Chen Zikun drove his motorcycle for seven hours and finally arrived at the outskirts of the provincial capital in the wind and snow, surrounded by a vast expanse of road, lined with straight poplar trees, and a mottled iron sign that read "Military Administration Zone, No Entry."

In the early years, it was an airport built by Chen Zikun, and later evolved into a Kuomintang air base, a PLA aviation school, and now it is a local reserve airport under the Civil Aviation Administration, and it was once the training ground of the Aviation School of the Jiangdong Sports Commission.

In the cold winter, the road outside the alternate airport is overgrown with weeds, the barbed wire is rusty, and the road is covered with snow.

Chen Zikun turned the throttle, drove the motorcycle slowly forward, the base gate was locked, but the lock was not rusted, I wanted to come here or someone on duty, shouted a few times, no one answered, waited for a while, only to see a person riding a bicycle far away, to the front turned over and got off, and said with a white breath in his mouth: "Mr. Chen, what wind blew you here." ”

Chen Zikun said: "Old Niu, why is there only one person left?" ”

This person's surname is Niu, in the early years in Nantai as a bandit, and later recruited Anjin Seventh Mixed Brigade to eat food as a soldier, after Chen Zikun's soldiers entered Shanghai, Lao Niu was incorporated into the anti-smoking law enforcement corps as a truck driver as an elite force, and later Chen Zikun formed the Jiangdong Air Force, Lao Niu became a ground mechanic of the aviation team because he knew how to drive a mechanic, and specially repaired a special plane for Chen Zikun, and participated in the Battle of Songhu, the defense of North Thailand, and the Jiangbei guerrilla warfare in this post, and still served as an air force mechanic after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, and joined the People's Air Force after liberation to do his old business until now.

Lao Niu is over 70 years old, deaf and blind, and has been familiar with everything in the airport for decades, and after the base was transferred to the local Civil Aviation Administration, the original personnel were either transferred to another job or assigned to the Air Force, leaving only a few management personnel, and Lao Niu was the duty officer.

"Alas, the stationmaster hasn't seen anyone for more than a year, and eighty percent of this place has been abandoned from above, but fortunately, the salary is still paid monthly, and it's a lot." Lao Niu took out the key to open the door, invited Chen Zikun in, lifted the military kettle and said, "Lao Baigan, come on?" ”

"Come on," Chen Zikun said, "I've been on the road for a few hours, and I'm frozen." ”

The two entered the terminal bungalow, which was designed and built by Chen Zikun himself in the thirties, with heating pipes, but the boiler at the base had long been gone, and there was a stove in the house, and a kettle sat on it, and the lid of the steam roof was moving, and the room was as warm as spring.

There were four sweet potatoes roasted on the lid of the stove, which were already cooked, and Lao Niu took out a paper bag and a wine bottle from his arms, and in the paper bag was sauce beef, and in the bottle was loose wine from a village five miles away.

The two sat opposite each other on the warm kang, there were wine glasses and beef with peanut sauce on the kang table, and Lao Niu took out an alcohol stove from the cabinet and took out a frozen cabbage, a lunch box of frozen tofu, and a handful of vermicelli from the outside.

"If it weren't for Mr. Chen, I would be reluctant to eat these family foundations." The old cow smiled, lit the alcohol stove, and began to stew the hot pot.

The dishes were stewed in the hot pot, bubbling and bubbling, the liquor was hot, two glasses were poured, Chen Zikun and Lao Niu touched it, and it dried up, and the liquor was like a line of fire from the throat to the stomach, and the whole person suddenly felt hot.

After three cups, Chen Zikun said: "Old Niu, is my baby still there?" ”

Lao Niu said: "Throwing it in the shed, five or eight years of steelmaking, someone wanted to dismantle the steelmaking, let me take it away, a bunch of uneducated turtles, the plane is aluminum, how can steel." ”

Chen Zikun said: "I haven't seen you for a long time, I'll take a look later." ”

"Medium."

After eating and drinking, Chen Zikun was slightly drunk, and let the old cow lead the way to a simple greenhouse not far away, a bright silver twin-engine transport plane was quietly parked, the wings were full of dust, the glass windshield of the cockpit was pasted with newspapers, and it was impossible to see the inside, the tires were deflated, the patterns were also worn bald, and the place above the fuselage and the greenhouse was close to the cobwebs.

This plane is a Douglas DC-3 passenger plane purchased by Chen Zikun in the thirties through the Pacino family in New York, which has a history of 30 years, accompanied him to fly over Europe and the Americas, experienced the Xi'an incident, carried Song Meiling, Zhou Enlai, went to Japan, went to Yan'an, can be described as full of wind and rain, after liberation, it was requisitioned by the People's Air Force, and served for another five years, because of an accident scrapped, everything that could be dismantled was dismantled, and only an empty casing remained.

Chen Zikun stroked the plane, and thousands of past events came to his heart.

"Old man, I don't know if you can still fly." Chen Zikun muttered to himself.

"Fly? There are too many things missing, even the engine has been dismantled, the avionics are gone, how to fly. The old cow said casually, lit a cigarette and smoked.

"Old Niu, if there are engine parts and repair tools, can you fix it?" Chan's expression was solemn, not like a joke.

