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

The emergency room door opened a crack, then closed again.

He Yuzhu leaned against the corridor wall, his back pressed against the cold cement. The wall was quite old; the peeling white plaster revealed the gray bricks underneath, which crumbled when rubbed against his clothes. The smell of disinfectant mixed with some kind of burnt odor seeped out from under the door, making his throat tight.

The nurse ran over, her shoes making a clattering sound on the terrazzo floor. Nobody looked at her.

After a long time, the doctor came out.

He Yuzhu straightened up.

"How is it?"

The doctor took off his mask and held it in his hand for a while.

"His life has been saved."

He paused.

"But the burn area is quite large. On the face, hands, and chest."

He Yuzhu didn't say anything.

The doctor looked at him, as if he had something to say but didn't.

Where's your brain?

He Yuzhu asked.

The doctor remained silent for a few seconds.

"I was deprived of oxygen for a while. After I wake up, there are some things... I might not remember clearly."

He Yuzhu stood there, motionless.

The nurse pushed open the door, and a trolley came out. Xiao Wang lay on it, his face covered with gauze, only his eyes showing. His eyes were closed, his eyelashes trembling slightly; it was unclear whether he was awake or dreaming.

The cart passed by He Yuzhu, its wheels creaking as they rolled across the ground.

He reached out his hand, wanting to touch it, but then pulled it back.

Xiao Wang woke up three days later.

When He Yuzhu pushed open the ward door, the man was leaning against the headboard, looking out the window. Sunlight streamed in through the window, falling brightly on the pinkish new flesh on his face.

He turned around when he heard the door open.

"Where does it grow?"

His voice was hoarse, like sandpaper rubbing against wood.

He Yuzhu walked to the bedside and sat down.

"How are you feeling?"

Xiao Wang didn't answer, looking down at his hands. His hands were also wrapped in gauze, with only his fingertips showing.

Silent for a long time.

"Director He, did you write down the data from that day?"

He asked the question very softly, as if he dared not ask, yet had no choice but to.

He Yuzhu recalled that day in the fire, when Xiao Wang rolled out of the flames, he was still clutching that notebook in his hand. The notebook had long since burned to ashes.

"I didn't have time."

Xiao Wang lowered his head.

"Then... then all that injury I suffered was for nothing?"

He Yuzhu did not respond.

The birds outside the window chirped twice, then stopped.

Xiao Wang looked up at him.

"Director He, am I... no longer fit for this job?"

He Yuzhu looked at his face. Pinkish new flesh, with a white ring under his eyes—the burns hadn't fully healed.

"Yes, we can. Just in a different place."

Xiao Wang was stunned for a moment.

Then he laughed.

The smile was fleeting, gone in the blink of an eye.

"Okay. We can go somewhere else."

He lay back down and stared at the ceiling.

"Director He, you can go now. I'm fine."

He Yuzhu stood up and walked to the door.

I glanced back.

Xiao Wang was still staring at the ceiling, motionless.

The day the transfer order was approved, He Yuzhu sat in his office for a long time.

The pen hovered over the paper, hesitant to fall.

He remembered the day Xiao Wang first arrived, standing at the door, young and energetic, smiling as he said, "Director He, my name is Wang Jianguo, the same name as my dad." Back then, his face was clean and clear, without a single pimple.

The pen fell.

I signed it.

He Yuzhu didn't see Xiao Wang off on the day he left.

He stood by the office window, looking down at the road. Xiao Wang, carrying an old canvas bag, walked out alone. He stopped at the front door and glanced back.

Then go.

He Yuzhu stood there and watched for a long time.

In the afternoon, someone knocked on the door.

He Yuzhu raised his head.

A woman in her fifties stood in the doorway, her hair gray and her face full of wrinkles. She carried a basket covered with a blue cloth. She stood there, not coming in.

He Yuzhu stood up.

"Auntie, please come in and have a seat."

The woman didn't move.

She looked at He Yuzhu for several seconds. Her gaze was complex, it was hard to tell whether it was gratitude or something else.

"Director He, I've come to see you."

He Yuzhu walked over.

"Please have a seat."

The woman then came in and placed the basket on the table. She lifted the blue cloth to reveal eggs, neatly arranged inside.

"It's from our own chickens, not much, please have a taste."

He Yuzhu looked at the eggs.

"Auntie, you..."

The woman interrupted him.

"I've heard about what happened to my son."

She lowered her head and looked at a certain point on the table.

"His father passed away early, and he only had this one son."

Raise your head.

"As long as his life is saved, that's all that matters."

The sound was very soft.

"As long as I'm alive, that's enough."

She didn't cry.

But He Yuzhu would rather she cry.

The woman stood up and walked out. She paused at the door, but didn't turn back.

"Thank you, Mr. He."

The door closed.

He Yuzhu stood there, looking at the basket of eggs.

I haven't done anything for a long time.

The workshop was eerily quiet.

Ma Yuejin squatted in the corner, the cigarette in his hand long since extinguished, but still dangling from his lips. He stared at a spot on the ground, motionless.

Lin Jianguo leaned against the window, looking outside. Qian Nian paced back and forth, seemingly lost in thought. The others remained silent, some sitting, some standing, and some squatting.

He Yuzhu went inside.

No one looked up.

Ma Yuejin took the cigarette out of his mouth, held it in his hand, and crushed it.

"Dean, this is the fifth time."

He didn't look at He Yuzhu, but at the ground.

"About Xiao Wang... it's my fault for not keeping a close eye on things."

Lin Jianguo spoke up from the side.

"It's not your fault. It's a design problem."

Ma Yuejin raised his head.

"The designs were also drawn by me."

The two looked at each other, then turned away.

He Yuzhu took a step forward.

"What's wrong with five times?"

No one responded.

He looked at the people. Ma Yuejin's fingers tapped lightly on his knee, one tap at a time. Lin Jianguo's hands gripped the window frame, his knuckles white. Qian Nian stopped, stood there, head bowed.

A bird chirped twice outside the window, then stopped.

He Yuzhu spoke.

"Xiao Wang is still alive."

"We're still alive."

"Then let's keep going."

Ma Yuejin stood up and threw the crushed cigarette in his hand on the ground.

"Dry."

Lin Jianguo loosened the window frame.

"Dry."

Qian Nian raised her head.

"Dry."

The weather was great on the day of the fifth test launch.

The rocket stood upright on the launch pad, its white casing gleaming in the sunlight. He Yuzhu stood in the control room, staring at the fluctuating data on the screen.

ignition.

Take off.

Primary separation.

Secondary ignition.

Three-stage ignition.

everything is normal.

Lin Jianguo clenched his fists, his nails digging into his flesh.

Twenty minutes later, the data on the screen began to stabilize.

Everyone stood up.

Ma Yuejin shouted.

"Successfully entered orbit!"

Some people started to applaud.

He Yuzhu stared at the signal light that indicated the satellite's separation.

It's not lit.

One second. Two seconds. Three seconds.

It still doesn't light up.

Ma Yuejin rushed over to check the data.

"The separation mechanism... isn't working."

The applause stopped.

The control room was so quiet you could hear your own heartbeat.

He Yuzhu looked out the window.

The rocket was still flying, trailing a long plume of flame, getting farther and farther away until it became a dot.

The satellite is still inside its belly.

Lin Jianguo stood there, motionless.

Ma Yuejin threw his hat on the ground.

No one spoke.

Only that curve on the screen, like a scar, lies there.