“Did you hear that Yongcheng’s new traffic regulations are pretty strict?” Zheng Quan leaned back in his seat, casually chatting with the young driver.
“Too strict,” the driver replied as he drove, turning down the volume of the old songs from the seventies and eighties playing in the car.
“For taxi drivers like us who cruise the streets waiting for fares, we used to just spot someone waving and go straight to them,” the driver complained.
“A while back, they said they wanted to build a civilized city, so they painted yellow lines on the main streets saying no parking. If you park there, it’s a 300 yuan fine plus six points off your license. It’s really made working difficult.”
“They also require us to yield to pedestrians. When people cross the street, cars have to stop far away. If you don’t stop, it’s also a 300 yuan fine and six points deducted.”
“Hey, bro, you know what? One of my buddies was driving a kid to Yongcheng University last month. When he passed the back gate of the school and didn’t stop for the student, he got caught on camera and fined 300 yuan with six points deducted.”
“That place is wide open; where would the camera be? My buddy didn’t believe it and checked the footage. Guess what? The video was recorded from inside the bushes in the nearby green belt.”
“Traffic control these days is really something else, sigh.”
“……”
Zi Yan listened to the driver’s rant with boredom, yawning heavily from sleepiness.
Before long, the car arrived at Luguang Shanse. Zheng Quan paid the fare and woke the drowsy, sticky-feeling Zi Yan as they got out.
Zi Yan stretched his clothes and yawned, asking, “Are we here?”
“Yeah, we’re here.”
In front of them was a courtyard. Inside was a mansion-style building, seven floors tall. Judging by the number of lights on, each floor must have dozens of rooms.
In front of the building stood a statue spraying water, brightly lit by floodlights.
Just by looking at these details, one could roughly guess the hotel’s level of luxury.
But at a time like this, having a place to stay was the best thing. Compared to sleeping on the streets, nothing else really mattered for now.
Zi Yan followed Zheng Quan into the courtyard. After explaining their situation to the guard, they were escorted inside by a staff member.
The mansion’s first-floor lobby was resplendent, spacious and tall, with several gold-trimmed pillars standing proudly.
Behind the counter, a beautiful young lady in uniform smiled politely and bowed to Zheng Quan before introducing the rooms of Luguang Shanse.
Zi Yan wasn’t very interested in booking details.
He was led to a resting area beside the counter, where he sat on a sofa to wait quietly for his father to finish booking the room.
The staff offered Zi Yan a complimentary chilled cola.
The soft calfskin sofa was comfortable, but with just the right amount of firmness, almost soothing the aching buttocks that protested after a day on the train.
He sank into the sofa with no regard for appearances, as if falling asleep right there wouldn’t be so bad. Squinting his eyes, Zi Yan glanced at Zheng Quan by the counter.
Zheng Quan stood upright, his back straight even while filling out forms, showing no sign of slouching or bending.
Yeah, Wei Lai was right.
With such a handsome father as a role model, being his son is really tough.
Zi Yan recalled Wei Lai’s words, pursing his lips slightly with a hint of a smile.
“Here is the room card. Please keep it safe,” the young lady said, handing over the ID she had just used for registration along with a glossy black room card embossed with golden letters.
“The elevator is at the end of the corridor to your left. Electricity will be supplied once you insert the room card. Thank you for staying at Luguang Shanse.”
“Okay.” Zheng Quan took the card, nodded, and called to Zi Yan, who was almost asleep on the sofa.
“Let’s go.”
…
— So shocked by the luxury room, the dividing line —
“Dad, how much did you spend on this?”
Kicking off his shoes, Zi Yan bounced around on the soft carpet before realizing he hadn’t asked.
The room Zheng Quan booked was very spacious, even bigger than their home in Haizhou.
A chandelier hung from the living room ceiling, surrounded by several diamond-like ornaments that caught the light and reflected it softly around the room.
To the far right of the living room was a floor-to-ceiling window balcony with an open view of Qingling Lake. Even just sitting here during the day to enjoy the scenery would be wonderful.
Though Zi Yan hadn’t seen the bedroom or bathroom yet, judging by the carpet covering the entire living room, the standards were undoubtedly high.
“It must be expensive, right?”
Zheng Quan smiled but said nothing. Over the years, he hadn’t spent much and had saved some money. Occasional indulgences like this one weren’t a problem.
Besides, nothing was more important than making his child happy.
Zheng Quan affectionately ruffled Zi Yan’s hair. “Put your stuff down first, then we’ll go to the seventh floor for some food.”
The entire seventh floor of the hotel was a buffet restaurant. Although dinner officially started at six, some shops stayed open 24 hours to serve guests.
Since they had been busy finding a place to stay since getting off the train at five, they hadn’t eaten dinner, and both were already very hungry.
“Oh.”
Zi Yan rubbed his stomach. Zheng Quan’s mention quickly replaced the suppressed excitement with overwhelming hunger.
After days of annoying pain, Zi Yan finally felt it ease away. In high spirits, his appetite was wide open.
“By the way.”
Suddenly realizing something, Zi Yan asked, “Dad, is the food here expensive?”
“It’s free.” Zheng Quan pulled the card from the slot and put it in his pocket. “Well, ‘free’ isn’t quite right — it’s actually included in the room fee.”
So no extra charge.
That put Zi Yan’s mind at ease.
Bring it on!