Tai City

Some people swim from here to there, and some swim from there to here.

It's hard to imagine that, ten years after Taiwan's economy began to take off in the 1970s, when Taiwan's per capita GDP was nearly $2,000 in 1979, someone swam across Silver Gate carrying a basketball. This person said, "As a Taiwan, I deeply love this place that gave me birth and nurtured me. I am willing to dedicate my life to its prosperity and happiness. But as a China, I feel that Taiwan being Taiwan for Taiwan people, should also make a greater contribution to the history of the nation... We, the ambitious youth, have no choice but to do so... From now on, the mainland will take off, and I firmly believe this... When I stood on the riverbank, listening to the surging water, I truly felt that if a great man cannot contribute his own strength, like Li Bing and his son, to the happiness of future generations for thousands of years to come, he would truly regret his life!"

There are always some people who can see what will happen decades from now, even when others find it unbelievable, and make decisions that seem unbelievable to everyone at the moment.

Liu Chang'an's plan to swim from An Tan to Taiwan is even more unbelievable, because in the past, experiments have been conducted on several people swimming in relays, with a cruise ship following to protect and replace the swimmers, and it still takes several days and nights to swim across the strait.

But Liu Chang'an is ultimately a different kind of human being. Normally, going to Taiwan would be a bit complicated and time-consuming. Su Mei and Ye Sijin are about the same age, both a bit older than Qin Peng. Every day they live is one day less, and they might leave at any time.

Crossing a strait is actually quite common. If you're not in a hurry, you can carry a large log to the beach, dig a hole in the middle to sit in, and let the log float with the ocean currents. As long as you pay attention to adjusting your direction, you can go to any coast in the world, cross the Alaska Strait, circle the Arctic Ocean, and drift to the Southern Hemisphere under the aurora borealis to see the penguins on the ice cap.

Of course, this is not an enjoyable process. Most of the time, migrating on the mainland is a more pleasant journey. Crossing mountains and wading through rivers, the scenery is different everywhere. A turn of the head may reveal a beautiful scene, a paradise, or the stone axes and hunting bows of a primitive tribe.

There are also many delicious foods, especially some fruits or other poisonous substances that can poison ordinary people, they are really delicious.

Long journeys at sea can be somewhat tedious, although occasionally one can learn about marine life in a comprehensive way, from playing and tasting.

By daybreak, Liu Chang'an had arrived at the coast of Old Bamboo. Old Bamboo is only a few dozen kilometers away from the administrative center of Taiwan, which is Liu Chang'an's destination. He went ashore and found a secluded place to change into dry clothes.

Using his phone screen as a mirror, Liu Chang'an looked at himself, twitched his eyebrows, pinched his nose, patted his cheeks, and adjusted his appearance.

After resting for a while, Liu Chang'an found the Old Bamboo High Speed Rail Station, bought a high-speed rail ticket, and entered the station.

No ID is required at Taiwan's high-speed rail stations, and there are no security checks. The platforms are more like subway stations in mainland China ten years ago without guardrails. There are usually only two platforms, one for southbound and one for northbound travel.

Individual Taiwan people may look no different from those on the mainland, but when a group of Taiwan people gather in a train carriage, there are some differences in their speech, behavior, and overall demeanor.

This time of year is peak commuting time. A monthly pass from Old Bamboo to Tai City costs only a few thousand local currency, which is not too difficult for white-collar workers with a decent salary to afford.

Of course, newcomers earning 22K shouldn't be so extravagant.

Liu Chang'an got off the bus in Tai City and, like any first-time tourist, looked around the city. He noticed that most streets lacked sidewalks, many shops had their doors directly facing the road, and the street greenery was mediocre. However, his purpose in coming here wasn't sightseeing. What was convenient was that Taiwan's urban area didn't have the large commercialized residential complexes common in mainland China. Here, neighborhoods with basic amenities like ATMs, daycare centers, post offices, supermarkets, ticket machines, and parcel lockers were considered luxury homes... Without these often-deceptive neighborhoods, Liu Chang'an could traverse the city much faster on the map.

