Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

By following this approach, the bottleneck in my country's solar energy infrastructure has been broken through in one fell swoop—those technical deadlocks that had been stuck for many years are now suddenly clear.

It's a good thing, but it's tricky.

Solar energy applications are classified as a top-level national secret; showcasing them would be like revealing our hand to the entire world. But what if we don't participate? Xiao Yao and his team simply don't have the time to redo it; and that recently sealed-off intelligent remote-controlled aircraft is also on the classified list.

If the person leading the team is a young teacher in his thirties, Professor Chen can sit down and explain the pros and cons in detail.

But before him stood a group of sixteen or seventeen-year-old teenagers with piercingly bright eyes—proud, pure, and focused solely on their goals.

Just now in the lab, they looked like small animals with slumped shoulders and droopy eyelashes, as if their bones had been removed. Professor Chen didn't want to dampen their spirits.

They gave it their all, just to stand in the spotlight and let everyone see what Chinese youth can achieve.

They accept defeat; but if they are sidelined because they are too strong, their enthusiasm will likely cool completely. If a stubborn student were to turn away from scientific research because of this, the loss would be far more than just a competition ranking.

Professor Chen worked through the night to compile a classified report, which he submitted along with all the relevant materials to the head of science and technology. This was a matter the university couldn't afford to take responsibility for, and he himself couldn't handle it.

The phone rang quickly, the voice crisp and decisive: "No problem. This competition has changed to a 'blind judging system'—only the rankings will be announced, not the names of the works, parameters, or team information. Are you suggesting that because our own kids are so talented, we should deprive them of the right to stand on the podium? That would truly discourage geniuses. I can't wait for more such talents to emerge—we have indeed fallen behind for far too long."

Two days later, Xiao Yao and the others sat dejectedly in the back row of the classroom, like wilted bean sprouts. Director Gao watched from afar, his heart aching.

At this moment, Professor Chen pushed open the door and entered, his steps steady and his voice clear: "Students, your work can be submitted to the competition, but the entire process will be kept strictly confidential. This is the best protection we can give you. In addition, every student who participates in the experiment will receive a reward of fifty yuan."

Fifty yuan? Nobody took it seriously. But as soon as the words "can participate" were uttered, the classroom erupted in cheers, laughter soaring straight up to the ceiling.

Wang Yutong blinked: "Professor, can we... get first place?"

Professor Chen smiled and shook his head: "I would be happier if you didn't get first place."

"Why?" Lin Siyue pouted, looking unconvinced.

"Because that means that even more talented young people than you are quietly emerging in other corners of the world. Our country really needs to stand tall."

After he finished speaking, the room fell silent.

It turns out there's something far more significant than rankings. This lesson I learned today is etched into my heart more deeply than any formula.

Soon, everyone realized what was going on—while the younger generation was still vying for awards, the older scientists who had spent half their lives working at their desks were never concerned with personal glory, but rather with who would take the baton, who would light the way, and who could steadily pass on the torch of Chinese science and technology.

In their eyes, the weight on the shoulders of these young people is the weight of the future of the nation.

……

The location of this national science and technology competition is a mystery.

The competition was originally scheduled to be held at a science and technology university. However, several entries required encrypted judging this year, leading to a last-minute change in the schedule, and no one knows which city will ultimately host the event.

When masters clash and stars gather, it's perfectly normal for groundbreaking results to emerge.

The students were stunned – they were even disqualified from watching the game live.

New regulations have been implemented: only physical items and data packages are required. Experts will score the entries behind closed doors, and the rankings will be sent directly to each school's email address. Students will then wait for further notification.

However, Xiao Yao's school suddenly welcomed a group of exchange students from other schools, who will be immersed in the school for half a year.

Ten students from their class were specifically selected to pursue further studies at different universities.

The students who arrived all walked with a confident stride, their brows radiating an air of self-assurance. Just standing there, without uttering a word, their entire being seemed to say: "I am the ceiling."

At Lin Siyue's prompting, Xiao Yao immediately recognized the young genius who had just emerged from the national college entrance examination—the rumored number one figure who was firmly at the top of the national genius class list.

He was tall and straight, with a calm yet sharp light between his brows. He was sitting by the window, flipping through an original English version of "Introduction to Plasma Physics". As he turned the pages, his fingertips were still stained with a bit of wet blue ink.

As Xiao Yao passed by, he glanced at him discreetly and was slightly startled: "System, what's his intelligence score?"

"180".

He scored a full twenty points higher than me, and it was an innate talent, not something I had built up later.

Xiao Yao felt a pang of bittersweet envy—this wasn't just a human, but a rough gem sculpted by the very hand of God.

And what about him? He relied entirely on the system's support, and he worked his way up step by step.

On the first day of class, ten unfamiliar faces appeared in the classroom. Everyone was a little reserved at first, speaking softly and moving slowly, even afraid of disturbing the air when turning the pages of a book.

Meanwhile, in a secret laboratory hidden behind gray walls in Kyoto, several elderly professors with white hair were scrutinizing a tiny solar-powered train, its rooftop array reflected in their glasses.

