Upon hearing the taxi driver's inexplicable compliment, Zhang Lisheng could not help but ask, "Mr. Driver, thank you for your compliment, but don't you think that you've been behaving strangely ever since I got in the car?"
The driver was stunned. He chuckled and said nothing.
Tao Lulu, who was smart and had lived in Beijing for a few years and was familiar with the thoughts of the commoners in the Chinese capital, had already figured out the whole story. She said, "Lisheng, this driver also knows the US rules.
When he passed by and saw you stretching three fingers to call for a taxi, he thought that you were a silly foreigner who wanted to pay a high price and wanted to earn more money, so he stopped at the corner to get a customer instead of eating.
In the end, the moment I got in the car, he felt that he couldn't earn three times the fare since I was a Chinese girl born and raised in China. Of course, he was unhappy and threw a tantrum. Later on, when you said that you'd pay three times the fare for each trip, his anger subsided and of course, his attitude became better. Am I right, sir? "
"Isn't the reason we work so hard in the middle of the day to earn more money? I looked at this young man's demeanor from afar and I could tell that he was a foreigner or an overseas Chinese. Not only that, he must have come from the evil western capitalist society, so I stopped my car.
In the end, when I heard both of your accents, I thought to myself, 'Damn, I've been fooled!' Then, my anger rose. Speaking of which, it's all because of those … Sigh, I'll stop, I'll stop. In short, it's my bad attitude. I shouldn't have, shouldn't have! "The taxi driver scratched his head in embarrassment.
Westerners were willing to spend money to buy priority service, but Easterners thought that the same service must have the same price, and the order was determined by 'first come, first served'. Actually, there was no right or wrong between these two ideas. It was just a difference caused by the way of thinking and social rules. Of course, Zhang Lisheng understood this, so he just smiled in relief and said nothing more.
The car drove on the spacious road for a long time, passing by buildings of different heights and streets that were full of people. Finally, it stopped in front of a narrow alley.
"Alright, it's not easy to get in the car in front. We'll reach the Friendship Hotel after walking for more than 100 meters," The driver said with a smile. "Have a safe trip, both of you."
"That's great, sir! You've already reached without asking. You're really familiar with the road." Tao Lulu looked at Zhang Lisheng handing the driver a few 100 yuan bills and said with a smile, "You don't have to run this afternoon, right?"
"It's all thanks to the two of you. Thank you, thank you. Bye bye." He happily pocketed the money and watched as the two customers in the back seat got out of the car. The driver waved his hand and left.
"This is life, a life that's easy to satisfy but very real …" Zhang Lisheng watched the car leave and muttered in disappointment. All of a sudden, he felt that becoming a god to conquer a 'world' and then use it as a foundation to fight against the powerful Atlantean light civilization had become a very illusory thing.
"What's wrong with you, Lisheng?" When Tao Lulu, who was by his side, saw the strange expression on the young man's face, she asked curiously.
"It's nothing, I'm just sighing. It's not easy to come to this city that I've always wanted to visit since I was young, so I've become a little sentimental.
Let's go eat. "Zhang Lisheng snapped back to reality and walked into the alley with the girl.
There were not many alleys left in the Third Ring Road of Beiping City. The alleys around Xujialou were famous for their delicacies and snacks. As they walked through the alleys, their noses were filled with fragrances.
After strolling forward for one to two hundred meters, Tao Lulu brought the young man to turn right. A restaurant that appeared to be quite large in the alley immediately appeared in front of them.
"I'm still a student, so the place where I treat to a meal can't be compared to the five-star restaurant that you, a big entrepreneur, have in New York, the US. However, the taste of the food here is not bad. I'll give you the honor to try it, "Pointing to the greasy wooden signboard with the words' Friendship Forever 'hanging on the cement roof, the girl stopped walking and deliberately used a sharp tone to joke.
"Five-star is for hotels and restaurants. The most commonly used international Michelin rating is only three stars." The young man also joked and corrected her before pushing open the red-painted door of the restaurant.
"How many of you, sir?" Now that there were guests, the waiter asked in a loud and ear-piercing voice in front of the counter that also sold cigarettes and alcohol.
"We've booked a room, Hongfu Hall." In the noisy environment, Tao Lulu raised her voice and answered.
"Hongfu Hall, second floor, 213.
Turn left in front and you'll see the stairs. Be careful. " The waiter casually told the number of the private room. The girl nodded and brought the young man up to the second floor. After finding the room in the corridor, she pushed the door and walked in.
Compared to the dining hall on the first floor, the private room on the second floor was obviously much simpler. The decoration was not luxurious, but the space was spacious and the floor was clean. There was even a 40-inch LCD TV hanging on the screen wall. When the two of them walked into the room, seven to eight young men and women were chatting around a large dining table while tilting their heads to watch the US drama.
Upon hearing the sound, these people turned their eyes towards the door in unison.
Upon seeing Tao Lulu's figure, one of the men, who had an unpleasant expression on his face and was wearing a slightly bloated black suit with a cashmere sweater, white shirt, and a meticulous tie in Beijing's autumn weather in September, dressed like a middle-aged man but with a face that was only in his twenties, went up to greet her with a bright gleam in his eyes.
