Chapter 10 Encounter
A sturdy mule came slowly from the bend, pulling a wooden carriage behind it. A man wearing a bamboo hat and holding a whip sat on the shaft of the carriage, talking to the man in the carriage with his head tilted. The wheels made a creaking sound on the country dirt road.
Li Ai was sitting in the driver's seat, feeling anxious. He saw the mule cart coming from the opposite direction, and then looked at the icon on the HUD display.
Mule cart? Mule cart! Li Ai saw the icon and thought it was a horse-drawn carriage.
The mule cart was coming in the opposite direction, with mountains on Li Ai's left and fields on his right. When Li Ai parked the car, he tried to get as close to the mountain on the left as possible, leaving the road on the right. The dirt road was not wide to begin with, and he was afraid that the cars ahead and behind would not be able to pass.
Soon, the mule cart came in front of the car, and the two cars were about to pass each other. Li Ai was worried, hoping that the mule cart would go faster and Li Hao would get on the car quickly after using the toilet.
Unexpectedly, the mule cart stopped and parked side by side with the RV, occupying the entire dirt road.
The man holding the mule turned around and spoke loudly to the carriage, and the curtain of the carriage was lifted, and a woman walked out. The man helped the woman get off the carriage, and the two of them stared at the RV intently.
After Li Hao finished his urgent work, he scratched his butt through his pants and walked towards the RV. After walking a few steps, he saw a man and a woman surrounding the RV and looking at it.
The man pulled a handful of grass from the roadside, walked directly to the rear of the car, squatted down, lifted the grass curtain with his left hand, and wiped the mud off the license plate with his right hand.
Li Hao stood a few meters away and watched this scene, stunned! People in this world know license plates? Impossible... He walked towards the rear of the car with such a clear purpose, and pulled a piece of grass to wipe the license plate...
. . . This... Did they encounter other time travelers?! There are more than just two time travelers in this place?!
The man cleaned the license plate and excitedly called the woman over to have a look. As if confirming something, the two stood up excitedly and walked towards the driver's seat.
The rearview mirrors on both sides of the car were covered, so Li Ai couldn't see what was happening at the rear of the car. Fearing to make a noise, he sat in the driver's seat without moving. He just hoped that Li Hao would hide outside first and wait for the people to leave. If he didn't leave, he could think of a way. It seemed that there were only two people, not many people.
Li Ai was lost in her thoughts when she was startled by the sudden knock on the glass. Looking at the magnified man's face on the car window, she almost couldn't help but stab out with the electric baton in her hand.
"Li Ai! Li Ai??"
"Li Ai!!"
"Is there anyone inside?"
"If there's someone inside, just call back!"
Li Hao heard two people shouting Li Ai's name not far away, and scratched his ears! Was I hallucinating? No way!! So magical? !
Li Ai in the car was also shocked and had goosebumps all over her body. She rubbed her arms and couldn't help asking, "You... who are you?"
The two people outside the car were stunned for a moment, then they excitedly asked, "Is that Li Ai? I'm your father! Li Jun!"
"I'm mom, Chen Huiqin! Is this Aizi? Aizi, open the door quickly!" The woman knocked on the car window excitedly.
Aizi? Only her mom and dad liked to call her that since she was a child. Li Ai listened to the two people talking and almost couldn't help but open the car door. Looking at the two unfamiliar faces outside the window, she hesitated and asked again: "Then tell me, where is your home address?"
The two people outside the car were the souls that had traveled through time and space, Li Jun and Chen Huiqin. They had something to do and needed to go back to the village today, so they took a mule cart to the village.
Li Jun replied quickly, "No. X, Unit X, Building X, XXXX Community, XX City." Then he said, "This is your RV, right? I never thought an RV could get through here! This is the car I picked out with you in the summer when you graduated from college. The interior modifications and customization of the car were decided by our family together! When the car arrived, it was your parents who accompanied you to pick it up. I registered the car at the vehicle management office, and I also chose the license plate number."
"Is it really that RV?" Chen Huiqin lifted up the dirty straw curtain on one side. The body of the RV was covered with mud and dust, and the original color of the car could not be seen.
"What is hidden on the top of the balcony cabinet at home?" Li Hao walked quietly behind the two of them, overheard what they said, and couldn't help but ask.
