8
The white cloud pigeon looked up and saw them. "Uncle, Auntie, why are you here?”
"I didn't interrupt your studies, did I?" Gao Pengfei asked.”
"No, no. Dad, Mom, sit down."
"Today is Sunday. Of course, your father and I came to see you. We'll be more at ease with Yun Ge taking care of you during this period of time.”
"Yeah, we're really happy to see you recover so quickly. It was all thanks to Yun Ge's meticulous care.”
Gao Pengfei glanced at Xia Yuhong as he spoke. Xia Yuhong gave him a look and nodded. Gao Pengfei continued,"Yun Ge, you see, your holiday is delayed by us Gao Tian and you can't go back to visit your parents." Your auntie and I have discussed it and we would like to invite your parents over to our place for a few days. We will arrange for their food and accommodation. You know our house is very wide. This way, you can take care of Gao Tian for a while longer. At the same time, we can express our gratitude to the two elders.”
Xia Yuhong had come up with this idea. She felt that if she could meet Yun Ge's parents, she would definitely be able to figure out the problem with the jade pendant. The old couple discussed excitedly and decided without Gao Tian's consent.
However, she did not expect that as soon as she said that, the sunny expression on her face turned cloudy.
"Thank you, Uncle and Auntie, for thinking so much about Yun Ge. Meeting your family is my fortune. But…but…"
"But what? Transportation was so developed now, so it was very convenient. Don't you want to see your parents?”Xia Yuhong was afraid that Bai Yunge would reject their invitation.
"No, it's not that. " Yes…" White Cloud Pigeon lowered its head. She was afraid that everyone would see her sadness.
"Child, is there any difficulty? Tell us and we'll think of a way to bring your parents here.”Gao Pengfei asked with concern. He was afraid of Yun Ge because of the travel expenses.
"No, I haven't. Uncle, it's because my parents passed away three years ago. My only relative is my grandmother who is far away in Yushu. My grandmother is over 80 years old and lives with my uncle's family in the next room. She can't walk anymore.”White Cloud Pigeon thought of her parents and felt sad. Tears fell on her long eyelashes again.
Gao Tian couldn't stand her tears and quickly said,""Don't be sad, Pigeon. Sorry, we didn't know your parents were like this. My parents mean well."
"I know. I'm fine. It's just that no one has mentioned my parents in a long time, so I'm a little emotional.”
"You just said that Grandma is in Yushu. What kind of place was Yushu? Is that your hometown?" Xia Yuhong didn't want to let go of this opportunity to let White Cloud Pigeon talk about her hometown.
Yun Ge shook his head and said,"Actually, my hometown is in the remote Tuotuo River Town in the northwest of Qinghai Province." You might be too unfamiliar with this place. You might have heard of the Tibetan antelope in Hoh Xil. Oh right, there's also the Tongtian River. You must know the Tongtian River in Journey to the West. My hometown is there.”
"Hoh Xil? It was the largest uninhabited area in China. How could you possibly live there?”
Gao Tian couldn't imagine that this girl he called an angel would grow up in such a remote place like Hoh Xil. It was too unbelievable. Her mother had even pinned her sister, who had been missing for 20 years, on her. How was that possible? It seemed that his mother was going to be greatly disappointed again.
"The hinterland of Hoh Xil is the uninhabited area. There are still very few people living on the southeastern edge.”
"And the Heavenspan River?" Xia Yuhong was extremely surprised. "Yun Ge, how could you be born in such a magical place? Come, come, sit here and tell us about your Hoh Xil.”
"Right, Yun Ge, tell us about the Heavenspan River and the Tuotuo River. I've never seen those places before. Now, it felt like our little pigeon came from western mythology.”Gao Tian was also extremely excited. As he spoke, he even made a face at her.
"I think your auntie and the others are more curious about how you came here from that desolate place and became such a versatile university student today.”Gao Pengfei also wanted to find out about this girl's background.
"Uncle, Auntie, Gao Tian, this is a long story. If you're not afraid of wasting your time, I'll tell you.”
