National Tide 1980

Finally, we entered the coveted Qishi Forest, and there were two worlds inside and outside the door.

Xiao Zhong, Li Li, and Kang Shude, no matter who they were, never expected that it was so cold and windy outside, but the entrance hall of Qi Shilin was as warm as spring.

I searched for the stove with my eyes for a long time, but I couldn't see it anywhere.

There were only a few sofas against the wall in the foyer, with a few customers sitting on them waiting to be seated.

There are foreigners and Chinese, but they all wear fur cloaks or woolen coats on the outside and suits on the inside.

Compared with these people, Kang Shude and the others were dressed in long cotton robes and leather hats.

Although it cannot be said that they look poor, which makes them ashamed.

But it is also obviously incompatible with the atmosphere here, and it inevitably makes them feel a little cramped.

Let's put it this way, even though the three of them came from the home of the richest man in the capital, they were used to the wealth and affluence at the front door of Ma's Garden Mansion.

But when I got here, I suddenly became a country bumpkin.

After all, China and the West are very different.

Fortunately, they didn't allow them to back down, so they took a few glances as soon as they came in. The waiter took the register and asked questions.

"Excuse me, what are your surnames, gentlemen?"

As the host, Kang Shude answered on behalf of the three of them.

"For free, my surname is Kang, this one's surname is Xiao, and that one's surname is Li."

But after answering, I felt quite strange.

Why are you asking us for our last names during dinner?

Could it be that he was like Lao Yang who carried water in Weijia Hutong, thinking that Pan Renmei had harmed the Yang family and refused to serve the patron named Pan.

Some surnames are taboo here, so we won’t accept them?

The waiter looked at the register for a long time and then asked another question.

"Have any of you made an appointment?"

None of the three young boys knew what an appointment was, so they stared at each other with big eyes and small eyes.

The waiter then told them, "I just reserved a table in advance."

Kang Shude shook his head and said no.

Li Li was unwilling to have another incident, so he interrupted anxiously.

"We have come from the capital, several hundred miles away. We have made a special trip to come to you. Do we still need to make an appointment?"

However, the brand name of Beijing is useless here.

The waiter remained calm and said calmly, "If you don't have a reservation, you guys have to sit down on the sofa and wait for a while. I'll invite you when there are empty seats."

Li Li was a little reluctant and wanted to make a few remarks.

Xiao Zhong quickly pulled him aside.

"I'm very polite, and I didn't say I wasn't allowed to eat. So just sit down. Don't make trouble."

After saying that, he took the lead and sat down. Unexpectedly, as soon as his butt sank, he fooled a guy and leaned back on his back.

This shocked Xiao Zhong.

"Ouch", he quickly stood up.

Kang Shude saw it and quickly offered words of comfort.

"It's okay, the sofa is just like this. There are springs inside, making it comfortable to sit on. The sofa in our Mr. Song's east room is also like this."

But Xiao Zhong didn't dare to sit anymore. He was afraid that the sofa would collapse if he sat on it.

Li Li teased him for not being able to enjoy happiness, so he just took his place, sat on it, and trembled a few times.

Hehehe smiled.

However, his pride soon disappeared and he even blushed.

Because he found a young and beautiful White Russian woman sitting opposite him, looking at him intently.

The foreign woman has golden hair and blue eyes.

She was wrapped in a furry mink coat, leaving only her snow-white neck exposed.

Wearing a skirt underneath, a pair of smooth calves were exposed from the skirt.

The slender feet were wearing glass silk socks and high-heeled leather shoes.

This outfit was in sharp contrast to the old man's big cotton nest under Li Li's own thick cotton robe.

He couldn't help but sit up straight and put his clumsy feet under the sofa.

His embarrassment quickly made the woman laugh, and her eyes turned bluer when she looked at him.

As for Kang Shude and Xiao Zhong, no one paid much attention to the abnormal and subtle changes in Li Li.

Because both of their attention was already focused on the restaurant.

The small table was covered with a white tablecloth and there were flowers in bottles.

Rattan chairs with thick velvet cushions.

There are foreign paintings hanging on the wall, and a naked woman is lying on the velvet.

The floor is covered with carpet, which is thick and soft when you step on it.

The people eating were very civilized, talking quietly, and some were reading books or newspapers.

Almost all seats are full.

There are no bird cages, no chirping of grasshoppers, and no one punching loudly here.

There was just elegant music and waiters in black suits walking around carrying trays.

That little crotch moves forward and backward, making it look light and graceful.

The food served here is all "entrusted", unlike the waiters in the Chinese restaurants they are familiar with.

The behavior is different, and the impression given to people is also different. The people here have a novel elegance and education in them...

After a while, all three of them felt their bodies getting hot.

My head, neck, and back were all covered in hot sweat. I was just about to take off my hat and scarf.

Unknowingly, all the customers in front of them had already entered.

