Chapter 99 Car Lover

  Jū'ān glanced at Jasmine beside him, smiling as he said to Miles: "Apart from expanding the cattle farm, I don't have anything else on my plate right now. What's this American life you're talking about?"

  Mike laughed and said to Ju An, "He means he's going to drive you to Montana with him. It'll take several days of driving. Actually, many people here travel by car, and some elderly tourists can even drive for over a week."

  "Isn't flying faster and more comfortable? Why take such a long drive and get so tired?" Yu An asked, puzzled.

  Miles smiled and replied, "It's a different feeling when you're driving with the top down and speeding along. It's more fun than being on an airplane. How about it? Want to experience it with me? I came here in my baby."

  Jasmine said beside him, "I haven't driven so far in a long time either. Let's drive back and delay for two days. How about it? Along the way, you can also take a look at the scenery."

  "Alright then, this time we'll drive from California to Montana, and I'll experience American life too."

  "I can finally get rid of Miles, An, you're a big help, this guy has been nagging me for two days, saying I should accompany him to open something and then fly back to New York, you know I still have a lot on my hands, no time to fool around with him, actually he just wants to show off his '84 Cadillac convertible, that's his baby" Mack said with a haha laugh to An.

  Miles smiled and said: "Eldorado is my favorite, I've been looking for a few years to find this car, now Cadillac doesn't have that feeling anymore, wait till tomorrow you'll know".

  "Tomorrow morning we'll first go to your grandfather's grave to pay our respects, and then we'll head straight back to Montana," Ju An said with a smile to Miles.

  "Alright buddy, but tomorrow are you riding with me or renting your own car? I suggest you ride with me and we'll all go together," Miles asked.

  "Alright then, tomorrow I and Mo Li will take your car, and the two of us can take turns driving."

  Miles hastily shook his head and said: "No! No!, Ann, no one can touch my car except me, she's my baby."

  He shrugged and smiled, saying: "Then I have no opinion at all. If someone is willing to be the driver, what do I have to complain about?"

  Then, everyone chatted for a while, and Mike took Ju'an to meet several people, some of whom were members of the association, and others were city councilors. Ju'an accompanied Jasmine with a smile on her face, asking each one politely, listening to these guys talking about the big election, who had more control, how the weather was during this time, and what impact it had on agriculture. None of them were topics that Ju'an liked, they were all just a bunch of politicians rambling on, barely making it until the end of the gathering.

  When the morning sun rises, pulling open the curtains in her room, she finds that the sun is already high up. She has really slept until dawn. Jasmine feels the dazzling sunlight, grabs a pillow to cover her head and says discontentedly: "Ah~~~~! Hurry up and close it, let me sleep for a while."

  "Come on, get up! It's almost 9:30 and Miles will be here soon. We need to tidy things up quickly, hurry up, don't sleep in!" she said, clapping her hands hastily.

  Jasmine finally put down her pillow and sat up with a drowsy look, the two small white rabbits on her chest exposed to the bright sunlight without any cover. She lifted the quilt and walked into the bathroom naked. Ju An's index finger was shaking with excitement as he followed her into the bathroom, then heard Jasmine let out a sharp cry: "Wait until I'm done washing before you come in, don't make trouble." Then the sound gradually disappeared.

  The two of them bathed for nearly half an hour, and when Jasmine came out with a flushed face, wiping her hair with a towel, followed by Ju An coming out of the bathroom, it was clear that the two had done more than just take a simple bath.

  Jū ān took off the bathrobe on his body, sat on the edge of the bed, and started putting on clothes. Mò lì tied her hair back after wiping it clean, looked at Jū ān and said: "I'll go blow-dry my hair first, you pack up your things, I'll take care of mine later."

  "Hey, you'd better put your clothes on first before talking, or we won't be able to leave this afternoon."

  Jasmine glared at Ju An, then picked up the clothes on the chair beside her and put them on.

  After getting dressed, Ju An started to pack her luggage. Actually, there wasn't much stuff, just a laptop and some spare clothes. She carefully checked all the documents, making sure nothing was left behind. Then she called out to Mo Li in the bedroom: "What's for breakfast, honey?"

  Jasmine's voice came from the bedroom: "Don't eat in the morning, just have something to eat casually on the road at noon."

  When Maori finished packing, at half past ten, Ju An received a call from Miles, asking if they were ready. If they were ready, come down, otherwise they would go up and wait.

