Deary me, I awoke at 6.45am fully-clothed under the duvet, with the 12-pack of beer on the chair at the end of the bed. I must have fallen straight to sleep as I got in last night. A combination of still being a bit ill, a lack of sleep, and too much red wine last night. Half an hour later I managed to doze of for a couple of hours though, until Yangwen sent me a message reminding me to bring my guitar to Tiandong later today. Oh what? Yes, I'd said I'd make it up there today a couple of days ago. Since then he'd heard I'd used my guitar and he wanted me to bring it there. So half an hour later I asked what time it started. 6.30pm. So sod it, I booked the 3.14pm train which gave me 2h30 to find a bite to eat and grab a shower.
On my walk I noticed that firstly it was positively warm again, and had to roll up my thin jumper sleeves. Annoyingly the yumi tang place had a sign on the closed door saying they had gone back to their home town for the New Year. So I walked in the direction of the jiaozi place instead. On my way I saw quite a few police on the road, pulling people over. I thought it may be to do with lack of helmets but there were loads of other people without helmets too who weren't getting pulled over. So I walked over to one of the police and asked him if it was illegal not to wear a helmet on a dian dong che, and he said indeed it was, and the same for a motorbike, and then he told me to get off the road as it wasn't safe!
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| Gone home for the New Year holidays... |
So when I nearly got to the jiaozi place I popped into the place that fixed our dian dong che a few years ago to enquire about helmets. Yes of course they had some and he sold me a nice blue one for 45 kuai to replace the one that got nicked last week. He said it was particularly good quality and as if to prove it hit it repeatedly with his hand. Yes I'm sure that's the same as asphalt. But at least it was a conversation. Annoying, for the second time in 20 minutes I saw the sign on the jiaozi place saying they were gone for the New Year. So I went next door and picked up three sausages to take home instead. Then, as a sort of backup for any worrying moments to come, I picked up a 258ml bottle of jing jiu, which I mixed with the leftover cola when I got back.
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| My lunch on black stones (he still heated them up in the microwave) |
So eaten and showered, I checked with Yangwen if I really needed to take the guitar, but he said I did. I took the dian dong che to the train station not realising how late I was running, as if having a guitar on my back would explain it. I parked up with 18 minutes to go before the departure and I still hadn't done security. Luckily there were no queues or issues with my passport so in order to expedite things I took out my portable charger to show the security person but she said to leave it in my bag and the people doing the x-rays or whatever it is would check it. But they didn't seem to see it, or the doctored cola, and the guitar got through fine too. So what could have been a close call ended up being fine, as was the 20 minute journey to Tiandong Bei.
Yangwen said he'd pick me up as the station was some way away from the guangchang, but I said I could make my own way and he advised getting the bus. This I did although it was packed, and I feared for the safety of my guitar. But at 3 kuai it made sense, although it took nearly half an hour to get to the centre of town, 10 minutes longer than the bloody train ride from Pingguo. But anyway, there he was waiting for me at the final bus stop, looking rather eccentric in his all-white outfit and cap. I sat on the back of his dian dong che and we drove to a local market where he bought some tofu and I walked around speaking to the locals until he called me to ask where I was. We then drove to some place that gave me a bloody fright.
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| Yangwen meeting me at the bus stop |
It was a pretty huge place that looked like it could seat 200+ people, and had a huge stage. Earlier on I had asked Yangwen where we would be going and how many people there would be to sing for. I'm pretty sure he said there would only be 6-7 people at the table and I was mightily relieved after last night, but now I was confused. Anyway, I dumped my guitar and bag to one side, and we proceeded to lay nine tables with the appropriate bowls and chopsticks and stools, before bringing the food from where it was being cooked nearby. I helped one of the woman workers there download a load of photos and films from her Weixin on a PC to a local drive, so they could then put them on the huge screen behind the stage.
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| Err...nope...not going on that stage... |
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| Laying out the spread for the meal later |
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| Getting the food ready for later |
I had to check with Yangwen. Were we to eat here tonight with up to 100 people? Yes. So much for 6-7 people, and I was back on full nervousness alert and reached for my emergency doctored cola. I was honest and said I'd be too nervous to sing in front of so many people, but he just said I didn't have to if I didn't want to (although he'd insisted on my bringing the guitar).
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| This cat didn't look too impressed |
Soon after 6pm people started arriving and milling around, and by 6.30pm I started talking to some of them. It would have been nice to be told what exactly was going on, but I've gone beyond that stage of expectation. It transpired that the photos I'd downloaded previously were from a running club, and it was mainly the members of the said club that were coming tonight. And indeed, several people in yellow and white garb turned up and we started a photo session that lasted an age. It seemed that 15 out of the 18 or so running group were ladies, dressed in rather fetching shortish skirts, but I tried not to notice. There was a sort of madam-like women who seemed to be sort of in control.
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| Nice photo of the running club plus a few others (including a dodgy Englishman) |
After the copious pics we settled down to eat, and of course the drink came 15 minutes later. It was a really comfortable meal although the madam ensured I caima'd with most of the people on the other tables. After half an hour or so a couple of the runners got on the stage to perform the handing out of the hong baos. But not before the MC called me by my name to come on stage to help them. Jeez I knew something like this would happen but I'd had a couple of beers to top up my cola so confidently made my way up and received my handful of red envelopes, and as the music started people came up to near the stage and we started handing them out. It was a lot more fun than I'd expected, and I realised I was well and truly equally in the centre of the evening.
Handing out hong baos with a couple of the runners...I was made to come on the stage...honest!More food was taken and then the runners performed a dance routine that was...well not exactly perfectly choreographed, but energetic and fun anyway. Then a young girl performed a song though I had forgotten that I might have to do so. Then the female runners changed into qipaos and performed...well...walking in a ladylike manner it seemed. Hey it's part of the culture and I'm not going to judge.
The evening went on like that...it was very fun and again unexpected. Yangwen then said his wife would drive us home instead of staying the night. Well, thanks that was fine but blimey let me know in advance next time please! I'd spent time bringing all my toiletries and clothes for tomorrow I needn't have. 1st world problems though.
In the end, despite me being pretty much up for it, there was no really appropriate time for Sound of Silence, as much as it might have been appreciated. Most of the people had gone and a core of about 20 of us put two tables together to continue eating and drinking till around 11pm. I like to think I gave a good account of myself despite not singing.
Yangwen's wife drove safely but slowly back to Pingguo, and I got back around 12.30am. I did manage a beer but got to sleep soon after that after another very full Guangxi day.
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