Richest Rag-picker

Chapter 294: Chapter 293: Admitting Inferiority

However, a small hiccup occurred while they were boarding the helicopter.

As mentioned before, this aircraft had been modified. After the modifications, there were only four seats in the rear cabin.

But now there were five people. Aside from the four seats in the back, the only remaining spot was the gunner’s seat up front.

Obviously, no matter how daring Bai Menghan was, it wasn’t appropriate for her to take that seat, especially since Fang Chenyi wasn’t the one flying.

Director Sun glanced at the four seats in the aircraft and said with a smile:

"Well, Chairman Fang, why don’t you and Professor Wu go on ahead? I just remembered my colleagues are still waiting for me outside."

It was clear Director Sun was just being a smooth operator. He said this so he wouldn’t put Fang Chenyi in an awkward position.

Fang Chenyi looked at the four seats and felt a bit embarrassed. He had overlooked the fact that Professor Wu had brought someone with him.

Just then, however, Wu Xin, who had been curiously examining the helicopter, suddenly spoke up. Her bright, lively eyes blinked twice before she pointed to the gunner’s seat up front and said cheerfully to Fang Chenyi:

"Chairman Fang, there’s another empty seat there. If there’s no room in the back, how about I sit there?"

Before Fang Chenyi could respond, Professor Wu shot his granddaughter a glare and chided her softly,

"Xinxin, don’t be ridiculous. That’s the co-pilot’s seat and the weapons control station. It’s not a place just anyone can sit."

Who would have thought that this, instead of discouraging the young lady, only piqued her interest even more. She ignored her grandfather and turned to look at Fang Chenyi with a pleading gaze.

Fortunately, Bai Menghan, who was standing to the side, was not a jealous person. Besides, the girl was undeniably cute.

Being stared at like that by the young lady, Fang Chenyi felt a bit helpless. He glanced at Bai Menghan beside him and, seeing no reaction from her, finally spoke to Professor Wu.

"Haha, it’s no problem, Professor Wu. All the weapon systems on this helicopter have been removed. Right now, besides co-pilot functions, the front seat only controls the defense systems, so there are no weapons to worry about. How about this? I’ll have the pilot temporarily disable the co-pilot’s flight controls. That way, there won’t be any issues."

Hearing Fang Chenyi say this, Professor Wu hesitated for a moment before nodding. In truth, he wasn’t genuinely against his granddaughter sitting there.

To be honest, he doted on his granddaughter, and the chance to sit in a seat like this didn’t come around often.

He had only said that because he wasn’t familiar enough with Fang Chenyi to feel completely at ease.

Now that Fang Chenyi had made the offer and there really wasn’t enough room in the back, he took the opportunity to nod in agreement.

Seeing her grandfather nod, Wu Xin jumped for joy. After happily thanking Fang Chenyi and Bai Menghan, she eagerly scrambled into the front seat.

For safety’s sake, the pilot, Liu Yishou, came to the front cockpit to personally explain which things she was absolutely not allowed to touch before returning to his seat.

With a ROAR from the helicopter’s rotors, the black Apache slowly ascended. In the front, Wu Xin watched everything with extreme excitement, pulling out her phone and snapping selfies with a CLICK, CLICK, CLICK.

Ignoring the young lady, the others in the back—while Fang Chenyi and Bai Menghan were composed—Director Sun and Professor Wu were quite excited. This was especially true for Director Sun, who had never imagined he would one day get to ride in such an aircraft. He couldn’t stop looking down at the scenery below.

Professor Wu was much more composed than Director Sun. After watching for a short while, he put on his headset and said to Fang Chenyi:

"Chairman Fang, how about we delay dinner for a bit and go take a look at the business park from the air first?"

Fang Chenyi couldn’t very well refuse Professor Wu’s request, so he nodded in agreement.

"Haha, Professor Wu, please don’t keep calling me Chairman Fang. I’m not much older than your granddaughter. You can just call me Xiaofang. We’ll do as you say. Let’s go take a spin over the business park first."

After speaking, he addressed the pilot through his headset:

"Yishou, change our course. We’re going to take a lap over the business park first."

As soon as Fang Chenyi finished, Liu Yishou’s voice came through the headset:

"Roger that. Destination: business park. Estimated flight time is thirteen minutes."

Thirteen minutes. At the Apache’s cruising speed of 293 kilometers per hour, that was quite a long distance, spanning almost half of Qinhuang Island.

And so, the Apache flew toward the coast. Thirteen minutes later, it arrived right on schedule above the business park.

At Professor Wu’s request, the helicopter flew to the center of the area, ascending from 1,200 meters to hover at an altitude of 2,000 meters. From this height, they had an unobstructed view not only of the business park but of the entire island.

Professor Wu took a camera out of his personal bag and began taking pictures of the ground below.

After taking the photos, Professor Wu put away his camera and took out a small sketchpad, beginning to sketch the terrain below.

About three minutes later, Professor Wu put away his sketchpad and had the helicopter start and stop as it moved along the area’s perimeter, his hands never ceasing their work.

Over half an hour later, Professor Wu had filled his sketchpad with dozens of hand-drawn topographical maps.

At his feet lay more than a dozen discarded drafts.

"Haha, alright, we can land now. Let’s go down for a closer look."

At this, Director Sun glanced at his watch, looking like he wanted to say something but was holding back.

Fang Chenyi saw this and understood, so he said with a smile:

"Professor Wu, you’ve been traveling all morning. Why don’t we go grab a bite to eat first and then come back? The helicopter is fast, anyway."

Who would have thought Professor Wu would just wave his hand dismissively.

"No need to go to all that trouble. When we get down, we can just find a convenience store and grab some bread to tide us over."

After saying that, he spoke directly into his headset:

"Xiaoliu, let’s fly over to the coast in front of Lotus Peak Mountain now."

For convenience, Professor Wu had been the one directing Liu Yishou, and now he didn’t hesitate to give another command.

Watching the elderly gentleman work with such serious dedication, Fang Chenyi couldn’t help but be moved.

At the same time, a feeling of his own inadequacy washed over him.

’If I treated my scavenging work with the same attitude this old gentleman has toward his,’ he thought, ’my net worth would probably at least double!’

He exchanged a helpless smile with Director Sun.

Then, Fang Chenyi’s gaze shifted, landing on the discarded papers at the old gentleman’s feet...