Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 605 The Lanzhou Underground Party, Equipment Transportation, and the European Upheaval
Juxiang Noodle Shop.

The shop is small, consisting of only two rooms with blue bricks and gray tiles. The wooden lattice doors and windows are covered with yellowed paper. A blue banner with white characters reading "Juxiang Noodles" hangs high at the entrance, swaying gently in the breeze.

The shop has two long tables put together, with long benches next to them, much like a typical noodle shop in the city.

It's peak business time, and the noodle shop staff are already busy.

Inside the kitchen, the stove roared, and the water in the large pot bubbled and boiled, emitting steam.

Fang Wen and Gong Xiuneng arrived outside the store.

"Boss, two bowls of noodles, please."

As soon as he finished speaking, a waiter wearing a blue apron with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms came over to greet him.

Speaking in a distinctive Lanzhou dialect, he loudly replied, "Hey—this way, gentlemen!"

Once Fang Wen and Gong Xiu were seated at the long table, the waiter asked, "Would you two like a wide or narrow one?"

Fang Wen had never eaten there before, so naturally he didn't know how to order.

But he knew the code word and replied immediately.

"I want it to be half wide and half narrow."

The guy blinked.

He turned around and called inside, "Master, two bowls of noodles! These two gentlemen are from out of town, so they'd like half wide and half thin noodles."

The shop owner came out with a big smile and said, "You two must have never tried our noodles before. We don't have this kind of ordering here. Why don't you just order however you like? I'll make sure you're satisfied."

That's a good answer; it seems like the typical situation that would happen to an out-of-towner at this noodle shop.

But in reality, the connection has already been completed.

Fang Wen smiled and said, "Alright."

After a while, the owner personally brought over two bowls of steaming hot noodles and placed them in front of Fang Wen and Gong Xiuneng.

Taking this opportunity, he whispered, "Comrade Fang Wen, I am the contact person arranged for you by the underground party in Lanzhou. You can call me Lao Liu."

Fang Wen nodded slightly but did not answer. Instead, he silently began to eat his noodles.

That shipment is very important; we must be extremely careful.

After all, the Nationalist government has now resumed its anti-communist activities, and over the past year, various frictions have continued, with many party members being arrested.

After a while, he finished his noodles, stood up, and asked, "How much, boss?"

"Four cents a bowl, you give me eight cents," the shopkeeper replied with a smile.

Fang Wen took out his wallet, took out a 10-yuan legal tender note, folded it in half, and handed it to the shopkeeper.

"The noodles are delicious, no need to look for more."

"Thank you." The noodle shop owner accepted the money and saw Fang Wen off with a big smile.

Afterwards, back in the shop, the shop assistant observed the situation outside while he unfolded the banknotes and took out the slip of paper inside to read.

The transaction has been completed, and the goods are currently safe in a Soviet warehouse.

[It is necessary to arrange for these supplies to be transported to Yan'an, along with five Soviet technicians.]

The device in the small box on the table can be used for follow-up communication. Communication time: 5 PM. Please keep it safe.

The shop owner quickly called over a waiter: "Go check the tables outside and see if there's a box there. Bring it over."

The waiter immediately went out and found a small box behind the bowl, which he then took inside.

The shop owner opened it, looked at the items inside, and said in a low voice, "I received training in Yan'an on this. It's a miniature telegraph machine made in Taishan."

"So small," the waiter exclaimed in surprise.

"Don't let its small size fool you, it can transmit messages just like a normal transmitter, only the distance is a bit short. I understand, this kind of miniature transmitter has a matching receiver, as long as you send a message at the default frequency, it can be transmitted to the receiver."

The shop owner understood how to use it and carefully put it away.

Then leave from the back to report on the details of the rendezvous.

After making contact with the underground party, Fang Wen took Gong Xiuneng on a tour of the city before returning to the residence arranged for him by the Soviets.

That was the Soviet pilots' dormitory.

Pilots returning from the battlefield, as well as those arriving from the Soviet Union, would stay here temporarily.

Fang Wen's arrival was met with a warm welcome from the Soviet pilots.

Fang Wen smiled and declined their invitation to drink, then returned to his residence with Gong Xiuneng.

As soon as the door was closed, Gong Xiuneng couldn't help but grumble.

"Commander, these Russians all love to drink so much. They always have to have a few drinks as soon as they meet."

"They live in a very cold place, so they drink alcohol to keep warm," Fang Wen said with a smile.

The two remained in the room until 4:30, when Fang Wen took out the receiver for the miniature telegraph machine.

Turn it on and listen carefully.

At 5 p.m., the receiver emitted intermittent buzzing, which was also Morse code, but it required careful interpretation.

