Legendary Captain

Chapter 256 Mistaken Entry

"The group's board of directors?" Xu Xian gasped. The insurance company's withdrawal of the policy had actually escalated to the level of a board meeting. It was quite unexpected that Gu Kangrong was referring not to Chimelong Airlines' board, but to the entire group's board.

Gu Kangrong glanced at Ye Xin, the warning clear, before saying, "The impact of the insurance company's withdrawal of coverage is too far-reaching, exceeding the limits that Chimelong Airlines can handle. Wasn't it expected that the group would take over personally?"

Xu Xian was aware that the group had intervened after Xingyou Airlines' attempts to communicate with the insurance company failed. However, Xu Xian assumed the group would hand the matter over to Chimelong Airlines. Unexpectedly, the group handled the matter personally and even reported it to the group's board of directors, indicating the seriousness of the situation.

Not long ago, when Xu Xian went to Lu Xinyu to discuss the contract, he happened to run into someone, whom he later learned was a manager at an insurance company. Before entering Lu Xinyu's office, he vaguely heard the insurance company manager say that so-and-so was no longer allowed to fly. At the time, he thought he had misheard. But even if he had clearly heard what was said, he would most likely have just taken it as a joke and not taken it to heart.

From Xu Xian's perspective, he could roughly understand why the insurance company didn't want him to fly anymore. The insurance company had been cooperating with the Wens Group for a long time, and there had never been any abnormal situations; everything had developed in accordance with normal patterns. It was only in the last year or two, or more precisely, since Xu Xian came, that so-called normal development had ceased to exist.

However, the seemingly found source of the problem was far too mystical; attributing the problem to one person was unimaginable in modern society. Therefore, Xu Xian hadn't taken what he overheard that day to heart, but now, in retrospect, wasn't it a self-fulfilling prophecy?

"Instructor, did you hear that from the group's headquarters?"

Gu Kangrong nodded: "Otherwise, the information is still quite credible."

"No way!" Xu Xian was speechless. "How is this possible? Don't you find it ridiculous? The insurance company withdrew the policy, and I'm supposed to take the blame? Impossible!"

That's what they say, but since Gu Kangrong dared to say it, it's very likely that it's true. It's not a done deal, but at least it's in the discussion stage.

However, if the group's discussion results in forcing Xu Xian to stop flying, Xu Xian feels that he is being made to take the blame. Wouldn't it be a bit too shameless for the prestigious Wen Group to make a mere co-pilot take the blame? It shouldn't be possible.

"Why is it impossible?" At the Wen Group board meeting, Wen Jingshu's second uncle, Wen Ningyuan, said somewhat excitedly, "I've already talked to President Wang. As long as Xu Xianfei isn't allowed to leave, they won't withdraw their guarantee. Chairman Jing, I can vouch for what I just said."

Wen Jingshu rubbed her temples, her head throbbing. Wen Ningyuan had just said that as long as Xu Xian stopped flying, the insurance company wouldn't cancel the policy. She initially thought her second uncle was blatantly lying, but Wen Ningyuan's confident assertion made it seem quite plausible.

"Can you find a replacement with the insurance company?" Wen Jingshu did not answer Wen Ningyuan's question directly, but instead sought a solution.

When Wen Ningyuan saw that Wen Jingshu did not directly reject his suggestion, he was overjoyed: "There are only a handful of insurance companies in China that offer aircraft insurance, and the one we are currently cooperating with has a good reputation. Those insurance companies that nitpick about claims are only straightforward when collecting premiums; otherwise, they deliberately find fault. If that's the only insurance company we have to choose from, then we might as well not insure at all."

Wen Jingshu had already sent people to find alternative insurance companies, but it seems there aren't many options available now. This kind of thing is easy to investigate; Wen Ningyuan likes to be cunning and dishonest, but he wouldn't lie about something like this. This makes things rather tricky.

"Chairman, the insurance company didn't make any unreasonable demands, just grounding one co-pilot. At worst, we can just continue paying him his average salary after he's grounded. He flies to make money, right? We're giving him money, so we've achieved our goal, just using different methods. Besides, he should be happy to be paid a regular salary," Wen Ningyuan said.

He never thought it was a big deal from the beginning. He knew that Xu Xian and Wen Jingshu had a somewhat ambiguous relationship, so he naturally wouldn't take advantage of their misfortune.

Therefore, he proposed that even if Xu Xian stopped flying, he should still be paid the same average salary as before, which was essentially giving him money for free. Surely Xu Xian wouldn't feel wronged by receiving such a good deal of free pay?

