Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 545 Shao Sichen regains his flying ability; the couple has a short reunion to absorb energy.
After selecting the aircraft, Fang Wen and Shao Sishen went through the formalities.

The main steps are signing a waiver and paying for the training; there aren't any complicated procedures.

However, the news spread like wildfire while the procedures were being processed.

I heard that two senior pilots are training at the school, one of whom has tens of thousands of hours of flight experience, and the students at the school have come to watch.

"Have you heard? Two old guys have arrived at the hangar." Hearing his colleague's words, the young man wiping the propellers straightened up and looked over.

Many people had already gathered outside the fence at the end of the track.

It includes not only students in the school, but also flight instructors.

Even the mechanics who were inspecting the "J-3" stopped working.

They were two people of East Asian descent.

Discussing arose from the onlookers.

They clearly did not consider Fang Wen and his group to be senior pilots.

In this era, China has become so weak that it is being ignored.

Shao Sichen joked, "Do ordinary Americans think we still have queues?"

“There are indeed people in the south who think that way. It’s a very pragmatic country where the weak are looked down upon,” Fang Wen replied.

The two walked and talked until they arrived in front of the PT-19 aircraft.

The staff had already set up the boarding ladder and explained, "The internal configuration of this aircraft is similar to other primary trainer aircraft. If you have flown trainer aircraft before, I don't think I need to explain it further."

In response, Shao Sichen said seriously, "Every new model is bound to have its differences. I would like to hear you explain it to me in the normal way."

Therefore, the staff set up a boarding ladder from the other side of the aircraft, climbed up, and explained the aircraft's internal operating devices to Shao Sishen.

After listening, Shao Sichen sat in the front cabin, while Fang Wen sat in the rear cabin.

At this moment, Shao Sishen finally felt that long-lost feeling again.

The familiar yet unfamiliar feeling made him a little nervous.

"General Manager, I don't know why, but I'm a little scared. After all, I haven't flown a plane in seven years, and I'm afraid I won't do a good job."

Sitting in the back cabin, Fang Wen said softly, "Over the years, although you haven't flown yourself, the students you've trained have been flying all over the country. Those students' foundations are far inferior to yours. Are you really not as good as them? Don't let these negative emotions control you. Think about how you teach in the classroom."

After hearing Fang Wen's words, Shao Sishen's emotions eased slightly, and he recalled his teaching process.

I repeated to myself the words I had used to teach students how to adjust their mindset.

After a moment, he relaxed and replied with a smile, "Yes, what am I afraid of? Now it's all right, Coach, trainee Shao Sicheng is ready to train."

"Alright, first training exercise: gliding," Fang Wen said from the rear cabin.

Shao Sishen, who had not actually flown an airplane for seven years, began his real-world training.

Starting with the simplest taxiing, progress was rapid, and soon it was time for takeoff training.

Under his piloting, the PT-19 took off smoothly into the sky.

During this process, Fang Wen also gained a mechanical understanding of PT-19.

The fuselage uses a welded steel pipe structure and fabric skin.

The wings are made of wood, and the wing skin is made of plywood.

Therefore, this aircraft is very lightweight.

The power that propels it into the sky doesn't need to be too strong; it uses a 6-cylinder piston engine, which is manufactured by Fairchild Aerospace itself.

The plane was flying at a speed of 200 kilometers per hour, requiring virtually no guidance from Fang Wen; it was entirely up to Shao Sishen to improvise.

After years of suppression, Shao Sicheng became almost obsessed with flying airplanes and had a lot of fun.

After flying for a while, he said loudly to Fang Wen in the rear cockpit, "General Manager, I think we should also develop our own trainer aircraft for Taishan, so that our teaching will be more targeted."

What he said makes sense.

This year's and previous years' flight trainees have all been trained using seaplanes.

Strictly speaking, the Taishan Shuiyun-1 seaplane can be paired with an intermediate trainer aircraft, but it will take some time for students with no flight experience to get used to it.

Adding a primary trainer aircraft would allow flight students to master the basics of flying more quickly.

Achieving this is not difficult; we just need to further simplify the Type 1 Water Cloud and make it as lightweight as the current P-19.

Brushing aside his thoughts, Fang Wen said loudly, "Okay, let's go back. I'll have Factory 1 do it. Si Shen, how does it feel after flying for so long?"

"Great, I haven't felt this good in a long time."

"Can you drive the Huashan Type 1? I'm planning to go to Las Vegas in the next couple of days."

After hesitating for a moment, Shao Sichen replied, "If it's the Water Cloud Type I, I can handle it, but I don't know much about the Huashan Type I, so it's best not to act recklessly."

