Back in 1978, I was admitted to Northwestern Polytechnical University.

Chapter 380 The long-lost uncle returns to his hometown
February 14th, the second day of the Lunar New Year, is Valentine's Day.

The capital city, Princess Tomb, Airplane Building.

"Mr. Lin, it's the second day of the Lunar New Year! It's also the day for sons-in-law, and Valentine's Day in the West. Although you don't celebrate it, my wife is a Westerner and she celebrates Valentine's Day. Isn't it inappropriate for you to call me over today?"

Old Lin smiled and said, "Why is it inappropriate? You only brought your father and wife back on New Year's Eve. You spent New Year's Day in your hometown. Now that you've finally come to the capital on the second day of the New Year, what's wrong with me inviting you over for a visit? Don't forget, the Air Force has helped you a lot at the Shanghai Aero Engine Factory!"

"Your Air Force is also acting in your own self-interest."

"you!"

"Mr. Lin, I didn't bring any project materials with me this time, so there's no point in you asking me for information."

"No, it's not about that. We trust you with the strategic bomber project. We'll wait for your computers to complete the shape calculations before reporting back to us. The reason I called you here is... nothing much. Hey kid, aren't you going to wish me a Happy New Year?"

"Yes, Mr. Lin, Happy Chinese New Year, and may you prosper..."

"You little brat, you're not sincere at all. Do you even know what day it is next year?"

"National Day military parade?"

“That’s right.” Old Lin nodded. “You still have a conscience, kid. You haven’t forgotten the birthday of our motherland. Next year is a special year. The old leader wants to hold a military parade. Right now, we are in the process of selecting weapons and equipment. Do you have any ideas?”

They said they were just here to offer New Year's greetings? They're clearly here to talk business!

but……

This National Day military parade is truly a big event!

"Firstly, the first echelon should be led by an early warning aircraft, followed by escort fighters. Twin-engine Q-6 fighters would be a suitable choice."

Old Lin nodded.

In 1949, a grand military parade was held for the founding ceremony of the People's Republic of China. From then until 1959, a military parade was held every year. After that, due to various reasons, the military parade was suspended.

And so, we arrived at 83.

The country is facing a complex situation. At this time, a military parade should be used to showcase the military's prowess and also to mark the beginning of troop reductions...

The Air Force's helicopters, through their efforts, can be retained until 84. After the military parade, they will be transferred to the Army. Although the Air Force is unwilling, it doesn't have much of an opinion. After all, the Army is the main force being cut, and the Army is the one that suffers the most.

Now, let's discuss how to make the military parade stand out.

"As for the second group of aircraft, I think we should send the H-6 bomber. This bomber made great contributions in the last battle and has also become one of the main export products."

Old Lin nodded.

"For the third aircraft group, I recommend the J-9. It is said that this aircraft has completed all test flight courses and will be finalized and equipped by the troops. This is our first domestically developed advanced aircraft..."

Old Lin nodded again. Qin Liang's suggestion was basically the same as the Air Force's idea, which showed that great minds think alike!

Meanwhile, in the dam area, in a small mountain village.

"Old Qin, did your son and daughter-in-law go out today?"

"Yes, he went to the capital. He said he'd be back tonight, but I told them not to worry about me and that he could come back tomorrow," Qin Baomin said with a smile.

"Well, flying back and forth is convenient anyway. We were really amazed that you guys flew back this year..." Wang Jinshan said with a smile, "Liangzi is really capable. Will you fly back next time...?"

I originally wanted to say I'd take a rocket, but... if I went up in a rocket, I might not be able to get back down, so I didn't dare say anything more.

The house was spacious and bright, with the heating on full blast. The double-glazed windows were fogged up, making the view outside blurry and indistinct.

"Excuse me, is this... the Qin family home?" Just then, a voice rang out from outside.

Aunt Wang turned her head, but couldn't see anyone clearly through the glass, so she walked a few steps to the door, opened it, and looked towards the courtyard gate.

There stood a man wearing a wool coat over a shirt and a tie, clearly a man of status, like the Westerners in movies. He wasn't wearing a fur hat, his ears were red from the cold, and his hair was incredibly shiny, probably dyed, with a white layer at the roots.

