35: Chapter 35 My Cousin Arrives

The entire mix-up is now known by all the officials, big and small, in the City Name. You should know that City Name has more than one Museum. If we don't settle the donation matters quickly, someone else might snatch it away.

"Everyone, be careful! Don't bump it!" Everyone returned to the entrance of the Museum. At this moment, an old man was directing workers to tow the artillery piece into the Museum.

Yu Haitao stepped forward to greet them and turned to introduce the three of them: "This is Dr. Zhao, an expert on antiques at our Museum. These three are the donors."

"The cannon you found has quite a history," Dr. Zhao said to everyone with great interest.

Yu Hongtao coughed lightly: "Old Zhao, let's go inside and talk slowly."

This Old Zhao was good in every way except for his lack of social awareness. It was too dangerous to stand outside; who knows if another Museum would come to snatch the people away in a moment. He had to get them inside first.

Zhang Wei and the others had come to donate anyway, so they didn't mind Yu Hongtao's calculations. Everyone arrived at the Museum's meeting room. Dr. Zhao couldn't wait to start explaining to them:

"This is a Type 92 battalion gun. It was one of the few highlights among the weapons developed by the Japanese military during World War II. The story of this gun can be described as legendary.

"Before the Japanese war of aggression against China, they sent a large number of spies and secret agents under the guise of friendly exchanges and trade to secretly map our country's topography. Then, they designed this battalion gun based on that intelligence.

"It can be said that this gun was specifically designed by the little japanese for the invasion of our country. It is a product of the little Japanese military's conspiracy.

"Afterward, the full-scale War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression broke out, and this gun made quite a name for itself on the battlefield. Although the gun wasn't very powerful, it could fire horizontally to attack charging infantry or fire in a curved trajectory to hit defensive fortifications. At that time, our defensive units' bunkers were mainly sandbags and earth walls, and the power of this gun was just enough to destroy them.

"Secondly, the Type 92 gun is extremely portable, weighing only a bit over 200 kilograms; two soldiers can push it to move. Moreover, it can be quickly disassembled into seven parts, allowing soldiers to each carry a part for rapid marching.

"At that time, it was very difficult for our army to capture this kind of gun. The twisted little japanese regulated that if they were ambushed, the artillerymen had to blow up the Type 92 gun before being captured. If it was captured, the artillerymen would be beheaded even if they escaped back, and even their families would be implicated.

"Once, our army accidentally captured a Type 92 artillery piece during guerrilla warfare. After the Japanese army found out, they were even willing to exchange a thousand machine guns for it, which shows how precious it was."

Dr. Zhao took a sip of tea and continued: "However, after the little japanese surrendered, our army took over some of these guns. Then, during the Liberation War, they were used against the Baldy, and during the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, the same batch of guns was used to beat the Eagle Sauce and the Sticks. It can be considered as letting this gun atone for its sins."

Zhang Wei and the other two didn't expect such a convoluted story behind this artillery piece, and they listened with great interest.

"This gun is extremely well-preserved. The only pity is the lack of sighting instruments. But that's normal; at that time, precision instruments like scopes were carried by the artillerymen themselves for fear of damage, and were only taken out to be installed on the gun before a battle," Dr. Zhao said with a hint of regret.

"We've arranged for several experts to discuss it," Yu Hongtao interjected from the side. "This gun was likely dropped into the sea by accident while the little japanese were transporting it by ship before the Battle of Shanghai. They were in the middle of a tense landing, so the little japanese didn't bother to salvage it."

"Knowing the origin of this gun makes the trip worthwhile," Zhang Wei said with emotion.

At this time, a staff member brought the donation form. Zhang Wei signed his name without hesitation and then took a commemorative photo with Director Yu.

Yu Hongtao seeing that the matter was settled and the Museum had gained another cultural relic, was in a great mood. He patted Zhang Wei's shoulder and said, "Although the process was a bit convoluted, I still want to thank you for your enthusiastic donation. Let's exchange WeChat. If you encounter any difficulties, you can look for me; if I can help, I definitely will."

Zhang Wei expressed his thanks; this director was actually quite a nice person.

On the way driving home, Zhang Wei suddenly remembered that he hadn't had time to check today's intelligence system. He opened the light screen while waiting for a red light.

All three pieces of intelligence were shown as expired, and one of them actually involved a gold coin. Instantly, Zhang Wei's heart ached. So, he decided to have a good meal to comfort his poor heart.

"Is there anything you guys want to eat for lunch? We accomplished such a big thing today; we must have a good meal to celebrate."

An Xiaoxi said happily, "How about roast duck? It's a famous dish from Beijing. I've never had it before."

Zhang Wei waved his hand: "No problem! Today I'll order a whole one just for you, you can eat until you're satisfied!"

Just as the three of them were about to find a high-end roast duck restaurant for a big lunch, Zhang Wei's phone suddenly rang. He glanced at it; it was an unfamiliar number.

"Hello, who is this?"

A shy voice came from the other end: "It's Zhang Hong. Brother, is that you?"

It turned out to be his cousin's call. Zhang Wei smiled and said, "It's you. I heard you're willing to come to City Name to help me. So, when are you coming over?"

"Brother, I've already arrived in City Name. I just got off the train and didn't know where to find you, so I called. By the way, I also brought a comrade-in-arms along to help."

"I didn't expect you to be so efficient," Zhang Wei said in surprise. "In that case, wait at the square in front of the train station. I'll come to pick you up now."

Hanging up the phone, Zhang Wei shrugged. "I asked my cousin to come and help plant fruit. Now that he's arrived, I have to go pick him up. The celebration feast will have to be moved to tonight. I'll welcome my cousin then as well."

Liu Haorui and An Xiaoxi both nodded nonchalantly. The two of them discussed what takeout to order for lunch and started bickering in the back seat over who should pay.

Zhang Wei didn't bother with them. He drove to the entrance of the residential complex to drop them off, then turned the car around and drove toward the train station.

People were coming and going in front of the train station square. Zhang Wei looked around in the crowd and soon spotted the two cousins. Zhang Hong had been a soldier for three years; Zhang Wei noticed he was much darker than he remembered, and his body had become lean and powerful. Standing there, he was like a straight javelin, exuding the demeanor of a soldier in every way.

Zhang Wei stepped forward and hugged Zhang Hong tightly, laughing. "It's been a long time." He then looked at the person behind him and asked, "Aren't you going to introduce your comrade to me?"

Zhang Hong smiled shyly and then introduced him to Zhang Wei: "This is a comrade from my squad during my service. His name is Wang Sheng. This is My older brother, Zhang Wei."

Wang Sheng was also an honest and down-to-earth person; he nodded to Zhang Wei in greeting.

Seeing his cousin made Zhang Wei very happy. He asked, "Have you had lunch? Come eat with me, and then I'll go buy some daily necessities for you."

"No need, we already ate on the way here. We also brought our bedding. Brother, why don't you just take us to the place you've leased to settle in? We can start working today."

"We'll talk about work tomorrow. How about this, let's go buy some daily necessities first. You should have a spare set of bedding, right?" Zhang Wei was a bit caught between laughter and tears. If he had known, he would have just ordered takeout with An Xiaoxi and the others at home. Now, it turned out he was the only one with an empty stomach.