Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 390, Chapter 388: Gong Xiu is able to recognize his ancestors and return to his clan; the treasures of the ancient Shu Kingdom.

Inside the Guanghan County government building, Sun Debiao was discussing matters with the county head, while Fang Wen observed from the side.

"County Chief Liu, we have brought the logistics station staff over, and we can start building the station now."

"So fast, no wonder your Taishan Airlines has grown so big in just a few years. Where are all the people?"

"On the banks of the Qingbai River, there's the land we settled on before the Lunar New Year. There are still seaplanes parked on the riverbank, and I had them guard them."

“Brother Sun, I really envy you. You can travel long distances by plane, unlike me when I go to Chengdu for a meeting, it takes at least several hours.”

"Once the logistics station is up and running, Guanghan will be able to fly. Our plan is to set up a passenger and cargo amphibious aircraft here, so that County Chief Liu can fly to Chengdu for meetings."

Sun Debiao's words pleased County Chief Liu, who then instructed his secretary to notify the county security team to send a group of people to Qingbaijiang to assist in guarding the aircraft.

The two then discussed building a website.

Funded by Taishan Aviation Logistics Department and with the county's support, a water airport wharf, along with warehouses, office areas, and dormitories for the logistics station, will be built in Qingbaijiang.

Fang Wen watched silently throughout and found that the construction of the logistics station in Sichuan seemed to be going very smoothly, more smoothly than he had expected.

But then I thought about it again, and these changes might be related to the fact that I led the Sichuan Army to win several great victories in northern Shanxi.

This not only boosted the reputation of the Sichuan military and people, but also ensured that Taishan Airlines' projects in Sichuan received preferential treatment.

This is a good sign.

After the talks, County Chief Liu proposed to host a banquet for Sun Debiao and Fang Wen, which they could not refuse. The group then followed the county chief out of the county government and dined at the nearby Hanzhou Hotel.

The Hanzhou Hotel was also the place where Fang Wen, Mr. Liang, and Mr. Lin had agreed to meet.

However, when Fang Wen and his group arrived at the hotel, they did not see the two of them.

The group entered the hotel restaurant, and in the private room, the waiters served a table full of dishes one by one.

Once all the dishes were served, County Magistrate Liu looked at the hotel manager, who quickly smiled and said, "Distinguished guests, it's an honor to have you dine at our humble establishment. Let me introduce you to the local specialties of Guanghan. First, two cold dishes: this is Braised Rabbit, a Guanghan specialty! The rabbit meat is perfectly braised and fragrant; one bite is simply delightful! And then there's Garlic Pork Belly, simple yet delicious. The slices are as thin as paper, and with a mix of garlic and soy sauce, it's simply divine!"

The introduction, delivered in Sichuan dialect, sounded quite interesting. The manager then explained all the dishes in one go.

The cold dishes were shredded rabbit and garlic pork belly, while the hot dishes were twice-cooked pork, Mapo tofu, steamed sea bass, and Kung Pao chicken, plus a soup dish of pickled cabbage and vermicelli soup.

Overall, there are both spicy and mild flavors, which shows that they have considered all aspects.

After the menu was introduced, the hotel manager took his leave, and County Head Liu personally poured wine for the guests.

The liquor is Mianzhu Daqu liquor, not the famous liquor of later generations, but it is a household name in this era.

(Label of Mianzhu Daqu liquor from the Republic of China era)
After a few drinks, under the influence of alcohol, County Chief Liu became more enthusiastic and talkative.

This was precisely the time to inquire about the local situation in Guanghan, and Fang Wen gave Sun Debiao a hint.

Sun Debiao picked up his wine glass and approached County Chief Liu, whose face was flushed.

“County magistrate, I have another matter to discuss with you today. I brought my colleague here to meet his relatives.”

"Which family are you related to?" County Chief Liu asked, looking at Gong Xiuneng in the direction he was pointing.

