156: Chapter 156 Abnormal Data

Just as Chu Ge was about to retort, he faintly heard a knock at the door.

"Dad, is someone knocking?"

"No! Did you guys hear something?"

Everyone shook their heads, but Chu Ge wasn't convinced and stood up to head outside.

Outside the main gate, Captain Gong was waiting with two middle-aged men in Mao suits; Chu Ge opened the door and bumped right into him.

"Academician Chu, the Mayor of H City is here for a visit, and he brought an expert with him," Captain Gong said, rubbing his forehead and looking at the unresponsive Chu Ge with confusion.

"Hello, Academician Chu! I am Xu Changqing, the Mayor of H City, and this is Director Liao, an expert from South China Orthopedic Hospital. Sorry for the intrusion." Mayor Xu looked to be in his fifties, yet he appeared very humble in front of Chu Ge.

"Hello, Mayor Xu. Hello, Director Liao. Please, come in!"

Chu Ge welcomed the two visitors inside. Chu Ge's father watched the H City news every day, so when he saw Chu Ge leading Mayor Xu in, he was stunned for quite a while upon recognizing him.

Chu Ge's father hurried to pour water for the two guests. After some introductions, Mayor Xu explained the purpose of their visit.

"I'm quite ashamed. Academician Chu is from H City, yet as the local official, I was the last to know you were back for the Mid-Autumn Festival. I only found out when Director Liao reached out to me, so I came along."

"Mayor Xu, you're too kind. I just came home to visit family and didn't want to disturb the local government. You're overpraising me, haha."

"Hahaha." Mayor Xu laughed along, casting an appreciative look at Chu Ge, having already formed an opinion of him.

Young and promising, yet humble and steady—no wonder he has achieved so much. Since he's from my jurisdiction, we'll surely have many interactions in the future.

The two chatted for a while before remembering Director Liao, whom they had momentarily sidelined. Director Liao waved it off; with a mayor on one side and a world-renowned Academician on the other, how could he dare to interrupt?

"Academician Chu, I've been entrusted by someone to treat your mother's leg ailment. To be honest, when that person mentioned your name, I can't even describe how excited I was. That's why I contacted Mayor Xu and rushed over."

Director Liao was likely a good deal older than Mayor Xu, but his voice was full of vigor.

Chu Ge realized with a bit of thought that Academician Chen must have arranged this. He hadn't mentioned his mother's leg condition to anyone except Academician Chen.

Academician Chen was as thoughtful toward Chu Ge as always.

"Thank you for the trouble, Director Liao." Chu Ge stood up and shook the old director's hand.

"It's no trouble at all; I consider it an honor. Shall we start with an initial examination?"

"Alright!"

Chu Ge arranged for his mother to go into the inner room with Director Liao, accompanied by the girls. After watching for a moment, he turned and came back out to continue talking with Mayor Xu.

Chu Ge's father was still nervous, so Chu Ge had to take charge of these matters.

After Chu Ge had chatted with Mayor Xu for about twenty minutes, Director Liao and the others emerged.

"Director Liao, how is it?" Before Chu Ge could speak, Mayor Xu asked first.

"I'll need an MRI at the hospital to be certain, but based on my years of experience, it's not a major issue. A minor surgery should suffice."

Chu Ge breathed a sigh of relief. "Mom, did you hear that? It's just a minor surgery, and the Director here is an orthopedic expert!"

Chu Ge's mother nodded. South China Orthopedic Hospital had a great reputation; since the expert said so, she would have to go through with the surgery whether she wanted to or not.

"Academician Chu, don't worry. I will personally follow up on the tests and the surgery. It's not a major operation and will be over quickly."

"Alright, thank you for the trouble, Director Liao." Chu Ge thought to himself that he really might have to rely on him, as it was highly likely he wouldn't be able to be there during his mother's surgery.

They sat and chatted for a bit longer before Mayor Xu and Director Liao rose to take their leave. Although Chu Ge repeatedly invited them to stay for a simple meal, Mayor Xu insisted on leaving, so Chu Ge didn't press further.

