Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 20, Boeing 80 passenger plane, four suitcases, eight thousand silver dollars.

“You can buy it, but it’s completely useless unless you’re in the military,” Howard replied.

Yes, civilian aircraft can be used for commercial purposes, but military aircraft cannot be owned by private individuals.

Fang Wen flipped over the military aircraft and looked at the civilian version behind it.

Condor (Curtis)

Unloaded weight: 420 kg.

Maximum takeoff weight: 714 kg.

Maximum speed: 196 km/h.

Maximum range: 437 kilometers.

Fang Wen was disappointed by the payload capacity of only 300 kilograms, as its performance was far inferior to that of Curtiss's military aircraft.

This is clearly a company whose main business is military aircraft.

But what Fang Wen wants now is a plane like the Rheinland NYP-2.

He closed the sketchbook: "It doesn't have what I want."

Howard nodded and took a folded poster out of his pocket.

"And this one, it's very expensive."

It was a large biplane with three propellers.

Below the poster are some aircraft parameters.

It can carry 3 crew members, 18 passengers, and 400 kilograms of cargo.

It has a maximum speed of 222 kilometers per hour, a range of 740 kilometers, and a maximum flight altitude of 14000 feet.

Compared to the Rheinland NYP-2, although its payload capacity is less, it can carry three times more passengers, and its flight altitude is around 5000 meters.

Both are equally good, but one is more in line with the requirements of Fang Wen.

If this kind of comfortable aircraft were to operate in Shanghai, it is estimated that even more people would fly on it.

In addition, the 740-kilometer flight distance makes it a valuable option for long-haul flights, whether heading north or south.

More importantly, when war officially breaks out, land transport is far less safe and convenient than air transport, and the larger the carrying capacity of an aircraft, the more useful it is.

"How much does it cost?" Fang Wen asked.

“I need to ask someone,” Howard replied.

The conversation about private airlines has come to an end; it's time to take a break.

Looking at the five boxes, Fang Wen felt a headache coming on. With so many valuable things, he probably wouldn't be able to get a good night's sleep tonight.

Fang Wen didn't sleep well for two days in a row.

While still on vacation, he is now more eager to resolve the problems brought about by this wealth.

Therefore, he had no choice but to send Howard, who was out sending a telegram, to find Manager Liu and Sun Debiao.

Howard, who had been out for half a day, returned with Manager Liu and a woman in a cheongsam.

"come in."

Fang Wen opened the door and invited Manager Liu and the woman in.

The woman entered the room and immediately looked at the box with the character for "happiness" on it. When she discovered that the seal on the box had been torn off, she became quite angry.

"You touched my things?"

“The things are mine, why can’t I open them? But don’t worry, I haven’t read the letters inside,” Fang Wen replied.

"Even if I haven't seen it, it's not acceptable. This is the most precious thing I've ever owned since I got married. Even my husband hasn't seen it." The woman persisted.

Manager Liu quickly tried to smooth things over.

"Young Madam, stop arguing. Don't forget the things are still in their hands. Commissioner Fang, don't take it personally with a woman. If things really escalate, we won't be able to talk today."

His words calmed the woman down. She found a stool, sat down, and turned her body away from Fang Wen.

Fang Wen naturally wouldn't argue with her, and directly discussed it with Manager Liu.

"The items are all here, five boxes. I'll keep one, and if you want to take the others back, you can exchange them for silver dollars, US dollars, or gold."

"Then I'll have to take a look. Today, our Zhao family came alone, so we don't know what's in these boxes."

"Okay, the box has been opened. You can take your time looking through it."

Then, Manager Liu opened the boxes. He gave a fair assessment of each box.

"This huge box of pearls is from the Xia family. They used to supply pearls to the imperial court during the Qing Dynasty. Now that the imperial court no longer makes purchases, these things have lost some value, but they are still worth a lot of money."

"I dare not look at our young mistress's dowry chest."

"A Mauser pistol, a good one. There are many gangs in Shanghai, and everyone is secretly buying weapons for self-defense. This thing can fetch a good price."

"Top-quality wild ginseng from Changbai Mountain, these roots must be at least a hundred years old. Goodness, all ten are quite old. I know, they belong to the Wang family. They made their fortune from ginseng in their early years, I didn't expect they still have such good stock."

"Gold bars, no need for valuation. Commissioner Fang, you're very lucky."

Hearing Manager Liu's estimate, Fang Wen nodded and asked.

"Besides the gold bars, if I give them all to your family, how much can you get in exchange?"

With his back to his young mistress, Manager Liu quietly raised his thumb and beckoned it behind him.

But he said:
"Well, that's not easy to give. How about I calculate it when I get back?"

Fang Wen pondered the meaning behind Manager Liu's thumbs-up gesture.

He had his back to the woman, as if the young mistress was in charge this time.

In this case.

Fang Wen replied, "Okay, go back and calculate it again. If other companies come to see the goods and offer a reasonable price, I can't guarantee that I'll reserve it for you."

Upon hearing this, the woman who was sitting sideways became anxious, turned around, and stood up.

"No, the deal has to be done today. I can't let anyone else see what's in my box."

Manager Liu gave a wry smile: "Young Madam, this is a big deal. Our family came from the Northeast, and we didn't bring much money with us. We need to plan this carefully."

"Who's in charge today, you or me? Let's set the price now."

Urged on by the woman, Manager Liu took out his abacus, paper, and pen, and began to price each item.

These four boxes cost a total of eight thousand silver dollars.

With so much money, you could rent a small villa in the French Concession for only 3000 silver dollars, which would be enough to cover your expenses for several years.

Whether he made a profit or a loss, Fang Wen didn't care. Turning the goods into cash through Manager Liu was the best way. If he had looked for buyers outside, he might have run into swindlers or people who were greedy for money.

He agreed to the price without hesitation, and then, in accordance with the rules of the Northeast merchants, the two parties drew up a written agreement, signed and sealed it, and the money and goods were settled.

Fang Wen finally breathed a sigh of relief after the other party took the four boxes away.

The next day, Fang Wen and Howard drove the airport car, carrying gold bars and dollars, to the city.

Such a large sum of wealth is naturally better kept in the bank than lived in constant anxiety and sleepless nights.

As for which bank, Fang Wen chose Citibank, and he and Howard went into the bank.

There were only two counters in the bank, and very few people were conducting business.

A bank employee came over and asked.

"Hello, what service do you need?"

"Do you have any safe deposit boxes here?" Fang Wen asked.

"If it's valuables, I don't recommend storing them in the safe deposit box. Our bank doesn't insure items in safe deposit boxes," the staff member replied.

Having a bank deposit slip is actually a dangerous way of flaunting wealth, especially in Shanghai, a place rife with gangsters and swindlers. Fang Wen wouldn't fall for the bank clerk's excuses.

After choosing the safe deposit box service without hesitation, the other party led Fang Wen Howard to the manager's office. After paying a safe deposit box rental fee, they took him to the bank's basement.

There, the manager opened two iron gates and waited outside.

Howard didn't go in either.

Fang Wen dragged two bags into the narrow safe passageway, found the safe number he had rented, opened it, and put all his belongings inside.

Once outside the bank, he felt a great sense of relief, finally free from the worry that the treasure hidden under his bed would be stolen.

Next, the car drove to the post office, where Howard retrieved the telegram reply from across the ocean.

"The Boeing 80 costs $13. They offer door-to-door delivery and a 5-year warranty on parts replacement and regular maintenance. As for maintenance personnel, an additional fee is required for hiring them."

Fang Wen was stunned; $13 was very expensive.

He needs to do the math.

(End of this chapter)