Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 139, Section 138: Airdrop Test Successfully Completed, Domestic Matters, Bomb Factory Completed and Under Construction

Fang Wen took the drawing and started sketching the airdrop drop point.

The rectangular drop point is marked above, indicating the scattering points of different airdropped items.

Airdropped supplies are represented by circles, while tin wine jugs are represented by dots.

Based on the records...

A quarter of the supplies fell into the airdrop point, two-quarters of the supplies were around the airdrop point, a quarter of the supplies appeared in more distant places, and a very small number even drifted to more than ten miles away.

This is something that cannot be avoided when using parachute airdrops; in windy conditions, the parachute will drift further away.

Overall, the results were acceptable, with most supplies remaining within a manageable range and collection completed in a short time.

He looked at the black dot representing the tin wine jug, which fell more precisely.

Fang Wen concluded that the oval-shaped wine jug was more aerodynamic and experienced less wind resistance. In addition, it was filled with soil and was solid, so it would be more accurate when dropped.

This gave him more confidence in future strategic bombing campaigns.

After putting away the blueprints, Fang Wen asked the visitor.

"How is everything at home?"

The person hesitated for a moment, but considering that the Third Young Master was the only one who could stand up for the Fang family, they decided to speak up.

"Third Young Master, the house is in complete chaos."

"Ah! What's going on? Sit down and tell me. Qiuju, make tea for the guests."

The other person sat on the sofa, took a sip of tea, and began to speak:

"After the Sixth Miss was brought home, she made a fuss every day, saying that the Third Young Master had wronged Teacher Liu. No matter what the family said, she wouldn't listen. The Second Young Master tried to persuade her, but she wouldn't listen. The Eldest Young Master and the Fourth Miss, who had come back to visit her family, couldn't persuade her either. In a fit of anger, the Master locked her up at home and forbade her to go anywhere."

The sixth brother was actually infatuated with Liu Shijie.

Fang Wen couldn't help but ask, "Why don't you go and talk to her classmates to persuade her?"

"The problem is that her classmates also think that Teacher Liu is not a bad person. But everyone knows your character, so they haven't said anything out of line."

"I understand. Thank you for reminding me. I'll go back and tell my father that I'll find a way to resolve Sixth Sister's situation."

After seeing off the messenger from his hometown, Fang Wen pondered.

Everything outside was going smoothly, but this incident happened at home.

The matter concerning Sixth Sister is related to me, so I must get to the bottom of it completely.

For example, how did Liu Shijie end up colluding with the Japanese? Wasn't he originally a patriotic young man? How could there be such a stark contrast between his past and present behavior?

But this wasn't something he was good at, so he wanted to hire someone to investigate it.

Immediately afterwards, Zhao Shanhu was sent to deliver a message to Chief Wang of the Axe Gang, inviting him to visit the airport. After all, Chief Wang, who was skilled in assassination, should also be quite knowledgeable in this area.

Zhao Shanhu went in the afternoon, and not long after he returned, Chief Wang, disguised, came alone.

Having not seen Chief Wang for a long time, Fang Wen smiled broadly and said, "It's been a while. Come on, let's go to the tavern to talk."

He and Chief Wang arrived at the tavern where they had been staying for a long time, ordered a table of food and drinks, and began to chat.

After a couple of drinks, Fang Wen began to discuss the purpose of his trip.

"Boss Wang, do you know who in Shanghai is good at solving cases? Like the famous detectives."

“A famous detective?” Chief Wang shook his head with a smile: “You mean the novels those rich young ladies and wives read, right? Most cases in the world aren’t as complicated as those in books. And if they were, no one could solve them.”

"So how do you usually solve cases?" Fang Wen continued to ask.

Chief Wang replied, "It depends on investigation. There are many gangs in Shanghai, and their network of informants is extensive. Nothing can escape their notice. Whenever there is a major case, and the higher-ups are pressuring for a swift resolution, they will ask the gangs for people and clues. If you can get clues from the gangs, and then follow the trail, the case will be solved."

So that's how the case was solved. Fang Wen was a little disappointed.

But this matter did require someone to do it, so he poured wine for Chief Wang and offered him a toast.

"Chief Wang, to be honest, I've come to see you today about solving a case. It involves my sixth sister."

Fang Wen explained the situation in detail.

Chief Wang analyzed the situation for her, saying, "You're not wrong, but your sister doesn't believe it. The key is that there's no evidence that Liu Shijie colluded with the Japanese. I think even hiring a detective won't help. How about I go to Jiaxing and help you sort things out? Maybe that will clear things up?"

Fang Wen was overjoyed: "Then thank you."

