Family compound, dusk.
Liu Wenjun practically ran into the hospital where Mingzhao and Huo Hua were, her face beaming with barely suppressed joy and excitement, waving the approval slip in her hand:
"Mingzhao! Commander Huo! It's approved! It's been approved! Dean Zhang personally approved it! The materials can be prepared at home!"
As Mingzhao, who was carving complex circuits on a metal plate with simple tools in the last bit of daylight, looked up when he heard the sound.
There was still no surprise on her face. She simply glanced at the paper in Liu Wenjun's hand and nodded, as if this outcome was already expected.
Howard sat on the hospital bed, looking at the "24-hour on-call" condition attached to the approval slip, and his brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
Is this protection or surveillance?
Liu Wenjun excitedly handed the approval slip to Mingzhao and relayed Zhang Mingyuan's words: "Mingzhao! The dean said that you can pick up the materials at any time! The people stationed at the entrance are there to protect your and the technical staff's safety, please understand! This is great! Jiang Feng has hope! Thank you so much, Mingzhao!"
Mingzhao took the approval slip, his gaze sweeping over the terms, lingering for half a second on "24-hour duty" and "non-contact perimeter security".
Her eyes remained unmoved, as if those were just a few insignificant lines on a permit.
"Okay," she replied, indicating that she understood.
Then, she casually placed the approval slip on the small table next to her, picked up the engraving knife and metal plate, and continued to engrave with focused concentration, as if the approval slip, which symbolized huge concessions and hope, was less important than a tiny circuit that was about to take shape under her hands.
Looking at her focused, almost indifferent expression, Liu Wenjun felt a slight pang of joy and gratitude, as if a small hole had been poked in her chest. But she was quickly filled with immense hope again.
She understood Mingzhao's personality; as long as she was willing to do it, that was fine!
"Then...then I'll go and urge them first thing tomorrow morning to see when the materials will be available!" Liu Wenjun excitedly planned. "By the way, Mingzhao, do you need any other tools? Although we can't bring out the research institute's precision instruments, we can provide some basic tools..."
Just then.
Outside the door, there came extremely faint footsteps, almost drowned out by the evening breeze. The footsteps stopped a few meters away from the gate and then remained still, with a deliberate, distanced silence.
Howard's gaze instantly sharpened like an eagle's, suddenly turning towards the doorway!
Mingzhao's carving knife movements paused for an extremely subtle moment. Her ears twitched almost imperceptibly.
Liu Wenjun was still excitedly talking, completely unaware of what was happening.
Mingzhao put down her carving knife and metal plate, and stood up. She ignored Liu Wenjun and Huo Hua, and walked straight to the door.
Howard's heart leaped into his throat! What was she going to do?
Liu Wenjun was also stunned, looking at Mingzhao with confusion.
Mingzhao walked to the courtyard gate, but instead of opening it, he calmly looked out through the crack in the door.
The last rays of the setting sun outlined a young figure standing straight as a pine tree at the doorway.
He was dressed in military green, and his posture and eyes conveyed the unique toughness and vigilance of a soldier.
He stood like a silent statue, his gaze seemingly casually sweeping across his surroundings, but both Howard and Mingzhao knew that all his attention was fixed on that area.
These are the bodyguards sent by Zhang Mingyuan?
Mingzhao's gaze lingered on the young soldier's face for a moment.
Her gaze remained calm, but Howard keenly noticed a subtle...observation that seemed to flicker deep within her usually placid eyes.
It was as if I saw something unexpected on that unfamiliar face.
She didn't say anything, just stared quietly for a few seconds, then turned around and walked back, picking up the carving knife and metal plate again.
It was as if they had just checked who was outside the door.
——
That evening, just as the golden rays of the setting sun were casting a warm glow on the gray residential compound, heavy, rhythmic footsteps echoed outside Mingzhao's courtyard. It wasn't just one person, but several.
Liu Wenjun, who had just returned from delivering dinner to Mingzhao, stood at the gate of the courtyard, looking worriedly at the closed door. Ever since Huo Hua's accident, Mingzhao had practically locked herself in her room, refusing to come out except for necessary meals and trips to the hospital. She was worried that the child was becoming too stifled.
The sound of footsteps caught Liu Wenjun's attention.
She turned around and saw three burly men dressed in dark blue overalls and wearing matching baseball caps, carrying a large rectangular box tightly wrapped in a thick black cloth, walking steadily toward the courtyard.
The box looked heavy, so much so that the carrying handle was slightly bent under its weight.
The man at the head of the group had his hat pulled low, revealing only his strong jawline. He stopped in front of the gate, his voice low and tinged with barely perceptible caution: "Comrade, is this Commander Huo's house? We're from the Red Star Machinery Factory, here to deliver parts ordered by Comrade Mingzhao."
Liu Wenjun's heart skipped a beat.
Red Star Machinery Factory? She knew that Mingzhao was doing some cutting-edge designs at the research institute, which not only alarmed the factory to deliver the goods directly to his door, but was also packaged so mysteriously... This was no ordinary matter.
She subconsciously looked at the Huo family's tightly closed door.
Just then, the door creaked open.
Mingzhao came out.
She was wearing faded old work clothes with oil stains on the cuffs, and a few strands of hair casually stuck to her smooth forehead. Her face was expressionless, but her eyes lit up instantly when she saw the large box wrapped in black cloth.
"Is this all mine?" She walked straight to the courtyard gate, her gaze fixed on the box, as if everything around her did not exist.
"Yes, Comrade Mingzhao." The leading man nodded slightly, his attitude respectful yet with a hint of barely perceptible inquiry. "The first batch of core components was rushed to production according to your drawings. The factory manager personally supervised the work, and the error was controlled within the 0.05 millimeters you requested."
He gestured to his companion to carefully place the box on the flat ground inside the courtyard gate.
Mingzhao didn't say anything, but squatted down and unceremoniously lifted a corner of the thick black cloth.
Inside was a sturdy wooden box, with wax sealing the seams. She ran her fingertips along the cold wood grain, as if sensing the atmosphere inside.
A few seconds later, she stood up and said succinctly, "Move in. Against the wall."
The three workers immediately did as instructed, quickly carrying the heavy wooden crate into the courtyard and placing it steadily against the wall that Mingzhao had specified, directly opposite the entrance to the main room.
Looking at the mysterious large box, and then at Mingzhao's profile as he focused on checking the sealing wax, Liu Wenjun felt a surge of curiosity and worry.
She desperately wanted to know what Mingzhao was doing in his room!
Especially when she thought about her husband Jiang Feng's legs that had lost all feeling, and the few words Mingzhao had mentioned before...
A thought that made her heart race swirled in her mind.
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