I somehow thought I’d be invited out to lunch but should not make such assumptions - at least it should be me doing more of the inviting. So lunch ended up being another delicious serving of dumplings for 6 kuai. As it was my last full day I took a little time to soak in the sun when I realised in London it was currently 2 degrees. I found that my newly found supermarket actually sold gin! For the first time in about five years I’ve found this spirit here, but it was a bit late. Anyhow I got a bottle for some reason, along with some more brown eggs and sugar-free lemonade, and at the till was told I could use my receipt to get a bonus. And indeed when I gave in my receipt I was asked if I would like a 12 pack of water bottles. I was honest and told them I’d prefer the 12 pack of toilet tissues but for some reason these weren’t available to me. So I graciously accepted the water and indeed I probably had more need for that at home.
 |
| Best selection in Pingguo! |
 |
| The prizes you could get...in the end water was not a bad one despite the plastic bottles |
And indeed back home I found myself not wanting for time, despite it being the last day. There have been plenty of last days in the last 16 years and they’re getting easier to deal with each time, especially this time as it’s only nine weeks since we were last here doing our last last day. Plus there is a possibility I could have another last day before next summer, though I won’t rely on that. But I sort of used that as an excuse to have a wee G&diet lemonade, and it went down pretty well as I perused the news after congratulating myself on having done most of my packing already.
 |
| I did find time to grab a few cuppas with Haiwei though |
But I was in need of food, and not sure what to do, so I had another brown egg. Sometimes people would call me to go out, but no-one had. I pinged Luwen, who sent me a video of where he was eating and drinking with mates but told me to catch up with him later rather than invite me over. Then I pinged Huahua to ask what he was doing as I hadn’t seen him this sojourn except in passing, but he had already eaten.
Even for Pingguo, at gone 6pm it seemed a little late to find someone else to “invite” for a meal, and I accepted that I would have to eat alone. I went out on the bike to find somewhere but within a minute Uncle Yellow was calling me to come to eat at some restaurant. Saved by the bell! There didn’t seem any point going home first (even for another sneaky snifter) and by the wei zhi I guessed it was the same fish restaurant Li Kun had taken me three or four years ago which was the first time I’d managed to get rather pissed on 2.8% beer, and I realised it meant I was getting old.
As I approached the destination on the wei zhi I realised I was right - it was indeed the fish restaurant I’d got pissed at a few years ago. There were two private rooms being used; one for the men and one for the women and children. I like to think there is nothing sexist about this and that it’s just that one is smoky and one isn’t. And the best thing about the non-smoky room was that Uncle Yellow’s wife Xiao Chong was there with their new baby, so I finally got to see him.
 |
| A Ming plying people with red wine |
 |
| Xiao Chong with her and Uncle Yellow's gorgeous addition whom I got to see for the first time tonight (I'd given the red envelope in the summer) |
It was great to see his new son (and Xiao Chong again) but the blokes tried to ply me with red wine, and this time there was no beer alternative. So I did my best to sip but sometimes you have to fall in a bit with the crowd. But luckily I managed to craft an escape not too long after 8pm, as Luwen had pinged me to meet up as he’d suggested earlier.
I asked if it would be ok to invite Huahua to come as well and of course it was so we ended up soon after 9pm sitting outside some place I’d not been to before pretty much opposite the guangchang, and Huahua turned up a bit later. I was in my element with a few mates and just soaking up the atmosphere in my last night in Pingguo for a while. It wasn’t half as sad as some last nights have been in the past.
