9: A man from Akalin Province

Li Qinghe didn't go out for a big meal that night; he just went to a pho restaurant and spent sixty thousand vietnamese dong on a large bowl of beef pho.

He spent most of the evening in a cafe next to Hoan Kiem Lake, sitting by the entrance, watching people come and go, searching for filming inspiration.

After two months in Vietnam, Li Qinghe was no longer affected by coffee; it was just a regular drink. He could drink several cups before bed and still sleep soundly.

Li Qinghe stayed at the cafe until past 11 PM, then rode his motorcycle to a SPA.

A little after 11:30 PM, he picked up A Ying at the SPA entrance. Li Qinghe had originally planned to invite Lucy and Lily to join them for a late-night snack if he ran into them.

But since they hadn't come out yet, he could only take A Ying and leave first.

After work, A Ying shed her seemingly demure ao dai, let down her pinned-up long hair, and changed into a high-neck sleeveless top and a short skirt, showcasing the sexy vitality of a young girl.

A Ying

"Brother, thank you for picking me up."

A Ying stood gracefully in front of Li Qinghe. As a sophomore student, she had already adapted to the urban life of Hanoi and witnessed the different income levels within the city.

At her age, economic conditions weren't actually the most important factor; still believing in love, she felt that looks were far more important than anything else.

So when the tall and handsome Li Qinghe asked her out, A Ying agreed without much hesitation.

She had never met such a handsome boy at school.

"A Ying, get on," Li Qinghe called to her from his motorcycle, handing her a helmet.

A Ying took the helmet, put it on, and smiled sweetly. Although she was wearing a short skirt, she directly straddled the motorcycle behind Li Qinghe.

Her posture was natural and confident, without much shyness.

"Brother, let's go. Turn right at the next street; there's a really delicious fish hotpot place."

A Ying's fair arms gently wrapped around Li Qinghe's waist.

Li Qinghe realized this girl was, in a way, 'charging' at him.

And A Ying truly felt the eight-pack abs that Lucy had mentioned.

Lucy really hadn't lied.

Li Qinghe rode the motorcycle quickly around that corner and then, guided by A Ying, passed through two more streets.

By the roadside, he saw a street-side hotpot stall. At this hour, many locals were still eating late-night snacks there, and business was booming.

Although the overall income of Vietnamese people is not high, their lives are very comfortable.

The relatively safe social environment and unique vice industry have driven Vietnam's rich nightlife.

"A Ying, you order."

Under the boss's greeting, Li Qinghe and A Ying found a small table and sat down.

Li Qinghe was unfamiliar with the area, so he directly let A Ying order.

So A Ying rattled off a string of dish names to the boss.

"Brother, do you want to drink?"

A Ying's question made Li Qinghe pause for a moment, then he smiled and replied, "Give me two bottles."

Accustomed to following rules in China, he hadn't realized he was in Vietnam until now. Li Qinghe had just seen several customers, their faces flushed with alcohol, disappear into the streetlights on their motorcycles.

Although Vietnam also has penalties for drunk driving and implements a "zero tolerance" policy, in reality, checks for motorcyclists are relatively less strict. Moreover, it was midnight, not the time for fines, so traffic police were not so diligent.

Just like Vietnam's vice industry, it is also prohibited by law, but under a certain degree of indulgence, it has become a benchmark in Southeast Asia.

Having followed rules for over twenty years in China, from the moment he stepped out of the country, Li Qinghe no longer wanted to be a good boy. Now with the system, he also had the conditions not to be a good boy.

Besides, with his current physique, drinking two bottles of beer had no effect on him at all.

The boss quickly brought four bottles of "Hanoi" brand beer. As a Vietnamese state-owned brand, Hanoi beer is very common at street stalls and eateries.

The boss quickly brought a gas hotpot, followed by a pile of eel, fish, shrimp, vegetables, and a Vietnamese specialty spring roll.

Of course, the soul of Vietnamese dipping sauces, garlic water and sweet chili sauce, was indispensable.

When the soup in the hotpot boiled, A Ying first put in the fish, then busily opened the beer and poured a glass for Li Qinghe.

Li Qinghe comfortably enjoyed A Ying's care, which is a very normal thing in Vietnam.

Because this place is deeply influenced by Confucian culture and has not been exposed to the idea that women hold up half the sky.

Therefore, the status of men and women in Vietnam is quite disparate, with women mostly in a subordinate position.

Moreover, the main workforce earning money here are women; many men wake up in the morning, slowly brew a cup of coffee, and then contemplate how to spend their day.

"Brother, let's have a drink together." After putting everything that needed cooking into the pot, A Ying raised her glass to Li Qinghe.

Li Qinghe clinked glasses with her, and A Ying tilted her head back, gulping down a glass of beer.

