Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 199-198, The First Gathering of the Taishan Flying Club, A World Conspiracy?

The invitation from Kabul was granted easily.

The young Afghan king longed to make friends with people of similar status and position.

Moreover, he was not the only one to join the flying club; ministers and local dignitaries also joined.

He provided a list of five people.

Fang Wen subtly inquired whether the man had any connections with local powerful figures, but unfortunately, having spent a considerable amount of time studying in France, he had not yet established any local networks.

It's okay if they don't have one. It's the first time we've formed a flying club, so we don't need to be perfect. The main thing is to get it up and running and then introduce the Gold Plan to them.

The next day, he took a Taishan Airlines Eurasia flight back to Kolkata, then piloted the Shrew back to Yangon, and finally flew back to Shanghai via Guangzhou.

After a night's rest, Fang Wen got up early, washed up, and then went to talk to Sun Debiao and Fang Shouxin.

"How are you preparing?"

“We’ve got a lot of people organized. Just follow your instructions, abide by the rules, and obey orders,” Sun Debiao replied.

“But we don’t know what the palace you’re talking about is like, how it’s decorated and designed, or how the staff are arranged,” Fang Shouxin added.

Setting up a flying club in an empty palace requires relatively complex and diverse preparations and personnel arrangements.

Not to mention that Sun Debiao and Fang Shouxin had no clue, even Fang Wen was almost at the same level.

Fang Wen took out a floor plan of the palace and recalled his memories from his previous life, which, at least thanks to the influence of internet information, left him with some vague impressions.

He sketched out his own plan based on the floor plan of the palace.

“There is a large flat area near the palace, which is used by the garrison for training. With a little modification, it can be used as a temporary airfield for take-off and landing.”

“Those empty palaces, regardless of what they were used for before, each palace is used to host a VIP from a region, and then given a name: such as Kabul Palace, Sarawak Palace, or the name of a prominent family or local king. That’s what we call face.”

Sun Debiao and Fang Shouxin nodded in agreement; indeed, each palace represented a certain prestige.

Sun Debiao asked, "What about the supporting facilities such as offices, dormitories, and reception centers for our own people?"

“I’ve reached an agreement with them. There’s no time to build additional facilities right now, so we’ll use the military barracks as our own offices, accommodations, and reception areas.”

"Where are those troops going? They can't leave their posts, can they?" Fang Shouxin pressed.

“They didn’t leave. I gave them money so they could stay in a nearby hotel for a month.”

As the conversation progressed, various layouts were sketched out on the floor plan.

(Floor plan of Mandalay Palace)

The palace is enormous, with enough rooms, but the staff need to be trained in advance, otherwise they won't even be able to find their way around.

Therefore, Sun Debiao and Fang Shouxin began to gather people who were interested in going abroad to make quick money.

There are also some flight attendants trained by Taishan Airlines who have not yet started working.

More than 20 people were recruited from Shanghai.

Taishan Airlines has 20 of its own flight attendants.

The two groups were clearly separated; one side was very noisy, while the other sat quietly and politely.

Fang Wen saw this and frowned.

With things so chaotic, how can anyone be expected to follow rules and obey orders? If we take them out, they'll probably be difficult to manage.

However, Taishan Airlines is currently short-staffed and cannot spare any more service personnel to help.

We can only use them to fill in the gaps.

Fang Wen glanced at Sun Debiao and gave him a meaningful look.

Sun Debiao was somewhat embarrassed. When he recruited them, they were all very well-behaved. How did they end up in such a mess now? He shouted, "Shut up, everyone. The general manager has something to say."

After everyone quieted down, Fang Wen spoke up: "The reason I'm recruiting you is for the newly established Mount Tai Flying Club. I know you haven't received any training and can't meet many of the professional requirements. But I believe you're all here to make money, right?"

After he finished speaking, he looked at the 20 new recruits below the stage, and a few of them responded in hushed tones, "Yes."

"I can't hear you, speak louder," Fang Wen asked loudly.

More people responded, "Yes."

"Still can't hear me? Speak louder and tell me, do you want to make money?"

Under his guidance, the 20 people shouted in unison, "Yes!"

Fang Wen smiled and said, "That's right. I thought you didn't like money."

The burst of laughter from the audience also brought the two sides closer together.

