Homeward bound 2023

Managed to get up by 8am and grab a shower before breakfast which I'm ashamed to say was egg and bacon. Not that I'd planned a western one but I fancied the bacon, and then the fried eggs which were pretty much attached to the fried bread. But it went down well despite the knife and fork. I've eaten fried eggs with chopsticks before but we didn't have a great deal of time. Leilei and I left Nezha to finish his food and went to bring down the luggage, and although it was 5 minutes before the bus (this time an actual Spacecruiser-sized mianbao che) was due to leave it was already out there with the engine running.

Pathetic last breakfast in China

So we fetched Nezha's stuff and just about managed to get the luggage fitted around the other people's stuff, and understood that luckily T2 would be the first stop, so 10 minutes later we were there. I could probably have chosen the 10am shuttle bus but was really worried there would be issues ahead. But as it was, even though there were nearly four hours till the flight we were ushered to a queue-free China Southern check-in area and I gave the lady the three passports and said I'd had no problem reserving the seats for the boys but thought there may be an issue with mine. But I was massively relieved to find that I was fine and we were all on the same row. Once the hold luggage had gone through we were told to wait one or two minutes before we could go as there were evidently people checking the x-rays. This is why I told the boys not to take the bibi guns. We were given the international "ok" sign of a thumb and first finger ring by the lady and Nezha gave a bigger sigh of relief than most people would have needed to. I just hope he didn't have anything dodgy in there....

I was relieved, Nezha was relieved, but Leilei wasn't as he had a decidedly dodgy tummy and wanted to go the toilet before security. Fine, go, we had plenty of time, so he went but a minute later he was back saying they only had squatters. Jeez, even I've managed to negotiate squatters...a few times this trip nonetheless, but as "desperate" as he was he said he could hold it through security. The airport wasn't particularly busy so security was 10 minutes and none of us were held up this time although neither of the boys had liquids bags annoyingly and I had to take their perfume and deodorant into mine. They so need to start learning to think ahead....

Of course normally after security that's it...you go to duty free or the lounge. But next was the health declaration we hadn't planned on. I thought that was just for entering China. But no, we needed to scan a QR card with Weixin, then fill in a picky questionnaire with a very unintuitive interface. But after a good 15 minutes we eventually got our new QR codes, which we scanned to get through this next fence. But then was passport control...yes fair enough, we hadn't had our passports stamped out of the country yet, so yet another queue of about 20 minutes, but Leilei appeared to prefer that than squat.

Finally we were into the duty free area and I remembered to pick up some Esse menthols for Awl, who for some reason was awake at 3am UK time. The boys decided to go for a wander as is their wont, but I told them I wanted to find a lounge as the Amex app said there was only one but I doubted that. A couple of minutes later I found the China Southern lounge and it accepted Priority Pass, so I said the boys would be around shortly, but it turned out it would be better to wait for them so I called Leilei and they said they'd be there soon. So I scanned the code and boarding pass and added two guests (Nezha better appreciate he's cost me £20 for both times).

Eventually the boys turned up and scanned in and we availed ourselves of some decent food as is normal in my experience in lounges in the three or four biggest Chinese cities. I waited till 11am before having a 5% wheat beer as I was too embarrassed to ask for a G&T at the bar (at least until someone else had). I chatted with Awl again who still hadn't got to sleep at 4am but only for 20 minutes or so. The 1.20pm flight was to board at 12.40pm, which gave us only another hour, so I managed a 2nd beer and after went to the bar to ask for a G&T. Well I said it in Mandarin and I said it in English but she didn't understand - so I ended up pointing at the Beefeater bottle and she said that was just for show and wasn't actually available, before pointing at a selection of red wines and a whisky to say I could have that. I asked what about cold white wine and she pointed to the fridge on the bar...hmmm...champagne...well that might be a nice way to say goodbye to China so I poured myself a decent sized one before a Chinese bloke came up to me and said something I knew was an attempt at English but couldn't understand so asked him in Mandarin what he wanted. In fact he just wanted the same as me so I handed him the bottle. I would have liked to respond in English but I was in my last hour in the country so really appreciated possibly my last mini-conversation.

