Years: Salted fish life since going to the countryside.

Chapter 1507: Yangcheng News (Part )

Since ancient times, there has been a saying in Guangzhou that there is a building every five steps and a pavilion every ten steps.

What is referred to here is not the pavilions and towers with winding corridors and high eaves as described in Du Mu's "Fu on Afang Palace", with a building every five steps and a pavilion every ten steps.

Instead, it describes the city's characteristics of the density and large number of restaurants, eateries and teahouses in Guangzhou.

Although some restaurants and teahouses in Guangzhou were closed in recent years, the city still has more than 500 restaurants and countless teahouses from Erliguan to high-end teahouses.

However, there are only about twenty restaurants allowed to receive foreign guests.

The hotel Zhang Yaozu brought Han Li to today is the "Oriental Hotel", which is currently the most famous, most grand and most fashionable among the more than 20 hotels.

At the entrance of the Oriental Hotel's square, there is a clean and smooth asphalt road in the middle, with stone railings like bridge railings on both sides of the road. Behind the stone railings is a miniature garden full of Lingnan style.

A huge portrait of a teacher hangs outside the main building of the hotel, and on both sides of the corridor connecting to the lobby are huge columns full of Russian style.

The room Zhang Yaozu booked is in the new building on the west side, which was built in the early 70s and is now open to the public.

Most of the places that are not open to the public are the buildings of the consulates currently established in Guangzhou, among which the Beautiful Country and the Little Red Dot occupy the most rooms.

On the way, Han Li listened to Zhang Yaozu introducing the Oriental Hotel to him. He said that it was originally called Yangcheng Hotel, and it was not until 66 that it was changed to its current name.

(This name has been used until later generations without change.)
The Oriental Hotel was not open to the general public before. It was not until 79 that some of its areas were slowly and gradually opened to the public.

In the autumn of the year when the policy was liberalized (79), the Oriental Hotel launched the first buffet in my country.

Buffets are very rare in this day and age when everything requires a ticket, not to mention being able to eat to your heart's content.

Just from the variety of food available, this is enough to attract many families who can afford it to come here and improve their lives.

In the same year, the Oriental Hotel tried to open a music teahouse in the Garden Restaurant. The admission fee was 6 yuan in foreign exchange coupons, and it was "specially provided for foreign guests". It achieved very good results after its launch.

In March of the following year (80), the Oriental Hotel officially launched a music teahouse in Cuiyuan Palace, which was open to ordinary citizens and was also the first music teahouse in the country.

Customers buy a ticket and can eat snacks and listen to music after entering. It has immediately become popular among many young people and people with petty bourgeoisie tastes in Guangzhou and its surrounding areas.

(This price is not fixed. It is mainly calculated based on the snacks and drinks ordered by the customer. The price varies depending on the type and quantity.)
Oriental Hotel has made bold innovations in all aspects and launched many national firsts.

This has made the Oriental Hotel a symbol of high-quality life in Guangzhou and a place that Guangzhou people love and yearn for.

At that time, if the cadres and workers' families in Guangzhou had not taken their families and children to the Oriental Hotel for buffet meals, their children would not be able to speak in front of their classmates.

Women cannot stand up straight when speaking in front of others, for fear that others will say that their family is not doing well or why they have never even had a buffet.

(This is just like when a certain Deji restaurant first entered the city. Many people would buy it once for their family to try even if they had to tighten their belts, otherwise they would not be able to speak confidently when they go out.)
When young people in Guangzhou are dating, if they can go to the music teahouse in the Oriental Hotel once, the girl will immediately become the envy of her sisters. The effect is better than going to the movies or visiting the park countless times.

This situation continued until the White Swan Hotel, China Hotel and Garden Hotel in Guangzhou were built and opened one after another. The former glory of the Oriental Hotel was gradually overshadowed by those hotels with more luxurious decoration, more fashionable and more advanced facilities, but it still has an irreplaceable position in the hearts of many Guangzhou people.

With Zhang Yaozu's salary, he was able to arrange the first meal for Han Li at the Oriental Hotel, which is enough to explain a lot of problems.

As I said, it doesn’t matter whether old friends eat well after not seeing each other for a long time, the most important thing is to make sure each other drinks well.

You have to know that when they were sent to Shanghe Village to work in the countryside and drink alcohol during the winter, a plate of boiled soybeans, a plate of pickles, and a pot of stewed cabbage could keep them drinking from morning to evening. Now, just having two dishes is far from the same as before. So the food is not important, drinking and eating are the most important.

After three glasses of wine, Han Li discovered that Zhang Yaozu's alcohol tolerance had declined a lot compared to when he was in Shanghe Village, but this did not affect his continued drinking with him.

How should I put it? It feels so good to be able to crush your opponent without using cheat codes.

The only bad thing was that Han Li had to drive his three-wheeled vehicle and take the drunk Zhang Yaozu back to the guesthouse where he had just registered, and book a room for him.

Nothing happened that night. The next day, Han Li opened his eyes early as usual. After getting up, he practiced the Xingyiquan boxing stance and the Spring Breeze and Rain Technique in the room.

Next, Han Li used the water in the thermos to wash his face and brush his teeth in the basin next to the room to maintain his personal hygiene.

Han Li, feeling refreshed, changed his clothes and walked out of his room. He came to Zhang Yaozu and took a look, only to find that he had no intention of waking up.

When Han Li was considering whether to wake up Zhang Yaozu, various noises were heard on the street outside.

There are the sounds of acquaintances greeting each other, the sound of bicycles, the sound of bamboo baskets colliding when people get up early to buy vegetables and meat.

While drinking last night, Han Li heard Zhang Yaozu talk about the various situations and lively scenes in the streets and alleys of Yangcheng in the morning.

After hearing these voices, Han Li immediately decided not to wake Zhang Yaozu up. He let him sleep a little longer and sober up while he went out to experience the morning life in Guangzhou.

So Han Li took out a pen and paper, wrote a note saying that he was going to see the Yangcheng morning market, put it on the table, then closed the door and walked out of the guesthouse.

The atmosphere of life in the streets and alleys of Guangzhou in the morning is very different from that of the old city. The most common things here are various small teahouses.

The way acquaintances greet each other after meeting is different from that in Sijiu City. Han Li can hear it from time to time on the street he walks on.

"Have you had your tea? Have a bun."

"Drink tea at your leisure."

"Have you had a drink today?"

Although these sound new, what really makes Han Li feel different is the attitude of many people in Yangcheng towards learning.

This may be due to the increase in the number of foreigners after the reform and opening up, and these people in Guangzhou want to better adapt to the new situation and make more money from foreigners.

Many local men, women, young and old were learning English, which allowed Han Li to see and hear a lot of different situations along the way.
(End of this chapter)