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Chapter 1045: Chapter 917 Unexpected (Please Subscribe!)
Su Rui stepped out of the airplane.
He walked across the jet bridge.
Through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, what caught his eye was a modern, large-scale airport.
With a significant amount of capital invested.
The facilities at Xin’an City Airport were very comprehensive, with numerous jet bridges. Unless it was a special circumstance, for the safety of the aircraft and personnel, passengers were not allowed on the airplane’s runway.
"Director Su, this place is really nice, just like they say online. I heard it’s even built by our Huaxia companies," said a young girl from the legal department excitedly beside him.
Both girls from the legal department were in their twenties.
They had just graduated from undergraduate programs and had gone straight into the Group’s legal department, one being the niece of a Group deputy director, and the other the daughter of a manager from a higher Level Transportation Construction Group––both were untouchable figures.
That attire.
Bright and colorful, cool and breezy, they looked completely ready for a vacation, while Su Rui and his subordinates only dared to wear suits.
Su Rui was just about to speak.
Just then, another girl chimed in, "Indeed, it’s even better than the airport in Yangon."
Su Rui clarified, "In terms of size, Yangon and Naypyidaw’s airports are bigger than this, since they are the capital of Myanmar, but if we’re talking about modernization, this airport is a bit better."
Following the crowd.
They headed outside.
At that moment.
A plump middle-aged man quickly approached them.
"Brother Su, where are you heading to?"
Su Rui turned his head to see.
It was a garrulous businessman named Yu Tao, who had been sitting next to them when they boarded in Kunming. They had just chatted briefly before Yu Tao took a phone call; they did not know each other well.
"We’re looking for a hotel to stay at first, a simple one will do. Any recommendations?" Su Rui asked with a smile.
Yu Tao knew they were first-timers as soon as he heard them.
"Brother Su, staying in a hotel here is not like in the domestic area. All the hotels here are operated by the subsidiary companies of Myanmar Bank Group, and private ownership hasn’t been opened yet. If you want to stay in a hotel, there are service counters at the airport exit."
Su Rui was momentarily stunned, "What? There are no privately owned hotels?"
Yu Tao shook his head, "None. In the town, every building you see, except for the civil residences in the villages, is almost all property of the Myanmar Bank Group, and they run the commercial housing themselves.
There were quite a few incidents of tourist exploitation in the past, but have you ever heard of any hotels being punished? That’s because all the hotels are run by them, and they control the prices very strictly.
There won’t be cases of hotel price surges during the travel rush hour. Of course, booking difficulties are inevitable, so next time you come, it would be best to book a hotel in advance through their official website, or you might find yourself without a place to stay."
"Thanks for the heads up; however, while that’s good and all, does the economy have any vitality? It’s not a case of ’big shop bullying,’ is it?" Su Rui pondered, recalling the domineering state-run guesthouses and shops from the past.
That service.
Was simply atrocious.
Yu Tao explained cheerfully, "You can rest assured about that; the service attitude here is very good. Although the hotels are operated by the Myanmar Bank Group, jobs aren’t iron rice bowls here.
If service industry personnel receive a large number of complaints or are found guilty of negligence and laziness at work, the Tourism Services Quality Supervision Bureau of the Myanmar Economic Zone steps in to handle the situation. Once substantiated, the case will be reported to the Myanmar Hotel Operations Group.
Minor cases might result in a wage penalty; serious ones lead to immediate dismissal and an entry in the credit record. You don’t realize how terrifying it is to be dismissed from an enterprise under the Myanmar Bank Group here."
Yu Tao was Chinese.
But he had gradually integrated into the local life and deeply understood how fearsome the Myanmar Bank Group was; the entire Myanmar Economic Zone depended on this Group for its livelihood.
For those dismissed by it.
In this land, it was very difficult to find any decent job again.
"They... does no one supervise them?"
Su Rui truly could not comprehend.
This System.
It was like a state within a state.
Yu Tao shrugged, "Who would? You should know what it used to be like here, and later, when Deputy Leader Ling took over forcefully, it has since been under Ling’s sphere of influence. The Myanmar government has almost no say here.
