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

The lights in the computer room are on 24 hours a day.

A blinding white light poured down from above, making people's faces pale. The exhaust fan in the corner hummed all night, mixing the smells of smoke and sweat, making people's throats tighten.

There were seven discarded chip fragments piled up in front of Lin Jianguo.

Cracked, burned, broken in half, they were stacked in a row, like a small grave. The ashtray was filled three times, emptied three times, and then filled again. He sat there, his back to the door, motionless.

When He Yuzhu entered, his footsteps were loud on the concrete floor. Lin Jianguo didn't turn around.

"Nation-building".

He moved slightly, as if slowly surfacing from the water. When he turned his face, He Yuzhu saw that his eyes were bloodshot, and his lips were chapped and peeling.

"Dean."

His voice was hoarse, like sandpaper rubbing against wood.

He Yuzhu walked over, stood next to him, and looked at the pile of fragments on the table.

"It's been three days."

Lin Jianguo didn't reply. He carefully arranged the fragments one by one, moving very slowly, as if lining them up.

"It's not a design problem."

He didn't look at He Yuzhu when he said this; he was staring at the fragments.

"It's not a voltage issue either."

He Yuzhu waited for him to continue.

Lin Jianguo placed his hand on the largest fragment. The crack stretched from the edge to the center, like a black lightning bolt. He gently touched the crack with his fingertips, as if afraid of hurting it.

"It's a problem with the equipment."

He finally raised his head.

He Yuzhu had seen that look before—it was the look in a soldier's eyes when he knew he was going to die on the battlefield.

"Our lithography machine isn't precise enough." Lin Jianguo put down the fragments, stood up, and walked to the window. "To make this kind of chip, you need 90 nanometers. We can only make 120."

It was still dark outside the window. He had his back to He Yuzhu, and his voice was muffled.

"Just a little bit short, it just won't work."

He Yuzhu looked at the few white hairs sticking up on the back of his head. He was not even thirty years old, but he looked fifty.

"Is there no other way?"

Lin Jianguo turned around.

"have."

He walked back, sat down in the chair, and gathered the pile of fragments together.

"Change to a different lithography machine."

That night, He Yuzhu sat alone in his office until the early hours of the morning.

He held the largest fragment in his hand, examining it from all angles. The cracks and blackened edges resembled an unhealed scar.

Ninety nanometers.

He remembered Lin Jianguo's gaze. He remembered the pile of fragments stacked in a row. He remembered those people whose hair had turned white from working so hard.

The system interface lit up in the darkness.

[An improved version of the 90-nanometer lithography machine]

[Includes: optimized light source system, upgraded objective lens design, improved workpiece stage, and enhanced alignment accuracy]

[Redeemable Points: 1,000,000]

Eight million.

How much food can we buy? How many people can we save?

He remembered the old man kneeling on the ground in the disaster area. He remembered the old woman whose bundle fell into the water.

Those faces kept flashing through my mind.

He recalled Lin Jianguo's gaze.

I pressed my finger on it and clicked "redeem".

[Redeem successful. Points consumed: 1,000,000]

Current total points: 73,811,233 - 500,000 = 73,311,233 points

The data poured out of the system space, a thick stack that filled half the table. The cover was printed with the words "Improved 90-nanometer lithography machine," which gleamed dimly in the moonlight.

He sat there, looking at the pile of documents.

Eight million.

I feel a little empty inside.

The next morning, He Yuzhu carried the documents into the workshop.

Lin Jianguo was squatting on the ground, staring blankly at the pile of fragments. Hearing footsteps, he looked up, saw the stack of documents, and paused for a moment.

He Yuzhu placed the documents in front of him.

Lin Jianguo took it and turned to the first page.

I turned three pages.

His hands began to tremble. The corners of the document pages were crumpled from his grip.

She looked up at He Yuzhu, her lips moved, but she didn't say anything. Then she lowered her head again and turned a few pages.

"Dean..." her voice trembled, "Is this... made for humans?"

He Yuzhu did not answer.

Lin Jianguo held the stack of documents tightly in his arms, as if afraid they would fly away.

"It can be done."

The sound was soft, but steady.

For the next three months, the lights in the workshop never went out.

He Yuzhu would go there every day, squatting next to the lithography machine for hours on end. The technicians were so intimidated by his gaze that they dared not slack off at work.

Lin Jianguo's hair had turned white again. Sun Xiaomei was so thin that her cheekbones protruded, and the dark circles under her eyes had never faded. One night, He Yuzhu passed by the workshop and saw her asleep on the table, a pencil still clutched in her hand.

Qian Nian was also there. He learned quickly and got the hang of things fast; he was able to work independently in just a few days. Lin Jianguo said this to He Yuzhu privately.

"This kid is just like his dad."

He Yuzhu nodded.

That night, he called Qian Nian to his office.

"How's the work going?"

Qian Nian stood in front of him, unsure of what to do with her hands.

"good."

He Yuzhu looked at him. Young, thin, but with bright eyes.

"If your dad were still alive, he would be happy to see you like this."

Qian Nian was stunned for a moment.

He lowered his head, turned around, and his shoulder twitched.

He Yuzhu didn't say anything.

After a while, Qian Nian turned back. Her eyes were a little red, but she didn't cry.

"Dean, my dad... he was in this business back in the day too."

He Yuzhu nodded.

"I know."

Qian Nian looked at him, her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she only managed to utter three words.

"I understand."

On the last day of the third month, the lithography machine was successfully debugged.

Lin Jianguo stood beside the machine, his palms sweating. He pressed a button, and the machine started running. The humming sound was steady, like a heartbeat.

I waited for two hours.

The chip has been removed.

Lin Jianguo examined it under the microscope for a long time. The workshop was so quiet that he could hear his own heartbeat.

He raised his head.

His face was dirty, covered in dust and sweat. But his eyes were bright.

"It's done."

The workshop was silent for a second.

Then people started clapping. At first it was sparse, but then it grew louder and louder. Sun Xiaomei squatted on the ground, covering her face, her shoulders shaking. Qian Nian stood beside her, clenching his fists until his knuckles turned white.

He Yuzhu stood at the back of the crowd, looking at the people, the machine, and the tiny chip.

Eight million.

Worth it.

That evening, He Yuzhu sat alone in his office.

He took the gloves out of the drawer and put them on. They were made of Qin Huairu woven fabric, old and worn, with frayed edges, but they were still warm to wear.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

Lin Jianguo pushed open the door and came in, carrying two enamel mugs. He placed one in front of He Yuzhu, and then sat down opposite him with the other mug in his hand.

The tea in the jar had long since gone cold. He didn't drink it; he just held it there.

"Dean, I have a question for you."

He Yuzhu looked at him.

"explain."

Lin Jianguo remained silent for a while.

"Where did you get those materials from?"

He Yuzhu didn't say anything.

Lin Jianguo looked at him and waited for a while.

"If you don't tell me, I won't ask anymore."

He stood up and walked to the door. He leaned on the doorframe, without turning around.

"Dean, that chip..."

He paused for a moment.

"I gave it a name."

He Yuzhu waited.

"Starship Trooper III".

Lin Jianguo left. The door wasn't closed properly, and a beam of light shone in from the corridor.

He Yuzhu sat there, looking at the light.

Outside the window, the moon is peeking out from behind the clouds.