Chapter 127: Differences in Northern and Southern Culture

The next day, early morning!
I received a call from Boss Yu before I even got up.

"Boss Yu, you're calling too early. It's only what time is it?" Su Chen had a bitter smile on his face. He didn't expect Boss Yu to call so early.

"It's not early anymore. It's already eight in the morning. If I wasn't afraid of disturbing your rest, I would take you to the morning market at five in the morning."

"Pack up quickly. I'm already downstairs in the hotel. I'll take you to try authentic Northeastern breakfast later!" Boss Yu's loud voice cleared Su Chen's confused mind.

"Okay~ Wait for me for twenty minutes!"

It was not easy to refuse other people's kindness. Besides, they had agreed yesterday to go out and play today, but Su Chen didn't expect it to be so early.

After hanging up the phone, Su Chen got out of bed, sent a message to Chen Fei, and went straight to the bathroom.

After a quick wash and changing into a lighter coat, he took Chen Fei out the door.

As soon as he walked out of the room, Su Chen saw Wang Shasha, the presidential suite's personal butler, standing at the door, ready to knock on it.

"Why are you here? Is there something wrong?"

Wang Shasha quickly put down her right hand and said, "Mr. Su, the hotel provides subsidized breakfast this morning. I just came to ask if you need it delivered to your room!"

"Oh~" Su Chen's gaze stayed on her for a moment, "No need for breakfast, I'm going to go out for a walk!"

"Then I will arrange a car for Mr. Su right away."

"There's no need to arrange a car. Also, you don't have to stay here all the time. You can go and take care of your own things. I'll call you if I need anything!" Su Chen didn't want to have someone flying around in front of him like a fly, even if it was the hotel's private butler serving him.

After saying that, Su Chen didn't even look at him and walked straight towards the elevator, leaving Wang Shasha standing there stupidly.

In fact, Wang Shasha is very nice in both appearance and figure, but the first impression she gave to Su Chen was not very good. In addition, she kept trying to make her presence felt in front of him yesterday, which made Su Chen's impression of her even worse.

It's not like he hasn't come into contact with private butlers in top five-star hotels before. Their professionalism is much better than Wang Shasha's, and they have a strong sense of boundaries. Su Chen knows exactly what Wang Shasha is thinking.

When I left the hotel, I saw Boss Yu's car - a Rolls-Royce parked steadily at the gate. Boss Yu himself was leaning against the front of the car, with an LV handbag tucked into the crook of his left arm and a cigarette in his right hand, smoking happily.

"Why does this Boss Yu feel like he's just showing off? Isn't it cold standing outside in such a cold day?" Fade Chen muttered softly.

Su Chen, who was walking in front, heard it clearly. Although he had the same feeling in his heart, it would be wrong to say it out loud.

He turned around and glared at Fade Chen, then walked towards Boss Yu with a smile, "Sorry to have kept you waiting!"

"Just the time it takes to smoke a cigarette!" Boss Yu threw the cigarette butt in his hand on the ground and asked Su Chen and the other two to get in the car.

Seeing Boss Yu sitting directly in the driver's seat, Chen Fei was embarrassed.

If he sat in the passenger seat, then Boss Yu would no longer be the driver, but if he sat in the back seat, that would be even more confusing, as he would become the "boss"!

Su Chen also saw Chen Fei's concerns and showed a playful smile on his face, "Let's go, Mr. Chen, today I'll let you experience the treatment of a boss!"

Chen Fei was really scared by these words. Just when he was about to say something, he saw Su Chen open the passenger door and sit in.

Seeing this, Fade Chen gritted his teeth, stomped his feet, walked to the driver's side, opened the back door and sat in.
-
"Where are we going?"

After leaving the hotel, Boss Yu drove along the Songhua River.

At first, Su Chen thought they were going to visit tourist attractions such as Central Street and St. Sophia Cathedral, but now it seems that the place they are going to is not what he thought.

"I will definitely take you to try the authentic Northeastern cuisine. Apart from the snacks at the morning market, there are more specialties in Daowai."

Daowai is not far from the Ritz-Carlton where Su Chen lives, both are on the banks of the Songhua River.

There is an old saying in Bingcheng: "Eat in Daowai, play in Daoli, and live in Nangang!"

After Boss Yu’s explanation, Su Chen finally understood.

In Daowai, there are many old restaurants that have been passed down for hundreds of years, and many of them can be regarded as intangible cultural heritage cuisine.

Although the environment is a bit bad, the taste is absolutely great.

"Here we are, right here!"

Su Chen followed Boss Yu's gaze and saw a slightly damaged signboard appear in his sight.

"State-owned Xiangqian Hotel!"

As soon as you hear the name, you know that this restaurant is at least fifty years old!
"Don't be fooled by the fact that this small, old-fashioned restaurant is small. I guarantee that the sesame seed cakes and tofu pudding here are the best!"

Boss Yu has said so much, if I don’t go in and try it, it would be a slap in his face.

As soon as I walked into the store, I saw dozens of people crowded in the small restaurant.

The restaurant is L-shaped, with about ten tables. There are not many people sitting down to eat, and most of them take their food away.

Boss Yu ordered three bowls of tofu pudding, ten sesame cakes and two cold dishes, and found an empty seat closest to the inside and sat down.

