Fifty people on the journey

Li Wei felt much better after gaining a voice. Otherwise, following a bunch of hotheads would have been boring.

Finally, they arrived at their destination. Everyone carried their own bags and led their own people. Li Wei was being led by her aunt and Ding Anping, one on each side. I was so worried that she would get lost.

After exiting the train station, everyone started looking for the bus stop. Li Wei spotted a taxi in the distance and quickly ran over to hail one. Cheng Fei couldn't stop her and watched helplessly as Li Wei got into the taxi, becoming a little anxious. At that time, taxis were scarce and expensive, especially in a place like Shanghai, and Cheng Fei felt a pang of regret just thinking about it.

Li Wei arrived in the car and said to everyone, "Hurry up and get in the car."

Zhao Lingling didn't care about anything else, opened the car door and got in first, then Chen Jinguang, and then... With so many people, it's a bit difficult for one car to fit them all.

Li Wei got out of the passenger seat: "To save money, everyone squeeze in. As long as you're willing to squeeze, there's always room. Hey, Uncle, you sit down first, let Aunt sit on your lap. Chen Qian sits on Brother Zhao's lap, Zhao Lingling sits on Brother Hong Gang's lap, Chen Jingguang, you squeeze in between them. Tianyong and I will sit in the front. Hurry up, it's less crowded with men and women traveling together." After saying that, she pulled Liu Tianyong to sit in the passenger seat. Comparatively speaking, among the boys, besides Ding Anping, Liu Tianyong was the best-looking, and he was quiet and obedient, making him a good team member.

Everyone looked at each other, knowing that taxis were expensive. The guys were secretly pleased that a pretty girl was sitting on their laps, so they quickly got into the car, while the girls reluctantly followed.

The bus was so crowded that the driver was already fed up and complained, "Why did you have to put so many people on board!"

Seeing that the driver seemed determined to refuse passengers, Li Wei quickly whispered a few words in Liu Tianyong's ear. Liu Tianyong, expressionless, shook his fist at the driver and said, "Drive!" With his cold, dark face and burly physique, he was quite intimidating.

The skinny driver was also a little intimidated by the group of burly young men. Judging from their accents, they were probably from Northeast China, a place known for its fighting.

Zhao Yanding and Anping, who were classmates, immediately glared at each other and said, "Drive! What are you dawdling for!" They acted like all Northeasterners were gangsters, which made it seem quite convincing.

The young driver grumbled and reluctantly got into the car and drove off. He asked unwillingly, "Where are we going?"

Everyone was a bit stunned. They hadn't even discussed it yet. Li Wei had already decided. Of course, it would be Shanghai's tallest building: the "International Hotel."

After thinking for a moment, he added, "We're from Shanghai too. Don't take the long way around!" Liu Tianyong, sitting on the cushion, seemed to tremble slightly. Zhao Lingling burst out laughing without restraint, making the atmosphere in the car even more awkward.

Everyone enjoyed the scenery along the way. They soon arrived at their destination. Paying the bill wasn't Li Wei's concern. Getting out of the car, she looked at what was then Shanghai's tallest building: the 24-story International Hotel. Although it stood out somewhat in an environment where high-rises were relatively few, Li Wei, who had seen countless skyscrapers more than a decade later, found it nothing particularly remarkable.

However, even though some of the young people had traveled to other provinces and cities a few times, they still felt that this building was incredibly tall! Their cities didn't have such tall buildings; they had to look up to see them.

Entering what would be considered a luxurious reception area for this era, Chen Qian felt a little uneasy. How much would a night's stay cost?

Li Wei didn't want to stay in that guesthouse infested with cockroaches. She was out and about, and all she wanted was to enjoy good food, fun activities, and rest... basically, to have a good time. She walked to the front desk, glanced at the price list, pointed to the standard deluxe suite, and pulled Chen Qian and Ding Anping over: "Let's stay here. One room is enough. Hurry up and register. I'm the team leader now."

When Chen Qian saw the price, she gasped. More than sixty yuan a night? That's too... you know!

Ding Anping and the other boys didn't think it was expensive. How could such a tall building be cheap? They were also eager to stay there and see for themselves. They had always stayed in guesthouses when they traveled before, so they wanted to splurge this time.

So Chen Qian realized that out of everyone, she was the only one who cared about the money, so she gave up.

After completing the formalities, the waiter led the group to their guest room via the elevator. The money had been well spent, and the accommodations were excellent: carpet, air conditioning, two large beds, and a color TV were all provided.

Li Wei immediately pounced on the big bed and rolled around in it. It was nice and soft, and comfortable. She hadn't slept in a bed in a long time.

However, with so many people and only two beds, and the space being so small, it's unlikely that we can add another bed.

Ding Anping and the others put their things on the coffee table, looked around, and Zhao Yan laughed, "Looks like we brothers will have to sleep on the floor. We spent so much money and didn't even get a bed, haha."

Li Wei jumped out of bed, about to say something to him, when the waitress brought in a thermos. Li Wei quickly went up to her: "Sister, you're so beautiful! Your skin is so nice! Your eyes are so bright! Your hair..." She praised the young waitress as a rare beauty, one in a million.

The waitress blushed with embarrassment, but she had always been proud of her beauty, and she was quite pleased that someone had finally recognized her worth.

Everyone who came with him almost threw up, all of them surprised. They hadn't expected this guy to be such a sycophant. They had been together for several days and hadn't realized it.

