Chapter 141 Is the magic of love so great?
On Friday, Han Zhuangzhuang returned to the Shichahai courtyard, "Uncle, my dad told me to follow you in Yanjing!"
"Did your father tell you to follow me?" Lin Weimin asked back.
Han Zhuangzhuang chuckled and said, "What he said was that I should listen to you and develop well in Yanjing."
Lin Weimin nodded, "That's what your father would say."
"You're going to graduate in a few days, right?"
"Yeah, almost. Next week."
Lin Weimin said, "Just go to school these few days. I will ask you about your job next week and try to find you a good company. When you find a job, you can go back to Shanghai and handle the transfer."
"Well, uncle, I'll listen to you."
Early in the weekend morning, Lin Weimin rode his bike to Zheng Guo’s dormitory.
Zheng Guo didn't know the foreigners led by Mark Meng, and Lin Weimin was worried about him. Based on his professional spirit of saving people to the end and sending Buddha to the west, he had to send Zheng Guo to the place today.
When talking about Yanjing Hotel, old Yanjing people would describe it like this.
"Behind it is the Forbidden City, facing Chang'an Avenue, with Wangfujing on the left and Tiananmen on the right. It is located at the crossroads of the world."
More than 70 years ago, Yanjing Hotel was a small tavern with only three rooms, opened by two young men from France, Bonza and Perati. Later, after moving from a small tavern to Dongdan Vegetable Market, Yanjing Hotel transformed itself into the only luxurious hotel in the Far East.
During its heyday, it is said that the Yanjing Hotel could earn 2,600 silver dollars a day. At that time, it was known as the "Three Major Hotels in Yanjing" together with the Six Nations Hotel and the Oriental Hotel.
After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, the National Government turned this place into a guesthouse for receiving American troops.
After the liberation in 1949, the Yanjing Hotel was transferred to state ownership, and the "First Banquet of the Founding of the People's Republic of China" was held here.
Over the years, Yanjing Hotel has been responsible for hosting important national foreign affairs activities, and countless foreign dignitaries and celebrities have stayed here.
Zheng Guo was dressed up very nicely today. He bought this suit from somewhere and the fabric was a little wrinkled.
Lin Weimin joked: "Not bad, you know how to dress yourself up."
"Nonsense, I'm going on a blind date!"
The two rode their bicycles all the way to the entrance of Yanjing Hotel, which was filled with luxury cars that ordinary people had never seen in that era.
Lin Weimin counted and found that the so-called luxury hotels in later generations were all weak compared to the current Yanjing Hotel.
Most of the luxury cars parked here have signs that indicate they are taken by the embassy for photo taking. Even if there are some that are not, they have special photo taking signs. One can tell at a glance that they are from extraordinary places and must be rich or noble.
"Old Ma!"
Lin Weimin saw Mark Meng and his companions from a distance. After they met up, he found that there was one more person in the team.
"Yoko? Why are you here too?"
Xiao Heiyangzi smiled gently at Lin Weimin, "Mr. Lin, I think this is very interesting, can I participate?"
What are you involved in? Be a matchmaker?
Now that they were here, Lin Weimin couldn’t just send them back. “Of course.”
Ma Kemeng and Yin Geli had high eyebrows and deep eyes, and they looked like foreigners. Xiao Hei Yangzi also spoke Chinese with a plastic-sounding tone. Zheng Guo asked in a low voice: "Weimin, are these foreigners your friends?"
"Um."
Zheng Guo sighed, "Your connections are amazing!"
Lin Weimin ignored him and asked, "Is Yao Shuzhi not here yet? Well, Ge Li, you take Zheng Guo in first and wait in the coffee shop. After you go in, you two can sit separately."
"good."
Yin Geli naturally took Zheng Guo's arm, and Zheng Guo's body tensed up.
"Don't act like they're taking advantage of you. Once you're in, just let go."
Jungkook nodded stiffly, “Okay.”
Lin Weimin watched Yin Geli holding Zheng Guo's arm as they walked towards the entrance of the hotel. Zheng Guo's legs seemed not to be his own, and he was actually walking sideways.
He couldn't help but cover his face, it was so embarrassing!
How the hell does this look like a second generation?
With Yin Geli's foreign face, the receptionist didn't even ask any questions, and the two of them entered the Yanjing Hotel smoothly.
