At the end of the day, Zhou You gave He Mei and the driver 2,000 Thai baht each as a tip.
They knew Mr. Zhou was generous, but they hadn't expected him to be this generous. The two of them barely had to exert themselves guiding him alone—it was easy and relaxed, yet the tips were this high.
He Mei had been a tour guide for several years, leading both large and small groups, but she had never dealt with someone like this before.
Since this arrangement was made directly between the hotel and her company, and they specifically requested someone young, attractive, and experienced, they also hinted at the guest's status on the side.
Her company took it very seriously and assigned He Mei to the task.
He Mei was a local, with several younger brothers and her grandparents at home. Her family had originally come to Thailand during the Chinese unrest and settled down here.
With the growth of China's economy and the collapse of Thailand's, He Mei, who could speak English, Thai, and Chinese, had taken up the path of a tour guide.
Though the work was tough over the years, she had earned a decent amount, enough to support her family without issue.
As China's economy soared, the number of tourists visiting Thailand doubled year after year, and many came back for a second visit.
The next morning, He Mei was waiting downstairs at the hotel again.
Zhou You got up and saw her below: "Why are you here so early? Have you had breakfast? Come have some buffet with me."
"Sure, this hotel is pretty upscale. If we weren't guiding a group, we wouldn't get to eat here," He Mei said without being polite, mainly out of habit. In the past, she always ate at the hotel with her groups, and today she instinctively came to the hotel, only to realize it was a bit awkward.
Then she called the driver in as well.
Zhou You had never tried street-side breakfast in Thailand. The hotel's morning spread was a mix of Chinese and Western options, not much variety, but it generally suited his taste.
On this trip to Thailand, Zhou You had exchanged a few tens of thousands of Thai baht before entering the country, and he was almost out already.
In the morning, he exchanged another few tens of thousands, counted out 20,000, and handed it to He Mei, telling her to use it for daily expenses over the next few days, including meals, activities, and tips after settling bills, so he wouldn't have to bother with tipping every time—too much hassle!
That was one thing about Thailand: they picked up the bad habit of tipping, of all things.
He Mei took it and roughly figured out what kind of person Zhou You was—someone who wanted to avoid trouble and not worry about details.
True, with that much money, why bother with the fuss?
The day's itinerary was still up to He Mei to arrange.
First, they went to a Muay Thai training gym, since many visitors were interested in Muay Thai. That was fine—it was like when you quit a job and find out it's not much different from a boxing gym back home, just with different training routines.
And it wasn't like in the movies anymore, set in some remote mountain village, kicking trees and wrapping arms in rope.
Now everything was modern, professional, and accessible. There were plenty of tourists wanting to try it out. Zhou You took a quick look around but wasn't interested—it was similar to kickboxing.
Still, seeing this sparked an idea in Zhou You: when he got back, he could find a training gym to learn some basic moves, so he'd feel more confident when traveling in the future.
What man didn't dream of roaming the world with a sword as a kid?
As a hobby, it was good for fitness. Finding a professional coach and learning more couldn't hurt.
So, people shouldn't stay cooped up at home; they needed to get out and explore. Who knows, it might broaden their horizons.
Over the next few days, they visited a series of outdoor canyon activities: elephant riding, rafting, and off-road go-karting.
One activity involved cliff diving from a height of over ten meters. When Zhou You got there, he didn't dare jump.
Diving like that, without professional training, could easily lead to injury. Zhou You swam often and occasionally tried jumping off a diving board, but if he messed up, he'd slap flat onto the water, his face and skin stinging.
Jumping from such a height without technique could easily cause injury, possibly even internal damage.
Zhou You wasn't about to do it. He'd finally achieved financial freedom—eating whatever he wanted, doing whatever he pleased. Getting hurt here wasn't worth it.
Even though the coach said it was fine, Zhou You just didn't dare. The cliff was over ten meters high, like a four-story building, with a long row of vertical ladders on the wall for those who jumped to climb back up.
To his surprise, there was also a shooting range. He Mei explained, "This is a project run jointly by the Thai military and locals. They have pistols, rifles, and other common firearms, and it's not expensive."
Zhou You asked and found out it was 500 baht for 25 rounds—much cheaper than back home.
He looked around and saw both long and short guns. Zhou You was immediately interested.
He bought a 10,000-baht package and tried out pistols, rifles, and submachine guns.
At first, he was a bit scared, especially with the rifle's strong recoil. He lay prone on the ground, and the shell casings flew everywhere. One even bounced onto his face, hot, startling him.
Once he got past the initial discomfort, he grew more and more excited.
With a gun in hand, he felt like he owned the world.
Armed with a weapon, the urge to use it naturally arose.
The most thrilling part was the submachine gun—in a few seconds, a whole magazine was gone before he even realized it.
Later, still wanting more, Zhou You topped up with another few tens of thousands of baht and tried every type of firearm available, even hiring a coach for professional guidance and explanations.
Back home, there were some shooting ranges later on, but they were expensive and rare—at least, Zhou You had never heard of any.
When he got tired, he went to a massage parlor to relax and unwind.
Beyond that, Zhou You also asked He Mei to take him to the local library and museum.
Hearing this, He Mei was stunned for a long time, since she had never been there herself.
She had to call the company to find out.
Maybe it was a habit from his work, but Zhou You loved reading. Whenever he visited a new place, he liked to check out the library and museum.
Chiang Mai's library and museum were quite large, with a decent number of visitors, including many tourists, since it was a tourist city.
Comparing them to other libraries, he found little difference—the industry was similar worldwide, requiring quiet, with book classifications mostly the same. The only variation was in architecture.
But most were conventional, with few unique designs.
Each day after finishing, Zhou You would give them an extra 2,000 baht as a tip.
He Mei had mentioned twice that she wanted to see Zhou You's room, saying that as a tour guide, she had never seen the inside of a five-star hotel.
The first two days, Zhou You was too tired and didn't let her in, not sure of the situation yet.
After spending these days together, he found her decent. For Zhou You, good looks and a nice figure were no longer enough to attract him.
The only thing that piqued his interest was her being a foreigner.
After all, Zhou You's ideal was to experience different places around the world.
Today, when He Mei again expressed her wish to go up and take a look, Zhou You went along with it and took her upstairs.
The generous Mr. Zhou Conserves his strength to build a foundation How could a man cling to one place? He spurs his horse and roams the world Even the oriole fears the spring's passing—how can one let youth slip away in vain?