Legendary Captain

Chapter 134 Publicly Funded Romance

Some time ago, during a briefing on Chimelong 5677, someone asked the speaker to guess the rank of the person who came in as a substitute. The speaker, judging from the decision-making ability, thought it was a high-ranking co-pilot, or even possibly the captain.

At that time, he was sitting in the last row when he heard a co-pilot behind him whisper that the person was a trainee. He asked the co-pilot why, and the co-pilot listed the crew's shortcomings in maneuvering and avoiding obstacles in the mountain pass and the problems with handling the low-altitude five-sided maneuver.

At the time, he felt that the co-pilot was a bit strange, because the detailed information he received about Chimelong 5677 did not include questions about maneuvering and avoiding obstacles at the mountain pass or low-altitude maneuvers.

He had initially thought the co-pilot was just spouting nonsense, but now it seemed that things weren't as he had imagined.

For a moment, Lu Xinyu wondered if the co-pilot was the person who took over the cockpit during the Chimelong 5677 incident, otherwise it would be impossible to explain why he knew more details about the incident before he did.

However, recalling the appearance of that co-pilot, he really couldn't connect that co-pilot, who seemed to have nothing outstanding about him except for his good looks, with the crew that handled the Chimelong 5677 volcanic ash incident.

"What exactly is the reason?" Lu Xinyu racked his brains but still couldn't figure out what it meant.

Lu Xinyu knew the name Xu Xian, but he didn't know what Xu Xian looked like. Even if he saw Xu Xian, he couldn't connect the passenger in front of him with Xu Xian.

He had a fleeting urge to find the co-pilot, but it was just that—a fleeting thought. Searching the entire fleet based on a single memory would probably take a lot of effort, so he decided against it. The company wasn't that big anyway; they could always run into each other again!

"Anything else to add?" Qin Zongyang glanced at Xu Xian and the first co-pilot; after neither of them reacted, he shrugged. "That's settled then! Who's number three?"

The flight attendants parted, revealing Xia Qing, whose face was somewhat pale.

Xu Xian's eyelids twitched. Apart from nodding to him as a greeting when she first came in, Xia Qing seemed rather listless. Even with makeup, Xia Qing's haggard appearance was visibly obvious.

"Are you number three? You don't look well. Didn't you sleep well last night? Are you still able to fly? Should I ask the cabin crew to send someone else?" Even though Qin Zongyang was a typical straight man, he could tell that Xia Qing's condition was not right.

Not only pilots have backups, but flight attendants and security personnel also have backups. These backups are divided into regular backups and emergency backups. Regular backups are on standby at home, while emergency backups are on standby at the departure building. This means that even if Qin Zongyang requests to replace Xia Qing now, there will still be flight attendants who can promptly fill in, without causing any delays to the flight.

Xia Qing was terrified when Qin Zongyang called her name directly. Don't be fooled by Qin Zongyang's seemingly kind-hearted appearance; deep down, he's not a saint, and being targeted by him is no pleasant experience.

Xia Qing forced herself to cheer up and quickly shook her head: "President Qin, I'm fine, there's no need to replace me."

"Look at you, all listless, huh? Aren't you the one from last time? Right! Tianning! You were with that kid Xu Xian in Tianning." Qin Zongyang winked and dug into his deepest memories, and he actually remembered it.

Xu Xian first met Xia Qing when he was working as an assistant. They were flying from Yunnan to Tianning, and the captain sent Xu Xian to the terminal to buy duck blood vermicelli soup. He happened to run into Xia Qing, who was also there to buy the soup. The two of them met Qin Zongyang, who was looking for Xu Xian, at the boarding gate, which is why Qin Zongyang had a slight impression of Xia Qing.

Xia Qing nodded somewhat reservedly: "President Qin, we met once at the boarding gate of Tianning Airport."

"Yes, yes! It's right over at the boarding gate. I knew it looked familiar! Right, Xu Xian?" Qin Zongyang chuckled, his face beaming as he spoke, turning to invite Xu Xian along. However, the moment he turned to face Xu Xian, Xu Xian glared at him, and Qin Zongyang gave an embarrassed, sheepish laugh: "Ahem, if there's nothing else, forget it! When you board the plane, boil some water and rinse my cup with boiling water first. The water for brewing afterwards must be 80 degrees Celsius, no boiling water allowed, and..."

