At 1:30 PM, Chen Chuan and his three companions arrived at the ticket check. The attendant informed them they had second-class tickets and would have to wait until the show officially began at three o'clock to enter.
"We still have to wait an hour," Pan Xiaode grumbled.
Tan Zhi was helpless as well. He hadn't bought the tickets; they were a gift from his mentor, Teacher Wei. After all, seats were limited and tickets were extremely hard to come by. They were lucky to have them at all.
The plaza was filled with audience members just like them, all waiting outside. Only those who were clearly high-ranking officials and political dignitaries could bypass the wait, entering directly through the VIP entrance.
Chen Chuan then remembered the tickets Counselor Pei had given him. They seemed different from the ones Tan Zhi had, so he took them out. "I have a few tickets here, too," he said. "A friend happened to give them to me a few days ago. You guys take a look."
