138: Da Nang's past

The bathroom in the VIP lounge of Noi Bai International Airport's Terminal 1 was quite luxuriously decorated, even equipped with showers and disposable toothbrushes, though no toiletries.

"The items in this VIP lounge bathroom aren't as complete as Terminal 2's; that one provides shampoo, body wash, clean towels, and disposable toothbrushes."

Pham Huyen My, using the glasses to blend in with passersby, quietly followed Li Qinghe to the VIP lounge bathroom in Terminal 1 for a look, and also told Li Qinghe the differences between the VIP lounge bathrooms in the two terminals.

It must be said that an unfamiliar environment easily makes one's heart race. Li Qinghe and Pham Huyen My meticulously studied one of the stalls multiple times, from top to bottom.

Pham Huyen My became interested in the material of the partition and leaned on it, examining it carefully for a while.

An airport can be considered a country's facade. The toilets in this VIP lounge bathroom were all TOTO electric toilets, offering warm bidet functions.

Li Qinghe tried it, and the toilet lid was very sturdy, directly supporting both their weights. For this, he gave a thumbs up to Noi Bai Airport's procurement department.

It wasn't until a few minutes before boarding that Li Qinghe and Pham Huyen My, carrying purified water refills, appeared before Xiaoyun.

As boarding time approached, Xiaoyun was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.

Seeing Pham Huyen My's lingering blush, Xiaoyun's heart was screaming, "I knew it, they went somewhere again."

But she didn't dare to say much, only secretly glanced at Li Qinghe. This man truly lived up to his reputation as a big guy, he had Pham Huyen My completely infatuated.

"Ayun, these past few days you might suddenly find us gone. Don't worry, just continue with the itinerary as planned."

Pham Huyen My remembered the function of the glasses and instructed Xiaoyun.

"Understood," Xiaoyun lowered her head, a blush rising on her face.

But in her heart, she was shouting: "You mean we'll disappear whenever we want to, right? I'm still a girl! Is it appropriate to tell me such things?"

But Pham Huyen My didn't notice what Xiaoyun was thinking in her lowered head.

Boarding time quickly arrived. Business class passengers boarded first. There were two seats on each side of the business class aisle, offering significantly more space than the economy class behind.

Li Qinghe and Pham Huyen My only lifted their glasses onto their heads for that short period during boarding. After finding their seats and storing their luggage, the two instructed Xiaoyun to rest herself and not worry about them.

"Brother Qinghe, this is truly amazing. Traveling will be so much more convenient from now on."

Pham Huyen My leaned on Li Qinghe's shoulder, watching the passengers queuing for economy class glance at her casually before looking elsewhere.

She knew these people hadn't noticed her at all.

Some passengers were even quietly discussing the most popular influencers in Vietnam right now, their eyes sweeping over Pham Huyen My without registering anything.

She knew that with these glasses, she was truly free from now on.

Li Qinghe was willing to share such a magical item with her, which filled Pham Huyen My's heart with a sweet feeling.

She never wondered why this item was so magical; she only needed to know that Li Qinghe gave it to her.

The plane flew quickly. After a one-hour and fifteen-minute flight, it landed at Da Nang International Airport.

Da Nang International Airport is the third-largest international airport in Vietnam.

Actually, Da Nang's external name isn't Da Nang but rather Da Nang. The name Da Nang only circulated among Dragon Country People in modern times.

The ancient name of Da Nang, when restored to Dragon Country People characters, was actually written as " Tuo E," which was a transliteration based on local pronunciation after North Vietnam defeated Champa.

In Cham language, this place was called the mouth of the great river.

After the Qing Dynasty, Dragon Country People gradually migrated south to settle in central and southern Vietnam, gathering here and in nearby Hoi An.

Because this port was rich in clams ( clams), it was initially called "Xianzi Port." Later, deeming the character " Clams" (xian) with its insect radical ( Next to the character "虫") inelegant, it was replaced with the mountain radical ( Beside the mountain), thus becoming the Da Nang familiar to Dragon Country People.

In the centuries that followed, Da Nang became a breakthrough point for French colonists attacking the Hue Dynasty, eventually becoming one of the important ports of French Indochina in Vietnam.

Interestingly, Da Nang truly became a modern metropolis thanks to the Vietnam War.

Due to its excellent geographical conditions, Da Nang became one of the very important bases for the US Navy and Air Force.

As the US military's involvement deepened, Da Nang's importance within the US military grew.

The headquarters of the US Marine Corps Third Division relocated from Okinawa to Da Nang, leading to more American soldiers and more US military buildings being constructed there.

Da Nang was developed into the largest US naval and air force base in Southeast Asia, with tens of thousands of tons of warships docked in its port and hundreds of aircraft parked at its airport.

The American forces, engaged in fierce battles with North Vietnam's army in the mountains and jungles, dared not cross the 17th parallel drawn by the Dragon Country People leadership.

The war erupted across the entire land of South Vietnam, triggering a massive refugee crisis.

This caused the population here to surge from 50,000 at the beginning of the war to hundreds of thousands.

Refugees from South Vietnam gathered around the US military bases in Da Nang, surviving by providing services to the American forces.

By the time Vietnam was reunified and the Vietnam War ended, Da Nang had become the largest industrial city in central Vietnam, and the third-largest city in Vietnam, after Saigon and Hanoi.

It is also known as the "Hawaii of the East" and was rated by National Geographic as one of the 50 places to visit in a lifetime.

Emerging from Da Nang International Airport, the hotel shuttle that Xiaoyun had called was parked outside the airport. Xiaoyun felt that those two people had disappeared again.

This was the strangest business trip Xiaoyun had ever experienced. She felt that Pham Huyen My was both present and absent, always mysterious.

All of this had happened after picking up Li Qinghe. Xiaoyun didn't dare to think too much, at least seeing Li Qinghe's shadow made her feel much more at ease.

In Vietnam, although deeply influenced by Dragon Country People culture, some local customs and habits are somewhat influenced by other Southeast Asian countries.

For example, Jiantou Masters, familiar to many Dragon Country People, are also numerous in Vietnam.

These mostly spread from Thailand and began to take root and flourish here.

After all, Vietnam still has many impoverished mountainous areas, and in these regions, mysterious things often gain belief and development.

But paradoxically, Xiaoyun knew Li Qinghe was Dragon Country People, so did China also have Jiantou Masters?

Xiaoyun first put Pham Huyen My's small suitcase, which she was dragging, into the car's trunk, and then a huge suitcase was squeezed in.

Seeing the trunk close, Xiaoyun knew that the two of them had also followed, so she sat in the passenger seat with relief.

Then the rear car door opened, and two figures slipped in and sat down. Suddenly, clear images of Pham Huyen My and Li Qinghe appeared in Xiaoyun's line of sight.

It was as if a layer of mist that had enveloped them had been drawn away.

"Xiaoyun, we're ready. Driver, let's go!"

Pham Huyen My commanded everyone with a smile.

Watching the changing streetscape along the way, Li Qinghe felt like entering a Dragon Country People county town on the road to this third-largest city in Vietnam.

Along the way, Pham Huyen My told Li Qinghe that their hotel for the night was the five-star Pullman Da Nang Beach Resort, located 2 kilometers from My Khe Beach, Da Nang's most beautiful beach.