Old Bolen called Li Jia and asked him to be the opening guest, which Li Jia accepted. Becoming the honorary consultant for the Green Shirt Hotel's China division seemed like a good idea.
Upon entering the room, one could see Francisco warmly greeting the arriving guests in fluent Chinese: "Mr. Li! Hello! Welcome! Let me introduce you all. This is Li Jia, Honorary Consultant of the Green Shirt Hotel's China Department..."
Li Jia handled the small talk in this setting with ease. However, the opening of a hotel always brings some trouble. For example, the noise at the hotel entrance made Francisco frown slightly. After apologizing to everyone, he walked out of the VIP lounge.
About half an hour later, Francisco returned to the VIP room from outside, smiling and saying that he had kept everyone waiting, but the noise outside still hadn't stopped: "Could it be that someone has come to deliver a flower basket?"
Seeing that Francisco's expression wasn't very pleasant, Li Jia recalled a well-known tradition in City B: whenever a new store opened, if you didn't make prior arrangements with the local gangsters, someone would send you a pair of flower baskets on opening day. Each flower basket was ridiculously expensive, which was a form of extortion.
"How did you know?" Francisco asked in Spanish. He hadn't expected Li Jia to guess, so he blurted it out without thinking. After saying it, he looked at Li Jia's smiling face and suddenly thought of something.
“Since the company specifically requested Li Jia to serve as the hotel’s honorary consultant, he must have considerable influence in City B. Perhaps having him handle these matters would make things much simpler.” Thinking this, Francisco smiled at Li Jia. “Mr. Li, may I speak with you in private?”
Seeing Francisco's expression, Li Jia knew what he wanted to say, so she nodded and followed Francisco out of the VIP room. "You want me to resolve this matter?"
As soon as she stepped out the door, Li Jia got straight to the point, without uttering a single unnecessary word.
Francisco nodded. "We can resolve this temporarily, but for the Green Shirt Hotel to thrive here, we'll need to resolve this completely. While we're not afraid of those people, we don't want to have to worry about them causing trouble every now and then. This is China; there are many things that are inconvenient to do here. Don't you agree, Mr. Li?"
Upon hearing Francisco's words, Li Jia couldn't help but smile and nod. "Very good. The fact that you understand this is China is enough to prove you're a competent hotel manager. Alright, considering I still hold this nominal title, I'll help you!" Li Jia understood the meaning behind Francisco's words. Who among those who followed Old Boren wasn't stained with blood?
Li Jia took out her phone and called Canglang. "There's a small problem at the Green Shirt Hotel. Call a few people over to handle it." After saying that, Li Jia smiled at Francisco, then turned and walked into the VIP room, where she continued chatting with the culinary celebrities who had been invited there. Having received guidance from several authentic chefs, her rather mediocre cooking skills made her feel quite pleased with herself.
"Gentlemen, it's time. Let's go out for the ribbon-cutting!" Less than ten minutes after Li Jia finished making the call, the dozen or so guys waiting at the door to collect the money for the flower baskets were all driven away in two medium-sized vans. Francisco's interest in Li Jia's identity grew even more.
At 11:58, a time considered auspicious by Chinese tradition, the Green Shirt Hotel announced its opening. Prior to the opening, the hotel had considered holding a press conference, but this was rejected by the company's management. Their response was that since they were opening a branch in China, they should follow a traditional Chinese opening ceremony. Thus, today's traditional opening ceremony took place.
The first thing to do after the hotel opened was naturally to host a banquet for guests. Li Jia wasn't particularly interested in the meal, but since there was a free lunch, she figured she might as well eat some. The main event was the evening reception. That was where Li Jia really wanted to go.
Li Jia and Hai Mingyue's relationship is now established. Their feelings for each other are developing at a moderate pace. They are more like confidantes than lovers, except that they have a lot more boundaries in their body language than confidantes!
Li Jia planned to bring Hai Mingyue to the evening's cocktail party. Isn't that what life should be like? After the passion fades, tranquility always returns. Besides, this kind of life has always been what Li Jia has been pursuing. It's just that life always likes to play tricks on him, always presenting him with challenges, big or small. But regardless, attending such a party at this time and in this setting is still a rather pleasant experience. Two people together should always find different kinds of fun, shouldn't they?
The cocktail party at the Green Shirt Hotel wasn't entirely organized according to Western standards. It incorporated some elements that Chinese people enjoy, such as performances. While the most common type of instrument played at Western cocktail parties is the violin, today, in addition to the violin, a well-known guzheng ensemble from City B was also invited. Although it seemed a bit odd in this setting, it didn't dampen the spirits and enthusiasm of the attendees.
"How is it? Are you getting used to it? Even I find this fusion of Chinese and Western styles quite amusing." Li Jia held a glass of red wine, smiling at Hai Mingyue standing in front of her. Her words made Hai Mingyue laugh out loud.
“There are some unique aspects to this. During my few days in the US, I attended quite a few parties and banquets like this, all pretty much the same. But this is the first time I’ve encountered something like this. I don’t know whether to praise the organizers for their ideas or criticize them for making a mess of things. But it doesn’t matter. With Jia by my side, it’s the same wherever we go, isn’t it?” Hai Mingyue’s words reminded Li Jia of her recent trip to the US. She wondered what had happened to her there, even the pendant she had given her had broken in two. Although Li Jia didn’t ask, she kept thinking about it and seemed to recall some things that had happened in the US. With a somewhat wistful expression, she said to Li Feng.
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