I returned to my hometown after winning the koi lottery.

An unexpected encounter on the Three Gorges trip

After exiting the Three Gorges Dam, Li Ming, still absorbed in the magnificent spectacle, slowly drove his battered jeep along the winding road. This jeep had accompanied him through many stormy days. Though worn, it was like a loyal friend, never abandoning him along the way.

However, this peace didn't last long. Suddenly, a loud "thump" shattered the tranquility. The jeep shook violently, as if struck by something. Then, an unsettling noise erupted from the engine, like metal rubbing against metal, or some giant beast groaning in pain. Li Ming's heart tightened, knowing something was seriously wrong with his old friend.

Meanwhile, not far ahead, Li Fugui, Xiao Tao, and Zhang Tingjian were driving along, chatting leisurely. Behind the RV, siblings Zhang Bei and Zhang Nan were chatting excitedly with Xiao Xing in a pickup truck. They were happily filming the surrounding scenery with their phones, preparing to share it on TikTok to show everyone the beauty of their journey.

Li Ming hurriedly rolled down the window, leaned his head out, and screamed for help with all his might. His voice echoed across the empty road. Fortunately, Sister Xiao Tao's sharp ears caught the cry. She immediately asked Li Fugui to stop the car, her face filled with worry.

"You guys wait here, I'll go see what happened." Sister Xiaotao said to the others, then hurriedly got out of the RV and ran towards Li Ming.

When Sister Xiao Tao ran to Li Ming's jeep, she saw Li Ming sitting in the driver's seat with an anxious look on his face, his hands tightly gripping the steering wheel.

"Li Ming, what's wrong?" Sister Xiaotao asked breathlessly.

"My car suddenly had a problem. The engine seems to be broken." Li Ming said helplessly.

Sister Xiao Tao walked around the jeep and examined it carefully, but she was not good at car maintenance.

"Don't worry, let's push the car to a safe place on the side of the road." Sister Xiaotao said.

So, Li Ming and Xiao Tao worked together to push the jeep to the emergency parking strip on the side of the road. At this time, Little God of Wealth followed Li Fugui, Zhang Nan, Zhang Bei and Xiao Xing and came over.

"What should we do? There is no village in front and no shop behind." Zhang Bei said with a frown.

"Don't panic, let's see if we can contact rescue first." Li Fugui said calmly, then took out his mobile phone and started calling for help.

However, due to their remote location, the cell phone signal was not very good, and Li Fugui was unable to dial the rescue number despite trying several times.

"It seems we can only rely on ourselves." Sister Xiaotao sighed helplessly.

Just when everyone was in trouble, Li Ming suddenly remembered that there were some simple repair tools in his jeep.

"I have tools in my car. Let me see if I can check it first." Li Ming said.

He opened the trunk of the jeep, took out the tools, and then opened the hood to start checking. Others also gathered around. Although they couldn't help much, they all wanted to cheer Li Ming up.

Li Ming carefully inspected the various components of the engine. Drawing on his years of driving experience, he discovered that a part might be loose, causing the unusual noise. However, due to his limited tools, he found it difficult to perform further repairs.

"I need a more professional tool to fix this part," said Li Ming.

"Then what should we do? Where can we find this tool?" Xiao Xing asked anxiously.

At this moment, Zhang Nan's eyes suddenly lit up and he said, "I remember there seems to be a small town ahead. We can go there to see if there is a car repair shop and borrow a tool."

"That's a good idea, but who will go?" asked Li Fugui.

"Let me go. I drive fast." Zhang Bei volunteered.

"Okay then, be careful." Sister Xiaotao warned.

Zhang Bei nodded, then drove along the road towards the town. Everyone waited for his return.

While waiting, Li Ming and the others began chatting about their travel experiences. Li Ming recounted a thrilling tale of his solo desert crossing, which amazed everyone. Li Fugui also shared interesting stories about the people and events he encountered while traveling around the world, bringing a touch of joy to everyone in their difficult situation.

Unconsciously, a long time passed, but Zhang Bei still had not returned. Everyone began to worry.

"Why hasn't Zhang Bei come back yet? Did something happen?" Xiao Xing said anxiously.

"Don't think too much. Maybe you wasted time looking for tools in town." Li Fugui comforted.

After a while, a pickup truck finally appeared in the distance. He was driving very fast, and inside the truck was a professional maintenance tool boom.

"Finally found it. There is only one auto repair shop in this town, and it took a lot of effort to borrow this tool." Zhang Bei said.

Li Ming put away his tools and immediately began repairing the engine. Under everyone's expectation, after some hard work, Li Ming finally fixed the loose part.

He closed the hood and tried to start the car. A steady roar came from the engine, and the Jeep finally returned to normal.

"That's great, Li Ming, you're awesome!" Sister Xiaotao said excitedly.

Everyone cheered. In this unexpected predicament, they helped each other and overcame the difficulties together.

"Thank you everyone. Without you, I really don't know what I would do." Li Ming said gratefully.

"You're welcome. We are all on a road trip and we will be friends from now on. We should support each other along the way." Li Fugui said with a smile.

Li Ming suggested, I have a professional camera here, I will take some beautiful photos for everyone, what do you think?

The three girls immediately became happy and said, "That's great. After all, you are a professional photographer and you will definitely take great pictures."

So, a few people took a group photo first, and then started taking individual photos one by one with the beautiful scenery of the Three Gorges as the background.

As expected of a photographer, Li Ming's photos are really very tasteful. Each one looks like an artistic photo, which makes everyone amazed and very satisfied.

This is why amateurs and professionals are not on the same starting line. For the same place, the photos taken by everyone are not as good as Li Ming's.

Everyone returned to their cars and continued their journey. This unexpected experience had deepened their friendship and made them cherish the wonderful time along the way even more. What challenges and surprises would they encounter on the rest of their journey?