26

After both the guest and the host had taken their seats, Yang Zaihua and Zhou Di stood behind Yang Chen while two adjutants stood behind Feng Quan'an. Yang Chen noticed that Feng Quan'an occasionally glancing towards the gift box in Zhou Di's hands but refraining from commenting. Yang Chen casually remarked:

"Bro. Feng, it is truly lucky for me to meet you, at least we met on the battlefield."

Feng Quan'an was angered by Yang Chen calling him as "Bro. Feng", but he continued to glance at the box so asked:

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Yang Chen replied lazily:

"I'm here to extend an invitation to Marshal Feng. You see, I'm a bit shy and reserved, not used to meeting many people, especially esteemed individuals like Marshal Feng whom I've never had the honor of meeting. My father was originally supposed to come here himself, but I though it would be a good opportunity for me to pay my respects to Marshal Feng. So I volunteered to come and properly greet Marshal Feng."

"If like this, you should go to meet my father directly. Why come to me first?"

Yang Chen started:

"Bro. Feng, I..."

"Don't call me Bro. Feng. I don't think our relationship isn't familiar enough to be brotherhood friends."

Yang Chen said mischievously:

"Bro. Feng, strangers at the first meeting, but friends at the second. This is our second meeting and I want to visit you formally so I think we have been friends. And I am younger than you. Of course I just want to take the initiative to make us closer. This is one of the reasons that I visied you first. In addition, as I told you, I am an introverted person. Being a junior, I don't dare to kowtow to Uncle Feng directly so I came here for your help as a guide. For these reasons, I bring a small gift to you and hope you like it."

Yang Chen gestured to Zhou Di, who approached Feng Quan'an with the gift box. Feng Quan'an couldn't contain his curiosity and immediately opened it. Inside lay a pistol identical to the one Yang Chen carried. He quickly picked it up, examining it repeatedly and aiming it again and again. He couldn't help but comment impatiently:

"Whoa, impressive pistol! Who manufactured it?"

"My younger brother, Yang Jing, brought this back from Ferceland and we started attempting to replicate it ourselves. Fortunately after more than half a year of experimentation, we finally succeeded. The bullet is used a 0.45-inch Smith Wesson pistol cartridge, with a range of 50 meters and a magazine capacity of 12 rounds. I have used it conveniently and smoothly. You see how fast I draw the pistol."

"My younger brother, Yang Jing, brought this back from Ferceland and we started attempting to manufacture by ourselves. Fortunately after more than half a year of trial, we finally succeeded. The bullet is used a 0.45-inch Smith Wesson pistol cartridge, the range of 50 meters and a magazine capacity of 12 rounds. I have used it conveniently and smoothly. You see how fast I draw the pistol."

(This novel is in the fictional world. This pistol being discussed is based on the German P229 pistol, which is a renowned pistol globally. The narrative has adapted it into the P220 variant by the German company SIG in 1991.)

"How exquisite it is! But where can I buy the ammunition?"

"You can import it from Ferceland."

Feng Quan'an impatiently retorted:

"Nonsense! What should I import the bullet from Ferceland just for this pistol? If you were offering more, I might consider it. But just for one pistol, it would be too expensive to import the bullets. So where do you get your ammunition?"

"We have already produced them in large quantities ourselves because we also need the bullets in large quantities. If we import bullets from Ferceland, It would cost more money. You know we are so poor that we have no money to import such expensive bullets."

"What? Do you have a lot of this pistol in your military? How many do you have produced?"

"The officers above the rank of the generals have this type of pistol registered under their name. If lost, it is impossible for the general to acquire a replacement. It is only my adjutant and I who have two each but one of my adjutant's pistols was robbed because of me so I had to give him the special approval for another one." 

"Do you still produce it?"

"No, we have stopped production of the pistol. Now we're manufacturing rifles instead, also from Ferceland. We're striving to replace all the rifles in our military as soon as possible."

Feng Quan'an pleaded anxiously:

"What kind of rifles? Can you assist us in replacing the rifles in our military? We can offer you iron."

"So I've provided you with one and you can try your best to replicate it yourself."

Feng Quan'an said:

"Don't try to deceive me. I know that you won't provide us with the blueprint. Without blueprint, it will take a considerable amount of time to replicate the gun. And is the pistol the same as the rifle? You are also a commander in the army. Don't you know the difference? Rifles are the backbone of any army. Just as you mentioned, pistols are only issued to your generals while rifles will be distributed among all of the soldiers in the army."

"If I supply you with rifles and then you deploy your army to the east and attack us. Do you think I am stupid?"

"As long as you agree, I can guarantee not to send our troops to the east for at least ten years."

"Can you give me your word?"

"If I break my promise, my troops and I will be your subordinates and follow your commands for the next ten years."

"Do you dare to make this agreement public?"

"Yes, I do."

