Rebirth 08: Equipment God

Chapter 305 The Poems Are Not Old, Youth Is Not Wasted
In the simply furnished ward, the materials that Mr. Qian had recently asked someone to bring were piled up like a mountain next to his bed.

After taking a sip of water, Mr. Qian's spirits improved significantly.

Temporary equipment [glass]: 23:45:12

"The water contained in this container can restore the user's physical strength and energy. The effect varies depending on the user's state when drinking. It is ineffective when the user is full, and each full sip when the user is exhausted can restore 3% (weakened). It will also consume additional body heat."

This was naturally a temporary device constructed by Zhai Da using a magic book, but its effect exceeded Zhai Da's expectations. He had tried it himself and found that it didn't have much of a reaction; it was too mild. That's why he dared to "add ingredients" to Qian Lao's equipment.

Zhai Da suddenly realized: perhaps this aging body was always in a state of "extreme fatigue".

Mr. Qian took another sip: "Xiao Zhai, let's continue our discussion about the future. It seems our car manufacturing capabilities are quite good? So how did this part develop?"

Sitting beside Professor Qian's sickbed, Zhai Da emphasized, "Professor Qian, it's just a worldview in soft science fiction. You're making it sound like I have some kind of prophetic ability."

Mr. Qian was taken aback: "Of course we were talking about worldviews, how could we have thought of anything else?"

Zhai Da thought to himself, "That makes sense. I've gone to all this trouble."
So he pretended to rummage through his backpack for a moment and took out a Polaroid camera.

The above is a structural sketch of a plug-in hybrid new energy vehicle. In order to avoid going to the toilet repeatedly and looking like he had taken too many pills, he took many photos of the back of his head with a Polaroid camera beforehand.

However, this memory did not come from later generations, nor could he remember it clearly. Instead, it came from his previous self-study of the [Mechanical Core].

"Technological development can happen unexpectedly, but industrial development inevitably follows a pattern; this is true for drones, and it's also true for automobiles."

"Excluding the decorative aspects, the most crucial element is still the powertrain. Therefore, I believe that automotive technological innovation in the novel will progress in this direction."

"Then why do you think it's electricity instead of hydrogen energy?"

"Humans have been developing electricity for so many years. Directly using hydrogen energy for civilian purposes? How much effort would that take? It seems like the wrong technological route no matter how you look at it. Moreover, electric vehicles can also contribute to breakthroughs in other fields. What doesn't use electricity?"

Following the clues, Zhai Da rationalized these insights through retrospection and explained them to Qian Lao.

Whenever we get to the key points, I have a feeling that I'm on the same page as Xiao Zhai.

Little did he know that many things were not just coincidences with Xiao Zhai's, but rather that his thoughts had already foreseen the future.

The two then began a second round of brainstorming.

After drinking a few sips of water, Mr. Qian felt even better, or rather, he hadn't felt this well in recent years.

His voice was no longer so trembling; his voice was becoming stronger and stronger, and his thinking was becoming more and more agile.

Zhai Da was quite frightened.
Will drinking too much cause any problems?
While the system description suggests no negative effects, this is, after all, a 98-year-old man visibly becoming more energetic. Is it really alright?

Even without side effects, drinking too much can cause electrolyte imbalance!

[Glass] He picked it up and put it down again. The caregiver came to add more twice. When Mr. Qian picked up the glass for what seemed like the umpteenth time, Zhai Da finally reached out and stopped him.

"Mr. Qian, drinking too much water isn't good either. It can cause poisoning. If you're really thirsty, have a bottle of Six Walnuts."

Mr. Qian was taken aback; he had indeed inexplicably drunk a bellyful of water, so he put it down.

In the small ward, an old man and a young boy chatted about everything under the sun, their thoughts completely scattered, as if they had endless topics to discuss.

From the initial discussion of the novel's "worldview" to some technological breakthroughs in the present reality, from the novel's imagination of the future international situation to some dilemmas in current thought.

Mr. Qian hadn't talked to anyone this much in a long time, mainly because his health wouldn't allow it.

Today, Mr. Qian truly felt exhilarated.

It felt like I was back to when I was eighty years old; I was in exceptionally good condition.

Grandma Jiang was definitely being indulgent this time. She watched TV alone on the sofa outside, feeling very worried, but she didn't come in to disturb her.

From around 7 p.m. after dinner until nearly 11 p.m., Mr. Qian finally began to feel "tired".

He felt it was about time to end the day.
He heard the aspirations of people of this era from the mouth of an outstanding young man.

I also saw a glimmer of hope in the future that seemed like a mirage.

But his wildly imaginative thoughts eventually had to return to this hospital bed, ultimately serving as a warning to him.

That's enough.

He just didn't want it to end so abruptly. The morning sun's energy emanating from Zhai Da swept away the heavy gloom on his body.

He suddenly wanted to end the conversation in a more romantic way.

Just like Mr. Li's "youth".

May the purity of youth perpetuate the life of youth, and may I be the youthful self.

To live a long and fulfilling life.

"Xiao Zhai, turn off the lights."

Zhai Da was taken aback, thinking he had misheard.

