Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 388 386 Flying to Chengdu, the Jin Family of Shu

The polycrystalline silicon production process developed during the Republic of China era used a metallurgical method.

Specifically, the process involves first using hydrometallurgy to mix chemical reagents with industrial-grade silicon. The chemical reaction then dissolves some impurities in the silicon in ionic form within the solution, thereby removing some of the impurities.

Chemical reagents are complex and require specific chemical reagents and reaction conditions, including oxidants, acids and bases, complexing or chelating agents, reducing agents, buffers, etc.

After hydrometallurgical purification, silicon still needs to be separated from other metallic or non-metallic impurities through melting and cooling processes.

This would allow us to obtain polycrystalline silicon products that were within the technological limits of the Republic of China era.

This method is far behind future technologies, requires a lot of energy and labor, and the purification effect may also be limited.

However, it is the most advanced means of implementation in this era.

Fang Wen offered extra bonuses as an incentive for the institute's achievements and promised even more rewards once the transistor component manufacturing technology was developed.

He then prepared to travel to Sichuan.

Before setting off, Fang Wen was somewhat uneasy. This groundbreaking technology had to be kept secret and must not fall into the hands of outsiders, especially Japanese spies.

Unlike gold, silver, jewelry, weapons, and ammunition, it is a unique technological reserve belonging to the Taishan military industry, even more precious than penicillin technology.

Therefore, he simply memorized the polycrystalline silicon technology he had developed and destroyed the original version, which was the proper solution.

Subsequently, he took Gong Xiuneng and piloted a transport seaplane belonging to the logistics department to Sichuan.

The plane departed from Wuhan and flew west.

Passing through Jingzhou and Yichang.

Beyond Yichang, there are continuous mountains, and the Yangtze River flows out from between them.

At this moment, it was raining and misty in the mountains, and the scene below looked like an ink wash painting.

(Aerial view of the Three Gorges section of the Yangtze River before the Three Gorges Dam was built.)
Fang Wen couldn't help but feel a little pleased with the sight.

He said, "Gong Xiuneng, take the camera out of my bag."

Gong Xiuneng, who was sitting behind, got up, took a Leica camera from Fang Wen's travel backpack, and handed it to him.

After taking pictures of the beautiful scenery, Fang Wen continued flying the plane.

After an 800-kilometer flight, the plane passed through the mountains that block the Sichuan Basin and arrived over the mountain city of Chongqing.

Fang Wen had been to Chongqing once before, when he piloted the Shrike on its maiden flight on the Asia-Europe route, landing at Guangyang Island Airport, located on a sandbar island in the middle of the Yangtze River.

Now, he is also flying to Guangyang Island, but he is going to land at Taishan Water Airport on the south side of the island.

Looking down from the sky, the seaplane base is bustling with activity, with multiple planes taking off and landing.

These are not all civilian aircraft of Taishan Airlines. More than half of them are seaplanes leased to the Nationalist government. To this day, the Nationalist government has not proposed to return them, but instead uses them to transport various supplies.

Fang Wen was helpless about this. It was like throwing a meat bun to a dog; once it was gone, there was no going back.

However, it wasn't without its downsides. The maintenance of those seaplanes had to be done by Taishan Aviation; otherwise, if problems arose, the Nationalist government itself wouldn't have the mechanics or spare parts to repair them.

Therefore, the Nationalist government gave the green light to Taishan Airlines' logistics project in the three southwestern provinces, which can be considered a mixed blessing.

Pushing his thoughts aside, Fang Wen picked up the microphone and called the ground, requesting a landing.

After receiving a response, the plane adjusted its course and landed on the water.

Subsequently, a refueling ship arrived and completed the refueling directly on the water without needing to dock.

After refueling, Fang Wen took off again.

This route departs from the Yangtze River, passing directly through the Sichuan Basin westward to the Chengdu Plain in western Sichuan.

The plane arrived over Chengdu.

Like Xi'an, this city has well-preserved old city walls, and the numerous wooden buildings within the city give it an antique feel.

Since it was his first time here, Fang Wen couldn't find the landing spot for a while.

He recalled that the logistics department had set up a logistics park in Chengdu that was connected to a sea airport.

It is on the Jiang'an River.

The Jiang'an River should be located south of Chengdu.

Immediately, the plane changed direction, flew over the city, and headed south.

A few minutes later, Fang Wen found the water airport on the banks of the Jiang'an River.

Because construction there has just begun, there are many signs of ongoing work, with the docks and warehouses being the main structures completed.

He picked up the phone.

"Calling the ground, logistics transport aircraft No. 16 has arrived at Chengdu Sea Airport and requests to land."

The ground recovered quickly.

"General Manager, this is Sun Debiao. The dock has been cleared and is ready for landing."

Immediately afterwards, Fang Wen piloted the plane to land on the Jiang'an River.

The plane landed, and after Gong Xiuneng secured the cables, Fang Wen got off the plane.