Lao Niu was taken aback: "That's difficult, I can't do it alone, and besides, the bad things are not a little bit, and they can't be made up at all." ”

Chen Zikun said: "You don't have to worry about those, I just ask you, do you have confidence?" ”

Lao Niu took a puff of his cigarette and said, "Okay, I'll try." ”

Chen Zikun inspected the runway again before going back to continue drinking, made do with the station for a night, and returned to the provincial capital the next day, the motorcycle ran out of gas, he rode away Lao Niu's bicycle, before leaving, he asked Lao Niu to make a list, and all the things he needed were written on it.

From beginning to end, Lao Niu didn't ask him why he wanted to repair the plane.

……

Chen Zikun first went to the hospital to let his family know that he was safe, then went home to change his clothes, went to the street to buy a box of hair dye, made a basin of water, and dyed his gray hair black in front of the mirror.

It happened that Liu Ting opened the door and came in, and when she saw this scene, she suddenly felt strange: "What's wrong with you, you suddenly remembered to dye your hair." ”

Chen Zikun said: "Do you have money at home, I want to use it." ”

Liu Ting took out fifty yuan: "That's all." ”

Chen Zikun frowned and said, "How can these be enough, what about my salary?" ”

Liu Ting said: "Your organizational relationship is in Beijing, and there is no money to receive if you don't send money over there." ”

"Fifty is fifty." Chen Zikun took the money, approved the coat and went out, and went to find his old subordinate Wang Sanliu first.

Wang Sanliu's children are all in the Northeast, and he draws a clear line and no longer interacts, he lives alone in the provincial capital without worry, and he did not expose Chen Zikun at the 10,000-person criticism conference, which can be regarded as a tough guy.

When he came to Wang's house, Wang Sanliu was roasting sweet potatoes, which were cheap and hungry, and they could be eaten by roasting.

Chen Zikun did not sell Guanzi, and explained his plan and plan, Wang Sanliu was very calm, and said while peeling the sweet potato skin: "Now the society is in chaos, and it is very important to take advantage of the opportunity, but more people are needed." ”

"Who do you think is suitable?"

"A few old buddies are okay, Chen Shou, Lao Gai, Zeng Jiao, Yan Su's family has also drawn a line with him, they are all people who have gone through the wind and rain, they know how bad it is, and they will never go to the informant, besides, now even the party committee and government have been served by the rebels, and the public procuratorate and law are also paralyzed, who to inform? Are you looking for those dolls of the Red Directorate? ”

Wang Sanliu's words made Chen Zikun feel relieved, what he said made sense, although the old buddies exposed and reported themselves at the criticism meeting, they did not speak nonsense and slander with their conscience, and in that case, even people with strong psychological quality would collapse, Chen Zikun did not blame them.

After some contact, several old buddies gathered in Wang Sanliu's dilapidated house that night.

After listening to Chan's plan, they silently smoked cigarettes and pondered.

"Will it work?" Yan Su said with a sad face, "If you are beaten down in the middle of the road, it will be a hundred, in case you are captured, won't it affect your family." ”

Chen Shou said: "The Air Force is not well trained, the quality is extremely low, there is no need to worry, besides, we are not going in, but going out, we do not belong to the key prevention objects, it is not difficult to go, but this belongs to treason." ”

Gai Longquan said: "Even if it is treason, what about it, is there still less crime on our heads, history ***, warlord reactionaries, traitors, lackeys and traitors, lice do not bite people, and what are you afraid of if there is one more crime, whether it can be done or not, I will join, I have lived enough of this person's life of not being a ghost or a ghost, even if I die, I must die standing up, and I can't die in a nest." ”

"Lao Gai, you pat your ass and leave, what should your family do?" Yan Su said.

"I can't care so much now, just let me die, it's a good thing for them that I die." Gai Longquan's words are sad, but it is the common voice of everyone, there is a reactionary elder in the family, and the employment of his children and his enrollment in the army are affected, and he is also inferior in the unit, as an elder, he is both aggrieved and helpless, whether he is gone or dies, it is a relief.

"I'll do it." Zeng Jiao said with blood-red eyes.

"Xiao'an, you come out with a specific attitude." Chen Zikun stared at Yan Su and asked, he had a tough steel wire hidden in his hand, if the other party was unstable, he would use this wire to hang Yan Su to death, too many people's lives were at stake, and he had to kill the killer to eliminate the hidden danger.

Yan Su didn't perceive the killing intent, he sighed and said, "There is no other way, I can only participate." ”

Chen Zikun took out a dagger and slashed it on his hand, dripping blood into the wine, and the others did the same, cutting their fingers and picking up the blood wine.

"Live and die together, don't give up, do it!"

The six wine bowls collided together, and the fighting spirit of the six ancient old men was ignited at this moment.

According to the list listed by Master Niu, a large number of materials are needed, including two usable transport aircraft engines, various spare parts, oil pipes, wires, mechanical equipment, electronic compasses, tools, oil, etc., in addition to aircraft fuel, there are more than a dozen kinds of lubricating oil for engines alone, and these things are all military materials, which are not sold at all in civilian stores.

"These things, all in the warehouse of the air base." Chan said.

"Could it be that we old guys are going to loot the army's warehouse?" Yan Su was a little surprised.

"Isn't that possible?" Chen Zikun said with a smile, after his hair was dyed black, the whole person seemed to be twenty years younger, vaguely showing the style of the year.