"That's all!" Qin Zongyang was about to give further instructions when Xu Xian interrupted him. Xu Xian grabbed the teacup Qin Zongyang was about to hand to Xia Qing and said with a smile, "Go upstairs and get busy. We can boil water later when the patrol isn't so busy anymore. No rush!"

"Why aren't you in a hurry? I want some water!" Qin Zongyang protested angrily.

"No, you don't want to!" Xu Xian shoved the teacup back at Qin Zongyang, glaring at him and gritting his teeth, "President Qin, are you in such a hurry to drink water?"

Qin Zongyang was intimidated by Xu Xian's murderous glare. He cleared his throat, took back his teacup, and pretended to have changed his mind at the last minute: "I don't think I'm that thirsty anymore. It won't hurt to wait a bit. Let's boil water while we're on patrol. We can talk about it when you're not busy."

The flight attendant's shocked gaze swept over Qin Zongyang's face, as if she no longer recognized him.

Although Qin Zongyang wasn't exactly a villain, he was by no means gentle or friendly; in any case, he was a troublemaker. Whenever Qin Zongyang was the captain, the third flight attendant serving the cockpit had to be prepared to be busy from start to finish.

But the fact that Qin Zongyang, a living, breathing person, suddenly changed his personality made the flight attendant quite unaccustomed to it.

"Captain, what do you think about dinner? I'll have flight attendant number three prepare it ahead of time," the chief flight attendant asked.

The flight's departure time happened to coincide with dinner time, so the flight attendant casually asked about it.

Qin Zongyang was thinking of going up to grill food, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he heard someone cough a few times beside him. He turned around and saw Xu Xian, who was also looking at him expressionlessly. He immediately swallowed back what he wanted to say and laughed, "No rush, no rush, we'll talk about it when you're not busy. We're not hungry either."

Qin Zongyang chuckled a few times, then realized he was the only one awkwardly laughing among the large group of people. Unable to hold back any longer, he touched his nose and called to the flight crew, "If there's nothing else, go wait at the entrance. You should be able to enter in five minutes."

Qin Zongyang is not the same Captain Ning Sheng that Xu Xian encountered before. He doesn't like to arrive early and always arrives at the last minute.

Just then, Xia Qing suddenly stepped forward and said apologetically, "President Qin, the Western-style in-flight meal you ordered is out of stock. Would you mind ordering a regular meal instead? Or a spicy one?"

There are some meal options for the crew, including Western food, spicy food, halal food, and fruit meals. The crew can communicate with the cabin crew before the flight to select special meals. However, sometimes there are situations where in-flight meals are not available, and even if the pilots order a special meal, it will still not be served.

Normally, Qin Zongyang would never be considerate of the so-called objective difficulties of flight attendants. He would insist on Western food, and if they served him a regular meal, it would be considered a failure of their job, and he would complain to the cabin crew department.

If the captain complains to the cabin crew, then the flight attendants will be in trouble.

But today Qin Zongyang had figured things out and was too lazy to test Xu Xian's bottom line anymore. He honestly said, "If you can't serve Western food, that's fine. Regular food is fine too, no problem!"

If someone who didn't know Qin Zongyang heard him speak in that tone, they would really think he was a kind and amiable old man.

The flight attendant, who had already turned to leave, stopped in her tracks upon hearing Qin Zongyang's concerned words. She turned to face him and said seriously, "Where have you hidden Qin Zongyang? The one speaking now is a puppet!"

Qin Zongyang gasped, surprised, "Is there really such a big difference when I speak to you in a gentle and pleasant manner?"

The flight attendant, a veteran in her field, wasn't particularly afraid of Qin Zongyang. She even responded to Qin Zongyang's comment, saying, "It's a little strange!"

"What the hell?! You can do that?" Qin Zongyang coughed and pointed to the door, "Then you all better get the hell out there and wait!"

The flight attendant rolled her eyes and muttered, "Idiot!"

After that, he left the flight preparation room with a group of flight attendants who had strange expressions on their faces.

