Chapter 161: Visiting Uncle Sam's Astronauts

In the Wells region on the lunar nearside, a spacecraft slowly descended onto the surface of the moon. When astronaut Alan Glenn once again set foot upon the lunar soil, the entire nation of Uncle Sam erupted in jubilation. After half a century, mankind had finally returned to the surface of Earth's closest celestial neighbor.

Astronauts Alan Glenn, John Shepard, and Gaines Collins carefully stepped out onto the moon's surface in their spacesuits, planted the Star-Spangled Banner, and formally declared the Wells region, centered around this location, to be under the jurisdiction of Uncle Sam.

Next came a flurry of intense work. Because the space and payload capacities of the manned lunar spacecraft were severely limited, only three astronauts could land on the moon at a time, making their workload immensely heavy. The lunar engineering vehicles that had been sent ahead of time automatically drove over to rendezvous with them.

Operating the lunar rovers, the three astronauts began hauling the scattered supplies that had been launched to the moon beforehand, preparing to construct a lunar base.

Transporting supplies into space via carrier rockets and then shipping them from space to the moon meant that every single item on the moon was extraordinarily precious. The cost of every piece could rival its own weight in gold.

Uncle Sam was by no means as lavish and extravagant as China. Many items had to be kept as simple and practical as possible. Moreover, the expense of building a lunar base was by no means small. They continuously gathered the supplies previously launched to the site and began operating the lunar rovers to lay foundations and construct the base.

Back on Earth, the entire nation of Uncle Sam was following this manned lunar landing. Everything was normal, and streets and alleys echoed with cheers and celebrations. People sang and danced, proud of their aerospace heroes.

Meanwhile, just as Uncle Sam's aerospace heroes were building their lunar base, a new batch of lunar tourists in Chang'e City was enjoying a wonderful lunar trip.

Inside the Chang'e City restaurant, facing the direction of Earth, over twenty top billionaires from Uncle Sam sat across several tables. Among them were several immensely famous figures, such as Warren Buffett, who was nearing ninety years of age. One couldn't help but admire their physical endurance and daring spirit that they still dared to travel to the moon at such an advanced age.

In addition, there were Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Larry Ellison, and others—each of them possessing astronomical wealth and ranking among the world's top billionaires. Of course, there were also a few hidden billionaires whom the general public had never heard of. At this moment, numerous affluent individuals hailing from Uncle Sam gathered together, savoring the delicacies of the lunar restaurant while seemingly discussing something.

"Dennis is right. To be able to visit the moon in one's lifetime, enjoying fine food in this lunar restaurant at Chang'e City while gazing afar at Earth—what a life with zero regrets!"

Nearing ninety, Buffett looked out the window at Earth, that blue planet exuding the halo of life, and could not help letting out a long sigh of emotion. In truth, before coming here on this trip, he had already prepared himself for the face of death; he simply hadn't expected China's space technology to be so advanced, as if nothing could possibly go wrong.

"Indeed, it is truly one of life's great enjoyments."

Gates nodded in agreement. The billionaires of Uncle Sam could be said to be the most adventurous plutocrats in the global arena, and they were the most enthusiastic when it comes to things like lunar tourism. Among every batch of visitors to the moon, the largest contingent always hailed from Uncle Sam.

"Hey, gentlemen, our aerospace heroes have successfully landed on the moon!"

At this moment, Bezos said loudly to the people around him, looking extremely excited.

"Splendid! Gentlemen, let us raise a glass together in celebration."

Hearing this, Buffett happily stood up and addressed the billionaires around him. Upon hearing his words, everyone stood up, picked up their cups filled with tea as a substitute for wine, and drank to the occasion.

"Hey, gentlemen, I have a proposal, and I wonder if any of you might be interested. The landing site of our astronauts is in the Wells region, which is only a little over two hundred kilometers away from Chang'e City. Aren't we scheduled for a rover-driving activity tomorrow? How about we all drive over together to visit our aerospace heroes?"

Bezos's eyes rolled as he made a jaw-dropping proposal: he actually suggested that everyone drive lunar rovers together to the Wells region to visit the astronauts who were currently constructing the lunar base.

"Wow, wow, wow! That is an absolutely brilliant idea!"

"Good!"

Hearing this, the others immediately cried out in excitement. Since they were already on the moon and the distance wasn't far, come to think of it, visiting them was entirely feasible.

"Bezos, I've always admired your brain, but this time I admire you to the point of complete submission. You actually managed to think of driving lunar rovers together to visit our astronauts."

Gates widened his eyes, looked at Bezos, and couldn't help uttering a sigh of praise.

