"Let's say okay, we can't land in Calcutta, you can only parachute, understand?" This was Jenkins' only condition, "It was the territory of the British, and the port of Calcutta had been bombed twice by Japanese planes, and the British air defense forces were nervous and would open fire when they saw planes." ”

"Deal!" Liu Yan agreed directly, Ji Yuqian is an enthusiast of various sports, parachuting is his forte, Guan Lu has also participated in parachuting activities many times, not a novice, only the leash has not jumped, but with his own assistance, there must be no accidents.

The terms were negotiated, and the plane immediately took off and flew to Calcutta, the former capital of British India.

Two hours later, the four members of the crossing team arrived in Calcutta, because there was no flight mission, the four of them parachuted down, and before leaving, Liu Yanzhi paid 3,000 US dollars, but Jenkins refused.

The four of them parachuted down on the outskirts of Calcutta, staggering and landing safely, the fertile land of the Ganges Delta, lush vegetation and verdant greenery, and a nearby village, full of low adobe thatched houses, surrounded by only a piece of coarse cloth, villagers running to watch, they were dark-skinned, kind and warm.

Ji Yuqian tried to communicate with the villagers in multiple languages, and eventually the village elders agreed to accept a parachute in return, send them to Kolkata in an ox cart, and provide a hearty dinner.

Lianzhu admired Ji Yuqian very much and asked him what language he spoke.

"Bengali." Ji Yuqian shrugged and said, "There are too many Indian languages, I have to try them one by one." ”

Dinner is a typical Indian meal: a pile of rice on plantain leaves and a small piece of yellow curry, stirred by hand and eaten, this is the superlative food that the village can offer, after all, the silk umbrella noodles of four parachutes can provide beautiful saris for the women of the whole village.

The group endured the nausea and ate a little curry rice, gave the rest to the salivating children, and took advantage of the sun before the sun went down, took an ox cart into the city, walked a simple dirt road, and got on the gravel-paved high-grade road, and occasionally a car passed by, and a city in the distance was full of shadows. That is the great Kolkata.

Kolkata is an internal city located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, a tributary of the Ganges River, and the city is divided into two distinct areas, the white area inhabited by white colonists, and the black area inhabited by indigenous people, the former full of Victorian buildings, wide roads, green grass, trams and underground drainage systems, and the black area is a dense shanty town in which countless Indians live and live a life inferior to livestock.

From 1772 to 1911, Calcutta was the capital of British India and the center of the scientific, cultural, economic, and political affairs of mainland India, where English was the lingua franca, and the city was very different from her suburbs, to use a phrase that would later become popular, the city was like Europe, and the countryside was like Africa.

The ox cart couldn't enter the tall white area, the four of them got off the car and transferred to the tram, except for Ji Yuqian, the other three were all coming to India for the first time, especially the tethered pillar, who looked so big and went out of the country, seeing everything fresh, and the two eyes were not enough.

"I've been here in 2001 and it's basically not much changed." Ji Yuqian said, "It's really a living fossil city. ”

There are many Indians on the streets of the White Zone, but most of them are high-caste people, wearing suits and leather shoes with walking sticks, reading English newspapers while waiting for the train, and talking to each other in English.

Ji Yu was familiar with the way and found a hotel where he used to stay, the Royal Hotel Kolkata, a white Victorian building, a polite Indian doorman, an amiable British lobby manager, and delicious coffee, all at the cost of ample travel expenses.

The crossing group has a large number of dollar bills, the US dollar is used all over the world, and it is stronger than the pound, Ji Yuqian's generous tipping immediately won respect, and the front desk opened three rooms for them, Liu Yanzhi and Lianzhu lived together, and Ji Yuqian and Guan Lu each lived in a single room.

It didn't take much effort, except for Liu Yanzhi, all three of them began to have stomach troubles, the curry rice in the countryside played a role, and the saying that you don't eat cleanly and don't get sick is limited to China, and it doesn't work when you come to India, they vomit and diarrhea, go to half their lives, and have an empty stomach after pulling out, so they have to call for supper.

The meals in the hotel are much cleaner, bread and milk, chicken and fish steaks, you can eat boldly with confidence, Ji Yuqian also told you a joke, saying that during the Second World War, India was not devastated by the war, and the small life was not bad, it is said that a duchess came to Delhi from London, which was bombed by Germany and was desperately short of food, and the maid brought a plate of turkey meat, and was trying to feast, but found that this plate of meat was used to feed the dogs, which shows the preciousness of peace.

……

The four settled down in Kolkata and began to plan their next steps. In the 40s, the aviation industry was highly developed, and there was no shortage of transnational and intercontinental flights before the war, and short-distance flights were not uncommon, and even poor China had a small number of flights, and the great poet Xu Zhimo was killed in a plane crash on a postal plane.