I offered the boys a small glass too but Leilei wasn't interested. Nezha accepted one though and I had another small one to join him. Then the notice came that the London flight was boarding. We never leave at this point. We knew we had a short 10 minute walk to the gate, so I followed what the boys had been eating - two mini hamburgers and some more beef, and maybe poured myself a first and last whisky as I knew I'd require sleep on the 12 hour flight.

Gorgeous mini-hamburgers

Maybe a last nip before vacating the lounge

So appetites sated, we left at 12.50pm and got there as some of the last people to get on. No problem, there was plenty of hand luggage space at row 60 near the back. No problem with the flight either as it left on time and despite eating in the lounge we all pretty much finished lunch, after which thanks to the lounge and some Phenergan and maybe we each had a melatonin, we each managed to sleep relatively quickly afterwards, despite the usual turbulence.

Maybe I got four to five hours' sleep but it was more than many times, and I managed a couple of late James Bond films that I'd not seen before, before another meal and some more shuteye. With a couple of hours to go we all found ourselves hungry again so went the few feet back to the back to get ourselves a sandwich each. By now it was 5pm UK time, so a bit later I sneaked out a beer I might have appropriated from the lounge and sneaked a bit into my cup while the attendants weren't around, and another and another till it was gone and I hoped the cleaning people wouldn't report me as I left it under my seat. I started watching Star Trek: into the darkness, which was pretty crap in many ways but being tired and tiddly helps one with such films. The turbulence came again, but ultimately we landed pretty firmly, but safely.

This time passport control and getting luggage was a breeze, and we were on the Piccadilly line soon after. We would have taken the Lizzie line but it would have been £17+ each rather than the £6 tube which only took a few minutes longer. And that was it. The boys had had the China experience of a lifetime. They would no doubt experience the homecoming blues, but I've done that for 20 years now and you just have to adjust. We have no idea when we might come back. Well, I have an idea that I'll do it soon if I can sort out Leilei with uni stuff...it's been literally like a long dream and I just want to go back to sleep....

Leilei reunited with Ami back home

Back to Guangzhou

Up at 8am for a very short time before 11.30am came around and I managed to get up at midday as I knew I'd not packed properly. I'd decided to leave about half the clothes I'd turned up with as Tan had plonked 12kg of clothes for her and Xixi in my suitcase yesterday and said that was fine as I still had 11kg. Blimey my suitcase was full and above 20kg when I came here and that was without presents.

So I went to get four portions of jiaozi from our local place but she only had one. But this time I was willing to wait seven minutes, so popped next door and had a nice chat with the bloke looking after Lu zong's water shop, whom I'd known for some time but not really had a proper conversation with before. Yes it was a simple conversation but he didn't know it would be one of my last for a while and I really appreciated it and drank it up. Even after saying goodbye to the jiaozi woman I took the long way back just to stop at the second hand dian dong che place to say thank you again to the bloke who fixed our bike four weeks ago.

I also spent time playing with a poor kitty in a bird cage but I guess had she not been there she'd have been run over by now...and how dare I define it as a she?

Back home it was gone 1pm and I knew I should sort out seats for the flight tomorrow, but I first had my portion of jiaozi and allowed myself a Li Quan pijiu as I wouldn't have the chance for a long while. Frustratingly, China Southern wouldn't accept my flight details. I'm sure this is all to do with asking for a quote for changing the date to go back 10 days ago when BA insisted that I get another booking reference. But this booking reference wouldn't work, and neither would the original ticket number. I tried with Leilei's and it went through fine and he was seat 60J. Then with Nezha his was fine and already 60H so at least they'd been put together. But for the sin of requesting a quote for a later flight I was not able to find my flight and for all I know I may not even get on the flight tomorrow. It's these sort of times that I have hope for my Amex travel insurance should something bad happen tomorrow.

At least the boys managed to rumble of out bed and grab a shower by 2pm. We did our last minute stuff and I realised I'd be leaving two pairs of shoes, three or four pairs of trousers, and at least six tops. But I'd be coming back with two Pingguo Haliao football tops to put that in perspective. I grabbed my shower last minute at 2.30pm as didn't want to be sweating before the train, and Tan said she and Xixi would come to the train station with us to book their tickets to Nanning tomorrow. At 2.59pm, 58 minutes before our train was due, she booked a didi che, but for some reason couldn't book two. As it was we managed to get all our luggage in the boot and front seat of the car and then Tan said they weren't going as Xixi wasn't ready or something. So in typical Pingguo style we left in a single car to minimal goodbyes.

