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

Liu Guangqi returned to his ministry office.

Around noon, a manila envelope bearing the name of a higher authority was handed to him by a designated person.

The envelope was not thick.

Inside were brand-new Level 5 Engineer certificates and a thick stack of award vouchers.

Grain coupons, cloth coupons, industrial coupons... these were mostly categories of daily necessities.

Liu Guangqi casually flipped through the pages.

Until a sheet of paper of a completely different texture slipped through my fingers.

Those were not ordinary tickets.

The seal of the Bureau of Government Offices Administration was as red as blood, stamped on a thin piece of paper.

It is clearly written in black and white: Comrade Liu Guangqi is permitted to purchase one 49 brand television set.

Liu Guangqi's gaze lingered on those few lines of text for a moment.

A television set—these days, it's not something you can just bring home if you have money.

It all started eight years ago: the first black-and-white television set in China was born in Beijing, and the city was named after it. In the following years, nearly thirty television signal stations were built across the country, but the total number of television sets was still less than three hundred.

They only appear in the conference rooms of government agencies or in the living rooms of certain special families.

Ordinary people? They don't even have the chance to touch it.

So this thing doesn't have a "ticket" at all, only an approval document. Without a piece of paper stamped by a superior, the store won't even open its door for you.

Liu Guangqi clicked his tongue softly.

He never expected that there would be such a gift hidden in this commendation.

As expected of someone from above, their actions were indeed extraordinary.

As I was about to leave work, the phone on my desk rang again.

Professor Lu Hai's cheerful voice came through the receiver:

"Guangqi, I read the newspaper! 'Industrial Pioneer'—that's a prestigious title, I'm so envious."

Liu Guangqi rubbed his temples and smiled helplessly:

"Stop teasing me, my phone hasn't stopped ringing all day."

He paused, then asked:

"You can't be calling at this hour just to talk about this, right? The Institute of Computing Technology probably doesn't have that much free time."

"You little rascal, you're quick-witted."

Lu Hai's laughter subsided slightly, and his tone became serious:

"Let's get down to business. I need to let you know about the security arrangements for the second-generation computer."

Liu Guangqi immediately understood:

"Has someone come to inquire?"

"It wasn't just one or two schools. Several universities called, wanting to conduct technical exchanges, but I turned them all down according to confidentiality regulations."

Lu Hai lowered his voice:

"The most troublesome thing was Tsinghua University; they directly asked to visit the second-generation aircraft. I didn't agree."

"I reckon their next step will be to come looking for you."

"It's no use coming to me."

Liu Guangqi's voice was calm, yet it sounded like a block of iron landing on the table:

"Professor Lu, there's no room for compromise on this. Wasn't the lesson from the last leak enough? The second-generation fighter jet is linked to national defense projects; if something goes wrong again, no one can afford the consequences."

"I can't open this door."

Other things might be negotiable, but on this one, he would never back down.

"I knew you'd say that!"

Lu Hai seemed to breathe a sigh of relief on the other end of the phone, and his tone became firmer:

"I share this stance. Although I used to teach at Tsinghua University, I am now with the Institute of Computing Technology. The confidentiality regulations are an ironclad rule, and there is no room for compromise on matters of principle."

He paused for a moment, then his voice became lighter again:

"I'm relieved that you're confident."

For Liu Guangqi, his alma mater is a cherished memory, but principles are his bottom line. This is a line that no one can cross.

"Oh, right—" Lu Hai suddenly remembered something and said with a smile:

"Your secondment period is over, and you just leave without even saying goodbye to the institute? That's really not very considerate."

"When are you coming back? Everyone's been thinking about you."

Liu Guangqi looked out the window.

The sun was already setting, and it was getting dark.

"Tomorrow," he said.

"That's perfect!" Lu Hai's interest was piqued.

"The director will be here tomorrow too, and he mentioned wanting to meet you."

"Director?"

Liu Guangqi's fingers tightened slightly on the receiver.

The director of the Institute of Computing Technology—the titan who single-handedly propelled China's applied mathematics to the forefront of the world, and the mathematical genius who shook the world with his work on Goldbach's Conjecture.

