightful conversation with a Mongolian uncle and receiving a bag of Horse Milk Wine as a gift, the uncle happily bid them farewell on horseback, taking a large herds of cattle and sheep with him majestically.
"Uncle Bala invited us to visit his place, his Mongolian Tent is twenty kilometers to the west," Luo Jun explained what they had just discussed.
"Why did you refuse then, Brother Junzi?" Sisi asked, puzzled.
Luo Jun smiled, "Well, we have too many people, and there are too many customs to follow when visiting a Mongolian Tent. I was afraid you guys wouldn’t be accustomed to it."
As the light began to fade, Lei Gang took out two tents from his Jeep and called Luo Jun and others to help set them up. They brought military tents which were quickly assembled.
Meanwhile, Tian Xinhua took Wei Hua and others to collect cow dung. On the grasslands, the herders burned cow dung as fuel. In Mongolian, cow dung was called "given wang," which was precious to the herders, and their deep affection for cow dung was irreplaceable by anything else.
Fortunately, it was summer, and after a day of drying, the dung had turned into excellent fuel. The grasslands were rich in cow dung resources. Soon, Tian Xinhua and others brought back a small mountain-like pile of cow dung, which surprisingly didn’t stink at all but instead released a fragrant aroma.
"How stinky! Sisi, aren’t you disgusted by picking up these feces with your hands?" Lili cried out in disgust, covering her nose, as she watched Sisi throwing a piece of dung into the fire.
Lu Yunfei and Ma Jiajia also covered their noses, just like Lili, and they all looked at Sisi with a "how could you do this" expression.
"It’s not stinky at all; this dung actually smells quite good, smell it if you don’t believe me!"
Sisi teasingly brought a piece of dung right in front of Lili, who screamed and ran away, while Lu Yunfei and Ma Jiajia also kept their distance, afraid that Sisi might go crazy and bring the dung to them too.
"It really smells nice. This cow eats grass, so besides milk, it only excretes these poops. Since the milk is sweet and fragrant, the dung won’t stink either. Maybe some people even eat it!"
Sisi said mischievously, intent on grossing out those three. She couldn’t stand pretentious women, especially when the dung didn’t stink at all.
"Sisi, are you still a girl? How can you say something so disgusting?"
Lu Yunfei turned pale and retched continuously, making her brainless fans Han Zhifei and Ma Jiajia feel sorry for her. Ma Jiajia couldn’t help but speak out and question Sisi, who simply shrugged her shoulders, uninterested in responding, and continued her task of burning dung.