207: Shopping with a Mandarin-speaking girl feels different

The twins were inseparable; they had mentioned earlier in their conversation that they had never been apart for more than a day since childhood, always attending the same class in the same school. That's why they only rode one motorcycle.

It was a three-minute ride, just enough to twist the throttle a few times.

Only on this Phan Van Tri Street did Li Qinghe feel some traces of Chinese language culture, as there were far more Chinese language signs on this street than on others.

Zhang Meiqi and her friends parked their two motorcycles in front of a shop called “Sheng Ji Roast Meats.”

Besides roast duck, this shop also sold char siu, poached chicken, braised pig intestines, and braised eggs.

According to the customs of Guangdong Province, roast duck is called “siu aap” and is prepared differently from the roast duck in northern China.

When this kind of roast duck is roasted, its belly is sealed and filled with braising liquid.

After the duck is roasted, the braising liquid, fragrant with duck oil, is poured out. The duck is then chopped into pieces and eaten with the braising liquid and plum sauce, which tastes very delicious.

The shop's business was excellent; not only was the dining area full, but there were also more than a dozen people queuing outside to buy roast duck to take away.

“Brother Qinghe, one roast duck should be enough for the few of us to eat.”

The four of them sat down at a newly vacated table inside the shop, and Zhang Meiqi asked Li Qinghe for his opinion.

“One roast duck might not be enough. You saw my appetite at lunch. Let’s get two roast ducks, and also some char siu, braised intestines, and braised eggs from the shop.”

Li Qinghe got up and walked to the cashier to pay, as here, you pay before you eat.

One roast duck cost 350,000 vietnamese dong, which is over 95 dragon country currency. Li Qinghe ordered two.

He also added 200,000 vietnamese dong worth of char siu, braised intestines, and braised eggs, mainly wanting to taste them.

Soon after Li Qinghe returned to his seat, three large plates of chopped roast duck, braised intestines, braised eggs, and char siu were brought to the table.

In the middle were several bowls of braising liquid with green onions.

Each person was served a bowl of rice, topped with a little braising liquid, a few pieces of boiled greens, and a slice of braised dried tofu.

“Brother Qinghe, we’ve never eaten so much meat at once.”

Li Mingyue’s eyes were wide, and her expression was very animated.

“Eating these won’t make you gain weight,” Li Qinghe said, looking at the golden-brown roast duck in front of him, feeling his mouth water instantly.

“Although Sheng Ji’s roast duck is more expensive than other places, it’s the best in District 5. During the Dragon Boat Festival or Mid-Autumn Festival, everyone queues up here to buy roast duck to take home for offerings…”

Zhang Meiqi was very familiar with the local situation and, incidentally, gave Li Qinghe a brief history lesson, explaining that this shop’s roast duck also followed a century-old recipe.

Nearby, cheaper roast ducks could be found for 150,000 to 200,000 vietnamese dong each, but Sheng Ji’s roast duck sold the best.

The neatly arranged roast duck in front of them had crispy skin and tender meat. Dipped in the braising liquid, it tasted exceptionally good.

Then he tried the char siu and braised intestines; the char siu was flavorful, tender, and juicy, and the intestines were soft, sticky, and chewy.

Zhang Meiqi and her friends' recommendations were indeed classic old shops in District 5.

Although this dinner was simple, Li Qinghe ate with great satisfaction.

“Oh my goodness, I never knew I could eat so much!”

Li Mingxing rubbed her bulging little belly.

“Axing, you’re three months along, aren’t you?” Zhang Meiqi teased her with a smile.

“Hmph, no I’m not.”

Li Mingxing sat up straight, her belly miraculously disappearing, and her waist returning to its slender, graceful form.

The girls playfully teased each other, showing that their relationship was very good, truly like those who had grown up together since childhood.

Li Qinghe watched them, simply smiling without speaking; girls are such a magical species.