Li Wei's effusive flattery wasn't for nothing. Taking advantage of the waiter's dazed and modest manner, she immediately changed the subject: "Pretty sister, look at these poor students, they can only share one room. Could you please take care of them and give us a few more pillows and blankets or something?" Her true colors were finally revealed.

The waiter was in a good mood and easy to talk to, and soon brought them pillows and blankets, so the bedding for the guys sleeping on the floor was taken care of.

Several waitresses, seeing the beaming faces of the staff, couldn't help but recall the indifferent attitude of the staff at the guesthouse where they had stayed before, and they all gave Li Wei a thumbs up.

Zhao Lingling, as always, was unconvinced: "Hmph, you bootlicker."

Li Wei, as always, acted as if she didn't exist.

In the sweltering summer heat, everyone was already drenched in sweat. They took turns showering, and after changing their clothes, feeling refreshed, it was time to discuss going out for dinner.

Li Wei sat on the edge of the bed, drying her wet hair as she said, "What's there to discuss? While we have money, let's hurry up and go see the Red House. We'll go eat Western food. I'm the team leader, right? Hurry up and get ready. It's settled then."

Although Zhao Lingling usually picks on Li Wei, she never objects when it comes to spending money, so she enthusiastically agrees. Several boys also have no objections; let them spend the money, and if they run out, so be it. The only ones who can consider the budget are Chen Qian and Cheng Fei. Cheng Fei has Li Wei to take care of things, so she's too lazy to worry about it. Only Chen Qian is left to worry about the country and its people.

So Chen Qian hesitated, "Won't it be very expensive? We've already spent a lot of money these past few days. We've only just arrived in Shanghai and haven't even gone anywhere yet..." Before she could say anything more, the person had already disappeared, so she had no choice but to follow.

Finding the red house wasn't too difficult. Although none of us had been there before, we'd heard a lot about it, but looking at the exterior, there wasn't anything particularly special about it.

After finding seats inside, the waiter brought the menu. Zhao Lingling took it first and started discussing it with Chen Qian. Li Wei, without even looking, ordered foie gras, fried steak, bread, salad, red wine, and soup—one of each. After ordering, she looked at everyone and said, "Let's try one of these first, and then order whatever we like. What do you guys think?"

Among the group, Ding Anping and Liu Tianyong had already eaten Western food and ordered what they could eat, Zhao Lingling ordered a steak, and the rest would wait to try it before ordering.

The meal lasted for more than two hours, and everyone ate a lot, yet they still said they weren't full. Chen Qian was displeased by everyone's complaints: "You're not full? Do you know how much this cost?"

Zhao Lingling, unusually concerned about finances, asked, "How much is it, Sister Qianqian?"

Chen Qian said painfully, "One hundred and ten."

Zhao Lingling exclaimed in surprise, "It's so cheap, only a little over ten yuan per person!"

Li Wei immediately praised her for her willingness to spend: "Sister Lingling, you're absolutely right. It's only a little over ten yuan per person for half a day of eating and playing. It's not expensive at all. I support you. What's the point of keeping money if you don't spend it?"

Everyone:……

A group of people strolled along Nanjing Road, Huaihai Road, Zhongshan Road, and Yunnan Road, eating at restaurants like the Old Shanghai Restaurant and Yan'an Restaurant, trying everything from salted duck and pork rib rice cakes to xiaolongbao (soup dumplings), pan-fried buns, fried stinky tofu, and radish pancakes. They ate sweet for breakfast, spicy for lunch, and salty for dinner. They also visited places like Longhua Temple, City God Temple, People's Park, and the City Department Store…

For three whole days, my feet and mouth were constantly busy, and finally on the third night, the restroom business was booming.

Zhao Lingling and her siblings Zhou Honggang and Chen Jingguang have diarrhea.

Li Wei chuckled and took out her own diarrhea medicine, saying to Zhao Lingling and the others who had just come out of the bathroom: "Are you guys taking medicine or taking medicine or taking medicine? I put it on the coffee table. Hey you, Chen Jingguang, you can take two pills, hehe."

Although Zhao Lingling was a little embarrassed, she couldn't help but tease her: "You seem to be gloating. You don't have a good attitude. You've been the team leader these past few days, so you have to be responsible for everyone's health. If you hadn't been nagging us to eat here and go shopping, would we have gotten stomach aches?" Zhao Lingling basically didn't treat Li Wei like a child anymore. What kind of cunning child is this!

These past few days, whenever something good happens, it's decided by drawing lots, and she's guaranteed to win. Zhao Lingling strongly suspects Li Wei of cheating, but she can't figure out what's going on and can't expose her, which is why she hasn't been able to become the team leader for even a single day.

Li Wei showed no mercy to Zhao Lingling: "Who was it that said bringing medicine was useless, but ended up eating all sorts of random things more happily than anyone else? If your stomach is upset, don't blame the leader. Don't wrong an innocent person. Could you have lived such a wonderful life without me? Maybe this is the only time in your life you'll have diarrhea in Shanghai. It'll be a memorable experience, haha."

Zhao Lingling found Li Wei's face extremely irritating, far more so than Cheng Fei's, and retorted sarcastically, "You're the one who keeps diarrhea as a souvenir..."

While Zhao Lingling was in the restroom, the two engaged in a lively and witty exchange.