Courtyard House: A Major Power's Heavy Industry, Hand-Crafted Nuclear Fusion

Bumpy.

Endless turbulence.

Su Zheng felt as if his internal organs were about to be shaken out by the leaf springs of this old-fashioned Liberation truck.

Outside the car window stretched an endless expanse of Gobi Desert.

A fierce wind whipped up sand and gravel, which lashed against the car windows with a sickening thud. Withered camel thorn bushes shivered in the cold wind, and occasionally a few eagles circled in the gray sky, uttering mournful cries.

There are no petty squabbles like in a traditional courtyard house, no scheming eyes like Qin Huairu, and no tantrums like Jia Zhangshi.

There is only wind, sand, and a kind of oppressive, suffocating desolation hanging over the horizon.

"Consultant Su, have some water."

In the passenger seat, the accompanying bodyguard, Xiao Zhang, handed over a military water bottle. His lips were chapped, and his face was covered with a fine layer of yellow sand, but his eyes shone with an alarming brightness.

Su Zheng took the kettle and took a sip. The water had a strong earthy taste and was somewhat salty.

"How much further?" Su Zheng asked.

"Almost there." Xiao Zhang pointed to the rolling Qilian Mountains ahead. "Once we cross that 'Ghost's Bane' mountain, we'll be there."

Su Zheng nodded, then turned his gaze back to the window.

It has been three days since I left the courtyard house.

Over the course of three days, he first traveled by special train to Lanzhou, then transferred to a military jeep, and finally boarded this modified off-road truck. Along the way, he encountered numerous checkpoints.

With each checkpoint, the inspection became increasingly stringent. At the final checkpoint, even the car with the special license plate underwent a thorough search, with the undercarriage being checked in mirrors.

This is "001".

In this era, it is a coordinate that does not exist on a map. It is a ghost, a legend, and a fire that this country is trying to ignite in this locked-down winter.

……

Two hours later.

The truck finally drove into a secluded valley.

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Su Zheng would have found it hard to believe that such a massive complex of buildings was hidden deep in this desolate Gobi Desert.

The red brick factory buildings are built against the mountain, with huge chimneys belching white smoke. Rows of neat barracks are scattered about, and people in gray overalls or military uniforms hurry about their business.

There are no slogans or banners here, only the roar of machines and a fast-paced atmosphere that is extremely tense.

The car stopped in front of a gray three-story building.

"Comrade Su Zheng! We've been waiting for you like the stars and the moon!"

As soon as I got off the bus, a middle-aged man in an old Zhongshan suit strode up to me. He had gray hair, wore black-rimmed glasses, and had heavy eye bags, but he looked very energetic.

"I am the administrative director of the base, just call me Lao Li."

Su Zheng extended his hand and shook hands with the other person. It was a rough hand, full of calluses, not like an administrative cadre, but more like an old fitter.

"Director Li, you're too kind," Su Zheng said neither humbly nor arrogantly. "Please take me directly to my work station."

Old Li was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter: "Good! I love your decisive and efficient spirit! No wonder Director Yang and the big boss praised you to the skies on the phone, saying you're a 'madman who can stay up for days and nights to work on technology'."

"However..." Old Li changed the subject, a troubled look on his face, "Advisor Su, you're new here, so you might not know the situation very well. We don't have much else here, but we have a lot of 'capable people'."

Su Zheng raised an eyebrow: "How so?"

Old Li lowered his voice and led Su Zheng into the building, saying, "Project 001 has gathered the nation's top minds. The technicians here are all graduates from prestigious universities. The project leaders are all PhDs who studied in the Soviet Union or the United States. And those senior experts are even more arrogant."

"Although you have the title of special advisor to the military region and the endorsement of high-ranking leaders, here, everyone only recognizes one thing."

Old Li pointed to his head.

"truth."

Su Zheng's lips curled into a faint smile.

He understood Old Li's implication.

This is to give him a heads-up.

A young man in his early twenties who has never attended university is suddenly parachuted into this place full of geniuses as an "advisor," which in itself is a huge target.

Writers often look down on each other, and those in technical fields look down on each other even more.

In the courtyard house, he was confronted with a group of "beasts" who would haggle over a few dollars.

Here, he will face a group of "chosen ones" who possess the highest intelligence and the most unyielding spirit of this era.

This challenge is much more interesting than fighting beasts.

"Lead the way." Su Zheng straightened his collar, his eyes calm as still water. "Perfect, I'd like to see what the smartest minds in our country are thinking."

……

The meeting room is on the second floor.

Before even entering the door, Su Zheng could hear a fierce argument coming from inside.

"Nonsense! Absolutely nonsense!"

A hoarse but powerful voice roared, "According to these parameters, the centrifuge's speed must reach at least 12 revolutions per minute! Domestically available bearings simply cannot withstand this! This isn't just a materials issue; it's a fundamental flaw in the design philosophy!"

"Professor Liu, please calm down. The theoretical calculations are correct, but we have to try..."

"Try? Try what? Throw away the nation's resources? I absolutely disagree with this plan! Unless you can solve the dynamic balance problem at ultra-high speeds, this is building a bomb!"

"But the deadline set by our superiors..."

"Science doesn't concern itself with specific timelines! Science only discusses patterns!"

Old Li stood at the door, glancing somewhat awkwardly at Su Zheng: "Uh, Consultant Su, what do you think of this..."

"Go in."

Su Zheng pushed open the door.

The conference room was filled with smoke.

The long table was filled with people, all of them flushed. The table was piled high with blueprints and draft papers, and the ashtray was overflowing with cigarette butts.

The blackboard directly in front of us was covered with formulas and data.

Su Zheng's entrance silenced the previously noisy conference room for a second.

Dozens of eyes turned to look at them.