And under 10 minutes later we were at Pingguo Huoche Zhan, and it cost a whole 5.4 kuai! My bags went through fine despite having a portable charger but Leilei's got found. Nezha had four lighters, which they found and said he was only allowed to take two - and that was fine apparently as two didn't work anyway...but still why take them? Luckily I'd told them not to take the bibi guns or the knives they'd bought, so five minutes later we were in the waiting room with only 10 minutes to go before queuing up for our train. I imagined what it would have been like had we had to take a 4pm flight from Nanning...we'd have probably had to leave Pingguo soon after 10am with no time for last minute packing or lunch. Not to mention the only flight to Guangzhou was at 7.20am which would have meant hotels and 4am waking up - no thank you!

Apparently this is a "happy" look, though sad to be leaving Pingguo

Now I know what is different about Pingguo this time. It's quiet, at least relatively. There's very little bibbing, far fewer fireworks, and just in general there's been less noise where we live. I quite appreciate that. And indeed the journey to the station was as calm as any journey I've taken in this city. Even in our 1st class carriage (as all the other tickets had sold out a day after going on sale) there were not so many people with loud mobile games playing, or shouting on their phones. It's all just a little bit perceptibly calmer.

The 4h29m journey was spent mostly asleep by the boys, who have rarely got up before 4pm, but that wouldn't happen for me so I ended up having the cold beer I'd brought with me with the silly idea of bringing it to the UK. At the tube station I bought three 9 kuai tickets as I'd done back in June, except this time using Weixin. You'd have thought they'd tell you how much it would be but I was just given the option of various prices so worked on memory. Of course an hour and a bit later the tokens we were given would not let us out and I had to find the service person who told us that we needed to pay 1 kuai more each. Inflation? Some other reason? I certainly wasn't going to find out there and then and ended up paying 1 kuai with Weixin but for some reason I needed to pay the other two with cash.

I called the hotel, who gave me the number of the driver, then called him to find out he'd be outside door 46. As luck would have it we were at number 44 so 50 yards later we went to wait and didn't see anything. Fair enough he did say he'd be a few minutes but after 10 minutes I called him again and he said he was already there. In my mind I'd imagined a Spacecruiser-sized mianbao che but after a few shouts I heard his voice emanating from a much larger vehicle and we got in with only just enough space for our luggage, and 10 minutes later we were in what actually looked to be a decent hotel. As soon as I had checked in and we'd dumped the luggage we went downstairs to get our free noodles. There were only two sets left in the warmer so I let the boys have them and they went out straight away to find drinks because the noodles would be "too dry" without that. Whatever. The lady gave me a new set of noodles and I couldn't be bothered to wait for them to get warm and they were actually rather nice for free.

The boys came back saying there were no shops but I took that as a bit of a challenge as I rather fancied a cold beer. So I left them and walked for around 45 minutes and indeed there was nothing. Plenty of living areas and work areas but this place 3.7km from the airport did not want to sell me anything. So back at the hotel I asked if they happened to have any cold beers and of course they did, and I chose four local brews at a costly 16 kuai each but I didn't care...they went down very well and I even got two more when the boys decided they wanted an ice lolly each. The hotel room was ok but lacked the sofa the trip.com app said it would have. But Leilei set about putting a few cushions on the floor inside some sort of kid's wigwam (the hotel room was family-oriented) as fair enough at his age he didn't want to share even a king-size bed with me and my snoring. Well it was to be my last night in China for a while, and after a brief chat with Awl fell asleep by 2am.

"Fishing" and Xixi learns to drive on last evening

Another lazy morning stopped when A Wu pinged me at 11.45am to ask if I wanted to to catch fish in a net, as opposed to "normal" fishing. As it was my last full day I thought "why not?" for the umpteenth time. So I managed to get up at midday and A Wu said he was on his way to pick me up but I said 5-10 minutes. As it was I thought it would be a sweaty affair so I just washed my face and told him I was ready. Then he said to take the dian dong che to his house as people were waiting for me there, and of course to hurry up! Ha, so one minute he's on his way then the next I'm to go to meet him...I almost don't think about it anymore. But the annoying thing was that someone was now in the bathroom where the sun cream was, meaning I couldn't take that and I didn't have a hat either. Damn, but there was no way I was going to get sunburnt the day before we were going back.

