"You still have a sailing team? Also sponsored by the Báb-Báb Company? Hong Tao was very surprised.

"No, no, we set up our own fishing team last year, and we thought that this fishing team would not be able to keep it, so we bought a racing sailboat and planned to practice sailing while fishing at sea. Who would have thought that with you, the fishing team was saved, but the sailing team was also established, and they just happened to play together, without delay. The Báb explained the origin of the sailing fleet.

"But I can't sail a sailboat, and I can't even tell the difference between southeast and northwest when I get to sea." Although Hong Tao is also very curious about sailing competitions, he really has little confidence in his teammates, he can vomit for days when he catches a fish, and he dares to play sailing!

"I think you have a talent for sailing, really, not everyone can be a good sailor, you can definitely do it, it doesn't matter if you can't sail, I can teach you, it's easy to learn." Babu was quite persistent, and he was bent on encouraging Hong Tao to go to the competition with them.

"Let's talk about it when I have a chance in the future, I really have things in my country that I need to go back to deal with, if I have time every year, I will go to New York to find you to learn sailing, Yarborough, do you welcome me?" Hong Tao really figured it out, he resolutely couldn't go, this boat of people except for Babu, almost all of them are prone to seasickness, to the sea, he still has kung fu to learn to drive a sailboat, and he can't serve a few of them all day long, it is estimated that Babu also wants to let himself go to the boat as a cook, hygienist and apprentice, this big pit must not jump!

"Of course, we're still short of a deck-washing sailor, and you're the best fit." Arrbrough touched the bruise on his head again and replied viciously.

"Do you really want to go back to China to get your ecological reservoir? This is really not a good idea, Philip and Yarborough and I have mentioned your plan, originally to help you get some investment, but neither of them is very optimistic about your plan. Both Yarborough and Philip are in the investment business, and their opinions are worth considering. Paul knew what Hong Tao wanted to do when he was in such a hurry to return to China, and once again spoke out to persuade him.

"I haven't figured out my plan yet, so you're not optimistic? Or when I've got all the plans in place. How about I show you again? I don't think it's so unbearable, although I may not be able to make a profit in the short term, but I don't take profit as the main purpose, as long as I don't lose too much, it's better to draw, after all, this is a long-term plan. Although Hong Tao doesn't look like he has a temper, it's just an illusion, it's not that he has no temper, but his temper has been polished out in his previous life, and many things are not worth losing his temper in his opinion. In essence, he is still a more persistent person. As long as he thinks about things by himself, he generally doesn't install the south wall, and he has a lot of momentum to hit the south wall.

"I don't think your plan is unprofitable, on the contrary, I'm quite bullish on its profit model, but there is an important question that I am most worried about, which is how many years you can sustain it. I've never been to China, so I don't know much about the laws there, but Paul and I talked about it. According to the law of the United States, you cannot lease and buy this reservoir because it is different from a piece of land, how to maintain it, how to manage it in terms of flood control, how to manage irrigation, how to prevent terrorist attacks, and so on. None of this can be done by one person or a small team, not even by us combined. Aarraurough joined Paul in urging Hong Tao to abandon the plan, and he was more specific.

"The situation in China and the United States is very different. I should be able to get the lease of the reservoir, and as for the things you mentioned, they are not in the hands of the lessee. It's not my responsibility, it's under the management of the relevant departments of the state, so nothing you're worried about will exist. I can't say for sure now, so I'll make a detailed plan for you when I return home. I'm not here to get you to invest, it would be a big help to see if this plan is viable, after all, you all charge by the hour, and I can't afford it. Hong Tao does not agree with Yarborough's statement, the policies of the United States and China are not comparable, there are more people who contract reservoirs in China, and I have not heard of anyone who has to take care of flood control, irrigation and even anti-terrorism, even if you want to manage the country, you will not be in charge.

"Alright then, let's wait for your detailed plan to come out before we discuss it, Erin, you can go through this plan first, if you don't pass that level, you don't need to show it to me, my time is precious, and your husband doesn't plan to pay me." Paul put an end to the argument on the issue, reminding Hong Tao that he had someone by his side who could help him with the legal aspects.

Don't talk about serious things, that's idle time, everyone talked from fishing to boating, from boating to traveling, from tourism to hunting, and then from hunting to guns. Hong Tao can talk about these aspects, and he also has personal experience, and while chatting, he also finds photos from the camera that match the topic to increase his credibility. So the more I talked, the happier I became, the more I chatted, the more addicted I became, and the beer was drunk in a dozen and a dozen. Erin and Katie had already gone back to bed, and they didn't have the energy to brag and play with a group of old men.

