Super-rich: Spending money is just a job!

Sure enough, not long after getting on the highway, the car got stuck in traffic. The navigation software showed that the congestion stretched for at least 10 kilometers.

Xiaomeng had never had such an experience before. She had only ever experienced the Spring Festival travel rush, squeezing onto old-fashioned green trains, because taking the train was the cheapest way to go back to her hometown. Although taking a bus via the highway was faster, the bus ticket was more expensive than the train ticket. Given her previous level of poverty, she wouldn't have been willing to spend money on a bus.

So Xiaomeng had never actually experienced a traffic jam on a highway. She had even less experience of being stuck in traffic on a highway while traveling in a private car.

She never expected that being stuck in traffic on the highway could be so much fun.

The large vehicle they were traveling in was spacious and not cramped at all. Not only was it equipped with a large amount of snacks and drinks, but it also had internet access for listening to music and watching movies, and even, to be extravagant, it could be used for karaoke.

She noticed that the private car owners on the highway were all very relaxed, doing all sorts of things: some took out rice cookers from their trunks to eat, some got out of their cars to smoke, and others started doing square dancing.

Xiaomeng and her two friends weren't idle either; they took out cards and started playing. Lawyer Lang, a seasoned adult with many years of experience in the underworld, introduced Xiaomeng to various games like Qiaopai and Guandan, while Xiaomeng only knew how to play Dou Dizhu.

After they played a few rounds of Dou Dizhu (a card game) in the car, traffic police finally arrived from the emergency lane and went to clear the traffic ahead.

Normally, it only takes 30 minutes to drive from the city center to Dayin Temple, but this time it took a full two hours.

The parking lot outside the gate of Dayin Temple was brightly lit late into the night on New Year's Eve. The parking lot, with several hundred spaces, was almost full.

It seems there are quite a few clever people like them who have come to the suburbs to burn the first incense of the day.

The three arrived at the entrance of the scenic area at the foot of the mountain, but it was not yet open to visitors. It was said that it would not open until midnight.

If you look at the time on your phone, it won't take too long. Half an hour will pass easily.

There were definitely several hundred, if not a thousand, people queuing in front of the scenic area. Fortunately, they weren't crowded together; the queue was quite loose.

Xiaomeng had never experienced the first incense offering ceremony at other temples before, and this was her first time going out to burn incense in the middle of the night. Seeing the warm and peaceful atmosphere at the scene, she felt that it was nothing special. "Actually, the competition for the first incense offering is not as intense as the legends say. It's not as exaggerated as the news reports."

Before Xiao Tang and Attorney Lang could speak, a man next to her chimed in, "You young people have probably never seen the rush to be the first to offer incense in the city. It's really crowded there. Shoes and bags are commonplace. It's not uncommon for people to get sick and have to be taken to the hospital in an ambulance."

Someone nearby chimed in, “That’s right. In previous years, my grandparents would burn incense in the city, but this year we didn’t dare let them go. Let’s come here instead. There are fewer people here, and the mountain road is longer, so they won’t get crowded.”

"That's right, the incense burner of Dayin Temple is halfway up the mountain. There's no point in squeezing in now; we'll see who has the stronger legs when we climb the mountain later."

"If you ask me, it's not that the first person to light incense is the first to offer incense. As long as the incense is lit at midnight, it is the first to offer incense. Why bother crowding together like that? It's both tiring and dangerous."

The people around him agreed with his point of view. Everyone said that the first incense stick burned at midnight is the first incense of the year, so there is no need to fight for it. The most important thing is to be safe and sound.

As soon as it hit midnight and the park gates opened, some people rushed out. Some charged ahead, while others strolled up slowly, calling out to their friends.

Xiaomeng and her two friends were the kind of people who climbed uphill at a leisurely pace. However, all three of them were quite fast climbers.

Xiao Tang is 1.8 meters tall, Lawyer Lang is a bit taller than him, and Xiao Meng has now grown to 1.71 meters. All three of them have long legs, taking two steps at a time, maintaining their breathing and pace.

It was clear that Xiao Tang and Attorney Lang were regular exercisers, their breathing deep and long. Xiao Meng had just eaten a sumptuous New Year's Eve dinner; the sea cucumbers and abalone had transformed into abundant energy, giving her inexhaustible strength. She hopped and skipped along the mountain path without even breaking a sweat.

The three of them overtook one car after another on the mountain trail, and soon left a large group of elderly people behind.