For decades to come, every person who studies mathematics is essentially reading his book.

Such a person...would actually take the initiative to ask to see me?

On the phone, Lu Hai's voice was filled with undisguised envy and satisfaction.

"Indeed."

Professor Lu's voice was tinged with amusement. "The director specifically asked about you yesterday and highly praised your achievements in the second-generation computer project."

"Guangqi, this time you have truly earned the director's appreciation."

Liu Guangqi took a slow breath, suppressing the turmoil in his heart, and solemnly replied into the receiver, "Professor Lu, please rest assured, I will be there on time tomorrow morning."

Just as he hung up the phone, the ministry's closing bell rang. Liu Guangqi tidied his desk and, accompanied by his bodyguard, went straight to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to pick up Zhao Mengyun.

Outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs gate, bicycle bells rang incessantly, and a steady stream of people passed by. A black Volga stood quietly by the roadside, conspicuously visible in the crowd. Zhao Mengyun had just said goodbye to her colleagues when she spotted the familiar car, her eyes lighting up instantly. She quickly approached, opened the car door, and got in, immediately taking out two neatly folded newspapers from her briefcase—the *Minzhong Daily* and the *Sijiucheng Daily*, both featuring Liu Guangqi's photograph.

"Comrade Liu Guangqi," she deliberately put on a stern face, mimicking a reporter's tone, and gently tossed the newspaper aside, "as an advanced representative in the industrial field, what are your thoughts at this moment?"

Seeing his wife's lively demeanor, Liu Guangqi couldn't help but chuckle. He reached out and held her slightly cool fingers, earnestly agreeing, "I have many thoughts, but first and foremost, I must thank my beloved Comrade Zhao Mengyun. If it weren't for her meticulous arrangement of everything at home, even ironing every wrinkle in my shirts so neatly, how could I have moved forward without any distractions? Therefore, this honor in the newspaper rightfully belongs to her."

Zhao Mengyun's cheeks flushed, the blush spreading all the way to her ears. She lightly punched him with her fist, saying, "You're just good at saying nice things." Despite her words, she couldn't hide the smile on her lips. Her fingertips traced the photos on the newspaper, her eyes filled with tenderness and pride.

The two chatted and laughed for a while, the car becoming warm and cozy. Liu Guangqi then took out a few items from his briefcase, first handing a brand-new certificate along with several award vouchers to Zhao Mengyun.

"Here, I'm handing over the reins of the household finances to you. This is a reward just awarded by the committee."

Zhao Mengyun accepted it with a smile, but when she carefully examined the red certificate, she was slightly taken aback—and then a deeper joy welled up inside her.

"Another promotion? This is... a Level 5 engineer?" She looked up at him, her eyes shining. "Guangqi, your technical title promotion is even faster than your administrative rank promotion."

She had initially thought it was just a routine administrative adjustment, but it turned out to be an engineer rating. A Level 5 engineer—this was already a professor-level recognition in academia, and for Liu Guangqi to reach this level at such a young age was truly rare. Zhao Mengyun's heart surged with emotion, and her gaze towards him held not only love but also a greater sense of admiration.

The surprises didn't stop there. Liu Guangqi took out another red approval slip from his bag and waved it gently in front of her.

"Take a look at this one, it was also awarded by the college committee, does it look familiar?"

Zhao Mengyun took the document and examined it closely, her eyes immediately lighting up with a smile: "A permit for a television?"

Zhao Mengyun took the note stamped with a red seal, her fingertips trembling slightly.

She knew this object all too well—the television set in her living room, covered by an embroidered cloth, emitting a dim, yellowish light every night. But she also knew better than anyone the weight of this thin piece of paper. Ordinary people, even clutching stacks of banknotes, couldn't knock on that invisible door.

Memories suddenly flooded back.

On summer nights in the General Logistics Department compound, the electric fan hummed as she and her younger brother Mengsheng squeezed into a wicker chair, watching four girls in white dresses stand on tiptoe on the screen, listening to the reciter read "Three Girls from the Factory" in a resounding tone. Later, after she got married, that small, glowing window quietly disappeared from her life.