Lin Weimin waited for a while before he saw Yao Shuzhi, who was dressed up in fancy clothes, running towards him in small steps.
"Weimin, I'm not too late, am I?" she asked with a light breath.
"It's not late. I just went in." Lin Weimin looked Yao Shuzhi up and down. "Sister Yao, you are dressed so beautifully today."
Yao Shuzhi had a smug look on her face as she asked, "You're not pretty if you don't dress up?"
"She is naturally beautiful without any make-up, and she is stunningly beautiful with make-up."
Yao Shuzhi covered her mouth and laughed, "You are a good talker."
"This is Mark Meng, my friend. Let's go in together later."
"What about this one?" Yao Shuzhi asked with interest, her eyes wandering around Xiao Hei Yangzi.
"This is Xiao Hei Yoko, a friend of mine and also a friend of mine."
"Oh! A friend!" There was something wrong with the emphasis in Yao Shuzhi's tone.
Lin Weimin said helplessly: "It's already this late, stop gossiping and go in quickly."
He asked Yao Shuzhi to pretend to hold Ma Kemeng's arm, but she didn't feel like doing it.
However, Xiao Heiyangzi took the initiative to put his arm around Lin Weimin without Lin Weimin reminding him.
"Yoko, we don't have to do this anymore, right?"
Little Hei Yangzi stared at Lin Weimin with big eyes, "Mr. Lin, is there any problem with this?"
"……without."
Lin Weimin was scared.
The four of them walked together in pairs towards the hotel entrance. Although Ma Kemeng and Yao Shuzhi were not holding hands, they looked like a couple and entered the hotel easily.
On the contrary, Lin Weimin and Xiao Heiyangzi were stopped when they were about to go in.
Boy, I'm going to sue you for racial discrimination!
"Kuni is so anxious, you're mumbling..."
Xiao Hei Yangzi was stopped and spoke in a serious manner. The receptionist was confused and realized that this black-haired and black-eyed comrade was also a foreigner.
Lin Weimin took the initiative to act as an interpreter and said, "This lady asked, don't you welcome friends from the Yanjing Hotel?"
The receptionist quickly apologized and escorted the two people into the hotel.
Xiao Heiyangzi asked excitedly: "Lin Jun, how was my performance just now?"
"very good!"
She asked again: "Lin Jun, I didn't know that you can understand Nihong language?"
Huh?
Lin Weimin looked at Xiao Heiyangzi in surprise. It turned out that he was lucky enough to get what he wanted?
I am such a little genius!
The two of them walked all the way to the coffee shop and saw Yin Geli and Mark Meng waving at them from afar.
The two walked over and looked in the direction Mark Meng pointed. Zheng Guo and Yao Shuzhi were sitting together with nervous looks on their faces.
"Lin, they seem a little nervous." Mark Meng asked curiously.
"Normal. The young people in our country express their emotions in a much more subtle way than you Americans. They just met." Lin Weimin said.
Yin Geli said: "I like this subtle and fresh feeling."
International students like Yin Geli are able to study in China because they basically identify with Chinese culture and have some of this gene in their personality.
A few of them chatted casually at first, keeping an eye on the reactions of Zheng Guo's table.
After a few minutes, after the initial awkwardness and surprise, Zheng Guo and Yao Shuzhi gradually found some feeling.
"I really didn't expect that the person Weimin wanted to introduce to me was you."
Zheng Guo touched the handle of the coffee cup, revealing a bit of shyness that only boys have, "I am embarrassed, in fact, I have already..."
He paused here, not wanting to continue saying that he had actually been coveting Yao Shuzhi for a long time.
Yao Shuzhi chuckled and took over his words, saying, "The local specialties you gave everyone that day, everyone in my family said were delicious."
Zheng Guo said happily: "I'm glad you like it. I'll ask my family to send me more later."
"I heard from Weimin that you have been transferred to the Cultural Center. Are you still persisting in writing?"
"I'm still writing part-time, but my writing is slow. Maybe it's because I'm not very talented. I haven't produced any good works recently."
Yao Shuzhi said: "This kind of thing can't be rushed, it has to be done step by step. Not everyone can compare with Weimin's genius."
"You are absolutely right. Weimin is such a wicked boy. Do you know that I wrote Farewell My Concubine in just a few days just by watching him. It was Chinese New Year at that time..."