The telegram contained the following:
[A call from Yan'an: The material transportation plan has been finalized. Large items will be transported via the Yellow River and loaded at the Shuidonglouzi Wharf. Technical personnel will be sent to Yan'an by plane.]

Transporting goods by water from the Yellow River is a good option, as it is very suitable for transporting large quantities of goods.

It seems that safety during transportation along the route has also been taken into consideration.

It was fine for Fang Wen to send the technical personnel to Yan'an first; even if they didn't mention it, that was what he thought anyway.

Fang Wen continued reading the rest of the telegram.

[Due to the need for transport personnel to prepare, transportation is scheduled to begin in two days. Lanzhou Wanxin Transportation Company will be coming to pick up the goods at that time; Mr. Fang is needed to act as an intermediary.]

It seemed that the intermediate steps had indeed been arranged, and Fang Wen felt relieved.

To make the process of loading supplies onto the cargo ship safer, he thought that Soviet cars could be used to transport them to the dock, so that there would be no problems along the way.

He then left the dormitory and went to find Petrov.

Petrov's residence was also in the pilots' quarters, at the far end of this floor.

Petrov, who also lived in the pilots' dormitory, heard the knocking and opened the door.

"Comrade Fang, what can I do for you?"

"I'd like to invite you for a drink," Fang Wen said directly.

Petrov didn't hesitate and put on his coat: "To the cafeteria?"

“No, of course we’ll eat Chinese food and drink Chinese wine, but there’s another problem: there aren’t any good restaurants around here, so we’ll have to go to the city,” Fang Wen said with a smile.

"no problem."

The three then left the dormitory and headed into the city.

We walked all the way to Juxiang Noodle Shop.

It was already past 5 p.m., and the noodle shop was preparing to close.

The guy who was packing his things was slightly taken aback when he saw Fang Wen.

Fang Wen spoke up, "I had your noodles during the day and thought they were pretty good. I'd like to pay for dinner at your place, is that alright?"

As he spoke, he pointed to Petrov behind him, and the man immediately understood.

"Hey, we'll have to ask our manager." He called out, "Manager, the two guests thought our food was pretty good during the day and want to spend some money on dinner. What do you think?"

"Sure," the shop owner agreed.

Immediately afterwards, Fang Wen, Petrov, and Gong Xiuneng went to the inner room, where the restaurant owner personally cooked the dishes.

Soon the first dish was served: three plates of steaming hot stir-fried noodles.

The shop owner even offered to explain, "Don't let the appearance fool you, sir. This is a local home-style dish with lamb, green peppers, tomatoes, and garlic sprouts. It's quite hearty. You can have it as a main course or a side dish."

Fang Wen laughed and said, "Just focus on cooking, as long as it tastes good. By the way, what kind of wine do you have here?"

"Yellow wine, liquor. There's a liquor shop next door where you can get it fresh."

Since the rice wine had a low alcohol content, it probably wouldn't suit Petrov's taste, so Fang Wen asked his servant to fetch two jin of distilled liquor.

When the wine arrives, it's poured into a bowl for everyone, truly drinking and eating from large bowls.

This liquor is made from sorghum. It has a spicy taste and a burnt grain aroma in the aftertaste. It is a magic remedy used by local Yellow River boatmen to relieve fatigue.

The strong alcohol also helped Petrov relax.

After two bowls, he started babbling away.

"I applied to come here myself, do you know why?"

"I don't know," Fang Wen replied with a smile.

Because I'm afraid of dying.

While in a foreign land, with no fellow countrymen around, Petrov spoke recklessly about the Soviet Union's "Great Purge" movement.

This is not something you can just say carelessly.

In order for Petrov to live longer, Fang Wen had to interrupt.

"Well, Comrade Petrov, I don't think we need to continue discussing this, since you will eventually have to return home."

Fang Wen's words startled Petrov, who immediately lost interest in speaking and lowered his head.

In response, Fang Wen poured him a drink and said, "I have many friends. In my dictionary, friends are about helping each other and making progress together. If we become friends, I can do my best to help you and make your life better and safer. What do you think?"

Petrov froze, looking up at Fang Wen. "What do you mean?"

“It’s very simple. I want to be friends with you. Do you think that’s okay?” Fang Wen looked at Petrov calmly.

May I?
The Chinese man in front of me, Fang Wen, is the owner of Taishan Airlines, possessing a vast business and wealth, and is also a highly capable pilot.

Not to mention some mysterious legends that Petrov learned from intelligence channels.

There seems to be no harm in being friends with this kind of person.

He smiled and said, "Of course, I like friends like you."

Fang Wen smiled and raised his bowl, saying, "Although it may be presumptuous of me, I have a request."

