Tropical Highway

For two people to eat, no matter how big the appetite is, it is impossible to order all the signature dishes.You Zhen ordered a few dishes according to Yang Jin's recommendation, thinking that Zhai Lan would go straight to Darou if he was starving, but the other party picked up the "thermos bottle" first.

Lifting the cork, Zhai Lan tried to look inside, but nothing could be discerned in the black hole.

Just as he was about to ask, the sweet smell of milk surrounded the booth in an instant. His eyes lit up, but he couldn't find the cup, so he filled it up with a bowl for You Zhen, and pushed it in front of him: "I thought it was something, milk tea ?”

"It's called 'Sweet Tea'. I'm afraid you won't be used to drinking authentic Tibetan milk tea." You Zhen was caught off guard by him and was not used to it. He pushed the bowl back to Zhai Lan, "Don't worry about me."

Zhai Lan had already poured the second bowl, picked it up innocently, continued to look at him while tasting, his eyes were extremely innocent.

You Zhen: "..."

The little boy has a personality.

He secretly slandered that his first impression of Zhai Lan was not too biased. He was a hedgehog. Although he would let You Zhen take a look at the softness hidden under the thorns when he was in a good mood, most of the time he still had edges and corners, ready to go at any time. Return favors—Zhai Lan should be a person who can clearly distinguish favor from kindness, accept favors selectively, and reject all actions that are too ambiguous compared with the current stage.

"Aren't you going to drink?" Zhai Lan asked.

On the tip of the nose, the aroma made the circling thoughts temporarily forget, You Zhen smiled, picked up the bowl, and took a sip of the mellow sweet tea.

The exterior of the kettle is full of personality, but it perfectly retains the temperature and taste of sweet tea.

The taste is not too sweet. The tea skillfully uses the tea to neutralize the fishy smell of the plateau milk after heating. It slides from the tip of the tongue like silk, and swallows it into the throat. In an instant, a warmth seems to flow through the whole body.

You Zhen raised his eyes, the boy was holding the bowl in both hands, with white milk stains remaining on the corners of his mouth, his expression was extremely satisfied.

The look made You Zhen stunned for a moment, he couldn't help but smiled but didn't ask anything, and continued to finish his bowl of sweet tea.But it might be his illusion, the sugar content seems to have increased after reaching the bottom.

The staple food he ordered was Maserati Chicken with Nan, and the clerk introduced it very quickly. As soon as she left, Zhai Lan pointed at the two big plates and parroted: "Maserati..."

"chicken."

"Chicken Masala? With naan?"

"It's 'Nan'." You Zhen corrected again, "It's called in Nepal."

The scones that are as long as the forearm make the bowl of chicken curry next to it even more miniature, which seems a bit insufficient at first glance.It was probably baked from the kiln, and there were a few pieces of charred black on one side, and the paste was not completely pasted, but instead exuded a strange aroma of wheat.It is bigger than steamed buns and thinner than naan, and it is not round and cute like brown sugar pot helmets.

Seeing that Zhai Lan was at a loss, You Zhen broke off a large piece from the relatively thin tail, and the crispy edge immediately fell off the table scraps, but the inside was very soft.

He handed it to Zhai Lan, who took it without being polite to him this time: "It smells so good..."

"Try, if it's not enough, add more."

Zhai Lan said that it was such a big piece, and holding both ends, he couldn't speak for a while and didn't care about the dining etiquette, so he just held it and put it in the curry and rolled it around.

The spices are added heavily, and you can still taste a strong cinnamon flavor, spicy with a little sweetness, the seemingly rough curry tastes very delicate, the pancakes are light and the curry is exciting, coupled with large pieces of staple food, the chicken is more tender and tender The juice, the potatoes are soft and glutinous, and the curry is fully absorbed and attached to the scones, which is really solid after one bite.

It is very chewy, and the slightly spicy taste is bouncing on the tip of the tongue. At this time, take another sip of sweet tea...

