58: Chapter 58: From youthful black hair to white, we, the younger generation, carry on the legacy of our nation—a tribute to the older generation of scientific researchers!
Su Che's mind went "buzz."
He almost dropped the phone in his hand.
He opened his mouth, but his throat felt as if it were blocked by a wad of cotton; he couldn't utter a single word.
He sat up abruptly from the bed and pressed the phone tightly against his ear.
"Grandpa?"
"Yes."
A frail, aged voice answered from the other end of the line.
At that single word, Su Che's eyes instantly turned red.
It was Grandpa.
It really was him.
"Are... are you doing okay?"
Su Che's voice carried a tremor he didn't even realize.
"Good, I'm doing just fine."
The voice on the other end paused, as if adjusting its breathing.
"Che'er, you've grown up."
"I heard that you've accomplished quite a lot in the village."
"You've brought honor to our Su family."
Su Che sniffled.
"That's a given. Look at whose grandson I am."
A low chuckle, as if suppressed for a long time, came through the phone.
"Good... good..."
"Grandpa... I miss you so much..." Su Che choked out.
Fifteen years.
A full fifteen years.
He had grown from a half-grown child into the man he was today.
Yet the voice on the other end of the line no longer possessed the resonance of his memories, leaving only the exhaustion and vicissitudes forged by the passing years.
"Grandpa, where... where are you? I'll come find you!"
"No rush, no rush..." Su Changshan's voice was slow. "It will be soon... Che'er, Grandpa has seen the things you made. You did very well, far better than Grandpa!"
"I..."
"Che'er, listen to me." Su Changshan interrupted him.
Grandpa's voice suddenly became somewhat low and weary.
"We... we are stuck."
"It's been fifteen years, and we are just one step away, but this step is like a chasm."
"Many things have been drawn on the blueprints, but we just can't build them."
"Every experiment fails at the same spot. We can't find the reason; it's like... it's like we're haunted."
"Sometimes I wonder if our generation is truly old, if our minds can't keep up..."
There was a profound sense of helplessness in the voice, like a hero in his twilight years, yet it also carried determination.
"But even though we are old, our hearts are still here. As long as the country needs it, us old folks will keep researching, even if we have to be hooked up to oxygen tanks and sitting in our coffins!"
"As long as there is a breath left in us, we won't give up, especially since we still have you!"
"If we can't do it, there is still my grandson, Su Changshan's grandson, and tens of thousands of young people following in our footsteps to create a new world for the future of our motherland!"
Su Che's tears could no longer be contained; he bit his lip hard, preventing himself from sobbing out loud.
He suddenly remembered his childhood, those days before Grandpa left. Whenever Grandpa returned home, the light in his study was always the last one to be extinguished in the courtyard.
He would cling to the doorframe and watch as Grandpa hunched over a desk piled high with blueprints, his pencil scratching across the paper. That rustling sound was the deepest memory of his childhood.
Back then, Grandpa always said that our country's foundation was thin; what others had, we had to build ourselves, and where others tried to throttle us, we had to grit our teeth and break through.
At that time, he didn't understand. He only felt that Grandpa's back was held straight, like the old camphor tree in the courtyard, capable of shielding them from the wind and rain.
Only now did he understand that for these fifteen years, Grandpa and those old predecessors he had never met had been guarding underground laboratories, guarding blueprint after blueprint filled with hope, and guarding the future of the motherland.
They had boiled their dark hair into white, turned their upright spines into slightly hunched ones, and boiled their passionate blood into day-after-day persistence.
They lived incognito, far from their loved ones, with no flowers or applause, only cold instruments and countless data points of failure.
They might be someone else's father or grandfather, yet they dedicated their most precious time to that small space in the laboratory, dedicated to that phrase hidden in their hearts—forging swords for the country.
Just as Grandpa said, even if they were hooked up to oxygen tanks, even if they were sitting in their coffins, as long as the country needed them, they would not stop.
This was not empty talk; it was the obsession carved into the bones and blood of the older generation of scientific researchers, the vow they practiced with their entire lives.
Su Che raised his hand to wipe the tears from his face. His voice still carried a choke, but it was filled with an unprecedented firmness. Every word was like a promise to Grandpa, and even more so a promise to the thousands upon thousands of old predecessors: "Grandpa, please rest assured."
"I am applying to join the Dragon Vein! General Peng and Dean Liu are already helping me process it; it should be very soon..."
"The path you didn't finish walking, I will walk. The chasm you didn't cross, I will cross."
"The Southern Gate blueprint—the two of us, grandfather and grandson, along with all the old predecessors, will turn it into reality together!"
On the other end of the line, there was silence for a long time, followed by a soft sigh. In that sigh, there was gratification, relief, and a hint of irrepressible emotion.
"Good... good lad..."
