After leaving the shop, Su Chen glanced at his little motorcycle.
Taking this thing all the way to Jinshi City would really be asking too much of the old fellow!
Giving up on riding it, Su Chen headed toward the main road, planning to take a taxi and buy himself a car for transportation.
His standards were not high. A BMW would do.
As he was nearing the main road, a long-haired young man wearing a baseball cap, a ponytail, a short-sleeved shirt, and shorts, with a somewhat lazy air about him, brushed past Su Chen.
That rather strange outfit caught Su Chen's attention.
He turned back to look at the other man's retreating figure.
For some reason, he felt vaguely familiar.
At the BMW dealership, a TV hanging overhead was playing footage of reporters interviewing Nie Xing.
"None of us had expected that once we left, it would be three whole years. During that time, we could not tell our parents above us, nor our wives and children below us. We had to be mutes who could not say anything—that was what our leaders instructed us to do. We could only silently watch everything unfold and could not reveal a single word! To maintain confidentiality, many of our researchers had to bear their families' incomprehension, as well as the strange looks and accusations of others."
"All the researchers have worked hard. From the photos sent back to us, the research environment over there was far from ideal. It could even be described as extremely difficult! So what supported your decision to devote yourself to this work?"
The reporters looked expectantly at Nie Xing, waiting for his answer.
In the video, Nie Xing answered without hesitation:
"If you have a weapon, then I must have one too! Whether it is between people or between nations, it is always like this. If you are unbalanced, you will be beaten! Only by developing this technology can we achieve strategic balance and disregard their threats. We may choose not to fight, but we cannot lack the ability to fight back! We do not provoke others, but we cannot let them bully us either! This concerns the survival of the nation. I had to go!"
"Well said!"
All the reporters present looked at him with admiration and applauded excitedly!
As expected of a scientific hero sent to conduct secret research. His heartfelt words were direct and plain, yet so stirring and powerful!
"You truly deserve the National Merit Medal!"
One reporter said with deep emotion.
However, Nie Xing gave a bitter smile.
"Half of every researcher's merit medal belongs to their families. They have sacrificed far too much for us, and they have suffered through these three years as well!"
The female sales clerk in uniform had been staring at the TV screen. As Nie Xing's words stirred her up, she noticed a young man entering the dealership.
He was dressed simply, yet he was handsome. The longer she looked at him, the more attractive he seemed.
Although she did not think he had much purchasing power, the sales clerk still warmly went up to greet him.
"Hello, sir. This is an authorized BMW dealership!"
"Mm, I'll look around first."
Su Chen nodded casually, his gaze roaming over the BMWs in the showroom.
Then he went from car to car, inspecting them one after another.
In truth, Su Chen did not know much about vehicle models or configurations, so he had no particular requirements. As long as it was comfortable to drive, that was enough.
There was one other important requirement: speed!
He wanted to buy it today, pick it up today, and have the license plate and everything else handled as well!
There was no other reason. Jinshi City was still a long way from Qingyang County, his little motorcycle could not get onto the highway, and other forms of transport were never as convenient as having a private car. Therefore, Su Chen decided to buy a BMW outright.
"This one looks good. Do you have one in stock?"
Su Chen took a liking to a black BMW sedan with an attractive exterior. Its interior was stylish and high-end as well. After sitting inside to try it out, he found it quite comfortable.
Seeing Su Chen sitting in the display car, the sales clerk assumed he was merely asking casually and trying out how the car felt. She immediately nodded.
"Yes, we happen to have one of this model in our garage! Sir, would you like to take it for a test drive?"
"No need. I'll take this one. The listed price is four hundred thousand, right?"
Su Chen declined and asked directly.
Hearing his question, the sales clerk's expression changed in surprise, and she nodded instinctively.
What did he mean, he would take this one?
Was he buying it outright?
No way. Dressed so simply, he did not look like someone who could afford it. Could he be planning to buy it on installments?
She hurriedly added:
"It is four hundred thousand if you pay in full. If you would like installments, we are currently running a promotion."
"Yes, I'm paying in full. Can you also handle the license plate, insurance, and the other procedures? The faster, the better!"
Su Chen interrupted her and asked.
He had no time to waste talking with her.
Realizing that the handsome man before her was no ordinary customer, the sales clerk beamed. She had run into a big spender!
She promptly answered in a professional manner:
"Yes. Once you complete payment, I can have all the procedures handled for you within half an hour!"
It had to be said that a branded dealership had real capabilities.
A direct one-stop service. It felt great.
Half an hour later, Su Chen drove the BMW straight out of their garage and onto the road!
Trading a motorcycle for a BMW really did feel great.
Before he left, the shy sales clerk had even slipped him her contact information, saying that he could contact her anytime if he encountered any problems with the car in the future.
After leaving Qingyang County, Su Chen got straight onto the highway and headed for Jinshi City.
Old Qiao did not have much time left, so Su Chen could not afford to waste any.
In Jinshi City, after his two disciples left,
Qiao Xiang felt somewhat groggy and dozed off.
After his son Qiao Sheng saw that he had fallen asleep, he thoughtfully covered him with a blanket and finally let out a sigh of relief.
The night had exhausted him thoroughly. Too tired to continue, he lay down on the hospital bed beside him and fell asleep.
A long while later,
while both men were deeply asleep, a figure quietly arrived outside the hospital room. He stood in the corridor, peering inside through the glass on the door.
A doctor was standing beside him.
After watching Qiao Xiang and Qiao Sheng sleeping in the room for a while, Mei Liangxin finally pulled out a sum of money from the black leather bag tucked under his arm and stuffed it into the doctor's hand, his expression complicated.
"Please accept this money. I'll cover all of his medical expenses. Master has worked hard all his life. Please find a way to make him as comfortable as possible during this time!"
Before the doctor could return it, he sighed, turned around, and left with his large belly thrust forward.
He did not intend to involve himself with the teahouse anymore, but the investor would surely find someone else to negotiate with.
Elsewhere,
several mustached men entered the teahouse. They looked approvingly at its decor and nodded repeatedly.
The junior disciple who was cleaning the teahouse noticed them and hurried over to greet them.
"We are not open yet. Could you come back later?"
"It's alright. We really like Dragon Country's culture. Dragon Country's culture is broad and profound!"
The mustached men spoke slowly in clumsy Chinese.
Hearing their accents, the junior disciple's expression immediately turned cold.
Were they actually people from Kou Country?
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