Chapter 268: Missing My Body or My Soul?

Mou Lili agreed immediately: "I couldn't ask for more."

Qiu Ge said: "However, after going there, you will have to stay in the countryside for about half a month. Firstly, for performances and poverty alleviation, and secondly, to create some theme songs for local promotion; anything will do."

"Does everyone have to create one, or are we creating them together?"

"You can each create one, or you can create them together; in short, you'll know once you get there. But you have to pay for your own travel expenses; food and lodging are covered once you arrive."

"Fine."

……

The next day, Mou Lili set off with the large group.

Inside the Music Enthusiasts Association, as the name suggests, everyone who came was a music enthusiast from the city.

On the high-speed train, some people were holding cellos, some were holding guitars; in short, there were all kinds of instruments, and the ages ranged from twenty-something to over eighty. Many of them were already familiar with each other, and they started chatting and laughing as soon as they got on, which was very interesting.

Mou Lili didn't know anyone, so she only spoke to a woman in her 40s sitting in the same row.

The woman said she sang folk songs and occasionally wrote songs, and was also an agent. When she asked Mou Lili what she mainly did, Mou Lili said she filmed short videos and also wrote songs.

The woman's surname was Tan, so Mou Lili called her Tan Jie.

After sitting on the high-speed train for ten hours, they finally arrived in Gui Province, and after transferring to a bus for another two hours, they came to a place with beautiful mountains and clear waters.

This place was close to a scenic area, and there were many stilt houses nearby.

They were arranged to stay in a homestay. Fortunately, the homestay could accommodate many people, and because of their arrival, the homestay was only hosting them during this period.

Not long after Mou Lili arrived, she received a call from Mou Dafu: "Where are you?"

"I've left the province, I'm in Gui Province."

"Running so far away, are you trying to hide from me?"

"I have an event here." Mou Lili asked: "Is something the matter?"

"Forget it, I don't feel like talking to you." Mou Dafu hung up the phone.

Mou Lili was speechless, but she had long been used to Mou Dafu's fickle temper.

The team leader came over to assign rooms to them, two people to a room. They could form groups freely, or wait for the remaining ones to be assigned by the team leader.

Mou Lili and Tan Jie were assigned to a room.

Just after putting down her luggage, Mou Mu called again: "How could you leave your brother behind and go out of the province? You really have never been easy to worry about since you were a child, right? You left him there all alone, what if he doesn't know how to take care of himself?"

Mou Lili was suddenly angry: "I provided him with a place to stay and money. If he can't take care of himself with that, then just let him starve to death."

"How are you talking?"

"That's my attitude. If he doesn't want to stay, he can just roll back to our hometown."

Mou Lili hung up the phone.

Turning around, she saw Tan Jie staring at her with a smile.

"Did you have a fight with your family? Running away from home?" Tan Jie asked.

Mou Lili shook her head helplessly: "Every family has its own difficult problems to deal with. It's a long story, I don't want to talk about it."

Tan Jie added: "Family is meant to provide you with warmth, not to consume you. If they keep consuming you, then you must know how to refuse."

Mou Lili nodded: "Okay, thank you, Tan Jie."

……

On the first day in Gui Province, the team leader did not let everyone start working immediately, but let them rest first.

That evening, everyone was called together for a meeting, and a local guide introduced the local customs and traditions to them.

"We are a Miao Village here, with a history of over five thousand years... It's just that we are currently considered a poverty-stricken area, and we need everyone to help us promote it. Besides the tourism industry, we also have many agricultural products..."

Everyone present listened carefully.

After introducing the customs, the itinerary for the next few days was explained.

The field trip was actually mainly for tourism, to see more and understand more, and finally to write some songs in this regard.

After the meeting, the group started to eat.

This place had only just shed the label of a poverty-stricken county a few years ago, so having vegetables and meat was already considered quite good.

While eating, Mou Lili received a call from Ling Feng.

For some reason, her heart skipped a beat.

She put down her bowl and chopsticks and went outside to answer.

"Young Master Ling, how did you suddenly think of me?" Mou Lili asked.

Ever since Bai Shunan's wedding, the two of them hadn't been in contact for a long time.

Ling Feng said: "I missed you, is that not allowed?"

"Missed which part of me? My soul or my body?"

"You woman, can you be a bit more subtle when you speak? Can you act a little bit like a lady?"

"Fine, Young Master Ling, then please be a bit more serious yourself. Look, it's already dark now. If there's nothing else, then wash up and go to sleep. Early to bed and early to rise keeps you in good spirits, so you can better welcome a new day. Tell me, is that serious enough?"

Ling Feng was deflated: "Alright, you'd better just be yourself, say whatever you want to say."

Then he asked: "Why is it so noisy over there?"

"I'm outside."

"Where is 'outside'? I want to come find you and meet up." Ling Feng said.

Mou Lili said: "It's very, very far outside, about 10-plus hours by high-speed train from Beishi."

"Where is that?"

Mou Lili looked at the mountains faintly visible in the distance and said: "There's no point in telling you, forget it."

"So that means you've gone on a long trip." Ling Feng said: "Actually, I was also planning to go on a long trip."

"Where to?"

"I don't know. You told me to go check out the impoverished areas before, so I'll go check them out."

"By yourself?"

"What else?" Ling Feng retorted.

Mou Lili said, "What a waste of effort."

"That's life. If I don't get out, my family will introduce me to people every single day, especially my mom. She used to always say that it didn't matter if I got married in the future or not, that even if I found a man it would be fine, since she didn't want to look after grandkids anyway. But look at the result—once I hit a certain age, she nags me to get married every day."

Mou Lili let out a "pfft" of laughter: "Then why don't you grant her wish and marry someone sooner?"

"There's... there's no suitable candidate."

After Ling Feng finished speaking, Mou Lili also fell silent for a moment.

In other words, among everyone he knew, he couldn't find a single person he could marry, including her.

But thinking about it, it made sense; what kind of family did she come from, and what kind of family did he come from?

Don't harbor delusions of marrying above one's station.

Mou Lili said, "Then you should just go out and travel around. Only by going out and traveling can you meet more people. Perhaps the person suitable for you is right there on your journey. One day, you'll suddenly encounter them. How did that poem by Xin Qiji go? 'Having searched for her in the crowd a thousand times, suddenly I turned back, and there she was, in the dim, flickering light.' Good luck, Ling Feng."

"Then, good luck to you too," Ling Feng said.

After hanging up the phone, Ling Feng stood alone for a long time.

Afterward, he changed his clothes and went to Mou Lili's apartment.

He knocked on the door and saw Mou Dafu come to open it. Mou Dafu was dressed very sloppily, and his expression was full of impatience, as if someone owed him several hundred thousand.

"You're here to see my sister? She's not here." Mou Dafu had met Ling Feng before.

Ling Feng said, "Then why are you here?"

"Looking for work."

"Did you find any?"

"No."

Ling Feng nodded and left.

Afterward, Ling Feng made a call to a childhood friend, asking the friend to give Mou Dafu some special attention when no one was looking.