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

early morning.

The winter sun shines through the sparse branches and onto the gray bricks and tiles of No. 95 Nanluoguxiang.

A typical day in a courtyard house usually begins at the water trough in the central courtyard.

This place was the intelligence exchange center of the entire compound, and also the women's battlefield. Who bought meat, whose couple was arguing, whose child got the lowest score in the exam—all of this fermented and spread in the foam of these basins of laundry water.

Today, the area around the sink was unusually lively.

In addition to the regular guest Qin Huairu, there is also a rare guest - Yu Haitang, the broadcaster of the steel rolling mill, who is known as the "factory flower".

She came to visit her sister Yu Li (Yan Jiecheng's wife), but in reality, she came for the "Grandmaster-level" master in the backyard.

Although she hadn't seen the Hongqi motorcade last night, the whole courtyard and even the entire street were buzzing with talk of Su Zheng's power early this morning. As someone who held herself in high esteem and desperately wanted to marry a high-ranking official's son, Yu Haitang's heart was already restless.

"Sis, do you think that Su Zheng is really that amazing?"

Yu Haitang, wearing a red woolen overcoat and a snow-white scarf around her neck, stood out among the women in gray-blue cotton-padded jackets. She casually asked a question while looking in her small mirror.

"God! Absolutely amazing!"

As Yu Li rubbed the clothes, she lowered her voice and said, "You didn't see what happened last night. Even our dad (Yan Bugui) was so scared his legs went weak. Haitang, if you can take him down, our Yan family will benefit from it."

"Pshaw, just a technician."

Yu Haitang curled her lip, full of arrogance, "I'm only valued now. In terms of looks and talent, who in this courtyard can compare to me? I'm the factory's recognized broadcasting beauty."

Qin Huairu, who was washing clothes nearby, sneered inwardly upon hearing this.

Compare?

What makes you think you can compare to that woman?

Qin Huairu's mind drifted back to the elegant figure seen through the window last night, the way she helped Su Zheng remove fish bones. That kind of nobility, that scholarly air that emanated from her very being, was something they, as commoners, could never imitate.

"Cough cough."

Qin Huairu coughed twice on purpose, tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, revealing her face, which, though somewhat haggard, still retained its charm.

She was asserting her presence in this way: Although I lost, I am still the most "feminine" woman in this courtyard.

Just when the three women each had their own ulterior motives.

"Squeak—"

The moon gate in the backyard opened.

A figure stepped out.

It's not Su Zheng.

It is Ye Xinyi.

Instantly, the entire area around the sink fell silent. All eyes were fixed on her like searchlights.

Ye Xinyi is dressed very simply today.

He wore a beige turtleneck sweater, under a dark gray Lenin suit, paired with crisp black trousers and shiny leather boots.

She wasn't wearing makeup; she was completely bare-faced.

But that face was so fair it was almost transparent, and its features were as delicate as porcelain. Especially its eyes, clear and deep, carrying a coldness that kept people at a distance, yet containing wisdom as vast as the stars and the sea.

She was holding an enamel basin for washing up, with a thick foreign language book tucked under her arm, and an earphone hanging from her ear, connected to a small black square (a miniature radio that Su Zheng had made for her) at her waist.

She walked over as if no one else was there.

Light steps, straight back.

That aura was like that of a queen surveying her territory, or a pianist about to take the stage.

In contrast, Yu Haitang, dressed in bright red and green and covered in face cream, instantly looked incredibly vulgar, like a wild pheasant with its feathers ruffled.

Qin Huairu, squatting on the ground with foam all over her hands and a bitter look on her face, was even more humble, like a servant woman.

This is a case of dimensional reduction attack.

No need to say a word, just standing there is enough to win.

Ye Xinyi walked to the sink and turned on the tap.

The sound of clear, flowing water broke the silence.

Yu Haitang swallowed hard, her competitive spirit making her unable to resist speaking.

"Hey, comrade, you're that... what's-his-name secretary that Su Zheng brought back, right?"

Yu Haitang deliberately emphasized the word "secretary," with a hint of flippancy and innuendo, "I heard you're from the Northwest? It's so windy and dusty there, how come your skin is so well-maintained? What's your secret?"

This is a woman's test. She starts with appearance, trying to lower the other person's standards.

Ye Xinyi paused for a moment while washing her face.

She looked up and glanced at Yu Haitang through her reflection in the mirror.

That look in his eyes was so calm that it didn't have the slightest ripple.

Read more books.

Ye Xinyi replied with three words indifferently.

"Pfft—" Someone next to them couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Yu Haitang's face instantly turned a deep shade of liver. "Read more books?" Was this an insult implying she was uncultured?

"you!"

Yu Haitang was furious. "What's the use of studying? I'm in publicity! My voice has to be heard throughout the entire factory every day! I can recite, I can sing, I can..."

"Das ist lächerlich." (That's ridiculous.)

Ye Xinyi suddenly spoke a sentence in German.

Yu Haitang was stunned: "What did you say?"

