Chapter 55: The Old Pilot

"American Jeeps, and airplanes?!"

Lu Jun's eyes widened. Where on earth did this come from?

"Actually, I am a fervent military enthusiast."

Tang Wen, his expression unchanged, explained seriously:

"I sourced some surplus materials from after the Great War through channels, including some operational vehicles and several airplanes. For the green and sustainable development of Dawan Village, I am willing to put them all at the disposal of tourists."

Lu Jun: "I can understand the vehicles, but airplanes—what airplanes? What kind of airplanes!"

Tang Wen: "Some twin-engine small passenger planes that look like bombers, and sightseeing small planes that look very much like fighter jets. They can all still fly, and they are very safe."

"These planes are just very old, propeller-powered, barely flyable little planes."

"If permitted, they could even pull an advertising banner to do aerial advertising over Echeng."

"Really?"

"If you have time, you can even take a flight."

Lu Jun leaned back tactically and began to doubt life itself.

Yang Tai pulled on Chen Yonggui beside him, his face full of shock as he said:

"You guys even have airplanes? Where did you get this stuff?"

"Collectibles, collectibles."

Chen Yonggui mumbled a few vague explanations. Never mind the trucks and airplanes; he had even seen real American military machine guns.

Never mind the acting; as long as the costumes were in place, they were real American soldiers.

Ever since Tang Lao San was sacrificed, Tang Wen had been appearing and disappearing mysteriously, doing the unexpected from time to time; he had gotten used to it.

On the other side, Lu Jun was also calculating constantly in his heart.

Since Tang Wen and Chen Yonggui dared to say it, then it must be real.

So... it actually seems to have quite a lot of potential.

"Although we have the props, the basic investment for road construction and house building..."

"Small matter, we can solve it ourselves."

Tang Wen thought that everything in Dawan was already prepared; the engineering workload had been reduced by at least two-thirds.

"We only need the town to provide promotional support and policy encouragement. Once the resort is built and can operate these entertainment projects, there shouldn't be any difficulty, right?"

"Of course not."

Lu Jun gave a decisive answer. Setting off a salute cannon just to make a show—could that be illegal? As for the airplanes and Jeeps... those were just scenic spot props; what impact could they have?

The tourism economy was truly a brand-new concept in Echeng; in the past, no one had ever expected to generate revenue from this sector.

If this set of measures could really work, wouldn't that be a pioneering achievement?

Lu Jun requested to see Tang Wen's American-style Jeep, and then he saw the Willys in the government compound courtyard, already surrounded by several people.

Seeing the "props" firsthand, authentic and as genuine as they could possibly be, Lu Jun's attitude immediately changed significantly.

He didn't care how the thing was accomplished; he only cared if it could succeed, and whether they were frauds.

He knew Chen Yonggui and Yang Tai; with their guarantee...

"The Dawan Village tourism development project does have a certain feasibility. The town encourages attempts on the path of new development."

"As long as the interests of the local people are guaranteed, generating a bit more revenue is nothing bad."

"Boss Tang's plan is very forward-looking. If the Dawan Village model succeeds, it will also be a contribution to the entire town."

With just two sentences, Lu Jun basically decided on the establishment of the tourism resort; going to run the various procedures afterwards would be very easy.

If this were ten or more years later, a project involving land development for a village would require a long proposal, collection of villagers' opinions, environmental impact assessments on the surrounding area, and so on.

But now... "Work hard, work fast, see immediate results" was the main theme of this era.

In the rapidly changing late 1990s, the goal of economic construction and vibrant grassroots dreamers were the driving forces pushing history forward at breakneck speed.

Many projects often achieved results and produced outcomes before formal approval procedures even existed.

The Dawan Village Tourism Resort was the same; whether it was right or not could only be judged by the results.

"Do you really have airplanes?"

Yang Tai stood in front of the Jeep, looking at Tang Wen who was preparing to head to Echeng, still a bit incredulous.

"We really do. There's one sitting in the shipyard warehouse; it's just that no one can fly it for the moment."

Previously, Tang Wen had tried dismantling the weapon system of an F4F; that plane was immediately judged as damaged, and the USS Hornet immediately crafted a replacement in the hangar to replenish the deck.

And the silver coin cost to replenish this F4F was 800 silver coins; because of Admiral Halsey's level 10 captain 40% cost reduction, it actually cost 480 silver coins.

That was equivalent to over twenty thousand RMB per plane; for actual value, it was absurdly cheap.

Moreover, Tang Wen could temporarily not replenish the "damaged" planes. The USS Hornet had nearly eighty planes available for use, more than enough to squander.

The only slightly troublesome thing was that planes judged as "destroyed," even though they only had their weapons removed and could still fly normally, could not be commanded by the commander or the captain.

That is to say, a professional pilot would be needed to get this thing moving...

Of course, Tang Wen believed that as long as the Silver Coin Method was used, one could definitely be found. Flying an F4F didn't require a fighter pilot; a civil aviation pilot would do.

Even for a mere propeller plane, Tang Wen himself felt somewhat eager to try.

Before his transmigration, he was a veteran DCS (Digital Combat Simulator) pilot, not only with a flight time of 80 hours, but he had also flown various jet fighters such as the Su-25, MiG-29, and F-18.

Back then, he had even bought a full set of simulation peripherals; combining those operation skills with reality, he had recalled quite a bit.

He didn't actually need anyone to engage in combat; even if local villagers practiced, they might be able to get it flying.

However, after hearing Tang Wen's words, Yang Tai suddenly said:

"Flying planes? I know how to do that."

Tang Wen blinked, looking at the portly, bald, and slick-faced Yang Tai before him; there was twelvefold disbelief in his eyes.

Could this person possibly be a retired pilot? The temperament is far too mismatched!

But he still ventured:

"Did you fly the J-5, or the J-6 or J-7?"

Yang Tai shook his head.

"Was it a bomber? The H-6 is very impressive too."

Yang Tai shook his head again: "I never flew military aircraft."

"I didn't realize you were a commercial pilot either. How did you transfer here?"

"Neither."

Yang Tai cut off Tang Wen's wild guesses, smoothed his sparse hair, and said proudly:

"When I was sent down to the countryside, I worked on a farm and learned how to fly the Sishichu trainer."

Tang Wen scratched his head. What kind of plane was the Sishichu trainer? That didn't sound like a domestic naming convention either.

Why did it feel a bit like a plane from Japan?

"It was a trainer captured by the Northeast Old Aviation School back then. When we reclaimed the Great Northern Wilderness, someone from there brought it over, planning to repair it for crop-dusting."

"At first, all of us young people were eager to learn; quite a few female comrades learned to fly it too. Unfortunately, the Sishichu trainer's engines broke down easily. Later, when they couldn't be repaired and there was no gasoline, no one cared for them anymore. By the time I left, they were already rotten. It's a pity."

"Your plane was also a propeller-driven one; I think flying it should be about the same."

About the same? It really does seem so.

The aircraft captured by the Northeast Old Aviation School were mostly Japanese trainers from the 1930s; the F4F was only a 1936 plane as well, existing in the same era.

Maybe... it really could work?