Chapter 361: It Is Fang Zhao
Translator: BeetleBarker Editor: Tennesh
Carter simply explained the matter to Fang Zhao and asked if Fang Zhao was able to borrow a car on his end.
Nanfeng had helped Fang Zhao rent a car beforehand, but the hotel was too far from the airport, so fetching someone from the airport would take too much time. In addition, the car had already been lent to Silver Wing for an emergency, and he wouldn't be able to get the car back immediately.
Fang Zhao got Nanfeng to ask around to check if there were any available cars while Fang Zhao himself sent messages to a few people. He remembered Tan Min, so he sent a message first, as he wasn't sure whether it was convenient for Tan Min to pick up a call at the moment.
Presently, Tan Min had just stepped out from a screening hall. He had wanted to learn from Fang Zhao and take notes while watching a movie, but he had only written down two words when he'd slapped his forehead. "I was nearly lead into the gutter by Fang Zhao. Smart recording software is available—why do I need to write with my hand?"
The main reason he couldn't manage it was because his writing speed couldn't keep up with the speed at which his brain thought. Tan Min was rather slow and his scripts were all entered into his computer.
Tan Min had just finished watching that movie and had recorded some of his thoughts regarding the movie via speech when he saw Fang Zhao's message and immediately called back.
"I just finished a movie screening." Tan Min didn't say more and waited for what Fang Zhao had to say. He knew that Fang Zhao contacting him at this time meant that he definitely had a situation.
"I have a senior who will be heading over here to attend an activity, but the roads are jammed and he can't leave. Do you know anybody in the area of the airport? Could you help send them to the venue?" Fang Zhao briefly explained the matter and expressed that he was willing to fork out extra money. With the current market price, although the journey from the airport to the venue was less than 30 minutes, hiring a local civilian vehicle was especially expensive, and the price would rise according to the urgency.
Hearing what Fang Zhao had said, Tan Min quickly told him, "All right, I will help you ask around and see if I have any friends who are passing by. Local cars are all booked beforehand and many are chartered for the entire day. It is all down to luck now."
"Thanks."
"Heh, welcome! All right, I will go ask around."
About two minutes later, as Fang Zhao was asking others, Tan Min replied. "How many people are there with your senior?"
"A total of seven people and three 24-inch packages."
"That's good. I have a friend who just sent people to the airport. He will be heading to the venue to fetch a group, so he can bring you senior's group along. What is your senior's name?"
"George Quintero. The fare...."
"Don't bother about the fare! Hurry up and inform your senior. It's best to send a few photographs. My friend will be arriving shortly. His vehicle number plate is..." Tan Min passed on the details to Fang Zhao.
"Thank you."
Fang Zhao didn't waste any time and informed Carter immediately after ending the call with Tan Min.
Carter immediately contacted those at the airport.
George Quintero was dripping with perspiration as he waited inside a coffee shop. When he heard the communications device ring, he picked up the call immediately.
"Teacher..."
"Send a photo of yourselves over and wait beside the road! There will be someone there to pick you up shortly." Carter wasn't interested in listening to any small talk.
"All right, all right! Thank you, Teacher! You are still as awesome as ever!"
"Don't thank me. This time, it was your junior fellow disciple who lent a hand. Today, my face has already been shamed by you!"
After informing them of the vehicle number plate and ranting some, then forwarding the photographs over to Fang Zhao, Professor Carter decided to listen to some ballads to calm his nerves down.
Before he put on his earpiece, Carter felt as though he had forgotten something, but after mulling it over for a few seconds, he wasn't able to recall what it was.
"Never mind, it can't be anything important if I can't remember it." Carter stopped wondering and listened to his tunes.
On the other side, George Quintero wiped away the perspiration from his face after receiving a tongue lashing from Professor Carter as he thought to himself, Wasn't I just asking you for help for someone to arrange a car? Why did you have to be so irritable?
Unless Teacher Carter encountered a bottleneck recently while composing?
Or perhaps Old Mister Mo criticized him somehow?
That's not right, junior fellow disciple?
George Quintero finally caught the main point and kneaded his chubby face while trying to think hard. "Who is this junior fellow disciple?"
Professor Carter was already over 100 years of age and had groomed too many master's and Phd students. After George Quintero had finished his apprenticeship, he hadn't been too familiar with most of Professor Carter's other disciples beyond the minor impression he'd had of 10 or so of the more prominent ones. Junior disciple... The last disciple to be accepted would surely be called junior fellow disciple, but George Quintero had no either who the last one to have been accepted was.
Despite flipping through his communications device's address book, he still wasn't able to determine who it was. However, this wasn't the time to think about it.
He instructed his own students to quickly carry their luggage to the roadside and look out for the vehicle number plate that Carter had given him.
About two minutes later, a local private sports car drove over.
One side matched the photographs of the person, while the other side matched the vehicle number plate for confirmation.
Verified.
The driver gestured with his hands. "Hurry up and get in!"
The other people waiting at the side watched this group enviously. Getting a car at this time was really too difficult!
"Hey, mister, the road you are taking is different from the navigation system," a student said as he checked the navigation system in his hands and the road outside.
"Didn't you see the number plate on my car? The roads this car of mine can take are different from others." The driver looked pleased. He really loved seeing foreigners look at him in admiration.
