Chapter 3: What is Life

On the second day of officially becoming the head of the Heavy Glider Project, Logan's desk was piled high with documents—tender notices, bidding proposals, design modifications, and more. Particularly when he saw the military budget amount, he was astonished beyond measure.

40 million marks (with possible additions)!

To put it into perspective, after Logan was promoted to Air Force Major, his monthly salary was just over 600 marks, and with war allowances added, it amounted to over 4,000 years to earn that much—based on the average monthly income of 120-150 marks for ordinary German workers, it was equivalent to the annual salary of over 20,000 workers!

However, despite the substantial budget, it wasn't divided and pocketed as people might imagine. German precision was still evident here, with detailed records of how much money was spent, what expenses were expected in the next phase, and so on.

In this Heavy Glider Project, there were currently two companies involved in prototype manufacturing: the Cox Aircraft Engine Company and the Messerschmitt AG. The Cox Company conducted experiments for this project at their test base in Mezeburg, where prototype manufacturing progress reached eighty percent; while Messerschmitt utilized their test base in Lapham, with prototype manufacturing progress at sixty-five percent.

Coincidentally or as a matter of routine, both companies chose to manufacture three prototypes simultaneously and had already begun preparing scaled production lines for the next stage—according to the German Air Force's tender, the initial batch required one hundred such large gliders!

A hundred "prehistoric birds" seemed a bit much, but after careful consideration, Logan realized that considering the complexity of the battlefield, the majority of gliders would be difficult to reuse before the end of a battle, and a considerable portion would be damaged during combat. A hundred heavy gliders could only transport a hundred tanks or equivalent equipment across the strait. For the entire campaign's needs, this could only serve as an advance assault force and could not support the overall situation!

After reporting to his immediate superior, Albert Speer (strong in bed, hehehe, after the start of the Western Front campaign, he was assigned to oversee the construction of Air Force logistics facilities, although not a military position, he was the direct boss of the department where Logan worked, the famous Ernst Dettl was the Director of Air Force Weapons Production), Logan decided to visit the two factories to see the situation on the ground.

Thinking of going back early to pack a few clothes, Logan unusually left work on time, so much so that when he walked through the corridor, Sara's expression was like seeing sunshine on a rainy day.

"Hey? Is our beautiful lady waiting for the prince's invitation? Although I don't have a white horse, I have a bucket car, you know!" Logan couldn't help but tease, whether his usual performance was too dull, or this pretty female secretary already had some thoughts, her originally snow-white face turned red, the kind of shy expression was truly adorable.

Just like decades later, Logan threw out a mischievous smile, and went into the elevator as if nothing had happened.

The Imperial Air Force headquarters was located on William Street, the busiest street in Berlin. When Logan worked as a staff officer for the 7th Paratrooper Division in Berlin, he rented an apartment in the section of Bendlerstraße near the Havel River Canal. Although small in size, it had a bedroom, living room, kitchen, and bathroom. The monthly rent was 65 marks, relatively cheap compared to Logan's salary—of course, all of this was learned from old colleagues after Logan returned to Berlin. Because he hadn't lived there for a month, he had to hire someone to clean it before moving in.

It only took ten minutes to drive from William Street to Bendlerstraße. In the evening, the daytime heat had dissipated somewhat, and with Berlin's traffic still smooth even during rush hour, Logan was able to drive back to his residence in his open-top... VW82 bucket car with a pleasant mood.

As soon as he entered the apartment building, the first thing Logan had to do was to stop, put down his briefcase, and take several photos of himself from Mrs. Hansen, the caretaker who was waiting there. He signed each one with a pen, while she chattered about how they were requested by nephews, nieces, brothers, sisters, and even third and fourth-generation members of his family.

In short, their whole family were die-hard fans of the German hero Hans Logan!

After completing this almost daily compulsory task, Logan said to the always neatly dressed apartment manager, "Mrs. Hansen, I'm going out for a few days. You don't have to wait for me here every day!"

Although Mrs. Hansen was already in her sixties, her ears were still sharp. "How long will you be gone?"

Logan picked up his briefcase. "Hard to say, maybe two or three days! Maybe a week!"

"Oh! Have a safe journey! By the way, here are a few letters for you!" Somewhat slowly, Mrs. Hansen took out two white-bordered envelopes and several postcards from the table inside the porter's window, saying happily, "Are these love letters from the ladies?"

"How could that be? They don't even know my address!" Logan laughed, "It's better that they don't know! Mrs. Hansen, you'll keep it a secret for me, right?"

"Of course!" the old lady said proudly.

Back in his empty apartment, Logan took off his shirt and pants. In this scorching weather, it was much more comfortable to wear just a vest and shorts. He turned on the electric fan, lay back on the couch, and casually picked up the mail he had just received. Reflecting on the days of old, where most of the envelopes stuffed in the mailbox contained bills or advertisements, he realized how rare it had become for people to write letters with the prevalence of smartphones and emails.

Certainly, these letters weren't utility bills since Mr. and Mrs. Hansen took care of that.

The first letter bore a postmark from Bad Bärte, a town in northern Germany where the German Air Force's seaside convalescent home was located. Being able to recover there was considered an additional reward for Tobias and Grot, war heroes of the Air Force.

"Our injuries have almost healed, and we aim to visit you in Berlin next week!" Logan read the last sentence with a smile, pouring out a 4-inch photo from the envelope. The young men stood on the beach, their faces radiant with smiles.

"How wonderful!" Logan flipped through several postcards, all showcasing scenes of Paris, from the towering Eiffel Tower to the historic Louvre Museum and the majestic Arc de Triomphe. Signed by Rente Stefenberg, Gerhardt Scherme, and Lunsen Fritz, these distinguished war heroes who excelled in the "Operation Dagger" were granted the opportunity to travel to Paris at the government's expense. If Logan were still in the exemplary airborne division, he could have had the chance to visit the romantic city too!

The last letter was from Königsberg, "Hans Logan's" hometown. Judging from the handwriting on the envelope, Logan knew it was from a girl named Lucy Falt Susman. In this apartment, there were photos of her placed on the dining table, bedside table, and even in the bathroom, and a stack of letters from her in the drawer. From the content of the letters, it was evident that they had a very close relationship. Since there were no signs of marriage certificates or engagement rings, Logan speculated that she and "Hans Logan" were probably still in the boyfriend-girlfriend stage, perhaps childhood sweethearts!

"Dear Hans," the new letter began, as usual, in a delicate handwriting that matched the lovely face in the photos.

"Our Nasa has become a mother again, this time to a beautiful chestnut horse. It runs like a flame, you will love it for sure!"

Reading this sentence, Logan smiled gently, thinking that perhaps this was how his ancestors fell in love! From the previous letters, he had learned that this girl's family owned a horse ranch—East Prussia was fertile land, the empire's granary and source of horses. Unfortunately, after losing World War II, Germany suffered partition, and the Germans on this traditional land were expelled by Russia and Poland.

"A few days ago, officers came to buy horses and brought news about you. You must be happy to be back in Berlin again! Although it's a bit selfish, I hope you stay in Berlin so you don't have to take risks on the front lines! When the horse farm is less busy in winter, I'll definitely come to see you!"

After reading the letter, Logan felt a warm sense of affection. If he hadn't impulsively barged into "Hans Logan's" life, perhaps the guy would have led a calm and happy life!