Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

Professor Chen patted him on the shoulder: "Next time you make something new, report it first. The security guards mean we have to follow the rules." After saying that, he turned to leave, then paused at the door. "By the way, see you in the lab at eight tomorrow morning. We need to have a serious talk about this furnace."

The next morning, as soon as Xiao Yao stepped into the lab, Professor Chen greeted him and asked about his design ideas. He then turned around and called Lin Wan over, spread out two class schedules, and asked with a smile, "Would you like to spend half your time in the lab and the other half in class? Your dual-track system is running more smoothly than a high-speed train."

This means that Lin Wan can start preparing for the postgraduate entrance examination—as long as she completes her undergraduate courses, she can start the preparation process at any time.

By then, Xiao Yao will be able to dedicate more energy to following her to top laboratories across the country and immerse himself in real scientific research.

"Professor, do I still need to brush up on a lot of things? If I join a research group now, I'm afraid my foundation is too weak and I won't be able to keep up with the pace," Xiao Yao admitted frankly.

He knew in his heart that his limited background was not enough to support a large project: he could manage to tinker with a small device using the system, but when he entered a national-level laboratory and faced with the dense formula derivation, model building and interdisciplinary logic of cutting-edge research topics, he would not even be able to get started - not pretending not to understand, but genuinely had not studied it.

Scientific research is never a superficial exercise; the depth of your knowledge determines how high you can stand and how far you can go. If you only linger on the fringes, you waste resources and betray the trust placed in you.

Professor Chen put down his teacup, his tone calm yet resolute: "Learning and doing are always two sides of the same coin. Just memorizing books without applying them is like a paper lantern; only burying yourself in work without continuous learning will inevitably lead you astray. Do you prefer to sit on the sidelines writing papers, or roll up your sleeves and do experiments?"

Xiao Yao shook his head: "Compared to spending all day in the library copying notes, I'd rather stay by the instruments watching the data and adjusting the parameters. But the more I do it, the more I feel that the heavier the workload, the more glaring the gaps in my knowledge become—I'm really afraid that one day I'll hold the team back."

"I like hearing that," Professor Chen said calmly. "Who doesn't learn on the job? The country is waiting for your generation to step up. There's no end to scientific research; it's a relay race. Our generation is getting too tired to carry any more weight."

Xiao Yao felt a surge of warmth in his heart, mixed with a slight sourness.

"Rest assured, China will stand tall in the future and make the world look up to us." His voice was not loud, but every word was firm and resonant.

Professor Chen smiled and nodded: "It's good to have this drive. But the gap is still there—we're stuck with chip shortages, materials are blocked, and we rely on imports for precision instruments... The burden has to fall on your shoulders."

Xiao Yao didn't respond. He didn't need to express his opinion, because this wasn't a wish, but a fact that was already happening: China, standing in the East, steadily accelerating, and destined to lead the world, had already embarked on its journey.

Within three or four days, the team optimized the power output scheme of the electric furnace, and the complete set of experimental reports was directly handed over to the military.

More than a month later, the core problem was completely solved.

"Professor, tomorrow is the 29th of the twelfth lunar month, and the day after tomorrow is New Year's Eve. Aren't we going home for the New Year?" Xiao Yao asked tentatively.

Professor Chen looked up at him: "The whole team is staying in the lab to celebrate the New Year. There will be a car to take you back to Su Man's house later, but you can't stop your studies."

After all, Xiao Yao had independently completed two practical inventions in a row, and several professors had reached a consensus in private: this child was not the kind of person who could be taught step by step; he had to be pushed forward by the pace of scientific research.

As a result, scheduling classes became the new daily routine: every day, two professors from different fields would each squeeze out two hours to tailor-make "crash courses" for him.

That evening, after returning to Su Man's house, Xiao Yao opened his diary and wrote neatly:

"On the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month in 1978, I first truly felt that the nation's thirst for technology was like parched earth longing for spring rain; the urgency on the shoulders of researchers was louder than a whip."

In the afternoon, he strolled back to the courtyard house alone. When he opened the gate, the empty house was silent, and even the echo seemed faint.

After cleaning the house, he took the incense and candles to Grandpa Xiao's grave and respectfully kowtowed three times.

With a change in status comes a change in responsibility—I didn't fulfill my filial duties in the past few years, so I'll make up for it by kowtowing a few more times this time.

Mr. and Mrs. Xiao were unable to leave their posts in the army, so they sent them only thick cotton-padded clothes, a few cans of condensed milk, and a thick stack of food coupons and money.

I had just stepped into the Su family home when my mother called.

"I really can't make it back to be with you this year. After you graduate, your dad and I will apply for a military transfer, and the three of us can have a proper family reunion dinner." Her voice trembled slightly, hiding the regret of being absent for so many years.

"It's alright, I'm busy with my studies right now. You and Dad should take care of yourselves," Xiao Yao replied sincerely.

"Give the phone to your Aunt Su, I'll talk to her," the mother said.

He had just handed over the receiver when, less than two minutes later, Su's mother burst out laughing—they were chatting warmly and without any awkwardness.

"Don't worry, in-laws! Xiao Yao is sensible and hardworking, just like your own child. What's with all this talk about 'taking care'? Why are you making such distinctions among family members? Rest assured!" She hung up the phone, a smile still lingering in her eyes.

"Your mother said she'll come to see you tomorrow, the Lantern Festival, so don't worry about it," Su's mother told him, turning her head.

