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

When the countdown reached zero, He Yuzhu felt the ground beneath his feet shaking.

It wasn't a violent tremor, but a fine, dense shaking that started from the soles of my feet and rose up, like my heart was beating too fast and my whole body was trembling.

The rocket stood upright on the launch pad, its all-white body dazzlingly bright in the sunlight. Orange-red flames spewed from its tail, and thick smoke billowed out, engulfing the entire launch pad.

It trembled and began to climb.

Slowly. Steadily. Like a bird just learning to fly, clumsy but earnest.

No one spoke in the control room.

Only the instruments were buzzing, like a swarm of bees flying around in a glass jar. Lin Jianguo stared at the screen, his hands on the control panel, his knuckles white. Qian Nian stood beside him, her lips pressed tightly together, her face whiter than the paint on the wall.

One second. Two seconds. Three seconds.

The rocket soared higher and higher, trailing a long plume of flame, until it became a tiny dot.

Fifty seconds. One minute. One minute and thirty seconds.

He Yuzhu stood at the back of the crowd, not moving forward. He stared at that small dot, his eyes unblinking.

Two minutes have passed.

It lasted ten seconds longer than last time.

He was just about to breathe a sigh of relief—

The little dot flashed.

It wasn't a normal flash. It was the kind of flash that exploded.

He saw Lin Jianguo's shoulders suddenly tense up.

Two minutes and three seconds.

A burst of fire erupted in the sky.

The fragments scattered, trailing black smoke as they fell down, like paper money scattered at a funeral.

The control room fell silent.

The silence wasn't ordinary silence; it was the kind of silence where everyone simultaneously forgot how to breathe. The instruments were still beeping, humming, but it sounded like they were coming from a great distance.

Someone reacted first.

"What's going on?!"

The sharp sound pierced the deathly silence.

Then came more voices.

"Where's the data? Look at the data!"

"Secondary engine! Secondary engine pressure is gone!"

Lin Jianguo stood there, motionless.

He stared at the curve on the screen that had turned into a straight line, his lips moved, but he didn't make a sound.

Qian Nian ran over, her face pale, her lips pale, her whole body was pale.

"Team Leader Lin..."

Lin Jianguo ignored him.

He turned around and looked at He Yuzhu.

He Yuzhu had seen that look in his eyes before.

On the battlefield, this is the look in a recruit's eyes when he first sees his comrade die before his eyes.

He Yuzhu walked over and stood next to him.

He didn't say anything. At this point, saying anything would be pointless.

He reached out and placed his hand on Lin Jianguo's shoulder.

Those shoulders were shaking.

After a long silence, Lin Jianguo finally spoke.

"Investigate the cause first."

He spoke for He Yuzhu.

I investigated for three days.

In the corner of the workshop, the pile of fragments was pieced together and spread out on a tarpaulin. The impeller was broken into seven or eight pieces, the edges curled and blackened, like burnt paper.

Lin Jianguo squatted there, holding a magnifying glass, examining each piece one by one. He hadn't slept much for three days; his eyes were dark circles, his cheekbones were prominent, and he had lost a lot of weight.

Qian Nian stood beside him, handing him tools, and then stood there, unsure of what to do next.

He Yuzhu walked in and squatted down next to Lin Jianguo.

"How is it?"

Lin Jianguo didn't look up; his voice was muffled.

"The impeller broke. The material couldn't withstand that rotational speed."

He put down the magnifying glass, picked up a fragment, and looked at it under the light.

"Our alloy has sufficient theoretical data, but it falls short in actual use."

He paused.

"We need to change the materials."

He Yuzhu looked at him.

"Change to what?"

Lin Jianguo shook his head.

"I don't know. We'll have to try."

The second test launch took place a month later.

They changed the materials, redesigned the impeller, and redid the dynamic balancing. Lin Jianguo didn't leave the workshop for a month. When he was tired, he would lean back in his chair for a while, and when he woke up, he would continue working.

On the day of the launch, He Yuzhu stood in the control room, staring at the screen.

The rocket has launched.

Ten seconds. Twenty seconds. Thirty seconds. One minute. One and a half minutes.

One minute and fifty seconds.

The curve on the screen began to fluctuate.

Lin Jianguo's hands were pressed on the control panel, his knuckles turning white.