Qin Zongyang was completely taken aback by the flight attendant's dismissive comment about him being brain-dead. His composure instantly crumbled, and he pointed at Xu Xian indignantly, "It was you who threatened me just now, making me look bad both ways. When have I, Qin Zongyang, ever been treated like this?"

"So what if you were hurt today? Did you lose an arm or a leg?" Xu Xian was a little annoyed. Seeing Xia Qing's appearance, he didn't even want to talk to Qin Zongyang anymore.

"But when have I ever suffered such humiliation?" Qin Zongyang persisted.

Xu Xian was extremely flustered by Qin Zongyang: "Can you please shut up? I'm really annoyed!"

"Oh!" Qin Zongyang obediently shut his mouth, but after a few seconds, he leaned closer to Xu Xian with a mischievous grin: "You've got your eye on that girl from earlier?"

Qin Zongyang was a shrewd old man; with just a few glances, he understood Xu Xian's thoughts perfectly.

"Do you think she's really alright?" Xu Xian murmured.

Qin Zongyang waved his hand: "It's nothing, what could possibly be wrong! It's probably just her period, no big deal!"

"You could tell that?" Xu Xian asked in surprise. "Are you perhaps a friend of women?"

Qin Zongyang was furious: "What nonsense are you spouting! You just can't see it. Your period's here, no big deal, relax."

After saying that, he lowered his voice and said, "Tell me, do you really like that girl? You have good taste; she speaks so gently."

Xu Xian said with disgust, "She's just not feeling well, that's why her voice is low."

"Did you think I've been wasting my fifty-plus years of my life?" Qin Zongyang teased Xu Xian with a mischievous grin, then suddenly his expression changed: "You little rascal, you didn't choose this class because you saw that girl's class, did you? A paid romance? Wow, you're something else!"

To be honest, Qin Zongyang couldn't understand why Xu Xian, despite his blunt statement that he was capable of taking a better class, still chose this inconvenient flight.

If Xu Xian isn't a masochist, then he definitely has ulterior motives. I didn't know that before, but now it seems his little apprentice is incredibly audacious!

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Xu Xian's little scheme was exposed by Qin Zongyang. Even though he wasn't shy, he couldn't help but blush a little and stammered, "It's time, let's go!"

Chen Qi's home!

At this time, not only Chen Qi and his son Chen Chuan were in the study of the villa, but also five other shareholders of Chimelong Airlines.

Chimelong Airlines has a very dispersed shareholding structure. Even Wen Mingyuan, the largest shareholder, only owns 27 percent of the shares, while Chen Chuan, the second largest shareholder, owns 21 percent.

The remaining shares are held by eight shareholders, each holding a small percentage, with no single shareholder owning more than 10%.

"I'm sure you've all seen the Bureau's investigation report on the 5677 incident. The report only mentions my son Chen Qi's name, and I'm sure you understand what that means!" Chen Chuan, having shed his previous timid demeanor, was now full of vigor and confidence.

Wen Mingyuan's conservative strategy had long been a source of dissatisfaction among the minority shareholders. However, Wen Mingyuan had accumulated considerable influence over time, and even though Chen Qi was about to reap huge rewards and Wen Mingyuan was clearly at a disadvantage, three minority shareholders still refused Chen Chuan's offer of amnesty.

However, Chen Chuan didn't care. The shares held by the remaining five minority shareholders, plus his own, would be enough to exceed fifty percent. At that point, Chimelong Airlines would no longer belong to the Wen family.

One of the minority shareholders chuckled and chimed in, "We've already discussed this privately beforehand. Don't worry, Mr. Chen, we'll be your support at the board meeting. But... Mr. Chen, what about the 30% extra dividend you promised?"

"We can certainly sign a profit-sharing agreement, but have you already discussed the transfer of voting rights?" Chen Chuan asked with a smile.

Although Chimelong Airlines is not doing particularly well now, it is not yet showing signs of decline. Therefore, the minority shareholders are certainly unwilling to sell their shares, since there is still profit to be made.

However, these small shareholders who only care about money are willing to transfer their voting rights to Chen Chuan, retaining only the right to dividends. After all, Chen Chuan only needs their voting rights; as for dividends, he doesn't particularly care.

