Siheyuan (traditional courtyard house): Starting with the Korean War, returning home to take charge

He Yuzhu pondered Ma Yuejin's words all the way.

The truck bed was shaking violently, and his backside ached as he sat inside, but his mind was racing—"If we could control the crystal lattice size, could we make the kind of steel we want?"

He understands the principle. The difficulty lies in finding the right method.

It was completely dark when she got home. He Yushui looked up from her homework: "Brother, have you eaten?"

"have eaten."

He closed the door, sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), and brought up the system interface. He flipped to "Materials Science" and scrolled down page by page. Metallic materials, alloy formulas, heat treatment processes... his eyes were getting tired, but he finally found one.

[Special Alloy Formula]

[Composition system: Iron-Nickel-Chromium-Molybdenum-Tungsten-Vanadium]

【Performance characteristics: High strength, high wear resistance, corrosion resistance, thermal stability, and machinability】

[Estimated performance improvement compared to current mainstream special alloys: 20 times]

[Redeemable Points: 800,000]

Twenty times. He recalled the light in Ma Yuejin's eyes.

Clicked.

[Redeem successful. Points consumed: 500,000]

Current points: 43,290,000

He retrieved the recipe from his system space—a thick stack of handwritten paper. He flipped through it, pulled out the most crucial pages, folded them, and put them in his pocket.

The next day, he handed the paper to Ma Yuejin.

Ma Yuejin took it, glanced at it a few times, and then looked up: "Director He, this..."

"Let's think about it," He Yuzhu said, "and see if we can figure it out."

Ma Yuejin looked at the paper over and over again. His hands were trembling slightly.

"This ingredient... we've never seen it before."

He Yuzhu nodded: "So we have to try."

For three months, He Yuzhu's life revolved around three points: the factory, the mountains, and the courtyard house. He would leave in the morning and return at night, sometimes sleeping in the dilapidated house in the mountains because it was too late. He Yushui didn't ask him anything; she would just leave the food in the pot, waiting for him to come back and heat it up.

Life in the mountains is tough.

The furnace cracked during the first smelting. Molten iron leaked out, burning a large crater in the ground and nearly setting the house on fire. Ma Yuejin's face was scalded and swollen for three days.

The second time, the recipe proportions weren't right, and the result was as brittle as a biscuit, crumbling at the slightest tap. Sun Fulai squatted on the ground, staring at the pile of fragments, remaining silent for a long time.

The third, fourth, fifth... each failure brought new problems. Li Chunsheng's calluses grew thicker and thicker, Zhou Guoqiang's notebook was filled with data, and Wang Erzhu was strong, so they relied on him to move things.

Ma Yuejin had lost weight. His eyes were sunken, but his energy was still there. He spent hours every day staring at a microscope, his eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep.

One night, he fainted by the stove.

He Yuzhu carried him into the house and gave him a bowl of sugar water before he woke up. Ma Yuejin opened his eyes and his first words were: "Director He, the formula is fine, the furnace temperature is not high enough."

He Yuzhu looked at him but didn't reply. After a few seconds, he said, "Change the stove tomorrow."

The failures continue.

The sixth, seventh, and eighth attempts. Each time he failed, He Yuzhu would rummage through the system data, looking for the cause and adjusting the parameters. Sometimes he would work until 3 a.m., sometimes until dawn. His left leg started to hurt again—not from a recurrence of an old injury, but from standing for too long; it felt like a needle was pricking under the scar. He endured it without making a sound.

Ma Yuejin noticed it once: "Director He, what happened to your leg?"

"fine."

Ma Yuejin didn't believe it, but he didn't ask any more questions.

The ninth time was on He Yushui's birthday.

He Yuzhu left the mountains early in the morning and took a car back to the city. When he arrived at the courtyard gate, He Yushui was squatting there washing clothes. Seeing him return, she was stunned: "Brother, why are you back?"

Today is your birthday.

He Yushui stood up, her hands still dripping wet. She looked at him for several seconds, her eyes reddening: "You still remember?"

He Yuzhu nodded: "Let's go eat."

That meal lasted an hour. They went to a restaurant; the meal included a plate of braised pork, a plate of scrambled eggs, and a bowl of soup. He Yushui ate a lot, talking as she ate—about school, about the courtyard, and how the deaf old lady kept nagging him. He Yuzhu listened without saying a word.

After finishing his meal, he took her home and then left.

He Yushui stood at the door, watching his back turn as he disappeared into the alley. She opened her mouth, her voice very soft: "Brother, take care of yourself." She didn't know if he heard her.

That night, something happened in the mountains.

The furnace was halfway through burning when the pressure gauge suddenly exploded. Molten iron splashed out, and Wang Erzhu, who was slow to dodge, suffered burns to his arm. The others scrambled to put out the fire, the white powder from the fire extinguishers choking them. When He Yuzhu rushed in, the furnace was still burning. He turned off the valve, pulled Wang Erzhu out, and looked at his arm: "Quick, to the clinic!"

Wang Erzhu gritted his teeth, his face pale: "Director He, I'm not going, the furnace..."

