".....Don't be surprised, my grandpa used to drive tanks when he was young. After he retired, he wasn't allowed to do anything too exciting, so he just plays some games for fun and herds cattle and sheep."
Tang You, sitting in the driver's seat, spoke to everyone with a helpless expression about her grandpa.
The Northern region is peaceful and harmonious now, although there are still issues with uneven industrial development. But it wasn't always this peaceful and harmonious, it used to be in constant turmoil.
Before the founding of the country, it was the front line of resistance, and after the founding, it remained one of the front-line regions. Tang You's grandpa used to be part of a machinery factory and later transitioned to tank-infantry cooperation.
Even though Tang You didn't want to say it, her grandpa's personality is just naturally combative, and tanks are more fun to play with than horses!
Things like chess, bird watching, and theater don't compare to the thrill of planes and cannons.
If he could roll over someone else's border, it would be even more exhilarating.
Tang You's love for shooting and gunfight games, and her skill with driving vintage tanks, all come from this legacy.
"...Your grandpa is really hardcore, but I think Lingren is right, part of his high blood pressure might be due to playing too many games," Momo joked.
"Have you considered helping him quit his gaming addiction?"
"You have a point, but the point currently is in my grandpa's hands..." Tang You remarked with a face full of black lines.
As if joking, if she tried to make her grandpa quit gaming, he'd probably disown his granddaughter by the next day.
Not letting grandpa play games, Tang You couldn't even imagine what kind of trouble her hardcore grandpa might cause.
Eventually, the retirees from the three or five machinery factories might pool their pensions together to handcraft a lightweight tank on the spot, impressing people nationwide.
Old soldiers, pack up, pack up your gear.
.....
"Huh? Was there a traffic light just now?"
"Did we see one when we came yesterday...?" Ah Qing, holding a little fox in her arms, saw a new traffic light on the dirt road of the pasture and suddenly had a bad feeling.
"...Traffic light? A traffic light on the pasture," Tang You looked confusedly at Ah Qing.
However,
As everyone ventured deeper into Spring Mountain Grassland, what they saw left everyone in the car silent.
"???
Tang You slowly typed out a question mark, looking at the field filled with small cars and locals on horseback waiting for the traffic light.
Tang You peeked out: "Hey, friend, what's up with this place..."
"I have no idea! A swarm of people came early in the morning to the pasture saying they saw some video, now even the pasture in no man's land is jammed." The frustrated local unable to drive due to the traffic jam complained:
"Ha, we're doing okay here, but this morning I watched a video and heard neighboring Dunhuang has more tourists than the desert, camels jammed up for five kilometers, Chang'an has begun attacking the city battlements...."
"And the Imperial Capital is jammed from the Second Ring all the way to beyond the Fifth Ring."
"Wow...."
Tang You quietly retracted her head, telling her good sisters in the passenger and back seats: "I feel like..... there may not be a no-man's land in Spring Mountain Grassland right now, cancel the drag racing plan."
In the past, Northern might not have been people's first choice for holiday travel.
But with beautiful green mountains and clear waters, the re-grown pasture has attracted cattle and horses working in the concrete jungles to see the field's cattle and horses.
As the National Day holiday began,
there were more people in Spring Mountain Grassland than cows, sheep, and horses.
"Oh my...."
Tang You clicked her tongue, walking three kilometers to the entrance of the scenic area's ticket booth with a long queue.
In the past.... no, just yesterday it was manned ticket sales, and now it's a QR code, scan to pay, and just show the payment record to get tickets at the front desk.
In the pasture, a crane is hoisting block-like wooden stakes onto beams, seemingly constructing some large facility, with construction workers busily coming and going.
However,
there weren't many people in the scenic area restaurant, so it was still possible to find a spot to have breakfast.
A little fox, lured by the aroma of lamb steamed buns, woke from a nap, licking its lips, its tiny paws resting on the table edge, eyeing the meaty dishes on the table.
"Ah Qing, bring the garlic vinegar, I'm going to eat ten taels!"
While the little fox was eyeing the food and licking its lips, outside the window, through the glass wall, several shepherd dogs and golden retrievers who came to the pasture with their city owners were pressing against the glass, eagerly looking at the little fox.
Bro! You seem familiar, feel like going for a run in the grass?"
"Woof~"
The border collie wagged its tail, sincerely inviting the little fox.
"Shoo, I may be a tourist too, not part of your play facilities." The little fox rolled its eyes, motioning them to chase wolves in the pasture.
"Awoo..."
Receiving a clear response, the border collie left dejectedly, looking back at the little fox inside with every step.
The border collie, German Shepherd, and local hunting dogs left, but the Labradors remained, still eyeing the table, not the little fox.
The Labradors stared longingly, whining, paws pressing against the glass wall, looking worried.
Ah Qing: "......."
Don't look at me like that, although I'd like to share lamb steamed buns, there's no window in the glass wall, and medium-large dogs can't enter the restaurant....
In a chorus of "Big Sister," "please," Ah Qing, with a face of mixed emotions, bought some food from the waiter.
Though Ah Qing was a bit naïve, she could see many people eating lamb steamed buns in the restaurant, and even if there were some leftovers, she wouldn't just feed the dogs with human food.
Ah Qing took the semi-finished food outside, with Ansheng joyfully following alongside her.
"Fox...can you put it down?" Just after leaving the scenic restaurant entrance, Ansheng and Ah Qing encountered a woman pushing a baby stroller.
In the stroller sat a fox and a Shiba Inu, both visibly excited, panting heavily after what looked like a recent run.
The woman noticed Ah Qing also had a fox and even let it walk on the ground.
A fluffy white little fox, head held high with visible pride, leisurely followed its person.
The woman, tempted, instinctively placed her North American Red Fox from the stroller onto the ground.
The red fox paused, looking at its little companion.
"You..."
"Yip!!"
With a "yip," the red fox sprinted into the grass at sixty kilometers per hour, then popped its head out, calling to its two-legged friends with cries of "yip yip yip."
Come on! Catch me if you can! Run! It's exhilarating!
The woman stood dumbfounded, staring at the reddish figure in the pasture, then quickly picked up the Shiba Inu and chased after, running back and forth on the grassland in the sun.
"...Xiaolan, you wouldn't do that, right?"
Sitting on the restaurant steps, tearing meat off a lamb rib with her hands, Ah Qing couldn't help but glance to her side at the little fox.
"Huh? What did you say? I didn't catch that." Master Fuli, who had just tamed a fiery horse, sat proudly on its back, looking curiously at Ah Qing.
"Oh! You're talking about the red fox and the woman? Don't worry, I'm not that childish, I usually drive supercars."
Listening to the little fox yip, Ah Qing couldn't help but twitch her eye.
Xiaolan..... your words are not very convincing! Unless you promise me you'll get off the horse.