Chapter 215

"Comrade Guangqi, a fourth-level engineer of your age is a rare find, not only in our Ministry of Machine Building, but also across the entire national industrial sector."

Level 4 Engineer?

Liu Guangqi's breath hitched slightly as his gaze fell on the certificate. The handwritten words "Level 4 Engineer" in red were particularly striking, below which was a row of signatures with undried ink—names he had only ever seen in important announcements. This thin document, however, now seemed to weigh a ton.

The minister got up and walked around the table, pressing his thick hand on his shoulder.

"Don't feel wronged. Even if you can't advance in your administrative rank, your engineer title is still a valuable asset. Whether you're doing research and development or leading a team to tackle key problems, this title will be your passport. When you need to get special steel from the Ministry of Metallurgy or new materials from the Ministry of Chemical Industry, just put this certificate on your desk, and which department head will dare not take it seriously?"

"This is more beneficial and more suitable for you than giving you a substantive deputy director-general position. You are still young and have a long road ahead of you. Work hard, the ministry will always be your support."

These words were utterly sincere. A Level 4 engineer's influence in the industrial field is almost equivalent to that of a department-level official. This is not merely an honor, but a genuine technical authority that allows their vision to be realized more quickly.

Liu Guangqi took a deep breath, suppressed the turmoil in his chest, solemnly stood up, and accepted the document with both hands.

"Thank you, Minister, thank you for the organization's trust." A thousand words welled up in my mouth, but ultimately they all boiled down to one sentence: "I will do my utmost."

"Alright." The minister nodded, sat back down in his chair, picked up his teacup and blew on the floating leaves. "Keep your documents safe. Go back to your work and don't get cocky just because you've been promoted."

His words carried a hint of criticism, but his eyes couldn't hide his appreciation. If Liu Guangqi weren't only in his early twenties, and were a few years older, today's achievement might have been more than just a breakthrough in his technical title.

As I left the minister's office, I met Duan Wenhua, the newly appointed director of the General Machinery Department, in the corridor.

Director Duan smiled and stepped forward to shake hands: "Guangqi, congratulations on your promotion to Level 4 Engineer! From now on, the department's technical projects will rely heavily on you."

Liu Guangqi responded with a perfectly timed smile and firmly shook hands in return.

Director Duan was exceptionally warm, and Liu Guangqi responded calmly on the surface, but he was very perceptive in his heart—this newly appointed director was a shrewd man.

Instead of immediately putting on airs and establishing authority, the other party extended an olive branch to him, a key technical personnel. This was partly due to instructions from his former superior, Director Lin, and partly because the situation was already clear: after Director Lin's promotion, he would be in charge of the development direction of the Machinery Department at a higher level; and Liu Guangqi, as a fourth-level engineer, already held real influence in specific research and development areas. As long as Director Duan wasn't confused, he should know how to deal with a fourth-level engineer in the Ministry of Machinery Industry going forward.

Therefore, even though Director Lin has been transferred, Liu Guangqi's future research and development path remains unobstructed.

The department's closing bell rang precisely on time, and people poured out of the various doors. Liu Guangqi deftly packed up the blueprints and got up to leave—he never liked wasting time on pointless overtime. The security guard had already started the car and was quietly waiting in front of the building.

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He got into the back seat, and the car smoothly drove out of the compound. This time, however, it didn't head towards the Ministry of Foreign Affairs dormitory, but instead turned into the ministry's family quarters. His wife, Zhao Mengyun, had started her maternity leave at the beginning of the month, and these past few days had been her due date.

A short while later, Liu Guangqi took the two children from the caregiver. Ruixue and Fengnian were arguing noisily when they saw him and rushed over.

"Daddy, when is Mommy going to have a little sister?"

"No, it's my younger brother!"

Liu Guangqi picked them up, one in each arm, and shook his head with amusement. He then went to the cafeteria to get food, which included a light, nourishing soup and two meat dishes, before taking his children to the special hospital.

This time, Zhao Mengyun's pregnancy didn't require her mother-in-law to go through the trouble of contacting doctors at Peking Union Medical College Hospital. As the family member of a high-ranking official, she naturally enjoyed corresponding medical benefits. With her due date approaching, Liu Guangqi completed her hospitalization procedures yesterday.

