Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

At this moment, Xiao Yun and several teenagers were crowding in front of the supply and marketing cooperative counter, picking out firecrackers. They bought a bag of "loud goods" and were about to go to the river to have some fun.

Unfortunately, just as they turned out of the alley, they ran into Xiao Yao and Su Man, who had come looking for them.

"Brother! Look at our loot—we saved a box for you. Come on, let's go make some shaved ice!" Xiao Yun grinned, his face beaming with triumphant joy. His parents were finally letting him have his way today, so he was going to enjoy himself to the fullest!

"You guys go ahead, but remember to come back before dinner; also, don't step on the fried ice—never mind, I'll go with you to avoid any trouble." Xiao Yao sighed and followed helplessly, casually grabbing the bamboo pole in his hand.

Su Man accompanied him all the way to the riverbank and sat down on a smooth and clean stone step.

"What are you doing with that bamboo pole?" she asked curiously.

"Just in case," Xiao Yao said succinctly.

They played until nearly six o'clock, the sky was low and dusk was falling. Xiao Yun and his friends, their firecrackers exhausted, were chatting and laughing as they headed back. Suddenly, one of them slipped and stepped onto the ice that had been shattered earlier—the ice was already brittle from the shockwave, how could it withstand the weight of a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy? With a muffled "crack," he instantly sank in!

Cracks spread like a spider web, and in the blink of an eye, four figures plunged into the icy water.

"See? Without this thing, I would have had to jump in and rescue them." Xiao Yao said with a straight face, holding a bamboo pole and standing steadily on the shore, pulling people onto the ice one by one.

He didn't want to brave the cold wind, but every winter children would fall and drown on the ice—that was no small matter; it was a devastating blow to a family. He'd rather make the extra trip than regret it later.

Su Man gazed at him quietly, her eyes shining, as if she were looking at someone who already knew the ending.

The three boys, soaking wet and shivering from the cold, finally came to their senses when the last one was pulled ashore. They then sprinted home. Xiao Yun, not even bothering to shake off the water, followed suit and disappeared in a flash.

When Xiao Yao and Su Man strolled home leisurely, Xiao Yun had already changed into dry clothes and was kneeling on the living room floor as punishment. From the next room, the intermittent cries of several children drifted in. Xiao Yao shook her head and sighed softly, "What a tragedy..."

"Son, tell Mom quickly, did something happen? This brat's mouth is tighter than a clam shell!" Lin Wan asked anxiously.

Xiao Yao glanced at Xiao Yun and shook his head slightly—since his younger brother hadn't explained how his clothes got wet, he naturally wouldn't bring it up.

Su Man shook her head as well: "We looked around outside but couldn't find them. It was getting dark, so we figured they had already gotten home and came back first."

Lin Wan glanced at Su Man and chuckled: the little girl's eyes darted around and her ears turned red when she lied; it was obvious that this was her first time lying, and she was too shy to hide anything. A weight was finally lifted from her heart, and she turned and took Su Man's mother's arm into the kitchen.

"Get up, I'm too lazy to touch you today—I'll settle the score with you later!" Xiao Zhiyuan glanced at Xiao Yun.

Xiao Yun immediately jumped up and ran into the kitchen, eager to help Lin Wan carry the plates—as long as he was quick, the belt could stay away from him.

This incident truly served as a wake-up call for Xiao Yun: blasting ice is extremely risky; next time he wants something thrilling, he should blast a cesspool—at least if he falls in, he can save his life.

At the dinner table, Xiao Yun stole glances at her older brother, her eyes sparkling with gratitude.

Su's father poured Xiao Yao a small cup of wine. Xiao's father glanced at it but didn't stop him—his son was all grown up, and he trusted him to know his place. But when his gaze swept over his younger son, Xiao Yun felt a chill run down his spine and almost dropped his chopsticks.

They had barely taken a couple of bites of food when the group of kids who had just been beaten up gathered together again. Under the cover of darkness and amidst the constant sound of firecrackers, they sneaked out to scavenge for scraps—specifically picking out duds and broken firecrackers to stuff into their pockets.

Xiao Yao saw their furtive figures swaying around from the second-floor window and couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth: Kids this age really are the type to forget the pain once the wound has healed.

At that moment, Su Man gently knocked on his door.

"Xiao Yao, Chunming just called and asked you to come to the courtyard house. He said he has something important to discuss."

As soon as Xiao Yao opened the door, Su Man relayed his message verbatim.

Xiao Yao couldn't figure out what Han Chunming was up to this time—did he really have something important to discuss, or was he just here to amuse himself? He hopped on his bicycle and headed straight for the courtyard house.

As soon as I turned into the alley, I saw Han Chunming riding a gleaming motorcycle, leaning against the wall, the engine still humming softly, like a leopard ready to pounce.

"Wow, where did you find this treasure? This car is so clean you can see your reflection in it!" Xiao Yao chuckled, patting the back seat with a mix of amusement and surprise in his voice.

"Reflects a person's image? That's not just something you wipe—it's never even been on the ground! How about that, isn't it impressive enough?" Han Chunming raised his chin, his eyebrows radiating smugness.

……

"Well, hehe, I'll keep this a secret for now. But if you really want one, I'll spare one for you, two thousand five hundred, you can have it right away." Han Chunming patted his chest, his voice crisp and decisive.