Those eyebrows, those features... how come they look so much like Qin Baomin?

"who are you?"

"I'm……"

Before the visitor could finish speaking, he saw Qin Baomin's head peeking out from the doorway, and instantly, tears welled up in his eyes.

"The third one!"

"Big brother?"

Qin Baomin walked over in a few steps and looked at the person at the gate of the courtyard. There was a scar on his forehead, which he had gotten when he fell from a tree while picking fruit for his younger brothers when he was a child. There was also a mole below his mouth...

"Big brother, it really is you! You didn't..."

“I didn’t die. In 1948, I was conscripted and later followed the army to Taiwan. I got married and had children there. Oh, right… Daming, come here! Greet your third uncle!”

At this moment, everyone realized that there was another person outside! This person looked 80% like Qin Liang.

"Third Uncle, hello. My dad has always said that the roots of our Qin family are in Bashang, but we've never been able to come back. This year, we finally have the right to return to the country to visit relatives as Taiwanese businessmen..." Qin Ming was very talkative and not at all unfamiliar with the place.

"Okay, okay, let's go inside, let's go inside!"

On this day, Qin Baomin was very excited. He was happy to be home for the New Year and to see the changes in the village. Unexpectedly, he even met his long-lost elder brother!

The room became even more lively. Qin Baoguo and Qin Ming sat on one side of the kang (a heated brick bed), while Qin Baomin sat on the other side. Seeing this, the village chief, Wang Jinshan, called out to everyone, "Everyone, disperse. The two Qin brothers must have a lot to talk about. Go home and cook your best dishes and bring them here!"

As everyone departed, Qin Baoguo sighed, "I've always missed our old mud-brick house. I brought Daming here to see it, but I never imagined... the village has changed so much! I only remember our old house being here; I can't even recognize the door anymore. I was hoping to help out in our village this time, but now it seems..."

"Yes, thanks to the reform and opening up, our country has undergone tremendous changes. We have to thank the country's good policies."

"By the way, where are the second and fourth brothers? We four brothers should get together properly."

Parents should be gone. We'll go burn incense and pay our respects later. What about the other two brothers?

"They...sigh, my second brother didn't make it through the years, and my fourth brother died even earlier, starving to death in 60..."

Qin Baoguo's tears flowed down his face again: "It's my fault as the eldest brother for not taking good care of you! I... I'm guilty!"

“Brother, this has nothing to do with you. You were arrested too. The dead can’t be brought back to life, but we who are alive still have to live well! Especially you, don’t feel guilty. People always have to look forward.”

Qin Baoguo was taken aback. He looked up at Qin Baomin with a complicated expression. For some reason, he felt that his younger brother was different from what he had imagined. Although his brother was still a minor when he left, he had always been timid and didn't understand any profound principles. Now, his brother seemed to have seen a lot of the world.

"By the way, was this Da Ming your child born over there?"

"Yes, after that, for the first few years, I thought I could come back. After all, the slogans were always about counterattacking the main road. But then I gave up. In 1956, I left the army and started working for others. Later... I started working on my own. While working, I met a woman who struggled with me. Now, we have two sons and a daughter. Daming is the eldest son. What about you, third brother?"

“I… have only one son, named Qin Liang.”

Qin Ming and Qin Liang, these two brothers' names... are really a perfect match!

Qin Baoguo nodded: "Where is Liangzi?"

Why aren't you home during the Chinese New Year?
"Today is the second day of the Lunar New Year. I went to the capital city to visit my mother-in-law," Qin Baomin said. "I don't know if I'll be back tonight, but I'll definitely be back tomorrow. Since you're here, stay for a few more days. Our house is spacious enough for you."

"The mother-in-law of the capital? Looks like Liangzi's doing a good job." Qin Baomin said proudly, "Of course, Liangzi spent four years at Northwestern Polytechnical University and is now a graduate student..."

Before they knew it, it was getting dark outside. The villagers brought over their own food, and the house of the Qin family was filled with a delicious aroma.

