Courtyard House: Primordial Chaos Pearl

On the plains of Mars' northern hemisphere, the dawn paints the red earth a warm orange. Vast fields of improved wheat sway in the artificially regulated breeze, their heavy ears gleaming golden, like a golden sea spread across the red wasteland—this is the first harvest of large-scale agriculture at the Mars base, and the best proof of the closed-loop resource system of the Bennu supply station.

Wearing a heavy spacesuit, Yan Jiecheng stood by the wheat field and reported to Earth through his helmet communicator: "Mars Agriculture Modules 1 to 3 have achieved a wheat yield of over 450 kilograms per mu, far exceeding expectations! The water, nutrient solution, and 3D-printed parts supplied by Bennu fully meet the requirements, and the ecological closed-loop system has achieved a 100% success rate."

On the other end of the screen, at the Beijing Measurement and Control Center, enthusiastic applause erupted. Lin Dong watched the live feed, his eyes slightly warming—from a small side room in a traditional courtyard house to golden wheat fields on Mars, from an improved harvester to an interstellar agricultural system, more than twenty years had passed like a long and magnificent dream.

Holding the harvest data report, He Yushui smiled broadly: "The flour made from this wheat is enough to feed the astronauts at the Mars base for a year. Next, we can start large-scale cultivation of vegetables and fruits so that fresh produce can also be enjoyed on Mars."

Lin Xiangyang sat at the data console, debugging the 3D model of the new generation of deep-space agricultural machinery: "Dad, the second phase of the Bennu supply station upgrade plan has been completed. We have added a 'deep-space navigation module' and a 'resource reserve detector' to Red Star-130, and optimized the drilling depth of the mining arm, which can extract water ice and metallic minerals from the deep layers of the asteroid."

He paused, his fingertips tracing the new structure on the model: "More importantly, we have developed the 'Starship-1' deep-space transport agricultural machine, which can autonomously travel between asteroids, transporting Bennu's resources to Mars, the Moon, and even further to Asteroid A.

Lin Dong took the proposal, his gaze falling on the words "Asteroid." Asteroid is the largest object in the asteroid belt, rich in water ice and organic matter, and has been listed by the Alliance as a core target of the "Second Phase of the Interstellar Agricultural Supply Chain." Reaching that location requires traversing hundreds of millions of kilometers of deep space, posing entirely new challenges to the agricultural machinery's endurance, navigation, and ability to withstand extreme environments.

"Is the Starship-1's power system sufficient?" Lin Dong asked.

"Enough!" Lin Xiangyang's eyes gleamed. "We use the 'Controlled Nuclear Fusion Micro Reactor' improved by Chaos Beads as power, with no upper limit on the range; the navigation system integrates the Beidou Deep Space version and Chaos Beads' 'Interstellar Coordinate Deduction,' with an error of no more than 10 kilometers; the outer shell is made of superlattice nanomaterials, which can withstand the impact of micrometeorites from the asteroid belt and strong radiation."

Meanwhile, on asteroid Bennu, the second phase of the resupply station upgrade project is in full swing. The robotic arm of Red Star-130, carrying new modular modules, is expanding the ecological and resource processing modules like building blocks; the 3D printing module is working continuously, printing out components for Starship-1 for on-site assembly. The Lighthouse Autonomous System has been upgraded to V3.0, adding an "interstellar resource scheduling" function, which can automatically plan mining and transportation routes based on the needs of the Mars and Lunar bases.

At Jia Dongxu's core component manufacturing base, Bang Geng was leading his team in testing the seals of the nuclear fusion reactor. These components must operate under extreme high temperatures, high pressures, and vacuum environments, requiring precision down to the nanometer level. "Uncle Dongxu, all the components have passed the tests!" Bang Geng held up the test report, his face full of pride. "Our titanium alloy, improved with Chaos Beads, is three times stronger than the original material, and its temperature resistance is increased by 50%."

Jia Dongxu patted his shoulder, grinning from ear to ear: "Good lad, back when your dad was causing trouble in the courtyard, I never imagined you could build parts that would propel interstellar travel."

Jia Zhangshi carried a basket of fruit into the workshop, telling everyone she met, "My Banggeng is doing great! These parts will go on a spaceship, to the planet Gushen, and from now on the whole universe will know how powerful our Red Star is!"

That late autumn, Lin Dong returned to the courtyard house with He Yushui and Lin Xiangyang.

The courtyard was already bustling with activity. Several elderly men, including Yi Zhonghai, Liu Haizhong, and Yan Bugui, sat around a stone table in the courtyard. On the table were steamed buns made from wheat flour sent back from Mars, as well as space-grown fruits cultivated in the Dubai Simulation City.

