I'll wait for you amidst the romance of nature.

I'm not one to easily back down. I can't contact Yang Sisi before we've determined who's right and who's wrong... And I certainly can't abandon my pride to apologize to such a capricious woman. So I've decided: if this is just a fit of pique, then I'll hold a grudge against her until the day I die...

Back at the inn, only Tie Nan was there. He had cooked a pot of noodles and, too lazy to use bowls, ate directly from the huge iron pot. Seeing me return, he asked, "How did that girl's matter end up?"

"Don't even mention it... I'm so angry."

As I spoke, I walked over to Tie Nan, moved his iron pot off the table, and said, "Let's go to the old town and find a bar to have some fun... it's my treat."

"No, wait until I'm full."

"Have you ever heard of 'beauty is food for the eyes'? Don't eat it..."

"Come on, those little sluts in bars, you think you can just eat them without first pleasing them?"

I was speechless for a moment before replying, "Beer should fill you up, right... Dude, I want to get drunk today."

……

As night fell, Tie Nan rode his beat-up motorcycle and took me to the ancient city. This was my first time visiting the ancient city since arriving in Dali. Compared to the tranquility of Erhai Lake, it was filled with a restless, hormonal atmosphere, and the density of tourists was much higher.

The men in the old town all seemed to like wearing braids and riding motorcycles, while the women were always smoking, completely unlike the people I had met before, who were always impeccably dressed in suits and spoke in serious business jargon.

People here also love keeping dogs, with Golden Retrievers and Alaskan Malamutes being the most popular. So you'll see many dogs lying on the ground in the streets of the old town, lazily squinting their eyes, living a more leisurely life than people.

Tie Nan, on the other hand, acted like a flamboyant madam, as if he knew everyone. He parked his motorcycle behind the Erhai Gate and spent the rest of the way greeting people. I thought he was too slow, so while he chatted with a woman smoking, I wandered around by myself. We agreed to meet an hour later at the bar where Coach Ma sang, which happened to be Coach Ma's solo performance at that bar.

……

After strolling through two streets, I sat down in front of a silver shop. Diagonally in front of me was the most famous bar street in the entire ancient city: Honglongjing. Coach Ma was a resident singer in one of the bars on this street.

Although I hadn't gone inside yet, the explosive sound already emanated from the bar street with overwhelming force. This powerful infectiousness made me feel as if I could see the lead singers tearing through the stage through the lights, the scantily clad backup dancers, and even the tourists who stopped to watch, all jumping and bouncing along to the intense rhythm.

No wonder so many people love Dali. When you want peace and quiet, you can find a guesthouse by Erhai Lake and stay there. It will be so quiet that you won't even feel your own existence. When you want to have some fun, come to Honglongjing in the ancient city. The crazy DJs there will blast music that will blow your mind out of your body.

But is this really the Dali that Wang Lei imagined she would love so much?

I felt a little disappointed for her because, up until now, I had not yet seen the kind of love she described that didn't concern itself with material things, nor had I seen the kind of man who could make a woman happy even while riding a beat-up motorcycle.

……

After sitting there absentmindedly for a while, I finally stubbed out my cigarette and followed the surging crowd into Honglongjing. Honglongjing is a completely commercialized bar street, with street vendors lining the sides to solicit customers. They enthusiastically extended their hands to every passing tourist, regardless of whether others found it offensive. All they cared about was how many customers they could attract in one night and how much they would drink inside.

I wouldn't say I despise them, because they are just trying to make a living in a fiercely competitive society. I genuinely see a hunger for life in them, just like I did when I was in Shanghai.

After dodging and weaving my way through the crowd, I finally arrived at the bar where Coach Ma was singing. The bar was called "Woman Flower." Although it was also in the bustling Honglongjing area, its location was far less desirable compared to the entertainment bars in the center of the street. This bar was located in an alley behind the main street. Although this alley was also within the Honglongjing area, it had more guesthouses than bars, making it extremely quiet compared to the main street of Honglongjing.

I stood at the door and looked inside. I found that the bar was simply decorated, with only a large table and a few long benches around it. There weren't many people inside, maybe ten or so, all of them women. They were drinking and smoking...

Coach Ma sat on the stage in front of them, tuning his guitar, looking utterly out of place. However, if it weren't for him, I really wouldn't have dared to step into this "Kingdom of Women" in Dali. It's not that I'm being hypocritical; the bar was just so overwhelmingly female!

……

I knocked on the window, and only went in after receiving a response from Coach Ma. I was greeted by a mature woman wearing a backless dress. She wore a headband, but it couldn't hide the fine lines etched on her face by time. She looked to be at least in her late thirties.