So I rode over to his house and as I parked up I heard a bloke call me from a shitty car. Oh, that's what we were supposed to be going in to catch fish. A Wu turned up and we bibbed at him and he looked bemused at the car so we drove up to him and he finally understood we'd be taking this tiny four seater so got in the back with me. We drove five minutes to south of the river and turned up at a dead end. After a few minutes it was clear we were in the wrong place so moved on another minute or so, till the road was so steep us three passengers had to get out to let the driver drive the car up. But we were nearly there and indeed after a bit of a downhill climb during which one bloke slipped and skidded down on his arse for a bit we found a small orange boat by the side of the river.

Whoops - wrong place

No way I was getting into that for two hours

The next half an hour was one of the blokes re-sorting out the large net, while the rest of us were able to drink some water and generally sweat. It was pretty much the hottest day here so far and A Wu then said we should have come in the morning. Well yes if you'd told me before 11.45am maybe we could have. I then told A Wu I would not be getting in the boat and he agreed that the sun was just too vicious. I knew I'd be fried to a crisp, and when finally the other three blokes moved off, using a stick as an oar, I knew I'd made the correct decision. After half an hour of them going to the other side of the river and starting to lay the nets I told A Wu I reckoned they'd be at least another two hours and he agreed. He was happily watching douyin so I said I'd go for a walk.

And indeed I walked into the hamlet past kids playing in the street and hunted the shadows as I felt myself burning within seconds of being in the sun. I made my way to the dual carriageway then moved back as felt I wanted something more cultural. So I found myself in what looked like a shop. A couple of old women who were making aeroplane headsets were looking at me rather intently, but I ignored them and shouted "laoban!" calling for the boss. But no-one was there, even though I could see a couple of Li Quan in the fridge calling to me. I asked at another house next door and they pointed to a house two doors down and I walked in to find another shop with an ancient pool table in the middle that would never see any more cue balls. But at least there was someone there. There was no fridge but a freezer and I asked the bloke if he had a cold beer. Indeed he did so for 5 kuai he dug inside the freezer and picked one out.

Oh it was heaven to have a cold, fizzy, non-sugary drink, and as it was well gone 2pm quite justifiable. He bade me sit by the pool table under the fan and as I opened the can three little girls and a boy came in. They were young enough not to be afraid and delighted in seeing this wai guo ren. So many comments about being tall, having blue eyes and fair hair I've heard before but this was literally the first time they'd seen a foreigner and I indulged them by making them speak a little English and shaking their hands. It was the closest I'd felt to being in Bangxu in 2003 since...well 2003.

Cute kids in the shop with Chairman Mao looking on in the background

The name of the commune I spent a couple of hours in

A Wu called to say he was also leaving that place, and somehow we met up just outside where I had had my beer, and we continued to walk for a few minutes until it was too hot even for him and we found refuge under the shade of some trees. Awl happened to call me and we spoke for a few minutes while avoiding getting burnt. But after 5 minutes we got cut off from Telegram as is often the case. So A Wu and I walked another 10 minutes or so before arriving at the place that is being built south of the bridge where I'd been to the other week to have you cha. By now it was really boiling so we found an estate agent's with a big model of all the houses that were being built, and it looked actually really nice, but at an appropriate price.

We got a didi che to his house where we spent a few minutes until his wife turned up and we went down for me to take my dian dong che and him to take this car. He called Tan to arrange to "sing song" later but I could hear her say she had a cold and a headache, so he called Boss Zhou and arranged to meet up later for a drink. Whatever, Tan had said the family would all be over so I had to go back there to eat. She said to come back by 4pm which I did but of course nothing was ready then. But it was a good chance to get the kids out for a last photoshoot (at least with Leilei) and we did eat at 5pm. Er Jie's husband was there and I genuinely didn't recognise him; he was pretty slim now, and is Qiqi's father so I'm sure I've eaten with him before. Eventually he suggested having a drink with the meal but we only had two Li Quan cans left. No problem that sorted us out till the end of the meal.

