Chapter 132

All the worries and concerns are ultimately contained in these four short words.

She looked up at him, silent for a long time, only raising her hand to gently touch his weathered face. Her fingertips brushed across the roughness of his newly grown stubble, a tremor involuntarily leaking into her voice: "Why are you so dark... Where did you suffer?"

Liu Guangqi held her slightly cool hand, breathed out a puff of white breath to warm it, and a bright smile appeared on his lips:

"Don't you think you look more mature?"

"You're such a chatterbox," she scolded softly, but the bitterness in her heart melted away a little with those words.

His hands were dry and warm, steadily enveloping her knuckles: "Actually, I didn't suffer much, it was just that the wind and sand were quite strong in the Gobi Desert. But this trip was worthwhile, I saw a lot and learned a lot."

Zhao Mengyun tiptoed and carefully smoothed out the wrinkles on his collar. Her gaze swept over a small patch of dark oil stain on his cuff, then fell on the fine scars on his knuckles that hadn't completely faded, and her heart clenched slightly.

During her years at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, she understood all too well the meaning behind silence—it was an unspoken level of secrecy, a silence forged by responsibility.

So she asked nothing, but squeezed his hand tighter, the mist in her eyes gradually dissipating, turning into a calm lake: "It's good that you're back."

The car drove back onto the street. Zhao Mengyun rested her head gently on Liu Guangqi's shoulder, the scent of wind and dust mingling with his unique aroma—rough yet reassuring. Her heart, which had been hanging in suspense for two months, finally settled back down.

Returning to the simple tenement building in the ministry's staff quarters, Zhao Mengyun opened the door and was greeted by a familiar atmosphere. She turned and went into the kitchen, her figure bustling about amidst the cooking fumes. Liu Guangqi watched quietly, his eyes suddenly welling up with tears.

Dinner was simple yet plentiful: pork ribs stewed in a clay pot until tender and steaming hot; a plate of stir-fried greens, bright green and crisp; and his favorite braised pork, glistening with oil, rich but not greasy.

She kept piling food into his bowl, the ribs piled up like a small mountain: "Eat more, you must not have been eating well these past two months away."

Liu Guangqi smiled as he swallowed his food, without mentioning the hardships of the Northwest or the details of his work. Instead, he recounted some interesting anecdotes from his journey—how the snow line of the Qilian Mountains meandered across the sky, how the sunset over the Gobi Desert dyed the sand dunes golden and red… as if these two months had been nothing more than a long journey.

After washing up, the dust of their journey was washed away by the water, leaving only the refreshing scent of soap. Moonlight filtered through the gauze curtains, falling on their clasped hands and creating a hazy, tender glow.

Home will always be the harbor where he finally finds rest after traversing deserts and long winds.

In the stillness of the night, Zhao Mengyun rested her head on his shoulder, her fingertips unconsciously tracing circles on his chest, as if depicting a lost and regained memory.

Returning home late at night, the soft sound of the door hinges turning startled the light sleeper.

"So long... not even a word." The voice was suppressed in his throat, trembling with subtle ripples, a mixture of resentment and a slight tremor of relief.

"There are rules, I can't say." His reply was brief, with a hoarse, weary voice.

She looked up, and the moonlight filtering through the windowpane fell perfectly into her eyes, making them shimmer with tears: "So long... have you missed us, mother and child?"

He did not answer immediately.

He simply leaned down, his forehead gently touching hers, his warm breath brushing against her cheek, followed by a restrained yet precious kiss, placed between her slightly cool brows.

"How could I not think about it?" His voice was so low it was almost inaudible. "I think about it every night."

Before he finished speaking, his figure loomed over her, completely enveloping her in his presence and shadow. "A long-awaited reunion," he whispered in her ear, his breath hot, "is better than anything, my love."

Zhao Mengyun felt a fire rise on her cheeks, burning all the way to her ears. She raised her hand, her palm against his firm chest, but the pressure was as light as a feather. "Don't... you just got back, aren't you going to rest?"

however.

The words of refusal lingered on her tongue, but her arms moved on their own initiative, encircling his neck and her fingertips unconsciously curling up, pulling him closer.

The moonlight flowed quietly like water. Her blushing cheeks buried in his shoulder, and she wrapped her arms around the waist she had longed for.

The old wooden bed hummed softly and rhythmically, echoing the tireless whispers of summer insects outside the window, together composing a tender poem belonging to the night.

The long night has just begun.

Sixty days and nights of anxiety and anticipation have finally found their home at this moment, melting into a silent yet warm embrace.

The silence was ignited, transforming into a fiery prelude.

***

The following morning, at the Technical Research Department of the First Ministry of Machine Building.

The morning light was still faint, just beginning to peek out from the east with a hint of gold. Liu Guangqi sat down in his long-unused office chair, his enamel mug just filled with hot water, steam rising gently.

In the corridor, a series of heavy, undisguised footsteps approached from afar, shattering the morning's tranquility.

Immediately afterwards!

Before the person even appeared, a loud voice had already burst through the slightly ajar door:

"Liu Guangqi! I heard you've finally decided to show your face?"

The door was pushed open with a bang, and Wang Jianguo's towering figure almost blocked out all the light from the doorway. He was clutching a stack of documents tightly in his hand, and his cuffs were still covered with metal shavings that he hadn't had time to brush off, clearly indicating that he had come directly from the production workshop of Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill.

"Hurry up and confess," he slammed the stack of reports on the table in front of Liu Guangqi, dragged over a chair without ceremony, sat down, grabbed a steaming enamel mug, took a big gulp, wiped his mouth, and said, "Where have you been sneaking off to carry out this secret mission again, this time?"

"They left without a trace, not even a phone number I could call!" he complained, his eyes wide, half-jokingly. "For the past two months, I've had so many interesting and exciting things happening at the factory, and I have no one to share them with!"

As he spoke, his gaze swept over Liu Guangqi's face several times, then he suddenly burst out laughing: "Hey! Where did you go to get some sun? You're as black as a lump of charcoal!" He stroked his chin, studied him for a moment, then nodded. "But... before, you were spirited, but you always seemed too green. Now, you actually have a more solid and reliable air about you, like a capable expert. That's good!"

……

Liu Guangqi was somewhat helpless by his series of "accusations" and comments. He twitched his lips and finally just shook his head.

He didn't bother arguing about it and simply reached for the thick stack of production data records on the table: "Just tell me, has the production line run into some kind of problem again?"

"A hurdle? What hurdle!" Wang Jianguo's smile widened as he watched Liu Guangqi open the report, radiating smugness. "I came here specifically to give you good news! In the sixty days you were away, our factory has been soaring higher and higher—rising steadily!"

"I've heard a little about it." Liu Guangqi's lips curled up slightly as he continued writing. "Director Wang is now in command with remarkable efficiency."

The spread-out report was filled with densely packed numbers, clearly outlining the steep upward curve of washing machine production at Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill over the past two months. With all fourteen workshops fully operational, the new production lines seemed to have been magically transformed, delivering 3,200 units in the first month and a remarkable breakthrough of 5,000 units in the second.

In this process, CNC machine tools play a crucial role. Traditionally, the establishment and setup of a new production line would take months or even quarters. However, thanks to the core technology left by Liu Guangqi, the cycle from equipment placement to debugging and stable production has been compressed to just over ten days.

The factory's technical backbone has clearly digested and absorbed the drawings and principles he left behind, and is using them quite skillfully.

Liu Guangqi understood this perfectly, but he had no intention of taking credit. He simply signed his name smoothly in the approval column at the end of the report.

The pen had just left the paper when he was about to hand the document back.

Wang Jianguo's smile vanished abruptly. He leaned forward, his upper body looming over the table, and deliberately lowered his voice to a low, secret-sharing tone:

"Oh, right!"

"Guangqi, I've saved something good for you."

