In the 1980s, according to available data, nightly rates at top-tier luxury hotels, guesthouses, and hostels in major cities could reach as high as one thousand or even ten thousand yuan. Of course, the reasons for such exorbitant prices varied; some were designated as venues for important foreign affairs and international exchange, so their pricing was naturally "grand." Others catered to specific, high-status individuals, offering services of such superior quality that the room rates were exceptionally expensive.
Therefore, readers should not criticize the pricing at Lingyun Hotel; after all, the decor is incredibly luxurious, and its target clientele is not the average office worker or ordinary person. Furthermore, in any era, the wealth gap is vast. While our perception of the 1980s is often limited to hard wooden beds for a few mao a night, that was not the whole story.
It is like being separated by a single wall: on one side, you are so hungry that you are afraid to waste a mouthful of water, while on the other, people are rinsing their mouths with top-shelf abalone, sea cucumber, shark fin, and fine wine or coffee. Simply put, it is all life—but how one lives is different, just like the room rates at a hotel! Due to the cold weather—and given that indoor heating was not yet widespread and outdoor heating was unheard of—Zhong Ning and Chen Ming, in order to make things more bearable for their guests, had not only placed over twenty custom-made luxury yurts in the Ling…
Chapter 221