Chapter 20: Open Your Own

Chapter 20: Open Your Own

Chapter 20: Open Your Own
There were two single beds in the room, with some stains on the white sheets that could not be washed clean, two chairs and a small round table with an ashtray on it. The most important thing was that there was a very old window air conditioner and a separate bathroom.

The hotel has no front desk, only a fat boss. The boss is very enthusiastic and can speak Chinese, but the words he says are cold and heartless.

"Four hundred dollars a day."

The conditions are not as good as the most basic small hotels in the country, and the prices are more expensive than five-star hotels.

Gao Yi took a deep breath, afraid that he had heard it wrong, and confirmed again: "Four hundred a day, not four hundred a month?"

The boss's dark face didn't show any expression change, and he still had a warm smile on his face, but he said firmly, "Four hundred a day, no bargaining. This is the only place with air conditioning, WiFi, and charging. All rooms are the same price. Boss, four hundred a day is not expensive."

He directly answered all of Gao Yi's questions, so that Gao Yi didn't have to talk nonsense anymore.

Four hundred a day. It’s not a question of whether Gao Yi is stingy or not. He really can’t afford to live there.

But he had to stay on the first day, because if he didn't, Gao Yi wouldn't be able to contact Luca.

When Gao Yi was hesitating, the boss suddenly said, "Four hundred for a room, not four hundred per person. Two people in a room, it's actually not expensive."

"I'll stay for one night."

"Pay first and register."

The boss took out a small notebook and sat down in the room where Gao Yi was going to stay. He asked Gao Yi naturally, "Where are you from, what are you going to do, and how long will you stay?"

Gao Yi was stunned for a moment. It was ok for this hotel to require registration, but why did they also ask guests what they did for?

Seeing the puzzlement on Gao Yi's face, the boss made a helpless expression and said, "This is the general's request. All guests must register..."

No wonder six killers in a row fell into Gray Horace's hands. In such a closed place, Gray would know about the slightest disturbance or the appearance of a strange face at the first time.

"I came from Monrovia. I'm in the lumber business. I don't know how long I'll stay here. It depends on the situation."

The boss was writing something on a piece of paper. He said without even looking up, "Okay, I'm just asking you something. You're Chinese, so it's very convenient to register..."

After writing it down, the boss stood up, walked to Gao Yi, and said, "Please pay. Do you want to eat in our hotel? We can provide lunch and dinner, and each meal only costs ten dollars."

Gao Yi hesitated for a moment and said, "Okay, well, I'll wait a moment and we'll talk later."

Carrying a large amount of cash would arouse suspicion, but it was impossible to carry no cash at all. When Gao Yi came, he brought 600 US dollars and the Liberian currency equivalent to 200 US dollars, but now, he had to spend 400 US dollars on the first day.

“What’s the WiFi password?”

"Eight eights."

When Gao Yi took the money out of his bag, the boss saw that the cash on his bag was indeed not very thick. After receiving the money, he suddenly said, "You can live with others. I also hope that you can stay for a while longer."

After reminding Gao Yi, the boss stood up and left the room, saying, "Now the guests here are all Chinese. You can ask around. Maybe someone is willing to live with you. Goodbye."

The boss left and Gao Yi sat on the bed. He wanted to contact Luca directly, but suddenly he felt that there was no point in contacting him now.

This hotel is controlled by Gray Horace, and it would be easier to be exposed by asking the locals.

There are a few Chinese people gathered below chatting. There is no other way. If I want to get any information, I have to start from them.

Gao Yi stood up, hurried downstairs, and returned to the hotel lobby, where he found that the four Chinese people were still sitting there.

"Hello, bosses..."

Gao Yi was influenced and couldn't help but call him boss. He looked at the people and after hesitating for a moment, he pulled a plastic chair and sat aside. He whispered, "I just want to ask, how much is your stay per day?"

Several people couldn't help laughing, and then the fat boss said, "Four hundred a day, it's the same price for everyone, no matter how long you stay."

Gao Yi looked bitter and said, "It's too expensive... I can't afford it."

"I can't help it. Things are different now than before. My last name is Lin, so you can just call me Old Lin. What do you call me, little brother?"

Gao Yi whispered: "My last name is Chen, Chen Fei."

The shrewd-looking man seemed impatient to beat around the bush with Gao Yi, and he said directly: "Now only people who deal in wood are willing to come here. Are you going to do it yourself, or help the boss run the business?"

Gao Yi really couldn't handle this kind of direct and straightforward inquiry into his past.

Saying that you are here for tourism is an insult to others' intelligence. Saying that you are here for business means that there must be business to do in this damn place.

If you really are in the timber business, you will be exposed as soon as you speak in front of two real timber merchants.

Gao Yi thought about it, and finally said: "I heard that it's easy to make money here, so I came to take a look."

He didn't give a direct answer, he just came to take a look. When Gao Yi said this, there was an unhappy and vigilant look on his face, which showed that he was very disgusted with being questioned.

Lao Lin smiled and said, "Xiao Chen, we don't have any other intentions. You can see what's going on here. Those who are willing to do business here just want to earn hard-earned money and take risks. So we have a market price. If you want to do it, just follow the market price. This way, everyone can benefit."

As expected, he wanted to monopolize the price. Gao Yi nodded and said, "Oh, I understand what you mean. What is the market price?"

"A mahogany piece costs one hundred dollars, an African rosewood piece with a diameter of more than one meter costs five hundred dollars, an ebony piece with a diameter of more than one meter costs five hundred dollars, and a piece with a diameter of more than one and a half meters costs one thousand dollars. These are the three types here, and you just need to quote the price according to the market price." Before Gao Yi came, he also had to have a general understanding of the market price of wood, so he was indeed surprised when he heard the quotation.

