Just turned over a new leaf and became a wise and intelligent student

Chapter 389 This is the real cyberpunk
Tian Gang’s reminder is not without reason.

At least when Xu Qingshan stepped off the plane, he felt that the characteristics of India were truly written directly in their eyes.

"Don't look around when you get here. Just walk forward with an open mind and look ahead. It's still relatively safe in our venue."

Tian Gang warned without looking away.

The relationship between China and India cannot be said to be very good. At least when such a large group of people got off the plane, there was no exclusive special channel and they still needed to mix with a large number of tourists or Indians.

Fortunately, they were accompanied by special agents so they didn't have to worry too much about safety. However, Indians in the airport would occasionally look at them, curious about which country these obvious East Asians were from.

Basically, those who can stay inside the airport are considered to be people with relatively high cultural quality in India.

Xu Qingshan could feel some eyes fixed on him. There was a strong sense of exploration in their eyes, and there were many other meanings. What was even more frightening was that these eyes did not come from the opposite sex, but from a group of burly men.

In fact, Xu Qingshan was also quite eye-catching when he went out with a large group of professors in the country.

After all, academic visiting groups like this are generally composed of professors with relatively good achievements, not to mention that they are from universities of the level of Beijing University and Huaqing University, and the professors who can walk at the front of the team are professors of high status and position.

In the academic circles around the world, most people need to work hard to achieve such a status, even if their grades are not bad.

So when Xu Qingshan came out with them, he was a young, handsome guy with looks comparable to those of a top male star, standing among a group of old men.

If he doesn't shine, who will?

Standing out from the crowd is a thorough manifestation of the control group experiment, not to mention that Xu Qingshan is at the forefront of this group of people.

If some young girls who like to read fantasy novels saw this, they would go back and read "My Ascetic Junior Master" a thousand times.

Xu Qingshan nodded, calmed his mind, and followed Tian Gang forward calmly.

There is no direct flight for domestic visiting groups to go to Hyderabad. Although it is a special plane, the route they applied for is to fly directly from Beijing to New Delhi. After arriving in New Delhi, they will take a special car to Hyderabad.

As for the transfer of special cars, the personnel used were all arranged by the Chinese ambassador himself. Having been stationed here for a little longer and having seen more social chaos, I know that the Indian manpower is not very trustworthy.

Not to mention China, even other countries will put security issues first when attending the International Congress of Mathematicians held in India.

Of course, not all countries can arrange a special itinerary for this group of mathematicians like China does. Most of them come to participate as institutions or individuals.

At this time, they will spend money to hire various bodyguards.

When Xu Qingshan and his team landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, the sensory impact and cultural collision they experienced were quite great.

As one of the "faces" of India, Indira Gandhi International Airport has a modern and artistic exterior design.

When Xu Qingshan and his companions walked out of the terminal accompanied by the special agents, they could see the most eye-catching thing at the terminal entrance not far away: the iconic "Buddha's Hand" sculpture - ten huge hands arranged in an elegant posture, symbolizing the fusion of traditional Indian culture and modern design.

Moreover, although the airport has complete internal facilities, after walking out of the terminal, Xu Qingshan immediately felt the external environment in sharp contrast to the brightly built interior of the airport.

"This place in India is hotter and humider than my hometown."

In addition to the airport, accompanied by the special agents, they headed towards the special bus, and Xu Qingshan and Tian Gang beside him complained.

"I didn't feel anything just now because the air conditioner was on inside the airport, but once I got out of the airport, it was so hot and stuffy after the summer rain that I felt like my throat and nose were blocked."

Xu Qingshan said with some disdain.

"And I don't know what's near their airport. It feels like the air is mixed with not only the smell of soil, but also various strange odors."

However, Tian Gang calmly took out a mask from his pocket and put it on his face.

"So I told you before you came here to prepare all kinds of things. Seeing you complaining like this, I know you didn't do your homework well. You didn't bring a mask, right? Here, I'll give you one."

After getting on the special bus, the air quality was obviously much better.

Xu Qingshan and his friends also met the Chinese ambassador, Lu Fengjun, who was waiting for them in the car.