She smiled, then took out a drinks menu and asked me, "What would you like to drink?"

"Give me two dozen of 'Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon' first."

She took notes and then asked, "Anything else?"

"Could I have a little more snacks like sunflower seeds and peanuts?"

At this moment, Coach Ma, who had been tuning his violin with his head down, said to her, "Bai Lu, this is my friend. Put all the drinks on my tab tonight."

I knew that Coach Ma had a tough time in a place like Dali, otherwise he wouldn't be crammed into Tie Nan's hostel, so naturally I didn't want him to treat me. Instead, I said to the bar owner, Bai Lu, "Consider tonight my visit to pay my respects to Sister Bai Lu, so this is definitely on me. I also hope to have a drink with all the ladies later."

"If your grandson is here to pick up girls, then you're on the treat."

I smiled, then took out 400 yuan from my wallet and slipped it into the drinks menu Bailu handed me. Bailu returned the money to me, saying, "There aren't many people Xiao Ma considers friends. Since he calls you a friend, then I, the boss, will treat him... Don't be shy, just recommend more business to our bar in the future."

Having lived in Shanghai for so long, I wouldn't say I'm an expert in interpersonal relationships, but I do understand them to some extent. So of course, I didn't believe that Coach Ma would accept me as a friend after only two days. Bai Lu said that to improve Coach Ma's image and my impression of her, and also to do me a favor. There's nothing wrong with that; on the contrary, it shows that she's a mature woman who is good at socializing.

I thanked Bailu for her hospitality and then began to offer cigarettes to the women present. During this process, I made a new discovery: not only did they smoke and drink, but most of them also had tattoos. Moreover, I didn't seem to see much pressure from life in their words and actions; they seemed to be enjoying themselves as they were.

……

After chatting with the women and Bailu for a while, I found a corner to sit down by myself, and Coach Ma began his performance. Although the atmosphere here couldn't compare to Honglongjing, it was a perfect place to drink alone, think about things, and kill time.

After downing a bottle of "Romance in the Wind and Moon," Tie Nan finally arrived at the bar. He seemed to be a regular, as he knew the name of every woman sitting there. This suggested that Bai Lu's bar primarily catered to its clientele, mainly from its social circle, and didn't seem to cater to tourists.

Tie Nan sat down opposite me. I opened a bottle of beer and handed it to him. After taking a sip, he said to me, "Didn't you always want to open an inn around here? I'll call Bai Lu over to talk to you. She has connections here."

I've been feeling anxious these past few days because I can't figure out how to open an inn, so hearing Tie Nan's suggestion was exactly what I wanted. I replied, "It would be great if she had any resources in this area. Why don't you ask her to come over?"

"Bai Lu, come over here and I want to talk to you about something."

Bai Lu, holding a wine glass, sat down opposite Tie Nan and me and asked, "What's wrong?"

Tie Nan glanced at me and replied, "My buddy here doesn't believe in superstitions and insists on opening a guesthouse in Dali... Do you know anyone who wants to sell a guesthouse?"

Bai Lu was slightly surprised, then turned to me and asked, "Are you really going to open it?"

"Yeah, without opening an inn, not only is there no livelihood, but the feeling of being idle all the time is also quite unpleasant!"

Bai Lu and Tie Nan exchanged a glance, then smiled and said, "In Dali, there aren't many people who think like you... You must have just come from a big city, right?"

"I've been working in Shanghai for four or five years, and I only arrived in Dali a few days ago."

"No wonder... But to be honest with you, opening an inn at this critical juncture is quite risky. It's hard to say what the current situation is like, because the government's attitude has been unclear."

I nodded and asked, "There must be a lot of people transferring ownership of inns right now, right?"

"Those guesthouses that can't survive, or those that were already struggling financially, are all being transferred, but these guesthouses aren't particularly good value for money. The truly capable guesthouse owners are still waiting for the government to introduce new policies, so the guesthouses that were originally very profitable won't be transferred... and that's where your risk lies."

Bai Lu's words made me feel a little uneasy. I subconsciously picked up my beer and took a sip, then fell silent...

After a moment, I asked Bailu again, "Are all these inns that are being transferred at a loss?"

"Hmm. So now is actually a good time to buy at the bottom... Anyway, I think that running an inn right now is no different from being a gambler..." Bai Lu paused here, then seemed to remember something and said to me, "I actually have a sister who wants to transfer her inn... If you're interested, I can call her over to talk to you... You can find out the transfer price and market conditions first."