Chapter 648: Chapter 615: The Great Fog of Chang’an
The airplane slowly glided through the night sky.
In the first-class cabin, only 6 out of the 10 seats were occupied. Aside from Lincoln and Camille Victoria, the rest were security personnel.
As for the empty 4 seats, it wasn’t that the security team requested the airline company not to sell them – there’s no such rule, but Lincoln bought all 10 first-class seats when he purchased the tickets.
Now only 6 people were seating, the remaining seats were naturally vacant.
Behind Yue Pengju, a girl from the security team asked Lincoln, “Have you ever considered buying a private jet?”
“We’ll handle all the paperwork, and we can even help you arrange the pilot.”
In short: you just need to pay and pick a plane you like; the rest is left to us.
It’s just that every time Lincoln travels, the security team goes to great lengths to conduct security checks beforehand.
Even if Lincoln directly booked the entire first-class cabin, saving a lot of trouble in checking “passengers in the same cabin”, the “passengers on the same plane” still needed to be understood in advance.
In contrast, if he directly bought a private jet, things would be much simpler.
It’s just a matter of conducting a proper safety check on the plane and applying for the flight route in a timely manner before takeoff.
Rich people buying private jets isn’t new worldwide, and for someone with Lincoln’s wealth, there won’t be any financial pressure.
Rather, it’s incredible how low his material desires are compared to his current wealth –
Lincoln doesn’t even have a car of his own!
Although Yue Pengju’s chauffeured service means he doesn’t really need to buy a car…
But “not needing” and “not buying” are two different things, not everyone can achieve this.
Especially when he has more money than he can spend.
Unfortunately, Lincoln shook his head without thinking: “No need, I’m a homebody, I spend all my time either at the company or at home, I don’t need a private jet.”
However, as soon as he finished speaking, an idea crossed his mind, and his tone suddenly became more enthusiastic: “What about a helicopter?”
“If I can take a helicopter to work, I can sleep an extra 20 minutes every morning!”
“????” The security girl was dumbfounded, “You want to buy a helicopter just to sleep an extra 20 minutes in the morning?”
“Yeah, is that not okay?”
“…” The security girl was choked by this ostentation and couldn’t help but continue, “A helicopter has a short range and isn’t comfortable, are you really not considering a private jet?”
Lincoln still shook his head: “There’s no need; it would be a waste of money since I won’t fly more than a few times a year.”
In the meantime, Jordan suddenly couldn’t help but interject: “You spent over 6 million to build such a large airship, only flew it once before abandoning it by the race track, and now the place has become an internet celebrity hotspot. How come you didn’t think it’s a waste?”
“That was for a good cause! Besides, it still has some use.”
“What use?” Jordan asked incredulously.
“Hmm…” Lincoln was deep in thought but couldn’t come up with an idea, “I’ll tell you later, get some rest now.”
Yue Pengju was rolling his eyes while listening.
In the end, when the plane landed at Chang’an Airport, Lincoln was still not tempted by “consumerism” and firmly rejected the suggestion of buying a plane.
On the contrary, the mention of the abandoned airship gave him a new idea:
Why not add a sky segment to the New Year’s Activities?
– Although it would be difficult for the airship to soar over Xiajing City again, if it were just to fly around casually in the suburbs, that would be too simple!
*
The next day, there was dense fog in Chang’an.
Perhaps it was because he wasn’t used to the unfamiliar bed; Lincoln didn’t sleep well that night and wasn’t in the mood to stay in bed, so he got up early.
He initially thought that he would never have to practice kung fu again after completing the data collection on cold weapons.
But with nothing to do in the morning, he still habitually practiced kung fu twice.
After washing up and getting ready, he knocked on Little Princess’s door and went downstairs together for breakfast.
Then they took advantage of the streets not yet being crowded and went shopping together.
At this time in Chang’an, there was dense fog.
When the visibility is less than six meters, it’s hard to see people, and the buildings on both sides of the street are also hidden and revealed in this winter fog.
There are so many historical sites in Chang’an City that it’s incredible.
This is because during the hardest years of Daxia, even though there were wars all over the country, Chang’an had never been captured by the enemy.
Aside from air raids, it was barely affected by wars and had always been an important rear base.
This is not only because Chang’an is located inland and has a sufficient strategic depth, but also because of the natural barrier of the Tong Pass.
