Just after the New Year, Zhou Qichen received a call from his boss asking him to go to the company. It was a Saturday, and Lang Feng was in Beijing for the rare occasion, so he stayed with him until dawn. It was very cold outside, so with one more person in the quilt, there was one more body temperature, and it was warm, as if there was an eternal summer in the cold winter.
Lang Feng had actually woken up a long time ago. The two of them were talking incoherently in bed, and then they were interrupted by Zhou Qichen's work call.
"Going to the company?" he asked.
Zhou Qichen took a glass of mineral water and handed it to Lang Feng first, then he took two sips himself: "Well, I don't know what it is. I'll be back soon."
Without waiting for Lang Feng to answer, he said, "No flight, no substitute. If I had to substitute, I wouldn't agree. I guess it's just some emergency safety meeting."
Lang Feng didn't care, he just agreed and said as usual: "What do you want to eat for breakfast?"
Zhou Qichen lowered his head and kissed his cheek, then said, "It's up to you. I'm fine with it."
He thought this was an emergency safety meeting, so he was a little nervous. On the way there, he even asked a flight attendant he had a good relationship with if he had received any news. But when he arrived at the company, he found that the purpose of the meeting was far from what he thought.
HNA released him as a captain ahead of schedule. He calculated his hours and it was less than 2,700, but there was a slight discrepancy between his and the company's statistical standards, as he did not count the 250 hours of study time. In addition, the company released several pilots of 320 as captains during the same period, so the leader said, "Xiao Zhou has been very capable over the past three years, so let's release him as well."
The leader of the flight department in Beijing was Xu Shouqiang, an old pilot who had transferred from the Air Force to the civilian sector. He was very fond of him. It was estimated that he also had a role in the decision to release the captain early.
Zhou Qichen was still in the corridor with the paper documents in his hand, still digesting the news. Xu Shouqiang smoked a cigarette and drank half a pot of tea inside, and when he came out to use the bathroom, he saw him still strolling around outside. He walked over and patted him on the shoulder: "What are you waiting for? It's the weekend, and you have a wife and children to sleep with. Hurry up and go to the logistics department to get new clothes, and wear them for the mission tomorrow."
Zhou Qichen: "Mr. Xu, what are you talking about? I don't have any children..."
Xu Shouqiang waved his hand: "Alright, that's what I mean. Hurry up, kid."
Zhou Qichen sighed, stood up and ran away. In just half an hour, he came in with three bars, walked around the company, and returned with four bars.
On the way home, he called Lang Feng. It seemed that the other side was cooking, and the sounds of pots and pans were heard one after another. He felt that he had not been so happy and cheerful for a long time. In the past ten years, he had been catching what fate threw at him, and had no time to adjust. This news was like a milestone, marking his temporary graduation from the advanced assessment of civil aviation flight. It was not just work, he graduated from many places, and he didn't owe anyone anything. In the vast world, there was only himself.
After hearing the news, Lang Feng seemed to be happier than him, and immediately said that he wanted to celebrate his promotion to captain, so Zhou Qichen let him make his own arrangements. He saw Lang Feng wearing a shirt and trousers, and he also changed into more formal, well-tailored clothes, thinking that Lang Feng was going to take him to the most upscale restaurant for a date. He drove, and Zhou Qichen sat in the passenger seat, but the more he drove, the more familiar the road conditions became.