"A distant and ambiguous village, nestled in the smoke of the countryside. Dogs barking in the deep alley, chickens crowing and mulberry trees swaying..."

After staying in the city for a long time, I increasingly yearn for the countryside. Life is like a dandelion, seemingly free, but involuntarily.

Childhood living in the countryside was a beautiful memory, but the old house had already been demolished during childhood. I am just a guest from my hometown, without my parents in my old house.

On that day, I stood in the winter fields of Xiangcun Qizhuang, looking at those familiar Jiangnan houses and sighing how much it looked like the place where I grew up when I was a child!

Xiangcun Qizhuang, less than seven kilometers away from Zhouzhuang Ancient Town, is located in Sanzhubang, Qibang Village. This is a Jiangnan village that integrates leisure, accommodation, and ecological agriculture, and has become the preferred rural tourism destination for many people.

There is a kind of life called Zhouzhuang, but there is more than one way of life in Zhouzhuang, and there is also this picture of a peaceful water countryside.

The colorful lights in the fields and the dried New Year goods in front of the house all remind us that the Chinese New Year is coming.

The rural areas in Jiangnan have undergone significant changes. That afternoon, nestled in Xiangcun Qizhuang's Xiangcun Bookstore, I had a leisurely afternoon tea with warm sunshine.

Outsiders exclaim that the supporting facilities in this new rural area of Jiangnan are truly excellent, such a stylish bookstore.

That night, I stayed with a few friends at the No.3 homestay in Xiangcun Qizhuang, which is hidden in ordinary people's homes.

The name of the No.3 homestay is called the 1990s, built around 1993. It is a simple and peaceful rural characteristic villa with a total of 5 rooms. It has a small and fresh wooden style, which is very suitable for vacationing with family or friends.

Next to our homestay, there is a Hefengli restaurant very close.

I had a New Year's Eve dinner with a few friends at the nearby Hefengli restaurant.

The restaurant environment is good. The sloping roof and blue walls create a stark contrast.

The childhood cupboard, quiet in the corner, appears very harmonious.

Four cold dishes, one of which is a salty chicken:

A large pot of braised Chenghu big fish head with radish, the fish head is very large and the cooking is also delicious.

Wan San Ti is a must-have main dish for every main meal during a trip to Zhouzhuang, Suzhou.

"When there is a banquet at home, there must be crispy hooves." These Wan San hooves are an essential dish for the wealthy Shen Wansan family in Jiangnan to entertain guests. After hundreds of years of transmission, it has become the main dish in the Zhou Zhuang people's New Year celebrations and wedding banquets, meaning reunion, and is also a top-notch dish for entertaining guests.

Oil fried river shrimp, the shrimp meat is full and very delicious.

Pork soup and dried bamboo shoots. Dried bamboo shoots absorb the deliciousness of the broth and are extremely delicious to eat.

Braised Fish and Egg Dumplings with Vermicelli and Duck Blood. In the past, during the Chinese New Year in Jiangnan, every household would fry egg dumplings.

Pork slices with cauliflower are a very common dish.

Stir fried vegetables may seem ordinary, but they are really delicious. Green vegetables freshly pulled from rural areas, stir fried with vegetable oil, have a sweet taste. After the frost in winter, vegetables are even more popular than meat.

In Suzhou, there is only one type of dish called green vegetables. In the north, all green vegetables are called green vegetables.

Cabbage rice cake, slightly spicy, appetizing.

Snow cabbage, winter bamboo shoots, and shredded pork are my favorite seasonal dishes. Snow pickled vegetables are pickled mustard greens, while winter bamboo shoots are only available during this season. Suzhou people pay attention to not eating from time to time and eating seasonal food.

A large pot of local chicken gluten soup. This chicken is very big and fat, and the chicken soup is golden.

A portion of stir fried spinach. This spinach is also freshly plucked from the ground, bloody and very fresh.

Sugar fried cake is a sweet and glutinous dish that involves cutting brown sugar cake into small pieces and stir frying them in hot oil.

Do you think the above dishes, along with four cold dishes and a plate of fruit, are worth 1200 yuan?

Single point is at this price. But if you stay at the No.3 homestay in Xiangcun Qizhuang, with 5 rooms for 10 people including breakfast, and this Xiangcun dinner with 10 dishes and 1 soup, along with 10 tickets worth 1000 yuan for Zhouzhuang Ancient Town as a gift, with a package price of 5288 yuan, wouldn't that be very cost-effective?

"Xiangcun Qizhuang" is a rural tourism experience project developed by Zhouzhuang based on the tourism and cultural brand of water towns and ancient towns.

I don't know how long ago, we moved away from the countryside and lived in urban forests. Now, returning to the countryside is our inner desire. Just, can we still go back?