The Chu family escorted the two leaders to the front door. Before they could part ways, a man drenched in sweat came running from a distance.

"Mayor Xu, what brings you here? I just heard the news that you came to our county and rushed over immediately."

"Oh, County Head Zheng. I'm here to visit Academician Chu. There are no work-related arrangements, so it wouldn't have mattered if you hadn't come. You can head back now."

"Oh, ah? No, since you're already here, you should at least have a meal before leaving."

Mayor Xu didn't pay him any more attention. He said goodbye to Chu Ge and the others and left, with the county head named Zheng following subserviently behind him.

Chu Ge watched Mayor Xu and the others walk away. According to his father, this County Head Zheng was a newly transferred official who was a bit inexperienced. Dealing with the transition and the mountain of county affairs while keeping an eye on inspections from superiors was clearly a struggle for him.

"Hey!" While Chu Ge was watching, Dilireba Nazha nudged him with her hand.

"When your mother has her surgery, if you can't make it back, I'll take her there. You don't need to worry."

Seeing how serious Dilireba Nazha was, Chu Ge walked over, put his arm around her shoulder, and started heading back.

"You're so busy, it's really not necessary. My dad can do it, and there's Xiao Wu."

"Your father is getting older, and Xiao Wu is still young. She needs a proper person to accompany her, and clearly, I'm the best person for the job!"

"We'll see when the time comes."

"What do you mean? It's settled! I'll let Sister Li know later." Dilireba Nazha didn't give Chu Ge a chance to hesitate and ended the topic then and there.

...

After lunch, Chu Ge prepared to return to Yanjing. His mother was busy packing bag after bag for him.

Dilireba Nazha held his hand, reluctant to let him go.

"Alright now, all good things must come to an end. Once the National Day holiday is over, the New Year will be here before you know it, right?" Chu Ge smiled and tapped Dilireba Nazha's nose.

"Stop it. It was fine until you said that; now I feel even worse."

"Haha..."

Chu Ge laughed and opened the door. Captain Gong and his team were already assembled. Ten military jeeps were parked neatly on the street in front of Chu Ge's house, with police lights flashing in the distance.

By then, many neighbors had heard the commotion and come out, watching the Chu family from their doorways.

After one last hug for Dilireba Nazha, his parents, and Xiao Wu, Chu Ge got into the car. The convoy immediately started moving and headed out.

More and more people gathered spontaneously. The police stopped trying to disperse them and instead surrounded the convoy to ensure its smooth passage.

Chu Ge rolled down the window and waved to the townspeople, both those he knew and those he didn't.

"Academician Chu, you are the pride of our county! Remember to come back often!" someone in the crowd shouted. This sentence seemed to ignite everyone's passion, and they all began to shout along.

Chu Ge felt a surge of emotion; nothing beats the love of one's hometown.

The convoy began to speed up, leaving the crowd behind. Chu Ge's phone vibrated; it was a message from Dilireba Nazha.

"You big rogue, take care on your journey. I'll miss you!"

"You too. Be safe on your way back!"

...

When Chu Ge returned to the Research Institute, it was still broad daylight. He tidied up a bit and headed to Academician Chen's office carrying two bags of local specialties.

"Old Chen? I'm back!"

"Ah, Little Chu, you're back. Didn't I say you could just come back in the evening?"

"Coming back at night is too much trouble. Besides, you wouldn't get to eat these local specialties tonight if I did, haha."

"You rascal, sit, sit. You've come at the right time; there's something I need to tell you in advance."

Chu Ge sat on the sofa, picked up an apple, and adopted an attentive posture.

"It's like this: the satellite tracking and control department at the Space Agency called today. They said some tracking data from the Lunar Orbiter is a bit abnormal and wanted you to take a look. After all, we're about to determine the construction site for the Lunar Base, aren't we?"

"Abnormal data?" Chu Ge sat up straight, becoming serious.

"Yes. As for the specifics, I've asked them to bring the data report tomorrow so we can study it together."

"Alright!" Chu Ge was puzzled. Humans were intimately familiar with the Moon; what could possibly be abnormal about it?