Lu Fengjun looks to be around 40 years old and has been in India for three years.

He did not go into the airport to greet Xu Qingshan and the others, mainly because it was not easy for the Chinese Embassy to do business in this place. Asan was not very willing to approve many of the normal official applications and requirements.

Waiting in an open space outside the airport is not very safe, so it is better to stay in the car and wait safely.

"I'm sorry I didn't meet you in person when you landed."

Lu Fengjun smiled warmly, his eyes resting on Xu Qingshan.

But he only stayed for a few seconds and continued chatting with the team leader Tian Gang and others.

There are many people attending the International Congress of Mathematicians this time, and Lu Fengjun needs to pick them up two or three times. This one is considered the most prestigious in the country.

Peking University, Huaqing University, and Huazhong University of Science and Technology.

It took three special buses to fit all the people on board.

"This format looks a bit like a guided tour, but the situation in India is a bit special, so please forgive me."

Lu Fengjun made a small joke calmly. Everyone had already put away their suitcases. They just smiled kindly and sat in their seats, leaving the professors from the three colleges to chat briefly with Lu Fengjun about the itinerary arrangements.

Xu Qingshan sat by the window, and the seat next to him was reserved for Tian Gang.

Professor Peng Shiguo, who was also going to give a report at the International Congress of Mathematicians, was not in the same car, and he had nothing to communicate.

Looking at the airport passage outside the car window, he found that the traffic at this international airport in India was extremely chaotic.

We haven't even left the airport terminal yet.

Taxi drivers who pick up passengers at the airport and vendors who appear out of nowhere will come forward to solicit business. The road leading out of the terminal, about a few hundred meters away, becomes a road of another material that looks muddy, grayish yellow and dirty.

Xu Qingshan took out his cell phone and chatted with Jiang Huanxi and Tong Tong.

I told them the news that I had landed successfully and also complained about the situation at the Indian airport for a while.

I don’t know how long it took, but after the bosses over there finished communicating, the car slowly started moving.

"The International Congress of Mathematicians will be held the day after tomorrow. Ambassador Lu said that the conditions in Hyderabad are not very good, so he asked us to rest in New Delhi for a day, rest and pack up, and then leave for Hyderabad tomorrow."

Tian Gang sat down and said a few simple words. Then he picked up his phone and informed the group about the matter.

Technology is advancing rapidly, and old men have to keep up. Now many teachers at Peking University like to create notification groups and chat groups on QQ.

The bus was not going very fast, even slower than the traffic jam in Beijing.

Because when the car left the airport, it didn't go far before it began to weave through roundabouts and congested traffic, and along the way you could see India's unique urban landscape.

However, these city landscapes did not make people feel happy at all. Sometimes the car was driving straight and suddenly had to turn, and they would see a dilapidated temple standing abruptly in the middle of the road.

Sometimes they would suddenly stop and wait for a long time while driving, and they could only watch the cattle walking freely in the middle of the road from the car.

Of course, when Xu Qingshan leaned against the window, he saw more dark-skinned children in tattered clothes standing on the roadside, staring blankly at the three buses moving forward.

Although New Delhi is also the capital of a country.

But it doesn't seem to look very good.

Is India very poor?
Xu Qingshan remembered that he had looked at some statistics and it seemed that this was not the case.

It's just that the deep-rooted caste system seems to have pushed the gap between the rich and the poor in India to an even more extreme level.

When the bus slowly drove into the city of New Delhi, Xu Qingshan actually saw with his own eyes the scene that was like a painting being torn apart, which starkly revealed the huge gap between the rich and the poor.

The urban area of ​​New Delhi is well built.

Even in Xu Qingshan's opinion, it is no worse than those CBDs in Beijing.

On both sides of the road, there are modern skyscrapers towering into the sky. The glass curtain walls reflect dazzling light in the sun, as if they are the symbol of wealth and power. Those buildings contain offices of multinational companies, luxurious hotels and high-end apartments. The people inside enjoy air conditioning, high-speed Internet and exquisite dining. The pace of life is efficient and orderly. They shuttle between glamorous places with confidence and calmness on their faces.