Finally it was the waiter's turn to usher them to their seats.

As a result, there was a misunderstanding just as they were seated, which foreshadowed that they must have had an unusual meal.

After the waiter took the three of them to a seat by the window, according to the rules, they had to take away their hats and scarves and store them on their behalf.

But none of the three of them let go for fear of losing it, so in the end they were the only waiters.

However, they didn't know where to put it, and it didn't seem to be suitable anywhere. In the end, they made do with it, and it was all left to their own devices.

Only the pair of wrapped coral bonsais were placed on the extra chair.

The waiter didn't look sideways and pretended not to see anything.

I just concentrated on pouring a glass of ice water and a hot towel roll in front of each of them.

Kang Shude, Xiao Zhong and Li Li all didn't know what the ice-soaked liquid in the glass was, so they all picked it up and took a sip.

The reactions were all the same. They all closed their eyes, bared their teeth and put it on the table.

Especially Li Li, who didn't have any hot food in his stomach, even gave him a beating.

"Oh, it's so cold! Why do foreigners like to drink this? This is not a burning knife, but an ice knife!"

But the hot hand towel was hot enough for them to enjoy and wipe it comfortably.

Xiao Zhong expressed his inner feelings on behalf of them.

"Oh, I didn't expect foreigners to learn the rules of our theaters and bathhouses. That's good."

It's still Li Li who doesn't know what is enough, which is too great a virtue.

After wiping his face and neck, he wiped his head and nose vigorously, not even touching his ears.

Just like in the theater or the bathhouse, when he finished wiping and put down the handle of the hand towel, the white hand towel had turned to dust.

The waiter then placed an exquisite hard-cover book on the table.

"This is MENU. What do you guys want to see?"

However, when the three of them opened it, they were stunned again. It was all in foreign languages.

They looked at it for a long time and couldn't figure out why. They could only look at each other in confusion.

Kang Shude, who was treating guests, felt that it was nothing, so he asked the waiter.

"We can't understand these foreign characters? Don't you have a Chinese menu?"

Unexpectedly, there was one, and the waiter quickly brought one.

But he also said, "This menu is old, and the new one has not been made yet. The dishes are not complete, and the prices are somewhat different from now."

It’s not something to be afraid of, the key is just being able to understand it.

Kang Shude, Xiao Zhong and Li Li finally felt relieved.

But they never expected that when they opened the Chinese menu and took another look, it was clearly a Chinese character and they all knew it.

I was still dizzy and confused, so for a long time I still couldn't order a single dish.

The waiter waited patiently, which made Xiao Zhong feel uncomfortable.

He couldn't help but blurt out. "You don't sell rotten meat noodles here, do you?"

The waiter replied immediately.

"We have spaghetti bolognese, is that okay with you?"

Xiao Zhong didn't expect that they would actually meet, so he nodded in agreement without stumbling.

Then I leaned back in the chair with a sense of relief.

At this time, Kang Shude also found a way to order food. He simply followed his example and asked the waiter directly.

"Do you have any hot dishes with soup? The kind that can warm your stomach?"

The waiter nodded yes and reached out to flip the Chinese menu on the table.

"all these are."

Kang Shude looked at the two big characters on the page, which said "Su Po".

He stretched out his finger and clicked on one at random.

Finally it was Li Li's turn. He didn't want to ask the waiter and pretended to be an expert.

Moreover, this guy is very greedy and dislikes the Chinese menu which is too thin and lacks all the dishes.

He actually picked up the menu with foreign characters and was confused.

I turned to a page and pointed to the two things at the top.

"That's him, I want these two."

The waiter immediately closed the notebook.

"Everyone, please wait a moment, the food will be here soon."

However, Li Li happened to think of something again and stopped the waiter who was about to leave.

"Wait, let me ask, do you have any foreign wine here?"

The waiter had to stop and respond.

"Yes, we have red and white wine, champagne, liqueur, brandy, whiskey, and vodka. Let me get you another wine list..."

Li Lizheng happily wanted to agree, but his move made Xiao Zhong a little angry.

"What for? You want everything! You really don't feel bad about Xiaokang's treat! The problem is that we still have to do things? What are you drinking?"

This made Li Lideng lose his heart to be careful and quickly sent the waiter away.

"Ah, don't look at it. The cheapest one, just give me a glass of the cheapest foreign wine!"

Then he turned around and apologized to Xiao Zhong and Kang Shude.

"I'll just have one drink, one from the head office? Please, I've seen Master Sun drink those red and green foreign wines, and I've long wanted to have a taste. One drink won't hurt anything, right?"

Faced with his playful and smiling character, Xiao Zhong was helpless.

Kang Shude even laughed it off.

But how do you say that?

Cleverness is misled by cleverness.

Sometimes, even God can't bear to see someone who is clever and takes advantage.

As soon as the food they ordered was served, it was time for Li Li to regret it.