“The Gong family lost a baby boy 30 years ago, and he is that baby boy.”

"I don't know about this. Wait, I'll find someone for you."

Slightly drunk, County Chief Liu pushed open the door of the private room and asked the waiter to call someone.

After a while, the person arrived.

County Chief Liu introduced, "This is Mr. Gong Quanyi. He owns the Hanzhou Hotel. He's a member of the Gong family. If you need anything, just ask him."

After learning the origins of the guests in the private room, Boss Gong smiled and said, "I just heard from my family yesterday that a relative wanted to be recognized as a member of the clan. I didn't expect to meet him today."

He looked at Gong Xiuneng with some emotion: "I should call you brother. You are the only child in Uncle Wu's family. County Chief Liu, I'll take him back to the ancestral home. You don't mind, do you?"

County Chief Liu shook his head, but Gong Xiuneng spoke up: "I want to take my colleague with me. He is Manager Fang, who is in charge of investment at Taishan Logistics Department. He just reached a cooperation agreement with the Jin family the day before yesterday. I think the Gong family can also join the logistics project."

Taishan Airlines' logistics project is already well-known throughout Sichuan. Gong Quanyi looked at Fang Wen and nodded in agreement.

Immediately afterwards, Fang Wen and Gong Xiuneng followed Gong Quanyi to the Gong family ancestral home.

The ancestral home was not in the county town, but in a village outside the north gate.

Upon arriving there, Gong Quanyi knocked on the door knocker, and with a creak, the door opened, and an old man peeked out from behind it.

"Young Master Quanyi is back."

"Yes, I also brought two guests. I informed the clan leader to convene a clan meeting because my fifth uncle's child has returned."

"Who is it?" The old man looked at Gong Xiuneng and Fang Wen.

“It’s him,” Gong Quanyi said, pointing to Gong Xiuneng.

Immediately, the old man went to report first, while Gong Quanyi led Gong Xiuneng and Fang Wen inside.

They passed through the high walls and alleyways and arrived at the central courtyard of the mansion.

A large number of people had already gathered there, mostly elderly people and children.

Gong Quanyi whispered to Gong Xiuneng, explaining who was who and how to address them. The relationships were complicated, and it wouldn't be easy to remember them all.

Then, the white-haired old clan chief, supported by his clansmen, walked to the ancestral hall in the due north direction.

He proclaimed loudly, "Thanks to our ancestors, the baby boy who was lost from my Gong family 30 years ago has grown into an adult and has been reunited with his family. This is truly a joyous occasion! But whether it's true or not still needs to be verified. Who was the person who delivered him back then?"

An elderly woman replied, "My mother was the midwife, and I was helping out. I noticed that the baby had two birthmarks on its back."

"Alright, Gong Xiuneng, take off your shirt and let her see if it's true."

Gong Xiuneng took off his shirt as instructed, revealing his back. After a careful examination, the old woman replied, "It is him. Although the birthmark has grown larger, its location is unmistakable."

Subsequently, the Gong family held a ceremony for Gong Xiuneng to recognize his ancestors and return to the family line.

The ancestral hall was bustling with activity, but Fang Wen, being an outsider, couldn't enter and had to wait outside.

But he was not alone; Gong Quanyi brought a middle-aged man with him.

"Manager Fang, this is my younger brother, Gong Quanbao. Before we came, Gong Xiu said you were in charge of investments. Could you tell me more?"

“Okay.” Fang Wen repeated the same story that Jin had told him.

Upon hearing that mechanical equipment could replace traditional wooden farm machinery and increase efficiency many times over, the brothers Gong Quanyi and Gong Quanbao's eyes lit up.

They expressed a strong desire to join the project.

In response, Fang Wen smiled and said, "It's possible, but it will probably take some time for the equipment to be transported to Sichuan, and the investment will be huge. Even if the Jin and Gong families joined together, it probably wouldn't be enough."

