It was daytime, and there was a small town nearby, so Li Xiang and Luo Feifei put on sunglasses, hats, and masks and went into town.
Finding the best hotel in town, Li Xiang took out a stack of US dollars and slammed it on the front desk, saying in broken but incredibly confident English: "Give me your best room here."
"Yes, yes, respected sir, I'll arrange it right away. You two must be the lady and gentleman from China, yes?" The clerk was quite sharp and skilled at reading people.
Li Xiang nodded and asked in Chinese, "Do you speak Chinese?"
"Yes, yes, I do. I once dreamed of working in China and studied Chinese for a while." The clerk switched to his less-than-fluent Chinese. Although he stammered, they could communicate.
"That's great. Show us to the room."
"This way, you two!"
The clerk eagerly led the two of them to a "deluxe room" on the third floor and described its features in his broken Chinese.
