Madmen don't keep diaries

Chapter 458 457 Qinghai Hotel
Shunzi carried the boat on his head and walked over: "Building the bridge is not just a matter for foreigners. The government also took the lead. The official document has been approved in black and white. Are the common people still afraid to go against it and not afraid of being arrested by the police?"

Fang Youliu shook his head and explained, "You can't look at it that way. You have to think about it from the perspective of the government."

"On the surface, it's a deadly clash between believers and foreigners, but in reality, the believers have Jiangliu Temple behind them, and the foreigners have the Black Night Church behind them. Logically, the government should be closer to the temple, but this bridge construction is indeed a legitimate matter and a great thing for the city. I guess before approving the official document, the government never thought that this matter would offend Jiangliu Temple. But now things have gotten out of control, and the government has become the one caught in the middle, not pleasing either side."

Feng Xiuhu chimed in: "So the government can't handle this. They can't withdraw the official document, nor can they cause trouble for the believers. They can only let the two sides fight each other and pretend they know nothing."

As they spoke, the three found a secluded spot, transformed the carriage back into its original form, and officially entered the Golden Embankment City.

……

Unfortunately, none of the scholars who traveled far and wide over the years had managed to leave any property in Jindi City, so the three of them had no choice but to find lodging there.

They randomly asked a few passersby along the way, and they eventually found a place called "Qinghai Hostel".

The term "inn" is actually quite novel. Before this, travelers on the road had no choice but to stay overnight in a kitchen or an inn. However, as the influence of the Western Continent deepened, high-end restaurants like Shi Wu Yu gradually appeared.

Also due to the influence of the Western continent, high-end hotels are more Western in terms of both business model and architectural style.

But not everyone can afford to stay in a hotel, and it was in this environment that hostels came into being.

As a middleman between inns and hotels, hostels combine the affordability of inns with the modernity of hotels, making them the preferred choice for many people with some status or considerable wealth.

The same applies to architectural style. Compared to many guesthouses that still maintain traditional wooden structures, hotels mostly use cement and blue bricks to construct the main structure in order to move closer to the style of hotels.

However, in terms of luxury and spaciousness, hostels are far inferior to hotels. In order to make a profit, hostels usually divide the space into as many rooms as possible, which results in narrow corridors and cramped corners throughout the hostel.

The Qinghai Inn, where Feng Xiuhu and his group are currently staying, is a case in point.

Upon entering the inn's main entrance, Fang Youliu went to the counter to negotiate with the innkeeper, while Feng Xiuhu curiously looked around.

The ground was covered with freshly mopped cement tiles, many of which were not yet dry and had been stained dark by water. A faint fishy smell could be detected in the air.

The windows by the door were made of stained glass, with various colors arranged alternately. These were actually made by local craftsmen from Xuan Kingdom, based on the stained glass windows of the Western Continent. Unfortunately, they didn't learn the essence and just copied the idea of ​​staining the glass.

At this moment, the sunlight streamed in, turning the ground into patches of red and blue.

It's modern enough, but not stylish enough.

Fang Youliu took the key from the shopkeeper and led them upstairs, saying that the only remaining triple room was on the third floor.

The stairs were already quite steep, and only wide enough for two people to pass at a time, so Shunzi almost had to walk sideways.

The stairs turned another corner by the wall, and Shunzi accidentally bumped his forehead on the beam, clutching his head and crying out "Ouch!"

Feng Xiuhu was already somewhat dissatisfied: "If I had known, I would have preferred to stay at an inn."

Fang Youliu tried to persuade him with kind words: "It's inconvenient to go to the toilet at night when staying at an inn; you have to go downstairs."

Just then, the innkeeper's voice came from behind: "The hot water room is at the very last room in the corridor, as is the outhouse."

There were many other guests in the inn, mostly business people judging from their attire; there were no porters or peddlers to be seen.

The three arrived at the door, and as Fang Youliu took out his key and pushed the door open, Feng Xiuhu peeked out—the already cramped room had been crammed with three beds, to the point that there was barely enough room to walk in the aisle.

Fang Youliu chuckled dryly: "At least there's still a window."

He strode over and opened the window; the street was right below. Shunzi didn't feel wronged; he was used to hardship—besides, this wasn't much of a hardship for him.

He put his suitcase in the corner and walked over to measure the length of the bed—his only worry was that the bed was too small for him to sleep in.

Only Feng Xiuhu was troublesome; he stood at the door and didn't come in, with a long face.

Seeing this, Shunzi advised him, "Brother, just make do. We need to save money. It's just for one night."

Feng Xiuhu's expression softened slightly, but he started blaming others: "Your sister Asheng is really clueless. She didn't even bring any real money to see us off. If we could have made a fortune off her, would we have needed to save this little bit of money?"

When the old friend brought it up again, Shunzi was speechless, unsure how to respond.

Fortunately, Feng Xiuhu finally came in. Without saying a word, he took over the bed by the window and stood there looking outside.

A pleasant aroma wafted through the air, making Feng Xiuhu's stomach rumble. He sniffed and looked around, finally discovering that the fragrance was coming from a noodle stall not far from the street.

There's no time to complain about the accommodations; the most urgent thing is to satisfy our hunger.

After quickly packing their luggage, the three of them hurriedly went downstairs at Feng Xiuhu's urging and headed straight for the noodle stall.

The noodle stall owner, wiping his hands with a towel, greeted us with a smile: "Please sit down, what would you like to eat?"

Feng Xiuhu looked at the white cloth hanging on the pole with words written in charcoal—this was the menu.

You know what, there are actually quite a few options.

Prices range from low to high: Kingfisher feather noodles, lard noodles, egg shred noodles, three-delicacy noodles, shredded pork noodles, noodles with toppings...

Feng Xiuhu pointed to the first and cheapest one, the "kingfisher feather noodles" that cost only three copper beads, and asked, "What kind of noodles are these?"

The owner chuckled: "It's just plain noodles with a few scallions sprinkled on top of pork bone soup. Many educated gentlemen love it, but they don't like the name 'plain noodles,' so they changed it to this."

Feng Xiuhu suddenly realized—the so-called learned gentleman was actually just a penniless, down-on-his-luck scholar.

He then pointed to the most expensive "topping noodles" and asked, "What's the deal with this topping? Why does it cost twelve copper beads?"

The owner wiped his hands and said, "I put whatever toppings are available, it changes every day, but it's always worth the price—today it's fresh braised beef, sir, would you like to try some?"

Feng Xiuhu nodded – if we can't stay in the best accommodations, we must eat the most expensive food.

He waved his hand dismissively: "Three bowls!"

He glanced at Shunzi after saying that, then changed his mind and said, "Four bowls!"

"okay!"

The owner shouted something and turned to go behind his stall.

While the boss was busy, Feng Xiuhu chatted with him casually.

"I heard that your city is having a dispute with the foreigners who are building the bridge because of the Jiangliu Festival. Why don't I see anyone at the dock?"

(End of this chapter)