Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 478 Contractor

In the early 90s, the title of "national scenic area" was truly impressive and prestigious. At that time, the tourism industry was just beginning to emerge, and the overall atmosphere of the industry was quite positive.

However, the experience of visiting scenic spots in this era was not as good as in later times. There were fewer facilities and simpler activities. Moreover, it was from this time that the whole country began to be sharpening its knives, and the phenomenon of ripping off tourists was everywhere.

In 91, at the foot of Mount Tai, a bowl of boiling water with a scallion soaking in it was called "Green Dragon Crossing the River Soup," costing eighty yuan. At the Qipanshan Scenic Area in Fengtian, potato and eggplant stew was called "Passing Five Gates and Slaying Six Generals," also costing eighty yuan. At a small shop by West Lake, deep-fried frog legs were called "Crispy Fried Beauty Legs," costing one hundred and twenty yuan a plate.

Zhao Lirong and Gong Hanlin performed a skit called "A Strange Encounter While Working" on the 96 Spring Festival Gala, which was about these kinds of things. At that time, the country had already begun to address these issues.

The most interesting thing about Chinese people is this: when business is bad, they never think about changing anything; instead, they raise prices. And rightly so, that's how they make more money. Improving service, raising quality, laying a solid foundation—that's too much work.

The most ruthless tourist trap in all of China is Wushan Three Gorges, which is the small county town I'm in now. How bad is it? Well, they even rip off their own locals. The prices and rents here are unbearable for the locals, so they all go to Wanxian to spend their money.

Far away.

It's a mountain road of over 30 kilometers from the small town to Guanmenshan Reservoir. It took the group almost an hour to drive there, mainly because the weather changed halfway there; it started raining, and the sky turned as dark as ink, so we didn't dare drive fast.

When they arrived at the reservoir, Xiaowei parked the car in front of the hotel and let a few people out. Then he drove the car to the side and parked it. After getting out of the car, he ran into the hotel, and his clothes were basically soaked through. The rain in Northeast China is heavy and torrential.

Li Zhongguo has already called. The hotel manager was very welcoming, personally checking them into rooms and showing concern for their well-being. He's a contractor. Contracting is all the rage these days, from factories to small eateries—any business owned by a government entity can be contracted out. Of course, connections are necessary.

After Xiaowei took a hot shower and changed his clothes, the rain outside intensified. Standing by the window, he saw that the distant mountains and nearby scenery were all shrouded in mist. The air had become chilly, and the only sound was the patter of the rain. The distant water was enveloped in mist, resembling a fairyland.

The six people gathered in Xiaowei's room to talk. Perhaps because there were so many people in the room, the windows soon became fogged up, making it impossible to see anything outside. Chen Hui opened the window, and instantly a bone-chilling wind mixed with rain and dampness rushed in. Chen Hui shivered and quickly closed the window. Looking down at himself, he saw that his shirt was soaked, and the chill clung to him stubbornly.

Xiao Wei threw a towel at Chen Hui and said, "Are you out of your mind? You dare to open the window when it's raining by this big lake."

Chen Hui wiped his face and clothes, ran over to pour himself a cup of hot water, sipped it, and said, "Who knew the wind would be so strong? It doesn't look windy at all."

Xia Maosheng said, "If you think the wind is strong, then you're doomed; the house will be blown away."

Chen Hui sat down on the sofa and asked, "So what are we going to do? Just sit here and talk?"

Xiao Wei said, "That's about it for today, what else can we do? It's getting late, let's sit for a while and then go down for lunch. This rain can't last too long, we'll go for a ride on the water first thing tomorrow morning."

The wind and rain were raging outside, so this was all they could do. The group chatted idly for a while, and then Xiaohong suggested playing cards. So they played cards, a game of "Upgrading" with six people, three men against three women, and both were utterly defeated.

At 5:30, the boss came over to call us for dinner. He usually lives here, since it's too far from the city to travel back and forth every day.

There was no need to order; the owner simply arranged a table full of dishes: lake shrimp, small mixed fish sauce, stewed large fish, catfish and eggplant, fried fish pieces, stir-fried fish slices, poached fish balls, fish head soup, and green beans, a staple at any Northeastern banquet. The main dishes were mixed flour steamed buns and dumplings, which were surprisingly filled with sauerkraut. In those days, sauerkraut was generally not available in the summer, so it was considered an off-season sale.

"This fish sauce is authentic and delicious. Honey, eat more fish; people say eating more fish makes the kids smarter." Eating with Chen Hui always makes everything taste amazing; the way he eats is so appetizing. "Wow, this is amazing, the flavor is incredible! *smack smack*"

Wild fish are indeed delicious, with tender flesh. Their habitat is vast, and they have many natural predators, making each wild fish an athlete. Naturally, they taste better. Moreover, there is little pollution in this era. Not only Chen Hui, but Xiao Wei and the others also thought it was really delicious. This trip was worthwhile.

After finishing the meal, the six men looked at each other, all stuffed. The owner and his family watched, beaming with joy. The owner called his wife to make tea for them. After she finished, he came over and offered cigarettes: "Are you guys from this county? Your accents don't sound like it."

Xiao Wei pointed at Xiao Hong and said, "My wife and I are from the county. These two are my buddies. This is their wife from Fengtian. They came here to visit and stay for a few days. You really made a good impression with this meal. It was authentic."

The boss lit cigarettes for the three of them with a lighter and said, "Eat as much as you like. If you get hungry in the middle of the night, just call me. We don't have anything fancy here, just fresh fish from the lake. This is guaranteed to be wild game. Tomorrow I'll get you some wild vegetables or something, and this will be a complete meal."

Chen Hui said, "Boss, do you have any good cornmeal? I'll make some potstickers tomorrow, and they'll be delicious with your fish sauce."

The boss's wife said, "Which one would you like to eat? Yes, I'll make it for you tomorrow. It's made from our own white corn, I guarantee it will be delicious."

Xia Maosheng asked, "You're making a fortune running a hotel here, why are you still farming?"

The boss's wife laughed and said, "What big money are we making? The lease fee is 50,000 a year. Look at me, how much can I earn in a year? There are too few people, and the children can't come to school. It's just the two of us all day long. What else can we do if we don't farm some land?"

Xiao Wei said, "Wow, 50,000 a year is quite a lot. You two are really brave. I might not dare to do it."

The boss's wife said, "You're not outsiders, so I'm not afraid to tell you anything. This 50,000 yuan was secured through connections; otherwise, I couldn't have gotten it. This place has a national-level sign."

The brand is strong, but a strong brand doesn't buy you money. This place is too remote; there's hardly anyone here in winter. It's only in summer and autumn that it gets a bit crowded. Usually, it's just the two of us living in this huge building for a week or two. When we first arrived, I was even afraid to sleep at night.

Xiao Hong asked, "You two did all the cooking, cleaning, and boiling water, didn't you?"

The boss said, "We hire a few people in the summer and autumn, and some to run the boiler in the winter. Basically, we bring in a few people when there are more people, and when there are fewer people, the two of us just do it in the winter. We have to pay people to work, right?"

Xiao Hong turned to Xiao Wei and Chen Hui and said, "See that? Look at their attitude towards doing business. Look at you two! How many people do you have in that restaurant, including waiters and helpers? Almost thirty! Isn't that wasteful? Shameful? Aren't you ashamed?"

(End of this chapter)