Mr. Qian simply smiled gently, his eyes revealing youthful vibrancy, and repeated himself.

Zhai Da nodded and turned off the light.

For a moment, Mr. Qian's ward was plunged into darkness. Before his eyes could adjust, the only light in the room was from the vital signs monitor.

And a bright moon outside the window. In the darkness, Mr. Qian gazed at the moon, lost in thought.

"Xiao Zhai, are you interested in spaceflight?"

Zhai Da pondered for a moment, then shook his head sincerely.

"At least not for now; it's a bit far off for me."

For some reason, Zhai Da always felt unable to muster any interest in the word "aerospace," as if he were naturally immune to it.

"So what are you interested in? You've created an interesting worldview, which must all come from your own whimsical ideas. Let me guess? Drones?"

Zhai Da shook his head again.

It's strange, I don't feel much difference, but it's better than space travel.

Mr. Qian nodded, no longer dwelling on the topic, and said softly, "Then let me tell you my story?"

Zhai Da nodded.
"I was called intelligent from a young age; I could recite a hundred poems, write some naive articles, and do mental arithmetic by the age of three. But what I was most interested in was actually that sky."

"Any academic subject is easy for me. My father was afraid I would be unruly, so he made me learn music, and I learned music; he made me learn English, and I learned English. I finish my homework very early every day so that I can think about my own things at night. I find worldly matters so troublesome."

"Whenever they heard about wars or famines, the sense of powerlessness tormented every ambitious young person of that generation. It was as if the land was filled with bloodshed and suffering, while the heavens were peaceful, lofty, and infinitely alluring."

Mr. Qian spoke slowly, and his eyes adjusted to the darkness before Zhai Da's. Looking at the night sky outside the window, he gradually saw some stars.

This area is not particularly bustling, and light pollution is not that severe.

In his blurred vision, those few scattered points were so clear, clear in his heart rather than in his eyes.

Nearly a century later, he can still quickly identify the names of these stars.

"In the 1930s, news came from across the ocean that Americans had invented rockets. When I saw the newspaper, I was quite indignant because I had heard about rockets since I was a child. Why was it the Americans who invented them? The 'fire dragon emerging from the water' in the 'Treatise on Military Preparedness' is just a two-stage rocket, isn't it?"

"Back then, the newspapers were vague, so I came up with my own wild ideas and designed what I called a rocket, and even did fuel simulations. Later, it was published in the Zhejiang Youth Daily at the time, which led many people to laugh at the Chinese, saying that they couldn't even get enough to eat, yet they were always thinking about things that were too high."

"During those decades, human technology exploded rapidly. I went to the United States to study, carrying my fantasies about the universe. I earned my master's degree in one year and my doctorate in four years. At that time, a doctorate really meant reaching the edge of known science. I looked around and saw nothing but the unknown, but I was full of ambition and felt that I would definitely be able to set foot in the universe and achieve the most romantic career in this lifetime."

"It seems that conquering the universe is humanity's destiny."

"But then, but then, I realized this person... cough cough cough!"

Amidst a cough, Zhai Da instinctively grasped Qian Lao's hand.

Thin and shriveled. The skin is so thin it's translucent.

Zhai Da's eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, and he saw Qian Lao's expression.

The feelings of nostalgia and pride have transformed into warmth and romance.

Mr. Qian patted Zhai Da's hand.

Spacious, warm, and full of life.

"I finally realized that a person's weight is ultimately on their feet, but heavier than the sky."

"The universe may be wonderful, but it can't fill your stomach or sustain your life. I, Qian Xuesen, can't spend my whole life looking up at the sky and forgetting where I came from."

"There is so much scorched earth on this land, and the mountains and rivers still need to be rebuilt. Why bother with the stars? From ancient times to the present, 'departure' has never been romantic."

“‘Return’ is the answer.”

"You said you're not interested in spaceflight, which may be a good thing, so you can use your talents on the people on Earth."

Zhai Da quickly replied, "Mr. Qian, I have no talent whatsoever. I'm just a lucky guy."

Qian's recognition largely stemmed from his own "prophecy," and he did not want to usurp this recognition.

Old Qian smiled and shook his head: "Don't your ingenious ideas prove that you have excellent judgment? Luck is talent, and so is foresight. The road is walked by people, so it doesn't matter which foot you take first."

Mr. Qian turned his gaze away from the sparse stars outside the window; in fact, he couldn't see them clearly.

His gaze shifted to Zhai Da, and he could actually see him clearly.

This is clearly me from the past!
The bright moon shines, and the ancients, in their twilight years, look to those of us today; distant stars twinkle, and the dim lights illuminate our journey home.

His life was so romantic, and as it came to an end, he suddenly wanted to live up to his youth.

The end of romance is not in the ending.

But it lies in the echo.

Qian Xuesen gently grasped Zhai Da's hand and said, "Little Zhai, you are very good and excellent. Would you like to become my student?"

He subconsciously glanced at the notebook beside the hospital bed.

"Join me in one last research project? It might be the last time in my life."

Even in the twilight years of human life, if we exert our desires and abilities, why can't we return to the realm of endless youth?
And thus, it achieved the feat of bringing the dead back to life.

--"youth"

(End of this chapter)