newbobooks Chapter 171 I Want to Learn to Fly a Plane
Chapter 171 I Want to Learn to Fly a Plane
After more than ten days of sailing, Lu Chen and Ike finally arrived at the Jeddah Port. Although the Jeddah Port at this time was not as prosperous as in later times, it already had a hint of prosperity.
As soon as Lu Chen got off the ship, a local man wearing a turban came up to him. The man asked him politely:
"Excuse me, is this Mr. Lu Chen?"
Lu Chen looked at the local in surprise. He didn't expect that someone here would recognize him. He came here without informing anyone. Lu Chen asked with some doubt:
"Excuse me, who are you? Do we know each other?"
The man smiled and said to Lu Chen: "Hello, my name is Akimu, and I am a follower of Aziz. Are you Chinese?"
Hearing this person claiming to be a follower of Aziz, Lu Chen nodded and replied: "Hello Akimu, I am Lu Chen."
Akimu said happily: "Mr. Lu Chen, you are finally here. We have been waiting for you here for a long time."
"Have you been waiting for me here for a long time? Did you know I was coming?"
Lu Chen asked in surprise.
Akimu replied with a smile: "Since the Chinese arrived in Riyadh some time ago, Aziz has told those of us who make a living at the dock to pay attention to the new Chinese. He told us to go up to any Chinese we see and ask if it is Mr. Lu Chen. All Chinese who come to see Aziz will know you, Mr. Lu Chen."
After hearing this, Lu Chen didn't know what to say to these local tycoons. He didn't know whether to praise them for their wit or complain that they were cheaters. Damn, you guys are doing this for your convenience, but I'm exposed by you. As long as the British guys find out, they will immediately know that I'm helping these local tycoons. Those British guys hate me to death.
Lu Chen looked at Akimu speechlessly and said helplessly:
"Then please take us to Riyadh."
"Okay, Mr. Lu Chen, please wait a moment. I'll bring two camels for you."
After saying that, Akimu ran towards the camel stable on the side of the dock. (This should be the name, after all, the place where horses are tied is called a stable, so the place where camels are kept should be called a camel stable.)
Then Lu Chen saw Akimu leading three camels as tall as humans out of the camel stable and walking towards Lu Chen.
When Akimu came to Lu Chen, Lu Chen pointed at the camel behind him and said:
"We're just riding this to Riyadh?"
Akimu smiled and said, "Yes, we are going to Riyadh on camels."
Lu Chen asked: "How long will it take us to get to Riyadh by camel?"
Akimu said, "About ten days."
My god, it takes ten days to get to Riyadh by riding a camel. What the hell is this? Lu Chen said, "This is too long. Is there a faster way, such as a train or a plane? If there is no such way, a car will also work."
Akimu said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Lu, we don't have these things. Only those Westerners have these things you mentioned. In fact, you bought the wrong ticket this time. If you get off the ship in Manda, it will cost a lot to get to Riyadh. After all, it is only more than 400 kilometers away from Riyadh."
Did I miss my stop? Lu Chen glanced at Ike behind him.
"Ike, have we missed our stop?"
Ike shook his head and said, "Our ship will not pass through the Manda he mentioned."
"So how long does it take us to get to Manda by boat from here?"
Lu Chen looked at Akimu and asked.
Akimu said, "It will probably take four or five days to get to Manda by boat."
Forget it, I'd better just ride the camel. This way I can get to Riyadh faster.
With the help of Akimu, Lu Chen rode on the camel with the highest hump and then set off on his journey to Riyadh.
More than ten days later, Lu Chen finally arrived in Riyadh. He suffered a lot on the way. First, he rode a camel for a whole day, which rubbed the skin on the inside of his thigh. Then I had to insist on riding to keep going. It was so painful, just like when you run and your thighs are rubbed. You have to walk with your legs wide open. Just like the little day played by Teacher Pan in "Raise Your Hands".
After finally healing their wounds, Akimu led them back into the desert. When they first entered the desert, Lu Chen was still quite curious and sighed as he grabbed a handful of sand:
"If we transport all the sand here back and sell it as building materials, how much would it cost?"
But just one day later, he started swearing.
"What the hell is this place? It's nothing but sand. Damn it, when you open your mouth and take a breath, at least half of your mouth is filled with sand."
Lu Chen finally understood why people here always covered their mouths and noses with a towel. It turned out that this was to filter the air.
The journey of more than ten days had exhausted Lu Chen. As soon as he arrived in Riyadh, the first thing Lu Chen did was to find a comfortable big bed and lie down to rest for a day. Then he went to meet Aziz.
Aziz and his subordinates received Lu Chen very grandly. Aziz said to Lu Chen:
"Mr. Lu, welcome to our kingdom."
After welcoming Lu Chen, Aziz introduced his family members and some of his important subordinates to Lu Chen. Then they started talking about business.
When Lu Chen arrived at Aziz's camp, he looked at the weapons held by the soldiers in the camp. He found that the soldiers were holding German-made Mauser rifles. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart, this big consortium is really different. It has only been a short time, and he has already transported the rifles here.
Now that he had met Aziz, Lu Chen wanted to ask him how many weapons Morgan had sent this time and whether there were any extra weapons. Lu Chen wanted to find Aziz's weapons and use them to equip the people from Qingmu Hall.
"Mr. Aziz, when I came in, I saw that your soldiers were holding Mauser rifles. Has Mr. Morgan delivered the weapons to you?"
Aziz nodded and said, "Yes, Mr. Morgan is very efficient. Not long after I returned to Riyadh, Morgan sent the first batch of weapons. Now my soldiers are holding weapons sent by Mr. Morgan."
Lu Chen continued to ask: "How many weapons did he send this time? Are they enough for you? Do you have any extra weapons?"
Aziz said happily: "This time Mr. Morgan sent us 50,000 rifles, more than 40 artillery pieces, and even more than ten airplanes. We simply cannot use up all these weapons. After I equipped the troops, there were still more than 10,000 rifles left. As for airplanes and artillery pieces, Mr. Morgan hired professional instructors to teach us how to use them."
Lu Chen cursed in his heart, this damn Morgan, didn't he agree to let my people be the instructors? What does he mean now, he will take care of everything himself? Lu Chen decided to talk to Morgan about this matter after returning to the United States.
Then Lu Chen heard someone teaching how to fly a plane. Lu Chen's eyes lit up. He said, "Mr. Aziz, can you let me and my people learn how to fly a plane from the instructor?"