The little star from the Gobi Desert, handed over to the state, is hailed as a national treasure.

The next morning, Sweetie was awakened by the soft chirping of birds.

She opened her eyes. Outside the tree hole, the branches and leaves swayed gently in the breeze. Sunlight filtering through the leaves danced on the grass in front of the hole, as if someone had sprinkled a handful of gold dust.

The cave was filled with warmth. Sweetie rubbed her eyes, lay down, and poked her little head out of the cave.

A breath of fresh air wafted over me, carrying the scent of dew and green grass.

The little monkeys had already woken up and were hanging on the branches of the trees, scratching each other. When they saw her move, they squeaked and waved at her.

A little monkey swung down from the treetop to her side, reaching out its furry paw to pull her little hand, as if to say, "Get up, get up, I'll take you to a fun place!"

Sweetie giggled as it pulled her, and then crawled out of the hole to grasp the warm little paw.

Not far ahead, the old monkey from yesterday sat majestically on a large rock. When it saw her come out, it squeaked a few times at the monkey troop.

Immediately, the little monkeys brought over yesterday's bananas and handed them to Sweetie.

Sweetie rubbed her tummy, realizing she was indeed a little hungry, so she took the peeled banana and started eating it in big bites.

After a simple breakfast, Tian Tian was surrounded by the little monkeys as they walked back along the path they had taken yesterday. Many sights that she hadn't been able to see clearly at night were now clearly visible in the bright sunlight.

Under the towering trees, wildflowers bloom everywhere—red, yellow, white, and green—crowding together like a colorful oil painting by nature.

Various small creatures hid among the flowers and grass, some darting out from time to time, while others timidly poked out half their heads before retreating back in.

Butterflies and dragonflies fluttered around the flowers, bees buzzed busily collecting nectar, and birds sang melodious songs in the treetops.

suddenly--

"Little white rabbit—!!!"

Sweetie yelled, her eyes wide open, pointing at the fluffy little head peeking out from the grass, and jumped up and down excitedly several times.

Seven or eight steps away from her, the little rabbit was pure white, with its ears standing straight up and its two ruby-like eyes staring at her just as much.

"Little white rabbit, I'm Sweetie! Come play with me!"

As she spoke, she took off running to catch up, but the other person turned and ran away as soon as they saw her, disappearing into the bushes in a few moments.

Sweetie stomped her feet in frustration. She had finally seen such a cute little white rabbit, and just like in the storybook, it ran even faster than a rabbit!

The little monkeys saw her pouting and knew the girl was unhappy, so they took her hand and pulled her to the stream. The stream was crystal clear, the pebbles at the bottom were smooth and shiny, and a group of small fish and tadpoles swam around.

The little fish were silvery-gray with faint stripes on their backs, and their tails swayed as they swam swiftly in the water. Sweetie squatted by the stream, putting her hand into the cool water. The little fish slid past her fingertips, tickling her so much that she pulled back.

"Hehehe—" Sweetie laughed happily.

The little monkeys copied her, sticking their paws into the water, but as soon as they did, all the little fish swam away. The monkeys squeaked in frustration, which made Sweetie laugh even harder.

Seeing Tian Tian laughing happily, the little monkeys suddenly had a mischievous idea. They stretched out their paws and splashed water on Tian Tian's face. Tian Tian didn't have time to dodge, and the water droplets splashed onto her smooth, tender skin, icy cold, wetting her little face.

The little girl was taken aback for a moment, then immediately retaliated, splashing water into the stream with her two little hands, making the monkeys on the other side squeal and run quickly to hide behind a tree.

Sweetie won the water fight and laughed heartily, even putting her hands on her hips in delight.

The old monkey squatted to one side, watching the mischievous little ones having so much fun, and his serious face softened considerably.

Sweetie played with the little monkeys for a while, then ran along the stream. Several frogs jumped out of the stream and hopped around behind her.

Suddenly, Tian Tian caught a glimpse of a seven-colored light not far away. Curious, she ran over to take a look and found that there was a dark pool of water hidden behind several large rocks.