"No delay, no delay. Yun Ge, quickly tell us about it."
Xia Yuhong was overjoyed that White Cloud Pigeon couldn't speak.
The family sat under the Wisteria Veranda with different thoughts as they listened to Bai Yunge talk about her hometown.
After organizing her thoughts, Bai Yunge sat on a stone bench beside Gao Tian and began to talk about her hometown.
"In my world, Hoh Xil means 'beautiful maiden.' She was one of the main sources of the Yangtze River. It is located in the northwest of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, sandwiched between the Tanggula Mountains and the Kunlun Mountains. The middle of it is a no man's land, and there are few residents in the surrounding areas. Most of them are Tibetans like my mother. There were two rivers running from west to east in the southeast of Hoh Xil. They were the Tuotuo River and the Chumar River. The two rivers converged at the lower reaches of the Heavenspan River. It became the first source of the Yangtze River. I grew up by the Tuotuo River in the south of Hoh Xil. There is a Tuotuo River town on the south bank, which is known as the first town at the source of the Yangtze River. At that time, there were only a hundred people there, and most of them lived as nomads. It belonged to Zhiduo County, Yushu Prefecture, Qinghai Province. Our Tuotuo River is not as turbulent as people imagine. It is a ribbon-like stream. The riverbed is very wide and gentle. In geography, it seems that this kind of water system is called a 'braided water'. So, Gao Tian bro, you will be very disappointed if you see him. The Tuotuo River flowed into the Tongtian River about sixty miles downstream. In Journey to the West, the Heavenspan River was described to be eight hundred miles wide. However, the real Heavenspan River was not that wide, that big, that deep, nor did it have that many waves, because the riverbed on the plateau was very flat. Moreover, due to the cold weather, it was completely a glacier for more than half a year. It was very inconspicuous. Therefore, those who had never seen him before were all confused by Senior Wu Chengen.”
"I see." Xia Yuhong sighed.
"Although the climate in Hoh Xil and the Tuotuo River basin is harsh and most places are deserted, it is a paradise for wild animals. Wild yaks, Tibetan antelopes, wild donkeys, white-lipped deer, brown bears, and so on. It was said that there were more than 200 kinds of wild animals. There used to be many Tibetan antelopes there. When I was young, my father often took me on his horse, along the Qinghai-Tibet highway, along the Tuotuo River basin, all the way to the Tongtian River mouth. I often saw large herds of Tibetan antelopes walking on the glaciers of the river. I like Tibetan antelopes very much. As long as you see them in groups on the horizon after the snow, look at their elf-like bodies and beautiful flying postures, you will believe that they can survive on this land for tens of millions of years because they belong here. It was not an animal that was on the verge of extinction and had poor adaptability. As long as you left it alone, it could live well. But humans killed too many of them. Now, they could only go to the depopulated area of Hoh Xil to see such a magnificent sight. Most of the time, the weather there is very dry and cold, and there are many sunny days. Therefore, the blue sky, white clouds, grasslands, sheep, Qinghai-Tibet highway, Tuotuo River, and distant hills were the main scenic spots.”
"Pigeon, your hometown is so beautiful. No, when I recover, you must bring me to see it.”Gao Tian imagined how comfortable it would be to sit leisurely on a horse under the blue sky and white clouds in that distant and magical place.
"Sure. Ever since my parents passed away, I haven't returned to Tuotuo River.”
"Yun Ge, so you're Tibetan. Why didn't we notice? It doesn't look like it." Gao Pengfei was still unwilling to give up.
"I'm not a complete Tibetan.”
When Xia Yuhong heard what Cloud Pigeon said earlier, she thought that Cloud Pigeon was born in a Tibetan family on the plateau. Then they had no hope at all. Their hearts were sinking when they suddenly heard Yun Ge's words and became excited again. "Yun Ge, tell me about your family. Why aren't they Tibetan?"