Then he revealed his true purpose.

Upon hearing that the supplies would be transported to the dock by a Soviet transport convoy, Petrov agreed without hesitation; for him, it was a simple matter.

After finishing his meal, Fang Wen got up and went to the restaurant owner to pay the bill.

When paying, he whispered, "Old Liu, the Soviets have agreed that their Soviet convoy will transport the supplies to the dock, and you just need to unload and load them onto the ship."

The shop owner nodded slightly, collected the payment, and saw Fang Wen and his companions out.

Becoming friends with Petrov might seem like Fang Wen owed Petrov a favor, but in reality, this was exactly what Fang Wen wanted. It would allow him to connect with Petrov in the future and collaborate on other areas.

Two days later, in the early morning, three green Soviet military trucks drove out of the Soviet base and headed directly to the Shuidonglouzi Wharf on the Yellow River in the east of the city.

Along the way, there were no obstructions from the National Army or local police militias, and they arrived at the dock very smoothly.

Three military vehicles stopped at the dock, and Petrov and Fang Wen got out of the vehicles.

The manager of Wanxin Transportation Company, who was waiting at the dock, came over with his men to hand over the work.

Among the people behind him were several people from the noodle shop.

Fang Wen conducted a brief handover with them, and then began unloading.

The truck bed was covered tightly with tarpaulin, and thick ropes were tied at the four corners. Soviet soldiers jumped off the truck, skillfully untied the knots, and revealed wooden crates inside—containing precision mechanical parts and large equipment boxes.

The dockworkers worked in pairs, lifting wooden crates and carefully carrying them onto the ship, starting with the smaller ones and then moving the larger ones.

Finally, when it came to those large pieces of equipment, pulleys were used, and with the combined efforts of more than ten people, they were loaded onto the cargo ship.

At this point, Fang Wen spoke with the transportation company manager.

"Can you transport it safely to Yan'an?"

"Rest assured, I will definitely complete the tasks assigned by the organization," the other party replied confidently.

Fang Wen nodded and asked no more questions, watching the manager board the ship as it sounded its horn and sailed away.

Petrov leaned closer and offered him a cigarette: "Fang, don't worry, I had the soldiers check these supplies three times while they were in the warehouse, and there were no problems. You Chinese have a saying, 'Absolutely foolproof,' right?"

Fang Wen took the cigarette: "Yes, this time we owe you a lot. Using the Soviet convoy for transportation is much safer than us finding our own vehicles—those Kuomintang soldiers didn't dare to stop you when they saw your military vehicles."

The two then got into the military vehicle, which drove back to the airport base.

Fang Wen also planned to take five Soviet technicians to Yan'an.

The engine started, the plane accelerated on the runway, and gradually lifted off the ground. The blue bricks and gray tiles of Lanzhou and the winding curves of the Yellow River slowly shrank, eventually becoming a blurry patch of color.

Fang Wen activated his mechanical senses, searching for cargo ships on the Yellow River.

He saw it.

The cargo ship is sailing smoothly on the Yellow River and is currently safe.

Withdrawing from the mechanical perspective, Fang Wen said to the Soviet technicians in the rear cabin, "We'll be in Yan'an in about an hour and a half. Don't worry about your work. You can come back on my plane."

The five technicians didn't say much, but sat together and spoke quietly in Russian.

Fang Wen ignored what they were saying and focused on driving.

An hour and a half later, the plane arrived over Yan'an Airport.

In the distance, another plane had just returned from a patrol and flew alongside Fang Wen's plane to provide escort.

It's Zhai Xiaojun.

Although Zhai Xiaojun was still piloting an Il-16, the radio equipment had been equipped with voice communication capabilities.

Fang Wen knew the other party's communication frequency, so he switched the frequency directly and picked up the microphone.

"Zhai Xiaojun, you're cruising alone?"

"Yes, Commander, my wingman Rao Minghe is under maintenance. So I'll carry out the reconnaissance mission alone."

"Alright, you land first."

"Ok."

After a brief air communication, Zhai Xiaojun piloted his fighter jet and landed on the airport runway first. Fang Wen then communicated with the ground and also landed.

The plane landed, and Fang Wen disembarked with five Soviet technicians.

Although the equipment had not yet been delivered, the five people received a warm welcome.

Fang Wen declined the invitation to participate in the welcome event, refueled at the airport, and then returned directly to the airport.

It was already the end of August.

Five new seaplanes, piloted by Taishan Airlines pilots, have arrived at a port in northern Poland via the North Sea-Baltic Sea route.

Meanwhile, a very important piece of European intelligence was secretly delivered to Yangon via Taishan Civil Aviation.

(End of this chapter)