Without a lady by his side, a group of old men chatted more carelessly, and in a few words, the topic shifted to an eternal theme, women! Among this group of people, the most vocal is the old Babu, don't look at him with the face of a Shar Pei, but he has a job that is very conducive to hunting around, the captain of the navy.

The U.S. Navy claims to be a global navy, so naturally it can't just stay at home and have to go around the world when it has nothing to do. American GIs are rich, at least not poor, and the salaries in the military are very high, especially in technical services like the Navy. Dozens of days, even months, are spent at sea, and the first thing to do after getting off the ship is to find a woman, and dinner will be put second, so there should not be much to brag about Babu's words.

Old Babu claimed to be a very conscientious man, and never took on outside work, but you could tell from the stories he told him that he must be lying. He spoke very carefully about everything and every woman, and imagine who would have Babu keep a detailed record of that thing when he did it? Although he said that someone else did it, in fact, he did it 100%! And it's very unplanted, and I don't dare to admit it even after I did it.

"Alas, the good cabbage has made the pig arch! I can't be a U.S. Navy in my life, so I'd better go back to my room and be my good husband! Hong Tao heard that he was about to flow down, but people are more popular than people, and this kind of thing can't be compared, so he can only YY in his mind. Hearing the end, he really couldn't stand the stimulation, and got up and went back to the room to find Erin to practice with live ammunition.

I don't know what time this group of old men chatted with women, and none of them got up at breakfast the next day, only Hong Tao and Erin sat at the dining table. Anyway, I have nothing to do these days, so I can sleep more if I sleep more, and Hong Tao didn't call them.

"Hong Tao, shall we go back that day? It's Christmas in a few days, are you going back to the United States for the holidays, or are you going straight back to China? Erin asked about Hong Tao's plans, although she has a concession vacation, but after all, she is not a big idler like Hong Tao, she still has work to consider, and many things have to be arranged in advance.

"Let's go back to China directly, it's been a bit long since I came out this time, it's time to go back and do something serious, and I can't just play!" Hong Tao has had enough of this time, and he has traveled more than half the world in more than 3 months.

Since they were tired of playing, Hong Tao did not hesitate, and the next afternoon he put Erin and Katie on a flight back to the United States, while Hong Tao stayed in the manor for another day, and took a flight to Beijing from Melbourne the day before Christmas. Erin and Katie can't go directly to China, they have U.S. passports, so they have to go to the Chinese embassy in the U.S. to get visas. Since it's Christmas just around the corner, the two of them will spend the holidays at home with Mr. and Mrs. Sam, and then Katie will go to China to find Hong Tao, and Erin will stay in New York to continue working.

Before leaving, Babu and Paul gave Hong Tao a lot of gifts, from Australian aboriginal wood carvings to local specialties, plus Hong Tao's luggage and the prizes of the competition, which were several times overweight, and Hong Tao had to leave those things in the manor and let Paul help him consign them to Beijing.

On Christmas Eve in 2009, Hong Tao appeared at Beijing Airport alone, and this time he didn't bother Gao Miao and them to pick up the plane, not because he didn't want to, but because he couldn't. Gao Miao and Lei Che's relationship has developed very rapidly, and it has reached the stage of talking about marriage, a few days ago, Gao Miao and Lei Che went back to the Netherlands to see their mother-in-law, and it is not appropriate to trouble others, anyway, there are countless taxis here at Beijing Airport, and it is not difficult to take a taxi home.

Since Mr. and Mrs. Sam had returned to the United States, the small yard was empty, and no one in the house was ventilated again, and after months of idleness, it was filled with a faint musty smell.

Hong Tao doesn't hate this smell, he grew up in a large courtyard since he was a child, this smell is very familiar, every rainy season in Beijing, as long as no one lives in the old house for a few days, there will be this smell. It's a childhood familiarity, a taste of home.

In less than a day, he returned from the southern hemisphere in summer to the northern hemisphere in winter, and the electric heater in the house had not yet had time to store heat, so he could only use the warm air of the air conditioner to blow it first. Hong Tao grabbed a thick dress from the wardrobe and draped it on his body, half lying on the sofa and staring at the lamp on the ceiling in a daze, thinking of nothing, this feeling of distraction is very precious and not often obtained. (To be continued......)