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

Professor Qian sat before a kerosene lamp, surrounded by piles of blueprints, some yellowed by the lamplight. The room echoed with the clatter of an abacus; this elderly man with graying temples was using the oldest tool to calculate the most cutting-edge and massive amounts of data of this era.

Upon seeing the father and daughter approach, the orderly standing guard outside the door made a "shh" gesture, signaling Liang Zhe and Tian Tian to keep their voices down.

"Was Professor Qian calculating the whole time?" Liang Zhe recalled that when he left at noon, Professor Qian had stayed inside the room the whole time.

"We've been working all afternoon to verify the key data," the orderly said, pointing to the slender figure inside the room. Liang Zhe's eyes welled up with tears.

"Dad, is Grandpa Qian working very hard?"

"It was more than just hard work. Grandpa Qian neglected his health for his work. He would sit there calculating with the abacus for so long that his hands would ache, his eyes would become blurry, and he would even be unable to straighten his back."

Sweetie stared with her round eyes, following Liang Zhe's gaze to the figure in the window, her little brows furrowing: "Why does Grandpa Qian have to work so hard?"

"Because he wants to do something incredibly important for our country." Liang Zhe reached out and gently pointed to the sky above.

"Sweetie, do you know that in this world, there are not only our country, but also many, many neighbors. But not all of these neighbors want to see us living well, eating well, and being warmly dressed."

"These neighbors are bad people."

"That's called competition. If we become strong, they will be a threat, which is why they're trying to strangle us. Sweetie, do you know what strangulation means?"

Sweetie tried placing her little hands on her neck. "Is it like this?"

Liang Zhe nodded. "When our neighbors have our necks in their hands, we have no choice but to obey whatever they want us to do, or we'll lose our lives."

Sweetie slowly began to understand, "We can't listen to them!"

"Yes, those bad neighbors. They have powerful cannons, but they don't want us to have them. They keep the secrets of how to make cannons hidden from us and laugh at us for not being able to make them. They even try to sabotage us, hoping to make Grandpa Qian and his team fail and keep us by their necks forever."

"They're so annoying! They're bad people!" Sweetie clenched her little fists, her face full of anger.

"Yes, they're unreasonable." Liang Zhe touched his daughter's face. "That's why Grandpa Qian calculated so hard. He wanted to tell those people: We're not afraid of difficulties. Even if we only have an abacus, we'll build our own cannonballs so that no one will dare to bully us anymore."

"Daddy, if bad guys don't bully us, will Sweetie be able to eat peacefully and grow up with lots of other children?"

"Not only can we eat in peace, but we can also play, go to school, and live a good life."

"So, Sweetie, Grandpa Qian isn't just doing math; he's fighting for everyone's tomorrow. We can't lose this battle."

Sweetie understood, and she clenched her little fist tightly. "Come on, Daddy, Grandpa, and Uncles, you have to win!"

At this point, she tugged at her father's sleeve and pointed through the window, "But Grandpa hasn't eaten yet, Grandpa is hungry."

Liang Zhe was reminded by his daughter that there was a cold sweet potato in the bowl next to the kerosene lamp. Professor Qian was so focused on his calculations that he hadn't even thought about eating.

"Grandpa is busy right now, we can't disturb him or interrupt his train of thought."

Although Liang Zhe felt sorry for him, he knew that going in to remind him at this time would only affect his calculations. "After I take you back, Dad will go and make soup for Grandpa Qian."

"Daddy," Sweetie pointed to the window and asked curiously, "Grandpa's food, that big, red thing, what is it?"

"This is called a sweet potato. Eating it will make you feel full."

Sweetie nodded thoughtfully, then suddenly said, "I've seen them before, there are so many of them, all lying down and sleeping."

Liang Zhe's arms trembled as he held her. He turned her small body around and asked earnestly, "Sweetie, what did you just say? Say it again?"

Sweetie was a little confused by her father's sudden serious expression, but she still obediently gestured with her hands to indicate the name: "It's this one, red, on the ground, in patches, sleeping so soundly..."

Liang Zhe stared into his daughter's innocent eyes, then turned to look at the sweet potatoes inside the window. An unbelievable thought flashed through his mind. Without a word, he turned around abruptly, picked her up, and ran towards Commander Bai's barracks.

Ten minutes later.

Soldiers, each carrying a shovel and pickaxe, assembled urgently in front of the camp gate, organized by squad.

Excitement shone in everyone's eyes.

Brigade Commander Bai walked at the front, followed by Song Dazhuang, and finally, Liang Zhe, who was holding Tian Tian.

A row of trucks was already parked in front of the base.

Brigade Commander Bai waved his hand: "Get in the vehicle!"

The soldiers boarded the vehicle swiftly. Finally, Brigade Commander Bai approached Tian Tian and said in the softest, kindest voice he could think of, "Sweetie, take Grandpa and the uncles to find a place for Sweet Potato to sleep, okay?"

Sweetie sucked on her finger, looked at her father, then at Commander Bai who looked expectant, blinked her big eyes a few times, and said, "Mmm."

The car roared across the desert and soon arrived at a sand dune.

In fact, every location in the desert looks pretty much the same, and without special abilities, it's impossible to tell which way to go.

To everyone's surprise, Sweetie was able to point it out effortlessly, without the slightest hesitation.

Standing atop the sand dune, her bright eyes fixed on a spot, she looked like a little commander directing an army. Pointing confidently with her delicate little hand, she exclaimed, "Daddy, there are lots of sweet potatoes sleeping down there! Let's wake them up!"

"Great!" Liang Zhe couldn't hide his excitement. "We'll wake them up right now and take them home."

Commander Bai no longer hesitated, waving his hand, "Everyone, start digging!"

Song Dazhuang couldn't wait any longer. Upon hearing this, he was the first to pick up his tools, and the other soldiers joined in. Soon, a cloud of sand rose up on the scene.

Sweetie had completed her "direction" task and seemed exhausted. Her eyelids started to droop, and she soon fell asleep in her father's arms.

A soldier was digging when, out of the blue, a large claw covered in thick scales suddenly shot out and nearly grabbed his ankle!

"what!"

He was so frightened that he dropped the shovel and ran away.

"Something's wrong!" The other soldiers retreated quickly, and Song Dazhuang, who reacted the fastest, immediately took off the rifle he was carrying, chambered a bullet with a click, and pointed the muzzle at the sand pit in front of him.