Fang Wen continued, "I like straightforward people like you. Making money isn't a bad thing, so what's there to be afraid of? Now I'll tell you about the rules for going abroad. This time, we'll be going to a palace. The palace is quite large. First, you'll need to learn the way, and then you'll be assigned to different palaces and given service training. Your pay will be 200 silver dollars a month."

No way. A reward of 200 silver dollars was unbelievable to everyone; that was currently a very high salary in China.

These people were just service workers, and they used to earn only 7 or 8 silver dollars a month.

To earn 200 silver dollars, you would have to go two years without eating or drinking.

No one believed they had the ability to earn 200 silver dollars, and some people immediately stood up to leave.

"Wait, I haven't finished yet."

Fang Wen stopped those who wanted to leave and continued, "These 200 silver dollars aren't so easy to get. You have to complete all the assessments and not make any mistakes in your official work before you can take them. Every mistake will result in a deduction, until you have 15 silver dollars left. In other words, it takes some effort to get this money."

So that's how it is. Everyone understands now. If you don't do well, you get a low salary; if you do well, you get a high salary, and the better you do, the higher the salary.

The 20 people really liked this salary, and they all had the idea of ​​making a lot of money during this month-long trip abroad.

But Fang Wen's words were not yet finished.

He continued, "This is the rule of Taishan Airlines: the more capable you are, the more you do, and the more you do, the more you earn. In the next month, you 20 people will not only try to earn 200 silver dollars, but you will also undergo personnel assessment by Taishan Airlines. Those who pass will be able to stay with Taishan Airlines and become one of us."

This gave the 20 people another reason to look forward, and their enthusiasm soared once again.

Watching this scene, Sun Debiao exclaimed, "The general manager's mouth is getting more and more eloquent. His mind is also becoming increasingly sharp. You know, we're all human, how come he's so capable?"

"Stop thinking about it. Even if you think about it your whole life, you'll still be Sun Debiao. Let's get to work. It's up to the two of us now." Fang Shouxin said with a smile, and then went on stage with Sun Debiao.

After some encouragement, the 20 newly recruited personnel, along with 20 flight attendants from Taishan Airlines, boarded D.332 and headed to Yangon with great enthusiasm.

It was using a temporary route from Shanghai to Guangzhou to Yangon.

Fang Wen was in charge of flying the first trip, but Pan Jiafeng took over from the second trip onwards.

Pan Jiafeng's flying talent allowed him to adapt to flight routes very quickly.

Sun Debiao, Fang Shouxin, and Shao Sishen, who had connections in Myanmar, went together to begin training, renovating, and laying out the palace, as well as recruiting more than a dozen locals as supplementary service personnel.

During this period, chefs, ingredients, musicians, band members, and other personnel and resources had to be airlifted from Shanghai. Whether it could be done well depended on human effort, so Fang Wen took some time to drive his F.220 to Sarawak.

This time, his father-in-law came along again. Besides bringing quinine back to Guangzhou, he also wanted to help Fang Wen find some members for his flying club.

The plane landed outside the Governor's Palace in Kuching, Sarawak, where it was once again welcomed by the King of Sarawak.

After Fang Wen got off the plane, the other person asked expectantly, "Fang, have you thought about the flight route?"

Fang Wen smiled and replied, "I have a better suggestion. You should expand your social circle so you can have more friends instead of just a few."

"What do you mean?" The King of Sarawak did not understand Fang Wen's words.

“You are a king, and kings need a royal social circle, like the Commonwealth General Assembly. I am setting up a flying club, and participants must be verified; only those of distinguished status or great wealth can join.”

Fang Wen's words piqued the interest of the King of Sarawak.

"I'd like to know who the current members are?"

"Since this is the first edition, many people don't know about the flying club, and there aren't many participants. This is my current list of invitees."

Fang Wen presented a list of people he, Kuang Mingzhu, and Shao Sichen had invited.

This was a threshold; the King of Sarawak looked at the list and felt he had to be one of them.

He was very certain that he wanted to join.

Besides his involvement, Nanyang has even more resources.

During his stay in Sarawak, Fang Wen borrowed the Sarawak King's seaplane and took his father-in-law to the Indonesian archipelago south of Kalimantan.

There are also many Sudanese and Chinese families there.

Of course, caution is a common trait among these people, and not many will be willing to join immediately just because of an invitation.

Only a few people are bold enough to take risks.

Even so, Fang Wen felt that he had gathered all the members of the first flying club. If there were more people, he felt that he would not be able to control them.