"Grandpa will wait, waiting to see the luan bird soar into the clouds, waiting to see our Dragon Country's sharp sword pierce the firmament!"
"Che'er, Grandpa misses you too, misses you so, so..."
"Bzzt..." A harsh sound of static electricity suddenly cut off the call.
"Hello? Grandpa? Grandpa!" Su Che shouted at the phone.
The call had been disconnected. In the receiver, only the "beep-beep" busy signal remained.
Su Che gripped the phone, sitting blankly on the bed, not moving for a long time.
The night wind blew in from outside the window, carrying the chill of the capital, yet it could not dispel the burning heat in Su Che's heart.
He knew that from this moment on, what he carried on his shoulders was not just Grandpa's expectations, but also the life's work of the older generation of scientific researchers, and the future of the motherland.
And this heavy responsibility would eventually turn into an unstoppable force, allowing him to walk firmly and without hesitation on this path of forging swords for the country.
He would not only join the "Dragon Vein," he would also help Grandpa solve that damned experimental bottleneck once and for all!
He didn't believe in evil, and he believed even more in the 'trump card' in his hands, which would surely fulfill the regrets of the predecessors.
He was looking forward to it.
Just then, the phone vibrated again. Su Che thought it was Grandpa calling back and hurriedly answered.
From the other end of the line came a soft, sweet, and longing girl's voice.
"Su Che, I miss you." It was Lin Waner.
Hearing this voice, the surging emotions in Su Che's heart were instantly soothed.
"I miss you too," he said softly.
"I... I've finished handing over the affairs in the village, and I've said goodbye to the children." There was a hint of excitement and a hint of grievance in Lin Waner's voice.
"It's just that... it's still the first lunar month, and high-speed rail tickets aren't that easy to buy. I only managed to get a ticket for tomorrow at 3:30 PM, departing from Xuefeng City South Station."
"I won't arrive in the capital until 11:40 at night."
Tomorrow afternoon? Sitting on a high-speed train for over eight hours? Su Che frowned.
"There's no need for that much trouble."
"Wait for me a moment." After saying that, he hung up the phone directly.
Lin Waner listened to the "beep-beep" busy signal on the other end, a bit bewildered.
This guy, what is he up to?
Su Che didn't hesitate; he immediately pulled up General Peng's number and dialed.
The call was answered almost instantly.
"Engineer Su, you haven't rested yet this late?" General Peng's voice sounded very energetic.
"General Peng, I'm sorry to disturb your rest so late." Su Che's tone was very polite.
"I wanted to ask, is it possible... to arrange a special plane to pick someone up at Zhijiang Airport?"
On the other end of the line, General Peng was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.
"I thought it was something big!"
"No problem! It must be arranged!"
"It's to pick up Teacher Lin, right? Engineer Su's family is our military's family! It must be the highest specification!"
"Don't worry, I will coordinate with the Xiang Province Military Region immediately. I guarantee everything will be arranged perfectly!"
"Thank you, General Peng."
"Why be so polite! You brat, get some rest early!"
After hanging up with General Peng, Su Che called Lin Waner back.
"It's settled."
"Huh? What's settled?" Lin Waner hadn't reacted yet.
"Tomorrow morning, there will be a military special plane going to Zhijiang Airport to pick you up. There will also be a special car to pick you up directly from the village to the airport."
"A... a special plane?" On the other end of the line, Lin Waner's voice went off-key.
She was just an ordinary rural volunteer teacher; she rarely even flew on airplanes, let alone a special plane, and a military one at that!
"Su Che, this... this is too..."
"Because you are Su Che's woman." Su Che interrupted her, speaking in an unquestionable, overbearing tone.
On the other end of the line, there was silence instantly. There was only a slight, irrepressible, happy sound of sniffing.
...
The next day, the twentieth day of the first lunar month, morning. Su Che was still lazing in bed when he was woken up by a rapid phone ringtone.
It was General Peng.
"Kid, are you awake?"
"Just woke up." Su Che yawned.
"Let me tell you, everything has been arranged for Teacher Lin." General Peng's tone was very relaxed.
"The special plane has already taken off from the Xiang Province Military Region, and the car to pick her up should have arrived at the entrance of Su Family Village by now, so you can set your mind at ease."
"Good, thank you, General Peng."
"Don't thank me yet." General Peng's tone suddenly became serious.
"There is an even more important matter; you'd better sit tight, kid."
Su Che's sleepiness vanished instantly.
"What is it?"
"The Highest Science and Technology Award that passed unanimously last time—Number One has also signed off on it."
Su Che's heart was calm; this was expected.
He heard General Peng continue, his voice carrying an irrepressible excitement.
"Number One said he wants to meet you privately before the official award ceremony."
"The time is arranged for noon today."
"We'll have lunch together."
"You brat, are you still not out of bed? Hurry up and get your ass up, and tidy yourself up properly!"