I Have a Research Support System

Wei Xingsi paid the taxi fare with a credit card, a total of 30.82 US dollars, including 26.8 US dollars displayed on the taxi meter, and an extra 15% tip.

Afterwards, everyone got out of the car one after another, took out their luggage from the trunk of the taxi, and the black brother quickly drove away in the taxi.

Wei Xingsi pulled the suitcase, walked in front, and communicated with Xu Qiu and the others in Chinese at the same time:

"In the beautiful country, most service industries require tipping. For example, when you stay in a hotel in Phoenix, you should also prepare some one-dollar change for tipping."

"Generally, the daily tip for room service is 1 to 2 US dollars per person. If you are going out to eat and there is a waiter serving you, you need to pay the tip in proportion to the taxi."

"Then what is the specific ratio?" Xu Qiu asked curiously: "I checked the Internet before, but I didn't see an accurate standard. Some said it was 10%, and there were 15%, 18%, 20%... ..."

"In most cases, a tip of about 15% is enough. If you think the other party's service is good, you can also give more. For example, you said 18%, 20%. Generally, 10% is the lower limit for tipping in the service industry, but... …" Wei Xingsi paused, then changed the topic: "If you only give 10%, it often means that you are very dissatisfied with the other party's service."

"If you are very dissatisfied, you still have to give 10%?" Wu Feifei interjected.

"It's like this..." Wei Xingsi spread his hands: "Every country will have some customary rules... This is the national condition of a beautiful country, do as the Romans do, if you don't give or only give a 5% tip, it will be considered as no performance of education."

Xu Qiu agrees with Teacher Wei’s point of view. For example, a foreigner who has lived in a flower planter’s house for a long time will also learn to “wipe out a zero”, “No need to invoice, just send me a can of Coke”, “This meal is 125, I’ll give you a I will give you 130, and you will issue me an invoice of 200" such an operation.

The unique culture of each country is a manifestation of the will of the group. Once formed, whether it is good or bad, it is difficult to reverse it, because people living in it will be assimilated and become part of the will of the group.

Even relying on the power of the state to forcibly optimize one's own culture is a very time-consuming and labor-intensive thing. For example, many feudal superstitions have not been completely eradicated until now.

While chatting, everyone has already entered the hotel lobby.

Because Xu Qiu and the others are only staying here in Los Angeles for one day, and they will take a domestic flight from Los Angeles to Phoenix early tomorrow morning, so there are almost no requirements for the location of the hotel.

So in order to save costs, I chose an ordinary three-star hotel, and did not choose four-star or five-star high-star hotels.

There are not many service personnel in this hotel, and there was no situation where someone came over to help carry luggage as Xu Qiu expected.

It's pretty good, otherwise, in order to save a few dollars in tips, you have to decline the other party...

Under the instructions of the front desk staff, Xu Qiu and the others took out their passports and went through the check-in procedures.

Two men and two women, exactly two standard rooms, Xu Qiu and Wei Xingsi live together, Han Jiaying and Wu Feifei live together.

After checking in and getting the room card, Wei Xingsi glanced at his watch and said, "It's 5:50 in the afternoon, let's go back to the room and have a rest, and come out for dinner at 6:30."

After receiving nods from Han Jiaying and Wu Feifei, the four of them divided into two groups and entered their room.

The room is a normal standard room, a bathroom, two beds, a tea table, two chairs...

Compared with the standard rooms of domestic express hotels, the decoration and room size here are slightly better. After all, the room rate is about 150 dollars a day.

Wei Xingsi and Xu Qiu put down their luggage, turned on the air conditioner, took a quick shower one after another, then turned off the lights, and lay down on their respective beds to rest. They were still very tired after sitting on the plane for more than ten hours in a row.

The current state of the two is "tired and unable to sleep", but in any case, lying on the bed for a while can still relieve part of the fatigue.

At half past six, Xu Qiu woke up and heard Wei Xingsi say, "What shall we eat tonight?"

While Xu Qiu was thinking about how to respond, Teacher Wei continued to talk to himself: "Let's eat nearby. When I came here just now, I saw a Mexican restaurant downstairs, let's go there."

Xu Qiu didn't have any objections, and replied, "Okay, then I'll call Wu Feifei and Han Jiaying."

After speaking, Xu Qiu made a voice call to Han Jiaying and learned that they had just finished taking a shower and they still had to wait for five minutes.

The portable WIFI is placed on Xu Qiu's side, but the hotel has free WIFI to connect to, so they have not lost contact.

Ten minutes later, the four gathered on the first floor of the hotel. Wei Xingsi took the lead and walked to the nearby Mexican restaurant.

