Chapter Five: Visitors to the Provincial Capital (Part One)

Just as Zhang Maolin’s finger touched the elevator button, the phone in his jacket pocket started ringing loudly.

“Maolin, this is Wang Weixin. Don’t go to the office first. Head straight to the Songyang Hotel. Vice President Teng Deming from the provincial bank has arrived and specifically wants to see you! Same old room—hurry over.”

Before Zhang Maolin could respond, the caller abruptly hung up.

Hesitating slightly, Zhang Maolin slowly stepped out of the city bank’s office building lobby. He lifted his head and drew in a deep breath of the crisp, cold air. Instantly, it felt as if his entire body had been locked inside a freezer; instinctively, he pressed his forearm against his slightly aching stomach.

This unconscious gesture was clearly visible to Tao Kan through the rearview mirror.

At that moment, Zhang Maolin ignored the mild discomfort in his abdomen; all his thoughts were consumed by the unexpected question thrown at him by President Wang Weixin—how should he face Vice President Teng Deming of the provincial bank?

“Uncle, do you have to leave right after arriving at the office?” Tao Kan asked respectfully as the Santana sedan swiftly took a nearly ninety-degree turn. He rolled down the window.

Zhang Maolin didn’t answer immediately. He glanced briefly toward the southwest before quickly getting into the car.

“Let’s go to the Songyang Hotel.”

“Ah, Room 818 again? Which big shot from above is gracing us with their presence this time?!” Tao Kan stuck out his tongue.

“Mind your own business!” Zhang Maolin had no time to engage with Tao Kan. Closing his eyes, he began to ponder rapidly:

—Teng Deming has come. Teng Deming is finally here. Why didn’t he meet Wang Weixin beforehand? Perhaps they had already been in contact? Yes, they must have met before! Otherwise, Wang Weixin wouldn’t have summoned me so early. Could they have already reached some form of agreement? Likely so. Then, what is the purpose of summoning me now?

…What kind of anger could Teng Deming be harboring? Is he furious beyond measure, sarcastic, or perhaps indirectly scolding through veiled remarks…

Ultimately, Zhang Maolin’s chaotic thoughts were interrupted by Tao Kan’s braking.

The Songyang Hotel is situated in the prime area of Songyang City’s Development Zone, overlooking the city government plaza across the lake, radiating a unique charm.

Although in recent years tall buildings have sprung up like bamboo shoots after rain within the city, in terms of height, location, and public recognition, the Songyang Hotel still firmly holds the title of the city’s most prominent structure.

Built in the early 1990s as a symbol of Songyang’s success in attracting investment, the hotel was designed by a renowned architect from Hong Kong, grand and standing out magnificently. However, in mid-summer of 1996, an unprecedented heavy rain caused a piping failure on the Songling River within the city, and the raging water swiftly flooded the low-lying development zone. The Songyang Hotel was the first to be hit. Within an hour, its underground parking garage was submerged under three meters of water, drowning nearly five hundred vehicles and causing unprecedented economic losses.

Later, a local feng shui master offered a piercing diagnosis of the hotel’s architectural flaw: “No Azure Dragon on the left, no White Tiger on the right—exposed to the elements, lacking protection!”

At the time of the hotel’s completion, the city had yet to fully implement shantytown renovations. This colossal structure, over a hundred meters tall, abruptly rose amidst a chaotic cluster of low, ugly buildings. This stark contrast severed the feng shui’s dragon vein and clashed with the water flow from the southwest.

Believing this insightful analysis, the hotel owner immediately hired a master of geomancy from inland at great expense to improve the feng shui and repair its fortune. The master worked tirelessly for days, climbing walls and rooftops, performing rituals to balance yin and yang. Eventually, he proposed a brilliant plan: demolish the open flower wall on the hotel’s west side and build a six-meter-high, six-meter-wide, and thirty-six-meter-long annex on the original foundation, preserving six separate units and opening a west gate with each threshold precisely sixty-six centimeters high. Furthermore, a drainage channel connecting the north and south streets was to be constructed thirty-six meters from the building’s foundation. After capping the channel, sixty-six willow trees would be planted along it. Following these measures, the flooding would be completely eradicated.

The hotel owner treasured this plan and implemented it immediately. Within six months, the project was completed. Since then, despite frequent summer rains, the hotel never again suffered flooding. The owner’s reputation soared, and he naturally became a standing member of Songyang’s Emergency Response Team for drought and flood disasters.

Years later, during a provincial water conservancy research conference hosted at the Songyang Hotel, a local hydraulic engineer recounted the hotel owner’s legendary measures to attending officials. Among them was a seasoned expert who had visited the hotel many times and was skeptical of the tale. His main argument was that such remedial architecture was common nationwide. The hotel’s flooding was primarily due to two factors: the sudden, fierce water flow overwhelming the flat terrain where the hotel stood as the only building, and the lack of adequate drainage channels nearby, compounded by blocked north-south street drains. When all these errors combined, the surface water inevitably rushed toward the hotel’s exposed underground garage entrance.

Judging from the annex’s structure, foundation, the expanded drainage channel, and tree planting, the master surely understood some hydrological principles, and the measures taken were quite appropriate. However, the specific numerical requirements during construction were pure mystification designed to extract a hefty fee. Otherwise, how could he have collected a ten-thousand-yuan “solidarity” payment?

In the end, the master’s ingenious legend was thoroughly debunked by the expert’s critique.

Zhang Maolin was well acquainted with this story. Every time he received guests at the Songyang Hotel or even just passed by, he would involuntarily recall it and smile quietly to himself.

Though the myth was shattered, the hotel’s charm remained undiminished. This was thanks to its magnificent, grand, and timeless appearance. Nearly a decade had passed, yet Songyang’s people still regarded staying at the Songyang Hotel as a supreme honor.