50s: Starting with a storage ring

The night before Chapter 603

At exactly 12 o'clock, the alarm clock rang, and Sun Zhiwei quickly got up to call Sun Hongying. This girl was in high spirits today and woke up as soon as she was called, which was really rare.

After a quick 10-minute tidying up, Sun Zhiwei rode his bicycle with Sun Hongying to their meeting point.

After dropping off Sun Hongying, he rushed back home, needing to pack up for himself.

He had already given Xu Yimin a photo of his new look last time and obtained a new ID. Today, he could only appear at the scene looking like the person on the ID, otherwise he wouldn't be able to pass the security check.

After returning home, he secretly changed his clothes in his room.

There weren't any major changes; they just adjusted the eyebrows, added a few wrinkles, raised the cheekbones, lengthened the corners of the eyes to make them smaller, darkened the skin tone a bit, and made the chin a little more pointed.

Although there seem to be no major changes, when put together, a wonderful chemical reaction occurs, and his face now looks like a completely different person from before.

If someone who knows him well looks at him, they might think, "Have I seen this person somewhere before?" But upon closer inspection, they really don't recognize him. That's the feeling.

These small changes, though seemingly insignificant, took a lot of time. By the time he finished his makeup, it was already 4 o'clock.

Sun Zhiwei changed into a crisp new military uniform, then took out a small sandalwood box from his spatial storage, inside which were several of his treasured medals.

He solemnly took out his medals and hung them one by one on his left breast.

After seeing Sun Hongying off, Yang Guihua had already gone back to sleep. He didn't wake her up, but just greeted her outside the house before riding his bicycle directly to the Cultural Palace.

The square is now closed off, so he can only detour through Jingshanqian Street behind the Forbidden City, then along the moat outside the palace walls, and enter through the east gate of the Cultural Palace on Beichizi Street.

The Workers' Cultural Palace is the meeting point for several guests today. Sun Zhiwei lives nearby, so he arrived at the location ahead of time.

The place was already brightly lit, and there was a security checkpoint at the entrance. Sun Zhiwei parked his bicycle in the designated spot and then came over with his documents for inspection.

Security measures here are very strict. All bags must be opened and inspected, and guests must match the photos on their ID cards. If there is even the slightest problem, their team leader will be called in for a second check.

Sun Zhiwei carried a semi-transparent plastic bag containing a camera, a bottle of water, and some candy—not a large quantity, meant for emergency use.

After passing through security, he was guided to the front hall to rest. The front hall was the resting place for the guests on the city tower. There were several other halls behind it, which were the resting places for the guests on the left and right viewing platforms.

Some guests who were staying at nearby hotels arrived early because they were too excited to sleep. Those who knew each other formed a small circle and chatted.

When Sun Zhiwei walked in, everyone inside turned around to look at him, but seeing that they didn't recognize him, they looked away again.

It wasn't that there wasn't a single familiar face inside. Sun Zhiwei glanced around and spotted several acquaintances, including colleagues, superiors, and even Xu Yimin.

But his current appearance is completely different from his original one, and apart from Xu Yimin, no one else can recognize him at all.

He had just seen Xu Yimin in the crowd, and Xu Yimin had naturally seen him too, but the two only exchanged glances and did not greet each other.

Given the special circumstances today, with both domestic and international media present, he is very likely to be featured in someone's news photos, so it's best to avoid drawing attention.

Sun Zhiwei found an empty sofa and sat down alone, quietly waiting to enter.

At this moment, East Chang'an Avenue was already bustling with activity as the reviewing troops entered the field, the roar of tanks and cars filling the air. These more than 8 officers and soldiers had been gathering at training grounds around Beijing since the beginning of the year, and after more than eight months of training, they were about to be reviewed in a brand-new manner.

The sky was just beginning to lighten, and the crowds in the square had already assembled. Sun Hongying was surrounded by a group of girls who wanted her to take photos for them.

Seeing that she was surrounded by familiar faces and couldn't refuse anyone's request, she realized why her father had said last night that she would be extremely busy today.

Sun Zhiwei only gave her four rolls of film, each with 36 exposures, for a total of 144 negatives.

She began to estimate which stages these negatives could be allocated to, how many photos could be taken at each stage, and how many would be left for individual photos of her friends.

No matter how she calculated, it wasn't enough, making her sweat profusely with anxiety. The girls around her gathered around, chattering and helping her calculate where she could save a photo and where she absolutely had to take one.

Finally, a male colleague gave her an idea: keep one roll of film to take photos for her friend, and take pictures of the scene with the rest.

This kind of grand military parade is a once-in-a-lifetime event, so it's not to be missed. Friends, there's no need to be so nervous about taking photos.

Since individual film rolls are definitely not enough, we can take group photos, either in groups of three or five, which would solve the problem.

If Sun Zhiwei knew Sun Hongying's current predicament, he would definitely laugh out loud: "Serves you right for not listening to advice!"

At that moment, an order came in, and the guests began to enter.

They entered the small square behind the city gate through a small gate between the Cultural Palace and the Forbidden City. There was another security checkpoint in the middle, which was still very strict.

After finally passing the inspection, we followed the group of guests to the foot of the city gate.

Seeing the crowded people at the elevator entrance, Sun Zhiwei was too lazy to squeeze through and went directly to the stone stairs next to him, following the red carpet on the ground as he climbed the steps.

Once atop the city wall, the view immediately opened up, and looking ahead, the square was brightly lit, with hundreds of thousands of people already gathered there in a lively atmosphere.

As dawn breaks, one can see soldiers standing guard every 10 meters along each road, their figures stretching into the distance.

The city gate tower was already decorated, with lanterns and colorful decorations everywhere. He also saw a row of large red lanterns hanging overhead, taller than a person.

The thick red beam in the middle is a meter in diameter. I heard that when it was being restored, they planned to transport logs from the primeval forest in the southwest.

The only problem was transportation: trains took too long, and helicopters couldn't lift it.

Finally, much of the timber was imported from Gabon and North Borneo. This type of timber, used for beams and pillars, resembles mahogany, is red or yellow in color, and does not ignite when exposed to fire, only emitting smoke.

The doors to the central hall were closed. I heard there were 17 exceptionally beautiful glass palace lanterns inside. Sun Zhiwei couldn't help but open the space to take a look. They were indeed beautiful, and then he looked away.

However, the small hall next door was open, with seats inside, which was reserved for guests to rest when they were tired.

You can't just wander around here. After Sun Zhiwei came up, he found his place and made way for the others behind him.

(End of this chapter)