Chapter 274: Old Friend, Do You Still Want To Buy The Engine?

The plane firmly rolled to a stop. The shuttle bus quickly drew close and accurately placed the gangway against the cabin door. A flight attendant opened the door. She smiled and waved towards a spot below her. The aerial drone captured the image of her face. Her makeup had completely melted off. The 168 passengers and crew members who participated in the passenger flight test walked down the gangway in succession as they alighted from the plane.

“Comrades, all of you have worked hard.” The two most senior officials were also at the scene. They personally put a flower wreath on all the participants of the flight test. They also shook hands with the participants and greeted them warmly. The significance of this passenger flight test was even greater than the achievement of the passenger space flight! After all, Z country had achieved manned space flight more than a decade ago. But the domestic large-scale passenger aircraft was only officially mass-produced today. One could tell from this fact that the difficulty of developing the large passenger aircraft was even greater than that of the manned rocket. Now that Z country had made such a major breakthrough, how could it not be given the highest priority?

Chen Jin found his father, Chen Gang, amongst the many passengers. He was immediately shocked! He quickly walked over. “Dad, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?” Chen Jin looked at his father, who was holding onto another person and crying.

The engineer held in Chen Gang’s arms explained helplessly, “Your dad is different from me. The only thing he did on the plane was taking photos with his mobile phone, whereas I was crying non-stop. When we got off the plane, your dad became this mess. It makes me want to cry again.”

“I’ll take care of my Dad from here.” Chen Jin nodded at him. He supported his father’s elbow with his arm. Chen Gang rested his head on his son’s shoulder. Like a child, Chen Gang continued to sob loudly.

“Son, it’s been almost twenty years. My dream has finally come true. To tell you the truth, I haven’t flown in a plane for 18 years. I forgot what it feels like to fly. It’s not due to the lack of money or opportunity. I am a researcher involved in the development of our own large-scale domestic passenger aircraft. I would feel ashamed to fly on a foreign-made plane. I had vowed to take our own domestic plane! I’ll visit the whole country on that plane. But your Dad never achieved that. Even after working for more than ten years, I had no fame; no achievement. I’m about to retire but I didn’t even know if I could fly on our very own domestic-made plane. We are still relying on foreign countries for the core components of our aircrafts. Son, you’ve helped me. If it weren’t for you, I don’t even know how long it would take for my dreams to become a reality. Son, thank you. Thank you!” Chen Gang babbled in spurts as he cried.

Chen Jin patted his shoulder heavily. He said comfortingly, “Dad, don’t cry. I really didn’t do much. Our large-scale plane will be successful even without me. Part of the success is because of your efforts too. You have always been my pride!”

“No, I am just an old and mediocre person. Son, you are my pride.” Chen Jin shook his head helplessly.

At this time, his mother, He Li, had come over. She found this scene to be touching, yet funny. She patted her husband’s back. “You’re so old yet you’re crying like a child. Aren’t you afraid to be laughed at by others? Alright. Quickly, stop crying. The celebration banquet will begin soon. Let’s go to the banquet now.”

Chen Gang felt a little embarrassed as he listened to his wife. He wiped his eyes with his hand. Smiling, he said, “Ok.”

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Chen Jin smiled and shook his head. His eyes felt a little strange. When he rubbed them with his hands, he found that they were wet too.

…

The mass production of the C919 and the success of its passenger flight test quickly spread around the world.

In France, at the Safran Company Headquarters, Hertmann, the Chairman and CEO of the company watched a video clip that had been cut down to 24 minutes. His eyes were filled with disbelief, set in a face that showed how incredulous he felt. He pressed the replay button and watched the video twice. He widened his eyes and watched it carefully but could not find any problems with it. “Loaded with the maximum passenger capacity, they took off and landed twice. The straight flight distance is 5,600 kilometers. It is absolutely impossible with our LeapX engine! Our aircraft with a similar standard can fly a maximum of 4,500 kilometers. But they flew more than 1,100 kilometers… Perhaps the people of Z country arranged a space-time wormhole in the middle of the two airports? This would shorten the distance of thousands of kilometers. How else could they still have sufficient fuel for the return flight?”

Of course, the theory of there being a time and space wormhole was ridiculous. It was too much of an attempt to lie to themselves and others. Moreover, no problems could be seen in the video. He could only come to the conclusion that he did not want to face; the engine by Z country was good. Its standard was at the very least comparable to the LeapX engine! Moreover, the body of C919 was 15% lighter, so it had extra mileage of 1,100 kilometers.

He calculated the time. It was a total of eight months from August of last year to this April. In this short time, Z country had conquered the technology of the advanced engine and solved the supply shortage of the core components. Their speed was amazing! He watched the video again and saw the surprised and proud expressions on the countless faces of the ordinary Z citizens after the plane had landed. Their eyes revealed a passionate, determined, and profound light shining from within as well as the tears welling up. He heard the wave of cheers like a tsunami.

Hertmann felt a tingle of anticipation. His soul seemed to have received some kind of stimulation. He could not help but grit his teeth. “Merica, you fools!” He immediately picked up the phone and called the head of General Electric (GE), Flannery, to request that they should immediately cancel the ban on the sale of the passenger aircraft engine to Z country. They should recapture the Z market! He even yelled in anger, “I said this long ago. We can’t underestimate Z country; don’t anger Z people! They can’t physically hurt us, but they will kill our wallets and we’ll all become poor bastards. This is a punishment that’s crueler than death. But you’re repeating your stupidity again and again! Cancel the ban! Immediately, right now! Then tell the Z country that you’re sorry. They will consider buying our engine!”

“Yes, yes, yes!” Flannery did not argue. On the contrary, he quickly agreed to everything.

…

5 days later, after numerous argumentations and analysis by various professionals, they fully confirmed that Z country had made a breakthrough in the technology of the advanced aircraft engine. The Merican Congress finally relented. With 55% of approval votes, the cancellation of the ban on the sale of the engine for civilian use was successfully passed. This allowed the LeapX engine to be exported to Z country’s market again.

The moment the ban was lifted, Hertmann immediately called the President of Shang Fei Corporation, He Jinlong. As the two had a good personal relationship, Hertman called He Jin Long an old friend. “Hey, old friend, let me tell you excellent news! I’ve been working hard rubbing shoulders with all the right people and speaking into their ears. The Merican Congress finally agreed to lift the ban on the LeapX engine! That regrettable incident has passed. You can buy this product again. You can buy as much as you like. The price is 15% lower now. Old friend, let’s re-sign the contract.” Hertmann’s voice over the phone was brimming with enthusiasm. He believed that He Jinlong would definitely re-contract. After all, what Z country had was a newly developed engine that had to bear huge research and development costs. Its price would never be as cheap as what he could offer.

He Jin Long listened to the translation provided by the translator. He Jin Long stared blankly into the air for a moment. “Sorry, we don’t need it!” He hung up immediately.