"I must say, your voice is indeed very loud." Ye Xinyi turned off the tap, took out a handkerchief to wipe her hands, and said calmly, "But a loud voice doesn't equate to power. True power doesn't require shouting."

She pointed to the earphones on her ears.

"I was just listening to the BBC morning news. The fog in London has lifted, but the Berlin Wall is still standing. The world is vast, young lady, don't just focus on this tiny corner of your home."

After saying that, Ye Xinyi ignored Yu Haitang and turned to leave.

"etc!"

Qin Huairu suddenly stood up.

She looked at Ye Xinyi, her eyes flashing with a complex light. There was jealousy, resentment, and an impulse to "drag the other person down with her."

"Comrade Ye."

Qin Huairu spoke with a tone of wisdom tinged with pity, "You are a scholar, a great intellectual. But when it comes to daily life, you still have to be considerate and understanding."

"I know Su Zheng. He's a man, and men come home wanting a hot meal and to be waited on. You're always buried in books, how can you do his laundry, cook for him, or bear his children?"

Qin Huairu felt that she had found Ye Xinyi's weakness.

Women, in the end, still have to return to the family, right? No matter how capable you are, if you don't know how to serve a man, it's all for nothing.

Ye Xinyi stopped in her tracks.

She turned around and looked Qin Huairu in the eye for the first time.

Her gaze lingered for a second on Qin Huairu's hands, which were rough and swollen from washing clothes for a long time.

"Qin Huairu".

Ye Xinyi called out her name.

Do you think Su Zheng needs a nanny?

Qin Huairu was taken aback.

You're wrong.

Ye Xinyi's voice remained cool, but it carried a power that penetrated the soul. "What he needs is not a woman who only revolves around the stove and only uses tears to gain sympathy. What he needs is a comrade-in-arms who can understand what he is saying, understand what he is drawing, and stand with him on the mountaintop to enjoy the view."

"Doing laundry? Cooking?"

Ye Xinyi shook her head, a faint sneer playing on her lips. "Machines can do all that. The washing machine Su Zheng designed is a hundred times cleaner than you can wash by hand. The cooking machine Su Zheng designed is a hundred times better than Sha Zhu's."

"And what I can do, machines can't."

Ye Xinyi patted the thick book under her arm.

"This is 'Unsteady Fluid Mechanics'."

"I'm helping him calculate the rotor parameters for the third-generation centrifuge. These parameters are crucial to whether our country can build what is known as the 'Tsar Bomba' (hydrogen bomb)."

"Which do you think is more important, your laundry or this?"

Dead silence.

Utter silence.

Qin Huairu opened her mouth wide, unable to utter a single word.

She felt like a frog in a well, suddenly lifted to a height of ten thousand meters. The immense dizziness and sense of inferiority made her almost unable to stand.

Her pride in her virtue, the means by which she made a living, became so laughable and so cheap in front of Ye Xinyi.

They're building an atomic bomb.

Meanwhile, she was still thinking about how to wash the man's underwear.

This is the gap.

The difference is like heaven and earth.

After finishing her sentence, Ye Xinyi didn't linger. She strode confidently toward the backyard.

There, Su Zheng was already waiting for her with his bicycle.

"Finished chatting?" Su Zheng asked with a smile.

"Hmm. Just a few cicadas chirping." Ye Xinyi handed the thick book to Su Zheng. "Hold this for me, it's terribly heavy."

"Yes, Secretary Ye." Su Zheng took the book and put it in the bicycle basket.

The two walked out of the courtyard house side by side.

The sunlight shone on them, as if gilding the perfect couple with a golden edge.

As Ye Xinyi passed through the front yard, she suddenly stopped.

She took a delicate little notebook out of her pocket and handed it to Su Zheng.

"Give."

"What?" Su Zheng asked curiously as he took it.

"My personal notebook." Ye Xinyi's face flushed slightly. "It contains some thoughts about that... um, about that 'Spark' project. And..."

"What else?"

"See for yourself."

Ye Xinyi walked quickly forward, her back view showing some panic.

Su Zheng opened his laptop.

A two-inch black and white photograph was tucked into the title page.

In the photo, Ye Xinyi is wearing a military uniform, her hair tied in a ponytail, and she's smiling brightly. It's a picture of her from her teenage years that Su Zheng has never seen before.

On the back of the photo, there was a line of neat, small handwriting:

"To my dean, to my comrades-in-arms, to my... beloved."

Su Zheng looked at the words and felt a warm feeling well up in his heart.

He closed the notebook and carefully put it into his inner pocket.

Then, he got on his bike and chased after them.

"My love! Wait for me!"

"Wait a minute! We're going to be late again!"

Their laughter faded into the distance, disappearing at the end of the alley.

Only three women remained by the sink, bewildered in the cold wind.

Yu Haitang watched that retreating figure, then threw the small mirror in her hand into the basin of water, splashing a spray. She knew she could never marry into a wealthy family in this lifetime, because she couldn't even get close to the threshold.

Qin Huairu remained squatting on the ground, her hands soaking in the icy water.

She suddenly realized that the water was really cold.

It was bitterly cold.

It was freezing cold.

……