Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

When this group of people came together, it was like wrapping a sharp blade in brocade—their exceptional talent hindered each other. Now, individually, each of their achievements rivals those of top university doctoral supervisors. After careful consideration, the organization decided: letting them soar is the best way to fulfill their potential.

But how can you just cut off the years you've spent together day and night?

I thought we could finish the aluminum alloy project together, at least another six months; but who knew that with a single order, there wouldn't even be a buffer period.

The canteen seemed to sense the impending farewell, and prepared a sumptuous feast early that evening: braised pork ribs, jade tofu, and golden shrimp balls were arranged on white porcelain plates, while goji berry and black chicken soup simmered in glass cups. Even the wine was warmed in a purple clay teapot, with wisps of steam rising from it.

Seeing everyone hesitate to pick up their chopsticks, Xiao Yao suddenly stood up, raised his glass, and said, "Remember that night after freshman military training when we collapsed on the playground counting stars? We made a vow through gritted teeth—not for gilding our resumes, but to have the names of Chinese people etched on the pinnacle of world scientific research! What? You're already giving up after just getting started?"

The room trembled, then erupted in laughter. Who hasn't, after pulling an all-nighter in the lab, stared at blueprints and shouted, "I'll build this someday!"? Who hasn't, after failing a hundred times, slammed their fist on the table and yelled, "Try again!"

"To all of you—may your journey be long and arduous, and may you all rule your own territories and make a name for yourselves on your respective battlefields!" Su Man's voice choked with emotion, but she tilted her head back and downed the wine in her glass.

Most of the girls had tears in their eyes. Lin Siyue didn't say anything, but hugged everyone around her tightly. Finally, she picked up her wine glass, drank it all in one gulp, and the wine slid down her chin and into her collar.

"After finishing this drink, I hope that when we meet again, we will have both turned our dreams into reality." Qian Wentao tilted his head back and gulped it down, his Adam's apple bobbing violently.

The dinner party lasted until the stars were high in the sky, when the orderly arrived on time in his military green SUV and pulled up in front of the mess hall. Two soldiers stood guard beside each vehicle, gently and steadily helping the slightly tipsy scientists into their cars. The headlights pierced the night, kicking up a cloud of dust, each carrying its own starlight, and sped off in different directions.

Xiao Yao wasn't drunk; he simply stood quietly on the steps, watching the motorcade disappear one by one around the street corner. His heart felt empty, yet also brimming with a profound sense of unease.

Before he knew it, Dean Yan had quietly appeared behind him, his cigarette glowing faintly: "All good things must come to an end. The end is so we can fly higher and farther. Now, it's your turn to carry the flag."

He didn't attend the farewell dinner—afraid that he might not be able to hold back his tears and spoil the last bit of the young people's enthusiasm.

"I'm happy for them, but I never imagined that time would fly by faster than a rocket." Xiao Yao looked into the distance, her voice low and soft. "I remember the first time I took attendance, all thirty faces were unfamiliar, and I couldn't even pronounce their names properly... In the blink of an eye, we've all gone our separate ways."

"I'm relieved that you think that way." Dean Yan patted him on the shoulder, his tone carrying a weight of entrustment. "Our group has gray hair and our minds have slowed down. We even need to look up the terminology in the latest papers for ages. If it weren't for you guys stepping up, that mess with the engine would have probably dragged down the entire schedule."

Xiao Yao turned around and stood up straight: "Without the foundation laid by you and our predecessors, how could we possibly build on it? No matter how far we look, we are still walking on the path you paved."

Dean Yan stared at him for a moment, then suddenly smiled, turned and walked into the night, his back as straight as a pine tree.

Xiao Yao returned to the dormitory building, pushed open the door, and saw Su Man waiting for him under the warm yellow light, having wrung out a towel. The thermos was bubbling, and neatly folded towels were hanging on the washstand.

"Didn't I tell you? Your health is precious right now, so leave these tasks to me." Xiao Yao took the towel and gently wiped the fine sweat from her forehead.

"You're a 'national treasure' in our institute, so taking good care of you is my top priority." Su Man blinked, her smile both sly and gentle.

"By the way, Xiao Yao, Dean Yan just gave the instructions—ten graduate students graduating from our university will be coming to the institute for further studies this year, and you'll be supervising them all. But there's a strict requirement: each person can only teach one course, and you absolutely cannot lead them astray. Not everyone is as gifted as you, with quick minds, steady hands, and a wild spirit." Su Man blinked, a smile appearing on her face, her voice brimming with undisguised pride. "Do you know what the senior experts in the military region and the institute call you? 'Boundary Breaker Xiao Yao'! You specialize in doing things that others dare not touch, cannot think of, and cannot cross—no one can predict which mountain you'll venture into next, or which tough nut you'll gnaw on."

Su Man covered her mouth and chuckled softly, her eyes sparkling.

"Who came up with that nickname? It's so mean!"

Xiao Yao was taken aback, raised his hand to scratch the back of his neck, and felt a slight heat in his ears.

"Who else could it be? Lin Siyue, of course." Su Man's tone was light, but her voice suddenly softened. "She said that when you first came here, you didn't follow the rules at all. You were always tinkering with civilian equipment, and the whole group followed suit and 'didn't do their job'..." She paused, her fingertips unconsciously rubbing the corner of the table, and didn't continue.

