Chapter 26: Meeting the Parents-in-law

  By the end of 1972, Zhao Yazhi was already nineteen years old and had known Lin Feng for three years. They had been formally dating for two years, but Lin Feng had never officially visited her home. Although Zhao Yazhi didn't say anything out loud, she had already developed other ideas in her mind.

  He took advantage of the quiet work at the end of the year and specially called Zhao Yazhi to tell her that he wanted to visit his home. Zhao Yazhi was very happy when she heard this, and hurriedly ran to the kitchen to tell her mother: "Mom, I have a Taiwanese friend coming over today."

  Zhao's mother looked at her daughter with a puzzled expression and asked, "Taiwanese friend? Met on the plane? Ah Zhi, be careful when you're out. You look so pretty, beware of people with ulterior motives."

  Zhao Yazi saw Zhao Mu becoming more and more out of control, so she hastily interrupted: "Hey, it's not like that, Ah Feng is a good person, we've known each other for three years!" Just then, from outside came the voice of Zhao Fu: "Azi, quickly come open the door!"

  The mother and daughter temporarily interrupted their conversation, opened the door, and Father, Big Brother, Second Sister, Third Sister, and Fifth Little Sister walked into the room. Zhao Yazhi's father was usually very strict with his children, he sat down in a chair, took the tea handed over by Mother Zhao and asked: "What were you two saying in the house just now? We haven't arrived home yet, but we heard noise from inside?"

  Zhao's mother took a look at Zhao Yazi and said, "Nothing much, just that Azi said she had a friend from Taiwan coming to see her today, so I reminded her to be careful and beware of bad people outside."

  Zhao's father said, "Azhī, tell us about your friend's situation in detail, and we'll help you take care of it." Upon hearing this, Zhao Yazi's older brother, second sister, third sister, and fifth younger sister all found a place to sit down. Then, Zhao Yazi told them everything about her interactions with Lin Feng from start to finish.

  After listening to Zhao Yazi's account, Mr. Zhao frowned and said: "This Lin Feng is an official of the Taiwanese government and a military officer, how high is his position?"

  "I'm also unclear what kind of official he is, by the way do you guys remember the commander of the national army who rescued overseas Chinese during the Indonesian riots two years ago? That was Ah Feng, and soon after I heard that he had been promoted to general," Zhao Yazi said seriously.

  "Fourth sister, are you telling the truth? Is my brother-in-law really a general?" Little sister Zhao Ya Qian asked hastily, and everyone including Father Zhao and Mother Zhao showed puzzled expressions.

  Zhao Yazi comforted her excited little sister: "Yes, really, this was told to me by Ah Feng himself."

  "How old is he?" Zhao Yamin asked. In his impression, to become a general, one must be at least forty years old.

  Zhao Yazi thought for a moment and said, "Ah Feng is four years older than me, after the new year he should be twenty-three years old." When everyone in the family heard Zhao Yazi's words, they were all shocked. A general in his early twenties, this was also too crazy.

  Mr. Zhao continued to ask, "What about his family? His family background must be very prominent?" Zhao Yazi smiled lightly, feeling her parents' tension, and said, "He's an orphan, now in Taipei, he lives alone."

  "An orphan?" Instantly, this answer made other members of the Zhao family stunned.

  The Zhao family didn't come to any conclusion, but they all developed a strong interest in Lin Feng. Time slipped away as the Zhao family anxiously waited, and just as it was almost evening, a knock at the door echoed from outside.

  Zhao Yachi hurried out, and her older brother Zhao Yameng also followed. Lin Feng stood at the door of the Zhao family with some trepidation, as this was his first time visiting his girlfriend's family in both his past life and present life. He checked the gift again, took a deep breath, and then knocked on the big door of the Zhao family.

  Before long, the door opened and Zhao Yazi stood panting at the entrance, with a man who looked somewhat like her standing beside her. Without needing to be told, this was obviously her older brother. Before Lin Feng could speak, Zhao Yazi said: "Feng, this is my older brother; Brother, this is Lin Feng, my boyfriend."

  Lin Feng hastily said: "Big brother is well, I came to see uncle and aunt"

  Zhao Yamin hastily said: "Hello, hello." Because she knew that Lin Feng was a general, Zhao Yamin felt somewhat constrained.

  At this time, older sister Zhao Yarong came out after hearing the voice. After Zhao Yazi introduced them, Lin Feng hurriedly went forward to greet her: "Older sister, hello, I'm Ah Zhi's boyfriend Lin Feng."

  Zhao Yaruo took a look at Lin Feng and nodded secretly in her heart, thinking that although he wasn't extremely handsome, he looked mature and steady, someone who was worth relying on.

  The three siblings let Lin Feng enter the house. Lin Feng first paid respects to Zhao Yazhi's parents, and they had a good impression of him, thinking he was a polite young man. After everyone finished exchanging pleasantries, Lin Feng brought over the gifts and distributed them among everyone. These gifts were all bought by Lin Feng through Jiang's family, and they were all good things. The youngest sister Zhao Yaqian was the most delighted and also the most satisfied with this third brother-in-law.

  At this time, the second sister Zhao Yaqiu asked Lin Feng: "Ah Feng, I heard Ah Zhi say that you are a government official in Taiwan, and also a general?"

  Lin Feng looked at Zhao Yazhi gently and said, "Yes, the military rank I promoted last year. I am now the commander of Taiwan's special forces, holding the most elite troops in Taiwan. At the same time, I am also a legislator in the Legislative Yuan. But I think these identities should not become obstacles to my interactions with Yazhi. I want to assure you that I will cherish Yazhi for life and propose to her after she turns 20."

  After finishing, Lin Feng looked at Zhao's parents with a sincere expression. Zhao's father looked at Zhao Yaqi who had a happy face and said: "Ah Feng, I'll tell you something about Ah Qi. She is gentle outside but firm inside. If she decides to be with you, we can't stop her. My wife and I won't interfere with your relationship. From today on, your relationship is officially confirmed. Hope you take good care of Ah Qi in the future."

  Lin Feng was overjoyed and said, "Thank you, Uncle!" From then on, the whole family started to get busy. The more Zhao's mother looked at Lin Feng, the happier she became, and the more she had the demeanor of a mother-in-law looking at her son-in-law.

  In the following days, Lin Feng stayed at Zhao's home until after New Year's Day, when he returned to Taiwan by plane. In the past year, it was the third year of Taiwan's economic plan and also the most important year for Taiwan's infrastructure construction. In 1972, countless airports, highways, and railways were built and put into use in Taiwan.

  These transportation networks will greatly promote the development of Taiwan's economy and exchanges between regions, connecting the entire island closely together. 1972 was still a year of rapid economic growth in Taiwan, with per capita income breaking through the $600 mark for the first time. Although Taiwan still lags far behind Japan and the United States, with the rise of Taiwan's industry, especially the steel sector, from relying on imports before 1970 to now meeting domestic demand and exporting to other countries and regions.

  In 1972, Taiwan's steel production will reach 14 million tons, which is roughly the same as Britain's steel production. In the future, Taiwan's production will be slightly increased to a scale of 30 million tons and then remain unchanged. This basically meets the various needs of Taiwan itself and can also export several million tons. These exported steels are all special steels with special functions, which cannot be produced anywhere else in the world except Taiwan. As soon as they were listed this year, they were bought by the United States, Germany, France, and Japan at high prices.

  Secondly, with the help of mainland aviation talents, Taiwan has already possessed the ability to produce and launch satellites. In February 1973, Taiwan will launch its first communication satellite, and later it will cooperate with the central government of mainland China to establish a global satellite positioning system. This is one of the most important things in 1973, and then Taiwan's economic construction will enter a crucial year. From 1973 on, Taiwan will receive $200 million from Japan's compensation every year, which is a delightful thing for Taiwan.

  This was also agreed upon with Premier Zhou earlier, Japan will compensate China $1.2 billion every year from now on, and it will take 50 years to pay off without interest.

  In 1973, the focus was on building Taiwan's petrochemical industry. The equipment and technology for offshore oil extraction were already in place, and in '73, Taiwan would begin extracting oil and natural gas near Diaoyutai Island. The seabed near Diaoyutai Island holds rich petroleum resources, with estimated reserves reaching as high as 8 billion barrels, exceeding 100 million tons.

  Moreover, this place is suitable for establishing missile and submarine bases. Even if only a radar base is built here, it can be in a strategically advantageous position against Japan. 1972 will also be the year when Taiwan's military strength thoroughly explodes. After the institutional reform and the elimination of the inferior and selection of the superior troops in 1972, Taiwan's overall strength has been upgraded to a new level.

  Chinese defense company will provide Taiwan troops with land, sea and air three military weapons and equipment. 1973 is also the first year that Taiwan fully realized weapon autonomy. First, the army will be equipped with domestic-made Type 70 "Glutton" main battle tank. This tank will serve as the main equipment of the Chinese army for a period of time in the future. Its protective performance will far surpass any tank in this world. It can resist direct attacks from armor-piercing projectiles and even modular turret top protection can deal with top threats from cluster bombs. There are also unique protection measures against anti-tank mines and nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.

  All of this is due to the armor made from Taiwan's ultra-high-strength steel. Of course, its strongest point is that it is equipped with the latest thermal imaging system, independent thermal imaging instrument for vehicle commanders, true color flat display instrument, digital topographic map, heat control system and the latest digital command, control and communication equipment. The core part of this system is the brigade-level and below digital command system, the inter-vehicle information system can transmit the position and action data of friendly and enemy tanks in real-time within the entire armored force, on the display screen of the vehicle commander, you can see the configuration and actions of all parties.

  Acquisition of higher-level combat intelligence relies on the 21st-century brigade and below unit command systems. In addition to tanks, self-propelled artillery, helicopters, and various firearms will be equipped with first-line troops. As for the air force, it is necessary to update and replace the current generation of aircraft, and the US is currently updating its third-generation aircraft. The future US Air Force will mainly consist of third-generation aircraft.

  But China is still in the first generation of aircraft, with a big difference. Lin Feng's defense company directly took out the "Hai Dongqing" fighter jet for the air force, which has fourth-generation aircraft performance, including super maneuverability, supersonic cruise, beyond visual range air combat and stealth capabilities, and no radar in any country in the world today can detect it.

  It can be said that the Chinese Air Force will occupy a commanding height in the future, and there is also the "Jiu Feng" early warning aircraft improved from the "Kun Peng" transport aircraft. In addition to the already commissioned "Taipei No." air defense destroyer of the Navy, cruisers and submarines will be commissioned in the future, and Lin Feng plans to equip aircraft carriers in the 1980s.