Courtyard House: I'm an engineer, and a fairy godmother transferred me to a different position.

He spoke casually, as if chatting with someone: "It's a journey of thousands of kilometers. Nobody can guarantee anything will happen."

He paused slightly, then said with a smile, "It's good that everyone is safe. If the equipment is broken, we can rebuild it."

"Isn't this what I, the chief engineer, do?"

Gao Jianjun was stunned. He looked up at him, almost in disbelief.

This renowned engineer, who was highly respected in the industrial system, was surprisingly down-to-earth and spoke with such sincerity.

Liu Guangqi pointed to the neatly packed new equipment behind him and smiled slightly:

"Just consider it a case of good things coming to those who wait. Besides, compared to the difficulties our comrades face in the Gobi Desert of Northwest China, what are these little setbacks?"

It's just one more trip, it won't cause any trouble.

The three words "minor setback" sounded light and easy, yet they instantly eased Gao Jianjun's tense shoulders and back.

The tough man's eyes suddenly welled up with tears, and the guilt that had been building up in his heart for days was washed away by a warm current.

He suddenly straightened his back, brought his feet together, and saluted Liu Guangqi, his voice slightly hoarse:

"Don't worry, Mr. Liu!"

If there is even the slightest mistake this time, and the equipment is damaged in the slightest, I, Gao Jianjun, will go to the Northwest to dig sand myself, and I will never bring shame to the army!

We will ensure your safe arrival and the safe delivery of your equipment!

Upon receiving the order, the soldiers in the transport squad immediately sprang into action.

The heavy equipment parts were carefully lifted onto the vehicle, in an orderly and silent manner.

Before long, everything was loaded.

Liu Guangqi didn't say much, opened the passenger door of the lead car, and jumped in nimbly.

Two guards, carrying boxes, got into the second truck that followed closely behind, just in case.

With engines roaring, the convoy slowly drove out of the gate of the Ministry of Machinery Industry.

Liu Guangqi glanced back at the familiar office building, then looked towards the long, unknown distance in front of the car.

The outline of the ministry gradually shrank in the rearview mirror until it disappeared completely.

The wheels rolled over the road, the road ahead was long, and only the sound of the wind accompanied us.

The cold wind hissed in through the cracks in the window, scraping against his face like a dull knife. Gao Jianjun gripped the steering wheel firmly with both hands, and the truck lurched slightly—it had hit another pothole, but he only made the truck wobble slightly. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Liu Guangqi, the engineer from the ministry, pulling a thick book from his bag, its cover covered in curvilinear foreign characters.

"Is Engineer Liu still reading books on the way?" Gao Jianjun's voice mingled with the engine noise.

Liu Guangqi looked up and smiled: "The journey is long, and if you don't look through things, your brain will easily rust."

Gao Jianjun grinned: "From here to the Northwest, it'll take at least ten days, enough time for you to thoroughly chew through this brick." He paused, then suddenly asked, "Have you ever run this route before?"

"First time." Liu Guangqi closed the book. "Captain Gao should be familiar with this, right?"

"I know it well!" Gao Jianjun straightened his back unconsciously. "It's been more than ten years. I was a transport soldier during the war. This road went from being dirt clods to gravel—it still makes you feel like your guts are tied in knots." He spread his right hand out, his palm calloused over and over, like a dry field ridge.

He looked ahead at the endless, undulating dirt road and said in a lower voice, "When will we have a smooth road that doesn't bounce around like a sieve?"

Outside the window, barren hills rolled back like brownish-yellow waves. But Liu Guangqi's eyes shone brightly: "It will happen."

"What?"

"I mean, it definitely will be." Liu Guangqi's tone was as calm as if he were talking about something in front of him. "In the future, it won't just be flat roads, but all the mountains and rivers around here will be paved with shiny black asphalt. The trucks will be warm in winter and cool in summer, and the seats will be so soft you can sink into them."

Gao Jianjun was taken aback at first, then burst into laughter: "Engineer Liu, what a load of rubbish! Soft seats? I'd be lucky if my lousy cab didn't get drafty."

"It's not just empty talk." Liu Guangqi gazed into the distance, as if he could see the shadow of decades to come. "It's only a matter of time. In the future, trains will travel 300 li in an hour, and airplanes will take off from the south at noon and arrive in the north before dark."

