Fans, Landlords, and Hot Pot
Liu Wencai, a welathy and vilified landlord from the Sichuan region, with one of his wives and some of his children.
This is one of the gorgeous rooms in Liu Wencai's manor. This is where his daughters resided.
A beautiful picture of us and all of our fans. I think my invisible fan looks pretty good.
Hot pot take three!
Amy and I outside the hot pot restaurant.
I went for a run today as usual. I realized that it might be the last time I run in their community. During my run, I saw this gorgeous black Labrador with a shiny coat. I’ve never seen this dog before. Most of the dogs I’ve seen are these little fluff balls. He reminded me of Norman, one of two pups at home in America. After a another run in the warm Chengdu air, my host family and I headed to Liu Wencai's mansion and manor. Liu Wencai was a very wealthy landlord from the Sichuan province. He was vilified during the Cultural Revolution, and his reputation still is quite poor. We met up with Annette, her host sister, Chandler, her host sister, and Annette's host dad outside the manor, and then had lunch before heading off for some sightseeing.
On our way to the manor, there were a number of little shops with souvenirs. Everyone bought fans, but I was not inclined to because my dad already has quite a few in America. After another photo-op, we headed into the mansion, and then the manor. The place was massive; there was a tennis court, multiple gardens, tons of rooms, courtyards, and even an opium storage place. In addition to the manor and mansion, there were a number of statues depicting class struggles between the peasants and the landlords. After a little bit of research (thank you Wikipedia), I discovered that Liu Wencai is apparently seen as a villain due to the possibility that his wealth may have accumulated by questionable means.
Afterwards, we headed to Wanda Plaza to watch 西红柿首富 or Hello Mr. Billionaire. The literal translation of the Chinese title is tomato richest man in the locality. Why? I don’t know. It's a romantic comedy I think. Chandler’s host sister and I enjoyed it, but 吴璨 and Annette’s host sister both thought it was a little boring. Before the show, all of us headed to McDonald’s for some snacks. The food seemed pretty similar to that in America except they had waffle fries that were apparently pretty delicious. Being me, I was not inclined to consume fast food and instead asked if I could go buy some fruit. However, because the show was about to start, my host mom went and bought it for me. They do way too much for me.
Afterwards, we all headed together to the hot pot restaurant where I had had my first hot pot eating experience. 吴璨's uncle, aunt, and two cousins joined us as well. The two cousins were very cute. The younger one was a little baby boy with this big cute head and lots of soft rolls of baby fat. The older one was a small girl younger than 吴璨. She wore these big round glass and a t-shirt with a sizable butterfly on the front. I of course ate tons of mushrooms, kelp, tofu skins, cabbage, and some fish. I honestly enjoy hot pot with the little pot in the middle, having mild broth. My host mom helped me of course, which I am forever grateful for.
After Annette, Chandler, and their host sisters left, the little girl came up to me and handed me this roll of paper. She painted me this beautiful picture with a purple sky and a silhouette of a person and a tree. Her English name is Amy, but she pronounced it as Annie. After she handed me the drawing, she shied away pretty quickly. While 吴璨's uncle and my host dad finished off their beer, the rest of us headed down stairs. As we were walking down the stairs, I tripped on a slippery spot and bumped down the stairs for a brief moment. It must have been a little funny seeing a foreigner fall down the stairs in a hot pot restaurant. I just laughed it off and kept walking. The floor in that hot pot restaurant is usually always very slippery. I'm assuming it's from all the oil they use. If you eat the hot hot pot, you typically use oil to douse the food in to make it less spicy. Personally, the last thing I want to do is douse my food in oil.
While we waited outside, the cute little boy walked and danced around. Amy kept doing funny movements, and he imitated her. I wish I could spend more time with a little Chinese kid. I mean a really young Chinese kid because then I could talk with someone who's language skills are close to my level. Amy was teaching the little boy words in Chinese, which I found relatable. Whenever I talk to others in Chinese, they often teach me new words and phrases. Its like I'm a little kid all over again. I point at signs, ask too many questions, and say many things wrong. I got the walking part down though. That's one aspect of humans that doesn't change with the place, language, and culture.