Chapter 114: First Arrival in New York

Under the guise of “market research,” they embarked on a spontaneous trip.

It was already evening. If they left for New York now, they might still make it in time. Su Mu and Li Ping’an instantly agreed and decisively began packing. With just backpacks and a few changes of clothes, they were ready.

They had just shipped a load of goods yesterday, leaving only a handful of computers in the warehouse. Not far away was a small town where fishing boats docked at night; thieves probably wouldn’t bother coming to such a place.

Opening the safe, Su Mu found over six thousand dollars in cash inside. Many employees preferred receiving cash bonuses to evade taxes and save some money, so they had specially bought a secondhand safe to keep a few thousand dollars on hand for emergencies.

At this time, ATM machines were still a novelty and hadn’t spread widely yet. Bank hours were short, so it was inconvenient not to have some cash.

Su Mu knew bonuses were given at the end of the year to retain employees. He had read detailed books on how to run a company well and had been studying such materials recently.

However, Penguin Company was just starting out, and both Su Mu and Li Ping’an were young. They struggled to command authority over a group of adults. Throwing money at them was an effective way to motivate the sales team. Commissions were usually paid immediately upon receipt of the final payment. Even those unwilling to listen to Su Mu would relent out of respect for “Franklin.”

This tactic worked well. Since the company’s founding, there had been no disputes, partly because employees were often traveling on business, leaving little opportunity for conflict. The first batch of hires—Matthew, McKay, Phelps, and other “old employees”—had come to regard Su Mu with new respect.

After packing, they set off immediately. The nearest airport was in San Jose to the south, but Su Mu worried the small airport had limited flights, so he suggested going directly to San Francisco.

Taking a bus or train was too troublesome, so they found a taxi and agreed on a fare of forty dollars. Without hesitation, they got in.

It was their first time flying. Upon arrival, they asked the staff how to buy tickets. There was a flight at 8:20 that evening. Security was lenient; after checking tickets, they boarded shortly. After more than five hours of tense flight, they landed at New York’s JFK Airport.

Only seven and a half hours had passed since they decided to come to New York…

“Wow! New York!” Li Ping’an exclaimed excitedly as they got into a taxi bound for Manhattan. He had rarely traveled before.

From the air, they had already glimpsed New York’s bustling splendor. No other city in the world had as many skyscrapers as Manhattan, with Central Park in the center, surrounded by towering buildings. The New York skyline of the early 1980s was already magnificent.

Su Mu found it astonishing. He had never experienced such spontaneous travel—one moment on the West Coast of America at dusk, the next on the East Coast at night, wide awake despite it being two in the morning.

More precisely, it was past two a.m. on the West Coast, while New York was already in the early hours of the morning. San Francisco was three hours behind, and it was already Thanksgiving Day there.

Even many Americans couldn’t keep track of the time. If in a hurry, they would usually ask staff for the current time after landing and adjust their watches accordingly.

New York had several boroughs, but people generally only knew Manhattan—the home of the Empire State Building and Wall Street. They directed the driver there.

Having no plans, they told the driver to take them to the Empire State Building, intending to find a nearby hotel to rest.

Both were young and full of energy; staying up all night was no big deal. However, the white taxi driver yawned repeatedly along the way. Life in New York was stressful, and if it weren’t for dire financial need, who would stay up all night driving a cab?

They arrived in front of the Empire State Building, paid the driver, and Su Mu led Li Ping’an in a random direction to find a hotel. In unfamiliar New York, buying a map was necessary to get acquainted.

It was just past six a.m. The streets were sparsely populated with cars. With plenty of money in their pockets, they had a wide range of options. This time, Su Mu bit the bullet and booked a hotel costing over a hundred and twenty dollars a night. Upstairs, the room was spacious and clean, offering some comfort—the money hadn’t been wasted.

**************************

They woke up around noon.

Half-opening his eyes, Su Mu saw his friend Li Ping’an watching TV. Sitting up, he scratched his head and asked, “When did you get up?”

“Get up?” Li Ping’an laughed. “I never slept! Some maniac kept flying a helicopter overhead. Just as I was about to fall asleep, the noise started. So annoying!”

Su Mu had been sleeping so soundly he hadn’t noticed. He replied, “That’s a big city for you. In Chinatown, you’d hardly see a helicopter. I heard rich people here commute by helicopter.”

“Really? Where do they land?”

“Are you crazy? On the rooftop of their company building, of course. LA has traffic jams, but New York is definitely worse…”

Stretching, Su Mu got up, found some clean clothes, and went to shower. The heater was on in the room.

At the end of November, New York’s temperature dropped below freezing. They had always lived in California and had never experienced such cold. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to bring warm clothes—they simply didn’t have any. They hadn’t anticipated this, and by the time the plane landed in New York, it was too late.

They went out to buy clothes first. Not far away was a department store. Su Mu chose a down jacket. The bulky garment was uncomfortable, but compared to freezing, the discomfort was bearable.

They had lunch at KFC. At that moment, Li Ping’an lamented, “Maybe we’re idiots. Why come to New York in winter? We should’ve gone straight to Hawaii!”

“I didn’t expect this either, but since we’re here, might as well stay. Maybe we’ll even see snow.”

They both looked up at the sky, which was thick with dark clouds. A cold wind swept through the street, making passersby hunch their shoulders.

Su Mu continued, “It might really snow. I’ve never seen snow in my life.”

“Me neither. What’s next?” Li Ping’an mumbled while biting into his burger.

“The Empire State Building? Fifth Avenue? Times Square?”

“Fifth Avenue. Then we can go to the Empire State Building at night to see the city lights. Standing atop those tall buildings at night... I’d probably freeze my brains out.”

Coming from the warm south, the cold was their greatest shock. The chill killed all enthusiasm for sightseeing and shopping.

An elderly man at the next table was listening to the radio, which reported a baby had been born in Antarctica yesterday. Hearing the word “Antarctica,” Su Mu couldn’t help but shiver.

Just as they stepped outside KFC, standing by the curb to hail a cab, Su Mu noticed something on his jacket. As he brushed it off, he realized they were snowflakes.

Looking up, snow was indeed beginning to fall. From afar, the Empire State Building stood amidst a gentle flurry of descending snowflakes…