Lovely last family meal

Try as I might I'll probably never understand such conversations in Bangxuhua

Haiwei pinged me to go for a bite but I told him I was due to go with A Wu and he should contact him. But at gone 7pm I hadn't heard from A Wu so pinged Haiwei to ask where he was. Well he was just around the corner according to the weizhi, so I turned up at the place and showed the weizhi to an employee and she told me it was opposite, so I went opposite and the person there said it was opposite. So I went opposite again then thought to call Haiwei and indeed he was in the place opposite to where I was now and next door to the place that had just told me opposite. Every time I think I'm used to living here something happens to prove that wrong. But Haiwei came out to see me which was the only way I could be sure where to go, and indeed it was the same place I'd been to a couple of weeks ago to eat beef.

There were only four blokes there so not majorly exciting, but two of them also had Bangxu wives and one was the son of a Bangxu woman, which meant gan bei'ing before descending into cai ma, which I did rather well at. Then a bit later a bloke turned up that I recognised. He was the ex-pilot I'd met four years ago in Bangxu, and had clearly had a couple already. But he was in good spirits and shortly after challenged me to cai ma, which I won to his joking disgust. This followed for another hour before I made my excuses and said I needed to meet up with Xixi. As I was leaving the place I noted the various cow parts in the fridge and told the boss I was impressed that they didn't waste anything. He seemed grateful for my compliment and reached into another fridge to get a bottle of cold water to give to me. I knew better than to return it and gratefully accepted it and said I hoped I'd be back soon.

Beef meal with Haiwei and ex-pilot second from right

They really don't waste anything

Well Xixi had been out with Leilei buying presents but wanted a lesson on the dian dong che. So we took it to Pingguo International hotel carpark, and after a few nerves she mostly got the hang of it but would refuse to move when people were around, but it was a good start. We then had a nice ride around town for the second time this year, and stopped off at the ant tree for old time's sake. On the way back I stopped off at Boss Zhou's where A Wu had been apparently but was no longer. I stayed for 15 minutes that must have seemed longer for Xixi who was bored but in her phone, and I enjoyed the heated up duck and bamboo, before wishing him a heartfelt goodbye, and told him if I could I'd be back later in the month. Even Xixi for some reason said he was one of the people she liked.

Xixi's first time on the dian dong che

So we got back and that was pretty much that. No silly invitations to go out at gone midnight, no silly drinking till 3am. I did take a last walk at 1am just to drink in a last evening of Pingguo, and came back drenched due to the humidity after the rain we'd had all day, and realised that the clothes I'd put out to hang probably wouldn't be dry by the time we had to leave tomorrow. And finally I managed to get a hotel in Guangzhou not too far from the airport. They're all "airport hotels" but at 3.7km away this was one of the closest that would sleep three adults. Well there were two big beds and a sofa so I hope it will be ok. Chuan Chuan could probably have found something cheaper but I wanted to ensure we were not far away as needed to be at the airport for soon after 10am.

As I was doing my packing the boys said they were going for a last ride in town at 2.30am. My reaction would have been to say no, as would Tan's no doubt have been, but I've been in this situation before and clearly would have done the same, so I let them go. I allowed myself one last session on Mario Kart Wii, making sure I invited my other Wiis in England for a reason that will never really make sense, other than ticking off another box in my mind. Then I played a quick race online and managed to come 3rd out of 10 meaning +53 points and above 6000 points again! No-one other than me will ever appreciate that. With not a little sadness I packed up the Wii and hoped it wouldn't be so long before I'd fire it up again. And that was it. A little nightcap or two but sleep happened around 4am.

Last supper 2023?

Quite a subdued day due to both the heat and then the rain that made going out not much of an option, so Tan ordered some crappy chicken burgers for the kids and I made do with a boiled egg and bag of la tiao again. I'd decided to make this a Last Supper evening so after a tiny 30 minutes of siesta following a few lunchtime beers I started pinging my xiong di men and one by one they got back to me to say they would make it, except for Ling Ming who was looking after his wife in hospital. Uncle Yellow said he'd try his best but family might get in the way and of course I said family first.

I went to pick up a couple of beers from the local shop and while there noticed the people I'd sat with three days ago were sitting drinking tea and I felt I'd better go and see them. They welcomed me and said they'd seen me walking past a few times and why hadn't I stopped in? I was honest and said I'd been invited to various places, but sat down to have some lovely tea for the next half an hour before I said I needed to go and anyway they were going out to eat.