"Alright, we'll provide you with 10% of our annual production but this offer is only for this rifle."

"Wait a moment, please clarify to me what kind of the rifle it is. Also, based on what you've said, do you have other items?"

"Do you have heard of the HK G36 rifle?"

Feng Quan'an stood up immediately at this, saying:

"How did you manage to get hold of this rifle?"

"You may have heard about that Yang Jing, my younger brother, studied mechanical engineering in Ferceland. This is the story what we've shared with the public. But what he actually studied was military engineering, which made us recognize the gap in weapon technology between Ferceland and our country. To tell you the truth, the gap isn't substantial. Ferceland's technology is clearly more advanced than ours. I'm sure you are aware of how significant this gap is, even in comparison to the far more advanced military technology of Wasoku. So, after completing his studies, he brought back a batch of weapons, and even managed to bring back blueprints. Frankly speaking, at the time, I was really worried he'd be arrested by Ferceland for espionage. The pistol was the first one we began producing in a large quantities. Now it is the rifle. Of course, we are also exploring other weapons. Once successful, they will also be produced in large quantities. Therefore, I can only discuss this rifle with you, not others."

"How many soldiers do you have replaced?"

"Just a division."

Suddenly Feng Quan'an realized something and asked:

"Why are you revealing all this to me? I have heard that you are full of tricks and have never suffered any losses."

"I will tell you the reason after we sign the contract. But please rest assured that I will never cheat you in secret because I prefer to compete with you on the battlefield."

"I trust you this time but I'll need to discuss it with my father about it. Don't worry. There will be no special thing happened because I am here. And it is also a good thing for us, which will help us improve our military strength."

"Could you introduce me to Uncle Feng today? You know, being a junior, it is necessary for me to kowtow to your father. I really do want to pay my respects to him. In addition, I have come here with a mission, my father's letter and the invitation for my mother's birthday next month. I have to hand them to Uncle Feng."

"No problem, but not today. He is not at home until this evening. I will tell him and make an appointment for you."

"Thanks you, Bro. Feng."

Feng Quan'an instructed his adjutant:

"Yunliang, book a room at Defeng Restaurant. I will invite the Young Marshal for a drink." then turned to Yang Chen, "Let's go to the shooting range to test this pistol."

When Zhou Di heard what Feng Quan'an called his adjutant's name, he wasn't sure whether Feng Quan'an didn't pronounce it clearly or he didn't hear it clearly. For him it was very strange that a man could be named "Yunniang" which sounded like a girl's name.

When they arrived at the private room in Defeng Restaurant, there should be Feng Quan'an and Yang Chen at one table, and another table for Yang Zaihua, Zhou Di and General Feng's adjutant. However, Feng Quan'an insisted on pulling Yang Zaihua to their table, and Yang Chen, without saying anything, pulled Zhou Di to his side. There left only General Feng's adjutant, whose name was Guo Yunliang. Eventually, they all sat at one table, as Zhou Di, according to military rank, was supposed to sit at the end. However, Yang Chen insisted that Zhou Di had to sit beside him, leaving Guo Yunliang with no choice but to sit at the end. 

After exchanging pleasantries, Feng Quan'an and Yang Zaihua delved into a discussion about the gun, particularly the Walter pistol which Yang Zaihua had just got. Meanwhile, Zhou Di pondered over the name of this adjutant so he decided to ask Guo Yunliang directly:

"Excuse me, sir, is your name really Yunniang?"

Yang Chen had just taken a sip of tea. Upon hearing Zhou Di's question, he almost spat out the tea. Luckily, he managed to control himself and swallowed his tea abruptly so it made him cough fiercely. Zhou Di quickly stood up to help Yang Chen in alleviating his discomfort. Feng Quan'an inquired:

"What's going on? How could the Young Marshal choke on a sip of tea?"

This remark seemed to restore some of Yang Chen's dignity. After he finally recovered, he asked:

"Is your adjutant really named Yunniang?"

Feng Quan'an glanced disapprovingly at his adjutant, who sat there helplessly, and responded:

"Look at his name. Do you think it sounds like 'Yunniang'?"

Yang Chen asked Zhou Di:

"Which one?"

Zhou Di replied helplessly:

"Isn't it a cloud for Yun and the mother for Niang?"

Feng Quan'an burst into laugher and remarked:

"This sounds too girly. Some might think it as brewing, some think it as transporting grain and others think it as volume. Actually his name is Guo Yunliang. 'Yun' means permission and 'Liang' means good."

(Here is the game of Chinese words. "Yunniang" means brewing. "Yunliang" (different character but similar pronunciation) means transporting grain. "Rongliang" (also different character but similar pronunciation) means volume.)

Yang Chen chuckled and then changed the subject, saying:

"Bro. Feng, I'd like to inquire about where your auction house and stone market are located here."