With a common topic, Zheng Guo gradually relaxed and became more confident in his conversation with Yao Shuzhi.
Lin Weimin observed the communication between Zheng Guo and Yao Shuzhi, and when he saw that their expressions became natural, he looked elsewhere.
It was around ten o'clock in the morning and there were not many people in the coffee shop. There were a few blond-haired and blue-eyed foreigners, and a few yellow people with black hair and black eyes. Lin Weimin guessed that they were overseas Chinese.
It was not until 1983 that the Yanjing Hotel was officially opened to the public. After the White Swan Hotel invested and built by Mr. Huo in Guangzhou announced its opening to the public, this hotel followed suit and chose to open up completely.
Now the Yanjing Hotel still receives dignitaries, foreign guests and overseas Chinese from various countries, and ordinary people cannot enter at all.
As he looked, Lin Weimin's eyes stopped at a certain place.
His eyes rested on a young man who had the obvious Western features of high eyebrows and deep eyes, curly hair, and was wearing a black windbreaker. Just looking at his appearance, he was so handsome that Lin Weimin was a little jealous.
But what interested Lin Weimin was not his handsome appearance, but the boy's wandering eyes.
Lin Weimin stared at him carefully, and suddenly the news he saw before traveling through time popped up in his mind. It seemed that this young man looked a bit like him!
"Hello, Li Chunping?" Lin Weimin walked up and asked.
Li Chunping looked at Lin Weimin very vigilantly and did not answer him.
He came in pretending to be a foreigner and didn't want to be discovered by the service staff.
Seeing that he didn't say anything, Lin Weimin smiled and asked, "Don't worry, I don't mean any harm, I just came over to say hello to you."
Li Chunping noticed that Lin Weimin's tone was calm. He looked around and then asked in a low voice, "Do you know me?"
"I heard about it from a friend."
"I heard?"
"Yeah. There's a handsome guy who spends the whole day squatting in front of the Yanjing Hotel and the coffee shop, hoping to hook up with a rich foreign woman."
Lin Weimin's words were a bit harsh, but Li Chunping remained calm and was not angry.
"What do you want from me?"
"It's nothing, I'm just a little curious about you."
There was a hint of suspicion on Li Chunping's face. He didn't believe what Lin Weimin said. The two of them had never met each other and had no intersection at all.
Seeing this, Lin Weimin could only say: "Actually, I'm a writer. As you know, I just want to collect some writing materials."
"writer?"
"Hello, my name is Lin Weimin." Lin Weimin extended his hand towards Li Chunping.
Li Chunping was surprised when he heard the name and shook hands with Lin Weimin. "Are you really Lin Weimin? The one who wrote Farewell My Concubine?"
“Guaranteed authenticity!”
Li Chunping finally let down his guard, "I'm afraid there's nothing worth digging into me."
Lin Weimin smiled and said, "It doesn't matter if there is no material. It's also a good thing to make friends with interesting people."
Li Chunping asked, "Do you think I'm an interesting person?"
"Of course. What man doesn't dream of living off a gigolo? But you're the only one who can actually put into practice something like hooking up with a rich foreign woman. From this perspective, you're better than most men."
As Lin Weimin spoke, he looked at Li Chunping carefully and said, "And I think your dream will come true soon."
His words, as confident as a charlatan, made Li Chunping's heart rise again. "How did you know?"
"Nothing, I just think you're handsome!"
Li Chunping couldn't help laughing, "You are such an interesting person!"
"Haha! I like your comment!"
Lin Weimin happily shook hands with Li Chunping, said goodbye, turned around and left.
Arrive with excitement and return with excitement.
He had no intention of developing a close friendship with Li Chunping; he just chatted with him casually, purely to satisfy his inner hobby of collecting anecdotes about celebrities of that era.
Two years ago, Li Chunping was assigned to the Security Department of Yanjing Film Studio as an art soldier. The director was worried about finding foreign actors, and Li Chunping was spotted by the director at first sight because he looked a bit like a foreigner. In order to look more like a foreigner, the director asked him to go to the Plastic Surgery Department of Yanjing Third Hospital to have his nose bridge raised.
In the society at that time, plastic surgery was still a bourgeois vanity and a privilege only enjoyed by actors in art units. One had to bring a letter of introduction from the unit before the doctor would perform the operation.
