Courtyard House: Starting as an eighth-grade worker, with too many wives.

And it's an engine.

What is an engine?

It is the heart of all industry.

Cars need it, airplanes need it, tanks need it, ships need it. Without an engine, even the most beautiful metal shell is just a pile of scrap metal. Breakthrough in this one area affects an entire industrial chain—materials, processing, control, testing…every link will take a giant leap forward.

"Engineer Li."

Old Qi suddenly turned around and grabbed the hand of the young man next to him.

They gripped him so tightly that their knuckles turned white, as if afraid he would vanish into thin air.

"You're a genius!"

Li Jianguo's hand was sore from being gripped so tightly, but he didn't pull it away.

"The future of our country..." Old Qi looked at him, tears welling up in his cloudy old eyes again, "...it all depends on talented young people like you. Seeing you, I suddenly feel old—but I'm happy!"

He spoke, laughed, and cried all at the same time.

Tears streamed down his face, and he raised his hand to wipe them away. He wiped them away, and new tears welled up. He wiped them away again, and more welled up.

He keeps going back and forth, like a child.

The other experts had already surrounded Li Jianguo, forming a tight circle around him. A dozen or so gray-haired old men, each a force to be reckoned with in their respective fields, were now huddled together like a flock of sparrows scrambling for food.

"Professor Li," an elderly expert wearing thick glasses leaned forward, "don't worry. These old bones of ours are all at your disposal; use them wherever you need them. Let's get this thing built as quickly as possible!"

"Yes!" someone chimed in. "I can't wait. I really want to see the day when our own engine, truly belonging to China, roars into the sky."

As he spoke, he made a spinning gesture in the air with his right hand, his eyes shining frighteningly.

Li Jianguo was a little embarrassed by the praise and raised his hand to touch his nose.

"Actually, there's room for improvement."

The sound wasn't loud, but when it reached the conference room, it felt like a bomb had been dropped.

Everyone fell silent.

"What do you mean?" Old Qi's eyes widened in surprise.

"The current materials are not up to par." Li Jianguo put down his hand and glanced at everyone. "To enable the engine to provide more kinetic energy, we must reduce its weight. The casting material should ideally be an alloy—we need to ask materials experts to work on this."

Quiet.

A deathly silence.

Then--

"Can it still work?"

Old Qi's voice changed. He grabbed Li Jianguo's arm, his nails almost digging into his flesh.

Li Jianguo nodded.

"The principles of an engine aren't actually that complicated," he said calmly, as if commenting on the nice weather. "Right now, the main area for improvement is materials. To take it a step further, we need to work on electronic controls—that's a long road ahead, and I don't think we can do it right now."

He paused.

"But one day, definitely."

"good!"

Old Qi suddenly roared.

The sound buzzed and echoed in the conference room, making the windows tremble.

"A truly formidable young man!" He released Li Jianguo's arm, took a step back, and looked the young man up and down as if seeing him for the first time. "Truly a formidable young man! Our future—is so promising!"

The others had the same expression on their faces.

Li Jianguo had seen that look before.

In my past life's memories, the elderly people who dedicated their lives to the Republic had this expression on their faces when they saw the trees they planted with their own hands finally grow into towering giants.

We were prepared for a tough battle.

They stay up all night, tackle tough challenges, and if one year isn't enough, they try two, if two years aren't enough, they try five. No one complains, because that's how this path has always been taken.

Who knew that the technology would be right in front of us while we were in a meeting?

It is still the most advanced technology in the world.

They can already imagine what the scene will be like when this news reaches the international community.

Those arrogant foreigners would probably line up to come to China to study.

By then—

They also kept it hidden.

I'm not going to tell you.

Li Jianguo sat in the middle of the crowd, surrounded by elderly experts with gray hair. They were all over fifty, some even past sixty, yet at this moment they were as humble as a group of students.

Everyone was holding a notebook.

Everyone bent over slightly, bringing their ears closer and closer, as if afraid of missing a single word.