The middle-aged man was stunned and said casually: "I hid a Huazi."
Li Hao: “…” Only he and his dad know this…
The two of them paused for a moment, then turned to look at the teenager standing behind them. A skinny boy, wearing modern clothes and ill-fitting sandals.
Li Ai opened the car door and came out.
Under the scorching sun, the four people were staring at each other outside the car.
Chen Huiqin looked at the two strange yet familiar children in front of her and called out tentatively, "Li Hao? Li Ai?"
Li Jun looked them up and down, left and right: "This... Lin Zisu and Lin Xianwen?"
"What about Zi Su, Lin Wen... Get in the car and talk! Get in the car and talk!" Li Hao wiped the sweat off his face with his sleeve and climbed into the driver's seat, "I'll open the middle door."
"Okay, okay, I'll park the mule cart to the side so it's not blocking the road." Li Jun walked around the front of the cart and headed towards the mule cart.
Chen Huiqin walked around the front of the car and came to the middle door of the RV. She walked in and looked at the familiar interior decoration. She felt like she was in a dream.
Li Jun parked the mule, walked over to get in the car, wiped the sweat off his head, and sighed, "It's still cool with the air conditioning!" He closed the middle door and sat down.
The couple sat on the double sofa in the middle. Li Ai turned the co-pilot double seat around and the two siblings sat down. They looked at each other, and they didn't know where to start. There was so much to say.
Li Ai stood up and took out a large bottle of water from the refrigerator, put it on the table, turned around and took out two stainless steel cups, unscrewed the caps and filled them with ice water. "The weather is too hot, drink some water first."
Li Hao looked at his unfamiliar parents and said, "Oh my god! This is so magical!"
"The word 'magical' is a good word! The experience during this period is indeed magical! It's like a dream!" Li Jun picked up the water cup and drank it in one breath, "Great! I still have to drink ice water today."
"Drink less and don't complain about stomachache later. I don't want to drink ice water, my body can't take it." Chen Huiqin patted Li Jun and stopped him from drinking the second glass of ice water.
"I'm used to getting ice water. There's water at room temperature." Li Ai put the ice water back into the refrigerator, squatted down, opened the cabinet, and took out two bottles of mineral water.
"Li... Li Ai... Stop busying yourself, come and sit down and talk." Chen Huiqin felt a little awkward calling her daughter Li Ai's name, looking at a body that was not Li Ai. "When did you two get here?"
Li Ai sat down and said, "I arrived about half a month later than my brother! I have only been in this world for a short time, about 6 days."
"Ah?! We have been in this world for almost two months. This..." Li Jun's face was full of surprise.
Li Hao was also shocked: "Did you two come here together?"
"Your father and I were just like usual. We slept at home at night and woke up here." Chen Huiqin remembered something and said excitedly, "You two bastards! Each one is more troublesome than the other! Let us send our loved ones off!" Her eyes turned red and tears flowed uncontrollably.
"I'm sorry... Mom..." Li Ai didn't know what to say.
Li Hao scratched his head and said, "Mom, it was an accident, an accident."
"Oh, it's all over. No one wants an accident to happen!" Li Jun patted his wife comfortingly.
"You little bastard, you don't drive properly! Every time I tell you to drive carefully and pay attention to safety, you find it annoying! Have you learned your lesson?!"
"And you, Li Hao, you're almost 30 years old, but you're still a worry to me! Are you two worthy of your parents who have worked so hard to raise you?!" Chen Huiqin became more and more sad as she spoke.
Li Ai quickly got up and went to the bathroom, took out two wet face towels and handed them over, "...Mom, wipe your face and feel better."
Li Jun couldn't help but feel a sore nose and red eyes when he recalled it. He put his arm around his wife's shoulders and said, "Okay, okay, it's all over. We are a family of four together again now."
Chen Huiqin took the wet wipes and wiped her face, saying, "It's easy for you to say that. I finally raised two children to adulthood. But all I got was one accident after another, and the older ones had to die before the younger ones. It's killing me!"
Li Ai and Li Hao sat opposite each other, their heads almost hanging down to their stomachs.
Li Jun looked at the RV and asked, "Where are you two going in the RV?"