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

The sun had already set behind Cangshan Mountain, and Erhai Lake had gradually lost its shimmering color. Everything seemed gloomy, except for the cruise ships full of tourists, which brought some vitality.

I don't know which tourist's camera captured our figures at dusk. I just hope that when they look back at these photos, they won't notice these two lonely figures, nor will they try to find out why they came to Dali from Shanghai.

After the cruise ship passed us, I finally stubbed out my cigarette and said to Yang Sisi, "Let's go back to the inn. Brother Sun is waiting for us to have dinner in Haidong."

"I don't want to go. I finally managed to get half a day off, and I want to sit by Erhai Lake for a while."

"You were just acting all lively and energetic a moment ago, why are you suddenly so sad?"

"I'm different from you. You might be able to stay in Dali forever, but I'm leaving next year... I especially hate this feeling of having my fate predetermined, without any surprises!"

I advised, "This is just a phase you're in. Once you return from your studies abroad, it will be a new beginning."

"It's not a new beginning at all..." She paused briefly, then added, "It's more like things have changed."

I sighed and said, "You're still so young, don't use the phrase 'things have changed' so carelessly."

Yang Sisi looked at me with a complicated expression, then stood up, patted her clothes, and laughed, "Who cares? Anyway, there's still a year left, enough time for me to do a lot of things and remember a lot of people."

"That's the right way to think."

……

Back at the inn, no matter how much we invited Lao Mi, he refused to go to Haidong with us for dinner. He only said he wanted to wander around the area.

Of course I could tell he was in a bad mood. The reason he agreed to let me stay in Dali was because Yang Sisi had analyzed the pros and cons for him, and he was afraid of delaying the opportunity I had finally gotten, but Shanghai was still on his mind.

Humans are creatures of habit, so he was still finding it hard to accept that I had given up my job in Shanghai and that Lu Jia had left. Because my job and Lu Jia represented everything I had painstakingly built in Shanghai, and also his and my mother's dream…

No one is willing to accept that their dreams have been shattered so easily, especially this more conservative generation!

……

Everyone was in a good mood today, and even without anyone deliberately encouraging us to drink, we still finished two cases of beer and two bottles of baijiu (Chinese liquor). Sun Jiwei, as expected of a civil servant, had a higher alcohol tolerance than any of us present. When we were all a little tipsy, he suggested we drink another case of beer.

We didn't finish this celebration dinner, which wasn't really a celebration in the true sense, until 10 p.m. At the end, Sun Jiwei called me aside, offered me a cigarette, and asked, "Did you enjoy the food today?"

I joked, "I was so busy drinking that I barely ate any food... Brother Sun, your alcohol tolerance is truly amazing!"

Sun Jiwei smiled, but changed the subject, saying, "Brother, there's something I'd like to discuss with you."

I lit a cigarette, took a puff, and replied, "You said it yourself, as long as it's within my power, I definitely won't refuse."

Sun Jiwei took a drag of his cigarette, paused for a moment, and then said, "It's like this... I'll probably be working in Dali for the next few years, so I was thinking of bringing your sister-in-law and child here to live... But your sister-in-law doesn't like working and doesn't have much of an eye for investment. It's really tiring for me to support my family on my own... So I wanted to discuss this with you, to see if your inn could let your sister-in-law invest as well? That way, she'd have something to do here..." He patted my shoulder and smiled, "I really think highly of you. Letting your sister-in-law invest with you is definitely a good idea."

"this……"

I was a little surprised, because I hadn't expected him to want to discuss this with me. I replied, "You work at the environmental protection bureau here. If your wife invested in our guesthouse, wouldn't that be a bit sensitive?"

"That's fine. The current regulations only prohibit the spouses and children of city-level leaders and bureau-level leaders from engaging in business. I'm not in that category. Besides, she's only making some investments; she's not the largest shareholder of the inn, so there's absolutely no problem."

I thought for a moment and replied, "I'll discuss this with the other shareholders of the inn."

"Okay, let me know when you have the results..."

"Um."

……

Sun Jiwei sent someone to take us back to the inn, and I gathered the others together and told them what Sun Jiwei had just told me.

Bai Lu was the first to speak up, replying, "I think this is a good thing. Although her investment will dilute everyone's shares, we can use this investment to upgrade the inn's standards. Given the current market, if we improve the quality, raising the price by 20% shouldn't be a problem. This way, everyone will still make a profit, and the risk will be significantly reduced… Most importantly, if we want to open other inns in Dali in the future, we'll inevitably have to deal with the Environmental Protection Bureau… I think that although Sun Jiwei's rank in the bureau isn't very high, he really wields power."

Tie Nan was the first to stand up and object. He said, "I disagree. Tao Zi gave Mi Gao 100,000 yuan to buy sewage treatment equipment before. Why didn't you count it as shares for her? ... Now that the inn is about to reopen, who can't see that this is a profitable inn? It's not fair for him to invest in it now."

I then turned my gaze to Coach Ma, waiting for his opinion.

Coach Ma took a drag of his cigarette and replied, "I don't agree either; it's like an outsider has come in."

"You need to consider the bigger picture..." Bai Lu said, then turned to Tie Nan and said, "As for Tao Zi's money, if she wants to invest herself, we can still convert it into shares for her."

Tie Nan still had an unwilling expression, but he didn't say anything.

Bai Lu said to me with some helplessness after a long while, "Michael, if we only look at the immediate situation, our interests will definitely be affected, but if we look at it in the long run, it will definitely benefit us... You are the largest shareholder among us now. I have analyzed the pros and cons for you, so you make the decision for us."

I was conflicted, so I lit a cigarette and, after a moment's thought, replied, "This whole thing is a bit like using power for personal gain. I don't want the inn to take that kind of risk, and I don't want it to cause any disunity among us... I think we should just let it go. Our inn won't accept any outside investment for the time being."

Bai Lu shook her head with a hint of regret, then said to me, "Since you've said that, I won't try to persuade you anymore... But how are you going to talk to Sun Jiwei about it?"

"Just tell the truth."

Bai Lu stopped me, then said, "Don't tell the truth... I deal with these people often and know what kind of temper they have. I'll talk to him about this... You guys are all the type to easily offend people."

This time, no one objected to Bailu anymore, because her role at the inn was to handle external affairs, and it would definitely be much better for her to handle it than for me to.

……

That night, unable to sleep, I sat by Erhai Lake again, smoking, drinking, and spacing out... and this seemed to have become my most important way of relieving stress here.

I remembered the woman who had taken Lu Jia's number. She had told me before that she was pregnant with her ex-boyfriend's child. This was indeed a big deal, and I was quite worried about her, so I sent her another message to inquire about the situation.

I didn't mean to reopen her wounds, but I felt that it was indeed very difficult and helpless for a woman to encounter something like this. Although I couldn't help her much, I could still offer her a few words of comfort if necessary.