There were doubts, scrutiny, and disdain.

"Old Li, is this the... special advisor you were talking about?"

The speaker was none other than Professor Liu, who had just been roaring. He was wearing a faded shirt with chalk dust on the cuffs, his hair was a mess like a bird's nest, and his eyes were sharp as knives.

He looked Su Zheng up and down, his brows furrowing even more deeply.

"So young?"

Professor Liu made no attempt to hide his disappointment. "Old Li, has the ministry made a mistake? What we need are engineering experts who can solve real problems, not young soldiers who come here to get a resume."

A few soft laughs rang out from the surroundings.

Here, seniority and age often represent authority. Su Zheng's face is truly deceptive.

Old Li quickly smoothed things over: "Old Liu, although Comrade Su Zheng is young, he is truly skilled in precision machining and mechanical modification. And the CNC machine tools on Director Yang's side..."

"That's for civilian use!" Professor Liu interrupted Old Li. "What we're working on now? Centrifuges! The core equipment for uranium enrichment! A difference of an order of magnitude in rotational speed is like two completely different worlds! Can grinding a few parts in a steel mill compare to this?"

Old Li was left speechless by the rebuttal.

Su Zheng remained silent.

He walked straight to the conference table, his gaze sweeping over everyone before landing on the blackboard covered with formulas.

The Eye of Truth is opened.

In an instant, the complex calculus equations and mechanical structure diagrams on the blackboard decomposed into countless flowing data streams in his eyes.

Red lines represent errors, and green lines represent correct ones.

Su Zheng's gaze lingered on a set of data in the lower right corner of the blackboard for three seconds.

There, it was a blinding crimson.

"Um..." Su Zheng suddenly spoke up.

His voice wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the quiet conference room.

"The dynamic equilibrium equation was calculated incorrectly."

boom!

This statement is like a pebble thrown into a boiling pot of oil.

Professor Liu was stunned, then laughed angrily: "What did you say?"

He pointed at the blackboard, his fingers trembling: "Do you know who calculated this? This is the result that I and three PhDs from the math group spent three whole days and nights calculating! You've only been here for less than a minute, glanced at it, and said it's wrong?"

"Young man, it's understandable that you want to show off, but this isn't the place for you to spout nonsense!"

The experts around them also shook their heads.

"That's outrageous."

"You didn't even understand the question, did you?"

"Young people these days are so arrogant and ignorant."

Despite the overwhelming criticism, Su Zheng's expression remained unchanged.

He didn't argue, but slowly walked towards the blackboard.

The crowd parted automatically, making way for him.

Su Zheng walked to the blackboard and picked up a piece of chalk.

He gently weighed it in his hand.

"Professor Liu, your derivation process is based on the 'rigid rotor' model, right?" Su Zheng asked casually.

Professor Liu paused, then said, "Of course. At those high RPMs..."

"But at 12 revolutions per minute, the metal undergoes microscopic rheological changes." Su Zheng turned around and slammed the chalk down on the blackboard. "At this point, it's not a rigid body, but a flexible one. You've overlooked the nonlinear interference of the Coriolis force on the inner wall of the bearing."

Professor Liu's pupils suddenly contracted.

"this……"

Su Zheng didn't waste any more words.

He turned around, and the chalk in his hand began to dance across the blackboard.

swish swish swish swish —

The sound of chalk scraping against the blackboard created a strange rhythm in this room where you could hear a pin drop.

New formulas were written out line by line.

At first, everyone was just watching with amusement.

But gradually, the laughter disappeared.

Instead, there was solemnity, surprise, and finally, deep horror.

Professor Liu stood up unconsciously, walked step by step to the blackboard, and stared intently at every symbol written by Su Zheng.

His lips began to tremble, and his fingers unconsciously traced the name in the air, following Su Zheng's rhythm.

"This...this introduces the boundary layer theory from fluid dynamics?"

"My God, is that even possible?"

"Brilliant! This variable substitution is a stroke of genius!"

five minutes.

Just five minutes.

Su Zheng put down his pen.

On the blackboard, the dynamic equilibrium problem that had been deemed "deadly" was perfectly solved by a brand new and elegant set of equations.

At the end of the equation, Su Zheng wrote down a number:

125,000 RPM

"According to this modified model, as long as we adjust the bearing tolerances and change the chamfer in this area to a hyperbolic structure," Su Zheng pointed to an inconspicuous corner on the drawing, "domestic bearings can fully withstand a speed of 12.5 revolutions per minute."

He threw away the broken piece of chalk, dusted off his hands, and turned around.

The conference room was deathly silent.

Everyone looked at the young man as if he were a monster.

Professor Liu, who had been so arrogant just moments before, now seemed drained of all his strength, barely able to stand by holding onto the table. He stared at the formulas on the blackboard, his eyes filled with both the disappointment of being defeated and, more so, a fervent zeal that seemed to say, "If I could hear the truth in the morning, I could die content in the evening."

"This...this is..."

Professor Liu, his voice trembling, pointed to the equation and asked, "Who taught you this? Was it Qian Xuesen? Or some master from the Soviet Union?"

This level of computational ability and this depth of interdisciplinary thinking are far beyond the capabilities of an ordinary level eight worker. In his understanding, only those legendary top scientists could possibly spot the flaws and provide a solution in such a short time.

Looking at the old man who had devoted himself to the country's scientific research, Su Zheng's coldness faded, replaced by a sense of respect for pure researchers.

But he was not modest.

In a place where strength reigns supreme, humility is weakness.

He needs to establish his authority here, to gain absolute control, in order to mobilize resources and realize his grand industrial empire plan.

Su Zheng straightened his cuffs, met the shocked gazes of the crowd, and smiled faintly.

"Nobody taught me."

"If I had to say... I'm self-taught."

……