If the war in Dongbei breaks out, he won't be joining.
-Do you want to be transferred? -No.
I want to fight. I want to fight alongside you, Captain.
If you want to leave,
you need to have the guts!
I have the guts,
but I can't leave the village.
BASED ON PAI HSIEN-YUNG'S WORK A GREAT LITERARY FIGURE OF TAIWAN
Are you afraid of me?
A little bit, Lady Zhou.
You already laid in the coffin once. Why are you afraid of me?
Stop the car!
SANYOU BUSINESS CLUB
Bastard.
He didn't even send me to the station but he's here.
You're the nurse who wrote to Zhi-jian, right?
What?
I'm his wife.
I'm just passing by Nanjing.
I came here to visit some friends.
I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable.
Let me make it clear.
Can you wait for ten years?
If you can wait, then wait.
Ten years later, my daughter will be a grown-up,
Then I'll set Zhi-jian free
so that he can go find you.
I got married last month.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry to have disturbed you.
These pilots...
Bastards!
Are you going to the station?
I'll take you there.
What's wrong? Are you hurt?
There was a riot on my wedding day.
I just slipped. It's nothing.
Don't tell me you joined the riot.
No.
Zhi-jian's former lover was looking for him. It's suspicious.
Let the Censorial Bureau look into it.
You helped Lady Qin send it?
It's over now.
It's going to be bad.
Lady Qin's relatives will come here and force her to go back.
The captain's going to destroy the village.
Lady Qin has been following the captain for eight years.
Do you want her to worry about him again?
If it were me, I'd leave too.
Our lives don't belong to us.
I had to write a will.
I already signed one when I joined the Air Force Academy.
We women aren't aware of those principles.
We only care about the matters under this roof.
You're back for a little while, then you're gone again.
You, pilots, become heroes.
What about us?
We're left with only a will for the rest of our lives.
Lady Qin's uncle will come to the train station on Thursday.
She can't go out. You have to go and fetch him.
Did you ask the guards at the entrance of the village?
Did you ask them?
Do you know why the guards feel anxious every day?
Because after the captain gets off work,
he just stands at the entrance of the village.
He stands there until dawn, and then goes home.
He's doing that to make sure Lady Qin doesn't leave.
Qing.
The captain and Lady Qin don't have any children.
They only have each other.
Just like you and me.
Now you want to separate them. I...
Stand by at the classroom. Bring along Sunology with you.
Officer on duty, Zhen Guo, will take the attendance.
The Communist Party doesn't have an air force.
Nothing is going to happen over there.
We're sending a wing to Dongbei to support the Army.
The army isn't doing well
so the higher-ups are very upset.
Okay.
It looks like
I can only use the other method.
The 9th Wing.
Prepare to receive the ammunition.
Plenty of them.
Captain!
Lady Qin is leaving.
Captain!
Are you kidding me?
Sir.
Qian-yi Qin!
Are you leaving me?
Qian-yi.
The headquarters drew lots just now.
The 9th Wing is going to Dongbei.
They won't send anyone else for one year,
Qian-yi.
I'll be discharged when the time comes.
I'll bring you back to your hometown, okay?
Hurry up!
You can't leave me. Even if your family is here.
It will get better.
You said that all the time.
It didn't get better.
The same thing kept repeating.
It's been ten years. I've had enough!
Let me go home.
Wei-cheng.
I want to bring Qian-yi home.
When you chased Qian-yi away from your village,
I didn't even have a chance to explain anything.
Qian-yi came to this village so she's mine. You can't leave!
All the wives in the village, listen up!
Whoever wants to leave the village,
I'll bring the wing and burn down the train station.
Outsiders will be arrested!
Yes.
-You... -What are you doing?
Captain.
If Lady Qin leaves,
do we really need to burn down the station?
Don't worry.
I won't ask you to do that.
I'll do it myself if I have to.
It's been ten years.
She was just a student.
A student who wanted to teach.
I care about her.
I feel that
she's drifting away from me.
Ever since we got married,
we started
to grow apart.
This is the 11th Wing.
Hello, sir.
Yes.
Captain, It's a phone call from the 9th Wing's captain.
Han.
Wei-cheng.
Today, I went to the headquarters to get the ammo.
I saw the log.
It's the next batch of supplies for your wing.
Isn't your wing the only one being sent there?
The plan has been changed again.
We're not the only one going, but we are going there first.
I've asked the officer. He said it's separated into two batches.
You'll be leaving once we take off.
It's not yet decided when you are going to leave.
The higher-ups are still having a meeting. It's still undecided.
It keeps delaying and changing.
It's like a losing military force. And someone still wants to fight?
It was too painful to live. But I couldn't die even if I wanted to.