Seeing the girl being so bold, Li Qinghe couldn't show weakness either, so he also finished his beer in one go.

"Brother, I'm from Thai Nguyen Province. Which province are you from?" A Ying picked up the beer bottle to pour for Li Qinghe, while also trying to find out more about him.

"Thai Nguyen belongs to the northern region. I'm from Akalin Province," Li Qinghe replied with a smile to A Ying's question.

"Akalin Province?" A Ying's eyes widened blankly as she looked at Li Qinghe. Among Vietnam's original 63 provinces, now 28, there didn't seem to be an Akalin Province.

"Yes, it's that place with a very low sense of presence, a depression in the economic belt."

"I'm Dragon Country People."

Li Qinghe proactively revealed the answer. After all, they would be closely cooperating in the future, and he didn't want to deceive this girl.

"Brother is Dragon Country People!" A Ying gasped, covering her mouth in surprise, her eyes flickering.

After a while, A Ying finally lowered her hand, her voice filled with joy: "Brother is actually Dragon Country People! No wonder he's so handsome..."

After Li Qinghe revealed his identity, it seemed to open A Ying's floodgates.

She incessantly told Li Qinghe about the discussion among everyone after he left the SPA that afternoon.

Because Li Qinghe's name was somewhat similar to a Vietnamese name, coupled with his standard and fluent Vietnamese, she had always thought Li Qinghe was Vietnamese.

Now that the mystery was unveiled, A Ying seemed quite happy with the result, her tone full of longing for China.

She also told Li Qinghe that she was learning Dragon Language and hoped to have the opportunity to visit China in the future to see the truly super-large cities of the Imperial Capital and the Demonic Capital, as well as the magical mountain city of Shuangqing.

Li Qinghe's former internship company happened to be in the Demonic Capital, so at the dinner table, he told A Ying about the architecture, culture, and cuisine of that city.

However, he didn't mention that when he was despised as a 'little country bumpkin' by many locals in the Demonic Capital, he self-deprecatingly set a small goal: he would never step into that city again without a small goal of dragon country currency.

Speaking of which, the local cuisine of the Demonic Capital is actually quite suitable for Vietnamese people, as they both have a preference for sweet flavors.

When he first arrived in Vietnam, Li Qinghe couldn't stand the way they added sugar to bitter melon soup.

As A Ying listened to Li Qinghe's narration, her eyes sparkled with longing.

Just then, the fish in the hotpot was cooked. A Ying quickly scooped the two largest pieces of fish into Li Qinghe's bowl.

"Brother, eat the fish quickly."

"You eat too."

The two ate fish and drank a few more beers. A Ying also put the eel into the hotpot.

"A Ying, are you interested in filming with me? You can come out with me when you're not working or studying..."

Li Qinghe explained his idea of taking her, Lucy, and others to film videos in the shop.

A Ying said there was no problem at all, but her next shift was two days away.

Li Qinghe hadn't expected A Ying to be so easily persuaded. In his happy mood, he clinked glasses with A Ying a few more times.

He hadn't expected A Ying, with her delicate features, to have such good alcohol tolerance. After two bottles of beer, her face was only slightly red.

She happily waved to the boss to bring four more bottles of beer.

Li Qinghe asked curiously, and she explained that she had been drinking rice wine with her father since she was little, which had greatly built up her alcohol tolerance.

The two drank beer and ate hotpot, chatting very congenially.

The docility of Vietnamese girls was fully demonstrated in A Ying; she took care of Li Qinghe throughout the entire meal.

No matter what Vietnamese dish is eaten, a plate of green vegetables is always placed on the side, usually some perilla leaves, lemongrass leaves, mint leaves, and the like.

Vietnamese people like to eat these raw with dipping sauce, but Li Qinghe couldn't quite eat them. So A Ying carefully peeled shrimp, sat next to him, dipped them in sweet chili sauce, and fed them into his mouth.

A few shrimp fed into his mouth significantly brought the two closer.

By the time they paid the bill, they were already holding hands.

A fish hotpot cost 590,000, and 8 bottles of beer cost 200,000, making the late-night snack 800,000 vietnamese dong, which is about 220 dragon country currency. It wasn't cheap.

A Ying even took out 400,000 in cash, preparing to split the bill with Li Qinghe, perhaps a good habit left by the French or Americans.

Of course, Li Qinghe didn't let her split the bill. When Dragon Country People men and women eat together, unless they encounter a truly exceptional 'little fairy,' they usually treat.

However, there was a small incident when he was riding his motorcycle to take A Ying back to her rented room near the school.

A Ying, wearing her helmet, hugged Li Qinghe tightly from behind: "Brother, do you want to stay at my place tonight?"