Cutting-Edge Technology R&D Center

Chapter 44: Yanjing, Yanjing

“So this is Yanjing.” Wang Hao’s trip had gone very smoothly, but the moment he stepped off the plane, he immediately felt his breathing grow a bit labored. Having grown accustomed to the air in Gancheng, he was indeed struggling to adjust upon arriving in Yanjing. As soon as he stepped off the plane and looked up at the hazy sky, he truly understood what smog was all about. “The air in Yanjing has always been like this. Although Yanjing itself doesn’t have heavy industrial pollution, Beihe Province has quite a bit,” Lan Wei said, glancing at Wang Hao and Fang Bing as she explained. “The air here is way worse than in Gancheng,” Fang Bing said, furrowing his brow. “Let’s go. We’ll grab a cab and find a place to stay first—class doesn’t start that early,” Wang Hao said after thinking for a moment. He’d been waiting at the baggage carousel for quite a while; once he’d retrieved his suitcase, he turned to the other two. “Hao Ge, what on earth is in that suitcase? It’s so heavy.” Fang Bing looked at the largest suitcase, gave it a lift to help carry it, and felt its weight. “A server and some hard drives,” Wang Hao said with a smile. Aside from the server and hard drives, the suitcase contained only a few changes of clothes. Wang Hao, Fang Bing, and Lan Wei hailed a taxi and headed toward downtown Yanjing. It was already getting late—their flight had departed at 2:00 p. m. , and after landing and collecting their luggage, it was nearly 5:00 p. m. by the time they were done. They decided to find a hotel to stay the night and sort out the apartment rental the next day. It took them an hour to get from Yanjing Airport to the city center. They checked into a hotel, dropped off their luggage, and then headed straight for Yanjing’s most famous Peking duck restaurant. They’d long been eager to try Yanjing’s Peking duck—even Wang Hao was eager to sample the city’s famous dish. “Xiao Yu, Yanjing’s roast duck is the most famous. Since you’ve just arrived in Yanjing, your uncle will take you to try it.” Wang Hao suddenly heard the voice of a middle-aged man beside him. Realizing they were also heading out for roast duck, he took a closer look at the group: a middle-aged man with a somewhat stern expression, a middle-aged woman, and two teenage girls around the same age—eighteen. One of the girls, in particular, struck Wang Hao as somewhat out of place in Yanjing. She was dressed plainly, her eyes brimming with curiosity about the city, and her slightly furrowed brow suggested she wasn’t quite used to the atmosphere here—all of which stood in contrast to the bustling city. Yet her simple attire couldn’t hide her stunningly beautiful face. Wang Hao detected no trace of self-consciousness in this girl who seemed somewhat out of place in Yanjing; on the contrary, he saw deep confidence in her eyes. As if sensing his gaze, she looked in his direction. After their eyes met for a moment, Wang Hao gave a slight nod as a greeting and turned his attention away from her. “Just as people say online, this really is a tourist attraction,” Wang Hao thought as he looked at the entrance to Quanju De Roast Duck in Yanjing. The rich historical atmosphere there would make any first-time visitor feel the weight of the restaurant’s legacy. Quanjuede Roast Duck has a history spanning over a hundred years. Although there are many time-honored roast duck restaurants in Yanjing, this one is by far the most famous today. “Wang Hao,” Su Yu murmured to herself. She was the young woman who had exchanged glances with Wang Hao earlier. As someone who closely followed news reports about him, she instantly recognized him as Wang Hao—the provincial top scholar like herself, now the subject of nationwide buzz across Hua Guo. Countless media outlets had headed to Gancheng, but they never expected Wang Hao to actually show up in Yanjing. She could already imagine how the media in Gancheng would all come up empty-handed. “Sis, why aren’t you moving?” another young woman walking alongside Su Yu asked, noticing that Su Yu had gone a bit blank. “Oh,” Su Yu replied quickly and hurried to catch up. A faint smile crossed the middle-aged woman’s face. Su Yu was the daughter of her husband’s first