On the 23rd, at 8pm, Shan City Jiangbei Airport International Departure Hall.
Zhao Chen stood in front of the check-in counter, wearing a dark gray thin down jacket and only carrying a boarding case in his hand.
Su Wantang stood next to him, dragging a slightly larger suitcase, wearing a long black coat and a scarf wrapped tightly.
Zhang Qingxue arrived earlier than the two of them. He had already completed the check-in formalities and had three passports and boarding passes in his hands.
"Zhao Zong, this belongs to you and Mr. Su."
Zhang Qingxue handed over the boarding pass, "The seats are all in business class, next to each other."
Zhao Chen took the boarding pass and took a look.
Hainan Airlines HU415, Shan City flies directly to New York Kennedy.
This route was launched at the end of October last year. Shan City is the first direct flight to New York.
If there is no such route, they have to fly Beijing or Shanghai Turning Point first, which will take at least four or five hours more.
"You're lucky." Zhao Chen put the boarding pass into his pocket, "At this time last year, I had to transfer to Beijing."
Su Wantang said softly from the side, "This time last year, you just took over Henglong."
Zhao Chen was stunned for a moment, then smiled.
This time last year, he had hundreds of plans in his mind, but none of them had been implemented yet.
One year later, he was standing in the international departure hall of Jiangbei Airport, surrounded by the two people he trusted most, with a ticket to New York in his pocket.
Security, border inspection, and customs were all smooth sailing.
At 9:40 pm, the three of them boarded the plane on time.
Boeing 787's business class is at the very front of the plane, and the seats can be completely lie-flat.
Zhao Chen sat by the window, Su Wantang was next to him, and Zhang Qingxue sat on the other side of the aisle.
The flight attendant brought a hot towel and a welcome drink, Zhao Chen asked for a glass of water, Su Wantang asked for a cup of tea, Zhang Qingxue asked for nothing, opened the laptop and started reading files.
When the plane took off, the night view of Shan City spread out outside the window.
At the intersection of the Yangtze River and Jialing River, the lights stretched out a long strip of light on the water. The lights of thousands of houses were like a blanket woven of broken gold, spreading from the feet to the horizon.
Zhao Chen leaned on the back of the chair and watched the light gradually become smaller and farther away, and finally disappeared under the clouds.
"What are you looking at?" Su Wantang asked from the side.
"Look Shan City." Zhao Chen said, "It looks pretty good from above."
Su Wantang also looked out the porthole window, but the clouds had blocked all the light.
After the plane stabilized, the flight attendant started serving meals.
Zhao Chen ate a little, flattened the seat, covered it with a blanket, and closed his eyes.
After a fifteen-hour flight, he needed some sleep.
But he didn't fall asleep immediately.
My mind is thinking about tomorrow - no, it will be today when New York arrives.
Jet lag is a wonderful thing. When you fly halfway around the world, time changes, but your body still lives in the original time.
He opened his eyes and glanced out the porthole.
It was pitch black, with only the lights on the wings flickering in the darkness.
After a fifteen-hour flight, the plane landed at New York John F. Kennedy International Airport at 10:20 pm Eastern Time on February 23, United States.
Outside the porthole, the night of New York is brighter than that of Shan City.
The skyline of Manhattan sparkles in the distance, the spire of Empire State Building lights up with white lights, and the torch of Statue of Liberty looms in the darkness.
Zhao Chen leaned on the back of the chair, looked at the brightly lit city outside the window, and raised the corner of his mouth slightly.
New York. He is finally here.
Not many people passed the customs.
Zhao Chen was in the queue, with only a few business class passengers and a couple with children in front of them.
The immigration officer was a black woman. After looking at Zhao Chen's passport and immigration card, he asked, "What are you doing here at United States?"
Zhao Chen said, "Business."
The immigration officer asked again, "How long will you stay?"
Zhao Chen said, "Two weeks."
The immigration officer flipped through the passport, stamped it, and handed it back to him.
Zhao Chen took the passport, said "Thank you" and walked out of the arrival hall.
Zhang Qingxue has already ordered a car.
The driver of a black Lincoln SUV, an old white man in a suit, helped them put their luggage into the trunk and opened the door.
The three people got into the car, drove out of the airport, and got into Van Wyck Expressway.
Su Wantang was sitting in the back seat, looking at New York outside the window.
The streetlights on both sides of the highway run back in rows. In the distance are the dense residential areas of Queens. Even further away, the skyscrapers of Manhattan are like a glowing wall.
"New York is different from Shan City." she said.
Zhao Chen sat next to her and looked out the window. "What's the difference?"
Su Wantang thought for a while:
"Shan City's lights are scattered everywhere, from the mountains to the riverside, layer by layer.
New York's lights are crowded together, and all the light comes from those buildings."
Zhang Qingxue turned from the co-pilot:
"Wantang is right. The light of New York is upward, and the light of Shan City is downward."
Zhao Chen smiled, "Aunt Zhang, your words sound like poetry."
Zhang Qingxue also smiled and turned back to continue watching the road.
When the car drove past Queens Bridge, the skyline of Manhattan appeared completely in front of us.
Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, Rockefeller Center - those buildings that have been seen countless times in movies are now truly standing in the night.
Zhao Chen Looking at those buildings, what I was thinking about was not how beautiful their lights were, but the people inside those buildings.
Goldman Sachs is at Wall Street 200, JPMorgan Chase is at Park Avenue 270, Morgan Stanley is at Broadway 1585.
On those people's desks, there is a quotation of Tesla for Options.
Do they know that someone is already buying Tesla's Call Options in large quantities?
Do they know that "Era Vanguard" who made 8 billion US Dollar on Bitcoin has come to New York?
They will know soon.
The car stopped in front of a hotel in Midtown Manhattan.
Zhang Qingxue chose a boutique hotel near Central Park, which is unassuming, but quiet and comfortable.
Zhao Chen checked in and the three of them went back to their rooms.
Zhao Chen's room is on the 27th floor, and the window faces the south side of Central Park.
He stood in front of the window, looking at the huge darkness in the park - that was the only place Manhattan without lights.
At the edge of the park is the tall building Fifth Avenue. The lights are like a golden edge, framing the darkness inside.
He checked the time on his phone.
United States 11:20 PM Eastern Time.
Beijing The time is 12:20 noon.
His body was still in Beijing time, which should be the time when he was mentally alert, but he knew he had to reverse the time difference.
Tomorrow - no, later today - he needed to clear his head.
He closed the curtains, took a shower, and lay on the bed.
The hotel bed is very soft and the pillows smell like Lavender.
He closed his eyes, still spinning those numbers in his mind - the stock price of Tesla, the position of Premium of Options, and the position of Short Sellers.
He turned over, pushed the numbers out, and forced himself to count sheep.
When he counted one hundred and thirty-seven, he fell asleep.