Xiao Yao paused for a moment, then said gently, "Don't be sad. The number is still in your contacts. If you want to talk, just give it a call. It's not like we're separated by the Milky Way."

Su Man nodded and took a soft breath: "Okay, go to sleep early."

The next morning, Xiao Yao carried several handwritten drafts into Dean Yan's office and formally submitted an application to develop new materials.

Dean Yan saw through his intentions at a glance: "Is it for materials for fighter jets? Okay, you draft a project proposal first, and I'll submit it to go through the procedures."

"The report is finished."

Xiao Yao deftly opened his briefcase and pulled out three neatly bound A4 sheets of paper—the handwriting was neat, the charts were clear, and even the footnotes were meticulously marked.

Dean Yan took the document and flipped through it page by page. When his gaze fell on the budget section, his fingers paused and his brows furrowed.

"Have you checked? Is this money... really enough?" He looked up at Xiao Yao, his tone full of suspicion.

Xiao Yao's advantage is unmatched: he already has a systematic theoretical framework in his mind, and he only needs to reproduce the technical paths that have been accumulating in space for many years in reality, bit by bit. Unlike other research groups, who spend half a year just developing the model.

Even so, Dean Yan still felt a throbbing pain in his temples—30,000 yuan? That's not even enough to buy two kilograms of high-purity titanium ingots!

What shocked him even more was that Xiao Yao's application went far beyond aviation—ultra-lightweight, high-strength alloys could be embedded in fighter jet skins and forged into load-bearing components for individual weapons; they were suitable for rocket fuel tanks and deep-space probe supports. These materials were truly the lifeblood that held the industry's throat.

Dean Yan, who has been engaged in materials research for thirty years, knows better than anyone else: this is not a trivial matter, but a fundamental effort to address shortcomings and seize the high ground.

But this young man in front of me actually plans to use a check for 30,000 yuan to leverage the entire high-end alloy industry chain.

"How about... I add some more for you?"

Dean Yan finally spoke, his tone tinged with caution—he was afraid that too little money would delay the progress, and even more afraid that the boy, having just experienced the disbandment of his team, might be emotionally unstable and fill in the numbers incorrectly.

Xiao Yao was stunned, it was the first time she had ever heard her boss worry that she was "spending too little".

Dean Yan sat up straight, his expression solemn: "You now have two responsibilities: first, to mentor this group of newcomers and instill the most solid foundation in their minds; second, to advance materials research and development—but remember, leading students in experiments involves costs of consumables, waste, and trial and error, all of which are expensive."

Xiao Yao nodded vigorously, decisively replying, "Then please approve more funding; I won't hesitate."

Without saying a word, Dean Yan picked up his pen and crossed out "30000" at the end of the original application, and wrote "400000" in a flamboyant style.

On the same day, the institute's personnel department quickly completed the personnel reassignment.

Xiao Yao's research team has clearly identified four core alloy types: ultra-hard aluminum alloys, corrosion-resistant titanium alloys, ultimate strength steel, and low-density magnesium alloys.

This type of material has long been mass-produced and deployed in Europe, and is widely used in mainstream fighter jets and civilian airliners.

Xiao Yao's goal is not to simply copy—but to achieve breakthroughs in domestic production and, more importantly, to leapfrog in performance: to weaken the original shortcomings of brittleness and ductility, and to raise the strength, heat resistance, and fatigue resistance of the product.

Over the past three years, with the full-scale production of precision machining equipment previously developed by Xiao Yao's team, China's machine tool and testing instrument industries have long since shed the burden of being "controlled by others." Except for a very small number of strategic-grade special materials that are still subject to embargoes, the regular supply chain is now unimpeded.

Since there are no limits on the basics, the goals should be even more ambitious—he directly raised the overall research and development standards for the four types of alloys by a generation.

The military region's materials institute received an urgent notice: suspend existing research projects and fully cooperate with Xiao Yao's project team. Upon learning that he was the lead researcher, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and, without hesitation, sent over their most treasured test data, failure analysis reports, and process parameter manuals.

Privately, everyone shared the same consensus: "When Xiao Yao makes a move, it won't be slow."

—They had just finished working on the engine's hot-end components when they immediately moved on to the airframe materials, a pace that was astonishing. Some felt a little disappointed, but most were looking forward to seeing their own warplanes, bearing their own serial numbers, tear through the clouds and soar over the motherland's seas and skies.

"Hello Director Su, we are graduate students here to register. Dean Yan said to contact you directly for arrangements."

A clear voice rang out at the doorway. A young man wearing glasses stood there, his shoulders straight and his knuckles distinct.

"You arrived so quickly?" Su Man raised an eyebrow, then stood up. "Is everyone here?"

"Everyone's here. We're waiting for your instructions at the assembly point on the playground." The young man adjusted his glasses, his tone humble.

"First, collect your dormitory keys and put your luggage away; then, protective suits will be distributed to everyone; finally, I will take you into the laboratory."

Su Man quickly walked around the desk, led Yan Xudong through the tree-lined path, and headed straight for the dormitory building. After changing, she put on a milky-white isolation suit and stepped into the cleanroom with everyone else.

Upon seeing that their team leader was about the same age as them, the trainees looked at each other in bewilderment, their eyes full of question marks—could it be that the child of some leader was here to "experience life"?

Whether you believe it or not is another matter, but when Su Man announced that "all future research projects will be guided by Professor Xiao Yao," everyone immediately put aside their distractions and quickly got into character.