Black Flag Army

On the evening of the 21st, there was a newly opened Blue Moon Coffee Shop on the commercial street of Hongliu Town, north of Baotou City. There was a piano in the corner of the hall, and a beautiful girl in a sky blue dress was sitting next to the piano playing the world famous song "Autumn Rain". The soft music was very pleasant to the ears, and the guests were all immersed in the music.

Tian Mengxue, who was drinking coffee, saw Feng Ru sitting opposite her always looking at the girl playing the piano, so she smiled and said, "Are you attracted to her? You can't touch this woman."

Feng Rudao: "Who is she?"

Tian Mengxue said: "She is Mr. Di's fiancée Lan Jinchun, the future chairman's wife."

Feng Ru said, "She is Mr. Di's fiancée? I always thought that Mr. Di's fiancée was the inseparable Miss Bai."

Tian Mengxue said: "Miss Bai is his secretary. You are right to say that she is his woman. Isn't it normal for a man to have three wives and four concubines? This is also permitted by the laws of the Republic of China."

Feng Rudao said, "How can the future chairman's wife be a pianist here? Mr. Di has millions of dollars in assets, can't he afford to support her?"

Tian Mengxue said, "She was just a temporary guest star. She was actually the owner of this cafe, but she couldn't find a pianist. She was originally studying at the Imperial University of Peking in Beijing, and she escaped from Beijing to Baotou. Because she was beautiful and talented, many dignitaries and wealthy young men wanted to take her as a concubine, including Mr. Yuan. Originally, her sister was Lu Jianzhang's concubine. Butcher Lu's notoriety could scare off most suitors, but Mr. Yuan was the son of the president, and even Butcher Lu didn't dare to offend him. She couldn't be a college student anymore, so she had to escape."

Feng Ru sighed, "Even the president's son is so lawless, you can imagine how dark the Beiyang government is. She is showing up here, isn't there anyone harassing her?"

Tian Mengxue said, "Someone did harass her. Did you see the two female bodyguards in black behind her? They are disciples of Jingwu Sect with great martial arts skills. On the first day the cafe opened, a gangster molested Miss Lan and had his leg and four front teeth broken by the female bodyguards. The gangster was actually the deputy director of the Baotou City Police Department."

Feng Ru said: "How can a gangster be the deputy chief of the police station?"

Tian Mengxue said: "Of course it was bought with money. This is a place where the emperor is far away. As long as you are willing to spend money, robbers, thieves, and gangsters can become officials."

Feng Ru sighed, "No wonder storytellers say that in troubled times, human life is as cheap as a dog's, and robbers and thieves are everywhere. In this world where black and white are reversed, being a robber is actually safer."

Tian Mengxue said: "I heard that your plane has been built and will be tested tomorrow. Is it true?"

Feng Ru said, "Yes, I named it 'Feng Ru No. 3'. Mr. Di will not object, right?"

The first plane built by Feng Ru in the United States was called Feng Ru No. 1, which was destroyed in a fire. The second plane built in Guangzhou was called Feng Ru No. 2, which crashed.

Tian Mengxue said: "You are the factory director and chief engineer. You built the plane, so of course you have the right to name it. Mr. Di will not object. He is more concerned about who will be the test pilot tomorrow."

Feng Ru said: "I plan to test fly it myself, so that I can find out the problems and make improvements."

Tian Mengxue said, "No! Find someone else to test fly. This is a death order from Mr. Di. Mr. Di said that you are a treasure of China and no accidents can happen to you."

Feng Ru replied, "There are only four of us who can fly a plane. If I don't participate in the test flight, it will be difficult to improve the plane if there is a problem. My assistants have limited knowledge of the plane. If the problem of the plane is not discovered in time, it will be difficult for this plane to achieve Mr. Di's expected goal. It will be even more difficult to manufacture a plane for war. And my life is precious, aren't the lives of these three people precious?"

After hearing what he said, Tian Mengxue hesitated for a while and continued, "We have seen Mr. Feng's adventurous spirit for the advancement of aircraft, but Mr. Feng is also a valuable talent in the aircraft manufacturing industry, and the boss really doesn't want you to have an accident. Since Mr. Feng is so persistent, let's each take a step back and draw lots to decide who will be tomorrow's test pilot."

Feng Ru replied, "Okay, but for the sake of fairness, I will be the first to draw tomorrow." Tian Mengxue agreed, and then the two chatted for a long time. It was basically Feng Ru asking questions and Tian Mengxue answering. Feng Ru seemed to be very interested in everything about Beihai Group. It was not until Tian Mengxue said it was too late and she had to go back that Feng Ru paid the bill and left with Tian Mengxue. He sent Tian Mengxue to the dormitory before returning to the guesthouse.