Gong Quanyi nodded: "That's right. The amount of agricultural machinery upgrades needed in western Sichuan alone is not small. Even if each county builds a processing plant, it would still be a huge investment. But our Gou, Gou, Mu, Jin and Gong families have always stood together. As long as the five families invest together, there will be no problem."

Fang Wen seized the opportunity to ask, "What is the relationship between the five of you?"

Gong Quanyi proudly said, "Our five families originated from the ancient Shu Kingdom. Since the pre-Qin period, we have stayed on our homeland. Although the ancient Shu Kingdom is no more, our heritage still exists and has been unbroken for thousands of years."

At this moment, Fang Wen really wanted to ask, where is the thing that the five families fought over more than twenty years ago?
But asking this question would render all attempts at concealment futile.

Moreover, Fang Wen did not sense the same mysterious energy feedback from the Gong family ancestral home as he did from the bronze tripod.

Therefore, he could only suppress his thoughts and wait. Time passed, and while Fang Wen and Gong Quanyi discussed investment matters, the ancestral recognition ceremony on the other side finally came to an end.

The old clan chief, holding a blue metal snake staff, led the clansmen out of the ancestral hall, with Gong Xiuneng, who had changed into new clothes, following behind him.

Then the Gong family members began to sing a ballad with a strange rhythm and tone.

After the song ended, Gong Xiuneng's ceremony of recognizing his ancestors came to a close, and the old clan chief handed him a set of keys.

“Gong Xiuneng, this is the house your father lived in. No one has lived there for thirty years. Now it has been passed down to you.”

After taking the key, Gong Xiuneng walked to Fang Wen's side and whispered, "Commander, is this what you wanted in the clan leader's hand?"

Fang Wen shook his head and replied in a low voice, "No, let's settle down first."

“Okay, let’s go to my house.” Gong Xiuneng showed the bunch of keys.

Then, led by a member of the Gong family, the two arrived at a side room.

The roof beams were covered with spider webs, making it look like no one had lived there for a long time.

Gong Xiuneng opened the door and stepped inside, his first step sinking into a thick layer of dust.

Gong Xiuneng walked into the room, which hadn't been entered for twenty or thirty years, step by step, and Fang Wen followed him in.

Fang Wen looked around the room.

A ray of sunlight shone through the wooden window lattice, and dust motes danced in the light.

The room is furnished with antique-style wooden furniture.

A two-meter-long desk and a bench folded inside it. On the desk sits a bronze candlestick and several yellowed books, covered in a thick layer of dust.

In the corner, there was a dressing table with peeling paint, on which sat a bronze mirror and a ceramic rouge box.

In an old-fashioned porcelain flowerpot, the withered branches of an unknown plant stand quietly, as if telling the story of time.

The calligraphy and paintings hanging on the wall reveal the cultural background of their former owners.

There's just too much dust.

The house was so uninhabitable that Gong Xiu found a broom and prepared to clean it. Fang Wen also helped with the cleaning.

After more than two hours of work, the room was cleaned and the Gong family brought bedding, so we could finally stay overnight.

But it was still early, so the two of them started searching the room, trying to find something related to Gong Xiuneng's parents.

The locked drawer on the desk was pried open, and Gong Xiuneng took out various items from it.

Moldy candies, dried-out preserves, stamps, ornaments, and a stack of yellowed letters.

There's also a group photo from thirty years ago.

Photography technology was very primitive at that time, and with the passage of time, the images on the black and white photographs have become blurry.

All that could be seen was a man sitting down.

It must have been taken in a photo studio.

Fang Wen took the stack of yellowed letters and carefully inserted a copper ruler he found in the drawer into the gap between the pages to separate them.

Even with such care, the letter still shattered into pieces due to oxidation.

Fortunately, there was a small, thread-bound notebook underneath, which was perfectly preserved because of the silk cover.

Fang Wen used a copper ruler to lift the paper, revealing elegant clerical script.