Gao Jianjun's smile slowly faded. Three hundred li in an hour? Wouldn't that be like floating? His throat tightened, and after a long pause, he managed to squeeze out a sentence: "Really... really that high?"

"I'll definitely get there," Liu Guangqi answered decisively. He knew what he carried in his arms—those advanced blueprints, especially the CNC machine tools he was already working on—was the first spark. Once the current difficult days were over, the debts were paid off, and his family's wealth was solid, with the frenzied drive of this land to build roads and bridges, it was only a matter of time before these potholes were transformed into paved roads.

Gao Jianjun fell silent. He didn't understand the term "industrial foundation" and couldn't imagine what a "construction powerhouse" looked like, but he understood the heavy, unwavering conviction in Liu Guangqi's words. It wasn't a dream; it was as if he had glimpsed tomorrow in advance.

He didn't reply, only gripped the steering wheel tighter and pressed the accelerator more steadily. The road was still bumpy, the wind still biting, but somehow a warm fire rose in his chest, making his whole body feel a little more relaxed. This ordinary mission of delivering supplies to the Northwest suddenly carried a different weight—as if their old truck was churning and puffing along a brand new year, heading towards that vast and scorching land.

The wheels rolled along the gravel road for nine days and nine nights. When the last bumpy stretch ended, Liu Guangqi looked out the window. The boundless Gobi Desert unfolded in the twilight, like a rough, yellow sheet of hemp paper spread out to the horizon.

The setting sun bathed the boundless Gobi Desert in a molten gold-red hue. The north wind, carrying sand and gravel, slammed violently against the metal cab, emitting a piercing shriek.

"Mr. Liu, the sentry post is just ahead!" Gao Jianjun said, slamming on the brakes. The car jolted and swayed before finally coming to a stop. "This is all we can take you. Someone will come to pick you up later."

Liu Guangqi nodded in acknowledgment. He stretched his stiff back from sitting for so long, his gaze falling on the book "Engineering Cybernetics" on his lap—the edges of the pages were already worn and frayed from the bumpy journey. This work was from the hand of that national hero hailed as "worth a hundred thousand soldiers." In his previous life, he had read the new edition, but after his rebirth, he had always wanted to find the original Chinese version from 1958, only to be constantly delayed by various matters. Unexpectedly, during this nine-day trek, he had such ample time. When the bumpy ride became too severe, he tied the book to his leg with a thin rope to prevent it from slipping. In this way, relying on the wisdom between the lines, he endured this long and arduous journey.

The moment he pushed open the car door and got out, the biting cold wind rushed into his neck like ice water, making him shiver.

The soldiers at the sentry post had already come forward to greet him, taking the briefcase from the accompanying guard: "Comrade Engineer, come inside and warm up! Dinner is ready."

Stepping into the simple military tent, the dim yellow light of the kerosene lamp cast a small patch of warmth, and the cow dung in the stove crackled softly. Only then did Liu Guangqi raise his hand to touch his cheek, the touch still icy and stinging. He suddenly truly understood that the so-called "hardships of the Great Northwest" were never just empty words on paper. Any prior imagination or sentiment seemed pale and detached in the face of firsthand experience.

Dinner was simple but hearty: a large bowl of steaming meat soup and several baked buns, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The soldier served him a full bowl, scratching his head shyly: "Comrade Engineer, the conditions here are poor, please bear with us. Being able to eat something hot is almost like celebrating the New Year for us."

Liu Guangqi could tell that this was the best hospitality they could offer. He smiled, lowered his head, and took a sip of hot soup. The scalding warmth flowed from his throat straight into his stomach, slightly dispelling the chill that had seeped into his bones. "It's already very good," he said sincerely, "much better than I expected. Thank you for your hard work."

As night fell, Liu Guangqi lay on the hard bed covered with dry straw, the ceaseless howling of the wind outside his tent filling his ears. He tossed and turned, unable to sleep, not because of the harsh conditions, but because his mind was a jumble of thoughts—tomorrow, he would meet those who had forged the nation's glory. Tension and anticipation clashed within him like two undercurrents. Those names, revered as cornerstones and legends in later records and textbooks, he would now set foot on the same land, meet them with his own eyes, and perhaps even work alongside them. This prospect shrouded everything around him in a hazy, unreal sense of reality.

