Chapter 12 Gusu Hotel
Suzhou is the back garden of Shanghai, and the two places are very close to each other.
As the old saying goes, there is heaven above and Suzhou and Hangzhou below.
Land is very expensive in Shanghai, so most Shanghai people are buried in Gusu after their death, and many barren hills outside Gusu are concentrated cemeteries.
Song Yuanchao was very familiar with this place because he had been here countless times in his previous life.
Now this place is not as well renovated as it was in later generations. The cemetery now looks very old and desolate. In addition, it is not the time for tomb sweeping on Qingming Festival. In the entire cemetery, except for an old gatekeeper with difficulty walking, there is only one outsider, Song Yuanchao.
Entering the cemetery, you step on a dirt road with tall weeds on both sides. The dirt road extends upward and there are steps made of stone slabs.
Walking up, on both sides of the stairs, there were tombstones of different heights. Song Yuanchao carefully distinguished them as he walked, and it took him a long time to find the place.
The tomb of Song Guangzeng and Wang Sufen is a joint tomb. On one tombstone are the names of the couple on the left and right, and the words "Zi Song Yuanchao stood in tears" are engraved on it.
Song Yuanchao stopped and looked at the tombstone, two lines of tears falling involuntarily.
He stood in front of the tomb for a long time, not knowing how much time had passed, then he squatted down and cleared the weeds around the cemetery.
Because he was in the northwest, no one came to sweep Wang Sufen's grave for several years after she was buried, and the graveyard looked very messy. Song Yuanchao spent more than an hour to clean it up, then took out the cakes he had bought at Qiaojiazha yesterday evening from his bag and placed them in front of the grave. He then took out two enamel jars, unscrewed the kettle and poured rice wine into them, and finally lit two candles and three incense sticks, and knelt down and kowtowed three times in front of the tombstone.
"Dad, Mom, your son is here to see you today..."
Song Yuanchao said with a sob, and through his tearful eyes he seemed as if his parents were looking at him and smiling at him as they did back then.
"My son is back. He just came back the day before yesterday." Song Yuanchao wiped his tears and said to his parents, "I have something to tell you two. I was dead in my previous life. When I opened my eyes, I didn't know why I returned to this era. Did you, my parents, bless me in heaven? Did you let me come back on purpose?"
"Dad, Mom, my son is unfilial. In his previous life, he didn't leave any sons or daughters for the Song family, nor did he become successful and bring honor to the family. Is it because you can't stand it that you pulled your son back? If so, can you tell me?"
A breeze blew by, and the candles placed in front of the tomb swayed slightly. Song Yuanchao stared at the flickering candlelight and couldn't help feeling excited.
"Is that so? That must be the case, right?" Song Yuanchao kowtowed three more times towards the tombstone, and said in tears, "Don't worry, my son will not be the same this time, and will disappoint you. Dad and Mom, there is a rule that prohibits burning paper now, but it will be relaxed in a few years. I will definitely burn more for you. These snacks are your favorites when you were alive. Eat more, and you will have a better life over there. Please bless your son!"
In front of the tomb, Song Yuanchao talked a lot with his parents, about past lives and present lives. He said out everything that he had been thinking about and had been holding back for a long time. He didn't get up until the three incense sticks were burned out. Song Yuanchao kowtowed several times again and then stood up.
Standing in front of the tomb, Song Yuanchao told his parents that he would visit them again in a few months, then wiped his tears and turned to go down the mountain.
When he was going down the mountain, Song Yuanchao felt much more relaxed. Perhaps it was because he had said everything that was in his heart today. After saying it out loud, he naturally felt relieved and became more relaxed.
When we got back to Gusu Railway Station, it was already around 4pm. When Song Yuanchao came here, he was not sure when he would be back, so he did not buy a return ticket. Now he went to the ticket office and saw that the only train back to Shanghai was the slow train at 9pm, and it would take more than six hours to get there, so he would arrive in Shanghai at 3:30am the next day.
After thinking about it, Song Yuanchao decided to stay in Gusu for one night and return tomorrow morning.
He bought a ticket for a train at 8:30 tomorrow morning. After leaving the train station, he walked towards the city for a while and then found a hotel that looked relatively clean to stay in.
Today's hotels are not like the guesthouses of later generations. Single rooms are very rare, and usually three to five people stay in one room.
Accommodation requires a letter of introduction from the work unit, and the price is calculated by bed. The hotel Song Yuanchao found was relatively clean and a little more expensive, costing two yuan a night. However, because the hotel had a public bathroom, many people stayed in this hotel.
After making a bed, Song Yuanchao walked into the room and looked around. It was a room for three people. The previous occupant was not there, so it seemed that he had left. There was luggage in front of the bed by the window, and personal items such as toothpaste and toothbrushes were placed on the bedside table of the middle bed. The bed left for Song Yuanchao was the bed by the door.
