Chapter 468: Heading South to Guangzhou!

Beijing International Airport!

Waving goodbye to Jiang Xue and Jiang Longcheng, who had come to see him off, Li Yi walked into the airport terminal, carrying his suitcase and a small shoulder bag.

This major international airport was quite different from the Capital International Airport Li Yi remembered.

The biggest difference was that only Terminal 1 and the apron were in operation at that time.

As for Terminal 2, it was not yet in operation, and many of its ancillary facilities had not even been built yet.

In short, it was quite different from the airport he remembered!

Upon entering the terminal, Li Yi noticed that there weren’t many people around; in fact, it felt a bit deserted.

This was completely incomparable to the bustling Capital International Airport of decades later!

There was nothing to be done about it; back then, you couldn’t just hop on a plane whenever you wanted.

Even if you had the money, that wasn’t enough—you needed a certificate from your employer, and it had to be for official business.

Private travel? Sorry, we don’t accommodate that!

So, flying at that time didn’t just mean “having the means,” but was also a symbol of social status.

For a significant number of people, flying was a matter of great prestige.

It wasn’t until 1993, when the government abolished the requirement for a referral letter to purchase plane tickets, that ordinary citizens could buy tickets freely, and civil aviation began to become accessible to the general public.

Li Yi quickly located the ticket counter at the airport and strode over.

“Hello, comrade. Do you have any tickets to Guangzhou?”

“We do have some, but please show me your referral letter and proof of employment!” the staff member said politely.

Compared to staff at other government agencies, the airport staff—whether ticket agents or others—were quite courteous.

Of course, this might be because their clientele was different; after all, in those days, only the wealthy or the privileged could afford to fly.

Li Yi had already obtained all the necessary documents and certificates for his flight a few days earlier, all issued by the cotton mill.

Immediately, Li Yi opened his small shoulder bag, took out all the necessary documents and certificates, and handed them to the counter.

After the female ticket agent carefully inspected Li Yi’s documents, she said, “Hello, comrade. The flight from Beijing to Guangzhou departs at 9:45 a.m. The fare is 68 yuan. Are you sure you want to purchase this ticket?”

“I’m sure!”

With that, Li Yi handed over seven 100-yuan notes!

To be honest, plane tickets these days are really not cheap.

At 68 yuan per ticket, that was almost equivalent to two months’ wages for an ordinary factory worker.

If the return ticket cost the same, that would mean working four months for nothing just for the round trip. No wonder so few people fly these days.

“Here are your tickets and boarding passes. Please keep them safe!”

“Thank you!”

After receiving the ticket, Li Yi breathed a sigh of relief.

These days, buying a plane ticket depends not only on your means but also on luck.

Many people, even if they have a letter of recommendation from their employer and the financial means to fly, still can’t guarantee they’ll get a ticket.

The most ridiculous part is that sometimes, even with all the paperwork in order, you still have to wait nearly half a month for a ticket.

Fortunately, flights to Guangzhou and Shanghai were the most common at Beijing Airport, so Li Yi’s trip went relatively smoothly.

At exactly 9:00 a.m., Li Yi finally boarded the plane.

But as soon as he stepped on board, he was startled by the scene before him.

There weren’t many people on board; out of thirty or forty seats, there were only seventeen or eighteen passengers, and most of them were men.

This was actually what Li Yi had expected; after all, business travel was still predominantly male-dominated these days.

But what Li Yi never could have imagined was that nearly every one of the dozen or so men on board had a cigarette in hand.

That’s right—the kind of cigarettes everyone knows: Huazi, Dazhongjiu, Ganghua, Guihua, and so on!

Everyone was puffing away, filling the entire cabin with a pungent smell of smoke.

On top of that, some were playing cards, others were drinking, and there were even those playing with lighters or striking matches.

Wow, he really had no idea flying was this “free” these days!

Amazed, Li Yi found his seat and sat down.

Shortly after, the in-flight announcement came on, and soon the plane took off from Capital Airport, heading straight for Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province!

The flight lasted a little over four hours, and the sights and sounds along the way left Li Yi quite astonished.

Not only was smoking allowed in the cabin and passengers permitted to bring their own lighters, but the flight attendants also handed out souvenirs—including keychains, playing cards, combs, fans, model airplanes, and all sorts of other trinkets.

In fact, shortly after takeoff, when the flight attendants noticed Li Yi wasn’t smoking, they specially gave him a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes and a few pieces of gum.

Although Li Yi didn’t smoke, he was curious about this pack of five cigarettes, so he accepted it.

Another surprise was the in-flight meal service; since the plane was scheduled to land at 2:00 p.m., it happened to be right around dinnertime.

As a result, Li Yi had the opportunity to enjoy the in-flight meal provided by the airline.

Unlike the simple, fast-food meals of decades later, the food served on the plane today was incredibly varied—not only did it include bread, red sausage, and ice cream, but there was even Five-Star beer, Maotai liquor, and red wine to drink.

Wow, the service on today’s flights really makes you feel right at home.

Of course, airlines these days are really taking some risks!

Li Yi’s first time flying in his previous life was back in the late 1980s, when civil aviation regulations were already very strict.

So this was a first for him—a real eye-opener.

? I have to say, this really is a magical era!

……..

At 2:10 p.m., the plane arrived on time at Yangcheng Airport.

As soon as he stepped out of the terminal, Li Yi spotted the person there to pick him up!

It wasn’t someone from Huang Lixing’s entourage, but his father-in-law’s secretary.

Jiang Shiying’s secretary’s surname was Shen; his name was Shen Tianhua. A top graduate of Beijing University, he was already serving as the secretary to the head of the Discipline Inspection Commission at such a young age, while also holding the position of Deputy Director of the Provincial Discipline Inspection Commission Office—a solid deputy division-level official.

Before arriving, Li Yi had called both Huang Lixing and his father-in-law, Jiang Shiying. Huang Lixing had originally planned to pick him up in person, but his father-in-law beat him to it, asking Li Yi to stop by his place first.

Consequently, Li Yi had no choice but to decline Huang’s kind offer to pick him up!

This was Li Yi’s first meeting with Secretary Shen. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the two left the terminal together.

They arrived at the parking lot outside the airport, where they got into a luxury Volga sedan and headed straight for the city center.

Li Yi had assumed Secretary Shen was taking him to his father-in-law’s workplace, but to his surprise, he was instead driven to a residential neighborhood of villas, where the car came to a stop in front of a courtyard.

“Comrade Li Yi, this is the boss’s residence. Go inside and rest for a while; he’ll be back this afternoon after work!”

With that, Shen Tianhua handed Li Yi a set of keys.

Thinking that this was quite in keeping with his father-in-law’s style, Li Yi thanked him, then used the keys to open the gate and walked toward the house.

His father-in-law’s home was quite nice—a small two-story villa with excellent interior design.

Although it wasn’t very large, it was comfortable and quiet.

Guangdong Province truly lived up to its reputation as the vanguard of reform and opening-up; this alone was a testament to that.

Li Yi had gotten up early that day, and after sitting on a plane for several hours, he was indeed feeling a bit tired.

So, after taking a quick look around the house, he lay down on the sofa and fell asleep…

………