205: A beautiful misunderstanding

“Young man, you need to know that the ownership of all these temples belongs to the Vietnamese government.”

The uncle looked very mysterious.

“At least 30% of the donations in the offering box will be taken by the Vietnamese government officials.”

“Oh?” Li Qinghe glanced at Zhang Meiqi beside him, puzzled.

She just pouted without saying anything.

Li Qinghe felt that this percentage deduction was quite normal for Vietnamese people; the bureaucrats in Vietnam’s Chinese descendant community wanted to scrape every last bit of profit, even from the smallest things.

“As long as there’s still money used for the temple, that’s fine.”

Seeing Zhang Meiqi remain silent, Li Qinghe responded with a smile, then bid farewell and slowly walked out of the temple with Zhang Meiqi after a tour.

“A-Qi, you didn’t speak just now, were you trying to remind me to be careful?”

“Ah? I don’t understand this stuff; I’d have to ask my dad to know.”

Zhang Meiqi looked innocent.

“Haha, so that’s it. I imagined so much.”

Li Qinghe laughed despite himself.

It was a beautiful misunderstanding. He had thought Zhang Meiqi knew some inside information, so she was pouting to hint at him, which was why he simply dealt with the uncle and left.

He didn’t expect she was just bored and pouting while waiting.

“Haha, Brother Qinghe, so you have such a rich imagination.”

Zhang Meiqi was amused when she realized how much Li Qinghe had thought based on her actions.

The two walked out of Guangdong Assembly Hall and headed back towards Thien Hau Temple, where their motorbike was still parked nearby.

“Brother Qinghe, there are quite a few assembly halls around here.”

Fully geared up, Zhang Meiqi walked as if she were floating.

“Never mind, we’ll stop here for today. Let’s save some places for tomorrow.”

“Then, Brother Qinghe, let me treat you to coffee. There’s a coffee shop on this street that has excellent coffee.”

Zhang Meiqi turned sideways to look at Li Qinghe.

“No, let me treat you. It was hard for you to accompany me to these places.”

“We’re friends! You treated me to lunch, so I can certainly afford to treat you to a cup of coffee.”

After spending a few hours together, Li Qinghe felt that Zhang Meiqi’s personality was quite cheerful and generous, except for a slight shyness whenever she was mistaken for Li Qinghe’s girlfriend.

She was simply a beautiful, vibrant, and sunny young woman.

So, regarding treating Li Qinghe to coffee, she straightforwardly suggested that since Li Qinghe treated her to lunch, she should treat him to coffee in the afternoon.

Seeing Zhang Meiqi’s sincere face, Li Qinghe smiled and agreed.

The two returned along the same path to where the motorbike was parked, with Zhang Meiqi leading the way and Li Qinghe following closely behind.

After about ten minutes of riding from Thien Hau Temple, they arrived at a simply decorated coffee shop.

Like most coffee shops in Vietnam, the main decoration here was wood, complemented by lush greenery throughout the cafe, giving it a natural feel.

Zhang Meiqi skillfully ordered two coconut milk coffees and two small cakes at the counter, then led Li Qinghe to a seat by the floor-to-ceiling window.

Li Qinghe picked up the receipt and glanced at it. A cup of coconut milk coffee at this shop cost 30,000 vietnamese dong, and a small cake was 20,000 vietnamese dong per plate. Zhang Meiqi spent a total of 100,000 vietnamese dong.

Converted, a cup of coffee was a little over 8 yuan, and a small cake was a little over 5 yuan. Compared to the coffee Li Qinghe had in Hanoi, it was quite affordable.

However, compared to Vietnam’s average monthly salary of 8 million (over 2,100 yuan), it wasn't cheap, as two people spent nearly 30 yuan.

“A-Qi, how much do you usually earn from your part-time jobs in a month?”

Li Qinghe saw that Zhang Meiqi’s activities for tomorrow seemed to earn a good amount, so he casually started a conversation with her.

“My income fluctuates a lot. When I first started, I couldn’t even earn 1 million a month. Now that I have some experience, it’s 2-3 million in a slow month, and the most I’ve earned in a month was over 10 million.”

Zhang Meiqi did not hide any of her income and frankly told Li Qinghe her earnings.

For a student to earn an income comparable to that of an office worker is already very impressive.

Having just passed through this stage himself, Li Qinghe specifically inquired about the internship situation for Vietnamese university students.

Similar to university students in China, they also start internships in the second semester of their senior year, with some arranged by the school and others found independently.

If arranged by the school, students still have to pay for their own food and accommodation.

Those who find their own internships also need to provide an internship report and a company certificate.

Zhang Meiqi is an economics major, and as a graduate of Ho Chi Minh National University, her employment prospects in Vietnam are quite good.

Zhang Meiqi plans to find a company for an internship next semester, and she intends to work as a full-time model for a modeling agency.

This way, she can earn money without delay and also get an internship certificate.

With Zhang Meiqi’s height of 1.71 meters, she definitely stands out among Saigon girls, whose average height is 1.57 meters.

Therefore, with her height, finding modeling gigs within Saigon is relatively easy.

“A-Qi, you studied economics. Aren’t you planning to find a company to work for?”

Li Qinghe leaned back comfortably in the rattan chair.

Zhang Meiqi liked coming to this coffee shop not only because the coffee tasted excellent and the prices were affordable, but more importantly, because the shop always had air conditioning.

This is very important for a city with an average annual temperature of 28°C.

“Brother Qinghe, quickly try their coconut milk coffee. The taste will definitely not disappoint you.”

At this moment, the coffee shop staff brought the coffee and two plates of cakes to the small table in front of them.

Li Qinghe looked at the milky white and black liquid mixed with ice cubes in front of him and smiled knowingly.

Isn’t this the Lucky Coffee he used to drink often back home? Their signature coconut milk coffee, the best companion for staying up late playing games.

However, thinking about it, coconuts are more common in Vietnam than in China, or rather, all of Southeast Asia is rich in coconuts.

And in China, only Hainan Island is a paradise for coconuts.

In contrast, Vietnam has the Red River Delta in the north and the Mekong River Delta in the south, both of which are fertile and rich lands.

He took a big sip of the iced coconut milk coffee through a straw, and a refreshing sensation lingered in his mouth.

“Brother Qinghe, how is it?”

Zhang Meiqi looked at Li Qinghe’s reaction with concern. This was a place she recommended, so she naturally hoped Qinghe would like it.

“The taste is good.” Li Qinghe put down his coffee cup. This coffee mixed with coconut milk tasted very familiar, quite similar to the Lucky Coffee in his memory.

“Then, Brother Qinghe, try this small cake too. Their cakes aren’t overly sweet, and they’re excellent with coffee.”

Zhang Meiqi pushed the small cake on the table closer to Li Qinghe.

“You eat too, don’t just focus on me.” Li Qinghe also pushed the cake towards Zhang Meiqi.

“Okay, let’s eat together.” Zhang Meiqi also laughed, finding their back-and-forth pushing of the cake very amusing.

Zhang Meiqi elegantly scooped the cake with a small spoon, bite by bite. For Li Qinghe, he wasn’t so refined.

The cake wasn’t big to begin with; he finished it in two bites. The taste was indeed good.

It wasn’t overly sweet like other European-style cakes. Then, he took another sip of coconut milk coffee to wash down the cake, and this feeling was quite pleasant.

This indicated that Zhang Meiqi usually had high standards for her quality of life.

However, thinking about how she probably learned some things from other models when doing part-time modeling, it made sense.

“A-Qi!” Two clear voices rang out simultaneously.