The hospital has a simple name, "No. 49 Hospital," and is located at No. 1 Dahua Road, Dongdan. A guard post stands tall, making it difficult for ordinary vehicles to approach. Although it is not as well-known as Peking Union Medical College Hospital, it is a designated hospital for high-ranking officials directly under the higher authorities, undertaking special healthcare tasks and holding a position of extraordinary importance.

As the car approached the gate, the guard caught a glimpse of the pass and license plate, and promptly waved for it to pass—no questions asked, no delays. A certain invisible convenience had already permeated the details.

The ward was a quiet private room, with a faint smell of disinfectant. Compared to the crowded and noisy atmosphere of a regular hospital, it was spacious and clean. A soft sofa was placed against the wall, and several washed apples were placed next to a thermos on the table.

"Mother!"

The two children broke free from Liu Guangqi's grasp and ran into the inner room. Zhao Mengyun was leaning against the headboard reading a foreign affairs briefing when she heard the sound. Her eyes lit up, and her weariness vanished instantly.

"Why are you here at this hour? Weren't you supposed to be in a meeting and maybe come later?" She put down her newspaper and tried to sit up.

Liu Guangqi stepped forward, gently pressed her shoulder, and casually placed the lunchbox on the cabinet: "The meeting will end early, so I'll pick up the kids and come see you." As he spoke, he tucked the blanket around her.

At that moment, there was a gentle knock on the door. The doctor on duty walked in with the patient's medical record, and upon seeing Liu Guangqi, immediately stood up straight and greeted him.

"Director Liu, your wife's monitoring data is very stable today, and her blood pressure is normal." The doctor flipped through the record, speaking respectfully, "According to the test results, she is due to give birth in the next two days. Please rest assured, we have dedicated personnel monitoring her throughout the process and are ready to respond to any changes."

Liu Guangqi nodded in acknowledgment: "Thank you all for your trouble."

The medical staff operated the instruments methodically, recording various data, while the monitoring equipment emitted regular low beeps. He remained calm, showing no anxiety—this wasn't his first experience. The environment of the delivery room and the professionalism of the medical staff exuded a reassuring atmosphere. At this moment, he clearly realized that all his years of hard work had created a safe haven for his loved ones.

After the examination, the doctor gave a few more instructions and then politely left the ward. The room returned to tranquility.

Ruixue leaned over the edge of the bed, her cheek gently pressed against Zhao Mengyun's pregnant belly, and asked softly, "Mom, is my little sister asleep inside?"

"It's your younger brother!" Feng Nian corrected impatiently from the side.

Zhao Mengyun smiled as she was amused by the children's innocent conversation, and the weariness in her eyes seemed to fade away a bit.

"I have something for you to see." Liu Guangqi smiled slightly, reached into his inner pocket and took out a brand-new ID card, handing it directly to his wife.

The striking vermilion stood out vividly in the clean and simple hospital room. Zhao Mengyun's originally languid expression faltered for a moment, but when she saw the gilded lettering on the cover, her eyes suddenly brightened.

"You... got promoted again?" Upon seeing this, all her weariness vanished instantly, as if the prenatal fatigue of the past few days had been instantly dispelled. She had always cherished her husband's engineering certificate; in her heart, it represented the most tangible recognition of his career. Every time his job level changed and a new certificate was issued, she would always examine it carefully many times.

With a slight tremor, she opened the certificate. Inside was a photo of Liu Guangqi in uniform, looking radiant, with the signature and bright red seal of the hospital leaders beside it. Zhao Mengyun's lips unconsciously curved upwards, and an undisguised smile spread across her eyes.

"You really got promoted to Level 4?" She gently stroked the brand-new certificate with her fingertips, feeling its different texture from the old one, her tone brimming with pride. "Your technical title promotion is much faster than an administrative rank adjustment!"

"Mom, let me see too!"

"I want to see Daddy's red book too!" Little Fengnian couldn't contain himself any longer and stretched out his round little hand to reach for it.

Seeing this, Liu Guangqi chuckled and stretched out his arm to ruffle his son's hair: "You little rascal, can you even recognize all the words on that page?"

Xiao Fengnian puffed out his chest defiantly and argued, "I recognize it! The childcare worker taught me! That...that's...Dad's name!" He pointed to the word "Engineer" with complete certainty.

"Stop making a fuss here." Liu Guangqi was amused by his appearance, gently patted the back of his head, and moved the little guy to the side, then sat down in the chair next to the bed. He didn't use much force, just felt that the child was a bit of a nuisance because he was so lively. His daughter was much better behaved, quietly staying by his side without making a fuss.

