Translate to English: "Chapter 21: Taking a Flight"

Pulling out the prepared notebook in advance, Carter also took out a steel pen. He observed while recording what he saw. For instance, the number of planes on the tarmac, the frequency of workers entering and exiting the factory, indicating the level of their busyness, and so on. As for the number of workers, it would be convenient to calculate it only when the workers finished work at noon.

Market research may sound lofty, but in practice, it's not that complicated. The purpose of market research is to understand market demand, market supply, price changes, environmental policy impacts, and other fluctuating information about the market. The most common and basic method of market research is observation, which Carter is currently using.

Visual observation, camera surveillance, audio recording, etc., all fall under the category of observation methods. The busyness of workers can indicate the factory's production capacity saturation, i.e., whether there are many orders, and the number of workers can also indirectly reflect the size of the factory. However, this method has its limitations, especially for Carter, a novice in the aviation industry.

Not being able to recognize the model of Gulfstream aircraft, he couldn't know if they had updated products. Not knowing the pricing of Gulfstream business jets compared to the market, coupled with his own lack of expertise, he couldn't speculate on Gulfstream's customer demands.

"Ah, it's tough! Still too poor!"

After recording some basic data, Carter sighed somewhat ruefully. After poking around outside Gulfstream's gate for over an hour, all Carter could subjectively say was that Gulfstream seemed to be doing fine.

During working hours, he hardly saw anyone idling around, and there were neither too many nor too few planes on the tarmac, so there didn't seem to be any inventory backlog for the time being. But private jets are usually custom-made products, and factories only start working after receiving orders. So, the number of planes on the tarmac doesn't mean much. And as for Gulfstream's current order status, just looking from the outside wouldn't yield any useful information.

"I should find a way to get in!"

"What's too poor? Bro, are you really poor now?"

Meris, unaware of the situation, looked at her brother with some surprise. She couldn't understand how Carter, who acted like a big shot yesterday, now claimed to be poor today.

"Yeah, still very poor."

Poverty and wealth are always relative concepts. With over six million dollars in cash, Carter would be considered rich compared to most people, but compared to those who buy private jets, Carter is definitely poor.

Private jets that cost billions, Carter can't afford them. Of course, Carter didn't know that Gulfstream business jets in this era weren't that expensive, usually around twenty million dollars when priced in USD. Considering inflation, buying a Gulfstream business jet nowadays would cost only a few million dollars without taxes.

But this doesn't change Carter's belief that he is still poor because even if it's just a few million, it's not something he can afford right now. While the siblings were whispering to each other, suddenly someone walked out of Gulfstream's office and waved at them, as if signaling them to come over.

"Let's go, let's check it out!"

After a brief moment of astonishment, Carter made a decision and walked towards the person.

"Hello, I see you've been watching outside for a while. Are you interested in aviation?"

Even though only 16 years old, Carter, dressed in a navy blue Polo shirt, looked a bit mature and businesslike, but his youthful look couldn't be concealed. Paulson had noticed these two young people in the office early on, but he didn't pay much attention. Since Gulfstream opened here, many teenagers from the neighborhood have come to watch the excitement.

But most kids just watch for a while, especially when they see planes taking off, they cheer a few times and that's enough. Soon, realizing they couldn't get in, they would slowly disperse. But these two seemed a bit different, especially the boy in front of him. Paulson could see that he seemed to be recording something.

If this guy's behavior wasn't so brazen, Paulson would have suspected him of being a spy. Out of curiosity and coincidentally near the end of the lunch break, Paulson had a sudden idea. He wanted to meet these two people.

"Yes, indeed. After living on land for so many years, who doesn't yearn for the sky! Hello, I'm Carter Black. What should I call you, sir?"

While Paulson observed Carter, Carter was also observing him. When the man came out earlier, the respectful attitude of the security guard at the door didn't escape Carter's notice. This man wasn't the boss, but he was definitely part of Gulfstream's management. In other words, he was someone with the authority to bring them into Gulfstream.

"Alan, Alan Paulson. Just call me Alan."

After politely shaking hands with Carter, Alan smiled and said, "You're right. People on land all yearn for the sky. But the cost of flying is not small. Perhaps one day in the future, you will become our customer and own your own plane."

"Perhaps, but compared to the sky, sometimes I feel safer on the ground. Occasionally going up in the sky is enough. By the way, Uncle Alan, I wonder if I could rent one of your planes and take a flight?"

Carter shrugged, surprised that he was so engrossed in meeting the main character that he was nervously thinking about how to persuade him, either to let himself in or simply to have him explain the current situation of Gulfstream.

Saying he came to buy a plane? That definitely wouldn't work. Based on his appearance alone, he wouldn't be kept inside by Alan, who surely had manners. The Mustang that had been so successful before couldn't prove his financial strength here. This car might seem very nice to ordinary people, but what are they? They deal with business jets!

Are there few bosses he sees usually? Which big boss drives a Mustang? If it's not a car like a Rolls-Royce or something, how could they even look at you?

"Ha ha ha ha, rent our plane? Sure, of course. Although we don't usually rent them out, we happen to have a plane that a customer canceled, and it's currently idle without an owner. If you want to rent it, I can rent it to you. But can you afford the fee?"

Seeing little Carter pretending to be an adult, Paulson couldn't help but play along. Laughing heartily, he teased Carter, "I won't calculate the rental fee for the plane with you. Taking a flight won't take long. But you have to pay the pilot's labor, right? And the cost of aviation fuel, will you pay for that? Just these, one thousand dollars. We have a trial flight route, and we won't charge you extra for that. How about it? Do you still want to take a flight now?"

One thousand dollars, even an adult would find it hard to bear. It's nearly two months' total income for an average middle-class family. In Paulson's view, after hearing this number, Carter would surely lose that calm, annoying look on his face, and his defenses would be broken.

Just be a good kid and act like a kid, why pretend to be so mature for no reason?

But just as Paulson was eagerly waiting for Carter to break down, his hand was suddenly grabbed and shaken vigorously. In the next moment, a voice rang in his ear:

"Huh? One thousand dollars? That's so cheap! Then we must fly! Uncle Alan, thank you so much, sorry for the trouble, Melissa, let's go, let's take a flight!"

But just as Paulson was eagerly waiting for Carter to slip up, his hand was suddenly grabbed and vigorously shaken, and in the next instant, a voice sounded in his ear:

"Huh? One thousand dollars? That's so cheap, we must fly for sure! Uncle Alan, thank you so much, sorry for the trouble. Let's go, let's go, let's take the plane!"