Tai City has its own advantages and prosperous areas, but if you really look at the city as a whole, most of its areas look more like an old county town east of the Taihang Mountains, Wuling Mountains and Nanling Mountains in the mainland... There's no need to compare it with the infrastructure of County X, because the new urban planning and design concepts have advanced so much that there is a gap of several eras.

When you arrive in a new city, you always have to walk around, take a look, leave some impressions, and have many feelings. Life always needs moments of sentimentality or Chirp; otherwise, you would be too indifferent and forget that you are a member of this world.

Or perhaps it's a necessity for me to become a part of this world.

The Zhu Family has long since branched out, with many members outside the direct and collateral branches, scattered throughout the Tai City.

The Zhu Family owns a large mansion, but Su Mei may not live there. She probably rarely appears in the public eye, otherwise there would be a lot of gossip about her online.

Liu Chang'an turned on his phone. His SIM card hadn't been activated for international roaming, so he couldn't connect to the internet here. His entry into the country wasn't through normal channels, so he couldn't apply for an official free Wi-Fi account. He had no choice but to go to 7-Eleven to eat and browse the internet at the same time.

Liu Chang'an originally planned to go find her himself, but then thought better of it. He hadn't downloaded any WeChat apps, so he tried searching for Qin Yanan's WeChat and adding her as a friend.

"I'm in Tai City now, and I want to go see Su Mei."

"What? You're in Tai City now?" Qin Yanan was having lunch with Liu Chang'an yesterday noon, and even though transportation is so convenient now, she was still a little surprised.

"Yes." Liu Chang'an took a picture of the 010 Building and sent it to Qin Yanan. It was the tallest building in Tai City and a landmark building, which could be seen from many places on a clear day.

"It's very difficult to see Old Madam Su. Apart from Zhu Juntang and Third Mistress Zhu, it's not easy for anyone else in the Zhu Family to see her," Qin Yanan replied with some difficulty.

All I need to know is where she is.

"Then you have to tell me why you want to see her."

"Because I'm someone she would want to see, someone she wanted to see one last time before she passed away."

"Then why didn't you come and meet my great-grandfather first?" Qin Yanan asked, puzzled.

Don't argue with me.

Qin Yanan pressed her hand to her chest and breathed calmly. This little cousin was really infuriating. She really wanted to give him a hard time, but Qin Yanan wasn't that kind of person. Besides, her great-grandfather's instructions were still ringing in her ears.

Qin Yanan sent the address to Liu Chang'an, "I'm not entirely sure about this address either. Zhu Juntang said she was here when she returned to Junsha. Usually, she's with the old lady when she's back in Tai City. Zhu Juntang only returned to Junsha yesterday, so the old lady is most likely still here. If she's not, contact me again and I'll ask Zhu Juntang."

"Thank you, Miss Xiao Nan."

"What?" Qin Yanan was surprised by his form of address.

Your great-grandmother was often called Little Ye when she was a child.

"Then I should be Miss Qin too!"

"Little Nan is clearly cuter. Shouldn't a name be chosen based on cuteness? Or is it related to the surname?"

Qin Yanan found Liu Chang'an's thinking utterly incomprehensible, but at least he had finally learned to compliment people. This was a huge improvement compared to his previous comments like "You're not young anymore" or "You can't call her 'sister,' you should call her 'auntie'"... No, this wasn't really complimenting. He was just giving people nicknames based on his own preferences, right? Her name was cute, but he never said she was cute.

After finishing his orange juice, Liu Chang'an memorized the map and headed towards the address Qin Yanan had given him. Unexpectedly, Su Mei's residence was now near the Tulin Official Residence. It seemed that her health was quite good. Otherwise, most elderly people of this age would prefer to live away from the hustle and bustle if they could guarantee medical care in case of emergencies. The air and noise in the city could easily affect their frail bodies and minds.