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

Zhao Mengyun turned her head to the side, a sly glint in her eyes, and lowered her voice to imitate the tone of the person on the phone:

"Xiaoyun, could you ask Guangqi for me if he can find some time to come back today? Dad has some things to discuss with him!"

She paused, then her smile widened. "And also, he needs to give me some advice on how to be a good new official!"

Liu Guangqi shook his head as he listened, but a smile remained on his lips.

This might seem abrupt to others, but it's perfectly natural to his own father—give him a group leader position and he'll act like a director; now that he's actually a director, who knows how much more pretentious he'll be.

He signaled to the guard in the front seat to turn around and drive towards the courtyard house.

As soon as Volga came to a stop outside the courtyard gate, the familiar sounds of greetings could be faintly heard from inside.

Every time I come home, it's the same scene; the neighbors' warm greetings are never lacking. But this time, the smiles of Yan Bugui, Qin Huairu, and Yi Zhonghai as they greeted me clearly contained more caution and enthusiasm.

The news of the factory promotion spread like wildfire, reaching every corner of the compound in half a day. Nobody was stupid; Liu Haizhong, a veteran blacksmith who had worked half his life, was promoted to director just before retirement—how could he have gotten such good fortune if he hadn't had Liu Guangqi's powerful backing?

Nowadays, Liu Guangqi is no longer just a "promising junior" in everyone's eyes. He is someone who can control one's livelihood and future. Even if they can't directly benefit from his influence like Liu Haizhong, everyone hopes to get some help from him in the factory in the future.

Liu Guangqi responded calmly, offering polite remarks that were neither too intimate nor too distant. He understood perfectly well what was going on, but there was no need to spell it out. Such were the ways of human interaction; to explain them would only make things dull. It was the feeling of being respected and flattered by others that, though needing no fanfare, possessed a weighty sense of groundedness, and savored it occasionally with a unique charm.

Passing through the enthusiastic greetings in the front yard, stepping into the backyard, the air seemed to become a bit clearer.

"dad!"

A crisp, childlike voice rushed towards him, and little Ruixue came running up with her short legs, grabbing his leg in one go. Fengnian, who followed behind, couldn't speak properly yet, only vaguely imitating his sister by calling "Dad," her little hands tightly gripping his clothes, her upturned face filled with the grievance of being left behind.

Liu Guangqi smiled and bent down, gently lifting the two children into her arms, one in each hand.

Now that the second son, Guangtian, and the third son, Guangfu, are both away at school, the house suddenly feels much emptier. The aroma of stir-fried dishes wafts from the kitchen, mixed with a faint smell of meat. Auntie Erda peeks out from the doorway, her spatula still glistening with oil, her face beaming with smiles:

"You're finally back! Come in and sit down, your dad's been talking about you guys for ages."

Before he could finish speaking, Liu Haizhong strode out from the inner room to greet him, his hands unconsciously rubbing together, a forced smile plastered on his face.

"Guangqi, Xiaoyun, you're back? Sit down and rest, Dad will get you some water."

There was not a trace of the workshop director's airs in his posture; he looked more like a half-grown child waiting to be reprimanded.

After the initial excitement of the promotion subsided, Liu Haizhong's belated worries began to surface.

"Guangqi," he asked in a low voice, "Will Dad's current job assignment... jeopardize your career in the ministry?"

It's still the same bangs hairstyle in the end.

Even after becoming the director, when faced with a major issue he couldn't understand, he would still subconsciously look to his eldest son, waiting for a word to make a decision.

Looking at his father's expression, Liu Guangqi couldn't help but smile.

"Dad," he said with a smile, "you must have talked about this a lot with the neighbors in the yard today, right?"

"cough!"

Liu Haizhong felt a heat at the base of his ears, his gaze drifted to the side, and he raised his hand to touch the back of his head.

"It's not really about talking... it's just that everyone came to congratulate me, so I have to... I have to share my experiences with my comrades."

Before he could finish speaking, he felt uneasy and gave a dry laugh.

Just then, Aunt Erda came out of the kitchen with a plate of freshly fried peanuts. She overheard this and mercilessly exposed the truth.

"Come on! Sharing experiences, huh?"

"From the moment you came to the hospital after get off work, you've been wandering around the front yard, the middle yard, and the back yard three times! Do you think no one saw you?"

"Get lost! What do you know, you old woman!"

Liu Haizhong stiffened his neck, trying to save face, but his voice clearly softened.

He turned back to look at his son, his unease no longer concealed:

"Guangqi, Dad's asking you something serious... If word gets out, won't people gossip about you behind your back, saying you're paving the way for Dad and pulling strings?"

Looking at his father's conflicted expression—hoping for a position yet fearing to implicate his son—Liu Guangqi finally chuckled.

He put down the teacup he was holding.

"Dad, you can rest assured."

The voice was steady, neither hurried nor slow.

"First of all, you are a worker in the steel rolling mill. It was the factory leaders who promoted you, not me."

Even if I work in a ministry, I can't influence the decisions made at the factory.

"Secondly, this time you are only temporarily assigned to a position, not directly becoming the factory manager, so there's no need to be so nervous."

"The factory leaders are not fools; they know what they're doing."

Upon hearing this, Liu Haizhong unconsciously straightened his back.

Liu Guangqi continued speaking, his voice not loud, but every word struck the center of his bangs:

"So Dad, you have to understand this—the factory promoted you primarily because you performed exceptionally well in your position."

"As for the fact that you are my father, it's just icing on the cake, making it easier for the leaders to make decisions, and they're happy to do me a favor."

Ultimately, all of this is predicated on the premise that you yourself have value to be "added to".

After he finished speaking, Liu Haizhong was stunned, his mouth half-open, unable to close it for a long time.