Back home I had a quick beer until 8pm rolled around and Beihai Huang told me to start earlier and come round now, but I said I'd told all my mates we'd be there from 9pm. He wanted me earlier and as Mat had fallen asleep in the UK I turned up shortly after 8.30pm and sat with Huang and some other mates for a while. Strangely he was on apple juice with no alcohol, but still insisted on gan bei'ing me with beer. A Wu turned up early pretty much bang on 9pm on his dian dong che, and we sat at Huang's table eating his food for a bit.

Haiwei then turned up and sat with us for a while too. But when a couple more mates turned up we moved to our own table where I'd already ordered portions of prawns, snails, qing cai, razor fish, and my favourite octopus. Then Uncle Yellow turned up, telling me he'd already drunk a load...so much for being with family! I then called Jiefu and he answered and said he'd be around presently...cool, he's one of my favourite people but I never seem to get the chance to see him until the Last Supper. Zhang Hongping, Zhang Hua, Lu zong, Boss Zhou all turned up in the next half an hour and it turned into a really friendly evening out with a few people meeting other people for the first time. Li Kun and his wife turned up at 10.40 to complete the complement. 

Clockwise from left - A Wu, Haiwei, Lu zong, Zhang Hua, Jiefu, Boss Zhou, Zhang Hongping

But I could feel my tummy playing up again and as I was 2 minutes away from home I borrowed A Wu's dian dong che and just made it in time and was back within the promised 15 minutes, but Haiwei had already left it seemed. Well he did seem well-oiled when he turned up in a didi che, as did Zhang Hongping, as did Boss Zhou. Do these people do nothing else than drink and eat of an evening? But all were in good spirits and I managed to order a pot of haixian zhou and another portion of octopus and nearly everything was gone by the time we decided to call it at night at 1am. And for a total of 1000 kuai for four hours with so many people I cannot complain!

Well, that meant going to A Wu's to finish of some beers with his wife, Teacher Lu, and a couple of other friends I didn't know (or remember). The conversation turned to business and they all thought I should really start an English school, despite the fact I'd said the Chinese government was cracking down on such things. No, apparently the rich parents still want their kids to learn English and go to foreign universities. But it was 1.30am, and as much as I like A Wu's wife she kept referring to me as Mis-si-ter Peng (i.e. 3 syllables for "mister") she kept saying how much money I'd make if I set foot on such a venture. I must admit I'm tempted, and would need someone like A Wu to be a middleman between me and the government but I didn't venture to ask the important questions like getting a work visa etc. as it didn't seem the time nor the place. But I would like to pick up this conversation in a completely sober environment.

A Wu gave me a lift home around 2am which he shouldn't have done, and for some reason I managed a chat with Mat and Awl shortly after, meaning I got to sleep and not long before 4am....

Another Teacher Ling meal and Zhang Hua's birthday

Oh nothing was planned so today could have been a chill-out session, and indeed it was until Tan said we were to meet her secondary school Teacher Ling this evening at 6pm. That was cool by me, I like the bloke and he definitely helps build my vocabulary.

Typically the boys got up late, but at least Leilei was out to Li Kun's music studio by 3pm and Nezha went out by himself to get some fodder. Tan had gone to A Xia's again so I just made sure Xixi was not hungry and my lunch comprised a boiled egg and a mini pack of la tiao. I then got a text to say we'd meet at the wine shop for tea at 6.30pm, which was fine by me so later we all left the house together at 6.35pm to be fashionably a little late.

Three of the 30-something young entrepreneurs from the previous meal were there drinking tea, and we immediately went upstairs to a sumptuous room to sit down and the lady of the shop laid the table with lots of meaty goods. I learnt that no Chinese meal was complete without chicken, duck, and fish. That's clearly not true so I asked if that was Guangxi culture. No! This was Chinese culture! I suppose it means a grand meal when you're inviting multiple people but whatever. Nezha was feeling sick as apparently the boys had been to some place where you cook your own chicken but his was probably underdone and was too chewy. Nevertheless he did manage to eat a reasonable amount.