Sun Debiao and his logistics department staff greeted them.

On the surface, Fang Wen came to inspect the work, so Sun Debiao gave a report as soon as he arrived.

"The logistics projects in the three southwestern provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan were originally being carried out in parallel. However, because we needed to send letters home to the Sichuan army and purchase supplies for the Spring Festival, we spent more time here and shifted the focus of the projects to Sichuan."

"What progress has been made on the investment?" Fang Wen asked.

“We have held talks with local grain merchants in Sichuan. Previously, they transported grain to Chongqing and then sold it out of Sichuan via the Yangtze River. They are very interested in our joint venture to establish a grain deep processing base and our investment project in pig farms,” Sun Debiao replied.

Transporting simple primary grain crops by air is simply not cost-effective, but it's a different story when it comes to processed agricultural products.

What Fang Wen asked Sun Debiao to do was beneficial to all parties, and the investment cooperation progressed smoothly.

After listening to Sun Debiao's report on the situation in Chengdu, Fang Wen asked everyone else to return to their posts and spoke with Sun Debiao alone.

"I'm here to visit Hanju."

"The general manager is probably referring to Guanghan. It used to be called Hanzhou, but it was later renamed Guanghan. It's located northwest of Chengdu."

Have you ever been there?

"No, I just learned some things when I asked locals about the situation in different parts of Sichuan."

"I want to get to know the people in Guanghan and ask them for some information."

"That's no problem. One of our logistics partners is from Guanghan. We can just ask him."

"Where is the man?"

“It’s in Chengdu, General Manager. Why don’t we go into the city now? I can show you around Chengdu.”

Fang Wen nodded in agreement.

Sun Debiao then brought over an old-fashioned car.

This thing looks like it's from ten years ago.

Sun Debiao explained, “Transportation in Sichuan is inconvenient, and cars had to be transported by water, which was extremely expensive. This car was bought by the owner of Ma Yulong Department Store, the largest department store in Chengdu, at a huge cost ten years ago. On the very first day after it was bought, it was involved in an accident in Chengdu, crashing into someone's outer wall and costing him 80 silver dollars in compensation. Mr. Ma felt it was unlucky and stopped driving it. Later, Shi Zhaowu, one of Liu Wenhui's men, brought the car over, and he also killed two pedestrians. From then on, the car became a symbol of bad luck. It was bought back by a foreign missionary in Chengdu, and since then, it has been safe. Everyone says there's a foreign devil in the car, and they're afraid of Western priests, but they're harming us Chinese.”

After listening, Fang Wen asked curiously, "Aren't you afraid that the foreign devils inside will harm us?" Sun Debiao laughed and said, "The general manager is very lucky, and I, Sun Debiao, am lucky. Even if there are ghosts, can they be more ferocious than the Japanese devils? I know that the general manager likes to drive himself wherever he goes, so I borrowed it from that priest."

“If you’re not afraid, then I’m not afraid either,” Fang Wen said with a smile, and got into the driver’s seat of the car.

In the driver's seat, Fang Wen activated his mechanical senses and found nothing unusual.

The problem is that the car itself has a structural issue; if the speed is too high while driving, it can cause brake failure.

It's likely that the first two drivers were going too fast, causing the cars to go out of control, while the foreign pastor, who was driving slowly, was unharmed.

He then started the car and drove north to Chengdu with Sun Debiao and Gong Xiuneng.

In this era, there was an official road from Jiang'an to Chengdu, and the roadside was mostly farmland, completely unlike the bustling scene of later times.

After driving along this ancient official road for a while, a memorial archway appeared ahead.

The archway is inscribed with the two large characters 'filial piety and chastity', and a yellow dog rests in the shade of the gate.

Fang Wen slowed down and asked, "What is the origin of this archway?"

"It is said that it was built by the King of Shu. The purpose of building the archway was to welcome people from XZ who came to deliver tribute and do business, so the archway was painted red according to Tibetan customs."

The car slowly drove through the archway, and the sensible yellow dog that was resting there made way.

We then continued north, crossed Gaosheng Bridge, and arrived at Wuhou Temple.

For anyone visiting Chengdu for the first time, Wuhou Temple is the top choice.

Fang Wen was no exception; he parked his car and went inside to pay homage to this famous sage from the Three Kingdoms period.

The three then got back into the car and set off again, entering the city through the south gate of Chengdu.

(Wuhou Temple during the Republic of China period)

(South Gate of Chengdu during the Republic of China era)

Upon arriving in the city, guided by Sun Debiao, Fang Wen drove the car to a stop on Zhongnan Street near the Confucius Temple.

That's where the shops run by Guanghan merchants were located.

Sun Debiao got out of the car and went into the shop. After a while, he came out with a man wearing a long robe.

He introduced Fang Wen to him: "This is Boss Yu. He is a native of Guanghan. You can ask him about anything that happens there."

Then he introduced Fang Wen to Boss Yu: "This is Mr. Fang from Taishan Airlines, who is in charge of investment management. He is fully responsible for the investment and construction of a pig breeding base in Guanghan."