When Feng Ru returned to the guesthouse, he saw Zhu Zhuquan sitting on the sofa in the living room, holding the female technician named Dong Xuechun in his arms, giving her a massage. Dong Xuechun was the woman who often gave them massages. According to the regulations of the massage center, female technicians took turns to provide door-to-door services, but Zhu Zhuquan and his friends liked this young woman with a lovely smile very much, so they asked Tian Mengxue to ask the director of the massage center not to replace her. The director of the center, Shi Lan, used to be a clerk in the flower shop under Tian Mengxue. For Tian Mengxue, this was just a trivial matter. So Dong Xuechun became a technician who served them exclusively. Of course, they didn't know that Dong Xuechun was Japanese and her real name was Dong Yuejunzi.

Feng Ru smiled and said, "It should be Miss Dong who serves you. Why is it the other way around today? You gave Miss Dong a massage."

Zhu Zhuquan said: "Miss Dong works very hard to give us massages every day, so I want to serve her once today."

Dong Xuechun explained softly: "Mr. Zhu is a good man. I told him that I didn't need to do this, but he insisted on giving me a massage."

Feng Ru laughed and said, "What does this guy know about massage? He is just trying to take advantage of you by using massage."

Dong Xuechun said: "Mr. Zhu is very smart, he learns very quickly, and the massage makes me feel very comfortable."

Zhu Zhuquan said: "Director Feng, what you said is wrong. You now have a beautiful girlfriend like Tian Mengxue, and you go out together as a couple. How can you understand the hardships of us single men?"

Feng Ru said: "I just asked her out for coffee a few times and watched a few plays with her. How can she be considered my girlfriend?"

Zhu Zhuquan said: "Isn't that enough? Who is Tian Mengxue? Can she date anyone casually?"

Feng Ru said to Zhu Zhuquan, "It's getting late. Let Miss Dong go back. We will have a test flight tomorrow and we need to go to the aircraft factory for another inspection."

Zhu Zhuquan had to reluctantly let go of Dong Xuechun. After Dong Xuechun left, Feng Ru called the other two assistants out of the room, and the four of them went to the aircraft factory together.

The next day, in a vacant lot near the Beihai Company's aircraft factory, the "Feng Ru No. 3" aircraft stood there, painted silver-gray. Many passers-by were watching this huge aircraft nearby. The guards arranged by Di Xiong were maintaining order and not letting ordinary people approach the test flight range of the aircraft. After all, Feng Ru's assistant Zhu Yuquan died because of avoiding passers-by. This aircraft was improved on the basis of the "Flyer No. 3" made by the Wright brothers. The "Feng Ru No. 2" was destroyed in an accident. Feng Ru himself did not participate in that test flight, so he had to seek some improvements from American aircraft. This is still a wooden biplane with a huge size, but compared with the previous one, there are fewer redundant brackets. The aircraft uses fir wood as the frame, divided into two layers, wrapped in canvas, which are the wings of the aircraft. There is a propeller on each side of the pilot's position. The elevator and rudder have also been improved and are installed at the rear of the aircraft. There are four wheels below for buffering and landing. The most critical thing is the engine, which is the main power of the aircraft.

Objectively speaking, this plane cannot be considered an advanced plane. The improvements made by the Wright brothers in the "Flyer" B in 1911 were far better than Feng Ru's. That kind of plane was already completely used for military purposes. European countries were not idle either. Some talented people had invented various types of monoplanes at this time. However, the Wright brothers were already famous figures in the United States at this time, and the technical and financial support they received was also difficult for Feng Ru to achieve. In addition, even if Feng Ru built this kind of plane now, it would not be a thing ahead of its time. The plane had been used by the army in the Italo-Turkish War before the establishment of the Republic of China, and Italy had already put the first batch of air forces into the war. However, even so, the development of aircraft in the Republic of China was still blank, and Feng Ru was still a person standing at the forefront of the Republic of China.

Around breakfast time, Feng Ru and three assistants were preparing to draw lots in the aircraft factory. Tian Mengxue wrote the words "fly" and "don't fly" on four chopstick-like chips, but she obviously didn't want Feng Ru to participate in the test flight, so Tian Mengxue did something to the chips. The tail of the "fly" chip was scalded by boiling water for a while, and it felt warm to the touch. At this time, Tian Mengxue had already taken the four chips in her hand and called Feng Ru and others to draw lots.