It and the stream form two distinct lines that never intersect, but a large patch of colorful oil film floats on the surface of the pool. In the morning light, it shimmers with red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple light, like a rainbow from the sky shattered and spread on the water's surface. At first glance, it is dazzlingly beautiful.

Sweetie had never seen such colors floating in the water before. The little girl found it extremely novel and couldn't help but reach out her little hand to touch the beautiful "rainbow membrane." But as soon as her fingertips touched the water, a layer of black, sticky stuff got stuck to her fingers. It was slippery and stuck between her fingers and she couldn't shake it off no matter how hard she tried.

She brought it close to her nose and took a gentle sniff; her little brows furrowed instantly.

This smell is so strange, with a metallic chill, mixed with a hint of tar, and a somewhat indescribable pungent odor. It's kind of like… the smell I had on Grandpa Li back at the base?

Grandpa Li is the fuel manager in the chemical engineering group, and he deals with all kinds of fuels every day. Every time I see him, this smell seems to stick to him, and it won't go away no matter where he goes.

Once, Tian Tian asked him, "Grandpa Li, why are you always smelly?" Grandpa Li laughed heartily, pinched her little nose, and said, "Little girl, you're learning to build missiles from Old Qian. This is the most important part of a missile; it's called fuel. Missiles rely on this to fly!"

Looking at the black stuff on her fingers and then at the colorful oil film on the water, Tian Tian vaguely felt that this thing might be related to missiles.

If I tell my dad and Grandpa Qian about this discovery, wouldn't they be very happy?

Can Daddy forgive Sweetie for the mistake she made by running around?

The little girl was staring blankly at her fingers when the old monkey that had been following behind her and protecting her came over. It looked at the black stains on the little girl's fingers, then looked down at the oil film on the water's surface, its expression extremely serious.

It picked up some dirt and grass from the ground, rubbed it on the little girl's hands to wipe away the oil stains, and then pointed to the water's edge, indicating that she should wash her hands.

This stuff is bitter and astringent; it's not edible.

Sweetie watched as the old monkey wiped her hands with the grass, and a clever idea popped into her head. She immediately ran to the side, picked up a few large leaves, and used the leaves to dab the black oily substance.

This strange action displeased the old monkey, which squeaked at her a few times, signaling her not to touch it.

"Grandpa Monkey, this thing seems very important. Sweetie wants to take it to Daddy."

Sweetie explained to the old monkey, then wrapped the sampled leaves with several leaves and tied them with straw rope.

The little monkeys, wondering what she was doing, curiously gathered around to watch. Sweetie held the leaf high and shouted, "Don't take it! This is for my dad!"

The little monkeys seemed to understand, but after watching for a while, they ran away.

Seeing that she wasn't going to eat anything indiscriminately, the old monkey's expression gradually softened, and he stopped stopping her.

Sweetie then put the leaf into her pocket.

She always felt that her father would be very happy to see this, and perhaps he could even unlock the little secret of this valley.

After tidying up the leaves, Tian Tian looked at the lively wildflowers blooming all over the stream and suddenly remembered the method Xiao Yu had taught her to make flower wreaths. She immediately became interested.

She knelt down, plucked the most vibrant and perfectly petaled little flower, and wove it together with tender green grass stems.

Although she wasn't as skillful as Xiaoyu, she still managed to weave a flower wreath quite well. The little monkeys curiously gathered around, watching the girl's movements. A few even imitated her, picking flowers and putting them on their own heads.

In no time, a round little flower wreath was finished. Sweetie put the wreath on her head, stood up, and twirled around. In an instant, she transformed into a little fairy in the forest, cute and lively.

The old monkey, looking at the flower wreath on the little girl's head, thought for a moment, then turned and walked towards the cave on the cliff. The cave was hidden behind dense vines and could not be found unless one looked carefully.

Sweetie and the little monkeys stopped what they were doing and stared longingly at the cave entrance, waiting for the old monkey to come out.