"I feel full after one bite, and I can't help but continue to eat." Zhai Lan commented, still tearing the pancake into small pieces, "It's like Indian food, and it's a little fresher than Indian food. The chicken is mixed with spices but In fact, it’s not too exciting, the smell of meat is obvious, maybe the spices are different, or maybe it’s because the curry is not very thick…”

You Zhen laughed when he heard it: "You are so professional, Zhai Lan."

"Thank you for the compliment." Zhai Lan took this as a compliment, "I'm a picky eater. Although I don't know how to cook, I'm definitely good at choosing whether the food is good or not."

He spoke seriously, and You Zhen also took it to heart: "Then my shop, when I develop new desserts, please try them?"

"Really?" Zhai Lan's voice was much more cheerful, "You must remember to call me!"

"It's a deal." You Zhen raised the bowl of sweet tea.

The two small bowls collided in mid-air.

A crisp sound, as if it could hit the bottom of my heart all the time.

"Okay, if you continue to eat it cold, it will affect the taste." You Zhen urged, "Try some other special features."

In addition to curry with Nan, another potato and beef bun that You Zhen ordered is also a signature.Potatoes are mashed, wrapped with beef stuffing and deep-fried at high temperature. The skin is browned, and it is hot after breaking apart. The fatal temptation of cheese and meat stuffing makes people unable to swallow it in one bite, but because of the temperature, they can’t eat it. It adds a bit of appeal to the food.

The portion size really wasn’t great enough, seeing Zhai Lan’s famished look at first, You Zhen was secretly worried about whether the food he ordered was enough, so he was ready to add more food, but then found that it was not necessary.

Nepalese food is not good in appearance, but it is found that it is high in carbohydrates, high in calories and high in protein.

Chicken, potatoes, finally took a sip of sweet tea to announce the end, Zhai Lan couldn't tell from his appetite, and when he stopped, You Zhen found that almost all the dishes on the table were on CD-ROM.

He lowered his head to touch his stomach, and then patted it again. Hearing the muffled sound, Zhai Lan laughed out loud, "Damn, I'm really full."

"What kind of action are you..." You Zhen said with disgust.

Zhai Lan ignored him, shook his head a few times, and turned to the window.

The blazing sunshine seems to never end. After traveling long distances, he constantly builds his mind to accept the reality and then seeks to change. Now he and You Zhen are sitting in this restaurant in Lhasa for a simple meal. How many coincidences are there and what needs to be done? How much luck do you have to accumulate to get to the current timeline?

And this is almost what Zhai Lan can think of, the best result-oriented result after many reasons are superimposed.

In the afternoon, the blue sky was clear and clear without any cloud. Looking back, there was only a silhouette of the red wall of the Cloth Palace, while the golden dome in front of it was extremely bright.

Passing through the entire Barkhor Street, the red wall that is exactly the same as the Bu Palace surrounds the golden roof, colorful prayer flags flutter, and there are more monks in red.Ordinary residents, believers, and tourists who are muttering, move forward one by one, and everyone keeps a step away from each other in tacit understanding, and the palms of their hands brush the row of prayer wheels under the corridor.

"The prayer wheel in the Jokhang Temple." You Zhen said, he was more familiar with this place than Bu Gong, and his tone was tinged with nostalgia, "It has been many years, and it hasn't changed at all."

"When did you come?"

"Ten years old, maybe thirteen, maybe fourteen, I was still in junior high school at that time."

Zhai Lan didn't ask any more, he guessed that You Zhen should travel with his family, it made sense that he didn't remember it after so many years.They chatted about pedestrians and prayer wheels, and unwittingly and tacitly lined up at the end of the line.

No one spoke, and there was no need to communicate much. It seemed that there was a mysterious and powerful force pushing them towards the row of discolored and mottled prayer wheels that were still being touched reverently by every hand.

Are they driven by wind, or desire?

Walking forward clockwise, Zhai Lan felt his fingertips trembling when his palm touched the heavy brass color for the first time.He pushed lightly, and the scripture cylinder engraved with Tibetan characters and reliefs rotated forward. The cylinder body was hollow, and then issued a call like the wind, as if responding to a certain voice in his heart.

Zhai Lan took a step forward, his palms covered with cold metal, and he gently closed his eyes.