Zhi-jian.
Let's settle this once and for all.
No one quit?
This indecisiveness is so upsetting.
Everyone in the 11th Wing will follow you to Dongbei.
You didn't pass the health checkup last time. Stay here.
The captain and I have approved it.
I just got married. But who says I have a problem with my health?
It's solely because you just got married. You still have a long way to go.
We'll go first.
If we don't come back a year later, you can come look for us.
You can take care of Lady Qin.
She doesn't need anyone to take care of her.
She's the one who's taking care of us.
-Zhen Guo. -Sir.
Let's fight together.
Without me in the 1st Squadron, who would lead and check the squadron?
Gang Wang? He's just a rookie.
If he got lost or went to the communists,
I think the Communist Party would have an air force then.
We want to follow you to Dongbei.
This is a new plane.
It looks dangerous.
It doesn't look safe.
Like the old 513.
Dangerous isn't all that bad.
It could still bring me to Dongbei.
And it'll let me finish the battle quickly and end it.
So, I can come back safely and be by your side.
It hasn't been long since you're with me.
But don't be afraid.
When I take off with you,
you'll know that I'm not a rookie.
I'll try to avoid the bullets.
But please,
you must bring me back here.
It's been a while since I last saw it.
Can I bring it home with me later?
Let's go find the captain.
Let's tell him that I'm not going.
Okay?
When the bird leaves,
it can find its way home.
Go with the captain.
You'll need to go with him sooner or later anyway.
The sooner you go,
the sooner you can come back home.
You need to work hard.
Don't listen to him.
Take more bullets for him.
You're new.
You could handle it, right?
The war
won't end just because of our ten-year marriage.
I've told the chief.
I'll go over there first with my team.
I'll fight hard.
I'll end it earlier and come back sooner.
I've asked the chief for a favor.
There's a vacancy at the elementary school.
You could teach the students.
If you don't want to stay,
here's the ticket.
Go home.
I'm letting you go.
Then you should...
Qian-yi.
Listen to me.
Qian-yi, listen to me.
It's about time.
No matter where you are,
even if I'm covered in blood,
I'll come back and find you.
Wei-cheng Jiang!
"Zhou's village, Beifeng county, Liaobei province."
If something happens to you,
my hometown in Dongbei will be gone too.
Even if you send money
to this backup address, it wouldn't reach me.
I withdrew all the money in the Military Post Office.
It's for you and Mo-ting.
School is going to start soon.
They're putting the finishing touches on Mo-ting's name tag.
It's going to be done soon.
"Mo-ting Shao."
I have a descendant now.
I have a daughter.
That day,
Aunt Qin took something good from Nanjing.
Aunt Qin has never left the village before.
I wonder, will she be lost?
Will she stop and ask for directions at some random place?
Maybe a long time ago,
she already asked for directions.
It's just that she met someone who didn't have an imagination.
Someone who only knew how to solve a problem.
This person didn't know how to predict an answer.
He didn't know the directions.
Captain.
Lady Qin has left the village.
It's been ten years.
It's enough.
She won't be coming back.
Neither can I go back.
Don't cry.
It's time, Qian-yi Qin.
Let's go.
Don't cry.
Fine. You're looking pretty.
If you stay this way, Zhen Guo wouldn't able to leave.
Believe me,
if you don't let them leave, you'll only feel upset.
I'll send you to the train station. You can visit your uncle.
Remember to come back.
Zhen hasn't written his will yet? Tell him to write it at the airport.
There's no need. He said he'll be back.
Right. There's no need to write.
It's a waste of energy.
Can I bring it to my opening ceremony?
No. That is for Uncle Guo.
That way, he won't feel lonely.
I thought we're not going there. We have to go to the airport, right?
Here, write your stepdad's name for me.
What? Zhi-jian? That is what we call him.
Zhi-jian Shao.
And yet you insist on going.
What are you going to do if you can't write your stepdad's name?
He's going to leave soon.
They won't leave.
Why would you say such a thing? Do you want a new dad again?
AIR FORCE GENERAL HEADQUARTERS
Are you doing your job as the vice-captain?
You can't even take care of your captain. He disappeared!
Who's going to take the lead in war? Do you think you can lead them?
Sir, our comrades who are heading to Dongbei
have to follow the captain, not me. I can't lead the team.
You...
I should be the combat officer.
I'm the one who holds the line and watches the captain's back.
What are you talking about? You bastard!
The wives didn't come, and the captain disappeared.
There must be something going on. I'll have to check on it.
-Find a way to stall for time. -Okay.
You've finally realized it, don't you?
You could go to prison.
You, come here.
You take the lead.
Sir.
I'm just a trainee officer on probation.