"Lulu, why did you come so late? You must be starving, right? I'll go order the dishes later. I've already ordered them, and they're all your favorites." He first said to the girl affectionately before extending his hand to Zhang Lisheng. "You must be Lulu's junior high school classmate, right? Nice to meet you. My name is Li Linsheng, I'm a counselor at Beijing Normal University. I can also be considered as half of Lulu's colleague."
"Teacher Li, why are you here too? Didn't you say that you don't have time to arrange the freshmen's life? You're a school counselor, a teacher, and I'm a student, so how can we be colleagues?" Tao Lulu said politely in a flat manner before taking off her windbreaker and hanging it up.
"Sigh, Lulu, you're Dr. Lu's favorite student, so it's not a trivial matter for you to stay in school after you graduate. How can we not be considered as half colleagues?" Li Linsheng smiled awkwardly. "Oh yeah, I'll go order the dishes. I'll go order the dishes …" Then, he walked out of the room.
The instant he walked out of the room, a young girl with a round face that had two shallow dimples on her cheeks when she smiled jumped up from her seat and ran to Tao Lulu's side. Laughing, she said bluntly, "Oh my, Master's Tao! This scene is so lively that it can almost be compared to a TV series! Why are you not giving Old Li face in front of your childhood sweetheart? What are you doing? Are you trying to show your loyalty?"
"Chu Xiaohong, shut up! Can't you see that Li Yujuan is here too? Nobody can sell you off as a mute if you don't speak!" The girl, who was no longer a pure girl, who no longer knew what kind of feelings she had for the young man she once had when she was young and ignorant, blushed as she whispered to her best friend.
"Ah, you're really angry now! It seems that Master's Tao has fallen in love with you. I won't say anymore! I won't say anymore!" Chu Xiaohong smiled mischievously and lowered her voice.
The moment her words left her mouth, Li Linsheng pushed the door open and returned to the private room. When he heard the last syllable, he blurted out, "W-Who has fallen in love with you?"
These words caused the atmosphere in the room to become stiff. In the end, it was Chu Xiaohong who casually resolved the awkwardness. "I-I have fallen in love with you! Yesterday, Liu Sheng confessed to me in the school's grove, so I fell in love with him!
Really! Why are you a man asking about this? You're usually so slow, so why did you order the dishes so fast today? Are you trying to pry into my privacy? "
Li Linsheng's expression turned grave, but he did not flare up. Instead, he even explained in a low voice, "I just so happened to run into the waiter at the staircase, so it saved me some time." Then, he raised his voice and said, "The dishes will be ready soon. Let's take a seat first.
Lulu, your friend who came from afar is a guest, so he'll sit in the guest's seat. Even though Little Song is the one who called this dinner today, the reason is to celebrate my sister's English passing CET-8. For this reason, I should be the one treating. I'll sit in the main seat while Little Song will sit in the assistant seat. As for the other students, we'll sit according to our age. "While he was speaking, he sat in the main seat on the round table.
After that, the rest of the people began to sit in an orderly manner. Only Zhang Lisheng, who knew little about Chinese table etiquette, stood by the side in a daze. It was only until Tao Lulu pointed to the empty seat next to her that he finally sat down.
"Lulu, this old classmate of yours is too much of a homebody. He doesn't even know how to serve as the host. Has he never gone out to eat with anyone before?" Chu Xiaohong, who had been watching the young man with interest, said with a smile.
"He went to live in New York before he even finished his junior high school and has just returned to China recently. Of course, he doesn't know the messy rules on the table," the girl explained.
Even though China's national strength was rising day by day and could now be called a superpower together with the US, due to the serious political environment and the expanding population pressure in the country, ordinary citizens still yearned for the good living environment and high welfare of the Westerners. For this reason, when they heard that Zhang Lisheng, who had a native accent, had actually settled in the US, their attitude changed subtly.
"Oh, The New Yorker who knows how to speak Trump?" Chu Xiaohong was stunned for a moment before saying with a smile, "That's good, Lulu! You have good taste! Don't hide it anymore! Introduce yourself before the meal!"
"Who's hiding? He's Zhang Lisheng, my junior high school classmate." Tao Lulu stood up and pointed at Zhang Lisheng to introduce him in an extremely simple manner. Then, she pointed at her friends in the university to the young man in turn. "Chu Xiaohong, my roommate after I went to graduate school.
Counselor Li Linsheng, he introduced himself to you just now … "As she spoke, two waiters walked into the private room with a few plates of cold dishes. As they served the dishes, they asked Li Linsheng, who was sitting in the main seat," Sir, what kind of drinks would you like? "
"Of course, we have to ask the guests about the drinks." Li Linsheng turned his head to look at Zhang Lisheng and said, "B-Erm, Brother Zhang, do you want to drink white wine or beer, or maybe some red wine or whiskey?"
White wine and beer were never together, and he felt that it was impossible for a Chinese restaurant in such an alley to have a wine cellar to store high-grade red wine and whiskey. He thought for a while and said, "Thank you, but I don't want to drink any wine. A can of Coke will do."
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