Great Power Long Sky

The next day, Li Lu went to Fang Zhenwei's office first.

"Report, Political Commissar, I'm here." Li Lu stood at attention and saluted solemnly at the door.

Fang Zhenwei looked up, smiled, and said, "You're here. Come in and sit down."

"yes!"

Li Lu went in and sat down in front of Fang Zhenwei.

Fang Zhenwei looked Li Lu up and down, nodded slightly, and said, "You look good. Have you handed over your work properly?"

"The handover is complete," Li Lu said. "Political Commissar, I've come to say goodbye and also to report on my thoughts."

Fang Zhenwei was satisfied. "Did you go to the regimental commander's side?"

Li Lu said, "Not yet."

"Okay." Fang Zhenwei said with emotion, "Three years have passed in the blink of an eye. Time is like a wild donkey; once it starts running, it never stops."

Li Lu smiled as he walked along the road.

Fang Zhenwei said, "The tactical test team and you have just changed locations to work. The 7th Air Regiment is still your unit. Now that you're in central Sichuan, you represent the 7th Air Regiment. Xiao Li, whether you're doing your job or anything else, think things through more. You can't just act recklessly like before."

"Political Commissar, I understand, and I will certainly keep your teachings in mind," Li Lu said.

Fang Zhenwei nodded repeatedly, "Alright, I won't keep you any longer. Go say goodbye to the regimental commander."

Li Lu said, "Political Commissar, there's something I need to report to you. The recent rumors about Comrade Gu Ya and me being in a relationship are pure nonsense. Comrade Gu Ya and I are purely comrades-in-arms. We've never met in private, and I have no personal feelings for her."

"Oh? This matter?" Fang Zhenwei was surprised. He had actually thought that Li Lu was dating Gu Ya and that the two of them were a good match.

Fang Zhenwei said, "Okay, I understand."

The political commissar knew that this matter would not have any further impact, so Li Lu was relieved.

He went to the regimental commander's office.

Xu Hailiang was the only person in the entire 7th Air Regiment who knew that Li Lu had been awarded the "Special Merit in Wartime," and he was even more aware of the mission Li Lu was shouldering.

Seeing Li Lu, Xu Hailiang had mixed feelings.

He said slowly, "Testing a new aircraft is an extremely dangerous job. You need to be fully prepared. The way you wrote the letter to Niu Jun was appropriate. Be realistic and don't ruin the girl's happiness."

Upon hearing this, Li Lu was stunned. He opened his mouth as if to ask, "Commander, how did you know the contents of my letter?" but what came out was, "It was a love confession letter!"

Xu Hailiang asked in surprise, "A love letter? It looks more like a breakup letter to me?"

Li Lu suddenly remembered that Xue Shuang and Chen Qi had raised the same question last night: Could it be that the letter he wrote was more like a breakup letter?

Xu Hailiang waved his hand and said, "Whatever the letter was, it's over. Even if it was a love confession, so what?"

"If you leave, you won't be back for three to five years. Who knows what will happen then? You can't expect the girl to wait for you for three to five years, can you? To put it another way, consider it a test of your relationship."

"In short, what's yours will stay, and what's not yours, you can't force."

Li Lu sighed and nodded, "Dedicating one's youth to the Party and the people is not just a slogan."

Xu Hailiang said, "Your Special Merit Award for Soldier cannot be announced for the time being. Once you reach the rank of Major and Battalion Commander, the regiment will give you the title of Director of the Tactical Research Office. This way, you can naturally receive the corresponding benefits."

Li Lu waved his hand, took off his camouflage cap, touched his buzz cut, and said, "These are minor matters. I'll donate all my salary to the regiment's student aid fund, and I'll keep the other subsidies for later use. Please take care of this for me."

"Also, the conversion of the Second Squadron into JH-7 fighter-bombers is not yet complete. Regiment Commander, I hope that after I leave, the regiment can arrange for them to continue their conversion training at the Naval Aviation."

Xu Hailiang said, "You don't need to worry about these things. The benefits of the JH-7 fighter-bomber are obvious, and the higher-ups have seen it and will make proper arrangements."

After talking with Xu Hailiang for half an hour, Li Lu went back to his office to take a painting with him, and then went to see Wu Jinzhong, the station chief of Donghai Station.

"Station Chief Wu, Senior Station Chief Wu, fellow villager Brother Wu, I've come to see you." As soon as he entered, Li Lu greeted him with a chuckle.

Wu Jinzhong was looking at reports when he heard this. He looked up and said irritably, "What are you doing here again? If you want to chat, no problem, but let's not talk about business."

"Hey, everyone else keeps business strictly confidential and doesn't discuss personal matters, how come it's the other way around here?" Li Lu walked over and placed the scroll in his hand in front of Wu Jinzhong.

"I asked someone to find a master painter in Beijing to paint this. Take a look and see if it suits your taste."

Wu Jinzhong was taken aback, then immediately stood up and solemnly unfolded the scroll. He loved ink painting, and this was the most precious thing to him.

As the scroll slowly unfurled, Wu Jinzhong gasped deeply, involuntarily leaning back.

He was so excited he was incoherent, "This, this, this... this painting was made especially for me? Master Xu painted it himself?"

Li Lu pointed to the seal and said, "Isn't it crystal clear? Master Xu never delegates his work to others; he guarantees that the paintings are done by his own hand."

Wu Jinzhong was so excited that his cheeks were trembling. He carefully admired the painting, afraid that his gaze might damage it.