Is there a difference?
You won't live long anyway.
You'll get promoted to First Lieutenant after you die. Go!
Hey!
Now the 1st Squadron Captain has disappeared too.
Does the Communist Party have an air force now?
I'll shoot all of you!
Where is Lady Qin?
She's gone.
But she's not at the airport.
She's not going to the airport. She's going back to her hometown.
Since when?
Why didn't you say earlier?
Last night.
Then what about the captain?
-He's not at the airport too. -Then...
The unit is going to take off soon.
Then who's going to lead them to Dongbei?
What will happen to Zhi-jian?
Let's follow her.
Qian-yi!
-Captain! -Qian-yi!
Lady Qin!
"1231 and 0630 hours."
It's the time when we leave for the battle.
But why is it heading for Zhejiang?
The captain is going to Zhejiang to find Lady Qin.
Hurry!
Let's go.
I'm from the 11th Wing of the Air Force. Let me use the phone.
Did Qian-yi go back to her hometown?
She even brought along our wedding photo.
She didn't even leave a single photo here.
Wei-cheng.
What should your comrades do?
Zhi-jian is just a vice-captain.
He needs you to lead the team for the battle.
Sir.
Vice-Captain says that the 9th Wing already took off.
The Deputy Commander and the Military Police will come to our wing.
Everyone in the 11th Wing will be dismissed.
A man must bear the consequences of his own actions.
You wanted your comrades to follow you.
But now what?
Everyone is sacked.
Lady Qin didn't get on the train for sure.
She has never left you before.
The station staff told me
that there was a woman
who cried all night here.
They wanted to send her back.
They said she needed to calm herself down.
That must be Qian-yi.
Madam Zhou, I'll go look for Lady Qin.
You should bring the captain back to the airport.
-Where are you going? -Follow me.
Wei-cheng.
You owed Xu-hui your life.
It's time to return it.
If Xu-hui didn't take off to replace the injured Zhi-jian,
he would still be here.
You made Mo-ting change her surname.
You were the one who let Xu-hui go into the battle.
Zhi-jian is just a vice-captain.
Now he might have to replace you and go to Dongbei.
What are you going to do if something happens?
Does Mo-ting need to change her surname again?
She doesn't even know how to write Zhi-jian's name.
When the pension comes in,
it will have three words on it.
Zhi-jian Shao.
She'd be forced to learn it then.
I want to make it clear to you.
I won't remarry again.
I won't be like the other wives who go home brokenhearted.
I'll look for you all over China.
No matter where you are, I will find you.
I'll ask for the two lives that you have taken.
The lives of my two husbands.
Qing and I
will find Qian-yi
and bring her to the airport to send you off.
Then, are you going back to the airport?
Lady Qin.
You told me
that this is the most peaceful place that you've ever seen.
You like this place very much.
I like it too.
It's just that
I didn't get to come back here.
You're wearing the earrings.
They look nice on you.
They are taking off.
I'll stay here with you for a while.
Then I'll send you to the train station.
I'll watch you board the train.
Did you miss the train or did you just run away?
The entire wing is waiting for you at the airport.
Go back and tell them to leave.
You can't even leave. Where would they go?
The captain did the same thing. He ran away at the last minute.
He went to the train station to look for you.
He was the one who chased me away.
He was the one who gave me the ticket.
Then you should board the train
and run as far as you can.
Do you think I could leave like you did?
I couldn't leave.
I boarded the train
and punched the ticket.
Do you remember the words I said at the station?
It was before you got married.
There's still a long way to go.
Afterwards,
the train headed for another station.
And it stopped.
I got off the train.
The trains will only move forward.
There wasn't any train in the middle of the night.
So, I brought my luggage
and walked back to Nanjing.
I thought I was going to be lost.
But I still ended up back here.
I'm the same as their captain.
We want to do things that we couldn't do.
In the end,
we wasted our energy.
We go back to the beginning.
And do it all again.
It won't be repeated.
They are going to Dongbei to settle this once and for all.
Without you there,
they don't have confidence in themselves.
Since they don't know what will happen,
just let them go there earlier.
We'll wait patiently in the village.
Wait for them to come back.
I asked Zhi-jian to lead the team for his own good.
There was a woman who came here to look for Zhi-jian.
The Censorial Bureau had looked into her.
She got divorced.
-But she said she just got married. -She got married and divorced.
In just one month.
In that period of time, she even went to court.
Her parents sued her husband for physically abusing her.
No wonder she had bruises on her arm.
That man gave his statement to the court.
He said after they got married, she cheated on him with her ex-boyfriend.
She wrote a letter here when the Japanese left.
The entire wing knows.
She cheated on him?
