Does It Take Thirty Years to Travel

Ordinary people would never know.

The significance of the space elevator project lies in many aspects, and the most crucial one isn’t the elevator itself.

Of course,

publicly, it must be touted as a blessing for humanity, accelerating the pace of space exploration and enabling more convenient transportation of materials between outer space and Blue Planet…

Its existence has made outstanding contributions to humanity’s official entry into space.

It is the light of humanity.

It is also humanity’s hope.

State media in many countries have reported on it—some with sarcasm, but others have taken the opportunity to educate the public on the importance of the space elevator.

For instance, its convenience.

As everyone knows, transporting goods into space would reduce costs to the bare minimum.

To put it into perspective, a single launch of a spacecraft or a carrier rocket costs over a thousand times more than the space elevator.

In other words, transporting the same weight of cargo would cost a thousand times more.

And that’s just for one trip.

Once the elevator enters commercial operation, costs would plummet exponentially.

Moreover, the energy required would be minimal.

Especially since the elevator itself would be equipped with various systems, such as solar power, which would be more than enough to supply its needs.

With energy to spare.

In other words,

the surplus power could even be fed back to Blue Planet.

The same goes for signal towers and communication devices…

Installing these in outer space would be far more useful than on Blue Planet.

But the most critical factor is speed.

Setting aside cost savings, the sheer reduction in time alone is enough to drive people wild.

Just consider this:

A carrier rocket transporting goods from Blue Planet to the Moon—ignoring launch preparations and waiting times—would take half a month just for the journey itself.

And a round trip would take at least two months.

But with the elevator, all transportation time would be compressed to under an hour.

What kind of difference is that?

Anyone with common sense can figure it out!

……

However.

As Young Master Cao pointed out, the space elevator has many purposes.

But the most crucial one isn’t the elevator itself.

Or rather,

for Young Master Cao, the elevator isn’t his primary focus.

What he wants is fame and influence.

Just like the electric car magnate, who has countless fans worldwide—some worship him as a god, while others scoff at him.

But no one can deny that he’s pushed his private company to its absolute limit.

In the past, or even in the future, few will ever reach his level of commercial success.

A privately owned company, dabbling in outer space ventures.

Never mind how much of it is just flashy presentations.

The rocket launches are real.

What other private company does that?

That alone is enough to bring immense fame, which is why so many revere him as a god.

……

Young Master Cao is well aware.

A private commercial company has its limits.

This is as far as it can go.

Take his space elevator—it can be commercialized, and he can profit from it.

But the true authority over the elevator would never be left in the hands of an ordinary businessman like him.

However,

due to his status, his father-in-law’s influence, and his personal capabilities, many things haven’t been scrutinized too closely—for now.

……

Moreover,

with this project, his fame and prestige have reached new heights.

Global emotional energy keeps exploding.

Bit by bit, drop by drop, wave after wave… it all drifts across oceans and continents, gathering in Young Master Cao’s hands.

This is what he truly values.

To put it bluntly.

What’s a space elevator worth?

Let’s be real.

In a few years…

he might even get his hands on Dyson sphere launch technology.

Now that’s the real game-changer.

……

……

After the initial buzz around the technology died down,

Cao Cheng shifted his focus elsewhere.

No matter how the international media reacted—whether mocking or fawning—as long as the emotional energy kept flowing, everything was fine.

Besides, Young Master Cao had already made it clear.

The elevator project was, at its core, a large-scale collaboration with the national government.

It was just being presented as a private venture for now.

Therefore,

everything had to be executed flawlessly, and at speed.

Progress reports had to be released at regular intervals.

The hype couldn’t be allowed to die down.

Three major phases, dozens of minor milestones.

Every small breakthrough could be announced to the world.

And each announcement would attract hundreds of millions of views and billions in emotional energy.

Talk about a sweet deal.

More of these large-scale projects should definitely be pursued in the future.

……

In his private life, Cao Cheng spent his time making babies and cultivating.

Honestly though.

Being a slacker gets boring after a while.

Sure, Young Master Cao used to love lazing around—but that was because he’d already lived a full life, worked himself to the bone, and seen through everything.

Getting a second chance was like waking from a dream.

Why would he work himself ragged again?

Wouldn’t that defeat the purpose?

So he took it easy for a solid twenty years.

That was enough.

Nowadays, when he wasn’t busy, Young Master Cao didn’t just lie around fishing and sipping tea.

Instead, he traveled the country in a massive RV.

To put it in perspective:

Forget other places—just within the country, there are nearly 20,000 A-grade tourist attractions.

Breaking it down:

Over 300 are 5A-rated.

Two to three thousand are 4A.

Five thousand are 3A…

Alright, forget the lower tiers.

Just counting the 5A attractions—close to 365.

Even if you visited one per day, it’d take a full year.

And that’s rushing through, hopping from place to place, barely scratching the surface.

Which isn’t much fun.

So,

take it slow. Factor in travel time, and you’d need about a month per 5A site to really enjoy it.

And that’s being generous.

With this pace,

changing locations every month, routes planned by AI—accounting for seasonal beauty—

no trip would be wasted.

At this rate,

it’d take thirty years just to visit every 5A site.

Throw in the worthwhile 4A attractions,

and an average person wouldn’t stand a chance of seeing them all in one lifetime.

Unless they hit the road the moment they retired.

Then maybe, just maybe, they’d cover everything before turning a hundred.

Luckily,

Young Master Cao doesn’t have that problem.

If he feels like it, he can linger for months—even a year—in places he loves.

Sooner or later, he’ll have explored every corner of the motherland’s breathtaking landscapes.

……

As Young Master Cao embarked on his journey,

the women by his side rotated frequently.

Mainly because everyone was busy.

For instance, the eldest sister was in charge of managing the elevator project.

After all, it’s infrastructure.

So…

for the first few years, she wouldn’t have time to join the travels.