"Third Uncle, it's getting dark. Is Liangzi not coming back?" Qin Ming asked.

"This mountain road is difficult to travel. If the road is closed at night, we definitely won't be able to get back," Qin Baoguo chimed in. He knew the situation in his hometown well enough.

Just then, a series of booming sounds rang out outside, and instantly the whole village became lively.

"Liangzi is back!"

"Let's go see the helicopter!"

what's the situation?
Qin Baoguo and Qin Ming were both stunned. They followed the villagers to the village entrance and saw a plane that looked similar to a Black Hawk slowly landing. The snow in the threshing ground at the village entrance had been cleared clean, probably from the snow blown away during the last landing.

Once the helicopter came to a stop, Qin Liang jumped out first, then helped his wife down.

The man is handsome, the woman is beautiful, these two... don't look like they're from the village at all!
The helicopter took off again. Qin Liang waved goodbye, then looked at the people who were there to greet him and immediately noticed that there were two more people.

An old man and a young man, both male, were present. The old man's eyes were filled with the vicissitudes of life, while the young man's eyes were full of youthful vigor. Moreover, their appearances...

"Come here, Liangzi, let me introduce you. This is your uncle, and this is your uncle's eldest son, Qin Ming. Brother, this is my son, Qin Liang, and this is my daughter-in-law, Duoduo."

Qin Liang was instantly stunned: "Uncle?"

"Liangzi, what's going on...?"

Qin Liang's appearance completely shocked the two of them.

"Oh, I said I could come back by myself, but they wouldn't let me; they insisted on sending me."

"Is it...the Air Force?"

In foreign countries, seeing helicopters is not unusual; many companies own them. However, in the East, only the Air Force has helicopters!

What does this mean? Is Qin Liang a member of the Air Force, or rather, does he have close ties to the Air Force?

"Oh, Northwestern Polytechnical University has many projects with the Air Force. Let's go home and talk about it; it's too cold here."

Winters in Bashang are very cold, but inside the new house it is still warm and cozy.

“Liangzi is already married. Daming just started dating a girlfriend last year. This time when he returned to the mainland, his girlfriend came with him, but she stayed in the capital…” Qin Baoguo said to Yang Duo’er with a sigh.

Clearly, he also hopes that his son can get married and have children as soon as possible.

"Really? Where is your future sister-in-law from?"

"Da Ming is from an island nation. He studied aerospace engineering at National Cheng Kung University and then went to Tokyo Institute of Technology in Japan to study. There he met Keiko Waseda. This year, we planned to go back to the mainland to visit relatives, and Keiko Waseda also planned to come to the mainland to see us, so we came together."

Qin Baoguo explained, "However, our hometown is just a small mountain village. This is our first time visiting relatives in China, so we didn't plan to bring her along to this poor and remote place. You know, our mountain village is quite well-developed, even better than the villages in the island country. So we brought her along."

"It's alright, we should be heading back to the capital tomorrow," Qin Liang said. "It'll be a good opportunity to meet my future sister-in-law. But... why did Brother Da Ming go to study at the Tokyo Institute of Technology? As far as I know, university students from your region could easily study in many Western countries! The US has many top-tier universities, and island nations..."

Qin Ming smiled wryly: "If it were any other major, of course you could go to the West, to the United States, but you can't choose any aerospace-related majors."

This is also an international practice. In mainland China, it is very difficult to study aerospace-related majors abroad, especially in Europe and America, where they simply do not accept international students from East Asia unless they are changing their major.

Students at Northwestern Polytechnical University all pursue their graduate studies at the university, and some even go on to get doctorates, all within China. This is true not only on the mainland but also on Taiwan! In later generations, with the internet becoming a major industry, many aerospace graduates switched to semiconductors. There's no way around it; that industry offers high salaries.

Qin Ming searched for many universities and finally found that Tokyo Institute of Technology still offered graduate programs in this major.

“Brother Daming, if you’re interested, I can contact my father. Going to MIT to pursue a PhD in aeronautics is no problem.” Yang Duo’er said. They were relatives, so she had to help with this small favor.

"Your father?"

"Yes, he is the dean of MIT."