While in the hospital after having his nose fixed, Li Chunping fell in love with a nurse who had a boyfriend who was the son of an official. As a result, Li Chunping was sentenced to re-education through labor because of a fight with the boyfriend.
The movie hasn't even started yet, but I'm already in love, my job is gone, my future is ruined. Love is really not a good thing.
Li Chunping was desperate, and another young man lost his longing and hope for love.
After being released from prison, Li Chunping had no money and could not find a job, so he thought about going abroad.
So he walked into the Yanjing Hotel, believing that this building could change his destiny.
Li Chunping used the borrowed money to dress up carefully, checked in at the Yanjing Hotel cafe on time every day, and ordered a cup of coffee.
A cup of coffee cost one yuan. At that time, Li Chunping relied on his new girlfriend for support and had only 20 yuan a month for living expenses.
However, historical practice has proved that the money was not wasted.
Day after day, Li Chunping finally met a Hollywood actress who was 38 years older than him.
According to his own description, the other party was begging him to take him abroad, and the way to get a visa was to get married.
Ten years later, Li Chunping, as her husband, obtained 90% of the actress's inheritance - three villas in the United States, a real estate company in Seattle, four oil paintings by Van Gogh and Picasso, and other properties worth billions of RMB.
Lin Weimin saw Li Chunping’s legendary deeds on a TV program. At that time, he had only one feeling after watching it - he is a role model for our generation.
Which young person hasn’t dreamed of living a life of luxury?
But how many people have the courage and luck to realize their dreams?
Lin Weimin was full of admiration for Li Chunping.
Thinking about it, I feel sorry for my younger self. I had such lofty ambitions back then!
He would like to call Li Chunping the world's number one softie.
Later, there were rumors that Li Chunping was actually a cultural relic dealer and that he made all his money by reselling cultural relics.
The stories about taking the actress abroad and inheriting the inheritance were all made up by him.
Unfortunately, the person who said this had no solid evidence. The only case in which he was involved in cultural relics was that of a buyer who was taken advantage of, rather than a reseller.
Li Chunping sneaked into the Yanjing Hotel with the help of his face, which fully demonstrates that appearance is justice, which is true no matter what era.
His story seems like a fairy tale, and it is estimated that there will not be another one like him in China in the next 100 years.
The more Lin Weimin thought about it, the more interesting it became that he could have encountered such a person in the Yanjing Hotel.
When Lin Weimin came back, Ma Kemeng was reading the April issue of People's Literature. Lin Weimin smiled and said jokingly, "Old Ma, are you working hard enough?"
"This is also a kind of learning for me." Mark Meng said, taking a sip of coffee. His leisurely look really made him pretend.
A bit petty bourgeois, it seems he has been beaten by society.
"Lin, was that person just now your friend?" Yin Geli asked.
"No, just an interesting person."
Yin Geli glanced in the direction of Li Chunping. "He is Chinese? He looks like he is mixed-race. So handsome!"
Mark Meng also cast a glance when he heard the words. From an American's perspective, he was indeed very handsome, with a kind of handsomeness that was a mixture of Eastern and Western styles.
Xiao Heiyangzi said: "Handsome? I think Lin Jun is much more handsome than him."
Lin Weimin nodded. Yoko was still the one who could talk.
Yin Geli looked at Xiao Heiyangzi speechlessly. This female comrade now had reached the point of blindly worshipping Lin. It was the kind of blindness that made her walk to the point of bumping into walls.
As they chatted, it was almost noon. Lin Weimin originally planned to say hello to Zheng Guo and ask him to take Yao Shuzhi out for lunch.
In the afternoon, it was their free time. Whether they went to Wangfujing or the park, or whether they went to the movies in the evening, it was no longer Lin Weimin's business.
But before he could make any move, Zheng Guo moved first.
Lin Weimin saw Zheng Guo stand up and walk out of the cafe talking and laughing with Yao Shuzhi.
Lin Weimin quickly called on Mark Meng and others to follow him, but as they walked, he found something wrong.
Zheng Guo and Yao Shuzhi actually walked to the west building, and finally stopped on the 7th floor.
Looking at the glaring words "Tan's Cuisine" on the restaurant's sign, Lin Weimin was shocked. How could Zheng Guo, this Grandet, have such courage?
He racked his brains but couldn't figure it out.
Is the magic of love really that great?
I had a headache thinking of chapter titles, so here is a 5,000-word chapter.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
