The money is in place and set off right away.

Ren Pingsheng and An Qi took a direct flight from Air India to Mumbai, which took 11 hours to arrive at Jatrapati Shivaji Airport. They had just gotten rid of the curry flavor that the Indians had in the cabin and immediately entered this bustling big city.

Mumbai is located in western India and is the capital of Maharashtra with a population of 21.04 million, making it the second most populous city in India. Mumbai is a coastal peninsula, not only a natural deep water port, but also a capital of commerce and entertainment. In addition to the Reserve Bank of India, the Mumbai Exchange and many major companies, it is also the base camp of Indian movie Bollywood.

When they walked out of the airport, the two were surrounded by enthusiastic taxi drivers. Among the dark-faced Indians, Ren Pingsheng and An Qi were like two small boats in the sea, and they were pulled around involuntarily. The enthusiasm of these drivers sometimes seemed like robbery. A few of them took it seriously and snatched the bags, but they were pushed down by Ren Pingsheng before they stopped.

Although English is the official language of India, these Indian drivers can't understand anything they say. Ren Pingsheng's English can only deal with reading and writing. I heard that it was never a field he was good at. Fortunately, there was An Qi, who graduated from the Chinese and Foreign Languages ​​University. Although the other party had a strong accent, after her bargaining, the two finally agreed to a driver. The others were not angry when they saw that the business was stolen. They shrugged and dispersed.

The driver An Qi talked about was named Rajeev Raja (Rajeev.Raja). He was a middle-aged man in his forties. He wore a Punjabi gown and wrinkled trousers that Indian men usually wore. Although Mumbai in the southern hemisphere was chilly at this time, he was wearing Indians' favorite sandals.

Rajiv's car is an old Indian domestic TATA sedan. Whether from the outside or the inside, it is a classic car with a age of more than 40 years. After we put our luggage in the trunk, the trunk lid immediately went on strike and couldn't close it. Although Rajiv Raja promised that it would not be lost, An Qi, who was meticulous in his work, would rather carry his luggage in his hand and sit in the back seat of the sedan together.

As soon as Rajiv Raja started the vehicle, the huge roar made people think that he was riding a pickup truck, and the sofa riding effect of this car was only a little better than that of the pickup truck. As soon as the vehicle got on the road, we were frightened by Rajiv Raja's crazy driving skills. Under his driving, this TATA classic car kept shuttled through the crowd like a racing car. It was like a needle whenever he was in trouble and plugged in when he saw the air. There was no concept of traffic rules at all.

Of course, there are no rules for the Indian roads that match it. There are no branches on the main roads. The cars, tricycles, motorcycles, pedestrians, and livestock are crowded together, and they are moving forward completely based on their own instincts. From time to time, one or two Hindu divine objects - bulls or monkeys - will pass by the roadside. At this time, whether it is a driver or a pedestrian, they will make way for the bulls and monkeys piously and humbly.

Rajiv Raja has a pretty positive facial features, but her greasy hair has not been washed for a long time. Her skin is lighter than the average skin color of Indian men. Her beard is shaved very cleanly. There is a circle of fat under her bare chin. She looks honest and loyal, but her eyes are running around, constantly observing us through the rearview mirror, and she spends most of her time on An Qi and keeps talking to An Qi in her mouth.

"Hey, where are you from China and why are you from India?"

An Qi told him that we were from Hanhai City, but did not say our purpose, and only said that this time we came to India was a trip.

"Hanhai City, I know, is the best city in China, just like Mumbai, Mumbai is also the best city in India." Rajiv Raja heard that the passengers came from Hanhai and began to praise the city they were in like a stimulant.

Although his words are made with the boast of the three-point Indians, Mumbai's status in India is indeed the same as Hanhai City in China. Although it is not the capital, it is the most economically developed city.

There was even a saying during the British colonial period that the Hanhai Sea was described as Mumbai in the East, but now this sentence should be reversed, saying that Mumbai is the Hanhai in India is almost the same.

Although Mumbai has an important economic status in India, the gap between economic output and urban development is still very large. In addition to the CBD (Central Business District) and several noble residential areas in the entire city, most of the places still stay at the level of the Hanhai at the end of the last century. However, consistent with the Hanhai, Mumbai has many colonial-style buildings left in the local area. These Western-style buildings with oriental elements are mixed between high-rise buildings and slums. Although they are not harmonious, they can coexist peacefully. This may be a reflection of the current situation of India.

"Do you know, our Raja family was a big landlord in Mumbai in the last life. If my grandfather hadn't been lazy and spent all his family property, I wouldn't have driven a taxi here..." Rajiv Raja had described his so-called family history along the way.

In his words, the Raja family was originally a branch of the Kshatriya of the higher caste. The grandfather's grandfather once owned a large piece of land from Sundanaga to Oshwara, and hundreds of people were serving him with food, clothing, housing and transportation. After the British arrived, the land and social status of the Raja family were deprived of; by the generation of his grandfather, India gained independence, but the land of the Raja family was not much left, and the remaining wealth was squandered by him. Therefore, after the grandfather's death, the wealth of the Raja family was also destroyed.

Rajiv Raja's father, Lao Rajav Raja, was a very hard-working man. He received a good education under the rule of the British and participated in the Indian independence movement. He obtained a good position in the Maharashtra government. However, because he opposed the Indian-Pakistan War, he was dismissed soon and died of illness, leaving only one son and one daughter.

Apart from that story about the glory of his ancestors, Old Rajiv Raja did not leave any legacy for his children, so Rajiv Raja had to support himself when he grew up. He worked as a policeman, opened a shop, and worked as a tour guide... He was engaged in all walks of life, but in the end he drove a taxi on the streets of Mumbai with the descendants of Vaishya.

To be fair, the driver Rajiv Raja was still right. Although he was listening to his endless recollection of the past along the way, he was also mixed with some dissatisfaction with current affairs. When he met some people who influenced him to drive, he would open the window and curse loudly, but the journey was quite smooth. Maybe he had to drive like this on the streets of India.

After sending Ren Pingsheng and the other two to their destination, Rajiv Raja took out a Motorola V998 from his pocket and enthusiastically left his mobile phone number, saying that he was familiar with the food, drinking and having fun in Mumbai. If we had any place to go, we could find him at any time.

Ren Pingsheng thought to himself that Motorola V998 was released in 2000, which was a very trendy phone at that time, but now it is 2006. Rajiv Raja is still using mobile phones from 5 years ago. It seems that India still has a large market for basic telecommunications. No wonder mobile brands such as rice like to explore the Indian market. This is indeed a good track to overtake on the curve.
Chapter completed!