Great Power Reclamation

"Tianshan Renjia" is a small restaurant located on the food street of Junken City. The decorations in front are very ethnic, and two red lanterns hang at the entrance, swaying gently in the night breeze.

The sign reads "Tianshan Renjia" in both Uyghur and Chinese. The Uyghur characters are winding like grapevines, while the Chinese characters are square like furrows in a field.

Ye Hai pushed open the glass door, and a wave of heat rushed out, carrying the aroma of cumin and roasted meat.

The proprietress was a Uyghur woman in her forties, wearing a floral headscarf and a white apron, doing accounts behind the counter.

Seeing them come in, she looked up, her gaze lingered on Ayiguli for a moment, then fell on Ye Hai, and smiled.

"You're here? Please have a seat inside, it's quiet."

Aygul took Ye Hai's hand and led him to the innermost seat by the window.

The dim light from the window shone on Aygul's face, making her features appear exceptionally soft.

Ye Hai sat opposite him, his hands on his knees, his back straight, as if he were attending a job interview.

"Why are you so nervous?" Aygul asked, looking at him.

"I wasn't nervous."

Your palms are sweaty.

Ye Hai looked down at his hands; they were indeed wet. He wiped them on his pants and put them back down.

Aygul smiled, her eyes crinkling like two crescent moons.

"What would you like to eat?" She picked up the menu, flipped through a couple of pages, and said, "Their hand-grabbed rice is pretty good, and their baked buns are delicious too."

"You order. I'm fine with anything."

"You're capable of anything. So, if I said we should eat the northwest wind, would you agree?"

Ye Hai thought for a moment. "That won't do. The northwest wind won't fill our stomachs."

Aygul laughed out loud. The laughter wasn't loud, but it was clear and crisp, like icicles falling to the ground in winter, tinkling and clanging.

A few customers at nearby tables turned to look, then turned back. The proprietress behind the counter smiled, shaking her head as she muttered something in Uyghur, something like "Youth is wonderful."

Aygul ordered hand-pulled rice, baked buns, a plate of braised chicken, a yogurt, and a pot of rose tea.

Ye Hai glanced at the prices on the menu, did a quick mental calculation, and then pulled out his wallet from his pocket—

A black leather wallet, used for several years, with the edges worn white.

He doesn't use his wallet much; he usually eats in the research institute's cafeteria and doesn't spend much money there.

But before leaving home today, he made a point of withdrawing five hundred yuan from the bank, neatly folding it, and stuffing it into the inner pocket of his wallet.

"You withdrew money?" Aygul saw this.

"Ah."

"How much was taken?"

"five hundred."

"That's enough to treat me to three meals."

Ye Hai paused for a moment, then smiled and put his wallet away.

"Will you come again tomorrow?"

Aygul was both annoyed and amused by his answer. She gave him a reproachful glare.
"You really don't know how to have a conversation."

The dishes were served one after another. The hand-pulled rice was golden and glistening, topped with two large pieces of mutton, emitting a rich aroma.

The baked buns are fresh out of the oven, plump and round, with thin skin and generous filling. One bite and the meat juices burst out.

Aygul didn't eat much; she only tasted a little of everything, then rested her chin on her hand and watched Ye Hai eat.

Ye Hai eats very quickly. He shovels down half a plate of rice with his hands, finishes the mutton in two or three bites, and eats the baked buns one after another, hissing and sucking in air even when they're so hot.

"Eat slowly, no one's going to take it from you."

"I'm used to it."

Ye Hai wiped his mouth. "When I was in Boston, I was rushing to finish a project, and I would eat in five minutes."

"That's not Boston now. This is Military Reclamation City. There's someone sitting across from you."

Aygul poured him a cup of rose tea and pushed it in front of him:
"Have a sip of water, don't choke."

Ye Hai picked up his teacup and took a sip. The fragrance of roses spread across his tongue, sweet and delightful.

He doesn't usually drink this kind of tea; it's too fragrant, it doesn't taste like tea at all. But today, he found it delicious. Not because the tea was good, but because the person who poured it was nice.

“Aygul,” he put down his teacup, “why did you come to the military reclamation city?”

Aygul thought for a moment. “Because my dad said that there are people here who are working on the world’s most advanced engines. He said that you can learn something here.”

She paused, then said, "I arrived and found that he wasn't lying to me. There really is the world's most advanced engine here. And there's also the person in the world who's least quick-witted."

Ye Hai was stunned for two seconds before realizing that she was talking about him.

"It's not that I can't think straight, it's just that..."

"Just what?"

"I'm just not very good at dealing with people."

Aygul looked at him and remained silent for a while.

Then she reached out, picked up the teapot on the table, and poured him another cup of tea.

"You don't need to know how to deal with people. You just need to follow me."

Ye Hai looked at the teacup; rose petals swirled gently in the amber-colored tea, like a dancer in motion.

He picked up his teacup and took another sip. It was sweet, even sweeter.

After finishing their meal, the two walked out of the restaurant. It was completely dark, and the orange glow of the streetlights cast a soft sheen on the bluestone pavement.

Aygul walked in front, and Ye Hai followed behind. Their shadows, one long and one short, overlapped, separated, and overlapped again.

"Ye Hai, have you ever been in a relationship before?" Ayiguli suddenly asked without turning around.

"No."

"Not even once?"

"No."

Aygul stopped and turned to look at him. The streetlight shone from behind her, illuminating her face in shadow, but her eyes were bright.

"So the first time you held hands, the first time you treated someone to a meal, the first time you walked someone back to their dorm, were all with me?"

Ye Hai thought for a moment. "Yes."

Aygul smiled, a smile brighter than ever before. She stepped forward, stood on tiptoe, and quickly kissed Ye Hai on the cheek.

In a flash, like a dragonfly skimming the water, before Ye Hai could even react, she had already retreated.

"This is a reward for you."

Her face flushed, but it wasn't clearly visible under the streetlights. "As a reward, you'll treat me to dinner."

Ye Hai stood there, like a poplar tree stunned by the wind. The spot on his face where he had been kissed was burning hot, as if it had been branded with a hot iron.

He reached out and touched it; his fingertips touched that patch of skin, which was so hot it felt like he had a fever.

He reached out his trembling hand, wanting to hug Aygul, but in the end he didn't dare.

Aygul looked somewhat disappointed. "Let's go."

Turning around, I continued walking forward, saying, "I'll take you back to your dorm."

"Shouldn't I be the one to take you?"

Do you know the way?

Ye Hai opened his mouth, realizing he really didn't know the way. Ayiguli had led the way, and he had only been focused on following behind her, so he hadn't remembered the route.

He scratched his head and followed.

The two walked side by side, their shoulders getting closer and closer until they occasionally bumped into each other.

Every time they touched each other, Ye Hai would move aside, and Ayiguli would move closer to him.

After yielding three times and leaning in three times, Ye Hai refused to yield anymore.

He reached out and took Aygul's hand in his. Her hand was soft and small, like a warm piece of jade.

His palms were as rough as sandpaper, and the calluses on his fingertips pressed against her palms, but she didn't pull away.

She grasped his hand in return, their fingers intertwined. The open space in front of the research institute was no longer bustling with daytime noise; only the streetlamp shone forlornly. Ye Hai escorted Ayiguli to her dormitory building and then released her hand.

"arrive."

"Yes. We've arrived."

"You can go up now."

"you go first."

"I'll watch you go up."

Aygul looked at him, a smile playing on her lips. "Why are you being so eloquent today?"

"I learned it from you."

Aygul smiled, turned and walked into the stairwell. After taking two steps, she stopped and turned back.

The hallway lights shone from behind her, making her hair look like a golden halo.

"Ye Hai".

"Ah."

Are you working overtime tomorrow?

"do not add."

"Then let's go to the movies tomorrow night. There's a movie theater near the entrance, showing a Kazakh-language romance film."

Ye Hai thought for a moment. "I can't read Kazakh."

"I'll translate it for you."

Ye Hai smiled. "Okay."

Aygul turned and went upstairs. Her footsteps grew lighter and lighter as she ascended the stairs.

Ye Hai stood downstairs, listening to the footsteps, from clear to blurry, and from blurry to disappear. He stood there until the motion-activated lights in the hallway went out before turning to leave.

After walking a few steps, I looked up at Ayiguli's window; the light was on. A person's shadow was cast on the curtains. They stood by the window for a few seconds, then the curtains were drawn.

Ye Hai lowered his head, put his hands in his pockets, and walked back step by step.

Inside my pocket, the light blue umbrella with small white flowers printed on it still lay quietly.

Junken City, Ye Family Villa, 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 didn't come. Zhao Ling'er and Yu'e were watching TV in the living room; it was a family drama, and they were making a lot of noise. Ye Yuze didn't like watching that kind of thing, so he stayed in the study playing chess by himself.

The phone rang. It was Ye Feng.

"dad."

"Ah."

"We've found out about the Tianshan engine."

Ye Yuze held a chess piece, but didn't place it. "Who?"

"A few retired old guys got together and formed a circle. This circle isn't big, but it wields considerable influence."

They have connections with the Wang Group and several major Western aircraft manufacturers. These aren't official connections; they're private and clandestine.

Ye Yuze placed the chess piece down with a snap. "Can you find any evidence?"

"We can't find anything. They're very cautious. Everything is done through middlemen, and those middlemen go through each other. It's like peeling an onion, layer after layer. In the end, there's nothing there."

Ye Yuze paused for a moment. "Then don't peel it."

"Aren't you going to peel them?"

"Let's stop peeling them. Let them make a scene. If they get out of control, someone will naturally take care of them."

Ye Feng was silent for a few seconds on the other end of the phone. "Dad, you're always like this."

"how?"

"Wait."

Ye Yuze smiled. "Waiting isn't a bad thing. The longer you wait, the more patient you'll become."

After hanging up the phone, Ye Yuze leaned back in his chair and looked at the chessboard. The red rook had already crossed the river, while the black knight was still guarding its home ground.

He didn't know who would win this game, but he knew the game was still going on. And in the next game, it would be the young man's turn.

He stood up and walked to the window. The buds on the branches of the apricot tree in the yard were even bigger than yesterday.

Some have already cracked open, and you can see a little bit of pinkish-white inside. The flowers will bloom tomorrow, or at the latest the day after.

He turned and walked out of the study. In the living room, Yu'e and Zhao Ling'er were still watching TV, both leaning against the sofa, one knitting and the other peeling an orange.

"Yu'e, the apricot blossoms will bloom tomorrow. Let's go sit under the tree."

Yu'e looked up at him. "Don't you go by yourself every year?"

I want to go with you this year.

Yu'e paused for a moment, then smiled. "Okay. I'll go with you tomorrow."

Zhao Ling'er peeled an orange beside her without looking up. "You guys go ahead. I'll go check on Yang Geyong. His leg has been hurting again these past few days, and he refuses to go to the hospital."

Ye Yuze sat down on the sofa, picked up an orange from the coffee table, peeled it, broke off a segment, and put it in his mouth. Sweet, but also a little sour. Like life.

London, East End docks, the same afternoon.

Yang Chenglong sat in his office with a package from Hangzhou in front of him.

I opened it, and inside was a scarf—gray, very plain, finely woven, with a line of small embroidered words:
"A free-spirited imagination, a dragon soaring in the sky." The signature was Lin Wanwan. The handwriting was crooked, but very earnest.

He touched the scarf; it was wool, soft, and warm. He wrapped it around his neck, stood by the window, and looked at the Thames.

The river water was a hazy gray, and the current was very slow. One by one, the lights on the opposite bank lit up, like stars falling to the ground.

His phone rang. It was a video call from Lin Wanwan. He answered it, and on the screen, Lin Wanwan was sitting in her rented apartment in Hangzhou, with the wall behind her covered in sticky notes.

"Did you receive it?" she asked.

"received."

Is it pretty?

"nice."

You haven't said thank you yet.

"Thank you."

Lin Wanwan laughed. "You're such a talker, you never know how to say more."

Yang Chenglong thought for a moment. "The scarf is very warm. Just like you."

Lin Wanwan was stunned for a moment, then blushed. "When did you learn to say things like that?"

"It was taught by Ye Guigen."

"Ye Guigen teaches you this?"

"He taught me a lot. How to talk to people, how to pursue girls, how—"

"Alright, alright, stop talking." Lin Wanwan interrupted him, her face turning even redder. "If you say another word, I won't talk to you anymore."

Yang Chenglong smiled. But as he smiled, the smile slowly faded. "Wanwan, I'm going back to Junken City next week."

Lin Wanwan paused for a moment. "Go back to see the apricot blossoms?"

"Yes. Let's go back to see the apricot blossoms. And let's go back to see Grandpa too."

"Give my regards to Grandpa."

"it is good."

After hanging up the video call, Yang Chenglong stood by the window, looking at the Thames River.

The river flowed quietly in the night, and the lights on the opposite bank grew denser. He pulled his scarf up to cover his chin.

Outside the window, the London sky was overcast, but his heart was bright. Because he knew that eight thousand kilometers away, someone was waiting for him.

That person's name is Lin Wanwan. There's also an apricot tree in the old courtyard of the military reclamation city, which will soon be in bloom.

(To be continued) (End of this chapter)