One minute and fifty-three seconds. One minute and fifty-five seconds. Two minutes.

The curve drops sharply.

A muffled thud came from afar.

No one spoke in the control room.

Lin Jianguo stood there, staring at the screen. His face was expressionless, but He Yuzhu noticed his hands were trembling.

Qian Nian stood to the side, her eyes red, but she held back her tears.

He Yuzhu walked over and stood next to Lin Jianguo.

"Go back and investigate."

Lin Jianguo turned his head and looked at him. His gaze was hard to decipher—was it weariness or something else entirely?

"Still investigating?"

He Yuzhu nodded.

"check."

The third test launch took place two months later.

This time, even the pump's structure was changed. Stacks of blueprints were drawn, and parts were made one after another. Lin Jianguo and his team worked countless sleepless nights, their hair turning completely white.

He Yuzhu stood in the control room, staring at the fluctuating data.

The rocket has launched.

Ten seconds. Twenty seconds. Thirty seconds. One minute. One and a half minutes. Two minutes. Two and a half minutes.

At three minutes and ten seconds, the data began to fluctuate.

He Yuzhu's hand rested on the control panel, his knuckles turning white.

At three minutes and twenty seconds, the fluctuations increased.

At 3 minutes and 30 seconds, the curve plummeted.

Three minutes and forty seconds later, the data on the screen turned into a straight line.

A muffled thud came from afar.

He Yuzhu didn't look outside. He knew what it was.

The control room remained quiet for a long time.

Lin Jianguo stood there, motionless. He stared at the straight line for a long time.

Then he spoke.

"Dean."

His voice was hoarse, like sandpaper rubbing against a wooden board.

He Yuzhu didn't respond, waiting for him to continue.

Lin Jianguo buried his face in his hands and rubbed it vigorously. When he looked up again, his eyes were bloodshot.

"This is the third time."

He said it wasn't directed at He Yuzhu, but at the machine, at the fragments, and at himself.

"The materials are subpar, the design is subpar, do we... really have to move this fast?"

He Yuzhu walked over and stood next to him.

He spoke after a long pause.

"It's not about speed. It's about necessity."

Lin Jianguo turned his head and looked at him.

"What if it explodes again next time?"

He Yuzhu did not avoid his gaze.

"Then find out."

That night, He Yuzhu sat alone in his office.

A small fragment lay on the table, placed there by someone unknown. A corner of the impeller, its edge curled and blackened, gleamed dimly under the light. He picked up the fragment and weighed it in his hand. It was very light. But this tiny thing had caused all three launches to fail.

He took off the gloves and placed them on the table. They were made of fine, woven fabric, old, with frayed edges, but still wearable.

There was a knock on the door.

Before he could say "come in," the door opened.

Old Sun stood at the door, his face expressionless. But He Yuzhu, who had known him for over a decade, could sense something unusual.

Old Sun walked over and sat down opposite him. He tapped his fingers on the table twice but didn't say anything.

He Yuzhu waited for him to continue.

Old Sun was silent for a few seconds, as if he was carefully considering his words.

"Over there at the border..."

He stopped halfway through his sentence.

He Yuzhu pressed his hand on the table.

Old Sun's gaze fell on the pile of blueprints. The blueprints were worn and tattered, covered with dense annotations drawn by Lin Jianguo stroke by stroke.

"They said to give them everything they can," Old Sun said. "And what about you..."

He paused again.

"Should we put it aside for now?"

He Yuzhu did not answer.

He picked up the fragment and examined it against the light.

Then put it down.

"We can't let it go."

Old Sun looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

He Yuzhu stood up and walked to the window.

It was pitch black outside the window; I couldn't see anything.

"We'll split into two groups," he said. "One group will work on rockets, and the other will support the front lines."

Old Sun thought about it.

"Yang Xiaobing. Lao Lu. Those veterans from the special forces."

He Yuzhu nodded.

"OK."

Old Sun stood up and walked to the door. He placed his hand on the doorknob but didn't move.

"Old He."

He Yuzhu did not turn around.

"Be careful over here."

The door closed.

He Yuzhu stood by the window, still clutching the shard in his hand.

The third attempt failed.

The fourth time, I still don't know where it is.

But the border region can't wait.