"The cockpit of the Huashan-1 is exactly the same as that of the Shuiyun-1, only the aircraft parameters are different. You are an experienced pilot and instructor, so you can adapt. Besides, I'm here."

Fang Wen's words made Shao Sichen decide to give it a try, since the general manager was never wrong.

After an hour-long flight, PT19 landed on the runway at the flight school airport.

After the plane came to a stop, Fang Wen and Shao Sichen disembarked and prepared to leave the school for Long Island Airport.

At this moment, Gong Xiuneng came over with a person.

Judging from his face, he was of East Asian descent, with his hair slicked back and shiny.

Here, on the runway, there was sand and dust, which covered his head in dust, making him look quite disheveled.

As they approached, Gong Xiuneng said, "Commander, he says he wants to see you."

As they spoke, Gong Xiu consciously positioned himself between Fang Wen and the other man, ready to protect Fang Wen should anything happen.

The man then introduced himself: "General Manager Fang of Taishan Airlines, hello. My surname is Liu, and I am a special envoy from the Central Government to inspect American military equipment. I saw you flying the P-19 and came to inquire about its usability."

"Yes, it would be very suitable if the Nationalist government wanted to purchase it as a primary trainer aircraft."

Fang Wen gave a brief reply, did not engage in further conversation, and then took his leave.

The three got into the car, and it drove away from the flight school.

Gong Xiuneng then spoke up: "Those guys all think that foreign things are better, and they always go to great lengths to find things that are far away. Our planes from Taishan are no worse than those here."

After taking the plane into the sky, Shao Sicheng became much more cheerful. He spoke with feeling about Gong Xiuneng's words: "Yes. Our planes are no worse than those from abroad. But production capacity is limited. It's not enough to supply the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army. Even if the Nationalist government wanted to buy them, there are no goods available."

The two men took turns recounting the Nationalist government's actions against Taishan Airlines in Wuhan last year, and how every step forward Taishan Airlines took now made them happy.

Fang Wen didn't participate in the discussion; he was focused on driving.

Half an hour later, the car arrived at Long Island Airport. After parking, the three of them entered the city, opened the door of the rented hangar, and went inside.

After refueling and repairing the plane, Fang Wen used the onboard radio to send a telegram to Las Vegas.

After a while, a telegram arrived in reply, and the three boarded the plane to prepare for takeoff.

Fang Wen sat in the passenger seat, and Shao Sichen sat in the driver's seat.

After exchanging words for a while, Shao Sichen started the plane, drove it out of the hangar, and then, under the guidance of the staff, drove onto the runway and took off.

There were no problems; Shao Sishen's flying skills had been restored.

During the subsequent flight, Fang Wen handed over control to Shao Sishen, while he acted as the navigator, determining the course. The journey from New York to Las Vegas is 3600 kilometers and takes 12 hours, requiring one in-flight refueling.

This was a real test of the pilots' skills. Midway through the flight, Fang Wen suggested a replacement so that Shao Sishen could rest.

However, he was refused and persisted until he landed at Las Vegas Airport.

The plane landed, and Fang Wen and the other two disembarked.

He saw a DC-2 landing on the other runway.

The passengers disembarked from the plane, were taken onto a bus, and drove out of the airport.

Shao Sichen was visiting Las Vegas for the first time and didn't know much about the situation. Gong Xiuneng whispered to him, "These people all flew in from all over the country. They get a commission for each person they bring. Right now, gangs all over the United States are vying for casino agency rights."

"Gambling hall? What does that mean?"

Gong Xiuneng scratched his head: "I can't explain it clearly."

This is indeed difficult for a Taoist priest to understand.

Fang Wen explained it to Shao Sishen.

Shao Sichen then realized that Taishan Amusement Park had divided its gambling business into two parts: the public gambling area (the lobby) was managed by the company, while the VIP services (gambling halls) were contracted out to gangs in various cities.

Furthermore, each city holds exclusive agency rights, and gangs in various regions are secretly vying for these rights in order to obtain substantial gambling revenue.

Of course, Taishan Amusement Park will not participate in this; as long as fairness is maintained, that's fine.

This, ironically, made local gangs even more eager to have exclusive casino agency rights in their own cities.

After listening to Fang Wen's explanation, Shao Sichen was amazed by the general manager's unique idea. As expected of a general manager, he had built the largest airline in China in just a few years, demonstrating his remarkable business acumen.

But he also saw the problem and couldn't help but ask, "What if other casinos follow suit? I mean, they can do this kind of casino too; it's not difficult."

