Pakistan was on good terms with them. Even though the old and new governments had just completed the handover, it didn’t affect the country’s warm welcome for the Chinese leaders.
Ye Jian knew that Pakistan and China were close allies even in the 20th century. Their diplomats even said that China and Pakistan were all-weather friends and the leaders were all treated well.
“Our countries have a ‘Friendship Highway’. Ye Jian, do you know which one it is?” The plane had been flying for two hours. After breakfast, the Head was like an easy-going senior and began to ask questions kindly. He even leaned forward to have a conversation with Ye Jian.
Ye Jian was afraid that the leader would suddenly talk to her. Hence, she shortened her meal time and was always on her best manners to reply at any time.
Sitting in the same row as her, Qin Xiu wiped his hands with a wet paper towel and glanced at Ye Jian. Things like this… Under normal circumstances, it would be difficult for a senior high school student to answer. After all, not everyone was well-versed in history.
He even took out his pen to try to remind Ye Jian of the answer.
However, all he heard was a girl with a confident smile. Under the warm cabin lights, her smile was delicate like flowers while her eyes were clear and bright. With a calm voice, she had a respect for history, “The Karakoram Highway is called the ‘China-Pakistan Friendship Highway’. It’s 1224 kilometers long and the only highway that links the countries.”
“Construction started in 1996, and 600 kilometers was constructed by us. More than fifteen thousand Chinese were involved in the construction, and more than a hundred unfortunately died. The bones of our people were buried under this Friendship Highway.”
This road was a symbol of the two countries’ good relations.
“History should not be forgotten, especially for the next generation. It is important to keep in mind that the friendly relations that we have with other countries did not happen overnight. Rome was not built in a day. Our martyrs paved the way for the Friendship Highway with their blood and bones. We need to remember that the word ‘friendship’ goes higher and deeper, like the mountains and the sea. It’s good that you know this, it shows that our young people are educated well.” After listening to her, the Head urged again, “I saw your aspirations, it’s very good. They say that a man will regret for his whole life if he did not join the army. It’s the same for a girl.”
“Training in the military unit and staying vigilant is the way to go.”
The accompanying admin officer, who was J5, started to take notes from the time when the Head started speaking. The pen moved quickly, recording the conversation between him and Ye Jian carefully.
The Head then turned to the major general. “I saw her training footage. It doesn’t look like she’s a senior high school student. She’s not inferior to our ordinary soldiers. After we get back, clean up the footage a little and release it to the military units. Let the male soldiers see it for themselves. Who said that women were inferior?”
It wasn’t a very harsh tone, but he was relaxed and humorous. Although the atmosphere of the entire front cabin was serious, it was definitely not suffocating.
Qin Xiu kept smiling as he looked at Ye Jian. Until their conversation was over, he wrote a sentence in his notebook. “You performed well, keep it up.”
Ye Jian had thought that there was something that she needed to improve on when she received the notebook. After all, the one next to her… was an interpreter who dared to make jokes with the leaders.