"Because my father is Han. According to Grandma, the Qinghai-Tibet highway had been rebuilt that year. It was extremely difficult to build a second-class highway, especially in permafrost areas with high altitudes. There was no precedent in any country. At that time, my father, as an engineer, brought my uncle, who had just turned 20, to Tibet to repair the road. Unexpectedly, when the road was repaired to the Tuotuo River area, my father fell ill and could no longer keep up with the engineering team. He also refused to leave the Qinghai-Tibet line and return to his hometown. He had been staying in a herdsman's home in Tuotuo Town to recuperate. At that time, there was a shepherd girl in Tuotuohe Town. She was twenty years old, smart, kind, and good at singing and dancing. She was as beautiful as a fairy who had descended to the mortal world. The songs they sang could make the white clouds fall from the sky, and the dances they danced could make the galloping Tibetan antelopes stop. The young men around Hoh Xil rode their handsome horses to the Tuotuo River once a day just to catch a glimpse of the girl's beauty and her beautiful singing and dancing. Later, this girl became my mother. For my mother and for the Qinghai-Tibet highway, my father decided to stay behind. He stayed in Tuotuo River to protect the Qinghai-Tibet highway and his family.”
"Oh, I know. And then, there was you. No wonder you're so beautiful, smart, and good at singing and dancing. So you inherited it from your mother." Gao Tian interrupted cleverly.
"I think I did inherit my mother's ability to sing and dance. But I wasn't born that early. My brother was born first."
"You have a brother? Why didn't I hear you mention it? Where is he now?" Xia Yuhong asked nervously.
White Cloud Pigeon was silent for a long time before saying,"He's not here either."”
"Oh?" Gao Pengfei and Gao Tian exclaimed almost simultaneously.
"When I was ten years old, my brother and I went out to herd sheep. In the evening, when they were walking back, there was a sudden snowstorm. Two sheep were missing. My brother asked me to bring the sheep home, and he went to find the sheep himself. However, when my father rushed over to bring the sheep home with me, my brother didn't come back. His father rode his horse and led his fellow villagers to search for his brother in the depths of Hoh Xil for three days and three nights in the snow, but he did not find any trace of his brother. He only found a shoe. Later, he searched along the Tuotuo River basin and the Qinghai-Tibet Road for two days, but he found another shoe and a pool of blood at the mouth of the Tongtian River, dozens of meters away from the road. Dad also picked up a bloody sheepskin. At that time, there were often northwest wolves in our area. Occasionally, they would come out to eat the herdsmen's sheep. His father said that his brother was eaten by a northwest wolf.”
"How did it get eaten by wolves?" Gao Tian shook his head in disbelief.
"Anyway, I never saw my brother come back after that. Ever since I lost my brother, I became the apple of my parents 'eyes. I didn't live in Tuotuo River for long. I heard from my grandmother that I was already a few years old when I returned to my parents. That was why she wasn't very close to her parents before. I was probably used to living with my grandmother. I actually couldn't understand my mother and brother's Tibetan even when I was very old.”
"How old were you when you arrived at Tuotuo River? What about before? Where are you?" Xia Yuhong could not help but ask nervously.
"I'm not sure. Four or five years old. I used to live with my grandmother. My grandmother is also from the mainland. Maybe my dad felt that the living conditions in Hoh Xil were too harsh, so he sent me to my grandmother in the mainland. The strange thing was that I had no recollection of what happened before I was five years old, and I had never heard my parents talk about it.”
Hearing this, Xia Yuhong and Gao Pengfei exchanged glances. White Cloud Pigeon didn't pay attention to him. She looked at Gao Tian's face and continued,"
"Grandma also came to live with us at the Tuotuo River in Hoh Xil for a period of time. After my grandmother passed away, Grandma had no one to accompany her. When Uncle settled down in Yushu, she went to Yushu with Uncle's family. Her father said that he had brought her to Hoh Xil because there were no relatives to take care of her in her hometown. However, life there was too hard and she was not used to it.”
"So it was your grandmother who brought you to the Tuotuo River in Hoh Xil. So you weren't born in Tuotuo River?”Gao Pengfei could not help but want to get straight to the point.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]