sbdcsierra Chapter 1895 The Capital
Chapter 1895 The Capital
Chapter 1895 The Capital
At 2 PM, an announcement came over the loudspeaker to let passengers board.
The twins rushed over to grab a spot; their whole family was so conspicuous that anyone who didn't know better would think they had moved all the way to Beijing.
The moment Ye Yaodong stepped into the cabin, he saw his father's leg pause for a moment.
Standing at the cabin door, looking at the narrow aisle and two rows of seats, Mr. Ye suddenly asked, "This...this is inside the airplane?"
The flight attendant greeted him with a smile: "Sir, let me help you find a seat."
Mr. Ye was so nervous that he almost didn't know what to do with his hands and feet. He smiled and waved his hand, then slowly walked inside while holding onto the back of the chair.
Then she whispered to her mother behind her, "The flight attendants on this plane are so much better at service than the ticket sellers on the bus. Their clothes and appearance are so different."
Ye's mother pinched his waist, "Hurry up and move forward, find a place, what are you babbling about?"
After the couple found a seat by the window, they both pressed their heads against the window.
"Look, look, the airplane's wings! We're sitting on the airplane now."
Mr. Ye tried to control his excitement and lower his voice, but both he and his wife were so excited that their mouths were wide open.
"We're sitting inside the plane now, and we're about to take off."
But when the flight attendant came over, the two of them sat up straight like thieves, afraid that someone would see them peeking out the window and that they would be called ignorant and country bumpkins.
"Sit up straight..."
"Don't act like you're ignorant."
Ye Yaodong, who was sitting in front of them, turned around and said, "It's okay. There are plenty of people who have never flown before. If we haven't flown before, we haven't flown before. It's fine to take a few more glances out of curiosity. No one will laugh at us."
"Is that so? Then your father and I can rest assured." This time, Ye's mother had no more worries and immediately leaned against the window again.
"When it takes off, do the airplane's wings keep flapping and moving around like a bird's wings?"
Mr. Ye nodded in agreement, "That should be it, otherwise how could it fly?"
"Our window seats are good; we can watch the planes fly later."
As the plane taxied, everyone tensed up and gripped their seatbelts tightly.
At the moment of takeoff, Ye's parents closed their eyes and chanted Amitabha Buddha, summoning all the Buddhas, Guanyin Bodhisattva, Mazu, the Jade Emperor, the Earth God, and Sun Wukong to protect them.
As they watched the houses on the ground grow smaller and smaller, eventually becoming matchboxes and then a checkerboard pattern, they opened their eyes, paused for a moment, and stared out the window at the blurry green below.
Ye's father said in a trembling voice, "Have we ascended to heaven?"
Ye's mother was also nervous, "This time it's really like going to heaven."
The moment the plane broke through the clouds, the entire cabin lit up.
Ye's father leaned against the window, his eyes wide open.
"Look, it's really inside the clouds, it's really in the sky."
"It seems so stable, I don't feel anything at all?" Mother Ye looked around with great curiosity. "This plane is much more stable than a bus. When you ride a bus, it sways and shakes, but this plane is like it's on flat ground. There's no shaking at all. It's a bit like a train."
"Wow, that's amazing! It's so stable while flying in the sky, I don't feel a thing at all."
Not only the elderly couple whispered among themselves, but everyone else did too, including some passengers who had never flown before, all of whom looked on with curiosity.
There are too many people who haven't flown on a plane these days.
Lin Xiuqing held Ye Yaodong's hand tightly the whole time, feeling a mix of excitement, nervousness, and fear. Her heart was in her throat as the plane took off.
"That moment of being airborne was quite frightening, but now it's just like being on flat ground, I don't feel anything at all."
"Can you let go of my hand now? You've pinched me so hard, it hurts so much."
"Hehehe... I forgot," Lin Xiuqing laughed and patted his hand several times. "I was too nervous."
"Take a nap, we'll be there soon."
Ye Yaodong also turned to his parents and said that they probably hadn't slept much last night.
They chattered excitedly for almost half an hour, and only after the cabin lights went out during their afternoon nap did they gradually quiet down.
They were lucky; they flew for more than two hours without encountering any turbulence or shaking until they began to descend.
"Ouch, why is it falling down like this..."
Everyone was holding onto their seatbelts or handles, and they were all a little panicked.
The announcement then came on, saying the plane was landing and to please be careful, etc.
Everyone relaxed a little, but they all stared out the window.
"Have we arrived in Beijing?"
"The capital city should be right beneath our feet."
"That's really fast! It feels like just a moment. We've already arrived in Beijing in the time it takes to walk to town? Tsk tsk tsk..."
"This plane is really fast. Back in my hometown, it would only go as far as the town. It's amazing that we got to Beijing in such a short time."
