Chapter 241 – Driving a Tank
Feng Yu was very unhappy with today’s trip to the firing range. Especially when he shot the wrong target at the end. Kirilenko and Brother Ke had laughed at him.
When they were playing skeet shooting, Feng Yu had missed every single disc. Instructor Leo did not miss even one disc!
Kirilenko was much better at skeet shooting than Brother Ke, and this gave him a chance to boast about him hunting a bear in China.
Kirilenko proudly asked Brother Ke and Instructor Leo if they had hunted a bear before? The bear’s hide was still in his house!
Although the Soviet Union does not forbid hunting of bears, no one had ever killed a bear by himself.
Only Feng Yu and Kirilenko know the truth behind the hunting of the bear. It was that incident which leads to their friendship now.
Brother Ke was also suspicious of Kirilenko’s claims. How did Kirilenko get his hands on a hunting rifle in China? He was a foreigner and who would lend him a rifle?
Kirilenko said that he had borrowed the hunting rifle from Feng Yu, but Brother Ke does not believe him. He was sure that Feng Yu was not from a hunter’s family from his shooting skills and where did he get the hunting rifle? Furthermore, did the both of them knew each other then? And they were close enough to lend Kirilenko a hunting rifle?
Every time Brother Ke asked Kirilenko about this, Kirilenko would insist that he had hunted the bear alone. Also, his account of the hunt differs slightly every time. No one except for Feng Yu knew the truth!
Feng Yu wanted to play with other guns, but Instructor Leo does not allow him to. He said Feng Yu would injure himself if he shoots too many rounds on his first time.
During lunch, Feng Yu also noticed that his hands were shaking and luckily he was not using chopsticks.
In the end, Instructor Leo got some medicine for Feng Yu to soak his hands. The medicine would remove the smell of gunpowder and also heal his aching arms.
On the way back to the hotel, Kirilenko proudly asked Feng Yu: “Feng, do you still doubt my shooting skills?”
“Humph. You are a soldier, and this is my first time. It’s normal for me to miss the target.”
“You will be meeting Ukraine Bank’s manager the day after tomorrow. What do you want to do tomorrow? How about some sports? What sports do you normally play? Talking about sports, China cannot be compared to the Soviet Union. Look at soccer and basketball.” Kirilenko said.
Damn, basketball? The Soviet Union’s basketball team had a “glorious” history. During the 1972 Olympics, the Soviet Union was against the US. When the time was up, the Soviet side had lost. The Soviet coach went to talk to the referee, and the referee awarded the Soviet team free throw. The Soviet’s player missed the free throw, and the referee gave the Soviet team another re-throw.
The Soviet Union won the game.
The Americans protested against the referee’s decision but to no avail. The Soviet Union won the gold medal, and the US took the second place.
In the 1988 Olympics’ basketball semifinals, the Soviet Union met the US again. The Soviets scored after the final whistle, and it was still counted. That year, the Soviet team won the gold medal again.
From these events, the US basketball team were “no matched” for the Soviets.
Feng Yu looked at Kirilenko and smiled. Kirilenko’s proud, the conceited smile disappeared. Feng Yu had told him and his father about the Soviet Union disintegration. Last month, Yeltsin had announced that Russia would leave the Soviet Union and this was the fourth country that had left the Soviet Union this year. What the Soviet Union was disintegrated, then there will be the Russian basketball team left. Can this team win the US?
The Soviet Union’s glorious time will be over soon. Kirilenko lost his interest when he thought of what was going to happen.
Feng Yu suddenly said: “You think your sports are excellent? Why not we play Ping-Pong tomorrow? I will let you 5 points!”
Actually, Feng Yu was only so-so at Ping Pong, but Feng Yu knew that Kirilenko would not take up the challenge. It was because most of the people in the world thought that the Chinese were the world’s number one at Ping Pong, and every Chinese knew how to play Ping Pong. Just like every Chinese knew Kungfu.
Kirilenko immediately thought of how great the Chinese were at Ping Pong, and he does not know how to play Ping Pong at all.
“Then let’s forget about sports tomorrow. If you are interested, we can go and drive a tank for fun.”
Drive a tank? Feng Yu must admit that he was very interested in driving a tank.
He might be able to shoot some firearms in China, but he can never get the chance to drive a tank.
“Okay. Then tomorrow we shall go and drive some tanks. Can I fire also?”
Kirilenko almost jumped up: “Don’t even think of it. Even I can’t do that. The most I can do is to let you enter the tank and drive it around. You cannot do anything else!”
Fire from a tank? With your shooting skills, you will kill everyone there!
Feng Yu felt it was a pity that he could not fire from the tank but it was still interesting to operate a tank. He wants to take a picture too.
The next day, Feng Yu woke up early in the morning and knocked on Kirilenko’s door.
“Brother Ki, what time are we going to drive the tank?”
Kirilenko looked at Feng Yu helplessly. It’s only 7 am in the morning.
10 minutes later, Kirilenko contacted his driver. He regrets suggesting tanks to Feng Yu!
Feng Yu was disappointed when he saw the tanks. The tanks were not very advanced, and when he entered the tank, it was stuffy and cramped. It was not like what he had seen on TV.
The Soviet Union’s tanks were not advanced at all. But the Soviet Union had the most number of tanks. It was quantity over quality.
The German’s tanks were the most sophisticated and their technologies were the best in the world. But it was also this reason that their tanks stopped moving with the slightest damage.
On the other hand, the Soviet Union’s tanks were sturdy and could adapt to all kinds of harsh terrains. It seldom malfunctions but it still loses to the US on the protection of the soldiers in the tanks.
Feng Yu lost interest after driving the tank for a while. This tank was too old, and it felt like he was driving a tractor. There were only two levels to control the tanks. Where’s the steering wheel?
Feng Yu was also not allowed to take pictures inside the tank, but he was allowed to take pictures outside. This tank was used for training purposes, and most of the technologies were outdated.
Still, Kirilenko dared not to let a foreigner take pictures in the tank.
In the afternoon, they returned back to the hotel. Feng Yu requested to fly a plane or a helicopter but was rejected by Kirilenko!
Humph! I will buy my own plane and helicopter in future, and I will fly them myself!
After dinner, Kirilenko told Feng Yu that he and Brother Ke would bring Feng Yu to meet with the Soviet Bank’s Ukraine Branch Manager. He told Feng Yu to speak less and let him do the talking.