Feng Ruoran came to draw first. Tian Mengxue hid the warm chips at the bottom in advance. Feng Ru thought for a while and took the chips near the top. Seeing the words "no flight", Feng Ru sighed, threw down the chips and went to the observation area of ​​the test flight with a gloomy face. Seeing that Feng Ru had finished drawing, Tian Mengxue quickly shuffled the chips and asked his three assistants to draw. Finally, Zhu Zhaohuai drew "fly". Tian Mengxue quickly took the chips from them and said, "Mr. Zhu, since you have drawn the lottery, you should prepare for the test flight." Zhu Zhaohuai was a little confused, but he didn't say anything. He went to get the flight equipment and walked into the plane.

After a while, accompanied by a huge roar, "Feng Ru No. 3" slowly took off. Zhu Zhaohuai controlled the plane to perform some simple flying movements. Airplanes were still rare in the Republic of China. Many onlookers screamed, and some even said it was a monster. Di Xiong came to Feng Ru and said to him, "Mr. Feng, what do you think of this plane?"

Feng Rudao: "Boss Di, I have read a lot of foreign newspapers recently, and I have also seen many pictures of various aircraft. To be honest, this aircraft is a bit behind the times, and many parts are imitated from others. However, my ability is limited, and this is all I can do for now."

Di Xiong said, "I remember you said that the planes you built in the United States can only fly for more than five minutes, and the planes you built in Guangzhou can fly for twenty minutes. How long can the current planes fly?"

At this time, the plane had been circling in the sky for more than half an hour. Feng Ru said, "It can fly for about an hour. For safety reasons, I have already told Zhu Zhaohuai to land as soon as the 50-minute mark is reached."

Di Xiong said: "The main reason is that the material of the aircraft is basically wood. If it is replaced with aluminum, the flight time will be longer, the safety will be more reliable, and the service life will be extended."

Feng Ru said: "Will a metal plane be too heavy? I have never thought about it."

Di Xiong said: "Aluminum is also very light, it shouldn't affect the flight, why not give it a try? After all, I'm paying for it."

Feng Ru said: "Since the boss agrees, of course I have no problem with that."

Di Xiong said, "Tomorrow, several people will come to learn test flying. After they learn, they will be the pilots. From now on, you four will not have to do test flying. After all, pilots will go to the battlefield in the future. You are engineers, not soldiers."

Feng Ru could only agree. At this time, the plane had already landed steadily on the runway.

Di Xiong returned to the company office and heard crying before he entered the door. When he entered the door, he saw Lan Jinchun sitting on the ground with tears streaming down her face. Her clothes were dirty and there was a pile of white jade fragments in front of her.

Di Xiong quickly ran over and said, "What's wrong with you? Who bullied you? Get away from the debris quickly, be careful not to scratch your hands." He lowered his head and took a trash can and picked up the debris into the can.

Lan Jinchun sobbed, "Brother Di! I've gotten into trouble. I broke the white jade horse you placed on the bookshelf."

Di Xiong took out a handkerchief, wiped the tears from her face, and said with a smile: "It's fine if it breaks. It's just a few dozen dollars. Is it necessary to cry like this? You will become ugly if you cry, little girl."

Lan Jinchun shouted, "You are lying. I saw the price on the bottom of the white jade horse. It's nine thousand dollars. I can't afford it. Even if I sell the coffee shop, I can't afford it. My sister will beat me if she finds out."

Di Xiong said, "It's really only worth 90 dollars. Last time, Hong Tianlie got drunk and insisted on putting two zeros at the end, so it became 9,000 dollars. It was just a joke. I won't ask you to pay for it. If you're worried about your sister blaming you, then don't tell her. It's just a small matter."

Lan Jinchun asked: "Are you telling the truth? Are you not lying to me?"

Di Xiong said: "Of course I didn't lie to you. General Manager Wu was there at the time. General Manager Wu is an honest man. He certainly wouldn't lie to you. If you don't believe me, you can ask him."

Lan Jinchun burst into laughter and said, "Brother Di, you are so nice. I broke your things, but not only did you not blame me, you even worried that I might have cut my hand. I thought you would get angry and beat me up."

Di Xiong smiled and said, "You are so innocent and cute, how could I hit you? No one else, including your sister, dares to hit you. Everyone knows that you are my fiancée. Anyone who dares to touch you is disrespecting me, Di."

Lan Jinchun looked at Di Xiong and said, "It's a pity that this fiancée is fake. It would be great if she was real."

Di Xiong sighed and said, "I knew Bai Xiuling before I knew you. I can't let her down, so I have to let you down."