Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 95, Section 94: Gold in Hand, How to Resolve Post-Event Issues
After passing Shijiazhai, the treasure-hunting group continued southwest. It was late October, and the temperature had already dropped below 10 degrees Celsius. Coupled with the chilly forest, some members of the group put on fur coats.

The fur coats made of animal hides were very warm, so the southern members of the treasure-hunting team didn't feel the cold at all.

Sun Debiao walked at the front. The weather wasn't hot enough for him to wear a fur coat yet. He walked quickly, eager to reach the logging camp as soon as possible.

An hour later, the team entered the mountains.

Traveling along the timber transport route in the dense forest.

Three hours later, they arrived at a valley.

There were many logs piled up there, and in the middle was a very wide area.

Sun Debiao pointed to the road in front of the logging camp and said:

"This is it, you see it? When going down the mountain, horses had to be used to drag the logs, and over time it became a wide road. This section is flat, about 400 meters long, just right for airplanes to land."

"Is anyone inside?" Chief Wang asked.

“I heard that after the Japanese came, many loggers ran away, leaving only some guards.”

"Brothers, let's go in. Remember to keep a close eye on everyone inside. No one is allowed to leave the logging camp before the plane lands."

The group entered the logging camp and dispersed, seemingly wandering around, but actually investigating the situation inside.

The logging camp was quiet, except for the largest wooden hut, which was lit up.

Sun Debiao knocked on the door: "Open the door, may I stay here for the night?"

The door opened, and an old man glanced at Sun Debiao, then looked outside.

He said:
"I don't care who you are, but you have to pay to stay overnight."

"Sure thing, the food and drinks are all prepared, I'll settle the bill with you."

The old man is law-abiding. All sorts of people can come to the forest. Even the loggers who come to cut down trees may have committed murder. As long as he doesn't meddle in other people's business, he can make a living in peace.

This time was no different. After Sun Debiao finished explaining things to him, the 19 members of the treasure-hunting gang settled down here.

They said they were asking the elderly to prepare food and water, but in reality, the members of the treasure-hunting group didn't touch any of the food and water they were given; instead, they ate their own spare rations.

Chief Wang, Manager Liu, and Sun Debiao sat around the stove, chatting with the old man.

"I want to use this land to do something," Chief Wang said calmly.

The old man glanced at the people filling the room. "Go ahead and do it, I have no objection."

"I don't owe you anything, this is for you." Manager Liu handed a stack of silver dollars to the old man.

With the money, the old man completely relaxed and cooperated: "Just tell me."

"We're planning to repair that section of flat road outside the logging camp. Do you have the tools?"

The old man was stunned.

"You give me money and even help me repair the road?"

"Yes, is that alright?"

"Of course."

He couldn't believe such a good thing existed; it would be strange if he didn't agree.

The treasure-hunting team has settled in a logging camp in the dense forest.

Road repairs began the next day.

The road surface was filled with soil and leveled, and large logs were dragged over it by mules and horses.

Then cut down the trees on both sides to leave a 15-meter-wide open space.

The road surface, which was more than 400 meters long, needed to be leveled, which was a considerable undertaking for the treasure-hunting gang.

But, the tunnels have already been dug, and two tons of gold have been transported out, so what is this little bit of labor?

While everyone was working hard, Sun Debiao went down the mountain.

He was responsible for gathering intelligence on the outside world and reporting back promptly, so that the treasure-hunting team wouldn't be caught unprepared if something happened.

For three consecutive nights, Sun Debiao returned to report on time every night.

The Japanese haven't even realized the gold is fake.

The more this happened, the more nervous the treasure-hunting team became. A fake is still a fake, and it certainly wouldn't escape careful examination.

Who knows, the Japanese might discover it tomorrow?
Driven by this emotion, everyone spontaneously increased their work intensity, and after another three days, the project was finally completed.

Immediately afterwards, at 8 p.m. that evening, Manager Liu sent a telegram to the south.

Shanghai Airport.

Fang Wen led three outstanding flight apprentices on a flight from Jinan to Shanghai.