“Brother Qinghe, do you have any plans tonight? Why don’t you come shopping with us?” Zhang Meiqi proactively invited Li Qinghe to go shopping.

“Yes, come shopping with us, you don’t have anything to do tonight anyway,” Li Mingyue and Li Mingxing also joined in the invitation.

Li Qinghe, who had spent the entire day idly strolling, originally thought Zhang Meiqi and her friends were going home, but he didn't expect these girls to still be enthusiastically planning to go out.

Since he was bored anyway, he decided to go out with them to see how these Chinese language girls, who grew up in Saigon, lived their daily lives.

Zhang Meiqi and her friends took Li Qinghe to Parkson Plaza in District 5.

There are two Parkson Plazas in Saigon, one in District 1 and the other in District 5.

Only after coming to Vietnam did he realize that Parkson Plaza is a chain of shopping malls under the Malaysian Lion Group, showing how formidable Chinese language people are in business.

As a comprehensive shopping mall, Parkson Plaza offered a rich variety of businesses. The girls didn't buy anything; they just wandered around the mall.

Li Qinghe went to buy a few ice creams, and the four of them licked their ice creams as they strolled through the mall.

It made Li Qinghe feel that sense of being poor but happy again, just like in the old days.

However, the Li Qinghe of the past preferred to wander the mall alone, with a very detached mindset.

It was like being in a crowd but feeling his soul watching from above.

After arriving in Hanoi, he had also visited shopping malls with Nguyen Thi Linh and her friends, but the entire conversation was in Vietnamese.

Unlike today, shopping with three girls of similar age, all speaking Chinese language, gave him a sense of familiarity deep in his bones.

Li Qinghe felt that he must be homesick. After half a year in Vietnam, although the system had given him strong language abilities, not having spoken Chinese language for a long time still made him miss an environment full of familiar Mandarin.

“Brother Qinghe, let’s go play the claw machine.”

In a corner of the mall, there were more than a dozen claw machines, filled to the brim with dolls of various sizes, looking as if you could grab one just by extending the mechanical claw.

The game tokens here cost 10,000 vietnamese dong each. The three girls first exchanged 100,000 vietnamese dong.

Watching the girls excitedly shouting and directing each other in Cantonese around the claw machines, Li Qinghe didn't join in. He just went to a nearby machine and exchanged 1,000,000 vietnamese dong worth of game tokens.

Zhang Meiqi and her friends took turns trying several times, but only Li Mingxing managed to grab a keychain.

The others caught nothing.

“Come on, each of you grab a handful and see who gets one first.”

Li Qinghe distributed the game tokens from the basket into the hands of the girls.

Zhang Meiqi and her friends, who had been a bit frustrated from not catching anything, saw Li Qinghe place a handful of game tokens in their hands.

They didn't refuse, happily thanked him, and then each took a claw machine and started trying their luck.

Although Li Qinghe hadn't played much before, he had heard that claw machines seemed to have a certain probability.

He first inserted a few tokens to try it out, and indeed, the mechanical claw extended sometimes loosely and sometimes tightly, roughly following a pattern of five loose grabs to one tight grab.

After roughly grasping the pattern, Li Qinghe exchanged another 1,000,000 vietnamese dong worth of game tokens and gave some more to Zhang Meiqi and her friends.

Next, Li Qinghe focused on the dolls stuffed near the exit and began his operation.

Before long, Li Qinghe had a good harvest.

Li Mingyue and the others’ cheers also rang out from time to time.

Indeed, probabilities often had to be accumulated with money.

By the time all the game tokens were used up, Li Qinghe had seven or eight dolls piled up beside him.

Zhang Meiqi and her friends also finished their game tokens, but their harvest was not much.

When they turned to look at Li Qinghe, slightly disappointed, they all jumped up in surprise.

“Brother Qinghe, you’re amazing!” Zhang Meiqi stood there with a plush bear in her left hand and a large plush rabbit in her right, her face full of joy.

Li Mingyue and Li Mingxing next to her were the same.