Immediately, Mr. Yu smiled broadly and said, "Mr. Fang, let's go to the teahouse and sit down to talk. Feel free to ask me anything."

Here, the most common places are for drinking tea. There are open-air tea stalls as well as more upscale teahouses. For Chengdu people, no matter what life is like, a cup of tea is something they must drink. Drinking tea is also a time for discussing business.

Fang Wen nodded in agreement.

Immediately, the car stopped outside the shop, and Fang Wen, Sun Debiao, Gong Xiuneng, and Boss Yu walked towards the teahouse across the street.

The four entered the teahouse, sat down, ordered tea and snacks, and then Fang Wen spoke up.

"I've heard that there are five prominent families in Guanghan with the surnames Gou, Gou, Mu, Jin, and Gong?"

Boss Yu's expression changed, and he shook his head, saying, "These five families are not just from Guanghan. Although they are not numerous, they are very powerful, but ordinary people don't know about their existence. How did Mr. Fang find out?"

"I've learned a bit about the situation here because of some things, but I can't tell you the specifics. How do I contact these five companies?" Fang Wen replied.

"It's not difficult to contact them, but these people are very high-profile and you can't afford to offend them, Mr. Fang. You should think this through."

Mr. Yu kindly reminded them, implying that none of the five prominent families were easy to mess with.

This also implies that he cannot afford to offend the five powerful families.

Fang Wen smiled and said, "I understand. I just wanted to inquire about some things. It won't involve you, Mr. Yu."

Mr. Yu picked up his teacup and drank it all in one gulp, then made his decision: "Alright, I'll help you with this. There happen to be some members of the Jin family in Chengdu. Please wait here, and someone will take you there within an hour."

After saying this, he stood up, clasped his hands in a salute, and quickly walked out of the teahouse.

Gong Xiuneng glanced around and whispered, "Commander, are we really going to wait here?"

Sun Debiao was also a little uncertain: "This Boss Yu just leaves like that, he's not very reliable. Why don't we go back first?"

Fang Wen shook his head: "Let's wait and see. I don't think Boss Yu is lying to us."

The three of them then sat in the teahouse and waited.

Time passed slowly, and the person they were waiting for still hadn't arrived, but the teahouse became lively.

Taking this opportunity, Fang Wen also observed the unique lifestyle of Chengdu.

The upscale teahouse he was in was a place for leisure, entertainment, and information exchange. Some people chatted, others listened to music, and Fang Wen even saw two people finalize a business deal in the teahouse.

The other open-air teahouse outside also has its own tricks.

There was a group of poor people there, drinking the cheapest tea.

They were both resting there and waiting for their employer to arrive.

When an employer arrives at the open-air teahouse, many people immediately get up and surround him, after which the employer turns around and takes the chosen person away.

Just as Fang Wen was enjoying the scene, he heard Gong Xiuneng's voice: "Someone is coming."

Fang Wen turned around and saw a man walking towards him.

This person was quite distinctive; he wore leather wristbands with seven stars on his wrists, leg wraps on his feet, and a cloth belt around his waist.

It looks a bit violent.

Upon seeing him, the teahouse fell silent as everyone quietly watched the direction he headed.

The man walked up to Fang Wen's table, clasped his hands in a fist and said loudly, "If you want to see the Jin family, come with me."

Fang Wen stood up and instructed Sun Debiao, "You go back to the airport; Gong Xiu and I will go."

After a moment's hesitation, Sun Debiao replied, "Manager Fang, please be careful."

Upon seeing this, the man laughed and said, "Don't worry, Taishan Airlines people are respected by both the legitimate and underworld circles in Chengdu. Nothing will happen."

With these words, Sun Debiao felt somewhat relieved and watched Fang Wen and Gong Xiuneng leave with the man.

The reason they could so readily follow the so-called Jin family was mainly because the bronze cauldron had not given any warning signals.

Of course, the bronze tripod isn't guaranteed to be 100% effective, and Fang Wen had his own preparations.

Both he and Gong Xiuneng were carrying Browning pistols and two small pull-ring fragmentation grenades, and they were also wearing two layers of silk stab-proof vests.

It can be said that it is sufficient to deal with ordinary gangsters in the Republic of China era.

The two followed the man through the streets and alleys, eventually arriving at a courtyard. The man knocked three times on the door, and the door opened, allowing the three to enter.

Inside the courtyard stood several fierce-looking, burly men, weapons in their hands, ready to attack at any moment.

Gong Xiuneng stepped forward and stood in front of Fang Wen, facing the burly men without fear.

The atmosphere is a bit subtle.

Fang Wen clasped his hands in greeting and said, "I have come on behalf of Taishan Airlines to visit the Jin family in Sichuan."

Laughter came from the room behind the courtyard: "Honored guests, please don't be offended, this is how the Jin family treats its guests."

(End of this chapter)