Li Xin wanted to invite Old Fang to retire together in Hedan, but Old Fang said he was already accustomed to life in Hedan. With his age, he couldn't handle the hassle anymore, and Dragon Capital was more suited for younger people. Hence, he didn't return to Dragon Capital with Li Xin but asked Li Xin for a personal favor.
Upon arriving at the port, Li Xin finally understood that Old Fang wasn't just being polite. Compared to Hedan's blue skies and white clouds, the warm climate, what came into view was a noisy and bustling port.
It wasn't the sunny and busy kind of scene in Hedan, but rather towering smokestacks, billowing thick smoke, the unending roar of machinery, gray seas littered with uncountable bits of floating garbage, the entire sky shrouded in a heavy mist—though not to the point of being pitch black, it was heavily polluted. Even here by the sea, the air carried a pungent smell.
