Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

Many things he thought were "advanced" have already been put into factories and homes abroad.

Induction cookers, remote-controlled model airplanes... the achievements he is so proud of have already been mass-produced and launched on the market by others.

He dared not underestimate the world just because he had the system. Who knew if the circuits he was debugging all night might already have a better solution in a garage lab across the ocean?

Instead, he became more composed, his mind calm and his hands steady, turning the pages of the book one by one, retesting again and again—steadiness became his sharpest weapon.

After another sixteen days of hard work, Xiao Yao finally broke through that barrier. Through repeated debugging, simulation, and verification in the laboratory, he truly brought the AC photovoltaic power generation concept provided by the intelligent robot into reality—using a set of ingenious modular circuits, he achieved stable operation of the photovoltaic array directly outputting AC power for the first time, fully demonstrating the feasibility of the entire technical path.

The moment the lab light came on, he felt a surge of warmth in his chest, as if a sparrow had fluttered open the door to his heart.

I secretly rejoiced that I had a solid foundation, quick logical thinking, and steady hands; otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to handle this whole mess by relying on a single breakthrough.

He immediately sat down at his desk and meticulously copied every waveform curve, every set of voltage harmonic parameters, and every load switching response into his experimental notes.

Next, he pondered how to present this achievement to Professor Li and his team—it couldn't be too straightforward, nor could it be too vague.

Of course, you can't just send over the raw data and the actual measurement video.

After all, he had run all the experiments on a virtual simulation platform without touching a single piece of real equipment. If he were to reveal the details prematurely, he might be asked to "cooperate with explanations" tomorrow.

So he reversed the process: using mature DC photovoltaic parameters as a basis, he introduced high-frequency inverter coupling logic, reconstructed the energy conversion model, and then filled in the verification data item by item, finally condensing it into a well-organized and solidly deduced academic paper.

The next morning, he went to the lab as usual to help out, setting up the spectrometer and organizing the equipment boxes, until he finally caught Professor Li alone before lunch break.

Professor Li had always appreciated this composed young man. In his eyes, Xiao Yao was no longer an ordinary student, but a new flame emerging from the spark of science.

Seeing him approach, Professor Li put down the tweezers, smiled, and looked up: "Xiao Yao? What's got you stuck?"

Xiao Yao paused briefly, then said in a humble yet firm tone, "Professor, I've been systematically analyzing the bottlenecks in solar power generation lately, and I've tried to make some deductions from the perspective of AC output. I've written a short article; could you take a look at it for me when it's convenient?"

Professor Li responded loudly, "Okay! Give it to me, I'll read it carefully later." As he spoke, he reached out and took the manuscript, intending to go back to the lounge to flip through it—but the moment his eyes swept over the title, his fingers suddenly stopped.

He took off his glasses, wiped them, put them back on, and read on, word by word, his brow furrowing more and more, and his breathing slowing down.

After a long pause, he suddenly looked up, his pupils gleaming: "This is... the AC photovoltaic power generation architecture you proposed independently?"

"Hmm." Xiao Yao nodded. "DC grid connection has too many restrictions and high operation and maintenance costs. I tried to bypass the inverter stage and let the photovoltaic panels themselves 'grow' AC characteristics."

"These parameters... you calculated them?" Professor Li's voice tightened. "I just did a mental calculation, and the error is less than 0.8%—this is definitely not something you can just come up with on a whim."

"It's based on the existing component efficiency curves and power grid harmonic standards, which involves a lot of computation, but the logic chain is working," Xiao Yao said calmly. "So I want to apply for project approval and implement it in real-world testing as soon as possible—no matter how beautiful the theory is, without connecting it to the power grid, it's just empty talk."

Professor Li took a deep breath, gripped the paper tightly, and turned to walk towards the door: "Let's go! Let's go into the main lab now!"

He then called out to his assistant, "Xiao Wang! Call Lao Zhang, Lao Chen, and Lao Zhou—all of them! Bring the oscilloscope and the power analyzer!"

Xiao Yao didn't use a single one of the three prepared statements.

When several senior professors gathered around, Professor Li, without saying a word, spread the paper out on the central experimental table and highlighted the key points paragraph by paragraph.

The veteran experts buried themselves in calculations, their pens scratching away – with readily available data anchors, the deductions went smoothly, and in less than two hours they reached a consensus: the plan was feasible, the data was reliable, and the window for project implementation had been opened.

"It's simply... amazing."

The professors all turned to look at Xiao Yao, their eyes burning with intensity, as if they were staring at a raw crystal that had just been mined from a vein.

Professor Li slammed his hand on the table: "Build the actual testing platform immediately! Start testing tonight!"

"Yes! Let's get the first round through first!"

The team, who were originally packing their bags to leave work, suddenly turned around and started tightening screws, connecting cables, and calibrating sensors. The laboratory instantly became a hub of activity.

Xiao Yao was stunned—he had expected to wait three to five days for the professors to hold a meeting to discuss and conduct evaluations, but he never imagined that they would have already rushed into the battlefield without even needing to explain.

To everyone's surprise, Professor Li immediately decided that Xiao Yao would serve as the core researcher for the project and lead the entire technical route.

This battle lasted for 72 consecutive hours. When they were tired, they would take a half-hour nap on a folding chair; when they were hungry, they would eat a few bites of cold bread. Even their instant noodles were cooked by their assistants during shift breaks.

