The heating that everyone has been longing for has not yet arrived.
What arrived was a caravan of camels.
It turned out that the camels rented by the film crew had arrived.
Pu Rong looked at the camels, then at the cold tent, and sadly realized that the heating hadn't been turned on yet, but they were already preparing to film.
"Teacher Pu, Teacher Xiao, could you please come over here for a moment?"
One of the staff members jogged over and said, "We might need to coordinate with you here."
"good."
Xiao He and Pu Rong stood up, greeted Qu Qiuyan, and then followed the staff to the camel caravan on the other side of the tent.
Standing in the very center of the group was a middle-aged man wearing a military green cotton-padded jacket and a hat. He had dark skin, an aged face, and somewhat cloudy eyes. When he smiled, a few large yellow teeth were visible in his mouth.
This seemed to be his first time meeting a big star on TV. He was rather reserved around Xiao He and Pu Rong, rubbing his hands together as if unsure where to put them. He smiled shyly, yet with a touch of the hearty generosity of a man from Northwest China: "Hello, hello!"
"This is Mr. Yang, the owner of these camels. The two teachers can talk to him and then each choose a camel for filming," the staff member explained.
"Hello, Master Yang."
Xiao He and Pu Rong greeted each other politely.
Then Master Yang took the initiative to reach out and shake hands with each of the two people.
"I know you, you're that child star, what was your name again... you acted in 'MasterChef' with Brother Hua!"
"And you, you, Meng Zetian! Oh my, what a scoundrel! I was so angry after reading that I ate two extra bowls of rice that night... I never imagined that this young man would be so handsome in real life!"
Master Yang was clearly not a big fan of celebrities. His deepest impression of the two of them was still from a long time ago. He spoke with a very obvious local accent, which Xiao He and Pu Rong could only understand half of. They could only barely make out the general meaning from the few words they spoke, so they were not embarrassed. Instead, they smiled and nodded in agreement.
A few minutes later they started talking about the camel caravan behind them.
There were about a dozen camels that arrived at the scene at once, and they were all equipped with saddles and ancient-style decorations in advance. It is unclear whether they were prepared by the film crew or whether these camels were originally intended to be used as filming equipment at the scenic spot.
They were tied together by reins, their formation loose and not very orderly, but there was a sense of order in the chaos. Some moved their hooves, leaving unique camel footprints in the sand, while others sat directly on the sand, chewing on something from time to time.
And you know what? The desert, camels, the faint sound of bells in the distance, and the sliver of morning light peeking through the sand dunes behind them—this scene perfectly captured the grandeur of the northwestern frontier, a sight that instantly soothed the soul.
Meeting Xiao He and Pu Rong's curious gazes, Master Yang explained somewhat embarrassedly, "They usually greet guests in the scenic area. They are very gentle and won't hurt anyone, so don't worry."
"Master Yang, what breed of camel is this?"
Pu Rong noticed his nervousness and asked him questions about camels with a smile to ease his anxiety.
"This is a Bactrian camel, the most common type of camel here. They are gentle, drought-resistant, and very stable when walking in the desert, so you can just sit on them and take pictures; they won't move at all..."
Master Yang immediately began to talk at length about the camel in front of him.
"Did it just eat something? Why is it constantly chewing?"
As Pu Rong listened to Master Yang's words, he reached out and stroked one of the camels sitting on the ground, chewing something intently, and asked it a question with some curiosity.
Xiao He's expression turned somewhat strange when he saw the camel being chewed in his mouth.
"It's regurgitating."
Master Yang explained.
"What the heck?"
Because Master Yang's Mandarin had a strong regional accent, Pu Rong didn't hear him clearly at first and subconsciously asked a follow-up question.
“Rumination,” Xiao He explained from the side. “Like cows and sheep, it is a ruminant animal, which means that it stores the food it eats in its rumen to soften and ferment. Then, when it rests, it refluxes the food from its stomach into its mouth and slowly chews and grinds it up... That’s rumination.”
Pu Rong immediately withdrew his hand, his expression showing disgust.
It's not that I'm discriminating against animals, but just imagine whether it's a human or an animal, having something they've already eaten come back up from their stomach, chew it again, and then swallow it. It's disgusting no matter how you look at it.
"I'm doomed, I don't think I can ever look them in the eye again."
Pu Rong rubbed his arms and said to Xiao He with great despair.
Xiao He ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) suppressed a laugh: "Actually, this is their way of life. You'll get used to it."
As he spoke, Xiao He chose one of the camels that looked more pleasing to the eye, turned to Master Yang, and asked, "Can I ride it right away?"
"Yes, yes."
Master Yang came over and prepared to help Xiao He onto the camel.
"Need not."
Xiao He gripped the reins and gracefully mounted the camel.
And the camel, as if understanding human nature, began to take small steps.
Master Yang immediately untied the reins, allowing it to carry people alone to another part of the group.
Just as Master Yang said, camels are relatively docile and naturally have two humps to stabilize their bodies, so riding them is not as difficult as riding horses. Apart from being a bit slow, there is no discomfort.
Meanwhile, Pu Rong was still hesitating, his eyes scanning the camel caravan in front of him, trying to find a camel that wasn't "ruminating." Finally, he managed to pick a camel that was dozing off.
So the two of them forgot the chill of the morning and began to ride camels happily on the sand.
Riding camels in the desert was a novel experience for both of them.
And this was a completely different feeling from horseback riding. Coupled with the scenery of golden sand and blue sky, both of them were in a very good mood.
Xiao He even learned how to make camels run without being taught.
Camels can run in the desert, but their endurance is not as good as horses, and they cannot run at high speed for long periods of time. They basically have to stop and rest to catch their breath after running for a while.
Furthermore, the ride is much more bumpy than riding a horse. When you sit between the humps, you are easily bumped in front and back, like sitting in a cart without shock absorption. You are attacked from all sides, which is just asking for trouble.
Xiao He stopped running after only a short while.
Ouch, although he wouldn't get hurt, his front hurt from the bumps and his back hurt from the impacts. After all that, Xiao He was in pain all over.
It seems that many of the camels' safety pads were removed for filming purposes.
Oh well, it's not like I have to run around while filming anyway, so trying it once is enough.
Xiao He rode his camel back to find Pu Rong.
Pu Rong was unaware of Xiao He's unspeakable pain. He only thought Xiao He's posture while riding a camel was very cool, so he curiously asked Xiao He to teach him how to ride a camel so he could try it out.
Xiao He smiled slightly, but evil thoughts arose in his heart.
"Come, come, I'll teach you—"
A few minutes later, Pu Rong, who had been jostled about by the camel, clung to his legs and supported his waist as he shakily dismounted from the camel.
He lay on the sand, feeling as if his soul had been carried away by the camel.
And that damned camel, unrepentant, actually sat down and lowered its head to sniff Pu Rong's head.
Recalling the other person's rumination system, Pu Rong felt as if he could smell the stench from their breath. Suddenly, the pain in his body disappeared, and he scrambled to the side, retching, "Ugh—I never want to ride a camel again! Ugh!"
Xiao He, standing to the side, mercilessly burst into laughter: "Hahaha—"
If we're brothers, we'll suffer together!