A young Caucasian woman greeted her warmly and said, "Welcome, four, this way please."

‘Except that the other party speaks English, the speaking skills are similar to those of domestic restaurants. '

Xu Qiu complained inwardly, then looked around, and found that the decoration style of this restaurant was somewhat similar to that of a bar. There was a bar counter filled with all kinds of wine, mainly wine.

There were not many people dining, apart from them, there were only two other tables of guests.

One of the tables is a white family of four, and the other table is a middle-aged white man who is eating alone. Maybe they are also tourists living here.

The waiter handed the menu to Wei Xingsi, Wei Xingsi glanced at it, then handed the menu to Xu Qiu, and said in Chinese: "What do you want to eat? Order yourself."

Xu Qiu glanced at the menu, there were "Taco", "Quesadilla", "Fajitas" and so on... She couldn't understand it at all.

He reckoned that the names of these foreign dishes were similar to those in China such as "Kung Pao Chicken", "Ants Climbing Trees" and "Three Fresh Foods from the Ground".

If there is a picture, you may be able to guess what the main thing is based on the picture, but the menu here does not have a picture.

Originally, Xu Qiu planned to ask Wei Xingsi or the waiter for a recommendation, but he didn't do so. After some consideration, he chose the "Quesadilla" set meal.

The reason is, on the one hand, "Quesadilla" is sold for 38 US dollars alone, and 48 US dollars for the package, so it is more likely to be more cost-effective to choose the package;

On the other hand, the name of the dish "Quesadilla" is long enough. Xu Qiu prefers long names. In the past, during the exam, if he encountered multiple-choice questions that he didn't know, he liked to choose the longest option.

Anyway, it’s a $48 set meal, so it shouldn’t be unpalatable...

Next, Han Jiaying, Wu Feifei and Wei Xingsi also ordered a set meal one after another, and the four chose four different set meals.

Wei Xingsi prefers to drink red wine. He noticed the wine rack on the bar before, so he asked the waiter for the wine list, and ordered a red wine named "2010 Pellet Estate Cabernet Sauvignon", priced at $58.

Xu Qiu didn't know whether Mr. Wei really understood wine, or just like him, he just picked it based on the name and price, but it didn't matter.

After ordering the drinks, the waiter asked, "How many glasses do you need?"

Wei Xingsi looked at Xu Qiu and the others, and said, "Each of you, drink a little, it will help you sleep, so you can have a good rest at night, and reverse the jet lag..."

Seeing that Xu Qiu and the others had no objections, Wei Xingsi said to the waiter, "Four."

"OK, but I want to see your passports." The waiter said with a smile, and at the same time looked at Xu Qiu and Han Jiaying with a gesture.

"Oh, I almost forgot..." Wei Xingsi explained in Chinese: "Pretty Country needs to be 21 years old to drink outside. You should all be 21 years old."

"I'm 21 years old." Xu Qiu took out his passport from his pocket and handed it to the waiter.

"Me too." Han Jiaying also prepared her passport.

The waiter carefully checked the passports of Xu Qiu and Han Jiaying, confirmed that their ages met the requirements, and returned the passports to them.

It is said that the beautiful country has very strict inspections on the drinking age.

In China, although there is currently a regulation that "prohibits the sale of tobacco and alcohol to minors", it is often difficult to implement it. For example, when children go to the store with money and claim to help adults buy cigarettes and alcohol, some merchants may also Sale to minors.

Of course, these problems are essentially caused by the rapid development of florists.

On the one hand, some parents are not well-educated, and do not care, educate and pay enough attention to their children.

On the other hand, some people who run small shops do not have a high level of education, so it is relatively difficult to popularize the law on the protection of minors for them, and it will take a long time to achieve results.

Wu Feifei also took out her passport and handed it to the waiter.

The waiter shook his head with a smile and said, "Ma'am, you don't need it."

Wu Feifei seemed to have suffered ten thousand points of critical damage in an instant, and a capital "?" appeared on her forehead. Does this mean that I look old?

Seeing this, Xu Qiu and Han Jiaying couldn't hold back their laughter, and Wei Xingsi also smiled.

The waiter seemed to realize that his expression was inappropriate, and said like a remedy after a dead sheep: "I'm sorry, ma'am, I mean, you look more mature."

Wu Feifei replied blankly: "It's okay."

The waitress took the menu and walked away, probably worried that it would affect her tip ratio.

About ten minutes later, the waitress was still carrying the plate and delivered several meals to Xu Qiu's table, and no other waiters came halfway.