For capitalists, paying you a salary while you're old is already a huge favor, so what else can't they agree to?

Wen Jingshu waved her hand: "You don't understand, he flies not just for money."

It can only be said that Wen Ningyuan underestimated Xu Xian. If Xu Xian were truly the kind of person who only cared about money, he would have married Wen Jingshu long ago, living a life of comfort and winning the heart of a beautiful woman—wouldn't that be wonderful?

Xu Xian is clearly someone who has transcended vulgar tastes; his thoughts are somewhat different from those of normal people.

"Then what should we do? Just watch the insurance company withdraw the policy? Who will take responsibility if something goes wrong later?" This time, not only Wen Ningyuan, but also the other directors couldn't sit still.

In the aviation industry, any incident is a major event, involving tens of millions of dollars in losses, and sometimes losses of hundreds of millions are not uncommon. Especially after witnessing the "glorious" performance of the group's aviation business in the past year or two, the board members place great importance on the role of insurance companies in providing a safety net.

It's important to understand that if it weren't for the insurance company covering the losses, the group would have suffered losses of nearly 200 million yuan from just the three recent major incidents. Even though the Wen Group is a large and powerful company, 200 million yuan is not something that can be easily ignored; after all, money doesn't grow on trees.

Most importantly, they don't know if this money-burning situation will continue. Fortunately, there haven't been any fatalities in the last three major emergencies; in other words, there haven't been any crashes or fatalities. If it had gone to the worst-case scenario, the compensation would have been several times the current amount.

This dark cloud has been hanging over the minds of the group's directors, who are eager to dispel it.

"That's right, Chairman. It's only been a short time and we've already had three major incidents. Without an insurance company to protect us, our group is like a ticking time bomb. Nobody knows when it will explode. You can't guard against thieves for a thousand days if you're a thief for a thousand days. There's always a sword hanging over our group's head, the pressure is immense," a director advised.

They genuinely didn't understand why that co-pilot, Xu Xian, couldn't be grounded. They were paying him a substantial salary; were they mistreating him? It wasn't like they were kicking him out of the company; what was there to object to?

Wen Jingshu was extremely annoyed: "Isn't this just the insurance company trying to save face? You guys can actually blame all the recent events on one person? When did you become so superstitious? Should we put up a statue of a deity in front of the group's headquarters for you to worship?"

The insurance company was also in a dilemma. After all, Wens Group was a major client with substantial annual premiums, and the penalty for cancelling the policy would be enormous. Therefore, suspending Xu Xian's flights was essentially a psychological suggestion for the insurance company to convince themselves not to cancel the policy. They believed that as long as Xu Xian, who had been involved in three emergency situations, stopped flying, things would return to normal, and everyone would be happy.

From the insurance company's perspective, grounding a co-pilot shouldn't be considered an excessive request, and Wens Group also needs its own insurance business, so it should be able to agree quickly.

However, to their surprise, they did not receive a response in a short period of time after making this request. In fact, Wens Group even held a board meeting to discuss the matter.

Is a co-pilot really worth a board meeting? That's utterly absurd.

Wen Ningyuan was displeased: "Chairman, what if something else goes wrong later?"

These directors all own shares in the group, so the group's losses directly affect their finances. Since their own interests are at stake, no one will easily back down.

Wen Jingshu looked at the board members below, who clearly also wanted an explanation. Even some of her former allies were no longer ignoring her.

It seems that this time they have incurred public wrath.

If the goal is to prevent insurance companies from withdrawing their policies, the group would have to pay a heavy price, which the board members might understand, especially those who sided with Wen Jingshu. Previously, during the internal strife, they remained steadfastly by Wen Jingshu's side, but now, even they are questioning it.

The key issue is that sacrificing a seemingly insignificant co-pilot is acceptable. Xu Xian is somewhat well-known and certainly carries more weight than an average co-pilot, but he's not influential enough to sway company decisions. However, an insurance company withdrawing its policy is a far more serious matter, and the difference between the two is substantial, making it completely irrelevant. Yet, the usually shrewd chairman has made a fatal blunder on this very issue.

"Don't limit yourself to domestic insurance companies; you can start looking for overseas insurance companies." Wen Jingshu clearly still didn't want Xu Xian to be grounded.

One of the directors couldn't hold back any longer: "Chairman, even putting aside the possibility of finding one, purchasing insurance abroad involves extremely complicated procedures. There's clearly a suitable insurance company in China. Why go through all this trouble?"