A quick-witted student praised him. "Oh, yours must be the so-called 'green pass' plate that is limited to one per household?"
"Of course! There won't be any obstructions on this road, and the number of cars allowed here is strictly limited. The road is smooth as well, so we can drive much faster. We will be able to reach the venue in 15 minutes."
"Nice, we can make it!" The people in the car finally relaxed.
One student lamented as he saw two signboards beside the road in the distance promoting the film festival. "It's probably going to be a bumper harvest for 'Founding Era' this year. The boards on the sides of the roads are all for 'Founding Era'."
When this was mentioned, the driver got excited. "You can tell all this just from the nominations. For the drama series category, the others won't win anything. Us people from Corale Archipelago know this best. 'Founding Era' is really good, and the others have no way of competing!"
"Brother driver, how many chapters of 'Founding Era' have you watched?"
"I've watched them all! My favorites were the Xizhuo, Muzhou, and Yanzhou chapters. I watched the fighting in Xizhou, the dogs in Muzhou, and Fang Zhao in Yanzhou."
"You are also a fan of Fang Zhao?"
"Of course. Previously, he was all over the news because of his compositions being able to overcome the Hull virus. After I saw the news, I finished watching the Yanzhou chapter. I'm not exaggerating, but that junior fellow disciple of yours is really impressive!"
The expressions of the others in the car froze. "...Junior fellow disciple?"
The driver found their reaction bewildering. "Yea, wasn't he the one who helped you guys arrange for the car?"
George Quintero's hand that was adjusting his appearance paused.
"My junior fellow disciple is Fang Zhao?"
"Teacher, your junior fellow disciple is Fang Zhao?"
"What? It is actually Fang Zhao?!"
The driver in front immediately chuckled when he heard what these people were saying. "Are you guys trying to do a choral recital?"
George Quintero had a puzzled expression. "How can my junior fellow disciple be Fang Zhao? When did this start?"
The driver grinned even more. "It's your own fellow junior, what are you asking me for?" These people are really too foolish. "In any case, Fang Zhao contacted my friend who in turn asked me for help. Now, vehicle resources here are scarce and have all been booked as of a few days ago. Luckily, I was on my way to the venue to pick some people up, so this journey is on the way. Otherwise I really wouldn't have had the time to pick you guys up," the driver said.
"It's that busy?" a young student asked.
"Heh, of course! All year round, it is only these few days where it's a holiday and there isn't work. There are people all around who are crazy film buffs. However, each year, during these few days, we all double up as drivers." The driver's smile widened. He wasn't complaining the slightest. "It's like a supplement to our income."
Another young student was curious. "Then you people who take on roles as drivers during this period can earn quite a bit, right?"
"Not much, not much! Just enough to live well" The driver might have said it was not a lot, but the sides of his lips continued to curl upward, and his voice was cheery. "I'm not bragging, but we have a family here with a licensed car who are hardworking enough. The three of them take turns driving in shifts. Do you know how much they can earn in these 10 days?"
The few young students in the car were all extremely curious. "How much?"
The driver extended the five fingers of one hand. "Over a million!"
The others in the car: "..."
The figure is rather astonishing, but why did he have to put out five fingers?
The few young student's attention had been shifted, but George Quintero was still absent-mindedly kneading his face, and he didn't even realize that his hairstyle had already become messy.
My junior fellow disciple is Fang Zhao?
When did Teacher accept a new disciple?
That was the Fang Zhao who had ties to the commercial and artistic circles as well as the chaotic entertainment circle! How had his own teacher, who was a firm believer in academia, accepted an disciple like Fang Zhao?
Bewildered, George Quintero asked a few fellow disciples, yet they didn't know about this matter either.
By the time the car had arrived at the venue, George Quintero still hadn't solved this doubt. In his heart he thought, Teacher is also too much. He didn't mention that his junior fellow disciple was Fang Zhao, and he didn't give me a way to contact this junior.
After arriving at the destination and thanking the driver, the car drove off before they could even ask about the fare.
George Quintero reported his status to Carter and incidentally asked about Fang Zhao as well.
A short while later, Carter replied, evidently still in a bad mood. "Remember that it was your junior fellow disciple who helped you this time around. When you are there, if Fang Zhao encounters any difficulties, you guys have to look after him, understand?!"
"How can we take care of him? Isn't this sort of place his home ground?" According to George Quintero's point of view, this was the home ground of people belonging to the entertainment circle, including those teams that specialized in producing music for films. As for them, the academics, this sort of place made them feel slightly uncomfortable.
However, even if this was outside of their sphere, George Quintero felt that he couldn't shame his teacher, and since he had been invited by a cooperative partner, he ought to put on an air fit for the occasion.
Raising his head and puffing out his chest, George Quintero put on a proper appearance as he led the students into the venue, oblivious to the fact that his students were all bragging to their friends in various chat groups.
"We have reached the venue! We made it! My Teacher's junior helped us arrange a car, and a green license at that! We've got photos to prove it [Image]. On top of that, I just found out that my teacher's junior is actually Fang Zhao! Yes, it's that famous genius Fang Zhao!"
"Help, what were the students of masters in the Old Era called? What can I call Fang Zhao when I see him that won't sound so flattering but will still sound close?"