Chapter 209: Chapter 209: Preparations before Departure
’How do I even get to the Congo?’ Back in his bedroom, Shen Yibin leaned against the headboard with a headache and started searching online. He knew he could forget about a direct flight; he figured no airline would run that route. ’Hopefully, the layover isn’t too long.’
After checking several booking websites, Shen Yibin finally found a suitable flight. First, he would have to travel from Yunzhong City to Shanghai. From there, he’d take an Ethiopian Airlines flight for a long, twelve-hour journey to Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. After a two-and-a-half-hour layover, he would board another flight. This final leg would take over four hours, landing him at Nedjili Airport in Kinshasa, the capital of the Congo.
Even if he left Yunzhong City a day early to rest overnight in Shanghai, the remaining travel time would still add up to nearly a full day. ’Can Hah’Er handle that?’
Shen Yibin quickly opened WeChat, found the Future Pet Shop, and posed his question. While he was at it, he also asked whether Hah’Er could adapt to the climate in the Congo.
"No problem. The pets we provide are all extremely healthy and highly adaptable. A small challenge like this is nothing to it. Furthermore, you don’t need to worry about local epidemics; its genes are completely immune." The Future Pet Shop’s underlying message was clear: ’Forget about Hah’Er, you should be worrying about your own safety. Hah’Er might be perfectly fine, but you’re the one who’s likely to succumb to the local climate and all sorts of diseases.’
The answer left Shen Yibin with mixed feelings. He was happy that he could finally take Hah’Er along, but worried because it meant he would probably have to get a bunch of vaccinations before heading to Africa.
*Pfft.* Shen Yibin’s happiness didn’t last long. He was floored when he saw the ticket prices. A one-way economy ticket from Shanghai to Kinshasa was 16,561. The website didn’t even show a first-class option, but he figured it had to be at least 50,000 per person. That was nearly ten days’ worth of profit from his shop.
’Let me see... There’s me, Sylvie, Hah’Er, and probably Sylvie’s butler, Alfred. That’s four tickets. The flights alone would be 200,000, which means 400,000 for a round trip. Factoring in other expenses, I’d need to prepare at least a million just to have some peace of mind.’
Luckily, Egg had helped him win big on a raw gemstone before. With that, plus Hah’Er’s pay from the promotional video and the shop’s revenue, he could just about scrape the money together after setting aside what he owed the renovation company. ’If it’s still not enough, I can always borrow a little from Xu Ye,’ he thought.
Money was a problem that could always be solved one way or another, but other issues were not so simple. The most pressing one was getting Hah’Er out of the country. Shen Yibin glanced at the time. It was still early, so he dialed Professor Wu Gui’s number. After the call went through, he spent over ten minutes asking a slew of questions about Hah’Er before finally finding a chance to broach the real subject.
"Hm? You’re saying you want to take Hah’Er to Africa?" Professor Wu Gui sounded surprised. "Why the sudden idea? What business do you have in Africa?"
"Er, well, Princess Sylvie has been interning at my shop, you see. Her internship is almost over, and she invited me to visit Africa for a bit." Shen Yibin had no choice but to use Sylvie as an excuse. "I figured if I’m going to be away, I wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving Hah’Er home alone, so I wanted to bring him along to see the sights of Africa."
"If you’re worried, you can just bring Hah’Er to me! If you’re busy, I can send someone to pick him up," Professor Wu Gui said hurriedly. "Several of the female pandas are pregnant. It’s about time you let Hah’Er come see his children, don’t you think?"
’Leaving him with you would be safe, sure, but the food situation would be a disaster,’ Shen Yibin thought. ’If Hah’Er is forced to eat nothing but bamboo, he’ll probably bite my head off when I get back.’ So, Shen Yibin rattled off a series of excuses and, with great difficulty, managed to dissuade Professor Wu Gui.
"Fine, I’ll go talk to the relevant departments and see what they say," Professor Wu Gui conceded. "But I have to warn you, a private citizen taking a panda abroad is completely unprecedented. Don’t get your hopes up. Our country is huge—wouldn’t it be nice to just travel somewhere domestically?" Even Professor Wu Gui wasn’t confident he could persuade the authorities to approve Shen Yibin’s request.
"What if I have Sylvie vouch for me? I promise I’ll bring Hah’Er back safe and sound," Shen Yibin pleaded, playing the Sylvie card once again.
"I don’t know about that," Professor Wu Gui said with some hesitation. "But maybe you could have her submit an official document. That might help. After all," he considered, "Sylvie’s status is quite unique."
"Okay, I’ll get right on it." With that, Shen Yibin ignored the late hour, stood up, and knocked on the door of the next bedroom. When Sylvie came out, he repeated everything Professor Wu Gui had just said.
"No problem," Sylvie agreed instantly. "I’ll contact the Sokovian ambassador to China right away and have him submit the documents to your Ministry of Foreign Affairs." She added, "Oh, by the way, I’ve already taken care of the plane tickets. The airline has reserved three first-class seats to Kinshasa for us. If you’re bringing Hah’Er, we’ll just need to add one more, but that shouldn’t be a problem."
Just like that, she’d saved him 400,000. ’It sure is good to be a princess,’ Shen Yibin thought. ’And I mean a real one, not the kind you find in a KTV lounge.’
’The three people Sylvie mentioned must be her, Alfred, and me, right?’ Before Shen Yibin could ask, Sylvie elaborated, "Alfred will be coming with us. He’ll be responsible for liaising with the local government for support and arranging a helicopter for us. It’ll be much easier to find the animal that way. Alfred has his helicopter pilot’s license, so he can fly us."
’That’s right,’ he realized. ’Transportation in Africa isn’t the best. If this animal, whatever it is, is hiding out in the middle of nowhere, there’s no telling how long it would take to find it on foot. A helicopter is an absolute must.’
"I’ll help you with your passport and visa, too," Sylvie offered, ever so thoughtful. "I’m not sure if Chinese citizens can travel to the Congo visa-free, but having Alfred handle the arrangements will surely smooth things over. As for money, if you’re a bit tight on funds at the moment, I can lend you some."
"That won’t be a problem," Shen Yibin quickly declined. "The complimentary flights have already lifted a huge weight off my shoulders. I can cover the rest of the costs." ’She’s already helped me so much and solved basically every problem I had. I’d be too embarrassed to accept her money on top of everything else.’
After listening to Sylvie, Shen Yibin started to think that maybe, just maybe, taking Hah’Er to the Congo wasn’t so impossible after all.