Qin Baoguo and Qin Ming were shocked once again. They came here to find their relatives, originally intending only to help their poor relatives. Unexpectedly, they ended up being the ones who needed help.
Qin Liang wore a smile, but his eyes gleamed with a sharp light.

What goals did my cousin come with? Did he want to go to MIT or Northwestern Polytechnical University?

Although blood is thicker than water and family ties are very important,... a few decades is enough to change a lot of things about a person.

"Really? That's wonderful!" Qin Ming exclaimed with delight. "That's a mecca for engineering students. Several of my classmates from National Cheng Kung University are at MIT, though they're majoring in computer science... If I could go to MIT, that would be fantastic! Then my girlfriend could get in too..."

It seems I was overthinking things? Qin Liang finally breathed a sigh of relief.

On the third day of the Lunar New Year, the helicopter arrived again. This time, in addition to Qin Liang and his family of three, two people from his uncle's family also boarded the helicopter together and headed to the capital.

The villagers came out to see him off, and some even shed tears. It would probably be another two years before he could come back.

Sitting in the cabin, Qin Ming glanced ahead and his eyes widened.

"The entire instrument panel of this helicopter is a display screen?"

Fighter jets are starting to adopt a one-up-three-down glass cockpit layout, but it hasn't been extended to helicopters yet. These should be covered with a dense array of instruments!
Looking at the three displays on each side, Qin Ming was once again shocked. Not to mention Asia, this was probably the first of its kind in the world.

"Well, with our advanced electronic technology, there's no need to continue using outdated instruments. However, it'll probably be in a few years before this kind of cockpit display becomes widespread in the West as well."

Qin Ming exclaimed, "I never imagined that the most advanced aviation technology would be found in the East!"

The capital city, Quanjude.

"Sigh, work is so busy. We brothers meet, and in the blink of an eye, we have to part again." Qin Baomin sighed with emotion: "Brother, if you have the chance in the future, come visit me at Northwestern Polytechnical University in Chang'an!"

"Okay!" Qin Baoguo nodded: "Brother, I originally came back this time only to help the villagers, but I didn't expect to see such a big change in our hometown. It's completely different from what we've been told! When I get back, I'll convene a board meeting to discuss investing in the mainland!"

"Ah."

The two brothers looked forward to their next meeting. Qin Liang and Qin Ming drank and chatted about interesting things that happened in college, while Yang Duo'er was already getting along very well with Waseda Keiko, whom she had just met.

“I’ve been to Tokyo several times. It’s a modern metropolis, especially with many century-old shops. My favorite is the beef ball shop in Ise-shige. I’ve often dined on the second floor, enjoying the view below while I eat…”

"I also like eating at that restaurant. Next time you go to Tokyo, I'll treat you to it... By the way, I've heard that Chang'an also has a lot of delicious food, and the mutton stew is especially amazing..."

"Of course, if you go to Chang'an, I'll treat you to delicious food and sightseeing..."

In the evening, Qin Liang and his family boarded a plane to Chang'an, while Qin Baoguo, with his son and future daughter-in-law, also boarded a plane to Hong Kong. The two sides parted ways at the airport, and Qin Baomin was still somewhat saddened on the plane.

I just saw my elder brother, and now we have to part again!
"Brother Liang, there's something wrong with Keiko Waseda!" Yang Duo'er whispered in Qin Liang's ear.

Qin Liang's eyes widened: "How did you know?"

"The way she looked at Brother Qin Ming was fake; there was no real love in her eyes. Besides, the beef ball shop I mentioned operates on the basement and ground floor; there's no dining area on the second floor at all!"

If the other party hasn't been there, they can simply say they don't know. But they insist on catering to your preferences. There must be something wrong here!

Qin Liang grasped his wife's hand: "Yes, she definitely has a problem. If I'm not mistaken, she's probably a spy from over there, most likely for the aerospace development center project! She'll be in Chang'an within three months..."

The Aviation Industry Development Center (AVIC) is affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). The full name of the latter is the Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology. The project they are currently undertaking is likely... the Anxiang Project!
(End of this chapter)