It seems that the service model of the restaurant in the beautiful country is also different from that in China.

In China, the waiters run around the entire restaurant, and several waiters serve several tables of guests at the same time;

On the side of Pretty Country, usually a table of guests should be unified by one waiter from beginning to end, so that it is more convenient to settle tips.

Xu Qiu's set meal included a pancake, a soup, and a snack.

He first took a bite of the crepes, which must have been "Quesadillas." Its basic ingredients are tacos and cheese. The crepes are filled with mushrooms, meat and various vegetables, including diced tomatoes, onions, lettuce, peppers, There are also some unknown sauces, and the cheese tastes very strong.

Then, Xu Qiu took a sip of the red wine, but there was nothing special about it, the taste was mediocre.

Then, he took another sip of the soup. It tasted rather sour and had an obvious garlic taste, but it was not unpalatable. If you use more elegant words to describe it, it would be "the taste is strong and lingering on the tongue". The ingredients generally include onions, tomatoes, garlic, corn kernels and avocados.

In the end, Xu Qiu took a bite of the snack, which is a kind of dessert with cookies, with moderate sweetness, just enough to relieve the tiredness.

After eating this meal, Xu Qiu generally felt that the taste was okay.

What's more, the portions of the dishes are also very large. I feel like I have come to the Northeast. Xu Qiu feels a bit full after eating his own set meal. For example, Wu Feifei and Han Jiaying have a little left over because of their small appetites.

In terms of service, the waitress is quite attentive, often running over to ask if there is anything I need, and also ask how the food tastes, which is more attentive than a certain hot pot brand that is famous for its service.

In short, Xu Qiu was already mentally prepared to step on the thunder, but in the end he didn't step on the thunder.

Of course, it may have something to do with the price.

This set meal sells for 48 US dollars. If you want to make money and spend a lot of money, the price of this set meal is quite a bargain.

But if it is converted into soft sister currency, it is 300 per capita. This price is not cheap. Even in the magic city with relatively high prices, you can go to relatively good restaurants.

After the meal, the waitress brought the bill, which was a small ticket with the price of the meal, taxes and fees printed on it, and there was a column dedicated to filling in the tip ratio.

The small receipts of this restaurant are relatively simple and straightforward. The tip ratio is directly divided into four levels, 15%, 18%, and 20%. There is also a blank column. Guests can choose the recommended ratio or fill in the ratio themselves.

Wei Xingsi put an "X" in the box in front of 15%, then took out his credit card from his wallet and walked to the front desk to pay the bill.

This meal, including taxes and tips, cost a total of more than 300 US dollars, equivalent to 2000 soft sister coins, which cost Teacher Wei a lot.

Xu Qiu began to speculate that the reason why Teacher Wei decided to go to UCSB to communicate was because he wanted to eat and drink in the past, avoid his three students by the way, and prevent himself from being overwhelmed?

There is still a possibility...

After eating, the four of them went upstairs to their respective rooms.

Wei Xingsi took the initiative to say: "Xu Qiu, how do you feel about coming to the beautiful country this time?"

Xu Qiu thought for a while, and replied: "In the city, it feels similar to that in China, except... the consumption is much higher."

"Yes, the consumption is indeed high, but the citizens of the beautiful country also earn a lot," Wei Xingsi nodded, and then said as if reminiscing:

"Speaking of this, I studied abroad in the beautiful country in the early years. At that time, about ten years ago, the income gap between domestic and foreign countries was still very large. The per capita income may have a gap of 50 times or nearly 100 times."

"Now, the average income gap between China and the beautiful country is only about ten times. If it is replaced by the standard of tight industries in first-tier cities in China, the gap may have narrowed to two or three times."

"This is also the reason why many family members who grow flowers abroad all the year round also like to go to China."

Xu Qiu said "hmm". Although what Wei Xingsi said was somewhat realistic, it was indeed the status quo.

For individuals, selfishness and self-interest are always dominant.

This is especially true for elite groups who have a greater understanding of the nature of how the world works.

If you stand on the moral high ground and force others to do something, it is actually not a commendable behavior.

Morality should be used to restrain oneself, not to restrain others.

It is also true that those who have the feelings of family and country and those who are willing to sacrifice actively are worthy of praise.

Because their approach is very anti-human, and it can only be realized under the drive of strong belief.

The two chatted for a while, and Wei Xingsi said, "I'll take a shower first, and you can take a shower later, and then we'll discuss the PPT about visiting UCSB."

"Okay." Xu Qiu replied.

After taking a shower, Xu Qiu and Wei Xingsi had an hour-long conversation between men in the room.