"The idea is fantastic, but will the Chinese allow us to go?"

Even Buffett, nearly ninety years old, found his heart stirring uncontrollably. Being able to meet his country's astronauts on the moon was something he wouldn't have dared to imagine previously.

"Why wouldn't they allow it? We are tourists, customers! If worst comes to worst, we can just spend a bit more money. We'll simply cancel tomorrow's activities like driving lunar rovers, touring lunar mines, and mountain climbing, and change our itinerary to head for the Wells region."

Bezos spoke with a taken-for-granted air, sounding extremely confident.

"Hmm, I think it should be feasible. After all, they're all lunar activities anyway; what difference does it make where we go? We're merely changing our destination, and paying a bit more money will certainly make it work."

Ellison nodded in support.

"I think we shouldn't just stop at visiting our astronauts. We can all pool our funds here in Chang'e City to procure a batch of supplies to bring along. To say nothing else, even just purchasing some food, water, and the like to take over would be great. I've heard that the food our astronauts eat is quite poor—it only guarantees nutrition without any regard for taste. If we bring a steak over, I'm sure it would make a wonderful gift."

Bezos's imagination ran wild once more, as he even proposed purchasing a batch of supplies to bring along, prompting everyone present to give him another thumbs-up.

"Not just bringing supplies over—I've checked beforehand. The lunar engineering vehicles we drive aren't just for getting around; they also have all kinds of functions. Perhaps we can even go over and help construct the lunar base."

"Well, why don't we contact back home, reach out to NASA scientists, and have them help us figure out what kind of supplies would be best to bring? As far as I know, the cost of launching spacecraft via rockets in our country is extremely expensive, whereas China's spaceplanes have large payloads and very low transportation costs."

"If we can procure as many useful supplies as possible here in Chang'e City and take them over, we can save our country a great deal of expense and funds."

"We can launch crowdfunding campaigns on our respective home pages and social circles, using all the donations to gather more supplies, and each of us can contribute our private funds as well."

With Bezos breaking the ice, the billionaires present began to let their imaginations soar. Proposal after proposal was put forward, and soon a comprehensive and well-thought-out plan took shape.

Bezos was elected by everyone as the head of the action team. He would be responsible for negotiating with the person in charge of China's Chang'e Lunar Base—on one hand, to gain permission for them to visit the astronauts in the Wells region, and on the other hand, to arrange for the bulk purchase of supplies from Chang'e City.

Gates became the financial officer for this operation, responsible for collecting and pooling the raised funds to be used for the endeavor. Ellison was tasked with contacting NASA back in Uncle Sam's territory to have NASA scientists compile a detailed list of what supplies needed to be procured and in what quantities.

Buffett, being the oldest and possessing the most extensive network, began acting like a beggar of charity, starting to solicit more funds from his wealthy friends to purchase supplies. The division of labor was clear, and action was swift.

"Mr. Yanping, I am truly sorry to disturb you."

Bezos found Yanping, the person in charge of receiving and hosting tourists at the lunar Chang'e City, and spoke in an apologetic tone.

"Mr. Bezos, is there anything I can assist you with?"

Yanping smiled faintly. Right now, these people were his customers, his gods, and the objects of his service. Therefore, any request—as long as it wasn't too outrageous—would generally be fulfilled. Of course, the services provided by Yanping's side were naturally extraordinarily expensive. Ever since the lunar tourism service was launched, the China National Space Administration's budget had unexpectedly begun to accumulate surpluses, earning a staggering fortune of hundreds of billions of US dollars in just a few short months.

"It's like this, Mr. Yanping. Isn't Uncle Sam currently conducting a manned lunar landing mission? The location of our astronauts is only a little over two hundred kilometers away from Chang'e City. More than twenty of us have discussed this and would like to visit our country's astronauts, so we hope to modify our upcoming itinerary."

"Instead of touring lunar mines, climbing lunar mountains, and other such activities, the twenty-odd of us wish to head to the Wells region to visit our astronauts. I wonder if this is acceptable?"

Bezos laid out the plan, a look of hopeful anticipation in his eyes.

"This... altering the original schedule carries certain risks..."

"We are willing to pay an additional fee for this."

Yanping frowned, but before he could finish his sentence, Bezos flashed a sugar-coated cannonball with the bold confidence of a billionaire.

"Since you are willing to pay an additional fee for it, I suppose there shouldn't be any major issues. Besides, it still falls under the umbrella of lunar tourism, as long as it is entirely voluntary on your part."

Yanping thought carefully about it in his mind, and finally nodded slowly in agreement.

PS: Hehe, begging for votes, begging for everything!