Meal at the place that helped me charge the dian dong che a couple of weeks ago

Woke up at 8am, then 10.30, but didn't get up till 11am so was so refreshed for a change. Say what you will about sleeping pills but if they work (and you don't get addicted to them) then bloody hell they are worth it. I was quite annoyed that I couldn't get my Phenergan at the airport and should have planned better but these are more effective but I must use them sparingly.

After lunch I pinged Ma Yong to confirm what time we were going to Tiandong. Oh, he replied that he temporarily had a work matter and we'd not be going. Bleeding hell that's fine but please let me know rather than make me find out. This is the second day in a row that a planned meet-up has been cancelled and just makes it more clear that this is the reason nothing is planned here. But I was actually quite looking forward to an evening out in Tiandong with no pressure from the family. Whatever.

Well I forced myself to have some jiaozi outside, which wasn't really that hard, then forced myself to go to the gym, which was a lot harder. But even after a month I can feel my belly protruding so it's a must-do.

I had no plans for the evening so thought I'd go to see the family I'd charged up my dian dong che with the other week when I'd left it 7km away. I'd left them saying I'd come back so wanted to be as good as my word. Why not this evening? The dian dong che was charged up so at around 6pm I took the 20 minute ride over there. I remembered that I should bring some beer so found a tiny place nearby and the owner had to come over to meet me when she saw I was there as I guess they don't get too many patrons. "Have you got any cold beer?" I asked, and she answered in the affirmative. Well she was technically correct as she had a grand total of five cans of snowflake beer in the fridge. Well, that would do, along with six warm ones.

I arrived to find the husband fixing some pallets and moving some sawdust from old broken sacks to new ones. As you do. I ended up playing with one of his sons and then he went to one of the places where they yang chickens and started talking to one of them. I guess he is a chicken whisperer.

Chicken whisperer

Then the dad pulled out a chicken and slit its throat and after washing it in boiling water started plucking it. Oh no, I really hoped he wasn't doing this for me. I really didn't as I wanted to get back, but luckily some bloke turned up to pick it up and I realised this bloke's business was raising chickens and ducks for food. Fair enough.

Then his portly wife said we were about to eat. Well, I'd had the wherewithall to put the warm beers in the freezer and the cold ones in the fridge, and after a few minutes of eating we cracked them open. Even his wife joined in after half an hour and it was a really enjoyable hour or so. They were somewhat apologetic about their "simple" fair, but I was having none of it. The tiny eggs and sour greens were worth the admission alone, but I didn't tell them that. I would love to have heard that they really appreciated the chocolate that I left them a couple of weeks ago but they didn't mention it, and I didn't push it. I guess it's possible that the grandpa I left it with ate it all and didn't tell the kids but I very much doubt it!

Really lovely meal with this family on the outskirts of  Pingguo

I managed to leave around 8.30pm, when the husband was trying to get friends to come round to meet me as he was starting to get pissed. It was good timing on my behalf as I'd given the family a more interesting meal and said I'd likely come back, and I hope I will. I drove to Li Kun's after that and of course there were people there, and I sat down as a local and we ended up chatting till 1.30am, and it would have been longer had Li Kun not been working tomorrow. And indeed Li Kun said I'd done the right thing to bring beers to the family for the meal (even though I'd effectively invited myself, or more likely because), but he said as we knew each other I shouldn't bring beers when coming to drink with him. Though this seems rather unfair as it's not as though people ever come to ours.

His place has become a bit of a refuge. Just a comfortable place to be and chat and not much more. Tan doesn't really get it although her mates fill a similar hole I suspect. At least I wasn't being told to come home before 1am for once.