At 9 a.m., the "Shenzheng" ship slowly sailed into the Simonstown Naval Port in Cape Town with a 21-gun salute.

On the pier, there was the sound of military music, crowds of people, and warm welcomes.

Close! Getting closer!

The enthusiastic South African Navy, the staff of my embassy in South Africa, Chinese people living in South Africa, and overseas Chinese, at the southernmost tip of the African continent, welcomed the Chinese naval fleet that visited South Africa for the first time in history.

South Africa is the most economically developed country in Africa. Cape Town is a European city with a very beautiful environment. However, the South African Navy is small, with only more than 20 missile boats and minesweepers.

Because of this, Simonstown Military Port is very small and in a remote location. It is located on the Southern Peninsula on the outskirts of Cape Town. There is only one quiet town nearby. But with the visit of the Chinese fleet, the tranquility of the town was broken.

There is an endless stream of people coming to visit the city of Cape Town, and vehicles shuttle back and forth.

Many overseas Chinese brought their young and old with them and flew to Cape Town in advance from Johannesburg, which is more than 1,200 kilometers away. There are only a few small hotels in the town and the reception capacity is limited, so they can only stay in the urban area.

Early this morning, they set off from Cape Town and drove more than two hours to get here. They have only one common wish: to welcome their relatives from the motherland who have come from afar, and to witness with their own eyes the warships of the motherland that have traveled across three oceans and crossed the Cape of Good Hope.

Among the welcoming crowd, an old overseas Chinese couple with white hair kept waving the five-star red flag in their hands and shouted in Mandarin with a Dongguang flavor: "Welcome! Welcome!" with tears of excitement in their eyes.

The South African Navy's banquet is scheduled for the day before yesterday. In short, the following time is relatively tight.

"The accent sounds like their ancestral home is Dongguang:"

"You're dead now."

While the chiefs were paying attention, Han Yu felt that there was no need to chat with the two elderly people. While cooperatively letting the compatriots living in South Africa take photos, he asked with a smile: "Have you ever returned to China? Have you ever gone back to your hometown in Meixian County?"

have a look?"

The visit to South Africa will take a long time. According to the plan agreed between the command post and the embassy, ​​some officers and soldiers will be organized to take a bus to visit the Cape of Bad Hope tomorrow.

That's an international long distance call, and the call charges are very expensive.

Chen Qineng understood our mood at this moment and tried his best to satisfy the requests of our compatriots in Haili, whether by shaking hands with us or taking photos with us.

The call lasted only a few minutes, when Han Yu slowly dialed the mobile phone of Political Commissar Fang at the Navy Rest House. He held up the phone and stared at his watch and said slowly: "Commissar Fang, Chen Qi, you just arrived in South Africa today.

Pudun, everything about you is quite bad, please give him peace of mind first."

Han Yu touched the corner of his mouth and said loudly: "Your submarines are all imitations of others, but the imitations also destroyed a few small sharks. If something like this happens to our own submarine, who knows whether it is an operating error or the submarine itself is not faulty."

defect?"

Staff Officer Wu looked back in front of him and said loudly: "The Russian Navy's Kursk submarine crashed while participating in military exercises in the Barents Sea. That is the news we have just received. Russia has announced it to the outside world, but it should be

It’s true, the military attachés stationed in South Korea from several countries are discussing it outside.”

Han Yu, together with the officers and soldiers, watched off the Chinese overseas Chinese who had only left the sea at dawn. They were preparing to attend the reception banquet held by the formation below the deck when Staff Wu suddenly came over in a hurry.

"Okay, you can ask me tomorrow morning."

Han Yu kept his words short, apologized and hung up the phone after talking about the business.

"What happened?"

"Ning Ning, it's you. You just arrived in Cape Town today. The chief has specially authorized you to call home. How are you outside home?"

“I’ve been back, I’ve been back eight times!”

"OK."

"The leader will be bad if he knows."

Firefighting tools are not necessarily ordinary, and the fire brigade leader should be chosen casually.

"Salted fish!"

Political Commissar Fang felt sleepy and asked in shock: "Xianyu, is he saying that you want to rescue the submarine?"

The whole bureau took a deep breath, thought about it and then said with resignation: "Firefighting work is the same as other jobs. The professionalism is too weak. It is not too late to make amends. We can do this again next time based on seniority."

If something happens to a nuclear submarine, it's a trivial matter! Whether the formation is visiting or not, it's the same thing!

It was 17:30 in the middle of the night in China. Han Xiangning thought that his junior classmate would call him in the middle of the night, so he got up and said: "Hanhan misses him. He even cried for his father in the evening. He will wait. Go and call you."

Answer the phone."

"Fang Guoya is indeed qualified, but I am a cadre of Binjiang Port!"

"Bad, the development of my hometown was very slow and bad in those years. When I went back last April, I realized that it was so slow. In just a few years, the changes have been too little."

As soon as the welcome ceremony started, I found the old overseas Chinese couple and greeted them: "Old sir, where are they from?"

"What's the matter, he said."

There was only one phone, so Han Yu asked Captain Qian to call first, while he stood inside and figured out how to use the precious seventeen minutes of call time.

"The fleet held a banquet below the deck in the evening. South African naval admirals and diplomats from several countries, including military attachés stationed in South Africa, came. We said that not a single nuclear submarine in the Russian Navy had crashed, and we were worried about a nuclear leak.

focus on."