Notes from a Humble Abode

A mountain is not valued for its height, but for the immortals dwelling there; water is not valued for its depth, but for the dragons inhabiting it. This is a humble abode, yet my virtue makes it fragrant. Stepping into this small space, though there is no luxurious carved beams and painted rafters, nor dazzling gold and jade, the peace of my heart is the greatest joy in the world.

This humble abode is neither a grand mansion nor a magnificent palace, nor does it boast the hustle and bustle of city life. Yet, it holds a hidden world within, a secluded paradise. A book, a table, a chair, and a couch are enough. Books fill the desk, their ink fragrance permeating the air—the nourishment of my spirit. The table and chair are simple, yet they bear witness to countless days and nights of contemplation and writing. A short rest on the couch allows me to dream of traveling the world, exploring the mysteries of heaven and earth.

Outside this humble room, there may be the hustle and bustle of the marketplace or the disturbances of the world, yet just a door separates two worlds. In this room, I find peace and tranquility, cultivating my mind and nourishing my spirit. I am neither elated by external gains nor saddened by personal losses, facing the world with equanimity and composure.

Now, I wish to use this humble abode to record the minutiae of my life, my myriad thoughts. Whether joyful or sorrowful, worried or happy, all will arise from my heart and be written as I please.

As Fang Wenzheng was looking at it, Gong Xiuneng asked, "Commander, what's written in here?"

“It should be your father’s diary, perhaps containing records of events from thirty years ago,” Fang Wen replied.

Then, Fang Wen read it and explained it to Gong Xiuneng.

More than 30 years ago, Gong Xiuneng's father, Gong Jingwen, was the fifth child in his generation, but he was not a direct descendant of the Gong family and was not valued.

That should have been during the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the late Qing Dynasty.

Gong Jingwen grew up in the Gong family, where he studied at the family's private school and then took the county examination.

As a result, he stood out and actually won first place in the whole county.

The Gong family held a celebratory banquet for him to celebrate his emergence as a renowned talent.

Unexpectedly, the following year, Emperor Guangxu accepted the reformers' suggestion and abolished the imperial examination system.

For a time, Gong Jingwen's life briefly shone brightly before turning gloomy again.

He then abandoned his studies and refined pursuits, leaving the Gong family to seek his fortune elsewhere.

The diary entries then become more interesting and are connected to Fang Wen's trip.

It turns out that the Gong family and five other families had been searching for the ancient Shu Kingdom treasures passed down from their ancestors.

Gong Jingwen left his ancestral home to do something that has been passed down for countless generations.

He took the silver given to him by the Gong family and traveled all over the Shu region, collecting various information about the ancient Shu Kingdom, and then returned it to the Gong family.

During this time, he also met a woman and promised to bring her home and marry her.

However, in the first year of the Xuantong reign, Gong Jingwen was attacked after discovering a jade cong in perfect condition.

Upon reading this, Fang Wen looked at Gong Xiuneng and said, "Your father's troubles may have stemmed from this jade cong."

"Why?" Gong Xiuneng asked anxiously.

He listened to Fang Wen recount his father's life story, which led to their connection, and he couldn't help but become concerned about him.

Fang Wen explained, "The jade cong is a cylindrical jade artifact with a round inner surface and a square outer surface. The ancients used it to worship the gods. This thing should be from around the same time as the ancient Shu Kingdom. The five major families have been looking for clues related to the ancient Shu Kingdom. Such an important item will definitely cause a fight."

His words made sense. Although the five families seemed to get along well on the surface, they were competitors for the treasures of the ancient Shu Kingdom, as evidenced by the struggle that took place more than 20 years ago.

Therefore, Gong Xiuneng was eager to know the remaining contents of the diary.

Did his father die because of the jade cong? What about his mother? How did he disappear as an infant?

But Fang Wen was thinking about something else.

Could the treasure of the ancient Shu Kingdom be Sanxingdui?

(End of this chapter)