After the father and son had finished laughing and joking, Zhao Mengyun smiled, closed the documents, and handed them back to her husband. She glanced at the darkening sky outside the window and urged them somewhat reluctantly, "It's getting late. Take the children home to rest; they have to go to work tomorrow. There are medical staff here to look after them."

Liu Guangqi shook his head, turned and called out towards the door, "Xiao Zhuang!"

The guard pushed open the door and entered, standing ramrod straight: "Sir!"

"Send the two children back to the courtyard house and leave them in the care of my parents." After giving the order, Liu Guangqi patted the single sofa in the ward, indicating that he would rest there for the night.

"You..." Zhao Mengyun wanted to persuade him, but his gentle yet firm gaze stopped her in her tracks.

His wife was enduring the pain of childbirth here; how could he possibly go home and rest peacefully? Even if there were a sofa in the ward, or he had to lie on the floor, he would stay here. The responsibility of accompanying his wife during childbirth was arduous, but it would only last a few days; as a husband, he should persevere. As for their young child at home, with elders looking after him, there was no need to worry.

Seeing that Liu Guangqi settled down as if it were the most natural thing in the world, Zhao Mengyun didn't say anything more, but felt her heart was filled with warmth.

As it turns out—

In the days leading up to Zhao Mengyun's delivery, Liu Guangqi was extremely busy.

The ministerial meeting had just ended when the Institute of Computing Technology called – the optimization of the second-generation computer was nearing completion, and they asked if he could personally oversee the final stage.

"Chief Engineer Liu!" The voice on the other end of the phone was tense. "There are only a few small-scale integrated modules left to debug. If you don't come, everyone will feel really uneasy."

That's true. This machine, codenamed "109C," bears the imprint of Liu Guangqi's thoughts in almost every aspect, from its architectural blueprint to the design of each integrated circuit. He is the soul of this project; without him, no one would dare to make decisions on many crucial aspects.

So Liu Guangqi was once again trapped in a cycle between the laboratory, the meeting room, and the archives, working day and night until his eyes were bloodshot. Finally, on the evening of the second day, reinforcements arrived—his parents-in-law rushed back from out of town overnight, and his father, Liu Pangpang, and his second aunt also poured into the hospital with large bags and bundles. Seeing that someone was steadily waiting outside the delivery room, the tension that had been building on Liu Guangqi's shoulders eased slightly.

When the mother-in-law opened the door, this was the scene she saw: her son-in-law, who was always neatly dressed and had a straight back, was curled up on the living room sofa, fast asleep, with dark stubble on his chin, sunken eyes, and his shirt wrinkled like pickled vegetables. The elderly couple exchanged a glance, neither of them saying a word, but simply gently tucked the blanket that had slipped off him.

***

Institute of Computing Technology, Research and Development Workshop.

When the final step was completed, someone couldn't help but whisper, "Chief Engineer Liu, is this... done?"

Someone immediately chimed in, "We've got it built, but whether it's successful depends on the test data. Chief Engineer Liu, let me run the first test, okay?"

Liu Guangqi nodded, his voice hoarse: "Be careful, remember every step clearly."

That was the first small-scale integrated module they had assembled by hand. Whether its computing power could exceed expectations, or even surpass that of overseas machines of the same generation, depended entirely on the next few minutes.

The only sound in the silence was the hum of the instruments. Suddenly, the tester sitting in front of the terminal jumped up, the chair legs scraping against the floor with a screeching sound. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out immediately; his face turned bright red, and he held up three fingers, trembling them in the air.

"Three hundred thousand..." he finally shouted, "Three hundred thousand calculations per second!"

After a moment of stunned silence, cheers erupted like a tidal wave. Some threw their hats into the air, while others grabbed their colleagues' shoulders and shook them violently. Liu Guangqi, however, simply took two steps back, leaned against the wall, closed his eyes, and let out a long sigh.

The tension finally eased completely at this moment.

It became.

Just then, the bright red internal telephone in the corner rang suddenly. The researcher closest to the phone grabbed the receiver, listened for a couple of sentences, his expression changed drastically, and he shouted into the receiver at Liu Guangqi, "Chief Engineer Liu! It's your bodyguard—saying your wife has gone into labor!"

The fatigue and relief on Liu Guangqi's face froze instantly.