The journey is still on, and he’s planning to take a shower and rest.
Just then, soone knocked on the door.
Li Younan opened the door, and there stood Liao Xinchun, cheerfully holding a plate of sliced waterlon.
Li Younan blinked, recalling that there didn’t seem to be any waterlon at tonight’s buffet.
Liao Xinchun said, "Although we didn’t visit the Little Three Gorges, we did disembark. I bought this chilled waterlon nearby as a compensation for tricking you yesterday."
Li Younan coughed lightly and accepted the waterlon.
Liao Xinchun turned to leave.
Li Younan hesitated, then asked, "Are you... alright?"
Liao Xinchun turned back, smiled, with a rosy glow on her face, and said, "Why would you think I’m not alright?"
...
On the last day, they finally reached the destination of this trip.
The ship docked at Zigui Maoping Port.
The morning river was still covered with a thin layer of mist, and the air was very clean.
Today’s destination was clear—Three Gorges Dam.
After disembarking, they followed the guide and boarded the sightseeing bus specifically for the area.
The bus moved leisurely along the designated road, and the hills outside the window were vibrantly green.
Upon arrival, they received a system task, as simple as always: choose an angle and take a photo of the Three Gorges Dam.
Li Younan felt a bit emotional; this system was really good... No task was difficult, it just provided travelers with spontaneous tasks.
These tasks were even quite casual, so much so that even without the system, one might accidentally complete them while traveling.
The first stop was Tanzi Ridge.
The na was quite descriptive, suggesting the mountaintop resembled an overturned jar.
There’s no need to exert effort to reach the top; the view from the lower platforms was broad enough.
Standing here, the full view of the dam unfolded instantly.
It didn’t feel as oppressive as imagined, more like a clean line, neatly dividing the river into two parts.
The water surface before the dam was expansive and calm, the so-called "high gorge lake," with the water level behind the dam visibly lower, the river flowing downstream with so strength.
Most striking was the five-step ship lock on the left, resembling giant steps embedded in the mountainside; the guide said it took three to four hours for a ship to pass through, "climbing" or "descending" layer by layer.
On the right could be seen the smaller-sized ship lift, like a giant elevator, specifically for lifting small vessels across the dam, with the wind blowing from the river carrying moisture, quite comfortable.
Li Younan listened to the explanation in the model exhibition hall, admiring the clever design of the triangular stones used for blocking; once thrown into the water, they settled themselves firmly.
Li Younan gazed at the artificial stone wall in front of him, and Liao Xinchun cheerfully asked, "Doesn’t it feel magnificent?"
Li Younan wasn’t thinking about grandeur; he felt the thods people devised were quite ingenious. He smiled and said, "Yes, it’s quite magnificent—a romantic feat of engineers."
The last stop was the dam diversion morial park across the river.
Located downstream of the dam, it’s the best place to see the dam’s full view.
Li Younan planned to complete the task here.
Scattered in the park were huge machinery used during construction—truck tires taller than a person, excavation buckets large enough to fit a small room.
Touching these cold steel giants and looking up at the dam steadfast across the river, Li Younan suddenly understood the significance of "humans" in this project.
The wear and rust on these machines explained the past better than any words.
He found a spot facing the dam and took a photo, with the straight gray-white line as the background.
Watching the river swirl out from the base of the dam and rush downstream, he felt quite peaceful.
While the project was indeed a miracle, what struck him more at this mont were the unseen people and the silent steel.
Originally wanting to experience the ship lift, he regretted that it required advance booking, and the timing didn’t match.
Leaving a bit of longing was good too.
Liao Xinchun occasionally glanced at Li Younan.
She noticed that on today’s journey to the Three Gorges Dam, Li Younan beca much quieter, hardly speaking.
Liao Xinchun was curious but refrained from saying anything.
On the way back to the pier by sightseeing bus.
Liao Xinchun couldn’t resist asking, "You seem to have a bit of a heavy mood."
Li Younan was slightly surprised, his expression a bit bewildered, "Heavy?"
He was just thinking about various aspects of this project, one of the greatest since the establishnt of New China.
The thought lingered in his mind... that it was created by humans.
Being asked by Liao Xinchun now, he naturally wouldn’t reveal his inner thoughts, just smiled, "Oh, it’s just that I suddenly realized this journey is about to end."
Liao Xinchun suddenly paused, nodded slightly, then lightly flicked her hair, glancing elsewhere and said, "Yes, this journey is about to end."
She was silent for a mont, then looked up with a bright smile, her expression sowhat playful as she looked at Li Younan, "I didn’t expect you to be such a sentintal person."
Li Younan was slightly taken aback, blinking.
Suddenly realizing that what she was thinking wasn’t on the sa wavelength as him at all.
Yet at this mont, he certainly wouldn’t foolishly disrupt the mood, just maintained silence.
Liao Xinchun lowered her head, speaking with a hint of mockery, "Under such a majestic and grand scenery, yet that’s what you’re thinking... such a small perspective, haha..."
Li Younan sighed helplessly, hesitating to respond, pondering but chose not to say anything.
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