The professors' eyes were bloodshot, yet they were as energetic as if they were twenty again; only Xiao Yao was "escorted" back to his dormitory in turn to rest—the reason was quite firm: "Your brain needs to cool down, don't let it overheat."

When the last set of AC waveforms stabilized at 50Hz±0.1%, and when the smooth sine curve on the oscilloscope remained motionless for a full ten minutes, the professors silently picked up the data report, speechless, and simply shook hands firmly.

It became.

Alternating current photovoltaic power generation is no longer just a concept on paper, but a reality flowing through electric current.

Some people had red eyes, but their lips were turned up in a smile; others lowered their heads to wipe their faces, but couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"We actually developed alternating current photovoltaics!"

"At least a year ahead of the publicly available progress overseas!"

The young engineer blurted it out, his voice trembling.

"That's right!" The person next to him patted him hard on the shoulder.

Xiao Yao was dragged out of her dormitory bed by two assistants, her hair still sticking up in the air.

As soon as he entered the lab, Professor Li strode up to him, grabbed his wrist, and dragged him inside: "Come on! See for yourself how your child breathes!"

His voice trembled, his eyes gleaming: "Xiao Yao, you're not just a genius—you're a once-in-a-century 'barrier-breaker' in the field of scientific research!"

In fact, he knew very well that his so-called talent was nothing more than taking an extra step in overcoming a knowledge gap.

But others don't see it that way.

Throughout the research institute, from the cleaning ladies to the academicians, when Xiao Yao is mentioned, people immediately call him a "prodigy," a "genius," and "born to do this."

From the moment he enrolled in school, everything he did was sharp and innovative: the water-saving irrigation controller he improved in junior high, the miniature wind tracker he designed in high school... No one expected that a student who had never been involved in the photovoltaic industry could carve out a new AC path in the recognized mature DC system and hit the mark on the first try.

It's worth noting that similar research internationally is still in the modeling stage, and there hasn't even been a prototype yet.

Besides "genius," I really can't find a more fitting word.

That afternoon, Professor Li led five professors in jointly signing the achievement application form.

The first name in the signature column was Xiao Yao's—the ink was still wet, and no one questioned it.

……

Inside the State Council building in the capital.

A batch of urgent classified documents is being quietly sent from the confidential document room to the deepest, perpetually closed office.

After reviewing the latest briefing, the leader in charge of the Academy of Sciences relaxed his brows and a genuine smile spread across his eyes.

Science and technology are the backbone of a nation, and these breakthroughs are clear evidence that this backbone is becoming increasingly strong.

He quickly scanned the recent progress reports, and when his gaze fell on the special report on solar power generation, his pupils suddenly contracted, and he leaned forward slightly—it was a sharp and eager look, like someone who had been through many storms and suddenly encountered the dawn.

The solar power station technology project was only established at the beginning of this year, and in just a few months, it has broken through several barriers: last time, it developed a lightweight photovoltaic and energy storage integrated panel, which is small and flexible and is specially designed for use in front-line equipment and field research equipment. The military and research institutes have called to express their gratitude.

What surprises will they bring this time?

Mi Shuji paused slightly, then opened the report and read it word by word.

He had just closed the last page when he abruptly stood up, paced back and forth in his office, and exclaimed in a loud and fervent voice, "Fantastic! Absolutely brilliant!"

He praised it three times, grabbed the folder, and strode out the door—such a significant achievement had to be reported to his former boss immediately.

Upon meeting his former leader, he didn't exchange pleasantries but directly handed over the report with both hands.

"Has this technology already left foreign countries behind?" the old leader blurted out, his tone filled with a long-lost urgency.

Although he doesn't do scientific research, he is well aware that many European and American countries are investing heavily in building large-scale photovoltaic bases.

"Not just catching up, but surpassing in every way." Mi Shuji spoke calmly and steadily. "The core solution has been implemented and verified, and the entire process is independently controllable. The main creator is a 22-year-old undergraduate student named Xiao Yao; while similar projects abroad are still stuck in the laboratory modeling stage."

He always keeps a close eye on global scientific research trends—whenever there is a substantial breakthrough, the other party will announce it with great fanfare; this time, there was complete silence.

"Oh? It's that Xiao Yao? The young man who created the intelligent remote-controlled aircraft?" The old leader's eyes lit up. "You mentioned him in the report, right? That's amazing! They have Einstein, and we have the Young Spark. I believe that when China's technology reaches the top in the future, he will definitely be one of the flag bearers."

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, my country has long been regarded as a "follower" in the field of cutting-edge technology, and Western academics have even privately referred to us as "technical apprentices." This battle was fought well, fought hard, and fought with pride.

"We must strictly adhere to confidentiality regulations. Not a single word about Xiao Yao's information can be leaked." The old leader's expression suddenly turned serious. "We need to let him grow steadily into a towering tree, instead of having him targeted and broken before he even sprouts a branch."

Mi Shuji nodded and left. Foreign intelligence agents were still operating in the shadows, and Xiao Yao absolutely could not be exposed to the spotlight. Subsequent international exchanges would be handled by Professor Li's team; those foreign experts who came seeking his expertise would only discuss principles, not the core issues, and Xiao Yao's name was not even to be mentioned.