Mr. and Mrs. Ye both pressed their heads against the window, extremely excited.
The others chimed in with their own comments.
As the plane began its descent, everyone felt a little uncomfortable in their ears. Ye Yaodong told everyone to open their mouths and swallow, saying that swallowing hard a few times would help.
When the landing gear was lowered, there was a loud bang, and everyone gripped the handrails tightly, their hearts pounding with tension.
The moment the plane landed, the wheels scraped against the runway, making a screeching sound, the fuselage shuddered slightly a few times, and then it began to slide forward.
This time everyone felt relieved, as they felt safe and secure.
"We've reached the ground!"
"We've landed, we're at the airport."
The twins cheered excitedly, "We've arrived in Beijing!"
Mr. Ye breathed a sigh of relief. “We’ve finally arrived. My heart has been pounding the whole time. I was so nervous. Thankfully, we arrived safely.”
Before the plane even came to a stop, the flight attendants announced over the loudspeaker that everyone should remain seated and collect their luggage once the plane had stabilized.
After taxiing for a long time, the plane finally came to a stop.
The radio said the ground temperature was 28 degrees Celsius and it was cloudy.
"It doesn't seem as warm as our house."
Ye Yaodong stood up and took things down from the luggage rack.
The twins had already stood up, eager to leave, but Ye Huimei called them back. Everyone stood up, so they couldn't leave even if they wanted to; they had to wait in line.
The boarding bridge was connected, the cabin door opened, and the crowd slowly walked out. Ye Yaodong and his large group also mingled with the crowd and walked out.
Stepping out of the terminal, the August evening in Beijing carried a slightly dry, cool breeze. It wasn't dark yet; a faint orange glow shone in the west.
Ye's father stood at the door and took a deep breath.
Ye Chenghu chuckled and patted him on the shoulder, asking, "Hey sir, what does the air in Beijing smell like?"
The old man thought for a moment and said seriously, "It's not as salty as ours."
"Hahaha……"
Ye's mother suddenly said, "Dongzi, are we really in Beijing?"
"We've arrived. Let's go out and take a look."
Ye Yaodong smiled and gestured for them to leave. There weren't many passengers left; only their large group was blocking the entrance.
Mother Ye then turned to Father Ye and asked, "Were we really flying in the sky just now?"
"It flew away? Do you think you're dreaming?"
Ye's mother immediately perked up, "Let's go, let's go out and see what Beijing looks like."
Ye Yaodong asked the staff for directions along the way, while looking at the bus stop signs, and then led a group of people out of the airport. He also bought a map of Beijing.
There were too many people, making arrangements difficult. It was already evening, and he noticed various travel agency signs nearby advertising "Beijing Day Trip," "Forbidden City, Great Wall, Ming Tombs," and "Group Discounts." Several people in white shirts sat there, holding small flags.
Ye Yaodong was just wondering where to stay for the night when he slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "This is it! Let's ask them to arrange it, it'll save us the trouble!"
It's easiest to just find a travel agency and let them arrange it for them. Otherwise, how can someone who is uneducated and unfamiliar with the area arrange so many people?
I'd rather spend a little more money to solve it directly and save myself the trouble.
As soon as they approached, a round-faced young man immediately stood up: "Hello, hello! Are you all here in Beijing for tourism? Would you like to join a tour group?"
Ye Yaodong nodded: "Yes, our family of more than ten people just came from Shanghai and we'd like to find a travel agency to arrange things for us. We'd like them to include accommodation and sightseeing in everything so we don't have to go through all that trouble."
The young man's eyes lit up: "Ten people? That's great! We happen to have family tours here, all-inclusive, including meals, accommodation, and entrance tickets, with a tour guide throughout the trip. It'll save you a lot of trouble!"
He quickly pulled up some chairs, saying, "Please sit down and let's talk."
Mr. and Mrs. Ye were a little reserved, and waved their hands to say that they didn't need to sit, they could stand.
But the young man was very enthusiastic and insisted on pushing the chairs over, so they happily sat down.
The young man brought out a price list and several photos, pointing to them and explaining: "Look, this is the standard tour, staying in guesthouses, triple and quadruple rooms, clean and hygienic. This is the comfort tour, staying in hotels, double rooms with private bathrooms. And this deluxe tour, staying in hotels catering to foreign guests, with air conditioning and TVs..."
Ye Yaodong looked down at the price list. His mother leaned over to look and whispered, "Why don't we just stay at the guesthouse and save some money?"
Hearing this from the side, Ye's father also said, "That's right, where you stay isn't just for sleeping, as long as it's clean."
Ah Guang said, "We're all fine with whatever you say. We'll split the cost."