Without even thinking, Wen Jingshu immediately rejected the idea: "No way! There's no need to discuss grounding Xu Xian's flights anymore!"

"Why not?" Just then, the conference room door opened, and a sprightly old man with white hair slowly walked in.

Wen Jingshu recognized the person and was terrified: "Grandpa!"

The person who entered was Wen Jingshu's grandfather, Wen Changxing.

As soon as Wen Changxing entered the room, the previously noisy conference room fell silent instantly, and all the company directors stood up.

Wen Changxing, leaning on his dragon-headed cane, slowly walked towards the seat of honor. As he passed Wen Ningyuan's seat, Wen Ningyuan stepped forward to speak to him. However, before Wen Ningyuan could utter a word, Wen Changxing glared at him fiercely and said sternly, "Shut up!"

Wen Changxing had long held sway over Wen Ningyuan, and even though he had retired long ago, his anger made Wen Ningyuan shut his mouth like a schoolchild who had done something wrong. The other directors were also terrified, afraid of incurring his wrath.

Wen Changxing's cane tapped rhythmically on the floor, making a thumping sound that seemed to match the beat of Wen Jingshu's heart, causing Wen Jingshu's face to turn slightly pale.

As Wen Changxing approached, by the time he got close to Wen Jingshu, most of the color had already drained from her face.

"Grandpa, what brings you here?" Wen Jingshu asked nervously.

Wen Changxing stood a step away from Wen Jingshu, quietly watching her. After a long while, he sighed softly, "Our Jingshu has grown up!"

"Grandpa..." Wen Jingshu said softly.

A kind smile gradually crept onto Wen Changxing's weathered face: "Jing Shu, tell me why you disagree with grounding that kid Xu Xian?"

"Grandpa, he has things to do, we can't stop him now!" Wen Jingshu said anxiously.

"Does he have something to do?" Wen Changxing said, "Oh, I remember he's not my granddaughter's husband yet, is he?"

"But Xu Xian..." Wen Jingshu wanted to argue, but Wen Changxing interrupted her.

"Ning Yuan, notify Xingyou Airlines to find a pretext to shut down that kid Xu Xian." Wen Changxing called out, "Jing Shu, come with me!"

"Grandpa! You can't do this!" Wen Jingshu exclaimed excitedly, "Xu Xian can't be grounded right now!"

Even though he had long since stepped down as chairman of the group, Wen Changxing was still the most senior member of the Wen family, so his words carried a different weight.

Wen Ningyuan was overjoyed to receive Wen Changxing's order: "Dad, I'll go and tell Xingyou right away."

Wen Changxing nodded, looked at the group of directors below, and said coldly, "That's all for today. Meeting adjourned."

The board members exchanged glances, then looked at the ashen-faced Wen Jingshu, and knew whose advice to take. They immediately packed up their things, and soon only Wen Changxing and Wen Jingshu remained in the meeting room.

"If you don't want to come with me, I'll let them go. Alright, now it's just the two of us, grandfather and grandson, and we need to talk things over."

……

At this time, Xingyou 6121 was approaching the approach area of ​​Hongdu Airport. After contacting the approach frequency, the approach gave the following instructions: "Xingyou 6121, runway 03, Asia-1A approach, standard pressure 5400, notification K valid."

"Runway number 03, Asia-1A approach, standard pressure 5400, K-band, Star Trek 6121," Xu Xian quickly repeated.

"Runway 03, Asia-1A approach, standard pressure 5400." Xu Xianxian adjusted the altitude and began to descend, then verified the landing runway and approach procedures in the CDU.

"They're using the new procedure, right?" Gu Kangrong asked. He had also seen the announcement from Hongdu Airport.

"That's right!" Xu Xian said, "I just checked it against the paper aeronautical chart."

"Bring it over here so I can take a look." Gu Kangrong was still worried, so he asked Xu Xian for a paper aeronautical chart and personally checked the approach route points one by one.

About three or four minutes later, Gu Kangrong finished checking the last point, returned the paper chart to Xu Xian, and gave him a test: "No problem."

As the aircraft began its approach procedure, after flying for about a minute, an approach voice suddenly came over the radio: "Star Trek 6121, confirm that you are now flying according to the Asia-1A procedure?"

"Yes! Star Travel 6121!"

"But when I look at it on the radar, why is it flying off course?"

(End of this chapter)