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

After filling in the relevant information on the application form, I handed it to Bailu and asked, "What aspects will the expert group focus on evaluating? We'd like to prepare in advance."

"The most important thing is to assess the guesthouse's sewage treatment capacity, followed by service quality, and the hotel's hardware and software facilities. In short, we will examine all the small details that can improve Dali's tourism image and reputation. So the better we can make the guests' stay experience, the greater our chances of success will be."

"Let's take it one step at a time. First, let's find a way to buy sewage treatment equipment."

Bai Lu nodded and replied, "Yes, leave this to me. Recently, many factories that manufacture wastewater treatment equipment have contacted our bureau, hoping to cooperate with us and supply their equipment to these inns that need renovation. If I go and talk to them, I should be able to get a significant discount."

Tie Nan sighed, "It's so convenient to have someone in our team who can talk to outsiders! ... Bai Lu, to be honest with you, if you don't want to come and work with us, I'm planning to sell this inn again after I take it over, and just make a profit on the difference."

"You're so clever, aren't you!"

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"I'm definitely not trying to belittle you. To succeed in business, especially in the guesthouse business in Dali, you really need to be shrewd."

Tie Nan smiled but didn't say anything more. I didn't dislike his shrewdness, because the team did need someone like him who was good at everything to guide the inn's future development. I just felt that Tie Nan's impression of me had changed slightly since we first met. Behind his seemingly muddled demeanor lay a keen sense of market changes. However, upon closer reflection, this made perfect sense. If he were truly a muddled person, how could he have continued to connect to the water and electricity from the neighboring farmers' houses after the inn was forced to close, and then taken in a casual guest like me?

Therefore, he has a desire to make money.

Looking at Coach Ma, my impression of him remains the same: he doesn't like to express his opinions and is content with the status quo, as if he can get by no matter what kind of life he chooses. I think the team needs someone like him to stabilize morale in times of crisis.

……

After chatting for a while, Bailu made us desserts and passion fruit tea to fill our stomachs. As she shared these with us, she added, "By the way, I suggest we hire a receptionist first. If the inn can really reopen in November, it will be very busy. If we hire her now, I can send her to a friend's five-star hotel for training. Then we won't be in such a rush, and the service level will be up to par."

I asked, "Are you sure it will be very busy as soon as you open? Won't there be a transition period?"

Coach Ma, who doesn't usually express opinions, spoke up for Bai Lu at this moment: "If it's still deserted after reopening, why would everyone be scrambling for these 30 spots? Let me tell you, half of the tourists come specifically to stay at the seaside guesthouses in Dali! This year, due to the closure of these guesthouses, the overall tourist flow in Dali has dropped by a third. Do the math yourself—that's terrifying! By November, only thirty seaside guesthouses will be open. You'd probably need a hundred rooms to accommodate tourists!"

I nodded, feeling shocked.

Tie Nan also chimed in, "I also think we should hire a receptionist now, but she must have a good image and temperament. When the so-called expert team comes to evaluate us, it will give us a better impression. After all, the receptionist is the first point of contact for people to understand the guesthouse, and labor costs are not high in Dali. If we provide her with room and board, a monthly salary of 1,500 yuan will be enough."

I haven't completely shaken off big-city thinking, so it seems unbelievable. If this were in Shanghai, a hotel where a room can sell for 500 yuan or more would need a receptionist with a basic salary of at least 4,000 yuan, plus commission.

This explains why so many people are willing to open guesthouses in Dali, as room rates are high while labor costs are low. However, the booming tourism market in recent years has driven up property prices, so early investors have made a fortune. It seems Dali is not just a place for artistic pursuits, but also a place where some people have truly found a new lease on life after giving up big-city living.

At this moment, Bai Lu added, "Also, we need a waiter for the small bar we're setting up in the common area on the first floor. I think we should hire one there as well."

I smiled and replied, "I have no objection, but where should we post this job ad?"

"Go follow the 'Love Dali' community on Douban. There are lots of posts about secondhand goods, rentals, and job postings. You can take this opportunity to learn more about Dali..." After a slight pause, Bai Lu laughed loudly, "It's also quite interesting to watch the people arguing there!"

"There are still people arguing? Shouldn't Dali be a place of harmony?"

"Haha...where there are people, there's conflict; where there's conflict, there's infighting!"

Coach Ma continued Bai Lu's words, saying to me, "Do you think that once this person arrives in Dali, he can even skip defecating and farting? ... We're all just ordinary people who eat grains and vegetables. It's not as noble as you think. Some people here are even more idiotic than people in other places."

"What makes Dali different from other places? There must be some reason that attracts people, right?"

"You'll have to experience it for yourself. What I'm telling you is just my understanding, and you might not accept it."

……

After our conversation, Bailu returned to Xiaguan, while Coach Ma, Tienan, and I each found a room to stay in. This was the first time since I came to Dali that I had my own private space at night, and Tienan and Coach Ma even gave me special treatment, giving me the best sea-view suite in the guesthouse.

I think this ocean-view suite is no worse than the inn Ye Zhi stayed at in Ma Jiuyi in terms of view and decor. Therefore, charging 800 yuan a night is completely reasonable, and can even be said to be very cost-effective.

I tried to learn to enjoy myself, so I lit a cigarette, lay down on the soft chair on the platform, and looked at the flowing Erhai Lake and the dappled starry sky in the distance...

At first, I felt very happy, but gradually a little sad started to creep into my heart...!

The reason I'm able to stay in such a nice room right now is because I spent the 19 yuan that Wang Lei gave me, but she didn't even have the chance to come and see it...

I glanced at the other empty armchair next to me, wishing that Wang Lei could enjoy this quiet night as much as I could.

I was stuck in this emotion and couldn't pull myself out, which made me think of some of our past. I remember: when I first arrived in Shanghai, I was unfamiliar with the place and the people, and I always felt lonely, especially during holidays or my birthday. She seemed to be able to see my loneliness, so she would always choose to have a meal with me on holidays.

I have a particularly deep impression of it: that day was my first birthday in Shanghai, and it just so happened that a typhoon hit Shanghai, leaving the whole city in a mess. In this terrible environment, I was talking on the phone with a distributor from another city about a new product collaboration. I even forgot that it was my 24th birthday that night.

The moment I hung up the phone, looking out at the raging wind and the streets full of water and garbage, I felt like I was dying. The loneliness that erupted in such a harsh environment was just too fierce!

And at that very moment, Wang Lei stood beside me, carrying a cake...

She wasn't a woman who liked sentimental or pretentious things. She just smiled and handed me the cake, then treated me to dinner, and took me to Fuqiao for a full-body massage. It wasn't until almost midnight that she rushed back to the nightclub where she worked.

Later, after Lu Jia became my girlfriend, we had less contact. In fact, she hasn't had dinner with me on my birthday in the last two years, but she always sends me a gift.

Thinking about all this makes me miss her even more, but I will never have the chance to repay her in any way.

My eyes are a little wet...

……

I wiped my eyes with my hand, took out my phone from my pocket, and sent a WeChat message to Taozi (Wang Lei's best friend, who also worked in a nightclub): "The day after tomorrow is Wang Lei's birthday. Remember to buy me a bouquet of white roses and go see her."

After sending the message, I also sent Peach a 200 yuan red envelope.