This price seems to be just enough for labor costs, right?

The surprised look on Gao Yi's face was seen by several people. Lao Lin smiled and said, "Little brother, cooperation is a win-win situation."

There was no rush to exclude Gao Yi, nor any other means, but instead Gao Yi was directly pulled into the price alliance. In this case, it seems that the local timber production is very large and the two people in front of them cannot consume it.

Although he didn't understand the timber business, he did understand basic human nature. Gao Yi nodded and said, "Okay, I'll take a look. If I really want to do the timber business, I will definitely not ruin the market."

Gao Yi's answer satisfied both of them. Lao Lin smiled and said, "Boss Chen is young and promising. Let's have a chance to cooperate."

Gao Yi didn't respond. He put on a bitter face and said, "Brother, I just arrived here and I don't know where to eat. How do you usually eat?"

Several people had painful expressions on their faces.

"This eating problem is really hard to solve. The food prepared by the hotel is basically inedible, and there are only a few restaurants. When you came, did that Xiao Hei take you to the Huaxia Hotel? You can only stay there for two days."

As a Chinese, you actually recommend the so-called Huaxia Hotel?

Gao Yi was stunned. He said in astonishment, "There's no place to eat?"

Several people nodded at the same time, and then the smart one said helplessly: "It's not that there is nothing to eat, but that we can't eat. This damn place has no electricity, water, oil, or internet. We can't even rent a house to live in."

Lao Lin stopped laughing this time. He also said helplessly, "There used to be a restaurant opened by a Chinese, but it couldn't hold on and closed down two years ago. Locals couldn't afford it. Even if we went there every day to take care of the business, there were still few people. Besides, it was too expensive and we couldn't afford it, so it closed down."

"The most important thing is that it's unsafe, and people can't do it."

"A liter of gasoline costs twenty dollars, and you can't even buy it."

"This place is getting worse and worse. It's no longer habitable."

The four people complained collectively, and Gao Yi understood it clearly.

Gray Horace is powerful enough. He completely controlled the city. Then, Liberia also completely blocked the city. So now there is no electricity here. Without electricity, basically all infrastructure has become useless.

Even if you want to use a generator, you need oil. But after Gray took control of gasoline and diesel, the price of oil became sky-high.

So, is it possible that Gray Horace only goes to Hua Xia Hotel for a meal once a month not because the food is so good, but because he has no choice?
While Gao Yi was thinking deeply, someone said, "Actually, the chicken made by that black man is pretty good. It tastes pretty good.

"Yeah, it's edible."

The two Chinese people actually gave the restaurant we saw a review of "okay" and "delicious".

Gao Yi was shocked again.

At this time, Lao Lin put on a smile again and said, "Just that Hua Xia Restaurant. You can eat there for two meals first. If you can't bear it anymore, go to that small supermarket to buy instant noodles. You can switch back and forth like this for a while, enough to hold on until you leave."

Gao Yi suddenly said, "Why don't you use the hotel's kitchen and do it yourself? It's always okay to do it yourself. At most, you can give the boss some money..."

Several people's faces changed drastically, and then Lao Lin whispered: "No, don't do this! Brother, you will get into trouble if you do this."

Gao Yi was puzzled, and seeing Gao Yi's bewildered look, Lao Lin could only say again: "If you cook it yourself, it won't be long before the general comes to eat for free. You know the situation here, right? Let me put it this way, if the general comes every day, how can we do business, so you must not use the hotel kitchen to cook!"

The middle-aged man who had been refusing to introduce himself said sternly, "Don't cause trouble for yourself, brother. It's okay to have a little trouble. Just bear with it for a few days and it will pass. You won't live here for long. If you cause trouble, we won't be able to do business with you anymore."

Why bother going into the restaurant? There's no need for that.

Gao Yi's heart was pounding and he was very excited because he had found a solution.

"Then...wouldn't it be better for the general to find a cook?"

Lao Lin smiled bitterly, and then he whispered again: "The general is very careful. Okay, let's not talk about this. Anyway, you know what happened."

According to Gao Yi's understanding, being very careful means not letting outsiders into one's home, so Grey Horace would not hire a chef to serve him exclusively.

But they are unwilling to hire a chef, but are willing to go out and eat for free every day? This doesn't make sense.

Gao Yi looked puzzled and said, "That's not right. If you want to be careful, why would you come here to eat?"

The kind-hearted Lao Lin was a little anxious. He said seriously, "Oh, we have to be very careful, so we have to clear the place every time we eat. We can't even go out. Someone has to keep an eye on the cook, and we have to send people to completely cordon off the entire hotel. It's very troublesome! Anyway, we won't harm you, and you don't have to cause trouble for us. Cooking in a hotel is absolutely not allowed. It's really not allowed!"

"I'm just curious. I definitely don't cook in the hotel anymore." Gao Yi quickly expressed his opinion, and then said helplessly, "This place won't work. I'll discuss it with the boss. If it doesn't work, I'll just leave. You guys talk, I'll go back and make a phone call."

Gao Yi found an excuse and returned to his room. He didn't dare to make a phone call, so he sent a text message directly.

"The situation is roughly clear. It's impossible to sneak into the hotel. The entire city is under complete control. The accommodation fee is four hundred dollars a day."

After sending the message, Gao Yi made up his mind and then wrote another message.

“I decided to open my own restaurant!”

(End of this chapter)