Bright Sword: The Flowers of War

Chapter 172 The bombing must not stop!

Hoddle and Frant were thus persuaded by the $200 monthly salary.

This amount of money might not even be enough for a meal for a wealthy person, but for ordinary Americans struggling during the Great Depression, two hundred dollars is enough to feed a family of four for more than half a year.

Keep in mind that food prices were not high back then. A pound of beef cost only 25 to 35 cents, a pound of pork cost 20 to 30 cents, and potatoes were even lower, at 3 cents per pound. A family of four would only need $15 to $25 a month for food.

Such a high salary is enough to make them work their lives away.

Frant then asked, "By the way, Fell... you still haven't told us what we're supposed to do. His boss is offering such a high salary, he can't possibly expect us to be his lowly soldiers, can he?"
And you still haven't told me where we're going to fight, and who our opponent is.

"Sorry, I forgot to tell you... the place you are going to is China, and your opponents are the Japanese."

Your task is to work with John to build an armored force for your boss.

"China? Asia?"

Hoddle and Frant looked at each other, never imagining that they would have to go to China, thousands of miles away, to fight the Japanese.

Seeing their expressions, Fuller quickly said, "Of course, if you're unwilling, I won't force you. I can find someone else."

"You've found someone else?" Hoddle keenly sensed the implication in Forl's words.

"Of course!" Fell spread his hands. "You didn't think I only looked for the two of you, did you? To tell you the truth, his boss wants to build an air force and continue to recruit pilots, so he asked me to gather a group of pilots for him."

John also said that his boss would pay him a thousand dollars for every pilot he recruited.

And John told me he was willing to give me half of that money.

"Oh my God, this is insane! That's a thousand dollars!"

Hoddle and Frant's mouths were agape enough to fit duck eggs.

In fact, it wasn't just him; even his wife and two children, who were sitting at the same table with them, were completely stunned.

"what is this?"

Fell curled his lip. "You guys didn't see the salary his boss paid those Army Air Corps pilots. That's really high. Five hundred dollars a month, plus a two hundred dollar bonus for every plane shot down."

"God, why do they pay those idiots such high salaries? It's not fair!" Hoddle and Frant were green with envy.

"There are so many unfair things in this world, how can you possibly manage them all?"

Fell curled his lip. The United States had not yet established the Air Force as a separate branch of service, and the infantrymen were extremely envious of those who flew planes.

Hoddle gritted his teeth: "By the way, Fore, you mean John gets a thousand dollars for each pilot he refers, and if you refer one, you get a five hundred dollar commission, is that right?"

"Yes, what's wrong? Do you have connections in this area too?" Forl looked at Hoddle strangely.

Hoddle glared at him, annoyed. "Nonsense, I was a captain back in the day, and John was one of my men. How could I not know a few pilots?"

Flöhr and Flanders had no doubt about this. If this guy hadn't contracted trench foot, which triggered his lung disease and forced him to retire, he would probably be a colonel by now, given his abilities.

Fell spread his hands: "Okay, if you can bring in a pilot, I'll give you all of my 50% cut, I won't take a single cent."

“Okay… it’s settled then.” Hoddle didn’t stand on ceremony. He was obsessed with money right now. Since the Great Depression, heaven knows how hard his family had been. His son, daughter and wife had to work hard every day to pay for his medical treatment. He never wanted to live like that again.

As night deepened, Flür and Flanders bid farewell and left.

Hoddle sat quietly on the deck chair under the eaves, gazing at the sky, only occasionally breaking the tranquility with a cough.

“Hodr.” His wife Valerie appeared quietly beside him and took his hand.

"Can't you just not go? China is too far away, and I've heard that the Japanese are a bunch of ruthless killers. I don't want to end up not even being able to find your body."

Seeing his wife weeping uncontrollably, Hoddle looked at the dilapidated house and sighed helplessly. He held his wife's hand and whispered:
"Valerie, the doctor said that if my illness continues like this, I'll be going to see God in two or three years at most."

"I'd rather use this time to earn some money for you and the child. I can't let my child be unable to afford a ring to propose to the girl he loves, can I?"

Seeing her husband's aged face, Valerie cried even harder...

…………

The scorching sun baked the rolling hills of Shanxi, turning the loess white, and heat waves carrying sand and dust swirled among the troops.

Ushijima Minoru, with bandages still wrapped around his arm, rode on horseback. Dark sweat stains had long since seeped through the back of his military uniform. He squinted at the sky, where a reconnaissance plane was streaking across the heavens with a silvery-white contrail, the engine's hum piercing his eardrums like wasps.

The cornfields on both sides of the road rustled, and the sound of dry leaves rubbing together made the soldiers grip their rifles tighter.

Five cavalrymen turned back from the front, their hooves kicking up choking dust. The lead scout dismounted, saluted him, and shouted.

"Your Excellency, tire tracks have been found three kilometers to the northeast."

"Alright... Have you figured out which direction these tire tracks are heading?"

“We’ve checked, and these wheel tracks lead to a small road in the northeast, but out of caution, we haven’t sent anyone to investigate.”

"You did the right thing."

Ushijima Sanetsugu agreed with the cavalry's caution, and after the last night raid, he intensified his reconnaissance efforts.

He even sent out most of his cavalry regiment to search the area twenty or thirty kilometers ahead of the column before allowing the troops to march.

Moreover, he even demanded that the Army Air Force continuously reconnoiter his marching direction.

Although aerial reconnaissance had already informed him that the Shanxi militia had set up a defensive line in the Wild Wolf Valley area, he still insisted on conducting continuous reconnaissance of the surrounding area before he felt at ease.

Perhaps this is the aftereffect of being bitten by a snake once and being afraid of a rope for ten years?

"Your Excellency Division Commander, the Army Air Force has already conducted the third round of bombing of Wolf Valley, but the Chinese anti-aircraft fire continues to put up strong resistance."

Captain Kenjiro Hirano asked whether a fourth round of bombing should be carried out.

"Of course I want it!"

Ushijima Minoru replied without hesitation, "Pass on my order: the bombing must not stop until our main force arrives at Wolf Valley!"

(End of this chapter)