From Wage Slave to Tycoon

"China Eastern flight MU9726 to Lijiang is now boarding. All passengers, please proceed to your gate for ticket inspection."

Hearing the airport announcement, Su Chen slowly rose from his seat in the VIP lounge. With his prior experience in the Imperial Capital, he navigated the process with practiced ease.

Yesterday, after chatting with Pei Rang and Aik, an idle Su Chen had an idea: it was time for a spontaneous trip.

He had so many places he’d wanted to visit before, but a tight budget had always constrained his dreams, so he had buried all those desires deep in his heart.

But things were different now. Su Chen had money, and he wanted to see the places he had only dreamed of before.

The first stop Su Chen chose was Lijiang! As for the reason... well, he wanted to see what the "City of Romantic Encounters" was really like.

Ahem, it wasn’t that he was looking to get lucky, of course. He was just purely trying to fulfill the travel dreams of his youth.

The flight from Shanghai to Lijiang took about four hours.

By the time Su Chen walked out of Lijiang’s Sanyi Airport, it was already three in the afternoon.

Since it was a spontaneous trip, he hadn’t done any research. The one saving grace was that he had booked a guesthouse in the ancient town, and to his surprise, it even included an airport pickup service!

Just as he stepped out of the airport, he saw a young man in his thirties holding up a sign, craning his neck and looking around. Su Chen’s name was printed clearly on it.

"Hello, I’m Su Chen!" Su Chen said, walking toward the man with his suitcase in tow.

Hearing it was Su Chen, the owner enthusiastically took the suitcase from him. "Hello! I’m the guesthouse owner, Yu Feng!"

Su Chen was a little surprised by the man’s introduction. ’Are guesthouses this competitive nowadays? The owner himself is doing airport pickups.’

The pickup vehicle was a minivan, though Su Chen didn’t recognize the brand.

"Judging by your accent, Boss Yu, you sound like you’re from the Northeast," Su Chen asked, curious.

"That’s right! From Ice City in the Northeast. I’ve been here in Lijiang for several years now! And from your accent, Brother Su, I’d say you’re from the Sichuan-Chongqing area, right?"

"Yep, from Wudu! Boss Yu, don’t all you Northeasterners flock to Sanya? What made you decide to open a guesthouse in Lijiang?"

"Lijiang is a place that leaves its mark on you."

Yu Feng’s face was filled with melancholy as he said this. Perhaps there was a moving love story hidden here.

Sanyi Airport was about thirty kilometers from Lijiang’s ancient town, a drive of about forty minutes.

The two chatted happily the whole way, especially when Yu Feng told him which places in Lijiang were worth seeing and where to be careful not to get scammed.

"Ink Hidden Inn!"

After a glance at the inn’s sign, Su Chen carried his luggage inside.

The inn was a standalone small building. The entrance opened into a large courtyard, giving it the feel of a traditional courtyard home. The yard was planted with all sorts of beautiful flowers, creating a particularly warm and welcoming atmosphere.

The entire inn was a wooden structure with two floors, and the room Su Chen had booked was on the second floor.

Just as Su Chen finished admiring the beautiful scenery in the courtyard, Yu Feng strode in after parking the car.

"Brother Su, let me take you to your room first. I guarantee you’ll be satisfied!"

Seeing Boss Yu’s confident expression, Su Chen’s anticipation grew.

There were only four rooms in total on the second floor, and Su Chen’s was at the end of the hall.

The moment he walked in and saw the wide-open window, Su Chen was stunned.

The view from the window overlooked more than half of the Lijiang ancient town. He could even lie in bed at night and enjoy the town’s nightscape.

"Boss Yu, I’m more than satisfied with this room!"

"Glad to hear it. You must be tired from your journey, Brother Su. Get some rest. Lijiang is most fun at night!" With that, Boss Yu closed the door and left.

Having been on a plane for several hours, Su Chen was indeed a bit tired. He took a quick shower and lay down on the bed.

-----------------

Night fell, and the lanterns began to glow.

At night, Lijiang was a blaze of brilliant, multi-colored lights that transformed the entire ancient town into a fairytale world. Leaning on the windowsill, Su Chen found himself captivated by the sight.

’No wonder so many people want to visit Lijiang,’ Su Chen thought. ’Even I can’t get enough of this beautiful view.’

After a brief moment of admiration, Su Chen left the inn.

It was now 8:00 PM, and the ancient town was already a sea of people, much livelier than it had been during the day.

Walking along the uneven stone-paved road, Su Chen felt his eyes couldn’t take it all in.

’As expected of the City of Romantic Encounters, there are so many beautiful women here.’

In just five or six minutes of walking, Su Chen had already seen over a hundred beautiful women. Their styles were diverse: some were alluring and glamorous, others were simple and pure, and many were sexy and fashionable.

It was enough to make his head spin.

What caught Su Chen’s eye the most were the tourists dressed in ethnic costumes. After a simple makeover from the local shops, paired with Lijiang’s characteristic attire, they possessed a kind of beauty that Su Chen couldn’t describe.

After wandering around for a bit, Su Chen found a nice-looking tavern and settled into an empty seat by the window.

He had just sat down when a waiter came over with a menu. To Su Chen’s surprise, the prices weren’t cheap; some items were almost as expensive as in Shanghai.

He casually ordered a few bottles of low-alcohol fruit wine and two side dishes to go with it.

The tavern had a relaxed atmosphere. In the middle was a small stage where the house singer was tuning his guitar, seemingly about to start his performance.

As the intro to the music began, a faint sense of melancholy spread through the tavern.

"Let me look at you one more time, from south to north!"

"Like eyes blinded by the Fifth Ring Road!"

"Please tell me again, about that day!" 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"The girl holding the box, and the man wiping his sweat!"

Su Chen began to hum along softly.

The tavern, the singer, the music, the tourists—it was as if everything blended together perfectly in that moment. Everyone closed their eyes, enjoying the resonance of the music.

When the song ended, the tavern returned to its usual clamor. Su Chen had already finished two bottles of his wine.

The tavern’s singer performed several more songs. Some were about longing, others about joy, making people unconsciously hum along as if the songs were telling their own stories.

Su Chen didn’t have any encounters with beautiful young women, but he did run into two "aunties."

They were in their forties, dressed rather flamboyantly, with long, straight hair and sexy outfits. From behind, you would have thought they were great beauties.

They came right up and invited Su Chen to their place for drinks and a chat.

After politely declining their invitation, Su Chen lost all interest in continuing to drink and listen to music.

He was looking for a "good time" with someone young, not to be doted on by aunties!

After "beating a hasty retreat" from the tavern, Su Chen once again strolled through the streets of the ancient town. The earlier incident had dampened his enthusiasm considerably.

He bought quite a few snacks along the way, filling his stomach.

Unfortunately... Su Chen never did have that "romantic encounter" he had been longing for!