Chapter 34

Xiao Ming said in a calm tone, "You can take on a part-time job!"

"Part-time, part-time job?"

Chen Fei was taken aback, then looked at the maintenance chief with wide eyes.

It was quite generous of Chief Xiao to suggest this, especially since Chekhov, the big bear, was clearly trying to poach from the maintenance team.

"The flight missions and maintenance work do not conflict with each other."

Maintenance Chief Xiao shrugged his shoulders.

This made sense; once the pilots took off, the maintenance workers had nothing to do until the aircraft returned to the ground, at which point they would take over. The two roles were simply different stages of the process, one responsible for using the aircraft and the other for repairing it, with no overlap.

Therefore, it was theoretically feasible to work both as a maintenance worker and a pilot simultaneously.

"Great, that's really great, thank you, Maintenance Chief Xiao."

Chen Fei was indeed overjoyed. This suggestion would alleviate his debt crisis to some extent, and was even more valuable than a direct loan.

If the maintenance team leader had not agreed, he would have known about the possibility but could only have thought about it in his mind.

Just then, Xiao Qiu bent down and took a sip of coffee, immediately emitting a series of strange chirps.

Chen Fei thought the little thing had been scalded by the coffee and quickly covered the cup to prevent it from falling in and getting a hot coffee bath.

"Chirp chirp chirp!"

Xiao Qiu pecked at Chen Fei's fingers in dissatisfaction, showing no signs of being scalded. Instead, it seemed eager to take another sip.

Surprises are always short-lived.

Maintenance Chief Xiao poured cold water on Chen Fei's excitement.

"Don't get too excited yet. To receive part-time pay, you need the approval of Manager Maurice Morgan. I'll go see him at noon. Also, are you interested in being an apprentice to Old Barut? The main job is to keep watch over the energy tower at night. It's not dangerous, but someone needs to be there. If there are any operational abnormalities or fault warnings, you need to report them promptly. This might conflict with your night flights as a pilot, but for the time being, you won't have any night flights."

Seeing how poor Chen Fei was and how his debt was growing, the maintenance team leader took the initiative to help him.

It's better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish. Giving Chen Fei a job to earn money was far more effective than giving him money directly.

A young man who had just graduated from university was in his prime. Working overtime, staying up late, and taking on multiple part-time jobs were all within his capabilities.

It was better to work hard now than to struggle when he was older and unable to work.

Chen Fei said gratefully, "Thank you, Maintenance Chief, thank you."

"Go study! You'll be getting your hands dirty soon."

Xiao Ming's gaze fell on the technical manual E that Chen Fei had placed on the table.

The technical manual for the A-39B "Big Mouth" light turboprop attack aircraft consisted of seven volumes, A through G. After finishing the two thick and heavy "bricks," Chen Fei should have a basic understanding of the aircraft.

However, this was just the beginning. The 911 Air Base had more than just the A-39B "Big Mouth," including the Z-9 attack helicopter and the MiG-28 jet fighter. There were still many technical manuals to read.

Chen Fei's crash course in specialized subjects would inevitably have many systemic deficiencies and gaps. If he wanted to make a career out of this, he would need to continue his foundational studies.

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Leaving the maintenance team's container office, Chen Fei placed his coffee and bread on a nearby workbench and picked up the technical manual E to start reading.

Time flies when you're fully focused.

Lunchtime arrived, and someone called Chen Fei to go to the cafeteria, but he was still buried in the technical manual, only waving to indicate that the other person should go ahead.

Since he had bread to eat, there was no need to waste the meal allowance, which was a small amount of cash.

Holding the book in one hand and occasionally tearing off a piece of bread, he managed to get through the meal.

The bread made by Teacher Shen Fei was rich in ingredients, with local homemade butter, sugar, milk powder, and sunflower seeds. The dough was well-kneaded, fully fermented, and baked to perfection. It was soft and full of milk flavor, with no additives. A piece of this bread was enough for a meal.

Xiao Qiu, gradually showing its playful and curious nature, didn't fly far away but stayed around Chen Fei. It didn't eat its own feed or mealworms but always tried to peck a small piece of bread when Chen Fei was eating, then proudly perched on his shoulder and swallowed it.

Xiao Qiu was particularly interested in Chen Fei's coffee. After tasting it once, it seemed to develop a taste for it and kept trying to steal more. Chen Fei, not wanting to indulge it, finished the coffee in one go. However, Xiao Qiu didn't give up and kept pecking at the empty cup, trying to find a few drops of coffee. Eventually, it accidentally knocked the cup over, trapping itself inside and chirping frantically until Chen Fei rescued it. It then continued to hop around on the table, looking quite pleased with itself.

Crunch!

Chen Fei suddenly tasted a strong flavor of engine oil and looked at his hand in confusion.

What he held was not bread but a short metal cylinder with a bite mark on it.

What's going on?

Before he could think more, a maintenance worker who had been busy in the nearby work area came to Chen Fei's workbench, looking around and muttering, "Hmm? Where did it go? I clearly put it here."

The workbench had several tools and materials, none of which were what he was looking for.

Chen Fei looked at the metal piece in his hand, which had been bitten off, and quietly covered it with the book. He couldn't explain it.

After searching for a while, the maintenance worker finally looked at Chen Fei and asked, "Chen, have you seen an AKE 22 spline puller?"

Crunch crunch, Chen Fei involuntarily chewed a few times and swallowed the thing in his mouth before saying guiltily, "No, I haven't seen it."

It tasted like peanuts, just with a strong flavor of engine oil, but it wasn't bad.

"Ah, never mind. I'll get another one."

The maintenance worker didn't want to waste more time looking and scratched his head, returning to his work area to continue organizing and maintaining the tools.

A craftsman must first sharpen his tools. With no major workload before the new fighter arrived, the maintenance team focused on organizing and maintaining various inspection equipment and tools.

After the maintenance worker left, Chen Fei looked at the metal piece hidden under the technical manual E and quietly drew in a breath.

The metal piece was indeed the 22 spline puller, a specialized tool. It must have been placed on Chen Fei's workbench by the maintenance worker while organizing and somehow rolled next to the bread, which he picked up and bit into unconsciously.

It was probably Xiao Qiu's mischief that pushed it over.

The result was that his teeth were fine, but the spline puller had a piece bitten off.

The quality of this thing was questionable. Was it really a tool, or was it a snack?

Chen Fei didn't think his teeth were that strong, but his mind was in a daze.

He involuntarily brought the 22 spline puller to his mouth and took another bite. Crunch crunch, it tasted like peanut-flavored soda crackers, crisp and fragrant, with a strong flavor of engine oil.

By the time he came to his senses, the entire S2 alloy tool steel spline puller was gone. Chen Fei looked at his empty hand in shock.

Oh no, not only did he have "hallucinations," but he also had pica!

But since he could chew it, it shouldn't be a problem... right?

His gaze involuntarily fell on the tools and materials on the workbench...

"Chirp!~"

Xiao Qiu flew to Chen Fei's hand and chirped incessantly.

What are you chirping about?

Why don't you look at me more?

How do I look?

Chen Fei, however, had no time to play with the little mischief. He placed Xiao Qiu on his shoulder and hurriedly left the hangar.

He found an excuse to have the medical team do a CT scan for him.

Under the X-ray... even the bones of Xiao Qiu, who clung to Chen Fei's shoulder, were visible, but there was no sign of the 22 spline puller fragments, as if he had just eaten nothing but air, all a hallucination.

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