After spending two days in Maple Leaf Town, Cheng Su and Qi Taiguo both felt a bit reluctant to leave, but they had careers to attend to, so they could only look forward to the next visit.
Before leaving, the two found a restaurant with a stunning view, with rows of maple leaves right outside, very beautiful.
"I really don’t want to leave, this town is too comfortable!" Cheng Su, resting her chin in her hands, said dreamily as she gazed at the maple leaves outside.
"Next time we’re free, we’ll come back for more fun," Qi Taiguo said with a smile as he poured her a cup of tea.
"Maple leaves only turn red in the autumn," Cheng Su pointed out.
"Well, we’ll just come back next year then. We got plenty of time," Qi Taiguo replied without hesitation.
That was true.
As they waited for their dishes to be served, they chatted softly. Nearby, two other customers were talking, and one of them, a young man, was getting louder as he spoke.
"Forget a thousand years ago, and other countries too, Bell had already invented the telephone, but here in Huaxia Country, we only got telephones during the Republic of China era, and they didn’t become widespread until after the Liberation. No one during the Qing Dynasty could have imagined that, right?"
Cheng Su looked over and saw that the speaker was a young man wearing thick round glasses, around twenty-five or twenty-six years old.
"What you’re saying makes sense, but you talking about everyone having a phone in the future, and even carrying phones around—how is that possible? You’ve read too many of those science fiction stories; your brain’s gone haywire!" countered the middle-aged man sitting opposite the youngster, shaking his head in disapproval.
"How is that impossible? Before, who had airplanes? In ancient times, to travel across a great country, it was by carriage, by boat, or even on foot. Didn’t we still end up developing airplanes later on?" the young man with glasses shook his head and said, "Uncle Zeng, listen to me, if you start a telephone company and get into communications, you can definitely make it big."
"Oh, stop it, Xiao Fan. Listen to your uncle for a second, don’t mess with all that nonsense. Your family struggled to get you through high school, so you should find a stable job—much better than daydreaming like this. Your father would rest in peace too!" Uncle Zeng sighed, patting Xiao Fan’s shoulder. "I have to run, I can’t talk more, but I’ll pay for the meal!"
Having said that, he called the owner over, settled the bill and left after telling him to eat well.
Xiao Fan looked utterly disappointed as he sullenly began to eat.
Qi Taiguo saw this and said to Cheng Su, "It seems like studying has messed up his brain. Carrying a phone around everywhere, is that even possible?"
Cheng Su let out a laugh and said, "That’s where you’re uninformed. Technology is ever advancing, and you can never anticipate just how big a scientist’s idea might be. Sure, current phones can’t be carried around, but what if scientists invent a phone much smaller than today’s, one that fits in your pocket and doesn’t need wires to make calls? Wouldn’t that be considered carrying it around?"
Qi Taiguo was taken aback, "Is such an invention even possible?"
"Back in ancient times, there were no electric lights either, but Edison went and invented the light bulb, which now illuminates millions of homes. And consider bicycles, cars—all of these show how intelligent humans are and that technology will continue to advance. What doesn’t exist now might not be absent in the future. As long as there are people willing to explore and invent, technology will bring you surprises. There’s a saying, ’Nothing is impossible’, right?" Cheng Su smiled as she spoke.
"Nothing is impossible, absolutely correct, this is the principle. Hey, sister, seems like we’ve got a case of ’great minds think alike’ here!" Xiao Fan, who had somehow appeared nearby, suddenly chimed in, clapping his hands and startling both of them.