1934 1 Month 16 Day.

Chiang Kai-shek occupied Fuzhou, and the 19th Route Army was defeated and surrendered to Chiang Kai-shek. Some of the generals in the army joined Chiang Kai-shek, while others went into hiding or fled abroad.

On this same day, however, the Mandalay Palace in central British-controlled Burma welcomed a steady stream of guests.

These guests all arrived on a chartered flight operated by Taishan Airlines.

The Afghan royal family, who had chartered a flight on the Asia-Europe route, boarded D.332 in Kolkata and transferred to fly to the royal palace.

There are also numerous temporary flights departing from Sarawak Airport in Southeast Asia. Through this airport, wealthy and prominent figures from all over Southeast Asia fly to Yangon and then to Mandalay Palace.

After disembarking from the plane, these people received a warm welcome from Taishan Airlines staff.

They were assigned to different areas of the palace and enjoyed different royal services.

It's quite peculiar, a different feeling.

After a fun-filled night, the staff responsible for their respective palaces led them to the dragon boats on the palace moat for a meal.

With dignitaries from various regions arriving, Fang Wen naturally needed to be present to accompany them.

He met and exchanged pleasantries with the dignitaries one by one.

Among the guests were the King of Afghanistan, the King of Sarawak, three other guests from different places, a Sultan from Indonesia, and two heads of prominent Chinese families from Southeast Asia.

After everyone was seated, Fang Wen gave a speech with a smile.

"The flying club was set up in a hurry, only taking half a month, so there are very few members this year. I believe more people will join next year, and I hope everyone understands."

He said this in English, and the Indonesian translator beside him was also the Sultan.

The guests responded enthusiastically, creating a harmonious atmosphere.

Now is not the best time to talk about Operation Gold. After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Fang Wen did not disturb them while they were eating.

After the meal, the staff took them on a tour of the palace and then to the palace where the flying club was located, explaining the membership benefits of the flying club.

Becoming a member of the flying club will grant you access to all the benefits and perks of the club's recreational activities.

For example: leisure and relaxation, learning to fly, receiving better service and preferential offers when flying with Taishan Airlines.

These conditions were all good. The palace was excellent, the service was attentive, and it was also a great place to meet new friends. Everyone was very satisfied.

When evening salon time arrived, the club members gathered at the palace bar in the royal palace, and someone asked the question that had been bothering them.

"General Manager Fang, why are you in such a hurry to establish a flying club? In my opinion, it's not in your best interest." The speaker was the head of the Ye family in Nanyang, who is also the current patriarch. The Ye family started out in commercial retail and now has investments in various industries.

“Yes,” Fang Wen replied with a smile, “It is indeed not in my best interest, but time is too tight, so I have no choice but to do this. If you want to hear my story, I can tell you the reasons now.”

No one objected.

Fang Wen continued, "I recently went to Europe and obtained some very important information. I can make a lot of profits using that information, but that's not enough. I need more allies to make the profits even greater. For this purpose, I want to establish a gold company."

Gold Company!

Four words piqued everyone's interest; no one would dislike gold.

The fish seemed to have taken the bait, and Fang Wen was full of confidence, believing that no one could resist such a temptation.

He explained the situation.

After listening to Fang Wen's detailed description, the scene became slightly chaotic.

Each of their small groups was talking.

The King of Sarawak asked, “I’ve heard that the United States has banned private ownership of gold, but are you sure they will buy back everyone’s gold at a high price?”

The head of the Ye family pondered: "Those people at the Federal Reserve are the most shrewd guys in the world. How could they possibly let anyone take advantage of them?"

These words resonated with everyone, as those at their level were aware of the power and influence of the Federal Reserve bankers.

Fang Wen hadn't thought about it in that way; he just felt that since history had happened this way, there must be a reason for it.

But the reminder from the Ye family patriarch made him think of more things.

Yes, where are the Federal Reserve's interests? Are they really so benevolent as to want to help Roosevelt save the American economy?
Selfless and altruistic?
Impossible. Fang Wen denied this judgment, and there must be a reason for it.

If we look at it from the perspective of people in the future.

Did they know war was coming and hoard gold in advance?

After all, the adage "in times of chaos, gold is a treasure" is timeless and applies all over the world.

"Impossible!" Fang Wen exclaimed inwardly, feeling as if he had discovered that the world situation was actually being controlled by someone else.

(End of this chapter)