Back to 80: My Literary Life

The venue for the Strega Literary Award this time is Benevento, the capital of the Campania region in southern Italy. There are no direct flights from China.

Fang Minghua took an Air China flight from Yanjing to Rome, the capital of Italy. He departed from the Capital Airport at 12 noon and arrived at Rome Fiumicino Airport at 5 pm after a 13-hour flight.

After queuing for customs and picking up luggage for almost an hour, Fang Minghua finally came to the terminal with his luggage.

He planned to stay in Rome for one night and take a train to Benevento tomorrow morning.

Just as he was about to find a staff member to ask how to get to the train station and nearby hotels, he heard a familiar voice.

"Brother-in-law!"

Turning his head, he saw a girl in a white dress with short hair, carrying a travel bag, looking at him with a smile.

It was Li Li.

"Lili, you are not in Benevento?" Fang Minghua was a little surprised: "Didn't you call your cousin yesterday and say that you had arrived in Benevento?"

"Yes, I did. But my cousin was worried on the phone that you would get lost in Rome if you didn't know Italian. So I said I would just come to Rome to pick you up."

Huh?

I don't know Italian, but I know English. How can such a small thing stump me?

However, since the two sisters were so concerned, Fang Minghua would not say much.

"When did you come?"

"It was around four in the afternoon. I took the train to Rome and took a taxi directly to the airport. I was worried that I would miss your flight." Li Li said.

"Actually, there is no need to rush. It is very slow to go through customs." The two dragged their luggage and left the terminal hall.

"Let's stay in a hotel near the central railway station, so that it will be convenient to take the train tomorrow." Li Li suggested.

"Okay, I'll listen to you."

The two took the airport bus and arrived at the central railway station an hour later. There was a beehive hotel called The Hive Hote nearby, and the two walked in.

Soon, a bartender greeted them with a smile in Italian: "Madam, sir, hello, do you want to stay in a couple's room? The environment is elegant and the price is affordable."

"No, no, please give us two single rooms." Li Li replied quickly.

The waiter looked at the two with surprise.

They are not a couple? !

They look like one no matter how you look at them?

However, she immediately smiled out of professional ethics, took the passports of the two, and started to check in.

"Lili, what did you say to the waiter just now?" Fang Minghua asked in a low voice.

Of course, she used Chinese.

"Nothing, I asked about the price." Li Li replied in a low voice.

Fang Minghua said "oh" and said nothing more.

After completing the check-in procedures, the two took the elevator to the sixth floor, and the rooms they booked were next to each other. After Fang Minghua entered, he took a shower, changed into a T-shirt and casual shorts again, and the fatigue of the long journey suddenly disappeared a lot.

Seeing that it was already past six o'clock, he was ready to go out to call Li Li for dinner. At this time, there was a knock on the door, and Fang Minghua opened it.

Li Li was already standing at the door.

Huh?

She wore a tight T-shirt on top, denim shorts and canvas shoes on the bottom, and her slender white legs were particularly eye-catching.

Li Li likes to wear skirts in summer, especially dresses, which are dignified and elegant. It is rare to see such cool outfits.

"Brother-in-law." Li Li was a little embarrassed by Fang Minghua's gaze, and whispered: "Is it inappropriate for me to wear this?"

"It's fine, whatever is comfortable." Fang Minghua quickly retracted his gaze: "Let's go downstairs to eat."

"Okay, brother-in-law, walk east after leaving the hotel. There is a pizza shop not far away. I heard from the waiter that the pizza there is very delicious. Let's go and try it?" The girl said as she walked.

"Okay, I said, everything is up to you when you come to Italy."

"Okay."

The two walked out of the hotel and walked east. Sure enough, they saw a pizza shop called Life Pizzeria after a few steps. When they went in, Fang Minghua found that it was a vegetarian pizza shop.

It is said that among the many flavors of pizza, vegetarians occupy a large part. Vegetarian pizza is sprinkled with mozzarella cheese, zucchini, onions, etc., all of which are local seasonal vegetables as ingredients.

Finally, Li Li enthusiastically ordered a pizza called salmone controcorrente for Fang Minghua. It is served with salmon, mozzarella cheese, and ginger.

She ate a pizza called "Eros" with tomatoes, peppers, basil, and dark chocolate powder.

The two sat face to face at a small table by the window and ordered two more iced cola. Soon the waiter brought two pizzas.

Li Li looked at the pizza on the plate with an embarrassed look on her face.

"Why, you can't finish it? Then give me some." Fang Minghua said with a smile.

"Okay." The girl picked up the knife and cut the pizza on her plate in the middle, put it on Fang Minghua's plate, and ate it happily.

Now in China, foreign specialty foods like pizza are also appearing in big cities like Yanjing and Shencheng. Fang Minghua once took her children to eat it in Yanjing Pizza Hut. Of course, it was not as authentic as here.

In fact, it was just like that.

Fang Minghua ate this expensive pizza and felt that it was not as delicious as Tianjin's pancakes.

Obviously, Li Li had gotten used to this Western diet and was enjoying it.

"Brother-in-law, don't you like it?" Li Li noticed Fang Minghua's slow eating and raised her head to ask.

Eating noodles at home is quite fast. A big bowl of Huluhulu is finished quickly.

"It's my first time eating it, so I'm not used to it, but it's delicious." Fang Minghua told the truth.

"I know you like noodles. When I get back to the hotel, I'll ask the waiter where there are Chinese restaurants. Let's go eat there tomorrow," Li Li said.

"No need to bother, just eat whatever you want."

"That's not possible. My cousin said that I should take good care of you. Of course I will do my best." The girl was unwilling.

Me@#￥￥%

He really treated me like a child.

After eating the pizza, seeing that it was still early, the two of them walked around the streets.

Both sides of the street are all European-style buildings, mainly Romanesque style. They are tall, thick and stocky. There is a fountain along the way and a church along the way.

Li Li was also very happy. Living abroad, she obviously knew more than Fang Minghua, so she explained to Fang Minghua as she walked.

The two walked to a church, and Li Li suddenly stopped. It turned out that a couple was getting married.

It is a black and white newlyweds, who look very much like the two evil spirits of black and white. The white groom is wearing a black suit, and the black bride is wearing a white wedding dress. Fang Minghua feels that it has a particularly visual impact.

The newlyweds looked at each other, their eyes filled with unconcealable happiness.

Li Li watched all this blankly.

Fang Minghua sighed slightly in his heart and stood quietly behind the girl without speaking.

Li Li just watched like this until the newlyweds disappeared around the corner of the street. Then she came back to her senses and turned to look at Fang Minghua.

"Brother-in-law, let's go."

"Um"

The two continued to walk on the street, and Fang Minghua clearly felt that Li Li had become a little silent.