After the guests disembarked, the three flight apprentices immediately took out their notebooks and asked questions about the flight observation they had encountered that day.

After Fang Wen patiently answered his questions, the three flight apprentices bowed deeply.

"General Manager, thank you for your guidance."

"The three of you did a good job. After a few more flights, you'll be able to fly the Boeing 80."

Fang Wen smiled and gave his evaluation.

The three aviation apprentices left happily to have lunch in the cafeteria.

Fang Wen also got off the plane, ready to go home.

Watching the three apprentices walk away, he felt a surge of emotion.

Taishan Airlines has established a standardized process for flight apprentices to graduate. After theoretical and physical training, flight apprentices undergo 50 hours of actual flight training on trainer aircraft. Those who perform well can enter the flight observation stage, followed by actual flight training and assessment on Boeing 80 aircraft.

If you pass the Boeing 80 flight training and assessment, you can officially start working and fly the Boeing 80.

The previous batch of flight apprentices can then be promoted to full-fledged Boeing 247 pilots.

As for flight apprentices who have not passed the actual flight training assessment on trainer aircraft.

There's only one chance left. If they fail all three training flight tests with the trainer aircraft, they'll have to be dismissed.

Therefore, Taishan Airlines' first batch of flight apprentices may ultimately have no more than 10 flight apprentices graduate.

The remaining half of the flight apprentices are not incapable of flying, but rather Taishan Aviation strives for excellence and only retains the best.

Those who don't pass can use the knowledge they've gained to further their studies at other aviation schools and still become qualified pilots.

After expressing his feelings, Fang Wen went home as usual to change into casual clothes, then went to the cafeteria for a meal, and then went for a walk on the streets outside the airport.

It was soon 7 p.m. when he returned home, closed the door, and took out his hand-cranked telegraph machine.

One hour later, right on time, the sound came through the earphones.

The coded telegram was translated into plain text.

The running track has been completed; it is 400 meters long and 15 meters wide, with a smooth, hardened surface.

Fang Wen nodded. The runway conditions were acceptable. The Boeing 247 used wide landing gear tires, which allowed it to take off and land on unofficial runways. Combined with his piloting skills, there shouldn't be any major problems.

He sent a reply.

Inside the logging camp, all the members of the treasure-hunting team anxiously awaited a reply.

After translating the telegram, Manager Liu excitedly held up the paper in his hand.

"Tomorrow night, 12 o'clock."

Everyone cheered; the final moment had finally arrived.

Chief Wang shouted a command to stop: "Everyone go and rest, get your spirits up, and we'll move out tomorrow."

Everyone quieted down and went to lie down on their beds, whispering among themselves.

Chief Wang, Manager Liu, and Sun Debiao were whispering by the stove.

"How are things on the Japanese side?"

"A group of men in black have appeared in the city. They are randomly entering and searching houses. I heard that the house we used to rent has been broken into."

"They've probably already discovered the problem, but thankfully it'll be over tomorrow."

Suddenly, Chief Wang asked, "What will we do after we've transported the gold?"

Manager Liu replied, "Didn't the general manager say that he would pick us up on the second trip?"

Chief Wang expressed his concerns: "But it takes more than four hours to travel back and forth, and we can only fly once a night. What if the Japanese come into the mountains the next day?"

Sun Debiao, however, was full of confidence in his master: "It's alright. Only our general manager in the world has the ability to fly at night. If the Japanese come into the mountains, we'll leave. With Manager Liu's telegraph machine, the general manager can still pick us up and take us home from another location."

Yes.

At this moment, Chief Wang felt a little envious of this small group, which had better flight resources than the Nationalist government. Without air transport, this operation would have been a waste of effort.

As the night passed, neither the north nor the south needed to do anything more; they simply had to wait for night to fall.

To maintain the aircraft's readiness for night flights, the Shanghai-Jinan flight has begun temporary maintenance.

The aircraft underwent a full inspection that day to ensure there were no problems. At 7 p.m., Fang Wen piloted the Boeing 247 from Shanghai Airport and arrived at Jinan Airport two hours later.

