I served as Li Bai's page.

After breakfast, Li Bai went to Meng Haoran's bedroom and called out, "Master Meng, get up! Let's climb Mount Lumen."

Meng Haoran turned over and went back to sleep on the other side. Li Bai tried everything he could to wake Meng Haoran but failed, so he had to give up.

When Li Bai went outside, several young men surrounded him and asked to go mountain climbing together, to which Li Bai readily agreed.

Not far to the right of Meng Haoran's residence, there was a farmhouse with a dirt path leading to the mountaintop. Our group arrived there, intending to climb up from there. Just as we reached the house, a stray dog ​​came running from in front of it, barking wildly. The young men were so frightened that they leaped up the mountain. Li Bai was a little slower and fell behind. When he turned around and saw me squatting in place, he quickly ran back to pull me up.

I shook off his hand and said, "Don't run. When you see the dog coming, just crouch down, and it won't dare to come any closer. The more you run, the more it will chase you."

"Really? No wonder it didn't catch up." Li Bai suddenly realized.

An old man came out of the house next door and called his dog back.

I stood up and followed Li Bai uphill. This slope was covered with peach orchards, planted by the local people of Lumen Mountain. Some peach blossoms had begun to fade, new leaves were sprouting on the branches, and the peach trees were already bearing fruit. Seeing the small fruits, the young men were both curious and delighted. Strolling through the peach orchard, breathing in the fragrance of the peach blossoms, was incredibly pleasant.

Beyond the peach grove, a dense pine forest stretched out, its needles carpeting the ground. We frolicked and played in this forest, even rolling around on the thick layer of pine needles, completely abandoning any semblance of scholarly decorum. The higher we climbed, the denser the pine forest became, and the more diverse the species of pine trees appeared. We raced to see who could reach the summit first.

Meng Ning was the first to reach the summit, and he proudly shouted into the distance, "I'm number one!"

Li Bai and I were the last to reach the summit. By then, they had rested enough and were clamoring to turn back. Exhausted, I collapsed onto the ground: "Let me rest for a bit, I'm dead tired."

"Yuehua, you can't say 'death' in this desolate wilderness, quickly spit it out!" After Wu Zhinan finished speaking, everyone burst into laughter.

I couldn't help but mutter, "What a bookworm."

Meng Ning said, "Yuehua, I feel like you're my little sister; you talk and act like a little girl."

I stood up and shouted, "You're talking nonsense!" Then I was the first to run down the mountain.

As the saying goes, going downhill is easier than going uphill, and that's so true. Although I was the first to run downhill, I ended up being the last. They had been resting at the foot of the mountain for a long time before Li Bai accompanied me down.

As we walked home, we turned the corner and saw Meng Haoran chatting with a guest in the courtyard. Seeing us return, he waved us over and said, "Come here, let me introduce you. This is Uncle Wu, my good friend. He's now the head steward of the Xu family in Anlu."

We shouted in unison, "Hello, Uncle Wu!"

Meng Haoran continued, "Uncle Wu accompanied Madam Xu to Lumen Temple to offer incense today. Knowing I was staying here, he came to visit me."

Then Meng Haoran took Li Bai's hand and introduced him to Steward Wu: "This is Li Bai, the famous talented scholar of Western Shu. He is learned in both ancient and modern times, and proficient in poetry, lyrics, and prose. We chatted all night last night."

Steward Wu stared intently at Li Bai, nodding repeatedly, and said, "Indeed, as the rumors say, he is handsome and dashing. Visit the Xu residence sometime; our master greatly admires talent." With that, Steward Wu rose to take his leave.

Meng Haoran, accompanied by Li Bai, saw Steward Wu off for a while. Back home, he instructed me, "Yuehua, quickly bring out my breakfast. I'm starving! And you all, you didn't even leave anyone to watch the house. My friends are coming, could you please help me out?"

I handed breakfast to Meng Haoran and watched him wolf it down. I took the empty bowl and turned to go to the kitchen. But then I heard Meng Haoran say, "Yuehua, is there any more? Get me another bowl."

I replied, "No, it's almost lunchtime."

Meng Haoran got up, walked around the kitchen, and then sat down in the middle of the young people in the courtyard.

I placed lunch on the table and called out, "Lunch is ready!"

A group of young people moved from the dam area to the table.

While eating, Meng Haoran said, "Yuehua, how much did Li Bai pay you? I'll pay double, and you can stay here and cook for me."

"Master Meng, no matter how much money you offer, I won't give him to you. Besides cooking, he also organizes my poems and articles. It's not easy to find such an assistant, so don't even think about taking advantage of him." Li Bai stared wide-eyed at Meng Haoran.

"Just for your wishful thinking, you'll be punished with a jar of wine today. Yuehua, go get the wine," Li Bai continued.

"I'll trade you ten jars of wine, will you?" Meng Haoran joked.

"No exchange, we'll drink all ten jars of wine." Li Bai said domineeringly as he poured the wine I had brought to the table into everyone's bowls.

"If you don't want to, then stay here a few more days. He will cook for me, and you will keep me company while I discuss poetry, until I am satisfied before you leave," Meng Haoran said.

"That's more like it." Li Bai raised his wine bowl and clinked it against Meng Haoran's.

The rest of the people drank two bowls and then stopped. Knowing that Li Bai and Meng Haoran could drink a lot, they didn't dare to compete with them and left the table early after finishing their meal.

Li Bai and Meng Haoran toasted each other repeatedly, until they were both quite tipsy and their words were incoherent, yet they still recited the poems and songs of their predecessors. The two drank at the table for most of the day.

Around 2 p.m., everyone was fishing by the pond when they saw a horse-drawn carriage drive down from the ravine and stop outside the dam.

Uncle Zhang, the steward of the Meng family, stepped down from the carriage, and Meng Ning went to greet him: "Uncle Zhang, what brings you here?"

"Master told me to bring some food and supplies to the eldest master, and also to pick you up. Master wants you to go to Jinling with him," Uncle Zhang said.

"Li Bai is here, I'd like to spend a few more days with him," Meng Ning said.

"Master wants you to come back with me today, and we'll go to Jinling tomorrow. There's something important going on in Jinling," Uncle Zhang said as he carried things from the cart into the house.

We stood up and helped carry the things. Master Meng was so kind; he brought several jars of wine and some meat.

Li Bai and Meng Haoran were still drinking when Uncle Zhang walked into the restaurant to greet them. The two men, still tipsy, stood up and shouted, "Brothers, come on, have a drink!" They reached out to pull Uncle Zhang up, who smiled helplessly and helped them sit down.

Meng Ning bid a brief farewell to Meng Haoran and Li Bai, packed his things, and went home in a carriage with his two friends.

Before leaving, he repeatedly told me, "Yuehua, tell Li Bai that I'm waiting for him in Jinling. I'll probably be staying in Jinling until October. I have many friends in Jinling who want to meet him, so you must come!"

"Go back now. Once Li Bai sobers up, I'll tell him, and he'll definitely go," I assured him.