"No need to thank me, we're all brothers. I'll head to Jiaxing now, and if all goes well, I can give you a definite answer tomorrow."

After saying this, Chief Wang got up and took his leave, heading to Jiaxing. He was indeed a straightforward and generous person.

Shanghai is very close to Jiaxing, and Chief Wang is very resourceful. They set off at 3 p.m. and arrived in Jiaxing around 7 p.m.

He had his own methods, and he went directly to the local gang.

Gangs existed everywhere in the Republic of China era, and the more economically developed a gang was, the stronger it was.

The Green Gang and Hongmen in Shanghai were able to influence the Nationalist government.

Jiaxing may not be able to do those things, but it can still influence the local business and economic environment.

Therefore, they are doing quite well and have their own business on the surface.

This gang leader was an old acquaintance of Chief Wang, and was very enthusiastic when he saw his old friend visiting.

The two set up a table at home, drank and reminisced.

Wang, the gang leader, explained the situation directly: "I have a good brother in Shanghai, Fang Wen, who is the general manager of Taishan Airlines. He's been having a headache lately because of family issues and doesn't know how to handle them. I came here to see if I can help him resolve the problem."

The gang leader had many informants in the area, so he naturally knew what Chief Wang was talking about.

"It's about Fang's sixth son, isn't it? The whole city knows about it. I'm also somewhat involved in this matter. Since Brother Wang has said so, I'll definitely give you face. You can rest here for the night, and I'll help you investigate tomorrow."

He said he would help, and his men immediately went out in droves to inquire throughout Jiaxing.

I actually found some useful things.

Within a day, Chief Wang returned, bringing someone with him.

He led the man to Fang Wen's office and got straight to the point.

"Your sixth sister's matter is settled. Liu Shijie is not Liu Shijie."

Fang Wen, who was working, asked in surprise: "What do you mean by saying Liu Shijie is not Liu Shijie?"

Chief Wang recounted his understanding of the Dao in detail.

"This man's real name is Liu Shiming. He is Liu Shijie's cousin. Liu Shijie passed away from tuberculosis two years ago, and Liu Shiming took over his cousin's position as a teacher. He doesn't have much formal education, but he knows how to play the game. He says whatever sounds good and portrays himself as a progressive person at school. He is well-liked by teachers and students and has directly risen to the position of logistics manager."

Fang Wen nodded: "Impersonation alone won't convince my sixth sister. Is there any evidence of collusion with the Japanese?"

“Yes, he’s a gambler and goes to the casino often. That casino is owned by my friend. Let the casino manager handle the rest.” Chief Wang turned to look at the man beside him.

The casino manager spoke up: "General Manager Fang, I patrol the casino every day and often see Liu Shijie coming to gamble. In our line of work, we welcome everyone, so we didn't bother him. Later, a stranger appeared at his usual table. The two didn't interact at first, but the stranger struck up a conversation with Liu Shijie and lent him money. Borrowing money at a casino is part of our business, and he broke the rules, so we sent someone to kick him out. The next day, he brought a group of Japanese ronin to cause trouble, and we both suffered injuries."

Upon hearing this, Fang Wen realized that he had found the key evidence.

He asked, "Is that person still in Jiaxing?"

The casino manager nodded: "Since that incident, he hasn't dared to come to the casino again, but he's still staying in Jiaxing, thinking we don't know. Today we sent someone to scout it out, and we found that Liu Shijie is still there, and he's with the Japanese too."

Fang Wen nodded and whispered to Chief Wang, "I'm currently busy and it's inconvenient for me to get involved. Could you ask your friend to help me see this through to the end and expose Liu Shijie's identity so that my sixth sister and her classmates know the truth about his collusion with the Japanese?" Chief Wang nodded, "No problem. My brother is also holding a grudge about the casino being vandalized. Now that we've combined two things, it's a good opportunity to settle accounts with those Japanese. I want your sixth sister to see it for herself so she can give up."

"That's good. I'll write a letter home and ask you to take it with you. Just do it according to your plan."

After Fang Wen finished speaking, he wrote a letter with a fountain pen and handed it to Chief Wang.

A day later, a major incident occurred in Jiaxing.

A shop in the city was suddenly vandalized, and a group of people rushed out of the shop and started fighting with the local gang in Jiaxing.

Because it was pre-arranged, many locals in Jiaxing witnessed this scene.

This also includes Fang Jia Lao Liu, who is allowed to go out with his classmates to relax.

This time, the local gangs in Jiaxing were prepared, and in order to avenge their previous defeat, they went all out and struck hard.

The group of outsiders, feeling the pain, couldn't help but utter strange remarks.

This language is completely incomprehensible, though some business people have heard it before.