After refueling at Jinan Airport, the plane took off again, crossed the Bohai Bay and the Liaodong Peninsula, and arrived in Shenyang.

The plane circled high above Shenyang. Fang Wen adjusted the aircraft's position and flew towards the southeast of Shenyang.

It's a large forest area, and it's difficult to find the location of a logging camp even during the day.

But at night, the temporary runway illuminated by two rows of torches is the clearest guide.

Taking a deep breath, Fang Wen searched for the best landing angle while circling.

The alignment must be precise; otherwise, if it's missed, the plane's wing could crash into a nearby tree.

In a state of mechanical perception, Fang Wen transformed into a giant owl of the night, circling continuously in the sky until he finally found the best angle to land and swooped down.

The plane swept over the trees, the air currents stirring the treetops.

After passing through the woods, the Boeing 247 arrived over the logging camp and, with a whooshing sound, landed on the road leading to the camp entrance.

The old gatekeeper of the logging camp was terrified by the huge black shadow that swept overhead and shouted loudly.

"Uncle Huang, please protect me and don't let this strange bird eat me."

He really treated the airplane like a bird, and even asked his own shaman to bless him.

The thieves didn't reveal anything; they simply took the old man into a room, locked him up, and then drove the mule cart outside.

They hurriedly carried their belongings to the plane, where Sun Debiao received them at the boarding gate.

When the golden wooden chests were almost full, the situation became a little strange.

Someone shouted in the night.

"They took the gold; will they come back for us?"

That one sentence revealed what everyone was thinking.

The members of the treasure-hunting gang all headed towards the boarding gate.

Seeing this, Sun Debiao quickly closed the boarding gate and jumped off the plane himself.

He shouted, "Neither Manager Sun nor I have left, what are you afraid of? The master's return trip will only take one night, don't you believe that?"

Immediately, everyone hesitated.

Fang Wen, watching from the plane, opened the boarding door again and announced loudly, "Gentlemen, Fang Wen, I am the general manager of Taishan Airlines, a well-known figure. If you really want to steal the gold, you will find me. The plane has a carrying capacity of 2.5 tons, and there are 2 tons of gold. The rest cannot take all of you. Do you expect me to take half of you back while the other half waits?"

Upon hearing that only half of them could return, everyone immediately gave up.

If we're going back, we should all go back together. If only half of the people go back, what will happen to the other half if they threaten General Manager Fang not to come back to pick up the rest?
Everyone felt that they should trust the general manager of Taishan Airlines rather than the other members of the heist group.

After all, these people are all well-known figures from all over the world, and everyone knows their backgrounds.

These are the people most likely to do something like double-crossing, since it means half the money will be gone.

Therefore, no one was upset about not being able to go back with the gold, and they dispersed and returned to their cheerful selves.

Fang Wen breathed a sigh of relief, closed the cabin door, and piloted the plane into takeoff.

As the plane flew high in the sky, Fang Wen was thinking about how to deal with the batch of gold.

Half of the 64000 gold bars will be used as a share for the treasure-hunting team.

But it's not distributed per person.

Fang Wen, representing Taishan Airlines, took the lion's share, accounting for 4%.

Wang's Axe Gang, including himself and his seven action team members, accounted for 30%.

The three Liu brothers who dug the tunnel accounted for 1%.

The five thieves, along with their master, account for 2%.

In other words, Fang Wen's small team received 12800 gold bars, Chief Wang's team received 9600 gold bars, the three Liu brothers received 3200 gold bars, and the thief received 6400 gold bars.

Fang Wen was shocked by this astonishing number.

It truly is a huge fortune that will ensure a worry-free life for the rest of your days.

But if we divide it like this, I'm afraid we won't be able to keep the remaining half of the gold. It will be coveted by these江湖人士 (jianghu figures) every day, and there's a possibility that the news will leak out.

The only way to control the situation might be through installment payments.

This way, everyone will be kept in suspense, and for the sake of the wealth that is not yet fully in hand, they will all keep it a secret.

Since they haven't even fully received their own money yet, they naturally won't be greedy for the remaining half.

