Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
We finally realized what was happening and quickly took out money. Over ten thousand Thai Baht isn't a lot, and a few of us could easily gather enough, but it was all in Renminbi. The fat guy watched us for a while as we calculated the exchange rate between Thai Baht and Renminbi, then directly grabbed the money and said, "Alright, just give me whatever you have. If it's not enough, I'll cover the rest later!"
"This... I can't accept that," Liang Xi said, scratching his head awkwardly.
"It's no big deal; money can be earned back!" the fat guy said with a bold expression. He then handed us a few business cards and added, "If you ever want to buy an Amulet again, just give me a call. The prices are fair, and I won't cheat you!"
We all expressed our gratitude to him, especially Hu Xiaoyi, who was most afraid of him. Now he was holding onto the Ling Gui Tu Pai Ying tightly. When he learned that we were going to see a ladyboy show that night, the fat guy initially planned to be our guide. However, considering that Gai would be leading us, I felt it would be inappropriate to trouble him and politely declined.
Afterward, we left Azan Hongsha's house. The fat guy walked us to the car, waved goodbye with a reluctant look on his face, and said, "Come visit often! Don't forget to look for me when buying Amulets."
We parted ways with tears in our eyes. Liang Xi, being the honest person he is, sighed about meeting an old friend in a foreign land and remarked how honest our fellow countrymen are!
Gai looked at us through the rearview mirror and asked where we were heading now. I thought for a moment and asked him, "Where can we see ladyboys?"
Gai replied, "In Bangkok, there are several well-known professional show venues like Calypso, Mambo, and Jin Dongni. They mainly host singing and dancing shows in nice environments. Anyone wanting to experience Grateai culture in Thailand usually goes there. However, the costs are quite high; even a regular drink can cost several hundred Thai Baht."
Grateai?
Gai explained, "Ladyboy is the term used in Hong Kong and Taiwan; Grateai is what they call it in Thai."
Back in 2006, spending money on flights indicated that their family situation was pretty good. However, several of my roommates didn't carry much cash with them and felt a bit intimidated by such high-cost places.
Gai suggested, "Then we can only go to Royal City Avenue. That's the most famous nightclub area in Bangkok, filled with bars and very crowded at night. The costs aren't too high; there's something for every budget—it's a paradise for young people. If you want to go there, you can check out Route66 or Slim; the second young master used to frequent those places."
Without hesitation, our leader Zhang Qichao immediately decided that it was indeed the place young people liked!
When we arrived at RCA district, it had just gotten dark outside, but the streets were already packed with people. Many bars had opened their doors to welcome guests; colorful lights illuminated everything while leaving only a narrow gap for vehicles to pass through.
Gai took us to a bar called Route66 and quietly slipped me some Thai Baht, saying it was given by his grandfather before leaving to prevent any awkward situations. The so-called awkward situation simply referred to not being able to pay when needed. I couldn't help but admire how thoughtful his grandfather was; after buying that Ling Gui Tu Pai Ying earlier, I indeed didn't have much money left. Although Gai mentioned that expenses here weren't high, it's always better to be prepared with extra cash.
Gai wanted to stay outside and watch the car; he wasn't used to playing with the host family. Seeing his insistence, I didn't say much and let him look for something to eat around the area. We would wait for him here after we came out.
Zhang Qichao and the others could hardly wait to see the transgender performers, shouting my name loudly at the bar entrance. Once we entered, we were stunned by the lavish chaos before us.
Although this was a bar, it was actually very chaotic, featuring not only Transgender Performances but also a dance floor. Young men and women were grinding against each other in the dance pit, screaming wildly. Many were drunk, groping anyone they saw, including some foreigners. Those who made money with their bodies, known as Sister Thai, were leaning into the arms of others.
What I saw wasn't too shocking for me; after all, following Second Uncle, I had become familiar with bars and flirting with girls. However, Zhang Qichao and his friends had been good youths before this; they had never experienced such scenes. Their faces turned red as they watched the beautiful young Sister Thai performers, wanting to get closer but feeling hesitant.
I laughed and led them to the bar counter, ordered a few fruit cocktails, and we chatted while drinking. Young people tend to loosen up easily; after a few sips of fruit wine and gradually getting used to the environment, even Liang Xi, the honest one, joined Zhang Qichao in shouting and running toward the stage where the transgender performers were.