However, during the war, all resources were tilted towards the military, international flights were basically suspended, and only the country's military and political dignitaries flew around by plane, and ordinary people who wanted to travel across the country could only take cruise ships, but sea transportation should beware of the attack of German submarines, and if they did not do well, they would lose their lives.

For a while, there was a feeling of desperation in the crossing group, there was no embassy or consulate of the Republic of China in Kolkata, and there were basically no overseas Chinese, so they could not ask for help.

"You've read Verne's novel Around the World in Eighty Days." Ji Yuqian said, "As long as you are willing to spend money and do not hesitate to spend money, you can achieve your goal." ”

Guan Lu said: "Are you saying that we buy a ship and sail directly to the United States?" ”

Ji Yuqian said: "Doctor, it is now the 40s of the 20 th century, and if your thinking keeps pace with the times, we can buy an airplane." ”

Liu Yanzhi said: "Yes, buy an airplane and hire a few more pilots." ”

The three of them laughed, but they were all dumbfounded after laughing, they were not familiar with the place, who to find to buy a plane in Calcutta, India is not the United States, this is a relatively backward colony in industry, not to mention whether there is money to buy an airplane, even if there is money, I am afraid that it will not be able to buy it.

The pillar said: "Chen Dashuai has a plane at home. ”

Although India gives the impression of beggars on the streets and dirty cities, many princes have a lot of wealth, and even at the end of the nineteenth century, Indian princes became synonymous with local tyrants, and it is not clear which of the princes owned a private jet.

Ji Yuqian went downstairs to the front desk to exchange some pounds and Indian rupees, and at the suggestion of the lobby manager, he exchanged a lot of coins to make it easier for the ubiquitous beggars.

"Please call a tailor who makes a suit, I think I'm going to need a couple of new suits to cope with the heat in India." Ji Yuqian said.

"No problem, sir, you must have something important to do in Kolkata." The manager was very good at chatting and could see that the guests had a desire to talk.

"No, I'll have to stay with you for a while, at least until the consulate is built." Ji Yu said, he was vivid, fluent Oxford, the manager was in awe, and he really thought that this distinguished guest was a diplomat of the Republic of China who was preparing to build the consulate in Calcutta.

"I'm going to need a car." Ji Yu said, "You might be able to help." ”

"Can you do a Rover car, twelve cylinders, 1939 model." The manager smiled with a mouthful of neat teeth.

In this way, Ji Yuqian successfully disguised himself as a diplomat, Guan Lu became the diplomat's wife, Liu Yanzhi was a secretary, and the leashing pillar was a handyman, and the tailor made new clothes for each of them to match their new identities.

Ji Yuqian was dressed as an English gentleman, a three-piece suit in the morning and evening dresses, a lot of gold cufflinks, Nanmu canes, well-dressed and graceful, with a well-read wife who was proficient in English, it took less than three days to integrate into the Kolkata high society circle and successfully obtain important information.

There was a princely lord with British education, Gangadhar. Khan lived in the city, where he owned a manor, two villas, and high-end apartments in the city, as well as countless jewels, and most importantly, an airplane.

Gangadhar. Khan had studied in London at university, but he was still a true princely lord at heart, with a penchant for spending, gambling, collecting luxury cars, and preferring to study ancient Indian mystical spells.

Hearing that the lord of the land has an ascetic monk who can hang in the air, Ji Yuqian thought that this was a breakthrough, and he spent some effort to finally catch up with Gangadhar, and the group took a Rover car with a blue sky and white sun flag to visit the manor in the suburbs.

Located on the banks of the Hooghly River, the manor is full of trees and fountains, and hundreds of fountains erupt together in the hot summer summer, lowering the temperature and creating a comfortable environment, not to mention the fountain itself, the sculptures on each fountain alone are masterpieces from the hands of famous artists, and a manor is a treasure trove of art.

The main building is a Victorian palace, shaped like Buckingham Palace, countless guards and servants create a palace feeling, the butler invites the Chinese guests from afar into the gate, and after countless porches and rooms, finally meets Gangadhar. Your Excellency Khan.

It was a man in his twenties, with gold-rimmed glasses, fair skin, and a sackcloth around his body, who looked like a young version of Mahatma Gandhi.

After some greetings, Ji Yuqian got to the point: "Your Excellency, I heard that you have a lot of research on the Suspension Technique, I don't know if you can let us open our eyes." ”

"I'm very sorry, but Singh is not a street juggler, he only hangs in the air in a state of meditation." "He is the only one in the world who can master the magical art of suspension, and if every guest asks to see a show, Singh will leave here." ”

Ji Yuqian said, "I have a different opinion about Your Excellency's words, and the suspension technique was invented by us Chinese. ”

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