"Alright, I don't need it right now. Tell me, what's the point of calling me all this way?" Xiao Yao steered the conversation straight, without beating around the bush.

"What for? I want you to taste the delicious food I cooked myself, and for you to come back inside and have a good drink!" Han Chunming put his arm around his shoulder. "I've tidied up your room thoroughly today. The bedding is fluffy from the sun, the windows are sparkling clean, and we'll drink to our hearts' content there until we're completely drunk!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yao slowly pushed the car through the gate. As soon as it stopped in the backyard, Han Chunming, arm in arm with Su Meng, carried two steaming plates of food into the house.

After a few rounds of drinks, Han Chunming suddenly put down his chopsticks, his gaze darkening: "Xiao Yao, do you still consider me a brother?"

"That's a strange question—when have we ever not been ruthless?" Xiao Yao put down his wine glass and looked up at him.

"If you still recognize me, then accept this." Han Chunming pushed a brown paper package in front of him. "Without that thousand yuan you gave me back then, where would I be today? I, Han Chunming, never keep my word—if you put in the effort, you should get something in return; if you don't take it, I'll consider it a rift between us. You go your way, and I'll go my way. From now on, we'll go our separate ways." He stared at Xiao Yao, his eyes devoid of any jest.

"Chunming, can you listen to me for a second?" Xiao Yao had just opened his mouth.

"Keep it for now, we'll talk later," Han Chunming said decisively.

Xiao Yao sighed and had no choice but to take the package. He said slowly, "Chunming, people can succeed not only with the help of friends, but also by gritting their teeth and pushing forward. The path I'm taking is different from yours. These things are really useless to me."

"Finished? Then it's my turn." Han Chunming leaned forward, his voice low but each word slamming onto the table. "I may seem carefree and irresponsible, but I know perfectly well who's truly loyal to me. You say you don't need it? Maybe your daughter will love tinkering with this in the future; you say you don't lack money? But we earned it together, and even if you don't use it, it won't break you—it's just saved, not fed. I'm happy that you've become successful; but kindness is kindness, and accounts are accounts. Back then, I said: for every penny I earn, you'll get a cent. You don't want it? Fine, consider it continued investment in me; dividends? You still don't have to touch them—but we both have to remember this debt."

"Okay, consider it additional investment from me." Xiao Yao grinned. "When your factory is built to the sky someday, don't hold onto your wallet tightly."

"That's more like it!" Han Chunming raised his glass, and the two clinked it together with a crisp, loud sound.

After working with Han Chunming for a few days, the new semester arrived with the ringing of the bell.

A week later, Professor Gao came to our door: "That remote-controlled airplane from last time went viral! Universities all over the country were abuzz with it. This time, you'll represent the school in the scientific research competition and go head-to-head with the top students from Tsinghua and Zhejiang Universities."

Wang Yutong blinked: "How about we just bring the original plane for a comparison?"

"It's possible, but they're not pushovers." Teacher Gao stroked his beard. "Your work from six months ago was indeed impressive, but there are plenty of experts out there—we need to come up with new ideas, but we can't dampen their enthusiasm and discourage them."

A week later, the monthly exam results were released, and Xiao Yao, as usual, came out on top. However, many people in the class had already been thinking about the competition, so their homework was sloppy and they lost one or two points on the quiz.

This time, the competition was on a higher level, and the team expanded to more than a dozen people. Invention is not a solo endeavor; brainstorming is essential to withstand the pressure.

But here's the problem: we need to build something even more eye-catching than an airplane, which doubles the difficulty.

Using existing technology to compete? The odds of winning are quite high. However, the core components are still under confidentiality and cannot be easily revealed, so they can only bring out that half-finished prototype from back then to make do.

The classroom was bustling with activity, everyone talking at once, like a lively market.

With airplanes as a foundation, their appetites had become more discerning—airplanes? That wasn't enough anymore! But the various proposals made Xiao Yao shake his head: someone suggested a model of a hovering space capsule, as long as it could levitate three centimeters off the ground; Xiao Yao thought to himself: Why not just carve a bamboo dragonfly? It'd save time and effort. Someone else boldly declared: "A whole aircraft carrier! One appearance, and everyone's silent!" Xiao Yao chuckled inwardly, "If I could actually build that, I'd be invited for tea by the space agency long ago, not sitting here listening to a lecture."

Actually, he had already thought of it—a solar-powered miniature train.

Powered by sunlight, it requires no batteries and operates with zero noise; the car can run while sitting on the windowsill in the sun.

The principle is not mysterious: although the photoelectric conversion efficiency is low, it is more than enough to power a toy train the size of a palm.

Standing on the shoulders of giants, he had readily available experimental data. With a solid foundation in physics and having personally adjusted circuits and measured voltages, he had a clear understanding of the task.

"We're familiar with trains, but solar-powered... can it really work?" Lin Siyue's eyes widened.

Qian Wentao scratched his head: "My grandfather mentioned that solar power plants were built abroad, but those were built with huge national resources! You, by yourself, really can pull that off?"

"I'm not talking about those large power plants, but rather converting the light energy captured by ordinary solar panels directly into electrical energy—the principle is similar to charging a mobile phone, more than enough to power this little train. Trust me, besides, we're a group of smart and quick-witted people!" Xiao Yao patted his chest with a smile, his tone confident and light.