Song Yuanchao didn't care about this. He was only staying here for one night and would leave the next morning. He took out an enamel pot from his schoolbag and placed it on the bedside table of his bed, in this way to let people know that the bed had an owner.
Then, Song Yuanchao walked out of the hotel and walked around the area, and bought some local specialty snacks at a time-honored store in the city. Since he was here, he had to bring something back, whether it was Zhang Jianguo's family or Li Daqi who had agreed to come to his house for a gathering in a few days, these specialties would be great treats.
After buying the things, I found a place to eat a bowl of noodles.
Gusu noodles are extremely famous. The noodles with eight-treasure toppings are neither soft nor hard, and are colorful, fragrant and delicious. They are very comfortable to eat. By the time Song Yuanchao finished eating the noodles, it was already getting dark. When Song Yuanchao returned to the hotel, the two people he lived with had not returned yet. Song Yuanchao didn't care and went straight to the public bathroom of the hotel with a towel and a basin to take a shower.
The hotel's public bathroom is at the end of the corridor. It's called a bathroom, but it's actually just a tiled room with a few iron pipes connected for flushing, where people can take a hot shower. However, it's rare to find hotels with such facilities in this era, which is one of the reasons why this hotel is slightly more expensive and does good business.
After washing, Song Yuanchao felt relaxed and returned to the room with his things. As soon as he entered the room, he found that the guest who was living with him had finally returned.
"Hello."
"Hello……"
After entering the room, the two people who were talking heard the voice and looked towards the door at the same time. They saw Song Yuanchao walking in with a washbasin. They immediately realized that this was a guest living with them, and both sides greeted each other politely.
These are two men wearing blue cadre uniforms (similar to the Type 65 military uniform, but somewhat different). Judging from their attire, they should be cadres from that company on a business trip.
One of the two men is fat, the other is thin. The fat one is probably in his forties, with half of his head bald, shaped like a fried egg.
The thin one was wearing glasses and looked to be in his early thirties. The fat one was obviously the better of the two because his bed was the one next to the beds. Plus, the glasses guy called the fat one "section chief", so it was obvious that their relationship was clear.
After they greeted each other and nodded, Song Yuanchao packed up his things. As for the other two, they continued to smoke and chat in low voices.
Song Yuanchao placed the washbasin under the bed and hung towels and other things on the rack behind the door. Then he took out a book from his schoolbag and began to read while half lying on the bed.
When he was out, even though he was in the same room with someone, Song Yuanchao had no intention of approaching strangers. He was only sleeping there for one night anyway, and the money he had on him was all in the pocket of his underwear. He didn't bring any luggage, so he didn't have to worry about running into any bad guys.
"Chief, what should we do now? Factory No. 3 refuses to give in, and Factory No. 4 is also a dead end. You have to think of a solution. If this problem can't be solved, how are we going to explain ourselves when we go back?" The man with glasses had a worried look on his face, and he looked like he was about to cry.
"I want to think of a solution? I'm just a small section chief, not a god. How can I think of any solution?" The fat comrade's expression was not much better than the man with glasses. He also had a worried look on his face. He held a cigarette in one hand and kept stroking his head with the other. His hair, which was not very thick to begin with, was almost rubbed out by him.
"How about we go directly to Factory One and Factory Two to ask tomorrow?" the man with glasses said hesitantly.
"It's useless to go!" The fat comrade glared at him unhappily. "We have some connections with the third and fourth factories, but we were turned away. What about the other factories? What would you have done if you had known this? You spent so much money and got such a pile of waste products. You want to force them to sell it? They are not stupid."
"But Chief, the factory is still waiting for our reply. We have been out for so many days. How are we going to explain if we go back like this?"
"Whoever wants to explain can explain." Upon hearing this, the fat comrade immediately became angry and raised his voice and said, "This is not my problem. I am the head of the supply and marketing department, not the production department. If there are any product problems, go to the production department! Why are you looking for me? I won't take the blame!"
"I know, I know, Chief, please don't be angry." Seeing that the fat comrade was about to give up, the man with glasses hurriedly advised: "That being said, the problem must be solved. Don't forget that the factory has a lot of goods. Now the third and fourth factories have refused to accept the goods. If we can't sell them, the loss will be too great. When the responsibility is investigated, our supply and marketing department will not be able to escape!"
"Hey!" The fat comrade slammed his fist on the bed, looking helpless.
With a loud bang, the fat comrade's punch was so powerful that the teacup next to him was knocked down by his hand and fell to the ground, scaring Song Yuanchao who was immersed in the content of the book.