More importantly, Chang’an has been the capital of thirteen dynasties, and it is not only important in geographical location but also extremely significant in the hearts of Daxia people, which has been heavily guarded during wars.
This has allowed the historical sites of Chang’an City to be preserved to the greatest extent.
Even after the arrival of modernization, the entire Chang’an City has not seen many skyscrapers, and the traditional architectural style has been preserved as much as possible, achieving a high level of aesthetic accomplishment.
Every year, countless tourists come from far and wide to this city, just to witness its beauty with their own eyes.
Of course, this has brought many inconveniences to the modern development and construction of the city’s economy and society, but the citizens living in Chang’an City have calmly accepted these inconveniences.
Their sacrifices have given them a city that is a miraculous blend of modern and traditional, coexisting in harmony.
It is not like in Lincoln’s previous life memory, where many originally breathtaking buildings now only have a stone pedestal left.
Especially on a day like today, when the fog is so thick, many modern details are hidden by the dense fog.
What is visible are just the sparse pedestrians in the fog, the ancient and tranquil buildings on both sides of the street extending endlessly, seemingly without end.
Being in this environment, it doesn’t feel like walking in the 21st century, but rather like traveling back to a day several centuries ago, seeing the scenery of that time.
Lincoln turned to look at the little princess next to him, who was wrapped up like a small fat bear, struggling to hold up the camera and take pictures, and suddenly felt like laughing.
It’s better not to time-travel anymore.
If he really went back several centuries, he wouldn’t be able to see the princess, let alone take her out for a walk early in the morning like he was doing now.
Before he knew it, they had arrived at the Big Wild Goose Pagoda Square.
Even with the dense fog, there were early-bird citizens of Chang’an exercising.
The two didn’t disturb others and walked towards the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, which only half could be seen in the heavy fog.
A guy wearing a black long-sleeved shirt with only a very short layer of black hair left on his head probably thought it was odd for two young people to appear at this time and took the initiative to greet them: “Hello there, what are you doing out so early?”
“Oh, hello, we’re here to see the Big Wild Goose Pagoda,” Lincoln responded courteously.
“Big Wild Goose Pagoda?” The guy frowned, and looked back, “What’s so interesting about this rundown Big Wild Goose Pagoda?”
“It’s just a place for tourists to come and see, it’s where Monk Tang translated the scriptures, nothing special.”
Lincoln looked at the guy in surprise, and the Little Princess also raised her eyes from behind the camera lens to look at the guy.
They obviously didn’t expect such an evaluation for the Big Wild Goose Pagoda.
Seeing their reactions, the guy paused for a moment.
He took a closer look at the camera headband on Lincoln’s head, then the professional camera in the Little Princess’s hand, seemed to realize something was off, and asked: “Are you guys recording this to post online?”
Just as the Little Princess was about to say no, Lincoln quickly nodded and said, “Yes, it might even be on TV.”
“Oh, wait a moment then, just a moment.”
After saying this, the guy spat into his palm, rubbed his hands, then smoothed the nearly non-existent hair on his head as if tidying up his hairstyle.
He adjusted the collar of his collarless crew-neck long-sleeved shirt and finally smiled, no longer speaking in the local dialect but instead switching to very standard Mandarin:
“The Big Wild Goose Pagoda was built in 600 AD when Monk Xuanzang returned from India with scriptures. The Tang Emperor built the temple in order to praise Xuanzang’s great achievements at the Temple of Great Maternal Grace…”
Little Princess looked in surprise at the guy as he became like a tour guide, solemnly introducing the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, and then listed a long string of well-known ancient buildings in Chang’an like he was reciting a menu.
Finally, he didn’t forget to summarize: “Our Chang’an has been the capital of thirteen dynasties, with a long history and culture. We welcome numerous domestic and foreign tourists to visit our city. Thank you.”
After finishing his lines, he maintained his expression and kept his smile for a few more seconds before asking again, “Have you finished recording?”
“All done, all done,” Lincoln nodded repeatedly. “The knowledge of a local is impressive. I admire that.”
The guy just smiled and, with his curiosity satisfied, turned around and went back to his exercise.
However, Lincoln heard him disdainfully muttering under his breath as he turned away, “This damn shoddy Big Wild Goose Pagoda.”