So where will we put this batch of gold after we bring it back?
Should we hand it over to the bank for safekeeping?
Fang Wen was the first to reject the idea; such enormous wealth was bound to lead to unforeseen events. The numerous banking scandals that followed served as a lesson in this.

It wouldn't work with Taishan Airlines either; it's too obvious.

A safe and reliable place to hide the treasure is necessary to solve the subsequent problems.

He suddenly realized that a few years later, the War of Resistance against Japan broke out, the north fell, and the eastern coast also fell.

These places are not where treasures are hidden.

Only those provinces that persisted until the end of the War of Resistance were the best places to hide treasures.

By the way, didn't Fourth Sister say that there are many caves in the Xiangxi area? These caves are rarely visited by people and have many branches. Legend has it that many bandits used them to hide treasures.

No, no, Fang Wen shook his head, this matter is complicated.

The more complex the matter, the greater the possibility of something bad happening, since it's impossible to guarantee that every step can be kept secret.

What Fang Wen needs to do now is find someone who can safely keep his secret, someone who is meticulous and rigorous in their actions. Only such a person can ensure the safety of the hidden gold.

For some reason, Fang Wen thought of someone.

The plane landed in Jinan for refueling and a transfer, and then immediately took off back to Shanghai Airport.

It was already past four in the morning.

Fang Wen drove the plane into the hangar, woke up Howard in the airport dormitory to watch over it, and quickly ran out of the airport.

He arrived at the house next to his own residence, which was the place he had rented for Shao Sishen.

He knocked on the door, and after a while, a sleepy-eyed Shao Sishen opened it.

He stretched with one hand, yawning, "General Manager, what's up so early?"

"The gold is back. Get dressed and come get me."

That one sentence brought Shao Sichen to his senses, and he immediately put on his coat and followed Fang Wen back to the airport.

Inside the hangar, he looked at the pried-open wooden crates, and the glittering gold bars made his Adam's apple bob.

No one could remain calm upon seeing so much gold.

Fang Wen calmly said, "I need to pick them up tomorrow night, and I need to hide this gold before then. Do you have a way?"

Shao Sichen shook his head: "There are no secrets in the world. You can't hide so much gold. You might as well put it in the bank."

“I don’t trust those foreign banks,” Fang Wen shook his head.

Shao Sichen looked at Fang Wen with a strange expression.

"How about finding someone you can trust?"

Fang Wen nodded: "That's what I was thinking too, it's you."

"No, I can't do it, but someone can, and you'll have to make some sacrifices."

"What sacrifice?"

"Marry her as my wife."

Shao Sishen's words left Fang Wen bewildered.

"Explain yourself clearly, time is very tight."

"I knew time was tight, that's why I came up with this solution. She might be the only one who can help you."

"Stop beating around the bush."

“Kwong Ming-chu. She’s actually very beautiful, but she eats a bit too well and looks plump. She’s only 20 years old, but she’s already in charge of the Kwong family business and has a group of people who do things under her orders. If you marry her, even if you don’t take the Kwong family’s dowry, you can still handle the gold business and have a virtuous wife.”

Fang Wen couldn't help but think of that slightly chubby-cheeked beauty.

She's 1.75 meters tall, which is actually more attractive by future beauty standards; that's called healthy sexiness.

But would this work? Fang Wen felt it was unreliable; he hadn't had much interaction with her.

"Stop joking, we're talking serious. I haven't exchanged more than a few words with her."

“You haven’t said much to each other, but there’s this thing called love at first sight. Let me put it this way, after I came to Shanghai, she specially sent someone to deliver letters and gifts to me. At first, I thought it was because our families were on good terms and we played together as children, and she was showing concern for me. But that wasn’t it. Half of her later letters were trying to find ways to ask about you. Wouldn’t you say that counts as liking you? Don’t think about it anymore, it’s urgent. We’re going to Guangzhou for a blind date today. We’ll fly there and bring the gold with us.”

This chapter is missing a picture of the beautiful Kuang Mingzhu. Requesting a picture.

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(End of this chapter)