She didn't expect—

Her husband could so casually hand her such a precious item.

Seeing the sudden glint in his wife's eyes, Liu Guangqi smiled faintly and turned to the guard, saying, "Let's not go back to the courtyard yet, let's go to the department store."

As dusk settled, deliberately soft footsteps echoed in the corridor on the third floor of Building No. 5 in the ministry compound.

The guard, with his arms taut, steadily supported a large wooden crate wrapped in dark green velvet. A square note was pasted on the corner of the crate, the four characters "Handle with care" still fresh in ink. This display was like a pebble thrown into a deep pool, the ripples spreading only faintly at the bottom.

The person living across the hall was Director Zhou from the Personnel Department. When he opened his door and saw this scene, his gaze behind his glasses paused slightly, then a polite smile appeared on his face as he nodded and closed the door. Across the hall, Elder Xu from the General Affairs Section was carrying a tin thermos downstairs. He paused at the corner, his gaze sweeping briefly over the velvet wrapping, but he asked nothing, only nodding to the guard.

The people living in this building all know how to maintain a proper distance. Curiosity is understandable, but there's no need to rush to ask questions. There's still a long way to go, and what needs to be seen will eventually be seen. If it were the old courtyard house they lived in—the threshold would probably be worn down by now, and Teacher Yan would definitely be peering in, stroking the wooden frame while asking about the price, the channels, and the quotas without leaving a single detail.

There was no clamor of being fawned over, nor any trivial questioning. Everything was completed quietly, which made Liu Guangqi feel comfortable.

Soon, the 14-inch 49 brand television was placed in front of the living room window. Removing the velvet cloth revealed a dark brown wooden casing with a glossy sheen from the varnish, and a faint scent of pine and paint wafted through the air. The glass screen resembled a dark lake, with only two gleaming silver knobs embedded beneath it—one for volume, the other for the channel.

"The antenna needs to be set up higher," the delivery worker said, deftly propping up the fishbone antenna outside the window, "so the signal will be more stable."

After everyone had left, Zhao Mengyun hurriedly plugged in the power.

"Click".

With a slight turn of the knob, the screen suddenly filled with a gray-white static, and amidst the crackling of electricity, a blurry figure gradually emerged. Though it was black and white, and though it carried a rough, static sound, that familiar female voice still pierced through time, clearly filling the room—

"We are girls from the factory..."

Zhao Mengyun suddenly turned around, her eyes sparkling as she looked at her husband, her lips curving upwards involuntarily.

Liu Guangqi gazed quietly at the machine.

In this day and age, it is a treasure that many people dare not even dream of owning. But in his eyes, it is nothing more than an old box with few channels, requiring manual tuning, and turning completely dark every Tuesday afternoon.

But at that moment, the subtle joy in his wife's eyes suddenly brought warmth to the box.

Televisions have become mere decorations on the wall, and many households rarely turn them on more than a few times a year.

Liu Guangqi shifted his gaze from the flickering screen to his wife's face beside him. In the interplay of black and white light and shadow, her smile was exceptionally vibrant. That focused and radiant joy was more moving than any image.

He walked over gently and wrapped his arms around her from behind. Zhao Mengyun was lost in thought when she naturally leaned back, softly sighing, "That poem was recited so beautifully."

Liu Guangqi lowered his head and smelled the faint fragrance in her hair. The pointless mockery he had felt earlier towards the outdated equipment suddenly vanished without a trace.

Worth it.

For such a smile, he would gladly pluck a star from the night sky, let alone a television. Besides, having this machine here truly adds a long-lost sense of "home" to the house.

Yes, now all that's missing are those two little ones.

It was still early, and the newly purchased equipment finally caught the program's broadcast. After dinner, they watched for a while, then washed up and lay down. Moonlight filtered through the curtains, casting long, thin streaks of light on the blankets.

Zhao Mengyun turned over, gently placing her arm around Liu Guangqi's waist. A laughing voice rang out in the dim light: "When I went back to the hospital a few days ago, guess what I saw?"