Chapter 19 The Moon of Yesteryear 19
"This is Staff Officer Chen Jian."
"Officer Chen, this must be Mr. Xie," Zhang Mingyuan said, standing up to introduce the two men.
He was a man in his thirties with a buzz cut. Neither of them were wearing military uniforms. If it weren't for their serious demeanor, they would have looked like wealthy young men.
"Mr. Xie is so talented at such a young age, it's truly admirable." Chen Jian was very surprised when he saw Xie Ning. Even though Zhang Mingyuan had told him that Xie Ning was not old, only about twenty, he still couldn't help but marvel when he actually saw the young Xie Ning.
Before he arrived, Zhang Mingyuan had given Xie Ning a batch of military equipment to inspect. He originally just wanted to see how familiar Xie Ning was with the equipment, but he never expected that Xie Ning would not only be very familiar with guns and cannons, but also make simple modifications to one of the pistols, reducing its recoil and greatly improving its stability.
Regardless of whether Xie Ning could manufacture guns or cannons, his skill in modifying firearms alone was enough to make him a deserving figure.
Therefore, Chen Jian acted very generously, saying, "Mr. Xie, you must know the purpose of my trip. Please feel free to make any requests you may have, and we will do our best to meet them. As for equipment expenses, please just make a list."
If you don't have it, go buy it; if you can't buy it, go rob it!
Xie Ning smiled, her lips pursed. There were reasons why she chose to stay here and station troops here. One reason was that this army opposed the civil war and supported fighting the little bastards.
"Officer Chen, you're too kind. My request isn't high. If the conditions are good, there are ways to build it; if the conditions aren't good, there are ways to overcome them. However, there is one thing: I need a guarantee for my personal safety and the confidentiality of this matter."
Hearing Xie Ning say this, Staff Officer Chen's eyes lit up. This meant he was willing to work for them!
"Mr. Xie, rest assured, I can't guarantee anything else, but we can certainly meet these two requirements!"
It's good to keep it a secret, so that such a precious item won't be stolen by someone else. Besides, they originally intended to keep it a secret. As for security? He can personally protect the person!
Xie Ning breathed a sigh of relief, and both host and guests enjoyed themselves.
Halfway through the meal, someone rushed in and whispered a few words in Chen Jian's ear. The voice was very low, but Xie Ning, with his keen hearing, vaguely heard something about the "Northeast Army" and "firefight."
Chen Jian's smiling face grew increasingly somber. Fortunately, the matter was already settled, and he didn't expect to resolve all the remaining trivial issues in just one meal.
"Mr. Xie, I have to leave now. Please forgive me. I'll leave Mingyuan with you here for now."
Meeting Chen Jian's apologetic face, Xie Ning shook her head lightly, "It's nothing, Staff Officer Chen is busy with official duties, it's only right."
When she came out, Xie Ning refused Zhang Mingyuan's offer to take her home and stayed in the Chinese restaurant alone. Zhang Mingyuan, however, was worried and silently followed behind Xie Ning.
The restaurant was quite crowded, with most people dressed in long robes and mandarin jackets, some even wearing pocket watches, looking very impressive. Xie Ning also had a pocket watch, a gift from Zhang Congzhi as a holiday present in addition to his salary.
But she still prefers to wear a watch, even though it's more expensive, because it's more convenient.
She usually wore long robes, but as her hair grew longer, her style became more Western so that she wouldn't look so strange.
Passing through the Chinese restaurant and entering the adjacent Western restaurant, a singer stood in front of an old-fashioned microphone, singing softly and gracefully, her waist swaying from time to time, creating an atmosphere of decadent luxury.
Xie Ning casually found a seat and sat down. A glass of beer and a glass of wine were placed next to her, ordered by Zhang Mingyuan. "I know you don't drink, but there's no tea right now, so a little wine to get a buzz is nice."
Swirling the golden liquor, Zhang Mingyuan suddenly asked, "Did Changning hear what you just said?"
Xie Ning didn't want to hide it, so she just hummed in agreement. Zhang Ming, who was closer to Chen Jian, naturally heard it as well.
Turning his head, he saw Xie Ning looking dejected and couldn't help but comfort him, "The Northeast Army has over a hundred thousand soldiers, nothing will happen. Similar things have happened in previous years..."
But Xie Ning knew this time was different; this incident had opened the prelude to the Eastern battlefield.
As events unfolded, the situation unfolded exactly as history had predicted. Due to the policy of non-resistance, the garrison at Beidaying was defeated by a Japanese force that was less than one-tenth the size of its own. At the same time, the Japanese army successively captured 18 towns along the South Manchurian Railway and the Anfeng Railway, including Fengtian, Siping, Yingkou, Fenghuangcheng, and Andong. The Northeast Army in the Changchun area launched a spontaneous counterattack, and by the next day, Changchun had also fallen.
Even though Xie Ning had anticipated this day, his hands still trembled as he looked at the headline on the newspaper in his hand.
Confined to her room, Xie Ning drew one blueprint after another. These were all materials etched into her mind, but she knew very well that blueprints were just blueprints. What she was doing now was to modify the existing blueprints to meet the current production and manufacturing standards.
And that's all she can do.
Aunt Liu also saw the headline in the newspaper, so she went out in the late afternoon. When she came back, she saw that Xie Ning's room was closed. Obviously, Xie Ning hadn't left the room all day.
I glanced outside and saw that the sun had already set, leaving only the glow of the sunset, which was as red as blood.
"Changning, it's time to come out for dinner." Xie Ning told Aunt Liu to call her Mr. Xie in front of outsiders, but to call her Changning in private.
Xie Ning isn't someone who doesn't cherish his health; after all, health is the foundation of everything.
Dinner was a simple meal of stir-fried green beans with pork, old duck soup, and a plate of braised pork meatballs. Since it was just for the two of them, Xie Ning asked Aunt Liu to keep it as simple as possible.
Chen Jian was called back that day, but things were handled very well. On the third day, there was an extra person in Xie Ning's courtyard, a driver specially assigned to Xie Ning, and of course, a car as well.
Xie Ning didn't know exactly how the decision was made, but in less than seven days, the factory site selection was completed, and all that was left was to wait for the equipment to be brought in.
According to Zhang Mingyuan, their army commander had secretly raised a lot of money for this purpose, originally intending to invest it all in Xie Ning's weapons manufacturing. However, due to the war in Northeast China, the army commander wanted to keep some funds for himself.
"Aren't you afraid I'll leak your secrets?" Xie Ning asked quietly, looking at the factory under construction.
Zhang Mingyuan followed Xie Ning's gaze and looked over, his tone full of pride, "You won't, our commander is no pushover. Changning, once you're in the den of thieves, there's no escaping."
Xie Ning chuckled indifferently, saying, "I never intended to run away anyway."
Equipment, raw materials, and factory buildings are all being built slowly, but there's still one thing: "Brother Mingyuan, with such a big project, you can't just take advantage of me alone. You have to let me have a few lambs too."
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