The restaurant owner was very quick and brought their ordered food within three to five minutes.

"Huh? Is this tofu pudding?" Su Chen asked, looking at the bowl in front of him.

Just as Boss Yu picked up the soup spoon and was about to eat, he heard Su Chen's puzzled voice.

"Yes, this is the authentic Northeastern tofu pudding, with chopped green onions, minced garlic, and some chili powder."

Boss Yu soon thought of something, patted his forehead and said: "I forgot, you southerners like to eat sweet tofu pudding." The corners of Su Chen's mouth twitched, and even Chen Fei beside him was not much better.

He did not argue that he was from the southwest and ate spicy tofu pudding, not sweet tofu pudding.

As the saying goes, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. Su Chen did not ask any further questions. He just picked up the spoon and started eating.

The soft and tender tofu pudding is served with a special marinade, which gives it a unique flavor.

With the addition of crispy and fragrant sesame cakes, Su Chen enjoyed the meal very much.

He finished five pancakes without noticing, and Boss Yu even asked the restaurant owner to add ten more.

The three of us ate our fill, and when we finally paid the bill, it was less than fifty yuan, which was really cheap.

Daowai and Daoli are not far from each other, separated by a railway.

But it is this railway that separates the two different appearances of the city.

If Daowai represents the bustling atmosphere, then Daoli represents the prosperity and bustle.

When they drove from outside the road into the road, Su Chen realized that there was a huge difference between the two areas separated by just a railway.

Buildings of various styles attracted Su Chen's attention.

Although I have seen iconic Chinese Baroque-style buildings in Daowai before, most of them were severely damaged, greatly affecting their viewing experience.

The Western-style buildings in Daoli are still as new as ever.

Central Street is the most famous street in Daoli. It is also the best-preserved European-style pedestrian street in the country, carrying the ancient memories of the Ice City.

Of course, there were quite a few tourists coming to visit and Su Chen also saw quite a few beautiful Mao girls.

Under the guidance of the boss, we walked around the Central Street and visited the Hagia Sophia. We just looked at it from the outside and did not pay for tickets to go in.

He also went to Tongjiang Street to experience the interweaving of cultures. The various cultural venues, guild halls, etc. also broadened Su Chen's horizons a little.

The Ice City is worthy of being called the "Moscow of the East" and is indeed very powerful.

After a day of shopping, I finally got to eat the iron pot stewed goose I had been craving for in the evening.

“Hahahaha~ I didn’t expect you to make such a joke on your first visit to Ice City!”

When Boss Yu learned that Su Chen and his friends ordered several dishes on their first visit to Northeast China and how they asked the sanitation lady to eat them, he also laughed happily.

"Can you blame me for this? Who knows where to buy a dish that big? The key is that the price is very cheap, only a dozen yuan!"

"That's normal. When I first went to the south, I had dinner with my friends. I didn't know that the bone dish was used to hold bone residue or something like that."

"I put some dishes on a bone dish and let them cool before eating. But the waiter took the bone dish away and replaced it with a new one. It was quite a joke."

There are still huge differences in culture between the north and the south. Just a bone plate can cause heated debate among friends from the north and the south on the Internet.

The iron pot stewed goose we had in the evening was specially recommended by Boss Yu. It is called Shanhetun and is said to be the most representative iron pot stew in Ice City.

After the waiter lifted the lid of the pot and said "You're ready to eat", Su Chen picked up the chopsticks and prepared to eat.

A phone call disturbed Su Chen's mood of enjoying delicious food.

"Sir, this is President Zong calling!" Fade Chen handed the phone to Su Chen.

"Zong Xinyao?" Su Chen did not expect that the call was from Zong Xinyao. He picked up the phone and answered it directly without caring that his boss was still there.

Boss Yu also heard the conversation between the two. He was already wondering what Su Chen's background was and why he even brought bodyguards with him when he went out.
He finally figured out Chen Fei's identity and figured out what was going on with Chen Fei's strange expressions before.

"Hey~ Xinyao, what's the matter?" Su Chen moved his chopsticks towards Boss Yu while speaking, indicating that he should eat and not worry about him.

After all, I walked a lot today. Although I had a lot of snacks at noon, I still couldn’t stand the hunger.

"Boss, the eight mutton restaurants in the capital are about to open. I would like to ask if it is convenient for you to attend the event?"

"Well, it's not convenient! I'm playing in Ice City now, and it may take some time for me to come back!"

"As for the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the grand opening, please contact Si Cong, Qin Fen and the others. They should be available. Oh, and there are also Chen He and Deng Chao. How can such an event be without them?"

As the names came out of Su Chen's mouth one by one, Boss Yu's expression changed again and again. He could see that Su Chen was a top second-generation.

Otherwise, the names of people like Si Cong and Qin Fen would not have been mentioned so lightly by Su Chen.

By the time the boss came to his senses, Su Chen had already finished his call.

"Mr. Su...Mr. Su!" Boss Yu called out somewhat restrainedly.

When Su Chen saw Boss Yu's expression, he knew it was because of the phone call just now.

Wan Ran smiled and said, "Boss Yu, I still think it's more intimate to call you Brother Su. What do you think?"

Boss Yu was stunned for a moment when he heard this, and then he showed a hint of ecstasy.

"Brother Susu is right!"

(End of this chapter)