When encountering something he didn't understand, he humbly asked for guidance. There was not a trace of arrogance on his face, only a pure thirst for knowledge.

They adopted an extremely humble attitude.

Even though Li Jianguo was decades younger than them, they still respectfully addressed him as "Teacher Li".

Looking at them, Li Jianguo felt a surge of warmth in his heart.

It's piping hot.

It is because of these people that such a powerful nation was formed in later generations.

"Discussing it in the meeting room is useless."

Old Qi slammed his notebook shut and stood up.

"Shall we go to the workshop now?"

He stared intently at Li Jianguo.

"Try it out and see what happens. Practice makes perfect."

"good!"

"Yes, seeing the actual object is more intuitive."

The proposal was immediately and unanimously approved.

The group left the conference room in a grand procession, walked through the corridor, and headed towards the workshop.

Deputy Factory Director Li was monitoring the production progress in the workshop when he suddenly heard a series of noisy footsteps. He looked up and froze.

A dozen or so experts filed in, led by Elder Qi, with the young engineer who had just arrived that morning beside him.

The workers stopped what they were doing and looked around curiously.

"Old Qi!" Deputy Factory Director Li quickly went to greet him, wiping his hands on his clothes. "What brings you to the workshop? It's so dirty and noisy here—"

"It's nothing," Old Qi waved his hand. "Come over and make a model."

He turned his head and glanced at the machine tools and equipment in the workshop, then looked at Deputy Factory Director Li.

"Send us a skilled craftsman."

After speaking, he turned to Li Jianguo, his tone filled with obvious respect.

"Teacher Li, where do you think we should begin?"

Deputy Factory Director Li was stunned.

It was only then that they realized these experts seemed to follow Li Jianguo's lead.

These guys are all real technical experts. Wherever they go, they're treated like royalty. Not to mention ordinary workers, even he, the deputy factory director, has to be very polite to them.

If it weren't for the requirement from their superiors, their factory wouldn't have been able to invite them this time.

Yet this group of people were so respectful to a young man.

It seems I underestimated Li Jianguo before.

It's remarkable that they were able to gain the approval of veteran experts in such a short time.

"Master Yi, Master Liu," Deputy Factory Director Li quickly called out two names, "Bring your apprentices over."

Two experienced workers put down their work and walked over quickly.

Deputy Factory Director Li glanced around the workshop again, and after confirming that there were no problems, he wisely stepped aside so as not to disturb their work.

I looked up at the clock on the wall; it was almost noon.

My gaze shifted and I spotted Xu Damao peeking around from the side.

"Xu Damao, come here!"

Xu Damao was watching the group of experts having a good time when he heard the shouts. He quickly ran over with a smile on his face.

"Factory manager, what are your instructions?"

"Go to the canteen and find Sha Zhu," Deputy Factory Director Li said in a low voice. "Tell him to hurry up and cook lunch. Make sure it's ready by noon; we have important guests at the factory. Bring out whatever good food and drinks the canteen has. Make him show off his skills; don't let him hide anything."

Xu Damao's eyes darted around, glancing at Li Jianguo, who was surrounded by experts.

"Is it because of that Engineer Li?"

"Don't ask any more questions," Deputy Factory Director Li glared at him. "Go now."

"Okay, I know!"

Xu Damao responded and turned to leave.

He walked a few steps, then looked back again.

In the distance, Li Jianguo was squatting on the ground, pointing at the blueprints and talking to the experts. Old Qi was bent over, his head close, listening and nodding.

Xu Damao withdrew his gaze, recalling the conflict between the old man, Sha Zhu, and others in the courtyard and Li Jianguo, and couldn't help but laugh.

These idiots.

They've offended someone they can't afford to offend, and they don't even realize it.

He walked towards the cafeteria with a sense of superiority, as if he were the only one who was sober in a world of drunks.

"Silly Zhu!"

As soon as he entered the canteen kitchen, Xu Damao started shouting at the top of his lungs.

