Beijing North Station!
“Woo-woo…”
As the train’s long, drawn-out whistle sounded, the green-painted train slowly pulled up alongside the platform!
Dongzi and the others, who had long been ready to disembark, were peering out the window at the towering buildings and the crowds of people passing by—a state they had been in for nearly half an hour.
In fact, as soon as the train entered the capital’s vicinity and they caught sight of the city’s dazzling lights, these young men had already begun to get excited.
Only Li Yi remained unfazed, while also thinking about where he should spend the night!
After all, it was past 1:00 a.m., and most guesthouses were already closed.
More importantly, Li Yi knew full well that guesthouses in Beijing were hard to come by these days.
There was no way around it: guesthouses and hotels required significant investment, which most people simply couldn’t afford, so their numbers were already scarce.
Conversely, the population of Beijing had been growing exponentially over the past year or two. With all these outsiders needing a place to stay, the number of guesthouses had become severely insufficient.
Faced with this supply-demand imbalance, the Beijing municipal government had no choice but to publicly call on wealthy individuals or companies to open inns and hotels to solve the “accommodation crisis.”
So, Li Yi’s trip to the capital actually had two plans in mind. His first choice, of course, was to open a restaurant and get into the food service industry.
If that didn’t work out, he would set up guesthouses and hotels!
However, this was not Li Yi’s first choice; after all, hotels and inns generate profits rather slowly, and simply cannot compare to running a restaurant.
More importantly, opening a hotel wouldn’t drive economic development in the village.
Just as Li Yi was deep in thought, Dongzi’s voice suddenly rang out: “Brother Yi, the doors are open—shouldn’t we get off now?”
Li Yi glanced over and saw that most of the passengers had indeed risen from their seats and were making their way toward the train doors with their bags and luggage!
“No rush. Let them get off first; we’ll be the last to leave!”
Li Yi said casually. He had no desire to jostle with the crowd—it wasn’t as if he couldn’t get off.
Once most of the other passengers had disembarked, Li Yi finally stood up from his seat with Dongzi and the others, then carried their suitcases toward the train door!
Once off the train, they joined the stream of people heading out of the station!
By the time they exited the station, it was already 2:00 a.m.!
Despite the biting cold, the young men were all excited.
The farthest they’d ever been was Yunshan County; they hadn’t even been to Ning City, let alone a metropolis like Beijing.
Seeing the wide asphalt roads, the tall and imposing train station, and the streetlights that made the early morning as bright as day for the first time, everything here filled them with wonder.
“Brother Yi, where are we going now?” Dongzi asked.
He was the sharpest and most mature among the group, so after his initial curiosity subsided, he was the first to ask about their next move.
Li Yi glanced at the various signs hanging around the train station and said, “Let’s find a guesthouse to crash at for the night first, then look for a place to stay tomorrow!”
“Alright!”
Li Yi then led Dongzi and the others toward the nearest guesthouse.
However, when they knocked on the guesthouse door, they were told there were no beds left.
That’s right—these days, most guesthouses in the capital don’t offer “rooms” per se, but only “beds.”
If you wanted a private room, you’d have to book every single bed in it.
Since there were no beds available, Li Yi and the others had no choice but to look for another guesthouse!
To their frustration, they checked seven or eight guesthouses in a row but still couldn’t find a suitable one.
Either there were no beds available at all, or there were only one or two, which was nowhere near enough for the five of them.
Although Li Yi had anticipated this situation beforehand, the thought of possibly having to sleep on the streets with his friends on their very first day in Beijing still left him feeling a bit down.
Just as Li Yi was considering whether to ask a taxi driver to help find a guesthouse, a young man in his twenties suddenly walked over to them.
“Comrade, are you looking for a place to stay?”
Li Yi gave him a careful once-over. The young man had a square face and a determined look in his eyes—not the kind of shifty gaze you’d expect from a con artist.
“Yes, but do you have enough room for the five of us?”
“It’s enough, but we can’t all fit in one room—we’ll have to split into two rooms!” the young man replied.
“Alright, lead the way!”
“Aren’t you going to ask about the price?” the young man asked curiously.
“This isn’t my first time in the capital. I know how much a bed costs,” Li Yi said casually.
“Well, I’ll tell you up front: we charge 80 cents a night for a bed!”
“Eight mao? This place isn’t a legitimate guesthouse, is it?” Li Yi said immediately.
He knew full well that hotels in the capital these days cost around two or three yuan a night, and even ordinary guesthouses ran from one to one and a half yuan.
An 80-cent guesthouse was most likely one of those “black” guesthouses!
By “underground,” he didn’t mean a rip-off joint, but rather an unregistered, privately run guesthouse.
The young man gave an awkward smile and said, “You’re right—our guesthouse isn’t registered. So, are you interested?”
“Lead the way,” Li Yi said.
Although Li Yi knew these small guesthouses weren’t very safe, they had no other choice right now.
After all, it was almost November, and nighttime temperatures in Beijing could drop to well below freezing—unlike July or August, when spending a night outdoors wasn’t a big deal.
“Sure thing, after you!”
With that, the young man stepped ahead of Li Yi and the others to lead the way!
Following the young man, they walked along the main road near the train station for about twenty minutes, then turned into an alley. After another five or six minutes, they finally stopped in front of a small courtyard.
The young man knocked on the door, then led Li Yi and the others inside.
Once inside, Li Yi realized it was a typical Beijing siheyuan. Directly opposite the main gate was the main hall, with side rooms on either side, a front courtyard to the south, and a central courtyard in the middle.
Although it looked a bit run-down, it was actually quite clean.
The young man opened a room and said to Li Yi, “Comrade, please take a look at the room first. If you’re satisfied, you can move in!”
Li Yi immediately handed his suitcase to Dongzi and went inside to take a look.
It was a modest side room, no larger than 20 square meters, furnished with three single wooden beds and a large cast-iron stove.
The furnishings were nothing to write home about; the sheets and pillowcases were barely passable, though the cleanliness was decent.
The other room was essentially the same, except it had an additional small water basin.
“The rooms are fine, but don’t assign anyone to the other bed—we’re taking both of these rooms!” Li Yi said.
“Then you’ll have to pay for six beds!”
“Alright!”
The young man checked Li Yi and his companions’ letters of introduction, confirmed everything was in order, and then processed their check-in.
Li Yi and his group were finally settled in, sparing them from having to sleep on the streets on their first night in the capital!