Fang Wen shook his head and smiled, "They can't do it well. This airport belongs to me, and only planes carrying guests of Taishan Amusement Park can land here. Besides, their overall service quality is inferior; wealthy people prefer Taishan Amusement Park."

At this moment, Zhao Jiu, who had come to pick them up, arrived.

Fang Wen drove the car towards the amusement park.

Everything shown along the way proved what Fang Wen said.

Those Las Vegas casinos are still in the early stages of the 30s, with rudimentary facilities and a business model focused on gambling, at most with some bars and hotels.

(A street scene in Las Vegas 42 years ago)
When the car arrived at Taishan Amusement Park, it showed Shao Sishen a completely different scene.

It's like a color suddenly changing from monochrome to multicolor.

The area belonging to Taishan Amusement Park is a complete ocean of joy.

Colorful balloons floating in the air, clowns and sleeve dolls painted with oil paint, various foods, and entertainment projects open to tourists.

People can enjoy true relaxation here, and then, after relaxing, they can casually try their luck in the casino, forming a perfect consumption loop.

The car stopped in the villa area on the west side of the park. Fang Wen couldn't wait to get out of the car and head to the largest villa.

Inside the villa, the whole family was having a fun barbecue party.

The eldest and second sons of the Fang family rolled up their sleeves and grilled meat, while their wives helped cut and marinate it.

The children chased and played on the grass, and Kuang Anming and his wife joined in the fun like children.

Mr. Fang and Mr. Kuang were playing chess.

The other family members gathered around Kwong Ming-chu, chatting idly.

Fang Wen pushed open the wooden gate and went inside.

The eldest brother was the first to see Fang Wen and exclaimed with delight, "Fifth brother, you're here!"

People all looked over.

Kuang Mingzhu stood up excitedly.

Her belly was already quite large, and Fang Wen was afraid that something might go wrong, so he quickly went over and supported his wife.

The two elderly men playing chess smiled and said, "Let's go have some barbecue first. They probably have something to say."

The people around them tacitly left, leaving the couple some space.

Fang Wen held his wife's hand and walked out of the villa, strolling along the tree-lined path.

"Mingzhu, are you still vomiting?"

Kuang Mingzhu leaned on her husband happily and replied, "No, my appetite is really good now, and I'm gaining weight quickly. I'm afraid I'll become a big fat person."

"You'll lose weight after giving birth," Fang Wen comforted his wife.

"Feel it, I can feel the baby kicking in my belly."

"Really?!" Fang Wen reached out and placed his hand on his wife's protruding belly.

He was sensing it very carefully; it was very faint, but he could still feel it.

It appears as if the baby is stretching inside the mother's womb.

He exclaimed with delight, "I can feel it!" Then he added with concern, "But it's not very noticeable. Is this normal?"

Seeing her husband's worried expression, Kuang Mingzhu couldn't help but laugh. Her all-powerful husband was ultimately no match for her when it came to having children.

She explained, “I got pregnant in mid-September last year, and I’m five months pregnant now. The doctor said that the fetus is still small and the movements are not very strong, but they will be more noticeable when it grows bigger. My mom told me that when she was pregnant with me, she started kicking in her belly when she was eight months pregnant.”

After listening to his wife's words, Fang Wen felt relieved and continued to walk and chat with her.

These moments of leisure are so precious, and the two of them cherish them greatly.

After spending two days in Las Vegas, Lin Shuiwang sent a telegram from New York saying that the deal for the precision machining equipment had been finalized.

Next, the goods will be shipped to Europe, and then a warehousing process will be carried out at the port of Marseille before being immediately transshipped to Asia.

Fang Wen also said goodbye to his wife and family and flew back to New York.

Back in New York, but can't leave immediately.

The last thing was to finalize the deal with the Holy Evangelical Church.

Immediately afterwards, Fang Wen drove to the Long Island Estate of the Holy Evangelical Fellowship and gave the four golden Buddhas a double recharge.

Before Fang Wen could even speak after the charging was complete, Steve eagerly took out the Amber Holy Blood Necklace: "Mr. Fang, please charge it as well. This treasure is more important to me."

Fang Wen nodded, took the Amber Holy Blood Necklace, and pretended to charge it, causing the crystal to float up.

In reality, the faith energy absorbed by the Amber Holy Blood Necklace over the past six months has been continuously being absorbed by him.

Although the quantity is not large, the key is consistency, so the better the Holy Gospel Society does, the happier Fang Wen will be.

After absorbing the energy, the floating crystal in the air dimmed and fell down.

Fang Wen returned the Amber Holy Blood Necklace and bid farewell to Steve.

He will then return to Asia.

In response, a large number of rockets shipped from the Soviet Union were modified.

(End of this chapter)