Chapter 101 Cooperation with Jingcheng Hotel (Seeking first monthly ticket order)

As a foreign-related hotel of this era, the Capital Hotel during this period did not have much operational autonomy.

At that time, the Capital Hotel was a huge state-owned guesthouse, which provided services to foreigners regardless of cost in accordance with various task arrangements of the superior departments.

So at this time, you can't enter the Beijing Hotel just because you want to. There are guards on duty at the door. Unless you have a certificate from a special department, it is difficult for Chinese people to enter.

But just as Zhang Shiqi told him last time, this circle is difficult and simple at the same time. It is a very closed circle.

For ordinary people, entering such foreign-related places requires strict inspection, but for some departments, it is easy.

For example, the Writers Association!
In the past, the Writers Association had a special External Liaison Department, which was responsible for connecting with foreign writers in Hong Kong, Macao and even in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Therefore, it was a department with foreign affairs authority.

One benefit of this authority is that members of the Writers Association are eligible to enter and exit these foreign-related venues, arrange for people to stay in Beijing hotels, and even hold meetings there.

After all, it is common for writers to discuss literature with each other, and literary gatherings will certainly be held when foreign writers come.

Therefore, members of the Writers Association could enter these foreign-related hotels with their membership cards, which also shows how high the status of writers was in the past.

Now that the Writers Association has resumed its work, some of its rights and interests have also been restored, including its contacts with those previous foreign-related units.

This is a hidden benefit that Li Changhe only learned about after he obtained his Writers Association membership card and work permit this month.

They came to the guard at the door and showed their Writers Association membership cards and work IDs. There were foreign-related stamps on the certificates, indicating that they had foreign-related authority.

The guard returned the ID to Li Changhe and let him go.

Today, the Capital Hotel has three buildings: the preserved Middle Building from 1917, the West Building built in 1954, and the East Building built in 74.

Due to some special reasons, part of the East Building is not open to foreigners, and therefore some office areas are now located in the East Building.

Li Changhe also walked directly into the lobby of the East Building.

In the magnificent lobby, there is no front desk at this time because the guests here do not need to check in.

But soon a service staff came to greet us.

The attitude of the waiters here is different from that of the state-owned stores outside. After all, they are foreign-related units and have training requirements.

"Hello, are you Japanese?"

It’s no wonder the waiter asked this question. Nowadays, most Asian faces walking alone in hotels in Beijing are Japanese.

"If I were Japanese, could you tell me the answer by asking me in Chinese?"

Li Changhe said to the waiter with a smile.

What can I say about the waiters here? At least they won’t lose face for the country. Li Changhe was also in a good mood when he saw this.

"I'm sorry, you must be the director of the foreign affairs department. We didn't receive any notification and mistook you for a Japanese. The main reason is that many of them can speak Chinese, and some speak it quite well."

The girl was a little embarrassed and mistook Li Changhe for a young clerk from the foreign affairs department.

"I'm not an officer of the foreign affairs department. I'm a student of Peking University. I want to find our manager or director."

Li Changhe said to the little girl with a smile.

"Ah? A student from Peking University? Then how did you get in?"

Nowadays, not only the guards at the door have security responsibilities, but service personnel like them also have vigilance and defense responsibilities.

"I have my work permit from the Writers Association. You can take a look at it. I want to discuss something with your person in charge."

Li Changhe took out his ID and handed it to the other party.
The other party took it and read it carefully, then looked at Li Changhe in surprise: "Are you Ling Jue?"

"Yes!"

"I'll go find the manager for you."

The girl ran away with Li Changhe's Writers Association certificate. Not long after, the manager came over in a hurry.

Li Changhe looked carefully and found that it was an acquaintance, the manager named Qi who came with Zhang Shiqi last time.

I just don’t know if the other party still remembers Li Changhe.

"Hello, is this Writer Ling? Hey, you are not the one who was with Mr. Zhang last time."

Manager Qi indeed still remembered Li Changhe and recognized him at a glance.

"Hello, Manager Qi"

Li Changhe greeted him with a smile.

"I didn't expect you to be a writer from the Writers Association. That's amazing. Did Mr. Zhang ask you to come this time?"

Manager Qi asked Li Changhe curiously.

"No, actually I'm still a student at Peking University. Didn't she tell you, Manager Qi?"

Li Changhe asked the waiter behind him with some surprise.

The girl was a little embarrassed: "I was so anxious to tell Manager Qi that you are a writer that I forgot to mention that you are a student."

"Xiao Wu, you are so impetuous. Go back and recite the employee service code a few more times."

Manager Qi scolded the waiter, but his tone was not harsh.

Then he smiled at Li Changhe and said, "The girl has just been recruited not long ago, and the training is not yet in place."

Li Changhe didn't care at all. In a place like the Capital Hotel, many of the waiters there were serving three generations of employees!

Many of these people have elders who worked in the Capital Hotel since the Republic of China, and the job has been passed down from generation to generation.

In the words of Zhang Shiqi, when it comes to foreign-related work, it is better to use familiar people rather than new ones.

When the Capital Hotel was managed by foreigners, they liked to employ fixed Chinese people and their families, passing them down from generation to generation like family children.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, many of them became national service personnel, but in essence there has not been much change.

If any factory can take over the job, let alone them, and there are elderly people at home to teach them step by step, it is faster and more convenient for newcomers to get started.

So don't be fooled by the fact that Manager Qi and the waiter named Xiao Wu are in a boss-subordinate relationship. Who knows, in private, the two families may have a close relationship of several generations.

"Manager Qi, this is what happened. I didn't come here for any foreign affairs mission, nor was anyone else's arrangement. I just had some needs of my own."