He pondered his son's words repeatedly, the tension and worry on his face melting away like snow under the spring sun.

"Yes, yes, that's exactly right!"

He slapped his thigh, relaxed completely, and his eyes lit up again:

"Son, now that you've said that—I feel so much clearer and more at ease!"

After explaining all the intricacies of the steel rolling mill to his father, Liu Guangqi added a reminder.

"Dad, I'll say it again: sooner or later, Director Yang and Deputy Director Li will clash."

"Listen to me—just keep things superficial with these two, don't get too involved."

A few words from him sent a chill down Liu Haizhong's spine.

He originally thought he became the workshop director simply because he did his job well, but he never expected there to be so many twists and turns behind it.

Reminded by his son, he quickly nodded, "Dad remembers! Just manage the factory production, and absolutely don't interfere with anything else!"

Auntie Erda brought in the last dish, overheard the father and son's conversation, and chimed in with a smile:

"Guangqi, you don't know, your dad has never listened to you in his life. If you say go north, he will never look south."

"Ahem!"

Liu Haizhong's face flushed again. He glared at his wife with an air of superiority but did not refute her.

Being exposed in front of my son was a bit embarrassing.

But deep down, he had to admit that his wife was absolutely right.

Looking at his parents' expressions, Liu Guangqi couldn't help but smile slightly.

Compared to many others in the compound, the father, Liu Pangpang, had a rare advantage—he genuinely treated his son as the one who made the decisions in the family.

You know, these days, a father's word is law at home, even if he's wrong, he's still considered right.

Look at these courtyard houses, which family's head doesn't keep their word?

The Yan family in the front yard, even their son, were meticulously accounted for, and they wouldn't let their guard down for a single penny.

Even after Yan Jiecheng got married, he still handed over his monthly salary. After starting a family, he still had to take money out of his own pocket to give to his family.

Look back at your own home—

Although Liu Haizhong usually liked to put on airs, he could really put down his airs and treat his eldest son, Guangqi, as the pillar of the family.

To be honest, among all the fathers in this neighborhood, you won't find another family that treats their son like Liu Pangpang.

Of course, this special treatment was reserved only for Liu Guangqi, the eldest son.

As for the two younger siblings in the family who seem to be just there to make up the numbers, that's a different story.

Dinner was a harmonious and warm meal.

After dinner, he sat with his father in the courtyard for a while, chatting casually until night fell completely before getting up to prepare to return to the ministry compound.

As he was leaving, Yan Bugui stood by the door and greeted him.

"Guangqi, you're leaving already? Come back and visit more often when you have time!"

Liu Guangqi nodded with a smile.

Once in the car, Zhao Mengyun chuckled softly, "Dad, the weight on your heart can finally be lifted."

"Yes, once I explained it to him, he felt at ease."

Liu Guangqi responded.

My father wasn't confused; he was just occasionally blinded by his desire for officialdom. As long as he understood the importance and consequences, he was more perceptive than anyone else.

The car slowly drove out of the alley.

For Liu Guangqi, his father's promotion to workshop director was just a minor incident and did not affect his work.

However, with Liu Guangqi's keen senses, he could somewhat sense that the steel mill's decision to have his father work as a substitute worker was probably not solely due to his father's outstanding performance...

The more likely reason lies with oneself.

But this is not important.

In his view, this was nothing more than a ripple spreading out in the pool of water at the steel rolling mill.

Liu Guangqi was too lazy to think about it further.

In the end, both Director Yang and Li Huaide would eventually come to him.

Then it will become clear.

Compared to the infighting within the factory, he valued the development of the second-generation computer more.

The following day, the Institute of Computing Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The guards at the gate spotted Liu Guangqi from afar, so they moved the roadblock aside and gave him a proper salute.

With that red pass, he traveled here without any hindrance.

In the computer project team's meeting room, Liu Guangqi began his daily half-hour Q&A session as usual.

Interestingly, the half-hour Q&A session was gradually extended by the researchers into a technical lesson personally guided by Liu Guangqi.

Only after all the accumulated problems had been clarified did Liu Guangqi cough lightly to steer the conversation back on track.

Next, they formally discussed the specific design of the second-generation transistor computer.

From determining the overall framework, to implementing it layer by layer, from primary to secondary.

In this day and age, the most crucial integrated circuit chip for computers was already developed abroad as early as 1958.

That was during the height of the Cold War confrontation, when electronic technology became the forefront of the power struggle among developed countries.

Engineers at Texas Instruments ingeniously integrated various electronic components onto a tiny germanium chip, connecting them with strands of gold wire to create a rudimentary circuit, thus pioneering the integrated circuit.

Although China does not yet have chips, Liu Guangqi is confident that he can solve the problem based on his previous experience in developing CNC machine tools and manufacturing integrated circuit boards.

As for other electronic components that are not yet mastered in China, Liu Guangqi is also familiar with their technical principles.

Independent research and development and manufacturing are not difficult tasks.

Especially now that I'm at the Institute of Computing Technology, this connection makes it easier to move things forward.

Therefore, Liu Guangqi decided to set a research and development plan from now on and move forward step by step in a solid manner.

"Comrades, time waits for no one!"

"Our computer project team must produce results as soon as possible. Therefore, I have decided that the second-generation transistor computer must be successfully developed by the end of this year at the earliest, and by the middle of next year at the latest!"

Upon hearing the deadline set by Liu Guangqi, even the research team members who had been impressed by his computer knowledge the day before couldn't help but hold their breath.

In less than a year, the development of the second-generation transistor computer was to be completed?

It was as if a project that others would consider three to five years had been crammed into the blink of an eye. Someone couldn't help but speak up from the crowd: