Great Power Reclamation

In winter, dawn breaks late in Junken City. At eight o'clock in the morning, the sun lazily climbs over the Tianshan Mountains, casting golden light on the Gobi Desert, the snow-capped mountains, and the roof of the Ye family villa.

Ye Yuze was already up; he got up earlier than the sun. This habit hadn't changed in decades.

Whether in the military settlement or Boston, whether young or old, I get up at five o'clock every morning without fail.

He sat by the window in his study, holding a cup of hot tea, looking at the apricot tree in the yard.

The trunk was as thick as a bowl, and the branches were bare, but Ye Yuze knew that it would bloom in three months.

This tree was planted by his father decades ago. When the old man came to XJ from the mainland, he brought nothing but an apricot pit.

He planted it in the yard, watered it, fertilized it, and pruned it, caring for it like a child. The tree grew old, and so did the old man.

Every spring, when the apricot blossoms bloom, Ye Yuze would sit under the tree for a while, without saying a word, just sitting there. He felt that the old man could smell the fragrance of the flowers.

There was a knock on the door. Not a careful knock, but a loud, forceful one—thump, thump, thump.

"Come in," Ye Yuze said.

The door opened. Yang Geyong walked in, wearing a faded military overcoat and felt boots. He wasn't wearing a hat, and his gray hair was disheveled by the wind. He was carrying a bulging insulated bag.

"You haven't eaten yet, have you? These are steamed buns made by Zhao Ling'er. They're mutton and scallion."

He placed the insulated bag on the table, opened it, and a burst of hot steam escaped, carrying the aroma of mutton and scallions.

Ye Yuze glanced at the buns. They had thin skins and generous fillings, with neatly pinched pleats, resembling a row of small ingots.

"Zhao Ling'er's cooking skills are getting better and better."

"Of course. She's been practicing for decades."

Yang Geyong sat down opposite Ye Yuze, took out another bowl of milk tea from the insulated bag, and placed it in front of Ye Yuze. "Drink. It's hot. Freshly made."

Ye Yuze picked up the milk tea and took a sip. It was salty and hot, warming him right up to his stomach.

"Old Yang, do you think Helena will be able to go to the research institute today? Her knee..."

"Whether it's feasible or not, we have to go." Yang Geyong also picked up a bowl of milk tea and slurped it down loudly.
"You can't stop her. Just like back in Hamburg, she'll get angry at anyone who tries to stop her."

Ye Yuze put down his bowl and looked out the window. In the courtyard, Helena was coming out of the house.

She was wearing a dark blue workwear jacket, her hair was tied in a ponytail, and she walked with a slight limp in her right leg, but her pace was quick.

Ye Hai followed behind her, carrying a black briefcase, striding along.

“Look,” Yang Geyong pointed out the window with his chin, “the way she walks, doesn’t it remind you and me of back in the Gobi Desert?”

Ye Yuze paused for a moment, then laughed. "No. I wasn't as impatient as she was back then."

“You’re more anxious than she is. When you started your business, you only slept four hours a day. You’d get angry with anyone who tried to persuade you otherwise.”

Ye Yuze didn't speak. He watched as Helena and Ye Hai got into the car, drove out of the courtyard, and disappeared at the end of the street.

"Old Yang," he finally spoke, "do you think Helena can pull this off with the large aircraft engine?"

Yang Geyong put down his bowl and wiped his mouth. "Yes. Because she's not alone. She has Ye Hai, Ivan, Kevin. And you."

"What do I have to do with it? I don't know anything about engines."

"You don't understand engines, but you know how to get people to work."

Yang Geyong took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, pulled one out, and lit it.

“Give Helena whatever she needs. If she needs people, find them. If she needs money, provide it. If she needs time, give her time. That’s enough.”

Ye Yuze leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling. "You're right. That's enough."

The Military Reclamation City Research Institute is located in an old industrial area in the east of the city.

With its red brick walls and corrugated iron roof, it looks like an abandoned factory.

But it's different inside. The equipment inside is the most advanced in the world.

Electron microscopes, high-temperature alloy melting furnaces, 3D printing equipment, supercomputers—each one is priceless, and each one was collected by Ye Yuze from all over the world.

Helena stood at the entrance of the research institute, looking at the rusty signboard—

"Military Reclamation Aviation Power Research and Development Center".

These words were written by Ye Yuze with a brush on rice paper, then engraved into a copper plaque and nailed to the wall. More than ten years have passed; the copper plaque has rusted, but the words remain.

"Mom, let's go inside." Ye Hai stood beside her.

Helena took a deep breath and pushed open the door.

Inside is a huge open space with a ceiling height of over ten meters, like an aircraft hangar.

Above you are a dense network of steel pipes and electrical wires, and under your feet is a cement floor coated with epoxy resin, so shiny you can see your reflection in it.

Along the wall were rows of workbenches, filled with computers, instruments, and all sorts of tools whose names I couldn't recall.

In the center is a huge test bench, on which is fixed an engine—a silver-gray shell with a streamlined design, like a work of art.

Ivan stood beside the testing table, wearing a white overall, his hair completely white, and his face etched with deep wrinkles.

He paused for a moment when he saw Helena come in, then strode over.

"Helena!" he shouted in Russian, his voice booming like thunder, "You're back!"

Helena reached out her hand. Ivan didn't take her hand; instead, he opened his arms and hugged her.

The two elderly people embraced beside the lab table, neither of them speaking. Ivan's eyes reddened, and so did Helena's.

“Ivan,” Helena released him, “how’s the engine?”

"We're waiting for you to come and test drive it."

Ivan pointed to the silver-gray engine. "This is the third prototype. The first two exploded. This one shouldn't explode."

"should?"

Ivan shrugged. "There's no 'should' for aircraft engines. You only know by trying."

Helena walked to the test bench, reached out, and touched the engine's casing. It was cool, smooth, like silk. She closed her eyes, as if listening to something.

“Ivan,” she said without opening her eyes, “has the fuel system pressure test been done?”

"It's done. The data is on the computer."

What about the material analysis of the turbine blades?

"Kevin is working on it. He stayed up all night and just got back to sleep."

Helena opened her eyes and looked at Ivan. "Let him sleep. We'll talk about it when he wakes up."

Ivan nodded.

Ye Hai stood to the side, silent the whole time. He looked at the engine, his eyes shining with a light—not the light of a young person, but the light of someone who truly loves something.

“Mom,” he said, “can I go up and take a look?”

Helena glanced at him. "Be careful."

Ye Hai climbed onto the test bench, squatted down next to the engine, and examined it carefully.

His fingers glided lightly over the pipes and connectors, like a pianist playing the piano. His brow was slightly furrowed, and his lips moved unconsciously, as if he were silently reciting something.

Ivan stood below, looking at Ye Hai, and whispered to Helena:

"He's like you. Like you when you were young."

Helena didn't speak. She looked at her son and thought back to that laboratory in Hamburg more than twenty years ago.

Back then, she, like Ye Hai, would squat beside the engine for hours on end. Her hair was golden, her knees were fine, and her eyes shone brightly.

“Ivan,” she said suddenly, “is Kevin awake?”

"I don't know. Shall I go and call him?"

"No need. Let him sleep. He stayed up all night and needs rest."

Helena walked to the workbench, turned on the computer, and retrieved the test data for the fuel system.

The densely packed numbers looked like a swarm of ants crawling across the screen. She read them line by line, not missing a single word.

Ivan stood behind her, watching her back, without saying a word.

Outside the research institute, Yang Geyong's car was parked at the entrance. He didn't go in; instead, he sat in the car and lit a cigarette.

The phone rang. It was Ye Yuze.

"Old Yang, has Helena gone in?"

"They've gone in. Ye Hai has gone in too."

How's the engine?

"I don't know. But I saw Ivan. The old man was crying."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.

"You cried?"

"I cried. I cried when I saw Helena."

Ye Yuze fell silent again.

"Old Yang," he finally spoke, "do you think we're all getting old?"

Yang Geyong exhaled a puff of smoke and looked out the window at the sky. The sky over the military reclamation city was a pure blue, without a single cloud.

"I'm old. But I can still do it."

How long can you work there?

"Work until you can't work anymore."

Ye Yuze laughed on the other end of the phone.

"Okay. I'll keep working until I can't anymore."

After hanging up the phone, Yang Geyong stubbed out his cigarette in the crack of the car window, opened the car door, and got out. He walked to the entrance of the research institute, pushed open the door, and went inside.

Helena was still looking at the data and didn't notice him. Ivan noticed and came over. "Brother Yang, what brings you here?"

"Come and take a look." Yang Geyong walked to the test bench with his hands behind his back, looking at the silver-gray engine. "Which one is this?"

"The third one."

What about the first two?

"It exploded."

Yang Geyong turned his head and looked at Ivan. "It exploded? Was anyone hurt?"

"No. I was in the control room during the test drive."

Yang Geyong nodded, then turned back to look at the engine.

He didn't recognize the pipes and interfaces, nor the data and parameters. But he recognized one thing—a symbol on the engine.

A sharp bayonet, the emblem of the warrior group. Designed by Ye Yuze.

“Ivan,” he said, “what’s the name of this engine?”

Ivan thought for a moment. "It doesn't have a name yet."

“Let’s call it ‘Tianshan’,” Yang Geyong said. “The snowmelt from Tianshan flows down and irrigates the land of the military reclamation city. This engine will be installed on airplanes and fly all over the world. ‘Tianshan’ is a suitable name.”

Ivan glanced at Helena. Helena looked up from her computer and looked at Yang Geyong.

"Tianshan." She chewed on the two characters, nodded, and said, "A good name."

Ye Hai jumped down from the experimental platform and walked up to Yang Geyong.

"Grandpa Yang."

"Ah."

Where is the apricot tree that my grandfather planted?

Yang Geyong paused for a moment, then smiled. "In the courtyard of the Ye family's old house. Want to see it?"

"think."

"Come on. I'll take you there."

The two walked out of the research institute. Outside, the sun was shining brightly and the sky was a clear blue.

Yang Geyong was driving, and Ye Hai was sitting in the passenger seat. The car was quiet.

“Ye Hai,” Yang Geyong suddenly said, “you’re just like your father, not much of a talker.”

"My dad talks a lot. He just doesn't talk nonsense."

Yang Geyong glanced at him and smiled. "You know how to talk better than your dad."

The car stopped in front of the Ye family's old house. Ye Hai got out of the car, pushed open the courtyard gate, and went inside.

The apricot tree was in the southeast corner of the yard. Its trunk was as thick as a bowl, and its branches were bare, but its bark was smooth and had a dark brown sheen.

There was a stone under the tree, smooth and shiny from being sat on—that was where Ye Yuze's father, Ye Hai's great-grandfather, used to sit.

Ye Hai stood under the tree, looking up at the bare branches.

“This tree,” Yang Geyong said, standing behind him, “was planted by your grandfather. He came to XJ from the mainland with nothing but a few apricot kernels from his hometown. He planted them here, watered them, fertilized them, and pruned them, raising them like a child.”

Ye Hai didn't speak. He reached out and touched the tree trunk. It was rough and cold, but it had an indescribable warmth.

“Your grandfather is now in a nursing home and has difficulty moving around, but he knows everything.”

Yang Geyong continued, "He has always been very concerned about you. He said this child is like someone from the Ye family."

Ye Hai's hand stopped on the tree trunk. He didn't know what to say.
“Ye Hai,” Yang Geyong said, “now that you’re back, don’t leave again. Junken City needs you. Your mother needs you. Your uncle needs you.”

Ye Hai turned around and looked at Yang Geyong.

"I do not go."

"Sure?"

"determine."

Yang Geyong looked at him and smiled.

"Okay. You'll start working at the R&D center tomorrow. Don't be late."

Ye Hai smiled too. "I won't be late."

London, the same afternoon.

Yang Chenglong sat in his dormitory with the "Pegasus" project plan spread out in front of him, but his eyes were fixed on his phone screen.

Ye Guigen sent a message: "Helena has arrived in Junken City. Ye Hai has also arrived."

He replied: "Can the engine thing be done?"

The reply came quickly: "Yes. Because she is Helena."

Looking at the words, Yang Chenglong felt a little more at ease. He put his phone on the table and continued reading the project plan.

But he couldn't focus. His mind was filled with images of the military reclamation city—that apricot tree, those tombstones.

My phone vibrated again. This time it was Lin Wanwan.

"Yang Chenglong, what are you doing?"

"Look at the project proposal."

"Can you even look at it?"

"I can't concentrate on it."

"Then stop looking. Let me tell you a story."

Yang Chenglong leaned back in his chair. "What story?"

"My grandfather's story."

Yang Chenglong was taken aback. "Your grandfather? You've never told me about your grandfather before."

"Because he didn't have much to say. He was just an ordinary old man from Hangzhou. He farmed and raised silkworms all his life. But he said something to me that I've always remembered."

"What?"

He said, "Wanwan, the most important thing in life is to find something you're willing to do for the rest of your life. Once you find it, you'll never grow old."

Yang Chenglong remained silent for a long time.

"Wanwan, have you found it?"

"found it."

"what?"

"you."

Yang Chenglong gripped his phone, his fingers trembling. Not from anger, but from excitement.

"Wanwan, me too."

"And what are you?"

"I found you too.

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone. Then Lin Wanwan laughed.

"Yang Chenglong, if you can't say sweet nothings, then don't. You're saying them so stiffly, like you're reciting a textbook."

Yang Chenglong scratched his head. "I was never going to say it anyway."

"I know. That's why I like you."

After hanging up the phone, Yang Chenglong held it to his chest and closed his eyes.

Outside the window, the London sky was overcast, but his heart was bright.

Junken City, on the same evening.

Ye Yuze sat in his study, a chess game in the middle of the board in front of him. Yang Geyong sat opposite him, slurping down a bowl of milk tea.

“Old Ye,” Yang Geyong put down his bowl, “Ye Hai went to see the apricot trees today.”

Ye Yuze's hand froze in mid-air. "He's gone?"

"He went. He stood under the tree for more than ten minutes without saying a word."

Ye Yuze placed the chess piece down with a snap.

"He looks like his father."

"Unlike his father. He's better than his father."

Ye Yuze raised his head and looked at Yang Geyong.

"You've spent your whole life comparing yourself to others. Aren't you tired of it all?"

Yang Geyong picked up the bowl and took a big gulp of milk tea.

"It's not tiring. You get used to it after a while."

Ye Yuze shook his head and smiled.

Outside the window, the stars are shining.

Tomorrow, Ye Hai will go to work at the research institute.

Tomorrow, the Tianshan engine will begin a new round of testing.

Tomorrow will be another new day.

(To be continued) (End of this chapter)