cousin. Since Su Yu was going to college in Yanjing, her husband had brought her along when he returned to his hometown. However, Su Yu’s poise and demeanor consistently outshone her own daughter, which had always made her feel somewhat uneasy. Now, at last, she had caught a glimpse of a weakness in Su Yu—namely, her lack of worldly experience. After Wang Hao, Lan Wei, and Fang Bing left the restaurant, they returned to their hotel. The dinner had cost a pretty penny, and Lan Wei couldn’t stop fretting about the expense for quite some time. Wang Hao felt a twinge of regret as well; it was the first time he’d spent so lavishly. But when he thought about how delicious the roast duck had been—and considering that real estate in Yanjing was so expensive—it was only natural that the cost would be significantly higher than in Gancheng. Especially now that Wang Hao had his own source of income, he wasn’t as concerned about the cost. He simply couldn’t bring himself to skimp on his own well-being just to save money when he had the means. Over the next few days, Wang Hao and Lan Wei looked for apartments near Yan’da University, while Fang Bing went to the outskirts of Yanjing to do a livestream. After searching around, Wang Hao found that the rent for apartments near Yan’da University was simply too expensive. The thought of buying a place even crossed Wang Hao’s mind, but when he realized he only had three million in cash, his heart sank. In Yanjing, where prices easily run into the tens of millions, his three million simply wasn’t enough—and he still needed that money to set up a server cluster for Longnao in the city. In the end, out of necessity, he rented a two-bedroom apartment near Yan’da University. Fifty to sixty thousand yuan went right out the door—one month’s deposit and three months’ rent upfront—and that cost really stung Wang Hao for quite a while. Once they’d settled in, the three of them set out to explore the major sights of Yanjing. First up was the Forbidden City, the famous imperial palace from history. For several days in a row, they explored every corner of Yanjing—except for one place: the Great Wall. “He who has not been to the Great Wall is not a true hero—we’re finally here,” Fang Bing said, panting heavily. Even with his physical fitness, he was out of breath—let alone Lan Wei. The only one faring slightly better was probably Wang Hao, though even he was breathing harder than usual. He might have exceptional physical conditioning, but he wasn’t Superman; climbing the Great Wall was still exhausting. “It’s just so crowded during summer break,” Wang Hao said, somewhat relieved that he’d chosen the highest section of the Great Wall, where there were far fewer people than elsewhere. It was the height of summer vacation, and tourists from all over the country were bringing their children to the Great Wall to experience the wisdom of ancient people. Ring, ring, ring Just as Wang Hao reached the highest point of this section of the Great Wall, his phone suddenly rang. He pulled it out and was a bit surprised. “Mr. Chu, what brings you to call me?” Wang Hao said as he answered the call. “Don’t keep calling me ‘President Chu’… The software has been modified and refined, and I plan to release it in a few days. Would you like to take a look first?” “President Chu” was none other than Chu Tian from the Blackberry platform. After hearing Chu Tian’s words, Wang Hao thought for a moment and replied, “President Chu, where is BlackBerry’s office in Yanjing? I’ll come over.” He had encrypted that “Dear Sanitation Worker” app so its core content remained hidden, but he’d allowed modifications to the interface and the addition of other features. After granting Chu Tian access, he hadn’t paid it any further attention. Now that he heard the modifications were complete, he suddenly wanted to see what the updated app looked like. “You’re in Yanjing?” Chu Tian was taken aback and asked hurriedly. “Yeah, I’m climbing the Great Wall.” “You came to Yanjing without telling me? I’ll send you the address to your phone in a minute. Once you’re here, I’ll treat you—don’t refuse.” After exchanging a few messages, Chu Tian and Wang Hao had grown much closer. “Okay.” Wang Hao didn’t refuse; he simply gave a brief reply.