Hu Xiaoyi looked at me sitting still at the bar and asked, "Aren't you going to watch?"
I shook my head and said, "I just got off a plane and came out to have fun with you guys. I'm exhausted and don't have the energy to watch that. Besides, I don't think there's anything appealing about transgender performers."
Hu Xiaoyi hesitated for a moment and looked up to see that Zhang Qichao and Liang Xi had already disappeared without a trace. He didn't dare to squeeze through alone, so he stayed at the bar nursing his drink while occasionally craning his neck to look at the stage.
The music in the bar was deafening; it was indeed easy to stir certain desires in people here. However, that night, I couldn't tell if it was because I was too tired or if I genuinely had no interest at all. Even when a young Sister Thai came over to flirt while serving drinks, I sent her away directly.
Hu Xiaoyi and I drank six or seven cups of fruit wine; as the effects kicked in, my head felt a bit dizzy. He excitedly shouted at me that he wanted to play the piano. I said, "There's a piano over there; go play 'The Tides of Both Sides of the River'!"
Hu Xiaoyi replied, "I want one with strings!"
I turned to look at the bartender and slapped down two hundred baht, shouting, "Get my brother a piano with strings!"
At that moment, some commotion broke out on stage. While I was busy insisting on getting a piano with strings from the bartender, Liang Xi ran over yelling that our boss was fighting someone. I was startled and turned around to see Liang Xi with a black eye; it looked like he had just been hit.
With my temper, I've never been afraid of fighting since childhood—especially not here in Thailand! Plus, fueled by alcohol, I immediately grabbed a bottle from the table and told Liang Xi to lead me over. Liang Xi and Hu Xiaoyi hesitated for a moment but then also picked up bottles.
We three rushed toward the stage just in time to see Boss Zhang Qichao being held by several people by his hair and being beaten down. This was intolerable; in a foreign land, hitting my compatriot? Let's teach them a lesson!
I directly smashed a bottle over one person's head and then kicked another one away. Zhang Qichao was already quite strong; it really took two or three people together to hold him down. With my help, he immediately sprang up from the ground, grabbed the person who had just hit him, and landed two punches, making the other person bleed profusely from the nose.
At that moment, Liang Xi and Hu Xiaoyi had just come over with a bottle. I heard Hu Xiaoyi shout, "Watch out!"
He suddenly pulled me back, then cried out in pain. I saw someone pull a knife out of his arm.
Using a knife in a fight? That's just too uncivilized! I snatched the bottle from Hu Xiaoyi's hand and swung it at that person's head. Liang Xi raised his bottle high but hesitated to smash it. At that moment, Zhang Qichao grabbed both me and Hu Xiaoyi and said, "Let's go! The security is coming!"
I knew that causing trouble in a bar wouldn't end well, so we needed to run as quickly as possible. We immediately dove into the crowd and took advantage of the chaos to escape the bar.
Fortunately, Gai had not left the car. Seeing us rush out with anxious expressions, he quickly opened the car door. I jumped in and shouted at him, "Drive! Hurry!"
Gai didn't say anything; he started the car and drove away from the bar. Through the car window, I saw several security guards arriving late. They didn't chase after us but returned to the bar once they saw us leave. I sighed in relief and turned to Hu Xiaoyi, who was holding his arm, and asked, "How is it? Is it a serious injury?"
Hu Xiaoyi's face was pale. After a while, he finally caught his breath and said, "It feels like it went to the bone; it hurts a lot."
"Just hang in there; I'll take you for bandaging later." While instructing Gai to drive to the hospital, I turned to Zhang Qichao and asked, "What happened? Everything was fine; how did it turn into a fight?"
Zhang Qichao was holding his forehead; he had just been pinned down and beaten up as well, looking quite battered with bruises all over. Hearing my question, he cursed and said, "These Thai people have no manners at all! Third Brother and I were standing by watching a transgender performance when someone directly grabbed our clothes and pulled us to the back, saying we were blocking their view. As soon as I tried to reason with them, they started fighting."
I understood right away that this wasn't just dealing with drunkards but rather local bullies looking for trouble. After thinking for a moment, I said, "Alright then; it seems we should avoid bars like this in the future. Let's first go to the hospital to check on Fourth Brother's injury. You guys weren't stabbed, were you?"
Comment 0 Comment Count