He wants to save money to go to Heilongjiang, I didn't say I grew up in Harbin.

He clutched the discounted buns he bought from the convenience store, the screen of his phone filled with travel guides for Heilongjiang, his eyes shining: "I want to save money to go to Heilongjiang! To see the ice lanterns in Harbin, to visit Jingpo Lake in Mudanjiang, I must go to the Snow Town. I heard the snow mushroom houses there are like a fairy tale world, and the fish stewed in an iron pot bubbles with a delicious aroma, plus the pine nuts and hazelnuts just picked from the forest farm. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water!" As he spoke, the cuffs of his cotton jacket were worn and frayed, his hair a bit messy, but the light in his eyes shone bright like the first ray of sunlight on the banks of the Songhua River in the morning.

I was twirling the family heirloom agate bracelet, took a sip of the freshly brewed Daxing'anling blueberry tea, and gently nodded: "Heilongjiang is a great place." Indeed, my family lives in a standalone villa by the Songhua River, and by opening the floor-to-ceiling windows, I can overlook the flowing ice blocks on the river. In the wine cellar of the basement, there are mountain delicacies brewed with twenty-year-old Beidacang liquor, and the value of just one jar is enough for him to stay in the cheapest youth hostel for a year. At this moment, he was calculating how much he could save by eating only steamed buns while taking a hard seat to Harbin.

He excitedly pushed his phone in front of me, the group buying page with "Harbin Budget Hotel Double Room 58 Yuan per night" stood out prominently: "Look! The reviews say the owner will recommend local snack stalls!" I looked at his phone wallpaper — a photo of him and his grandmother in front of their old house in the countryside, with a pile of firewood in front, and replied with a smile: "That's quite a bargain." I didn't mention that my family's kitchen makes guo bao rou with freshly slaughtered black pork, the batter made with Yuquan Baijiu, which costs as much as his accommodation for this trip.

"Have you ever tried authentic Harbin red sausage?" he suddenly turned to ask me, the cuffs of his work clothes polished from wear. "I heard it's smoked with fruit wood, and when you bite into the casing, it bursts with oil, salty and delicious!" I was stroking the custom birch chopsticks and said, "It should be quite good." I didn't mention our exclusive fishing spot, where every morning a dedicated person delivers fresh big white fish directly from Xingkai Lake, and just the cooking rice wine, from Beidacang, has been passed down for thirty years.

He pulled out the most precious photo from his phone — the small restaurant where he treated his mother to a meal during the New Year last year, using the money he saved up for half a month. I remember my eighteenth birthday, when I held a banquet at a Russian-style club in Harbin, with the chef using local ingredients from Heilongjiang to create a "Forest Sea Feast" spread across a round table, from monkey head mushrooms from Daxing'anling to big white fish from Xingkai Lake. And the latest photo in his album is just a steamed bun and pickles from a breakfast stall for one yuan.

"When I go to Heilongjiang, I must try Harbin red sausage, Guo Bao Rou, and Kvass!" He licked his lips, "I've heard that the Russian-style bread in Harbin can be torn apart and stuffed with red sausage and pickles, which is extremely satisfying!" I looked at the cheap biscuits on his desk and thought about how my family has been making this bread in our kitchen, with the sourdough starter having been cultivated for thirty years, and the master's kneading skills passed down through three generations.

He is like a pine tree taking root in the cold winter, marking a red circle in the ledger every time he saves a hundred yuan. Meanwhile, I stand in front of the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the night view of the Songhua River, where the ice lanterns on the river surface shimmer with colorful lights. The distant place he strives to reach is merely the courtyard where I grew up running around. After all, in my world, the icy and snowy landscape of Heilongjiang and the delicacies of the mountains are just an everyday enjoyment that I can easily access.