At the beginning, he took his seven younger siblings to join Yi Zhonghai.

As Yi Zhongding pondered, drowsiness gradually crept in, so he closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

However, Yi Zhongding woke up shortly after falling asleep, roused by his biological clock.

He got out of bed quietly, without disturbing Bai Yushu who was still fast asleep. He quickly washed up, changed into his military uniform, checked his belongings, and then went out.

The courtyard was quiet, with only Tan Xiulian, Yaoyao, and Miaomiao already busy in the kitchen.

With so many people eating, Tan Xiulian simply couldn't manage it all by herself.

"My brother is awake."

Hearing the noise, Yao Yao poked her little head out and looked into the kitchen, saying something to the kitchen.

"Zhongding, so early? Have breakfast before you leave!"

Tan Xiulian then came out and said.

"Sister-in-law, I'm in a hurry today. I'll just grab a steamed bun on the way and have a bite to eat."

Yi Zhongding said as he propped up the bicycle.

"No way! You wait here, I'll make you two pancakes, it'll be quick!"

Without saying a word, Tan Xiulian turned around and went back to the kitchen.

When Yi Zhongding saw her go inside to get busy, he didn't rush to leave and waited where he was.

Tan Xiulian didn't make him wait long. Soon she came out with a steaming hot pancake wrapped in oil paper and stuffed it into his hand.

"Take this and eat it on the way. Don't work on an empty stomach."

Tan Xiulian said with concern.

Yi Zhongding took the pancake; it was warm to the touch, and the aroma of scallions wafted over him.

"Thank you, sister-in-law."

Yi Zhongding felt a warmth in his heart and smiled.

"No need to thank me, we're family, no need for formalities. Go on, be careful on the road."

Tan Xiulian waved her hand and reached out to straighten his collar.

Goodbye, brother.

Yao Yao and Miao Miao came out, waving their little hands cheerfully.

"Hey, be good at home."

Yi Zhongding waved to them and smiled.

Then he put the pancakes into his briefcase, got on his bicycle, pedaled a few times, and rode out of the courtyard gate.

Yi Zhongding rode his bicycle all the way, passing through several alleys, turning onto the main road, and heading towards the 301 Hospital.

Upon arriving at the hospital, I could see Tu Youyou already waiting at the entrance.

She was wearing a faded blue cotton-padded jacket, a gray scarf around her neck, and carrying a canvas bag. She was straddling her bicycle, looking in the direction he was coming from.

"Good morning, Team Leader Tu."

Yi Zhongding braked the car in front of her and stopped it by supporting himself on one leg.

"Director Yi, good morning. Have you had breakfast? I brought two cornbread buns; let's share them."

Tu Youyou smiled when she saw him.

"I've already eaten. Perfect timing! I brought you two flatbreads, made by my sister-in-law. They smell amazing. I'll trade you some cornbread for lunch."

As Yi Zhongding spoke, he took out two still-warm flatbreads from his bag.

"That won't do... I..."

Tu Youyou shook her head repeatedly, and tried to stuff her steamed bun back into her bag.

"It's settled then. You're so skinny, at least pancakes have some oil, so it'll be just as good as nothing."

Yi Zhongding quickly grabbed her cornbread and gave her his own flatbread.

He himself doesn't need those two pancakes, but Tu Youyou really does.

"This...this is too much trouble."

Tu Youyou said, somewhat at a loss.

"Let's go, Comrade Tu Youyou, it'll get cold soon. Eat quickly, we're in a hurry."

"You made these cornbread yourself, right? Perfect, I can finally try your cooking. We've known each other for so many years, but I've never tasted your cooking before."

Yi Zhongding patted the package and said with a light laugh.

"Thank you so much. Once we have enough food, I'll cook you something delicious, but don't mind my cooking skills, I rarely cook."

"This pancake smells delicious! Your sister-in-law's cooking skills are good enough to be a chef."

Tu Youyou didn't refuse anymore and picked up the pancake and took two bites.

"Haha, there's a chef from Fengzeyuan Restaurant in my neighborhood. He taught my sister-in-law a lot."

Yi Zhongding laughed heartily.

The two chatted and laughed as they rode their bicycles side by side toward the Academy of Military Sciences.

The Academy of Military Medical Sciences is located in Shijingshan District, but it is very close to the 301 Hospital, less than ten kilometers away.

As Tu Youyou rode her bike, she chatted with him about the detailed data from yesterday's equipment debugging.

"Yesterday afternoon we conducted three more parallel experiments, and the crystallization rates were 92.3%, 93.1%, and 92.8%, respectively."

"The average crystallization rate reached 92.7%, which is almost two percentage points higher than our previous data on the pilot plant."

"Moreover, the crystal form is very uniform, and the impurity content is controlled to less than one percent, which fully meets the pharmaceutical standards."

Tu Youyou knew these data like the back of her hand and recited them fluently.

"What about temperature control? Have there been any fluctuations?"

After listening, Yi Zhongding nodded and asked.

"No, the temperature control system of the new equipment is very precise, and the temperature fluctuation during the entire crystallization process is controlled within plus or minus 0.5 degrees."

"I think this equipment is ready for mass production."

Tu Youyou couldn't help but laugh.

"Okay, let's check its operation in person today. If there are no problems, then we'll finalize it."

Yi Zhongding said with a smile.

"Hey, that's weird. What's going on today? There are so many more checkpoints on the streets. I was questioned several times on my way from home to the hospital this morning."

After reporting the data, Tu Youyou looked at the police officers and soldiers coming and going on the street and said with a puzzled expression.

Before Yi Zhongding could answer, a group of soldiers stopped the two of them.

"Hello, comrade, this is a routine inspection. Please show your identification."

The squad leader, who was at the head of the group, saluted and said politely.

He noticed that Yi Zhongding was also wearing a military uniform, and his expression wasn't as wary.

"Okay, we're all doctors from the 301 Hospital, and we're going to the Academy of Military Medical Sciences. Here are our credentials, comrade. What's going on?"

Yi Zhongding pretended not to know and asked.

He knew this was the impact of the black market case.

After all, a murder case involving dozens of people had occurred right under the nose of the capital. It was already quite prudent that no troops were allowed to enter the city.

Yi Zhongding had considered taking these people into his spatial storage, which would have made them disappear without causing such a commotion.

But upon reflection, this approach only addresses the symptoms, not the root cause, and those behind the scenes could likely still evade responsibility.

So they simply left the corpse out in the open.

Although this would certainly deal a devastating blow to the black market in Beijing and even the whole country, and even the pigeon market would be completely shut down.

However, compared to the enormous amounts of grain stolen by these black markets through abuse of power, it is better for a few people to be unable to buy grain than to sacrifice the interests of the majority.

Moreover, at this point in time, apart from those who were already wealthy, ordinary people could not afford to buy grain on the black market.