From My Parents-in-law's Home to Aunt and Uncle's

This morning, it was time to say goodbye to Jiabin's family. This farewell was a little easier, though, because my plan is to return here together with Jiabin after arriving in Shanghai.

After a delicious breakfast, we set off shortly after 7:30 a.m. The weather forecast once again predicted bearable temperatures of around 35–36°C, so there was no need for an extremely early start. On the short stage two days ago, my legs had felt tired from the very beginning, but today was completely different. After the rest day, they felt fresh and light again.

So I comfortably climbed the first two ascents of the day. After that, the road was mostly a gentle downhill all the way to Pingdingshan.

After the two climbs, we first rode along small roads through little villages before joining a somewhat larger road that passed through a coal mining area, which was quite dirty. Wenxin likes—or perhaps needs—to have a hot lunch, so we stopped at a restaurant along the route. Unfortunately, my plan to have vegan noodles didn't really work out. Even though both Wenxin and I asked whether they could prepare them without meat and were assured that it wouldn't be a problem, my noodles contained clotted blood. I thought I had removed all of it, but it wasn't that simple, and the flavor of the broth had clearly been affected. I could hardly eat it, because I had never liked that taste, even back when I still ate meat. It almost made me feel sick, so I ended up giving most of my noodles to Wenxin. In hindsight, it probably would have been better to order a fresh bowl.

Because of the elevation gain early in the day, our pace was fairly slow at first. Afterwards, however, we rolled wonderfully toward the southeast. There was a bit of a headwind from time to time, but at least it provided some cooling, so it never actually felt unbearably hot, even though the temperature stayed between 34 and 35°C.

Unfortunately, we didn't find Gugu's apartment right away because the address wasn't entirely correct. After making a phone call, however, we finally found her at 4:40 p.m. She welcomed us enthusiastically together with her niece, Lü Jing. We carried everything up to the seventh floor—there was no elevator. Gufu was already busy cooking, but before dinner we enjoyed some cold tea, fruit, and a refreshing shower.

Afterwards, we had dinner together, and once again I experienced China's drinking culture. Instead of alcohol, I drank tea, leaving the 38% rice liquor to the others. Gufu and Wenxin, in particular, enjoyed it enthusiastically, while Gugu and Lü Jing drank much more moderately.

After dinner, we admired the urban garden on the rooftop, where Gugu and Gufu grow all kinds of vegetables and fruit. One advantage of living on the top floor is that the flat roof is effectively part of their home. We saw tomatoes, cucumbers, grapes, watermelons, and many other plants. It was incredible to see so much flourishing in the middle of the city. We even picked a watermelon right there, took it downstairs, and enjoyed it together. It was the sweetest watermelon I had eaten during my entire journey.

It feels wonderful to already feel at home again. So, after yesterday's rest day, tomorrow will be another one, giving me plenty of time to spend together with Gugu and Gufu.