This is a panoramic ink painting of the Donghai Airfield. The angle is from the top of the office building. In the far distance are the layered mountain peaks, and in the distance is the outer runway. Closer up are the J-6 and J-7 fighter jets neatly parked on the tarmac. The closest point is a close-up of the profile of a colonel.

Although the close-up of the person's profile was blurry, Wu Jinzhong recognized him at a glance!

Standing atop the building, gazing confidently at the field outside, with the setting sun faintly visible on the distant mountain peaks, wasn't that a true reflection of his impending demobilization?

Li Lu said with a smile, "My dear stationmaster, I'm being transferred. When you retire at the end of the year, you probably won't be able to attend the farewell party. Consider this painting a retirement gift for you."

With tears welling up in his eyes, Wu Jinzhong nodded repeatedly, "Good, good, good, good, good, Alu, you're so kind, so kind."

This painting is of paramount importance to Wu Jinzhong, and it is the best portrayal of his half-life of military service.

Looking at the painting, he said with emotion, "I joined the army at sixteen, became an officer at eighteen, spent two years in military academy, and then went to the East China Sea Air Base, where I've served for thirty-five years. I've spent most of my life here."

He suddenly laughed, looked at Li Lu and said, "You all say Wu Jinzhong is a miser, a cheapskate at the railway company. Lu, running the Donghai station is tough. But soon, none of that will matter to me. Sigh, I'm getting old."

Li Lu heard reluctance and loneliness in his words. Who can easily face leaving the army to which they have dedicated most of their life?

"Brother, you're only in your fifties, the prime of your life. How can you say you're old? The Party and the people still need you to return to your hometown and continue to contribute to national development. You should work for the revolutionary cause for at least another twenty years!" Li Lu said with a smile, trying to comfort him.

Wu Jinzhong smiled and said, "You good-for-nothing, you might as well become an instructor. You're better at talking than Fang Zhenwei."

"Oh right, you just said you were being transferred, what happened?"

He then remembered what Li Lu had just said.

Li Lu said, "It's a classified mission."

Nodding, Wu Jinzhong said, "I've contacted my receiving unit, the County Political and Legal Affairs Commission. Call me anytime if anything happens at home."

Li Lu asked in surprise, "Our county?"

"Yes, our county has put in a lot of effort," Wu Jinzhong said.

Li Lu said, "Great! That's wonderful. If I ever get discharged from the military, you'll have to help me contact a receiving unit."

Wu Jinzhong laughed and said, "Forget about it. The army will definitely let you serve until retirement. Don't even think about transferring to civilian work."

"When are you leaving?"

Li Lu said, "First thing tomorrow morning."

Wu Jinzhong walked over, opened the locker, took out two packs of Zhonghua cigarettes and two bottles of Moutai, put them in a canvas bag, and placed it in front of Li Lu.

"You're good at everything, except you're really bad at interpersonal relationships. When you get to your new unit, you need to communicate properly and get along well with your new leaders and colleagues. Don't act like you used to. You even dared to block the investigation team. I really don't know what to say to you... Here you go."

Li Lu looked embarrassed. "That was so long ago, do you still remember?"

Suddenly, he realized something and said, "Brother, you didn't take my side back then, did you?"

Wu Jinzhong countered with, "What do you think?"

Li Lu was deeply moved. He picked up his canvas bag, patted his chest, and said, "Brothers will stay in my heart. I'm leaving now."

"Get lost," Wu Jinzhong said with a laugh.

The last stop was Deputy Division Commander Feng Liang's office.

Upon seeing the canvas bag in Li Lu's hand, Deputy Division Commander Feng Liang revealed a slightly mocking smile.

Li Lu quickly explained, "Sir, this is a farewell gift from Station Chief Wu..."

"Oh, so you're going through each leader to get more gifts, huh?" Feng Liang joked.

He opened the drawer, took out two packs of Little Panda cigarettes, placed them on the table, and pushed them toward Li Lu. "I can't compare to Station Chief Wu's wealth and generosity. These two packs of cigarettes were given to me by the Air Force Commander when I went to Beijing for a meeting last time. I'm just passing on these gifts to you."

Li Lu quickly replied, "No, no, no, this is too precious."

Little Panda cigarettes are the kind of cigarettes smoked by leaders. They're far more expensive than Zhonghua cigarettes, and you can't buy them anywhere even if you have the money.

"Just take it." Without waiting for a reply, Feng Liang stood up, picked up a cigarette, and slapped it into Li Lu's hand. Finally, he said, "You've been transferred, but your official status is still with the 3rd Air Division. When you get to your new unit, whether you're doing your job or just doing other things, go over it in your mind a few more times."

It was almost identical to Fang Zhenwei's parting words.

Li Lu nodded repeatedly, "Commander, I understand, I will definitely get rid of all my bad habits."

Feng Liang looked at Li Lu for a while, then suddenly sighed and said, "If you change, you'll be the sixth one, Li Lu. Alright, I won't ramble on anymore. In short, work hard and strive to take on a major role as soon as possible."

Li Lu stood at attention and declared firmly, "Please rest assured, Commander, I will never forget my original aspiration and mission, and will devote myself wholeheartedly to the training, to defend the motherland's airspace and safeguard national sovereignty and integrity, to accelerate the building of a strong people's army, and to continue to contribute to the cause of national defense!"

Feng Liang nodded repeatedly, "Good, good, that's the spirit that revolutionary soldiers need!"

"Go and catch up with your comrades!"

"Yes, sir! Goodbye, commander!"