Ye Yaodong nodded, asked about the price, and after some back and forth, they booked a comfortable luxury tour, six days and five nights, for 800 yuan per person, including breakfast, entrance tickets, transportation and tour guide, but not including meals.
It is a bit expensive. Even though wages and prices are high in Beijing, an average person's monthly salary probably doesn't even reach 800.
The workers on his ship only received a little over 600 yuan a year, while the factory workers only received 500 yuan.
They earn more in six days than an average person does in a month.
However, Ye Yaodong is not short of money now, and there are many elderly people and children in their team, so they still need to live comfortably.
Ye's mother muttered under her breath, "So expensive? There are 12 of us, that'll cost 1 yuan. That's terrifying. Can't we find a hotel ourselves?"
The young man quickly explained, “Auntie, it’s not cheap for you to find a hotel yourself, and you also have to go to the attractions, queue to buy tickets, and squeeze onto buses. It’s very troublesome. In this hot weather, you are an elderly person and a child, and there are so many of you. It’s too much trouble. You are also unfamiliar with the area, so it will only be more tiring.”
"We provide a full-service car service with a tour guide, so you don't have to worry about anything. They'll even give you explanations. Just follow along. It's so much better than you guys just wandering around aimlessly."
"Moreover, you can form your own small group instead of joining other groups. Our tour guides can also follow your schedule, so you don't have to rush."
That really resonated with everyone.
Ye Yaodong thought so too. There were too many of them, and he didn't want to be in charge of organizing things, especially since he was unfamiliar with the area.
Originally, he was thinking of just finding a tour group as soon as he landed, packing his bags and going on a group tour, which would save him the trouble and brainpower.
"Okay, let's do it this way. It's a rare trip, don't skimp on the money." Ye Yaodong took out his wallet and counted the cash.
Ah Guang also took out his wallet, "It's just right if we split it in half."
He nodded and, without being polite, said no, "You're signing a contract, right?"
“You absolutely must sign. We are a legitimate tour group. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to put up signs inside the airport. Look, there are airport security guards in front of us. They can’t rip you off. If you go outside to find those other tour groups, you might get ripped off.”
Ye Yaodong readily took out his money.
Then they waited for the tour group to arrange a car to pick them up and take them to the hotel; the rest of the trip would begin the next day.
Mr. and Mrs. Ye were heartbroken. They had been away for a week, and the airfare alone cost them 2 yuan.
"I knew I shouldn't have come out. This isn't a trip to have fun; it's a trip to burn money."
Ye's mother felt a sharp pain in her heart. 2 yuan could have bought a house in their rural village, and it had just been spent like that.
The key point is that so far I've only experienced one airplane, and haven't seen anything else.
"I should have asked earlier if we could pay after we were done having fun."
Mr. Ye nodded in agreement, "That's right, what if we get scammed if we just give away so much money?"
Ye Yaodong raised his mobile phone and said, "You can report it to the police. I've already activated roaming, and we have the receipt and contract."
"It's too expensive, I won't come next time. There are so many good things to do with that money."
Mr. Ye said, "We should have chosen the cheaper option. The cheaper ones are only 500 yuan, which would have saved us several thousand yuan. We're not picky about food and lodging; we're fine with whatever we eat and even a dormitory-style room."
Ye Yaodong sighed and said, "It's rare to get out of here, so we should make sure we have a good time. You calculated the total price for all of us, so you think it's too much. If we split it among ourselves, it's actually not that bad."
Ah Guang also said, "We're all elderly people and children, so let's choose better accommodations and meals, since we're in a foreign place. Besides, Dongzi and I aren't short of a few thousand yuan. It's no big deal if we spend it; it's a rare opportunity to come out."
"Yes, that's right. If we each pay half, it's only a little over 4000 yuan."
Ye Huimei said with a smile, "Let the younger ones pay for their own New Year's money. They've all saved up quite a bit. Since they want to join in, they can spend their own money."
"Ah! You didn't say that when you left?" Ye Chenghu's eyes widened. "I have no money."
Ye Xiaoxi chimed in, "I don't have any money either!"
Pei Zuo: "I have no money, but I'll give you my head or your life!"
Lin Xiuqing rolled her eyes at them and said, "Alright, you don't need to feel bad anymore. The money's already spent, so you don't have to pay for it. Just have fun, and so can your parents. Adong and the others spend a lot of money when they go out to treat others to meals, you just haven't seen it."
Ye's mother glared at the two of them, "You two should be more frugal when you're out and about. You can't be so wasteful. No matter how much wealth you have, it won't be enough to squander."
"Okay, okay, I bought a map. We can study the route first."
Ye Yaodong showed them the map, which diverted their attention from the money.
"Is the capital really that big?"
A bunch of heads crowded around, one person holding a corner of the map, looking around.
(End of this chapter)