Xiao Yao nodded gently.

On New Year's Eve, the kitchen of the Su family was steaming hot, but Su Man and Xiao Yao were "invited" out - Su's mother disliked their shaky hands when chopping vegetables and their unstable heat when simmering soup, so she simply decided to avoid seeing them and getting annoyed.

At this time in China, the air was quietly loosening. On street corners and alleyways, people were quietly setting up stalls, selling buttons, glass beads, and hand-painted cloth bags; in parks, young people with permed hair and bell-bottoms were dancing disco to "The Little Girl Under the Streetlight," their clothes fluttering like new buds breaking through the soil in early spring.

Standing in the crowd, Xiao Yao felt a sense of clarity: the engine of economic recovery had been ignited, and the next decade would be one of full-speed shifting and overtaking on curves.

Han Chunming sensed the trend and pulled Taozi together to start a family-style tailoring workshop. They kept an eye on the new styles in the department store windows and copied them overnight, shipping them in bulk.

At Xiao Yao's suggestion, the student union, affiliated with the school, established a garment processing group to share orders with state-owned garment factories. This achieved three goals at once: solving the employment problem for accompanying family members, helping students in need to secure their living expenses, and truly bringing practical education to fruition.

At the school gate, two "student-run" clothing stores have already opened for business. This is the result of Su Man's repeated efforts to negotiate with the school leaders: the stores take over the orders that the factory can't keep up with; they specialize in high-precision custom orders, which not only generates revenue but also allows students to get a feel for the market in advance. In case of policy changes, closing the stores only requires a notice.

After tasting the benefits, the school simply handed over several vacant public buildings along the street to the student council for renovation: one was a general store that not only sold melon seeds and roasted beans, but also sourced candies and pastries directly from food factories; the other was an old bookstore filled with students' handwritten review notes, compilations of wrong questions, and experimental notes—all dry goods produced by staying up all night.

A wooden sign stands at the entrance of the shop: "Academic Assistance Station." University students can register with their student IDs and receive tutoring orders from nearby primary and secondary school students. The money may not be much, but its flexibility has ignited the enthusiasm of young people.

At the year-end summary meeting, Su Man reported to Xiao Yao one by one what the student union had accomplished in the past six months.

After listening, he simply nodded and didn't say anything more.

……

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, he didn't rest. On New Year's Eve, while lying in bed, his mind was already in the virtual laboratory of the system, adjusting parameters, running simulations, and monitoring curves.

During the day, they devoured lecture notes handed to them by professors, and at night they listened to the system's breakdown of principles. Then, they practiced with the intelligent robot again and again—with each set of standard procedures completed, energy points quietly accumulated.

With the Lantern Festival approaching, the experimental projects completed with the help of intelligent robots have gradually come to an end.

With the system's meticulous guidance, Xiao Yao has already mastered three core courses from his sophomore year—molecular mechanics, quantum mechanics, and atomic physics—thoroughly reviewing them all.

Even more astonishing is that he got full marks on all three final exams.

Xiao Yao pondered that his mind was probably becoming more and more "open." The theories that once made his scalp tingle in college were now like open pages of an old book. As long as he calmed down and read them, he could understand them at a glance without any difficulty.

He evenly distributed the newly accumulated energy points to five core abilities: memory, observation, attention, thinking, and imagination.

Memory 161

Observational ability 160

Attention 161

Thinking ability 160

Imagination 161

The system displayed a message: Average Intelligence Value - 161.

Xiao Yao felt a surge of warmth in his heart, as if he had been injected with a refreshing energy. He was full of vigor and couldn't wait to open the next textbook, go through another round of knowledge, and accumulate more energy points.

He couldn't help but wonder: once his IQ surpasses 170, will he learn things as quickly as turning the pages of a book?

That day, Xiao's parents arrived at the Su family's house with a gift box. Meanwhile, Xiao Yao was strolling around Beihai Park with Su Man.

With the start of the new semester approaching, he plans to move back to his school dormitory and dedicate a whole afternoon each day to studying hard—every minute saved is a window to cramming knowledge into his brain.

"I fully support you in focusing on your studies. Our country needs young people like you who are willing to delve into things and are capable of handling challenges. Wherever you go, you will shine brightly." Su Man's tone was firm, and her eyes were clear.

"It is precisely because you trust me that I dare not relax even for a moment," Xiao Yao said earnestly, turning his head to look at her.

As dusk deepened, the two returned home. As soon as they entered the door, Lin Wan came up to them, hugged Xiao Yao tightly, looked him up and down, and her eyes were full of tenderness.

"You're much stronger now! Are you having a lot of homework? Do you miss your mom?" she said, gently stroking his head.

"I'm learning quite well. I practice for an hour every day without fail, and spend the rest of my time immersed in books. When I have free time, I think about you all."

"You little rascal, come in and eat!" Lin Wan laughed and pulled Su Man into the house first.

Xiao Yao looked up and saw her father and Su's father sitting in the living room, chatting intently.

"Dad, Uncle," he greeted with a smile.

"Hmm," Xiao's father responded.

"My little brother didn't come?" Xiao Yao asked casually.

"He's such a show-off! He just arrived today and already slipped out to play with the neighborhood kids." Lin Wan couldn't help but chuckle.

"What you're saying makes sense, in-laws—good interpersonal relationships pave the way for a bright future!" Mother Su replied with a smile.