As he spoke, he reached into the inner pocket of his Zhongshan suit jacket and carefully pulled out a neatly folded receipt.

As the paper was unfolded, the bright red official seal of the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill was clearly visible.

"I know you feel sorry for your wife at home; doing laundry is tiring work." Wang Jianguo blinked and gently pushed the receipt in front of Liu Guangqi.

So, to express my gratitude, I applied for a washing machine for you through the ministry's channels, as a way of thanking you for your previous technical support. I've completed all the procedures at the ministry. The application has been approved, and I'll arrange for someone to deliver it to the ministry compound before I leave work today.

Liu Guangqi took the seemingly insignificant yet profoundly meaningful delivery slip. The four printed characters "Special Quota" on the slip were exceptionally clear. A thought stirred within him.

It's important to understand that the washing machines at the Hongxing Factory had only just begun mass production, and the first batch was almost entirely allocated to the foreign exchange market to earn foreign currency. This was a strict quota set by the state. Only a very small portion would reach state-run stores. Each shipment was snapped up instantly upon arrival, making them extremely difficult to obtain. Even some officials in ministries had to pull strings and get approval from leaders to queue up if they wanted to buy one. The connections and effort Wang Jianguo used to secure a special quota for him are far too complex to explain in a few words.

"Old Wang, I appreciate this gesture." Liu Guangqi accepted the gift without any formalities with Wang Jianguo.

Upon hearing this, Wang Jianguo's eyes widened, and he laughed while scolding, "Stop with the nonsense! If it weren't for those few pages of paper you wrote back then, where would our factory be now? Even if it were ten or eight washing machines, you'd be the first choice!"

Following his words, Liu Guangqi put on a serious expression and said, "Okay, then give me ten."

"Get lost!" Wang Jianguo almost choked on his own words. "I was just saying that to be polite, and you actually took advantage of it? You wish!"

The two looked at each other for a moment, then burst out laughing at the same time.

It must be said that Wang Jianguo handled this matter brilliantly. Liu Guangqi thought to himself, thanking him for accepting the favor, and he would remember it in his heart, but there was no need to make it known throughout the department. He had gained both reputation and benefits, and that was enough.

Speaking of which, Wang Jianguo's actions were really efficient. He thought that at least until the end of the year, after the washing machine project received the ministry's year-end commendation, Old Wang would take the opportunity of distributing benefits to get him one, or give him a purchase quota. Unexpectedly, the goods were delivered the moment he returned from the Northwest. This guy, whenever there's a benefit, he really doesn't forget his own people.

Thinking of this, Liu Guangqi's mood brightened. To him, a washing machine wasn't a particularly rare item, but this genuine sentiment was more precious than anything else. In this day and age, the most precious thing is this kind of sincere and unpretentious kindness.

Liu Guangqi recalled that when he first reported to the First Ministry of Machine Building, Wang Jianguo was his team leader. Over the years, working with Old Wang was still the smoothest experience. This bond, ingrained in the smallest details, made him feel more at ease.

...Bringing his thoughts back to the present, Liu Guangqi spread out his manuscript paper and began to rewrite a technical document on the modification of the 104B computer.

He didn't go anywhere all day, just stayed quietly in his office, writing. The only sound in the room was the soft scratching of his pen across the paper. Liu Guangqi was completely immersed in his own world; the vast flow of data and structural diagrams in his mind raced, ultimately condensing into meticulous formulas and rigorous arguments through his pen.

He had already drafted the first draft of this technical document regarding the modification of the 104B machine, and knew its contents by heart. What he needed to do now was to reproduce it completely and clearly.

After an unknown amount of time, when he looked up again and gently rubbed his slightly sore neck, a thick stack of manuscript paper had piled up on the table. The paper was densely covered with various solutions: from optimizing gear transmission systems to solving carry delays in calculations, nothing was too small. He even used a red pen to annotate the margins, marking the machining precision requirements of key components.

"This requires precision gears machined by a five-axis CNC machine tool, as the precision of a regular lathe cannot meet the requirements."