"Deputy Factory Director Li sent me to find you. Hurry up and cook. Don't be lazy, use all your skills. We're entertaining important guests at noon today."

Sha Zhu was sitting at the chopping board picking vegetables, without even looking up.

"Xu Damao, what important guest makes you so cocky?"

Ma Hua, who was busy working on the side, couldn't help but retort when he heard Xu Da Mao's arrogant tone.

Xu Damao chuckled.

"What kind of guest? An expert!"

He lowered his voice, took a few steps closer, and looked mysterious.

"There are foreigners inside!"

Sha Zhu paused in his vegetable-picking, then finally looked up.

Seeing his interest, Xu Damao became even more smug.

"But none of these experts are the most important. The most important person is that engineer named Li Jianguo who came this morning. He's a big shot who's been fawned over by these experts."

Sha Zhu's face instantly darkened.

"You want me to cook for him?"

"What else can you do?" Xu Damao looked at him like he was an idiot. "You're just a cook, and he's an expert. If you don't cook for him, do you expect him to cook for you?"

He pursed his lips.

"Get to work quickly. Deputy Factory Director Li said he won't allow it if things aren't done well by noon."

"Alright, I know, get out of here!" Sha Zhu waved his hand impatiently to shoo him away.

"Sigh, I kindly came to deliver a message, and this is your attitude?" Xu Damao took a step back. "How can you be so ungrateful?"

"This is the cafeteria, my territory." Sha Zhu stood up. "Now that you've said your piece, get out of here. I don't want to see you."

"You want me to stay here? I won't!"

Xu Damao turned and left, but looked back at the door once more.

Sha Zhu's face was as black as the bottom of a pot.

He couldn't help but laugh, and staggered out of the cafeteria.

"Calling him 'Silly Pillar' is really accurate—he's a complete idiot."

In the workshop, Li Jianguo was engrossed in studying engine blueprints with the experts.

Sunlight streamed through the high windows, falling on the spread-out blueprints and on the graying hair.

No one noticed the passage of time.

Inside the courtyard, Banggeng began to take action.

He practiced the lock-picking method his father taught him several times.

First, poke it with a wire, then apply a little force and twist it—click.

opened.

Once he was sure he could open it, he sneaked out of the house, crouched low, and clung to the wall, making his way to Li Jianguo's kitchen door.

The courtyard was quiet.

Everyone who was supposed to go to work has gone to work. The eldest uncle isn't here, the second eldest uncle isn't here, and the third eldest uncle isn't here either.

The deaf old woman came back from the hospital after having her cast put on and lay down on the bed to sleep without making a sound.

Banggeng looked around to make sure no one was there, then took out a wire and poked it into the keyhole.

One, two—

Click.

The lock is open.

He pushed open the door, slipped inside, and closed it behind him.

Turning around, I saw the meat on the cutting board.

Half a jar of lard, pure white. And a bowl of cracklings, golden and glistening, sprinkled with a little salt.

The drool almost dripped down Banggeng's throat.

He impatiently reached out, grabbed a handful of pork cracklings, and stuffed them into his mouth.

Chew hard, and your mouth will be full of oil.

It smelled so good that he kept slurping it up.

While chewing, his eyes darted around. The cabinet door was half-open, and it was filled with pork and chicken.

His eyes grew brighter and brighter.

He pulled out a large bundle and stuffed things into it one by one.

Stuff the pork inside.

Stuff the chicken inside.

The half-empty jar of lard was carefully carried inside, as if afraid of spilling it.

Just as he was getting into the swing of things, his foot suddenly slipped.

He nearly dropped what he was holding; his heart ached terribly, and he gripped it tightly, twisting his body abruptly—

He crashed into the cabinet next to him.

His head hit it first.

bang-

The large bundle in his arms didn't fall, but the dishes in the cupboard were knocked out by him and shattered all over the floor.

He himself was also badly injured.

My front tooth was already a little loose, and now it's knocked out.

He stared blankly down at his palm.