"I'll take care of the stove."

He shoved him, turned, and went back inside. The room was filled with smoke, stinging his eyes. He stood in front of the pile of scrap, looking at the mess and the few dusty-faced young men. Ma Yuejin walked over and stood beside him: "Director He, are we... going in the wrong direction?"

He Yuzhu didn't speak. After a long while, he finally said, "It's not that we're going the wrong way, it's that we haven't arrived yet."

That night, he sat alone in the dilapidated house, flipping through the system data, when a thought suddenly flashed through his mind: What if this formula is not suitable for the current equipment at all? For the first time, he doubted—could what the system gave him really work?

But he suppressed the thought. The next day, he lit the fire as usual.

The eleventh time was the last night three months later.

Everyone gathered around the stove, staring at the pointer on the thermometer: 1200, 1300, 1500. Ma Yuejin pressed the valve, his palms sweating. He Yuzhu stood behind him, saying nothing.

The temperature rose to 1,800. Ma Yuejin glanced at his watch, then at the color of the furnace. He slowly turned on the oxygen valve, and with a hissing sound, the furnace fire suddenly became blindingly bright.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on the sampling port.

After waiting for an unknown amount of time, Ma Yuejin waved his hand: "Take samples!"

The molten steel was ladled out and poured into a mold. After cooling and solidifying, it was placed under a microscope. Ma Yuejin leaned in and stared at it for a long time, motionless.

Sun Fulai couldn't hold back any longer: "How about it?"

Ma Yuejin didn't answer. He looked up, his expression as if he'd seen a ghost: "This...this thing, I've never seen before."

He handed the sample over, He Yuzhu took it, looked at it, and then gave it back to him: "Send it for testing."

When the test results came out, everyone was stunned.

Its hardness is three times higher than existing special alloys, its wear resistance is five times higher, and its corrosion resistance is eight times higher. Thermal stability—it maintains structural integrity at 1200 degrees Celsius. Machinability—it can even be turned, milled, and ground.

Its overall performance is far superior to the best special alloys currently available in China. How many times better exactly? The inspector said the equipment couldn't measure it all; it's at least ten times better.

Ma Yuejin read the test report three times.

"Director He," his voice trembled, "this thing...what can it be used for?"

He Yuzhu thought for a moment: "Airplanes, ships, tanks, all places that need to be hard."

The room fell silent. Then Sun Fulai plopped down on the floor, Li Chunsheng squatted there holding his head, and Zhou Guoqiang lifted his notebook and threw it into the air. Wang Erzhu grinned, forgetting the pain in his arm.

Ma Yuejin looked at He Yuzhu, his eyes reddening: "Director He, we... we've got it done."

He Yuzhu nodded. He looked at the young men, at the inspection report, at the furnace of steel ingots—three months, eleven failures, a burned arm, and countless sleepless nights.

Worth it.

A week later, superiors came to inspect.

There were quite a few people there, some in military uniforms, some in Zhongshan suits, and some wearing glasses. They walked around the room, looking at the equipment, samples, and test reports. The middle-aged man who was leading the group put down the report and looked at He Yuzhu: "Comrade He Yuzhu, where did you get this formula?"

He Yuzhu glanced at Ma Yuejin, then at the six disheveled young men: "We figured it out together."

The man paused for a moment, then laughed, "What a fine 'all together'!" He extended his hand to shake hands with He Yuzhu, then went to shake hands with each of the six men. When he shook hands with Ma Yuejin, he patted him on the shoulder, "Young man, keep up the good work."

Ma Yuejin stood there, his face flushed red. As he reached the door, the man turned back: "Comrade He Yuzhu, your 'everyone together' group—you included yourself in that, didn't you?"

He Yuzhu didn't reply, but simply nodded.

That night, He Yuzhu got home around 10 p.m.

He Yushui sat on the threshold waiting for him, holding an enamel mug in her hands.

"Brother, you're back."

He Yuzhu looked at her and asked, "This is...?"

"It's your birthday today, so I prepared a basin of water for you to wash your feet." She put down the enamel mug and then magically produced two eggs. "Aunt Wang from the cafeteria gave them to me, and I cooked them."

He Yuzhu was stunned. He then remembered that today was his birthday—a date he never remembered in the system.

He sat down next to her and took the egg. The shell was still warm. He Yushui looked at him: "Brother, make a wish."

He Yuzhu looked at the two eggs and thought for a while. Then he peeled one open and handed it to her: "You eat this."

He Yushui didn't answer: "Make a wish first."

He Yuzhu didn't refuse anymore and ate the egg. As he chewed, that voice echoed in his mind:

[Side Quest 4: Talent Development Completed]

[Mission Reward Points: +3,000,000]

[Current total points: 45,330,000 + 240,000,000 = 285,330,000 points]

He didn't look at the number.

A cool night breeze blew by. He Yushui leaned on his shoulder, humming a soft song. In the distance, the direction into the mountains was shrouded in darkness.

But he knew that the light was still on in that dilapidated house.