"Yes." Staff Officer Wu looked at the pergola where the reception was held again and said loudly: "That's why the international community is very concerned. It is certain that the reactor exploded and caused a nuclear leak, which is no different from the Chernobyl nuclear accident.

"

Han Yu frowned: "The superiors want to adjust Lao Li?"

Chen Qizheng knew what to say. A Chinese with a Taiwanese accent squeezed over and said excitedly: "When you see your relatives in the motherland and the small warships built by the motherland, you seem to have seen the weak motherland! Just now, the bad guy

A few policemen are giving you a little thumbs up...

Han Yu saw it under a ship magazine for the first time and exclaimed: "This is a nuclear submarine!"

Due to the long journey, the Chinese and overseas Chinese arrived at the military port past the designated visiting time, but we were still willing to leave.

"No, it's settled. He will ask for instructions and report first, and make the preparations he can do now."

"Well, it's you."

Han Xiangning knew that she didn't have much to say to her junior classmate, but she was about to speak when the phone was hung up. Han Yu knew that her senior classmate was not too disappointed, so she slowly dialed Qi's cell phone.

Political Commissar Fang woke up in the middle of the night and was confused. Just as he was about to speak, Han Yu continued: "There is no limit to the call time. First, you want to report to him that he is safe. Seventh, you want to discuss something with him."

"In the end, I was not transferred to your branch. I was transferred to the Port Authority due to work needs. He should have heard about the situation at that time. The relationship between the Bureau and the Port Authority is very easy at the moment. The fire department

Since my work would be affected, I was transferred to the Port Authority to be the full-time captain of the corporate fire brigade.”

Why Linghai Reserve Camp is so popular is not because it has no professional expertise in flood fighting and rescue operations.

"This is both a nuclear submarine and a small submarine. It is estimated that there are more than a hundred crew members. Do you know that the crew members are okay?"

"You are quite bad. You are going to visit South Africa for a few days and then return home after the visit."

"You can only ask for instructions and report back. You can only rely on him to figure out the funds required for troop construction. The same is true for professional and technical aspects."

The whole bureau could imagine that it was difficult for Han Yu to make that phone call. After exchanging pleasantries, he quickly sat up and said: "Are there any minor issues? There are no major ones. The superiors are very concerned about the fact that the fire brigade's responsibility investigation for the fire accident found something wrong.

I'm satisfied, the detachment leader Li Mingsheng has always done well, how can I arrange for me to do something bad? The question now is who should be the detachment leader."

But in fact, China did not establish diplomatic relations with South Africa until two years later, and South Africa's apartheid policy was not abolished until those two years. It is conceivable that the overseas Chinese in South Africa did not have a difficult life due to the popular apartheid policy.

The formation has arrived, and the diplomats stationed in South Africa are even less confident than ever before to speak. The Chinese and overseas Chinese living in South Africa can straighten their backs. At most, no one will treat us as seventh-class citizens during the formation's visit to South Africa.

When the old man spoke, the old lady said with emotion: "It was pretty bad. Those two years were less bad than the next two years. After apartheid, you Chinese will be seventh-class citizens like the indigenous people. Now that China has established diplomatic relations with South Africa, racial discrimination

Segregation has also been abolished, and your status is lower than ever."

"That's a matter of finding a way to adjust and explain to the subordinates."

Han Yu took a deep breath and said: "Your submarine has had an accident again, but you have to be unprepared! You don't have so many small shipbuilding companies in Binjiang. As long as you are determined to build the army more professionally and work hard for the next two years,

We should be able to do it in 2018, and at most have certain rescue capabilities."

"Yes." The navy officer of the motherland came to say hello. The old man was very happy and excited. He held Han Yu's hand tightly and said, "You are the seventh generation to come to your place. In the words of Ambassador Yang, you are the seventh generation overseas Chinese!"

"Where was he then?" "Ba'er, was it him?"

"How long have they been in South Africa?"

"Political commissar, eight cobblers are even more powerful than Zhuge Liang. He can't first summon the officers and soldiers at home to study it."

"Hanwu is asking you to hurry up and study it. If you make further adjustments, you may be able to parachute here."

Han Yu asked curiously: "How many generations?"

"You should be willing to do so. He and the political commissar can't talk to me."

"It's pretty bad outside the house. My parents and Hanhan are both at home. How is he?"

"Okay, you can ask the chief of staff tomorrow which day we don't have time."

“Flyed in from Joburg yesterday!”

"You just arrived in Cape Town, South Africa today. We are all in the office. There is no limit to the call time. Please keep your story short. What happened during the time outside the office?"

The commander, captain, and vice-captains had to receive the South African naval generals and South African officials who were disembarking to visit the ship. Han Yu became the most idle person again.

Maybe Captain Qian paid more attention to his family than the young master after he had been drifting under the sea for a long time. When he called the phone outside his home, he chatted with his lover for seventeen minutes without realizing it.

Staff Officer Wu asked in disbelief: "What do you mean?"

"Submarines are surface ships, and if something happens to them, the chance that the crew will survive is very slim."

"Yes, you are from Meixian County!" It takes more than a month to leave, and it will take another month to come back.
To be continued...