In the ear, the wind repeatedly roared, and it was connected with the whispers of the chanting scriptures, weaving a dense net, and isolated a small piece of quiet space for Zhai Lan, so that he could hear the powerful beating of his heart.

"I don't want to continue to be trapped in the shadow of death."

"I'm alive, I don't want to recall those pictures over and over again."

"But I don't want to forget either."

……

"Everyone will be their own pillar."

The text on the last prayer wheel is uneven, and the fingers slid across it and stretched out to touch the wind, as if there was a real body attached to the fingertips, and the fleeting temperature became a response.

Sunlight is as precious as gold, Zhai Lan looked at the white wall and red eaves beside him, and unconsciously rubbed the corners of his eyes.

Behind you is You Zhen, and the two of them avoid eye contact for a short time.

The sign indicating the route was on the left side, You Zhen took a step forward to catch up with Zhai Lan, and motioned him to go there together.Turning the corridor silently, the entrance is in front of you.

There are more worshipers than tourists. This is the "center" of Lhasa and a holy place for all believers.They spread out a one-meter-long backing board, and waited for their heads without distraction, completely ignoring the curious and admiring gazes around them, and only the small entrance remained in their eyes.

The blue sky covered them all, and the light falling from the snow-capped mountains stayed behind them.

From Shannan, Ngari, Shigatse, and even Meili, Yushu, Litang... all the way, eating and sleeping in the open, it took several years to stand here one step away from the holy place.The entrance was small and narrow, even a little dark.

But they just muttered silently in a language they didn't understand and continued to knock.

How much knocked, how much more knocked?Everyone has a different answer, and bystanders don't need to ask more questions and can't be disturbed.Zhai Lan looked closely at the plainly dressed people, but felt that they had traveled hundreds of miles, and there was not a single trace of wind and frost in their eyes.

Zhai Lan had no faith, but was hit by that force instead.

The prayer wheel has traveled so far, and the blue sky hurts his eyes like burns, but he will find faith here.

"...I want to live seriously."

The words buried in my heart couldn't help blurting out, although the voice was low, the people next to me turned their heads as if struck by lightning, You Zhen touched Zhai Lan on the shoulder: "What?"

"It's okay, just, I suddenly feel very small." Zhai Lan smiled, a little relieved, "You Zhen, do you know what I was thinking when I turned the scriptures just now? I think, the dead are gone, no one really hopes I have been devastated since then, including him himself. I am still too ignorant, I only know sadness."

You Zhen didn't say anything, and when he half hugged his shoulder, he pressed his fingers hard.

"do not do that."

"I didn't... I just regretted the waste of time ago." Zhai Lan finished speaking, covered her face with both hands after sniffing, and let herself go after three seconds of silent recitation, "I'm already healed."

Seeing that the entrance of the tourist passage is close in front of you, You Zhen drags Zhai Lan to the middle of the two walls next to him.

He is much taller than Zhai Lan, half bowed, looking intently at the corners of his reddish eyes.

"Zhai Lan," You Zhen said, "I know why you are sad, but...you are not ignorant."

Hearing this, the emotions that were finally calmed came to the tip of his nose again, Zhai Lan avoided him, his eyes drooping.

Ke Youzhen grabbed his baseball cap, took it off, and rubbed his hair randomly, as if he had ravaged a kitten.Without waiting for Zhai Lan to resist, he put the hat back on again, and carefully brushed the broken hair on Zhai Lan's forehead with his fingers, exposing his brows and eyes - the distance suddenly drew closer, You Zhen seemed to have forgotten that they had only known each other for three days.

"No one is ignorant", no one has ever comforted him like this before.

Zhai Lan concealed the embarrassment caused by the physical contact: "What are you doing, touching your hands!..."

"Accompany me to pick up a courier at night."

"……what?"

"When the time comes, I will tell you why I came to Tibet." After You Zhen finished speaking, he retreated a polite distance, "Let's go to the Jokhang Temple."

The author says:

The early stage of this article will contain some views on life and death that I understand, but it is not too heavy, the tone is still quite sweet, and the tacit understanding between the two is really a point that I feel very happy when I write...