As he pondered, a self-deprecating smile appeared on Liu Guangqi's lips. Why overthink it? He was only here to assemble machines, while those people were the true pillars supporting this sky.

His chaotic thoughts gradually subsided in the latter half of the night, and he drifted off to sleep in exhaustion, dreaming of a hazy scene of forging swords on the wasteland.

At dawn the next day, before the sky had fully brightened, a military green jeep was already parked outside the sentry post.

The driver was a dark-skinned, lean young soldier. Upon seeing Liu Guangqi emerge, he nimbly jumped out of the vehicle, straightened his back, and gave a crisp military salute.

"Director Liu! The research institute at the base sent me to pick you up. Please get in the car."

Liu Guangqi nodded in agreement, said nothing more, opened the car door and got into the back seat.

With a roar of engines, the vehicle pulled away from the outpost and headed deeper into the Gobi Desert. The further they went, the more desolate and barren the surrounding landscape became, with the cold wind howling against the car windows. Meanwhile, the level of security along the route noticeably increased. Armed sentries, in pairs, were concealed behind sandbag fortifications, their eyes scanning passing vehicles like hawks. At each checkpoint, the procedures were rigorously demanding. The driver had to repeatedly get out of the vehicle and hand over his documents; the soldiers in the guard post would immediately dial a secure line to carefully verify the information, even confirming the number and identities of the people in the vehicle multiple times.

Liu Guangqi sat in the back seat, silently watching this repetitive process unfold, feeling no impatience whatsoever, only that it was to be expected.

The endless camps and camouflage nets that obscured the sky stretched all the way to the horizon.

On the gray and yellow Gobi Desert, this land, codenamed "Gold and Silver Beach," lies silently, like a sleeping giant.

He stood in front of the car, gazing at the vast expanse before him, a heavy sense of solemnity welling up in his heart—every grain of sand here seemed to hold the silent thunder, waiting for those anonymous giants to lift up a new sky for this nation at some point in the future.

As the jeep came to a stop in front of a drab, gray research building, it was already getting dark.

A middle-aged man in faded overalls stood in front of the building, his figure thin, pacing back and forth, repeatedly rubbing his hands together.

As soon as the car door opened, he rushed forward and grasped the person's hand tightly as if he were holding a long-lost relative—the palm was rough and sandblasted, a mark left by years of dealing with steel blueprints.

"Chief Engineer Liu! We've been waiting for you!"

His voice trembled with barely suppressed joy, "I've read your technical report on five-axis linkage no less than ten times—and today I've finally met you in person!"

Before Liu Guangqi could even stand properly, he was eagerly led into the building by the other party.

"Your accommodations have been arranged, and the bedding is all freshly aired. Why don't you rest for a bit?"

"Let's look at the equipment first, Director Duan."

Liu Guangqi interrupted with a smile, his tone steady but leaving no room for negotiation, "The machine matter can't be delayed for a moment. Now that I'm here, I can't rest easy until I see the situation with my own eyes."

Director Duan paused for a moment, then burst into loud laughter.

"Great! That's just what I'm looking for! Everyone here who does research is just as impatient!"

He turned and gave a few instructions to the bodyguards accompanying him, then led Liu Guangqi deeper into the area.

Along both sides of the corridor, signs such as "Theory Group 1" and "Structure Group 2" hang on the tightly closed doors, conveying a tense and focused atmosphere in the silence.

In the workshop where the five-axis CNC center is located, several engineers are discussing in hushed tones around a huge machine tool.

Upon seeing Director Duan lead his people in, everyone stopped what they were doing.

"Comrades," Director Duan raised his voice, "this is Comrade Liu Guangqi—a member of the Division of Technological Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the person in charge of the development of the five-axis CNC center. He has come here specifically to assist us in repairing the equipment and to guide our follow-up work."

"Academician?"

Low gasps of breath spread through the crowd.

A young man wearing glasses couldn't help but pull an old newspaper out of his pocket. The front page prominently featured a report from several months ago on "a world-class breakthrough in five-axis linkage."

"Committee Member Liu! I read about you in the newspaper!" His eyes shone. "I heard that the breakthrough in the entire linkage algorithm was achieved in less than six months? And the second-generation transistor computer—were you also involved in its core design?"