"It's Japanese, they are Japanese."

"Why are the Japanese pretending to be Chinese and hiding here?"

"It must be for some ulterior motive."

The January 28 Incident was still fresh in everyone's mind. This was not the Japanese concession, so everyone was indignant and joined in the beating. Even Fang's sixth sister participated.

After a brutal beating, all seven or eight Japanese ronin were knocked to the ground, howling in pain.

Then, two more people were dragged out of the shop.

One of them was a Japanese man posing as the shop owner.

The other person kept their head down and remained silent, as if afraid of being seen.

But how could he escape the eyes of the students he saw every day?

"Teacher Liu?"

"You actually ended up with a Japanese person."

Faced with the students' anger, Liu Shijie lowered his head even further.

Sixth Sister looked disappointed and angry: "Liu Shijie, you liar! I trusted you so much, and I almost fell out with my family to protect you."

She slapped Liu Shijie hard across the face and left, heartbroken.

The Fang family members who followed breathed a sigh of relief.

It's better to have a short, sharp pain than a long, drawn-out one. At least this time, Sixth Sister has given up and no longer needs to protect that scoundrel Liu Shijie.

With the Fang family's internal affairs resolved, Fang Wen, free from worries, began preparing for the airdrop.

He sent a telegram to Xiangxi Airport, instructing them to prepare an airdrop point.

After receiving a reply, the airdrop began.

The airdrop went smoothly. The plains between the two mountains were ideal for airdrops, and most of the supplies landed near the designated area.

With these airdropped supplies, the living conditions of the airport construction workers improved, their enthusiasm increased, and the project progressed faster.

On April 7, 1933, Fang Shouxin sent a telegram.

After being filled and compacted, the airport's main runway was completed.

With the main runway in place, Fang Wen could drive his F.220 to transport more supplies.

In order to complete the construction of the airport and factory as soon as possible, Fang Wen drove his F.220 to transport cement and steel purchased from Shanghai to Xiangxi Airport at any cost.

With cement, construction workers can mix crushed stone and river sand with cement to make strong and reliable hollow concrete bricks.

Using hollow bricks for construction is very convenient.

The steel was prepared for hangars and factory buildings.

With these high-quality building materials, the workers were full of energy and built three factory buildings in ten days.

The factories are located in different areas: one for tinware, one for chemical preparation, and one for chemical loading. They cannot be mixed together; safety comes first.

With the factory in place, worker number 100 was finally able to start work.

In a separate tinware workshop, more than 20 tinsmiths were the first to begin work.

They originally planned to work according to the original traditional techniques, with each person doing their own thing.

However, the factory manager Shunzi kept the general manager's words in mind and required all the tinsmiths to cooperate and assign a fixed tinsmith to each process.

I was a little resistant to this request at first.

However, the salary offered by the employer was so high that they still did as Shunzi asked.

The first batch of pewterware was not well made because the different processes didn't know how to coordinate. Each process was done independently, and problems arose when the finished products were produced.

Shunzi felt very wronged by the tinsmiths' sarcastic remarks.

But he did not stop there; instead, he continued to persevere.

If once doesn't work, try twice, or three times.

This perseverance and fearlessness in the face of failure moved the tinsmiths.

They began to examine their own shortcomings and discussed the process with each other.

These experienced tinsmiths, once they got the attitude right, immediately produced results.

They identified and corrected the shortcomings in the assembly line process.

Subsequently, tinware that met the requirements was produced.

This major success finally stabilized the tinware factory and allowed Shunzi to experience how a factory manager should operate.

Shunzi grew and matured through setbacks. Pewterware also began to be mass-produced.

However, Huo Duanyang faces a different challenge in the upstream process of solidified gasoline preparation.

Huo Duanyang kept Fang Wen's words echoing in his mind: napalm bombs must be kept strictly secret, otherwise the danger to China will outweigh its benefits.

To maintain secrecy, he was responsible for the preparation of the most crucial catalyst in the entire napalm bomb process, while other members of the chemistry team were responsible for other aspects.

Thus, as long as the catalyst does not leak, no one can produce the same napalm bomb.

Of course, producing napalm bombs also requires a large amount of basic materials.

For example: large quantities of gasoline, palm oil, raw materials for propellants used to trigger explosions when bombs are dropped from high altitudes, and various chemicals.

All of these need to be procured by Fang Wen and transported to Xiangxi Airport via F.220, where they will be stored in a dedicated warehouse in the factory area.

With the arrival of large quantities of supplies, the preparation of napalm, and the production of tin bomb carriers, only the final step remained: loading the explosives.

This is also the most dangerous process.

(End of this chapter)