"Was this really made by a student? Or is it some 'outsourced product' secretly slipped in by some top institute?"

"Could you give me an example—which research institute can deduce this topological structure using formulas from a first-year textbook?" Professor Chen's tone was unhurried, yet every word was forceful.

An elderly professor shook his head and sighed, "These kids have only studied for a year, yet they've already put into practice what it took foreign countries seven or eight years to even grasp the basics. It's truly remarkable."

The first-year curriculum is broad but not deep, mixing theory and practice. Physics is like a boundless forest with many branches and categories.

The further you go, the more specialized the disciplines become, and the more focused your research becomes, the more solid your results will be. But no matter how sophisticated the theory, without repeated disassembly, debugging, failure, and starting over, it will ultimately remain just empty talk.

Professor Chen's lips curled slightly: "They've long since stopped being satisfied with just listening to lectures; their self-study pace has far surpassed the curriculum. They're almost at the core courses for third-year students now."

The professors from the nearby universities exchanged bewildered glances. Old Chen's smile looked exactly like that of a fox that had secretly hidden honey.

The invention category assessment lasted for three full days, and it wasn't until the afternoon of the third day that the school received the classified notification.

Xiao Yao and his team won the championship without any suspense—but the rankings, members, and details of their works were all sealed away, and even the list of participants was locked in an encrypted file, so that outsiders could not even catch a glimpse of it.

As soon as the news broke, everyone was in an uproar.

"We won! First place again!" Ji Fengnan grabbed Lin Siyue's neck, but before she could finish speaking, she received three light punches to the shoulder.

"It was all achieved through everyone's hard work." Xiao Yao looked at the gleaming faces and said softly.

But he knew in his heart that he only deserved a small share of this glory. The real power lay in the intelligent system hidden deep within his consciousness.

When will he be able to solder a circuit board by hand, derive a new formula, and independently complete a creation from scratch? That is the pride he truly wants to hold in his hands.

That day seems so far away.

The exchange students, seeing their jubilation, immediately guessed the outcome but were not surprised at all—their trip was to learn from others, not to compete.

Soon, the 50 yuan prize money for each participant arrived in their account, and the participants also received a "Diligent Study and Practical Action, Scientific Pioneer" certificate specially awarded by the school. The word "competition" was not mentioned at all; it only stated "Love of exploration, reverence for truth".

……

As soon as Xiao Yao put the prize money in his pocket, the group was discussing going out for a meal when Professor Chen intercepted them as soon as Xiao Yao stepped into the dormitory building.

"Don't go back. Come with me now. Professor Li has been waiting for you for half a day—the solar concentrating conversion project is about to enter a critical stage."

"Don't worry about your studies either. Several teachers will take turns giving you extra help, so you won't fall behind."

The gifted class was already much faster than the regular class, but after more than a year, the professors unanimously felt that continuing to teach according to the established methods would be a disservice to Xiao Yao.

His comprehension, modeling speed, and engineering intuition far exceeded the scope of basic courses. Continuing to work on those introductory problems would be a complete waste of time.

So, the exceptional training plan was finalized on the spot: the main battlefield would be the laboratory, following real-world research projects; spare time would be used to catch up on theory, since he had already thoroughly mastered the content from his sophomore year, and there were only a few advanced courses left in his junior year, which he could catch up on at any time.

"Xiao Yao, the country is waiting to use this solar energy project. Your practical experience in this area is more extensive than that of many professors. It's your turn to step forward, turn your knowledge into power, and enable more people to use clean electricity."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yao's mind went blank, as if he had been thrown into a vacuum chamber.

"What skills do I have? I rely entirely on system deduction, simulation, and error correction..." He couldn't say a word of this. But he was unwilling to back down and only wanted to seize every minute to make up for his shortcomings and serve his country in a real and effective way.

Now he works harder than ever before: his notes are so dense they're airtight, he revises lab reports until the early hours of the morning, and he even memorizes the boundary conditions of the second law of thermodynamics while eating.

Because only he knew that beneath the surface of success lay a chase that had to be won.

When his roommates saw him turn to leave, they all surrounded him, patting him on the shoulder, hugging him, and giving him candy, their eyes full of sympathy and respect.

"He's only a sophomore and he's already being drafted. What a miserable life!"

"We can lie down for another two years, but you've jumped right into the pressure cooker and cooked."

"Don't talk nonsense." Qian Wentao hugged him tightly. "This is a rare opportunity. You will grow several times faster than others. I believe in you. You will definitely stand on the Nobel Prize podium in the future."

"Maybe one day, we'll be sitting in the lunar base you built, drinking coffee." Ji Fengnan winked.

Wang Yutong nodded with a straight face: "The military materials production line is now in your hands."

Xiao Yao smiled and spread his hands: "How about I talk to the professor? The three of you can be transferred here together? After all, we've been working together for so long, our teamwork is good enough."

The three men's expressions changed instantly. One took two steps back, another turned and ran, and the last nodded vigorously in agreement: "Yes, yes, yes, our foundation is too weak. We need to practice for another two years!"