"I am studying at Peking University now. We have English teaching, but as you know, it is difficult to make progress in English as a foreign language if you only write but don't speak."

"It just so happens that I'm at our Jingcheng Hotel every weekend because my wife works at Union Hospital and I'll wait for her here."

"I was thinking whether I could use this time to serve as a non-staff member in our Beijing Hotel. If there is a need for English, I can help with reception in the lobby, and it is also a way for me to practice speaking."

"Of course, if our hotel needs English training, I can also help with simple training, how about that?"

Li Changhe said gently.

Manager Qi looked at Li Changhe in surprise: "Writer Ling, you..."

"My name is Li Changhe. Manager Qi can call me Changhe or Xiao Li. You don't have to call me Writer Ling."

"Okay, then I'll call you Changhe."

"Changhe, you mean you want to be a receptionist here on the weekend and practice your spoken English?"

"By the way, can you also help us with English training?"

Li Changhe nodded: "Yes, I usually have time on weekends, and summer vacation should be no problem. If I have free time, I might write some articles here."

"That's great, Changhe. You don't know that we are in urgent need of English talents."

Li Changhe originally thought it would be a bit difficult, but he didn't expect Manager Qi to agree right away.

"Well, do I need to file an application report or something?"

Li Changhe thought for a while and then asked, after all, this is a foreign-related unit.

"I'll type this report. You don't need it. It's more convenient for us to type it."

Manager Qi said to Li Changhe happily, and then began to complain to Li Changhe.

"Changhe, you don't know. We had English-speaking waiters in our hotel before, but not many. After all, we mainly received Soviet guests in the past. Not to mention in the past few years. It was only in the past two years that we gradually began to receive English-speaking guests."

"I never thought that starting this year, the number of English-speaking guests would increase suddenly. If you were talking about leaders of other countries, it would be better, as they all brought interpreters with them, and the foreign affairs departments also followed them."

"The difficulty is that many of the other people who came with the leaders were not taken care of by the foreign affairs department, so we were responsible for taking care of them. How can we find so many people who know English?"

"So far this year, nearly 60 countries and thousands of delegations have come here, but we only have a few English-speaking waiters, and we are so busy that we don't have time to train others."

"It's hard to find an English training teacher from outside."

"There is a shortage of foreign language talents all over the country, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wants to transfer our waiter away. There is nothing we can do."

"Your willingness to come and help has solved our urgent need."

"Actually, if it comes to ordinary people, I definitely can't agree to it, because we have to do a political review and investigation before we can make a decision."

"But you are a Peking University student and a writer of the Writers Association. Apart from anything else, you must be very honest. I think you can submit this application report."

Manager Qi's explanation also made Li Changhe understand why the other party agreed so readily. Both Peking University and the Writers Association added huge points.

In addition, they also have their needs now, so the two parties hit it off immediately.

As to whether Zhang Shiqi’s face is involved here, it is hard to say.

"Changhe, I'll type up this report for you later. I don't think it's difficult to get it approved. But since you volunteered to help, we may not be able to pay you, mainly because of the procedures."

"Don't worry, Manager Qi, I don't want any salary, I'm just doing voluntary work for us."

Li Changhe said decisively.

Manager Qi waved his hand and said, "Changhe, listen to me first. It is indeed difficult for us to approve your salary because you cannot be listed as a formal employee."

"But you still have to have other benefits, such as employee meals. The employee meals in our hotel are much better than those outside. I will apply for a dining card for you when the time comes."

"Another thing, since you want to create in your spare time, I'll open a staff room for you upstairs so you can take a rest whenever you need."

"In short, as long as you help me solve the problem of English training, we can discuss everything else."

Manager Qi said to Li Changhe seriously.

Li Changhe nodded: "Don't worry, Manager Qi, I will help you get the English training done by the summer vacation at the latest."

Manager Qi was so happy, so Li Changhe naturally had to paint a big picture for him. After all, he planned to stay in the Capital Hotel for a long time.

"Okay, let's fill out the form now, and I'll help you submit the approval report."

Manager Qi happily took Li Changhe to the office, and then filled out an employee application form. Manager Qi also skillfully wrote an application report and then walked out with it.

At this time, Li Changhe went to the coffee area and sat down.

It’s unknown how long it will take to review and approve the report. Since he’s already here, he might as well take a break here first.

In fact, coming to Beijing Hotel to learn English was just an excuse. Li Changhe’s real purpose was to wait for someone here.

But in my memory, this person will not come for a long time.

Li Changhe was just trying to cover up for himself. He used the excuse of practicing English to get himself involved in advance, and then he could contact the other party openly and reasonably later.

After all, it is still very risky to contact foreigners privately these days.

Peking University also has foreign students, and there are Chinese students living with them in the international students building, which is similar to the "accompanying students" in later generations. In fact, it already existed in that era.

However, ordinary students at Peking University are restricted from contacting these international students, and those accompanying students have to undergo very strict screening.

If Li Changhe wanted to contact that person openly, he had to find a safe and appropriate reason. It just so happened that he remembered that the other party would stay at the Beijing Hotel.

Li Changhe kept waiting until the idea of ​​practice was proposed in the newspaper. Then he came to the Capital Hotel under the name of practicing English, looking for an opportunity to see if he could take root there.

So far, his plan is going smoothly and the reasons are appropriate. Now it depends on whether it can be approved.

　I slept for three hours and was woken up again. I couldn't fall asleep, so I wrote another chapter. I guess I have to catch up on some sleep in the afternoon! I have updated more than 20,000 words. I continue to ask for first orders and monthly tickets!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)