The next day, I still woke up early out of habit. After washing up, I took a walk along the Xitang River again, but today I did not encounter that woman in red on the riverside. I suppose she must have left Xitang after realizing something.
As for me? Perhaps I would stay in Xitang for a long time, but eventually I would leave because my roots are not here.
Around 9 a.m., I returned to the inn but didn’t see the owner. A guest happened to be checking in, so I helped with the reception. However, after hearing that the accommodation fee was 150 yuan with no room for negotiation, the guest turned around and left.
I felt a bit depressed. I really couldn’t understand why he insisted so firmly on the price of 150 yuan without any compromise.
A moment later, the inn owner returned, holding a blackboard with a “For Sale” advertisement written on it.
With some surprise, I asked, “Boss, are you really going to sell this inn?”
“Yeah.”
“This inn isn’t completely hopeless. You could adjust the accommodation prices according to the tourist season and off-season, and renovate it a bit. The business might still improve.”
He shook his head and said, “I didn’t open this inn just to find a way to make a living here.”
“Then why did you open it?”
He looked into the distance, his expression somewhat gloomy. After a long pause, he lit a cigarette and said, “I’ve been waiting here in Xitang for a woman whose whereabouts are unknown… It’s been five years. She probably won’t come back anymore, so I shouldn’t stay here any longer. I should start living a normal life.”
I stared at him in shock, unable to imagine what kind of strength could support someone waiting in Xitang for five long years. Those five years must have been much harder than the years I once spent waiting for Jianwei. At least I knew that Jianwei was in America.
But after five years, he had finally exhausted the last bit of his strength and chose to give up waiting.
I was very curious about the thrilling story behind this waiting and asked again, “Can you tell me your story?”
He shook his head: “A story is just a story. Especially one that has already reached its end, there’s even less to say.”
His firm tone forced me to once again respect his wishes. After a while, I looked at the blackboard in his hand and asked, “How much are you planning to sell the inn for?”
“Fifty thousand yuan, including the minivan outside used to pick up and drop off guests.”
“This price is a bit of a loss for you!” I reminded him, considering that besides the minivan, the renovation and electrical appliances inside the inn had cost him quite a bit.
But he didn’t seem to care and asked me, “Are you interested in taking it over?”
I was somewhat tempted, but once I accepted, I would be stuck in Xitang for several years.
After weighing it in my heart for a while, I told him, “I’m a bit interested, but I need some time to think about it.”
He nodded and said nothing more.
…
Back in my room, Tongzi had already woken up and was still playing his online game.
I smiled and asked him, “Why did you get up so early today?”
“You said you were going to take me out for a meal, so I got up early to get ready!”
I stared at him for a while but didn’t see any sign of preparation. He was still wearing his tracksuit, and his hair, which hadn’t been washed for days, looked like a bird’s nest.
I sat back on my bed and lit a cigarette, feeling extremely bored. I said to Tongzi, “Did you know that the inn we’re staying at is going to be sold?”
“What!… Then where will we live after that? I’ve already paid a month’s rent!”
“The owner will definitely make arrangements before selling it, so don’t worry about it.”
Tongzi indeed stopped worrying, nodded, and focused all his attention back on his online game.
I picked up a slipper from the floor and threw it at him, instantly getting his attention again: “Brother Yang, what’s wrong now?”
“What do you think if I buy this inn?”
“Seriously?”
“I’m unemployed now. I was thinking that running an inn might be quite good!”
Tongzi got very excited and said to me, “Go for it! Why not? If you need help, I can work for you!”
“Are you sure you’re not just having a whim?”
Tongzi looked at me very seriously and said, “Brother Yang, I’m not having a whim… I mean, after graduation, working for someone else is so boring. It would be better to stay in Xitang, a place with picturesque scenery, and just look at pretty girls every day!”
“If you have that mindset, don’t even think about working for me!”
“Then what mindset should I have?”
“If I really decide to take over this inn, I will operate it professionally in the future. In a few years, there will be our inns in scenic spots across the country. That will be my goal. Tell me, can I be happy if you treat my grand plan with a playful mindset?”
Tongzi stared at me with his mouth wide open. After a while, he said, “Brother Yang, are you sure you’re not joking with me?… A nationwide chain of inns sounds like a dream!”
“The realization of dreams often starts from an unremarkable corner.”
“But there are hundreds of thousands of inns across the country, and very few of them have become chains. It’s just too difficult!”
I smiled and said, “Compared to that, I think your dream of losing your virginity is even harder to achieve!”
Tongzi looked at me in despair… After a while, he skipped the topic of his virginity and asked me, “Then do you have enough money to buy this inn?”
“No, but we can figure something out!”
“How about we go into partnership… If one day we really make it into a nationwide chain, I will become such a strategically visionary investor!”
“Partnership! You, a nobody, where will you get the money to invest?”
“I can sell my online game account… It’s worth at least 20,000 yuan!”
I looked at him doubtfully.
He continued, “Brother Yang, life is fair to everyone. God made me a virgin for so long, he must have given me some other talents… I’m an absolute gaming expert, and my major in college was game development!”
I sighed and said, “Playing games to the point of making 20,000 yuan, what’s wrong with this society?”
Tongzi smiled proudly and said to me again, “Brother Yang, let’s open an inn together in Xitang!”
With a final doubt, I asked, “Won’t your parents interfere?”
“No way, anyway Xitang isn’t that far from my home. Plus, I just graduated from university, so they don’t have very high expectations for me. Besides, running an inn is also a form of entrepreneurship. We people from Zhejiang are very enthusiastic about starting businesses!”
I nodded and once again weighed things in my mind… Since I no longer had a reason to return to Suzhou, why not temporarily choose Xitang?
Moreover, I had been in a state of confusion for a long time and really needed a career of my own, even if it started small.
After making up my mind, I finally said to the expectant-looking Tongzi, “Alright, let’s plant the seeds of our dreams here and let them blossom!”
Tongzi clapped his hands in excitement, as if he had already accomplished a monumental feat.
I smiled at him and said, “Alright, go take a shower quickly and clean yourself up. Later I’ll introduce you to my friends.”
Tongzi nodded, grabbed his change of clothes, and darted into the bathroom like a flash.
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