The Director's words drew everyone's attention, and they all looked at the phone he held tightly in his hand, a big question mark forming in their minds.
The production team was truly ruthless, even bringing out an old-fashioned button phone. Even Zhang Han didn't know about this and, like everyone else, stared wide-eyed at the object in front of him.
Yi Xing quickly recovered, looking left and right. He noticed that no one intended to ask a question, unsure if they were too embarrassed or hadn't reacted yet. If they were hesitant to speak, it was his turn to step up.
After all, he was the youngest in the Hua Shao Group, so he could ask things his older brothers and sisters might not dare to. He took a deep breath and asked, "Director, can I ask a question?"
"You may."
"When we reach our destination, how will we get around without navigation? We might not even find the hotel."
"I knew someone would ask that question. Each time you arrive at a new location, we will provide a local promotional booklet. It will contain the locations and opening hours of various famous attractions. How you choose to visit them is up to your own arrangement. Here is the Rome one in advance."
Director Liao, fearing that the group might not fully understand, specifically had a staff member bring up the Rome promotional booklet and handed it to the current tour guide, Zhang Han.
"Then how do we book hotels?"
Yi Xing continued to ask, unwilling to give up. He had no objection to the communication device, but at least give them a smartphone, one that could access the internet. That would save a lot of effort, allowing them to book train tickets, hotels, research itineraries, and a series of other things online.
"It's all marked in the promotional booklet. You'll need to contact them by phone yourselves. Any other questions? If not, we're ready to depart."
The production team's arrangements were incredibly comprehensive; almost everything imaginable had been considered. The seven were forced to accept this arrangement and boarded their flight to Rome with their respective tickets.
On the plane, despite everyone sitting together, it was unusually quiet, perhaps because they weren't very familiar with each other. No one stepped forward to start a conversation; some closed their eyes to rest, while others looked out at the scenery.
Presumably, Director Liao couldn't stand it anymore and quietly called Brother Han over, asking him to announce the upcoming arrangements.
Returning to his seat, Zhang Han cleared his throat and took out all the travel funds for this trip from his bag. He counted the money in front of the other six people, and after finishing, he spoke.
"Our first stop on this trip is Rome. I spent three hours booking a hotel. I found one with a very high rating, located near the Spanish Steps and the Pantheon, which is quite convenient for us."
"Then, our daily budget in Italy is 120 Euros, but in Spain, it will be 100 Euros per person per day. This is the money for our Italy itinerary, and I've already exchanged it into Euros. I calculated it, and there's a total of 4700 Euros."
After he finished speaking, no one immediately picked up the conversation; they were all digesting the newly received information. The conditions were a bit too tough; each person could only spend 120 Euros, and the cities they were going to did not have low living costs.
"You've worked hard, Brother Han."
"Yes, yes, Zhang Han, you've worked hard!"
"Do you have any other thoughts?"
"No, you've arranged everything. We'll just follow your plan and listen to you." Zheng Peipei, as the eldest sister in the team, her opinion represented everyone's opinion.
While everyone else was busy with their own affairs, Yi Xing quietly leaned into Brother Han's ear and said,
"Brother Han, if you're unsure how to handle the rest of the itinerary, you can discuss it with me. Two heads are always better than one."
"Okay, I will." Brother Han agreed with a smile, though whether he would actually do so remained to be seen.
Since Yi Xing's smartphone had already been turned in, he found himself quite bored in his seat. Fortunately, he had packed some books in his bag before coming, which he could use to pass the time. Otherwise, he wouldn't know how to get through the next 11 hours.
Under the dual effects of reading and sleeping, time flew by. When the plane landed, it was already nine o'clock local time in the evening. The Hua Shao Group hurried, travel-worn, to the baggage claim area to retrieve their suitcases.
After getting his own suitcase, he helped the sisters with theirs. He thought the sisters were like him, that one large suitcase would be enough, but the reality told him he had thought too much. Looking at the nearly ten suitcases beside him, he was momentarily speechless.
Do they really need to bring so many things? They're only here for twenty days, but it feels like half a home is in these suitcases. Yi Xing only dared to complain internally; he certainly wouldn't dare to say it out loud.
He retrieved three trolleys from a distance and distributed the suitcases evenly. One trolley had the fewest suitcases, naturally meant for the sisters. He and Brother Han couldn't be solely responsible for everything. Everyone was just travel companions, not hired servants.
"Brother Han, how are we getting to the hotel? Are we renting a car?"
"I'll go ask." Zhang Han said, then walked off in one direction, his long legs quickly diminishing in their field of vision.
"No, wait, I'll go with you." Yi Xing quickly chased after him. In this unfamiliar place, it was best not to act alone. Having two people together would be much better, and they could discuss things with each other.
As he chased, he didn't forget to turn back and arrange for the sisters: "Sisters, Brother Han and I are going to ask how to get to our hotel. Please wait for us here for a moment; we'll be back soon."
Soon, he caught up with Zhang Han ahead. A perfectly normal airport was somehow transformed into a T-stage show by these two, especially since they were both wearing trench coats.
After walking for a considerable distance, a person suddenly jumped out from the side. She claimed to be Brother Han's fan. The two looked at each other, and confusion was evident in both their eyes.
Hadn't the itinerary not been announced? How could there be a fan here? It turned out that when they boarded the plane, Director Liao had arranged for someone to announce the lineup and the location of the first stop, which was why they could see a fan here.
"Are you planning to go to the hotel?"
"Yes, do you know how to get there?"
"By bus?"
"More or less, rent a smaller bus, because we have a lot of luggage."
"I know where it is, just follow me."
Yi Xing stood quietly to the side, listening to their conversation. This wasn't his fan, so there was no need for him to join in the chat.
"Taking the bus is the cheapest, right?"
"Yes, 5 Euros per person."
Hearing this, he couldn't listen anymore and interrupted: "Excuse me, I need to talk to him for a moment. Please wait here for a bit." Then, he pulled the other party to a corner.
"Brother Han, are you really planning to take the sisters by bus?"
"Why not? It's cheap and meets our needs, and it leaves some emergency funds for later." Zhang Han's reason was very sufficient; he was seriously considering the entire team's future.
"I'm not saying what you're doing is wrong, it's just that we've been on the plane for so long, everyone is very tired, and wants to get back to the hotel to rest as soon as possible. If we take the bus, we'll have to wait for it to arrive before we can go. Renting a car would be much more convenient. We should also ask the sisters for their opinion, we can't just make decisions by ourselves."
Zhang Han weighed the pros and cons, then nodded, acknowledging Yi Xing's viewpoint. After apologizing to his fan, he returned to the five sisters and discussed with them whether to take the bus or rent a car.
The votes for renting a car far outnumbered those for taking the bus. Following the directions of a passerby, they found the car rental place. However, due to the luggage and the number of people, they rented two commercial vans, one for people and one for luggage.
Finally, the group of seven arrived safely at the booked hotel, though it seemed quite different from what they had imagined.