"Lin Dong, you guys are really something!" Yi Zhonghai picked up a steamed bun, took a big bite, and exclaimed, "The wheat grown on Mars tastes even better than ours on Earth!"

Liu Haizhong held up a newly written calligraphy scroll with four powerful characters: "Shining Stars in Agriculture and Sericulture." "I knew it! Back when you were working on agricultural machinery improvements, I knew you'd do something big sooner or later! Now look what you've done, planting crops on Mars, making us Chinese proud!"

Yan Bugui's bookstore has been transformed into the "Interstellar Agricultural Science Museum," with models of Red Star agricultural machinery, Martian soil samples, space seeds, and photos of the Bennu supply station displayed in the window. "Now, kids love coming here to ask me how to grow wheat on Mars and how to mine minerals on asteroids," Yan Bugui said, beaming. "This old man has also benefited from your generosity and become a science popularization expert."

Lin Xiangyang sat next to Yi Zhonghai, telling the elderly about the wheat fields on Mars, the supply station on Bennu, and the Starship-1 that was about to set sail. The elderly listened with great interest, their eyes full of anticipation.

"Xiangyang, how far is Gushen Star from Earth?" Yi Zhonghai asked.

"It's quite far, taking more than a year one way." Lin Xiangyang nodded, "But the Starship-1 has nuclear fusion power, can navigate autonomously, and can mine minerals along the way to replenish resources, so it's very safe."

"Good, good." Yi Zhonghai nodded. "You young people are promising, bold and decisive. We old men are waiting for your good news on Earth."

At dinner time, the courtyard was filled with tables, and Jia Dongxu's family and Yan Jiecheng's family also came. Everyone chatted, talking about the changes over the years, from the chaos of the courtyard to the rise of Hongxing Agricultural Machinery, and then to the harvest on Mars and the journey to the planet Gushen.

"Back in the day, I even competed with you for jobs and we had disagreements." Jia Dongxu took a sip of his drink and said with a smile, "Now that I think about it, I'm glad you didn't hold it against me and even took me with you. Otherwise, I would never have imagined in my life that I could manufacture parts for space travel and eat wheat grown on Mars."

Lin Dong smiled and said, "That's all in the past. Without everyone's help, I wouldn't be where I am today. Hongxing Agricultural Machinery doesn't belong to me alone; it belongs to all of us."

As night deepened, the lights in the courtyard were warm and bright. Lin Xiangyang lay on a bamboo chair in the courtyard, gazing at the stars, and suddenly asked, "Dad, is the Star of Grain in that part of the sky?"

Lin Dong walked over and sat down beside him: "Yes. When Starship-1 sets sail, it will carry the Red Star emblem, fly to Cosmos, establish a new supply station, and sow new hope."

Lin Xiangyang nodded, his eyes full of longing: "I want to go to the planet Gushen in the future, and personally operate the Starship-1 to transport the resources there to even more distant places."

"Yes, you will." Lin Dong patted his head. "As long as you stick to your dream, you will definitely be able to do it."

The sun shone brightly on the day Lin Dong left the courtyard house. He looked back at the small courtyard that held all his beginnings, and his heart was filled with strength.

At the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, the Xingzhou-1 deep-space transport agricultural aircraft stands silently on the launch tower. Its body is entirely silver-white, with a bright red "Red Star" emblem emblazoned on its fuselage, next to the badge of the International Interstellar Agriculture Alliance. The nuclear fusion reactor emits a deep hum, like a giant interstellar beast poised to pounce, about to pierce the sky and soar towards the distant planet Asteroid.

Inside the control center, Lin Dong stood at the command post, with He Yushui and Lin Xiangyang beside him. On the screen, the golden wheat fields of Mars, the silver supply station of Bennu, and the blurry image of Asteroid flashed by in turn.

"Starship-1, 10 seconds until launch!"

「10、9、8、7、6、5、4、3、2、1—— 点火！」

Flames erupted as the Starship-1 slowly rose, faster and faster, piercing through the clouds, transforming into a dazzling star before disappearing into the horizon.

Lin Dong knew that this was not the end, but a new beginning.

From traditional courtyard houses to Mars, from Bennu to Asteroids, from a single agricultural machine to an interstellar agricultural empire, Red Star's journey will never cease.

In the future, humanity will cultivate crops and establish supply stations on more planets, forming an agricultural supply chain spanning interstellar space. And the starting point of all this will always be that small courtyard house, that mysterious Chaos Pearl, and a group of hopeful and enterprising Chinese people.

That red star that rose from the courtyard house will eventually illuminate the entire universe and write an immortal legend of human agricultural civilization.