"We've already discussed this; the transfer of voting rights is no problem," the minority shareholder representative said. "And when does Chen Qi plan to hold a press conference?"

Recently, the five minority shareholders have increased their holdings of Chimelong shares. As long as Chen Qiyi holds a press conference, Chimelong Airlines' stock price will definitely rise. When the price is high, they can sell a batch and make a lot of extra money.

Chimelong Airlines operates on an AB share structure, meaning different voting rights for the same shares. A shares are open to external shareholders and have only one vote. B shares, held solely by Wen Mingyuan, Chen Chuan, and eight other shareholders, have a total of ten votes. This means that almost all decisions at Chimelong Airlines are made by these ten individuals.

These five minority shareholders were increasing their holdings of A-shares, simply to make a quick buck.

These minority shareholders are all shrewd and calculating individuals; they even consulted professionals. While Chen Qi's handling of the situation was brilliant and will bring him great fame, it pales in comparison to the battles that made Xu Qing and Han Qi famous, and it's absolutely impossible for Chen Qi to be elevated to godlike status.

The most crucial point is that Chen Qi himself is utterly useless. Xu Qing and Han Qi, on the other hand, possess genuine abilities and have handled numerous emergencies exceptionally well. Chen Qi got lucky this time, reaping some credit, but once his boasting is exposed, won't he eventually revert to his original state?

One of the reasons these five minority shareholders supported Chen Chuan was indeed due to Chen Qi, but more importantly, they had begun to feel dissatisfied with Wen Mingyuan.

Wen Mingyuan is too stubborn and conservative, always insisting on Chimelong's high-end strategy. However, in recent years, Chimelong's high-end strategy seems to have hit a ceiling, with no significant growth in performance for the past three years. They are envious of Xu Qing's Blue Sky Airlines and Han Qi's Kunlong Airlines making a fortune in the low-to-mid-end market, but they can't change Wen Mingyuan's insistence on the high-end strategy.

They have now lost patience and are determined to find a new owner for Chimelong Airlines.

In addition, among these five minority shareholders is a representative of Wang Fengying, the second-in-command of Shenggong Construction. Wang Fengying also holds a certain number of B shares in Chimelong Airlines. However, Wang Fengying did not attend this gathering; he sent a representative instead.

Similarly, Chen Chuan also holds a certain number of B shares in Shenggong Construction. Chen Chuan and Wang Fengying had previously planned to exchange shares, and the fact that Wang Fengying's representative is attending this gathering indicates that the two have reached a consensus.

With two second-in-commands blocking his way, Wen Mingyuan wasn't so scary.

"No rush, no rush, Mr. Wang and I still have some details to discuss! This time it's not just Chimelong that's starting an uprising, Shenggong Construction is also about to undergo a major overhaul! Once the details are finalized, I'll prepare to convene a board meeting, and I hope for everyone's support then," Chen Chuan said with a smile.

Once Chimelong Airlines and Shenggong Construction both change hands, and two out of the three Wen family members leave, then the Wen Group will not be unprofitable.

While in the vehicle, Xu Xian received a phone call from the aid fund of Renxin Hospital.

"Hello! Your application for Mr. Xu Jingyang's place has been reviewed and approved. Based on your previous choice, Mr. Xu Jingyang can receive treatment at Renxin Hospital Dianyun Branch at any time soon. Please bring your identification documents," the staff member said.

Xu Xian was overjoyed; the matter was finally settled, and he planned to take care of it tomorrow. Xu Jingyang didn't even need to go home; he could be transferred directly from Dianyun First People's Hospital to Renxin Hospital Dianyun Branch—a seamless transition.

Xu Xian: "Okay! Just my ID card is fine, right?"

"Yes! If you have any medical records from other hospitals, please bring them with you as well," the staff member instructed.

Doctors sometimes refer to previous hospital diagnoses to better understand a patient's condition, which is normal practice.

"I know, I know!"

"There's one more thing! Mr. Xu Jingyang's appointment this time is a waiting list spot. If other patients who meet the criteria emerge during the treatment period, Mr. Xu Jingyang's spot will be taken. We need to let you know this in advance!"

Xu Xian's expression changed drastically in an instant: "You mean it might be canceled later?"

(End of this chapter)