Chapter 458 - 16: Several Counterfeit Bills
Xiao Xian and Zhang Yiyi got off the bus at a station located in the city center of Chengde.
As it is a famous summer resort destination, the bus station is crowded with tourists all year round, especially during the hot summer months. Tourists fill every corner of the city. Various hotels and guesthouses, even the cheapest ones that charge thirty yuan a night, are packed with people.
The accommodation Mei Nian arranged for the three of them was a family apartment in a military residential area near the Summer Villa. Xuerou confirmed the address, didn’t think much of it, and got on a tricycle for the disabled without hesitation.
Such tricycles are small, just big enough for four adults to sit facing each other. With someone as tall as Zhang Yiyi, she had to monopolize a lateral seat and still had to bow her head and hunch her back, but this did not affect her mood to enjoy the scenery at all.
With the roar of the electric tricycle’s motor and the rolling of its tires, Xiao Xian and her companions left the congested, bustling Chengde City. High-rises gave way to the sights of Chengde Summer Villa that had been renovated by three Qing Dynasty Emperors, revealed one by one amidst the whizzing sound of the tricycle.
Southern China is mountainous, while Northern China is known for its plains, but this topography does not apply to the Chengde area. From the beautiful mountain peaks to lakes and plains, the country’s entire terrain is condensed within the Summer Villa. The exquisite design by ancient craftsmen is indispensable, but it is also inseparable from the favorable local geographic environment.
The fully restored imperial walls cannot block the faux mountains and jumbled rocks that jut out. The chanting of ancient temples fills the air with the scent of incense, sweeping away the irritation brought about by recent exams.
"Wow, I’d say the environment here is even more serene than the Forbidden City. No wonder they say the Emperor spent one hundred and eighty out of the three hundred and sixty-five days of the year here," It takes roughly four hours to get from Beijing City to Chengde with the transportation conditions of that year. Zhang Yiyi impertinently slid open the door of the tricycle, only to be scolded by Xuerou and sheepishly closed the door back.
"Hey, isn’t that a Mongolian tent over there?" Not far away, on a lawn neatly trimmed like a carpet, stood clusters of Mongolian tents lined with white and blue. Hebei neighbors Inner Mongolia, and if you go further northeast, you can see the grassland scenery that lies beyond the Great Wall from ancient times. There are some distinctive Mongolian tent hotels outside the Summer Villa; renting one for yourself and spending the night can also be quite an experience.
"Stop looking around; the Sunset Army Apartment we’re checking into is right ahead. Let’s get off the bus. You’ll have plenty of time to explore in the next few days," Xuerou teased and got off the tricycle with Xiao Xian. The tricycle driver asked for "thirty."
The price was much higher than a taxi in Beijing, but considering they were in a tourist area, Xuerou didn’t haggle much over the price. Before setting out, Xuerou had already agreed with Xiao Xian and the others that this trip would be considered part of the pharmaceutical factory’s bonus. As for Zhang Yiyi, she was grudgingly counted in for having contributed to the naming, catching some of the limelight.
After getting off, Xuerou reached for her wallet and searched it, only to find that she only had whole notes and hence handed over a hundred-yuan note to the tricycle driver.
"Young lady, this money is fake," the tricycle driver said with suspicion.
"Fake?" Xuerou was surprised. The money was given to her by Mrs. Zeng just before they left; how could it be fake? She took the money back and inspected it in the sunlight, only to find that the paper was unusually thin and the color was off—it really was counterfeit.
Xuerou had no choice but to take out more money, but to her surprise, after the tricycle driver took the money, he handed it back, saying, "Young lady, are you kidding me? This note is torn; it’s missing a corner."
Now Xuerou was really off-balance. She took back the money to look and indeed, it was missing a corner at the bottom right.
Zhang Yiyi and Xiao Xian also sensed that something was amiss. Xiao Xian glanced inside the tricycle and saw that the driver—a man in his thirties with all limbs intact, not seeming to have any disabilities—was sneakily watching Xuerou’s reaction through the rearview mirror, a sly glint in his eye.
"Xuerou, give him another one," Xiao Xian urged Xuerou, blinking as she spoke, signaling her understanding. Xuerou took out another whole note.
The tricycle driver was inwardly ecstatic; he had not misjudged. In the Chengde area, many of those driving tricycles for people with disabilities are able-bodied individuals, taking advantage of the booming local tourism industry to attract business, specifically targeting sole travelers to rip off.
Earlier at the station, the tricycle driver had set his sights on Xuerou and her companions, deeming them easy targets. When he saw Xuerou flagging down a vehicle, he quickly approached. From the city center to the Sunset Army Apartment, twenty yuan would be the maximum required. The driver was unscrupulous, marking up the price by ten yuan, and upon seeing Xuerou’s wallet full of hundred-yuan notes, he became even more deceitful.