On the other side, it is a completely different world.

Low and dilapidated shanty towns spread along the road, with houses made of broken iron sheets and wooden boards crookedly crowded together, and the roofs were piled with garbage and debris.

The narrow alleys were filled with sewage, emitting a pungent stench. Children were playing barefoot in the mud, wearing tattered clothes but with smiles on their faces, as if they were unaware of the hardships of life.

The adults either squatted at the door with helplessness and confusion in their eyes, or set up simple stalls on the street, selling some cheap goods, struggling to make a living.

Occasionally you can see a few skinny dogs rummaging through the garbage dump for food, blending in with everything around them and looking so miserable.

This strong contrast is shocking, as if two completely different worlds were forcibly pieced together, yet had to coexist on this land. The bus was like a ghost shuttling between the two worlds, taking the scholars on the bus to witness the complexity and contradictions of the city of New Delhi, where the gap between the rich and the poor is infinitely magnified.

"Why? First time meeting?"

Tian Gang asked with a smile when he saw Xu Qingshan shaking his head left and right at the world outside the car.

"Yes, it is indeed the first time I have seen you."

Xu Qingshan nodded and replied.

"Although I have visited shantytowns in cities in China sometimes, no matter how dirty and messy they are, there is a limit."

"I've been to Canada and the United States before, and there's no need to say much about the urban construction level there. Although the scale is not very large and many towns look like small villages, the overall cleanliness level is still up to standard."

“But only in India, only in New Delhi, did I see this for the first time.”

Xu Qingshan murmured.

This scene actually has a strong visual impact.

"I am not shocked by India's wealth, nor by India's poverty, but I am a little surprised why they put together such a big gap between the rich and the poor."

"Because that's the way Indians think, it's different from ours."

Tian Gang said cheerfully.

"Let me explain."

"I have attended several academic conferences in India before. During one of the conferences, I mentioned this to an Indian scholar, and he told me this."

"In a place like India where your class is completely determined by birth, there are so many things that rich upper-caste people can do that sometimes they can't find the fun."

"But if they live with the common people, looking down from their noble, new, modern buildings at the poor people living like ants, they will have a sense of pride and conquest."

“This is also a way for them to feel happy.”

Xu Qingshan nodded.

“It may be difficult to find a country as abstract as India in the world.”

During the conversation.

The bus has stopped steadily.

Lu Fengjun sent them to a mid- to high-end luxury hotel in the city, which was relatively close to the Chinese Embassy. It was not because the Chinese Embassy did not have enough funds to arrange a better hotel. In fact, the cost of this trip would be borne by the state.

This is because this hotel is considered to be a high-end hotel with the highest security factor in this area. At least the hotel's management and security system are all Chinese. As for their identity background, they are basically clean.

During special periods, this place will also serve as a refuge for Chinese expatriates.

Xu Qingshan and his friends were arranged to stay in one room each. When they opened the curtains, they could see the shantytown not far away and the gorgeous high-rise buildings on the other side. There were all kinds of high-tech signs on the buildings, which seemed to be local technology companies.

This is real cyberpunk.

Xu Qingshan shook his head.

Sometimes it is good to travel abroad while ensuring safety, so that you can see the diversity of species.

He didn't go out.

The looks he got at the airport already made him feel uncomfortable, and he found it hard to imagine what would happen if he went out on the street.

Even if he could borrow two special agents from the embassy to accompany him when he went out, he didn't think that two special agents could stop a large group of Indians. He might as well take a good rest in the room, recharge his energy, and prepare for the report in two days.

But before Xu Qingshan could finish washing up, there was a knock on his door.

When I opened the door, it turned out to be Lu Fengjun, who I had barely met before.

"Ambassador Lu?"

Xu Qingshan looked at Lu Fengjun with confusion, wondering what the ambassador wanted to see him about.

"Professor Xu."

Lu Fengjun looked a little embarrassed, but his manners were there and he still looked quite dignified.

"I have a humble request, a personal one."

(End of this chapter)