As it was a "wine" shop (selling wine and spirits) I deigned to have some for about the first time this year. The lady poured about half a bottle into a small jug and it actually had measurements on it so I could see it was 400ml. Everyone was playing the game of not wanting to be the first person to eat, so as I was starving I sort of cheated by pouring a bowl of soup for Tan. That was a timely trigger as Teacher Ling then poured one for me, but wouldn't allow me to pour his, preferring to pour the wine shop boss's to his left. But by now people were tucking into the food so after a few minutes I took the initiative of offering a gan bei to the boss, but he said no! I should first gan bei Teacher Ling. But Teacher Ling said no! We should all gan bei together first, so that we did a couple of times before the personal gan bei'ing began.

I realised I'd been pouring too much red wine into my glass for each gan bei as after half an hour my jug was nearly empty but the boss's was only half so. I had planned just to have that much red wine before moving on to beer but I found my jug filled up by the woman again, and felt it would be rude to put it back in the bottle. So I drastically reduced the amount I was pouring into my glass and made sure I gan bei'd every non-family member in the room. At 7.15pm the boys were asking to go and I told them to stay till at least 7.30pm and to gan bei Teacher Ling and the boss at least once. They agreed and were good to their word, and Leilei stuck to the water though Nezha managed a small beer. Then Leilei asked to take the black dian dong che I'd driven here instead of the 3 minute walk to avoid sweat, and I said he could as long as they initiated a final group gan bei. So they both stood up and raised their glasses, and the rest of us did too, before saying thank you and "man man chi".

Another great meal with Teacher Ling

I managed to finish the second lot of wine (350 ml, so in total a whole bottle) by gan bei'ing each of the four young men, and then asked for two beer glasses as Teacher Ling also said he was moving to beer after baijiu. But unlike boss meals we didn't descend into cai ma, rather we were just talking about stuff as Teacher Ling likes to do and I was trying to hang on, using Tan to translate much more than I wanted to.

Zhang Hua had pinged me earlier in the day to meet up tonight at 8.01pm. Yes he specifically said one minute past eight, to celebrate the opening of a friend's shop. I'd IM'd back to say thanks but I'd be late due to a previous engagement. But the previous engagement was still going strong when I told Tan I'd take Xixi home as an excuse. But Tan wanted that excuse too, so they left together and I had to tell Zhang I'd be even longer than I expected. But we wound up before 10pm as we finished what beers were on the table and didn't open a new pack. They all seemed satisfied and we had the opportunity for a photo shoot downstairs, and Ling said they may use me to advertise their wares.

Looking interested at the baijiu they sell here but not yet advertising it

By this time A Wu had also pinged me to go for a beer but I was not going to miss Zhang so after saying my goodbyes asked him to send a weizhi. The red bike was its usual slovenly self but it got me there where I was met by one of his friends who is an art teacher. We got on the bike and drove around the corner to get off by some mates eating outside. But Zhang Hua wasn't one of them, and I just had to perform a perfunctory gan bei before being led around another corner and up some stairs to some outside place by some football and basketball courts that were in the process of being built.

Ah, then I saw about four or five tables set out with copious food and drinks, and Zhang Hua was at the head and I was to sit with him. I found out after a gan bei that it was his birthday and he'd not told me that! So another gan bei ensued, and another, and another, and it descended into an enjoyable evening I wouldn't be able to leave from until the cake turned up at midnight. One person I sat next to for a while turned out to be the doctor (or surgeon) who had stitched up my leg back in 2017, and I thought he may berate me for being out drinking but to be fair so was he.

When the cake arrived I did the usual putting my finger in the cream and spreading it on Zhang's face, though this time only about two of us did that and I wondered if it was not the done thing anymore. Still, I forced myself to eat a slice and it's about the only thing you can eat when you're full as it's sooo light. Finally at around 12.45 I was able to leave with copious hugs from Zhang as he walked me to the bike.

Happy Birthday Zhang Hua!

A Wu was still about and sent me a weizhi and 10 minutes later I was in some shop upstairs with a huge table with the remnants of a meal and only three other blokes. It was a total change of atmosphere and I wished I could be back with Zhang, so limited myself to a few games of cai ma before giving A Wu a lift back. Except the dian dong che was really suffering and stopped at the slightest incline, so A Wu got off and on to his mate's one which was in fine fettle. And that was it for another night in Pingguo, only two to go now. Leilei had sent a picture of the QR code he'd plugged the black dian dong che into so he must have really gone a great distance in order to have used up the charge so soon. So when I got back at 1.45 I set it on charge then home to get to sleep pre 3am just.