The Life of a Son-in-Law in a Courtyard House

Yang Dalin also said seriously, "Uncles, who has ever told me that?"

We were just chatting casually yesterday.

Yumin said he wanted to be the best reconnaissance soldier in the entire army.

I asked if it was like the guerrilla units behind enemy lines before liberation.

He said yes, but then brought up the lack of equipment like helicopters.

I asked him if there was a type of airplane that could take off but wasn't that expensive, one that suited our national conditions. Even if its performance wasn't great, having one was better than not having one.

I was just setting the stage for Yumin.

Yumin then recalled that a few years ago, Uncle Zhao invited a guest to his home, and that guest had mentioned a small flying machine.

It looks somewhat like a helicopter, but it requires a runway, cannot hover in the air, and cannot take off and land vertically.

I said, "That's good too. Let him go home and mention it to Uncle Zhao, and see if it's suitable for our country."

That's the whole story, told by my two uncles.

Zhao's father and Liu's father exchanged a glance; Yang Dalin and the two boys had basically said the same thing.

Besides, when Zhao Yumin and Yang Dalin talked about this small aircraft, they said it was developed by foreigners decades ago, and their own country didn't have any equipment with it, so it couldn't be considered a leak of secrets at all.

On the contrary, the military should commend Yang Dalin for being the catalyst.

Because previously, no one in China had even thought about the purpose of this type of aircraft.

They also failed to discover the enormous potential of this small aircraft.

If the experts' research reveals significant value, Yang Dalin will have made a tremendous contribution, and Zhao Yumin's assessment of the crucial military intelligence will be entirely accurate.

Zhao's father, with a calm expression, asked Yang Dalin again, "Really, no one told you?"

Yang Dalin nodded affirmatively and said, "Really not, Uncle Zhao. Even the helicopter was something my master Tian Xueyi mentioned to me when he was talking about the War of Establishing the Nation. Otherwise, I wouldn't even know what a helicopter is."

Sometimes I have wild thoughts, like, since we used to have wooden airplanes, even if they weren't fast, could we build a cheap airplane that could take off quickly and specifically target enemy tanks?

After all, no matter how fast a tank is, it can't catch up with an airplane.

Also, its front armor is thick, we can't penetrate it, so could we consider attacking it from the air?

When Zhao's father heard about the aerial attacks on tanks, he was delighted, as this was precisely the role that their air force could play.

Liu's father tugged at Zhao's father, who was getting a little excited, and asked, "Dalinzi, if you say that our country can build this kind of plane, do you have any other good suggestions?"

For example, in naval applications or other areas?

Yang Dalin scratched his head again: "Uncle Liu, I'm just someone who likes to overthink things. I haven't even seen the actual product, so how could I possibly have so many suggestions?"

But I can think about it and just say it casually, so please don't laugh at me.

I wonder if this thing could be manufactured and practically applied in fire prevention, disaster relief, and material transportation.

Or could your navy research installing two pontoons underneath, so that it can take off and land on the sea surface?

On our remote island, we will build a runway to facilitate reconnaissance and patrol of the coastline.

This thing is more fuel-efficient and cheaper than the navy's large warships, right?

Alternatively, it can be equipped with rocket launchers or heavy machine guns to strike ground bunkers, tanks, and infantry. If low-altitude assaults are possible, it can evade detection by enemy radar, allowing it to strike enemy radar stations and airfields behind enemy lines, transport the wounded, and provide supplies for operations behind enemy lines.

That's all I can think of for now.

Zhao's father slapped his thigh: "Good, good, this is good."

I didn't expect young people to be so clever; their minds work so fast, and they can be so resourceful.

Mr. Liu's brows were still tightly furrowed, and he asked another very serious question.

"Old Zhao, don't be so happy yet. Think about it, if we can make it, why can't foreign countries with strong industrial capabilities make it?"

What if the other side also equips themselves with large-scale weaponry? We definitely can't compete with their industrial strength.

One sentence from him made Zhao's father lose his temper again.

Yang Dalin, however, said directly, "Uncle Liu, you've fallen into a misconception."

Is this thing inferior to a helicopter in terms of capability, range, weaponry, and protection?

Mr. Liu nodded: "Yes, the range is very short, much shorter than that of a helicopter."

Yang Dalin knew that even a short-range gyroplane could fly hundreds of kilometers.

Although it is far inferior to helicopters, fighter jets, and bombers.

But we don't actively invade others; using it for self-defense is enough.

Seeing the two men staring at him expectantly, Yang Dalin stopped beating around the bush and said directly, "Uncles, our country loves peace. We're not thinking about how to invade others; we're just protecting ourselves."

To give you an example, the north is much stronger than us. Even if they equip themselves with this thing on a large scale, they can't fly into our heartland. Not to mention we'd wipe them out halfway, even if they could keep flying, they wouldn't reach our capital. They'd run out of fuel halfway there.

He can even come to our country; he can refuel anywhere.

Once they land, they'll be left defenseless.

Upon hearing this, Liu's father's furrowed brows relaxed. "Yes, we're only trying to protect ourselves, not invading others. So what if the flight is short? As long as we can threaten the enemy's forward positions, artillery positions, air force bases, and logistics bases along the border, that's a victory."

If the other side really invades us, we can also launch a surprise attack on their supply lines.

Once they come to our country, we can fight them however we want.

Instead of fighting in a foreign location.

Even if this thing isn't suitable for the battlefield, it can still be used for fire prevention, disaster relief, and the like.

Experts say this thing is extremely cheap to manufacture, and if it were used on a large scale, it could potentially solve many problems.

Even without a large number of helicopters, they are still quite useful; it's better than nothing.

Father Zhao walked around the table and excitedly grasped Yang Dalin's hand: "Dalinzi, well done! You've done a great job. Tell me what reward you want. Why don't you join the army? When you come, Uncle Zhao will arrange it for you. Join our Air Force, and I'll make you a staff officer in the military headquarters."

Upon hearing this, Liu's father immediately pushed Zhao's father aside: "Why be an air force officer? Da Linzi, why don't you come to our navy? We'll make sure you can eat your fill of seafood."

And those huge crabs, those enormous shellfish—eat as many as you want!

Yang Dalin looked at the two people who had just doubted him but suddenly tried to win him over with a strange expression.

Yang Dalin could only extinguish their hopes: "Uncle Zhao, Uncle Liu, I was just providing an idea, I didn't do anything, so forget about the reward. As for joining the army, I don't have that idea for now."

Because I went there, my aunt's family had a hard time.

"I need to repay my debt of gratitude first. If there were a war now, I would definitely join the army without hesitation. But there's not much fighting now, so I should take care of my aunt first."

Yang Dalin didn't give a definitive answer. In fact, he was really thinking about going to the southwest to earn some military merit the year after next, which would be 62.

It's not just that having military merits will make you safer in the future.

What man with guts doesn't love playing with guns? Who doesn't want to make a name for themselves?

Besides, fighting the Indians isn't very dangerous, and it's easy to gain merit. The key point is that Yang Dalin really wants to go there and get some gold.