Chapter 397: First Visit to Zaomen

Zaomen City is located in the northern part of Chunyang Province. It's a modern metropolis with a permanent population of 10 million and is the provincial capital and largest city of Chunyang Province.

Early in the morning, Chen Jianhai and Xiao Lang boarded a train to Zaomen for a preliminary inspection.

Xu Bo had been busy researching new recipes in the restaurant for the past few days and stayed back on the island.

The train ride to Zaomen was just over two hours. As soon as they got off, Xiao Lang couldn't help but shiver.

"This place is a bit cold! It must be five or six degrees cooler than the island."

Chen Jianhai also zipped up his jacket and said softly, "The island is in the south, with a good climate and surrounded by the sea. It's warmer than Nanjiang, let alone Zaomen."

The two of them followed the crowd out of the station and got into a taxi in the waiting area.

"Driver, to Cream Road, Dream Street, Squirrel Hotel."

As soon as they got in the car, Chen Jianhai gave the driver the address provided by the system.

"Young man, are you tourists from out of town?" The driver glanced at Chen Jianhai and Xiao Lang through the rearview mirror and asked.

"Yes, we're here to visit Zaomen for a couple of days." Xiao Lang replied while looking out the window at the streets, his eyes bright and filled with curiosity as he stared at the tall buildings, looking very much like a country bumpkin.

The driver, seeing Xiao Lang's curious expression and Chen Jianhai's expectant look, kindly advised, "Zaomen has many fun places and cheap hotels. Why would you two strangers stay in such a lousy place?"

"The city center has places like Eleven Days, Homesick, and Songting. There are plenty of homestays and apartments. There's no need to save money by staying in a place like Dream Street."

The driver was well-intentioned, but Xiao Lang was not happy.

"What's wrong with Dream Street?"

"Cream Road and Dream Street's Squirrel Hotel sound beautiful; the hotel can't be bad."

He thought to himself, "This is a hotel built by my brother Hai; how could it be bad? With Chen Jianhai's Lang Ai Hotel and Island Hotel, even if the Squirrel Hotel isn't the second-best in Zaomen, it must be the top five-star hotel."

Xiao Lang glared fiercely at the driver through the rearview mirror. As a local driver, he should promote the Squirrel Hotel, not badmouth it. If it weren't for the rule of law, he would have given the driver a piece of his mind.

The driver, seeing Xiao Lang's stubborn look, helplessly said, "Did you book the hotel online?"

"Many hotels and homestays nowadays have great photos, but once you arrive, you'll regret it."

"Uncle is advising you out of goodwill. Cream Road has nothing worth staying for. No matter how cheap the hotels are there, don't go. You'll just be deceived."

Chen Jianhai was more shocked the more he listened, but since he had the system, he wasn't too worried. However, Xiao Lang was getting anxious.

"Is there no policy for Dream Street? Could it become part of the Magic World theme park's commercial area and be demolished?"

The driver laughed, "No way! The theme park is already under construction, and there won't be any more demolitions. The hotel you're staying at is next to the construction site, so it'll be noisy at night."

He kindly suggested again, "Do you want to change hotels? If you change your mind, it's not too late. There are many good hotels in the city."

Chen Jianhai quickly replied, "No problem, driver. Just take us there; I have some business in that area."

The driver, hearing this, wasn't sure if he believed it, so he stopped discussing changing hotels.

As the music played in the car, the atmosphere grew silent.

As the vehicle moved farther from the bustling city center, tall buildings gradually gave way to low houses and dust.

After about an hour, they saw a sign: Cream Road, 1.5km.

"Are we almost there?" Chen Jianhai perked up and looked out the window.

The taxi had left the main road and was now on a path along Cream Road.

Unlike the blue skies and sea of Nanjiang, here, the land was yellow, the road was bumpy, and small stones could be heard being crushed under the wheels.

In the distance, sparse villages could be seen, and cows grazed on the slopes.

After crossing a small hill, the driver turned on the navigation system and drove down a narrow road.

The road seemed more like a street market, with shabby houses and makeshift stalls lining both sides, housing small restaurants.

Some people sold vegetables from tricycles, laying out cucumbers, tomatoes, and other produce on cloths, selling them at very low prices.

At outdoor tables, some people were eating soup and buns, shielding their food from the dust with their arms as cars passed by.

On the right side of the street, a large area was fenced off for construction, with the sounds of construction clearly audible.

Cranes could be seen in the distance, seemingly transporting something.

The driver had a look of "I told you so" on his face as he saw the surroundings.

Xiao Lang was incredulous, "You really built a hotel in such a lousy place???"