The legal framework here is nothing like Myanmar’s. It’s stricter but also more humane. When dealing with legal issues, they take a completely different approach that quickly makes those who break the law fall in line."
"..."
Su Rui was speechless.
It seemed so domineering.
It truly was a state within a state; it’s incredible that Myanmar could tolerate it. It went to show just how formidable Deputy Leader Ling really must be.
"Brother Yu, which hotel are you staying at?" Su Rui inquired.
Yu Tao replied, "I’ve rented an apartment here. I stay in both places regularly, so staying in a hotel isn’t economical for me."
As they talked,
they had already arrived at the border checkpoint.
Pointing to a conspicuous shop, Yu Tao said, "That’s the hotel. You go and apply for your visa first, and I’ll leave now. There are many Chinese people around here, so if you run into any problems, just ask anyone on the street, and they’ll tell you. Have fun."
"Sure, goodbye," Su Rui waved.
They were ships passing in the night.
The two did not exchange contact information.
If it’s meant to be, they will meet again.
After Yu Tao left,
they quickly finished applying for their visas.
Arriving at the hotel reservation counter, Su Rui handed over their passports.
"What brings you here?"
The staff member was a beautiful woman who smiled at Su Rui and to his surprise, she spoke in Chinese, quite fluently too.
"Company business. We need to open an account with the Myanmar Bank," Su Rui answered honestly.
"What price range are you looking for?"
"Just the average is fine."
"How many nights will you be staying?"
"Two days."
"..."
After a few questions,
Su Rui chose a hotel that was close to the headquarters of the Myanmar Bank Group. The price wasn’t too expensive: eighty Asia Dollars a night. The place was a bit of a ’pit’ though—they did not provide fake invoice services.
Whatever amount you stayed for,
that’s the only amount you could get an invoice for.
Fortunately, none of them were lacking that bit of money.
Exiting the airport doors,
they saw a row of taxis parked there, with a long queue, and not a single person touting for business, nor asking where they wanted to go, which was a bit different from the enthusiasm Su Rui had expected.
As he wondered,
the girl next to him took the lead and walked forward, "Let’s go, Director Su, it’s like this with the airport taxis here. Just choose any with the green light on, and nobody will come touting for business."
"Ah?... Oh."
Su Rui felt a bit regretful for not looking up travel tips before coming.
There were many of them,
so they split into two separate taxis.
"Are you from Huaxia?"
As soon as they got in the car, the driver asked in Chinese. His pronunciation was strange, but very smooth.
"Yes, you can speak Chinese too?" Su Rui looked at the driver in surprise; it was one thing for the girl to speak it, but this driver looked to be in his forties, older than him.
The driver chuckled, "I didn’t speak it well before, but now, to serve international travelers, the Special District Management Department requires us to learn English and Chinese, claiming these are the two most used languages in the world. English is fine, but Chinese is really difficult."
"You’ll get better with more practice," Su Rui consoled.
The driver nodded, "That’s right, that’s what they tell us too, so I usually try to chat a few words with people from Huaxia, especially to practice pronunciation. Listen, I’ve already passed Level 2 in Chinese proficiency."
"You guys... have Chinese proficiency tests?" Su Rui was almost incredulous.
"Of course, it’s held once a month. There are no restrictions in other industries, but in the tourism and related service industries, there are strict foreign language level requirements here. You have to reach that level to work in this industry," the driver nodded.
"That’s really... impressive, my man," Su Rui said sincerely.
It was not a simple feat that the driver could express himself in Chinese in a way he could understand.
Upon receiving the compliment, the driver boastfully said, "Of course, my great-grandfather was Chinese, who later fled here because of famine. It’s just that after coming here, we didn’t speak much Chinese, and I didn’t learn much.
"The ones who speak it best are those who came over from our father’s generation, or whose villages have a good tradition of passing along the language. Their Chinese is very fluent, and some even have considerable cultural heritage.
"In our Myanmar Economic Zone, those culturally-rich Chinese descendants are doing very well. They hold significant positions in various departments under the Myanmar Bank Group and the Special District Government."
Hearing the driver’s ancestors were also Chinese,
Suddenly,
Su Rui felt much warmer toward him.
Hearing that the Chinese descendants were doing well here, Su Rui felt happy for them as well.