That means Zhi-jian replied to her letter too.
Was that before we got married, or after?
Are you going to forgive him if this happened before your marriage?
Yes.
Fine.
Then I won't tell you the real answer, sister.
Never mind.
As long as he could take off and come back safely, it's fine.
It's late already.
Gong.
Ask the 9th Wing to take off now.
Three of you! Come here!
Come here!
The Deputy Commander and the Military Police will be here.
I'll fire a few shots and say that they're disobeying me.
If not, I'll be in trouble.
Wait! Why are you shooting your own people?
That's what is happening in Dongbei now.
You...
-Give me! -Be careful!
What are you doing?
What the hell are you talking about?
You're playing around with that small gun.
How can you call yourself a man?
Lady Qin.
Qian-yi!
The entire wing is waiting for you.
Don't you want to visit your uncle?
No.
From now on,
you're my only family here.
You can leave now.
Later,
you'll come back home.
You must come back.
You didn't write a will.
Take it with you.
So you won't feel lonely.
What's your new dad's name?
Zhi-jian Shao.
Go and wait for me there.
Take care of yourself.
Let Wei-cheng take the lead. Don't try to be brave, understand?
Mo-ting is still young.
Just ten years.
After that, we'll get a divorce so you can be free.
Mo-ting will have grown up by then.
She will be old enough to tell right from wrong.
That nurse was looking for you.
I knew you replied to her letter before.
Also, she's a divorced woman now.
She got beaten up by her husband because of the letters.
For the nurse's sake,
you need to be careful.
Come back in one piece. Do you hear me?
Go! I don't want to see you.
What I owed you...
I'll return it to you.
When the next train comes,
I'll leave with you.
I've never seen
such an empty airport.
They will be back.
It will become lively again.
Let's go back, Qing.
You need to practice mahjong.
Let's play all night.
Don't sleep tonight.
You won't be able to sleep anyway.
You should have let him talk to 417.
Lady Qin.
I thought you hate it
because it looks dangerous.
Leave it there.
At least, its appearance won't change.
If it goes into battle again,
what will it become?
Who knows?
Let's go.
Captain.
You still have more than one year before you get discharged.
It's only 365 days.
As expected, the captain's mindset is different from the squadron captains'.
Captain, that's Jinling Girls' College.
There are a lot of female students there.
By the time we come back,
they should be wearing short sleeves already.
The 1st Squadron, navigate.
Turn left.
Towards 270.
Roger that.
Turn left to 270.
You can't erase that.
I'm taking care of this plane now.
You're the new pilot.
Yes.
This plane is my...
It was given to me by your superior.
The 1st Squadron Captain.
I'm sorry. I'll paint it back.
His name is Zhao-jun. Don't get so close to him.
He has laid in a coffin before.
He hasn't written anything?
Not yet.
They already wrote their will
when they joined the academy in their teenage years.
They wrote about the same things, except for marriage.
Or they added a woman's name.
That life and death contract
is deemed more important than their marriage contract.
Hey.
She lives in the village now.
She needs to practice answering the calls.
No matter what happens,
you need to answer it.
Flying thousands of miles
Hello?
We met under
Such a fortuitous occasion
Hello?
You should tell me who called.
Why are you just standing there?
Learn?
The entire village will be in shock while you're learning it.
Nobody answered.
That means the line is damp.
Ask Gong to repair it.
Never waste
The youth
Next time, when you answer the phone,
if there's no sound, ask a few more times.
If the person is looking for a wife, that means something bad has happened.
Do you understand?
You're still a newlywed.
I bet you'll cry in your sleep tonight.
Qian-yi, I bet you 100 silver dollars.
I won't cry.
Willows buffeting in the wind
Of the morning clean air
As the sound of the engines
Hello?
It's for you.
Hello?
I'm the chief. Is this Zhi-jian's wife, Wei-xun?
Yes, I am.
I just received a notice.
The wing was heading for a small airport to land and add some fuel.
The weather was bad that day.
Wei-cheng didn't want to land to add fuel.
He told them to pick another airport.
But Zhi-jian
insisted on going.
So, he left the team and went there alone.
Wei-cheng said,
Zhi-jian wasn't in a good mood when he took off.
How about this?
I'll go to your village.
Wait for me at your place.
-Madam Zhou. -That's impossible!
-Hello? -They haven't even reached Dongbei!
What is he doing?
The 11th Wing, go!
"Now I'm on your bed because I am injured."
I was the one who wrote it first.
I looked for the note on your bed but I couldn't find it.
An airplane is missing from the other team.
He ran off to the Communist Party.
The pilots are afraid of fire!
The pilots could only meet their wives
once in their lifetime.
Hurry!
Subtitle translation by Blue