  Ju An took a look and then said to him, "It's okay now, just come down," and hung up the phone.

  Two people, Hu An and Molly, pushed the room, just out of the hotel door, saw Miles and Jennifer in T-shirts and jeans leaning against a white big car. When they got closer, it turned out that this convertible was bigger than the cars next to it by one circle, with clear edges and corners. The two small lights on the front of the car were also protruding from the "ghost face". The headlights were also old-fashioned squares, with two on either side of the "ghost face". The whole car gave people a feeling of absolute American flavor, and it was estimated that four people could sit in the back seat without any problem.

  Looking at Yu An's eyes, Miles proudly patted and said: "How is it, my favorite is not bad, right?"

  "Hey, this car is about as old as I am. I wonder if it's still roadworthy after all these years?"

  Miles smiled and assured, "No problem at all, this guy is more solid than many cars now, and I had it overhauled when I brought it." As he spoke, he opened the trunk and helped put An'an and Molly's luggage inside.

  Jenny and Molly got into the back seat, while Juren sat in the front passenger seat. The two girls quickly started chatting about clothes and other topics that interested women. As he sat down, Juren could feel the spaciousness of the old American car, which was almost 1.8 meters long, allowing him to stretch his legs completely straight.

  When starting from a standstill, Ju An heard the steady hum of the engine and the whole car was very stable. He then praised: "What a good car!"

  Miles said with satisfaction: "What car can represent America? Cadillac. What car can represent a successful young American? A convertible Cadillac. I spent a long time getting my hands on it, and just repairing it cost at least as much as a new car."

  He then told Juren about how he got the car, and as he spoke, he was so excited and vivid that it even gave Juren an American single Tian Fang feeling. It can be seen that Miles loves this car very much. After driving for a while, Juren felt that Miles' efforts were worth it. Regardless of power or comfort, just on this road to the Los Angeles suburbs cemetery, when encountering a red light, some drivers would stick out their heads and say, "Good car!" Miles was thrilled, his mouth almost reaching his ears.

  Arriving at the cemetery, Ju An bought a bouquet of fresh flowers and placed them in front of Miles' grandfather's tomb. The simple tombstone was engraved with the old man's name, birth and death dates, and on top was the emblem of the US Air Force, next to which was a white sun emblem of the Nationalist Party. Out of respect for an elderly hero who lent a helping hand at the most difficult moment in the Chinese nation's history, Ju An observed a minute of silence.

  A few people left the cemetery and found a Chinese restaurant to have lunch. The owner of the restaurant was a Chinese person. An Qi ordered a simple fried rice, specifically instructing the owner. Miles and Jennifer ordered Kung Pao chicken, while Jasmine ordered wood ear meat. Don't think it's like the domestic version, American tastes are all sour and sweet, different from domestic ones.

  After finishing the meal, he picked up a few small biscuits. Ju An took one and bit into it, and unexpectedly found a small piece of paper inside. Unfolding the paper, he saw that it was written in both Chinese and English: "Good luck."

  "Ha! I thought I had eaten something, but it's just a note."

  Miles said strangely: "Isn't fortune cookie invented by you ancient Chinese people? How come you've never had one before?"

  This is a bit confusing, it's invented by Chinese people, damn, I've lived in China for over 20 years and never heard of this thing.

  Miles continued to explain: "It is said that a poor man with the surname Zhu, in order to resist the Mongolian rule, put the time of the uprising in a pancake. The Mongolians did not detect the secret in a small pancake, and the uprising was successful. The Mongolian rule was overthrown, and every year when the moon is full, everyone will eat roasted pancakes with a note inside to commemorate this hero."

  Listening to this, I was taken aback. Could the surname Zhu be referring to Ming Taizu? During the full moon, people usually eat mooncakes, but in which part of China do they eat roasted flatbread during the full moon? And how did mooncakes get linked to Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang? This is all a jumbled mess. They're also commemorating heroes; after all, he became emperor, and his tomb is right on the outskirts of Jiangnan City.

  "Jū ān shook his head and said: 'I never had this when I was in China, and nobody I knew back home ever ate it either. I guess it's something Chinese people invented after they came to America.'"

  Watching Miles look at himself with a bewildered expression, Ju An swallowed back the words he had originally wanted to tell Yang Guizi about Zhu Taizu.