Leaving A Feng’s bar at dusk, I walked along, pondering how to perfect the “Ultimate Travel Plan” package. Crafting the plan wasn’t the hard part; the challenge lay in how to market this personalized plan to tourists in need. Moreover, choosing the right platform for promotion was crucial. It had to be cost-effective yet ensure impactful advertising, which is the most difficult aspect of marketing.

Back at the inn, the renovation workers had left for the day. Two rooms had been refurbished today, and I immediately inspected the results, feeling quite satisfied.

The sky darkened further, but the sunset lingered. As usual, Tongzi and I squatted under the willow tree opposite the inn, clutching our boxed meals.

Tongzi seemed to have a lot of questions bottled up. While eating, he asked, “Yang Ge, will Le Yao come back to Xitang?”

“It’s hard to say. Why do you ask?”

“I was too excited during her stay in Xitang. I even forgot to ask for her autograph.”

To me, this was a tasteless topic, so I didn’t respond to Tongzi and continued to focus on my meal.

Tongzi sighed again, “Ah… it’s just us two men in the inn. Is it too much yang and not enough yin?”

“What about the cleaning lady? Isn’t she a woman?”

“That doesn’t count… Yang Ge, you’re not getting any younger. Why don’t you think about finding a girlfriend?”

“Yeah, why haven’t I found a girlfriend yet?”

“Hurry up and find us a landlady, so we don’t have to eat boxed meals every day. Look at the inn next door, Jiangnan Residence. The owner has a beautiful girlfriend who manages the inn so well, it’s truly refreshing!”

I was lost in the scene Tongzi painted, unable to snap back to reality for a while. I admit, what I longed for was a woman who could run the inn with me. I didn’t yearn for a life of luxury, just a heart full of lush greenery.

Tongzi nudged me, “Yang Ge, what are you thinking about?”

“Finding a woman like the landlady of Jiangnan Residence.”

“Hehe… why not go for Le Yao? After all, she’s quite nice to you.”

“She is nice, but can she run an inn with us?”

Tongzi shook his head, “No, she’s a celebrity… How about that beauty who drives the Cadillac, Jian Wei?”

“No.”

“What about that stunning beauty who drives the Q7?”

“No, she won’t come either.”

Tongzi lamented, “Ah! They’re willing to come to you, but none are willing to stay by your side. You really are lonely!”

“Yes, I am.”

Tongzi concluded, “So, men don’t need the most beautiful or richest women, but a woman who is willing to stay by their side.”

…

On this dismal business night, I stood outside “Jiangnan Residence Inn” for a while. Their landlady was a young woman who could sing Kunqu opera, and the owner played the erhu. A group of guests chatted and drank tea on the small balcony upstairs, watching their performance.

I wasn’t particularly fond of Kunqu, but I listened for a long time, probably out of envy.

I can play the guitar too, just lacking a woman who’s willing to stay by my side and sing. Otherwise, our inn’s business would also be thriving.

Back at my own inn, I lay in bed after washing up, unable to sleep, my mind cluttered with one thought after another.

I suddenly missed the days I spent in Xuzhou, where I never had to eat boxed meals. If Mr. Ban was in a good mood, he’d share his treasured aged liquor with me.

There was also a woman named Li Xiaoyun who would occasionally buy me clothes from the mall. Although they were discounted, the styles always suited me well.

That was a chapter of my past life, one I could have continued, but life made me choose differently, and gradually I deviated, leading to my current life.

My current life isn’t too bad, but as Tongzi said, I feel a bit lonely and slightly lost about the future. If I can’t manage this inn well, my life will become a cycle I’m unwilling to enter, especially as I get older and can’t afford to start over.

So, I endure the dissatisfaction and focus on improving the inn, at the very least to secure my future.

…

A week passed, and the inn’s renovation was finally complete. However, due to the overhaul, I had spent the entire hundred thousand yuan Le Yao left me, and now the inn’s daily expenses relied solely on the twenty thousand yuan Tongzi earned from selling game accounts.

In reality, it wasn’t even twenty thousand anymore, as Tongzi had spent over four thousand on driving school. He indeed needed a driver’s license, as I couldn’t be the only one picking up guests.

Another noon arrived, and the landlord came to me with a briefcase in hand. I hurriedly offered him a cigarette.

He took a drag and said, “It’s time to pay this year’s rent.”

“Isn’t it due in two more months?”

“Our property rents are collected two months in advance. If you don’t pay, according to the contract, I have the right to rent the place to someone else, and you’ll have to move out in two months.”

I immediately understood that the two-month advance was to prevent a vacancy while looking for a new tenant, which would cost the landlord real money.

“Look, we’ve just finished renovating, and we’re a bit tight on funds. Could you give us a few more days?”

“This puts me in a difficult position. If I break the rules, it won’t be good.”

I went to my room and fetched a pack of cigarettes Le Yao had given me last time. With a smile, I handed it to the landlord, saying, “Please enjoy these cigarettes. I’ll figure something out for the rent and make sure you’re not shortchanged, okay?”

The landlord took the cigarettes, looked at them, and said, “These are high-quality cigarettes! If you can afford to smoke these, why worry about a little rent?”

“They were a gift from a friend. I can’t afford them.”

The landlord put the cigarettes in his briefcase and reminded me, “Since you’ve just renovated, I won’t make it difficult for you. I’ll give you one more week. Hurry up and sort this out, so we can both have peace of mind, okay?”

I nodded eagerly, assuring him, and the landlord left with his briefcase.

Tongzi lamented, “Yang Ge, the annual rent is seventy thousand… We’re really short on money!”

I lit a cigarette from the pack, chiding myself for not reading the contract carefully enough and not setting aside money for the next rent period.

I took a deep drag, feeling troubled, and after a while, I said to Tongzi, “I’ll figure out the money situation.”

“Are you going to borrow from Le Yao?”

I didn’t answer right away because I didn’t want to borrow from Le Yao a second time. After all, her money didn’t fall from the sky. If she were to settle in Beijing, she’d need her own house. I heard from an entertainment news report that a well-known artist, after years of hard work, had just enough money to buy a house within Beijing’s second ring road.

But apart from Le Yao, who else could I borrow seventy thousand yuan from?