Chapter 253 Laughter in the Courtyard
In the autumn of 1973, the pomegranate trees in Houhai were bearing exceptionally good fruit. The branches were bent low with heavy fruit, which gleamed with a reddish luster under the autumn sun.
In the courtyard, five-year-old Lu Xiao is practicing.
The little boy stood straight in his tiny military uniform, his chest puffed out high.
Lu Zhanming squatted down in front of him, his face serious:
"Attention! Eyes forward! Hands on your trouser seams!"
Lu Xiao tried his best to do as instructed, but his little finger kept sticking up.
"dad,"
He asked in a childish voice,
"I'm all ready. Can I go see Mom now?"
"cannot."
Lu Zhanming had a stern face.
"The first lesson for soldiers is to obey orders."
At this moment, five-year-old Lu Shu ran out of the house carrying a rag doll.
The little girl had two pigtails and her eyes looked just like Gu Baobao's—big and bright.
She tilted her head and looked at her brother and father for a while, then suddenly took out a piece of colored chalk from her pocket and tiptoed behind Lu Zhanming.
Lu Zhanming's attention was entirely focused on his son, and he didn't notice his daughter's little actions at all.
So, when Gu Baobao came out of the study, this is what she saw:
Her imposing husband's face was painted with three lines on the left and three on the right, and there was a crooked "king" character on his forehead.
Lu Xiao suppressed a laugh, his face turning bright red.
Lu Shu then picked up the chalk and announced triumphantly:
"Dad is a big tiger!"
Lu Zhanming was taken aback. He reached up to wipe his face and saw the colored powder on his hand. He immediately understood.
He turned abruptly, as if to grab his daughter:
"Oh, so you dare to ambush Dad?"
Lu Shu screamed and laughed as she hid behind her mother.
Gu Baobao couldn't help but laugh out loud, bent down to pick up her daughter, and raised an eyebrow at her husband:
"Director Lu, it seems you're not going to be able to establish that tiger's majesty."
Lu Zhanming shook his head helplessly, but his eyes were full of indulgent smiles.
He walked over, took his daughter in one hand, and put his arm around his wife's shoulder with the other.
"dad,"
Lu Shu wrapped her arms around his neck and suddenly asked,
"Was there a war when you first met your mother?"
Lu Zhanming paused for a moment, then looked at Gu Baobao.
His memory instantly flashed back to 1965, to the island hospital, when he first met the legendary "dark-skinned, chubby, and simple" younger sister:
What appeared before them was a girl with skin as white as snow and beautiful features.
"There was no war."
He spoke softly, his gaze tenderly fixed on his wife.
"But it's even more tense than fighting a war."
Gu Baobao blushed slightly and gave him a reproachful look.
[Ding! High concentration of emotional fluctuations detected!]
Defu's voice echoed in Gu Baobao's mind.
Based on our analysis of 3,200 eye contact data points from Comrade Lu Zhanming over the past eight years, the way he looks at the host right now...
Extremely mild, sugar content 500% over the limit! Warning! Warning! Long-term consumption may lead to systemic tooth decay!
Gu Baobao: "..."
She decisively cut off the connection with the system.
As the sun sets, a family of four sits under a pomegranate tree and eats dinner.
A simple meal of three dishes and a soup, with the children chattering about what happened during the day.
Lu Xiao said that the kindergarten teacher taught them to sing "Learn from Lei Feng, a Good Example," and Lu Shu said that Grandma Chen next door gave her a piece of fruit candy.
An ordinary evening, nothing out of the ordinary.
But Gu Baobao knew how precious this ordinariness was.
At this moment, the outside world is still noisy, big-character posters are still being put up, and loudspeakers are still blaring.
But in this specially protected courtyard, the tranquility is like a miracle.
After dinner, Lu Zhanming was washing the dishes, while Gu Baobao accompanied the children to watch ants moving house in the yard.
The postman delivered a letter from Qinghetun.
The letter was written by Li Guoqiang; the handwriting was crooked and messy, but each stroke was carefully written.
"Honey, I hope this letter is helpful. The village clinic has two new doctors this year, both from our village, graduates of the county health school. One is named Chunmiao, and the other is named Jianguo. They both say they want to become doctors like you!"
Your grandparents are both in good health, as are your parents. Grandpa Lu also said that he's happiest here.
The medicinal herb garden on the back hill has had a bumper harvest this year. The purple cloud grass planted according to your method is growing exceptionally well. Doctor Chen said that this batch is 30% more effective than in previous years…”
At the end of the letter, Li Guoqiang wrote:
“The old folks in the village all say that you are the root of our Qinghe Village, and you will never forget your roots no matter where you go. Baby, take good care of yourself outside, the village will always be your home.”
Gu Baobao held the letter in her hand, remaining silent for a long time.
When Lu Zhanming finished washing the dishes and came out, he saw the tears in her eyes and gently pulled her into his arms.
Missing home?
"Um."
She buried her face in his chest.
"I miss that black soil, I miss the kang (heated brick bed) in the old house, and I miss the old locust tree at the entrance of the village."
"Wait until the storm has completely passed,"
Lu Zhanming kissed the top of her head.
"I'll go back with you and stay for the whole summer."
Spring 1977: Seeds of the Future
In the institute's confidential archives, a thick stack of manuscripts lay open in front of Gu Baobao.
This is not an ordinary paper or report, but a technical blueprint she painstakingly compiled over twelve years with the assistance of the Defu System, combining advanced knowledge with the actual conditions of this era.
The cover has a handwritten title:
Suggestions and initial results on the future development path of medical technologies.
It is divided into three main parts:
Volume 1: The Road to Antibiotic Innovation
Structural modification schemes based on penicillin nucleus (can reduce allergy rate by 30%)
Optimization of semi-synthetic process for tetracycline drugs (50% increase in production capacity)
Roadmap for the development of effective drugs against tuberculosis (with preliminary active molecule structures)
Volume Two: Vaccines and Biological Agents
The manufacturing process of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine (laboratory stage completed).
Extraction and purification techniques for hepatitis B surface antigen (with animal experimental data)
Development of Immunomodulators Based on Traditional Chinese Medicine Prescriptions
Volume 3: Modernization of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Primary Healthcare
Standardized processing specifications for 300 commonly used Chinese medicinal herbs
Upgraded Medical Manual for Barefoot Doctors (covering 100 common diseases)
Portable Traditional Chinese Medicine Granule Preparation Technology (Small-scale test completed)
Each page contains detailed data, charts, and process flow diagrams.
Some of the content was surprisingly advanced, but Gu Baobao used it cleverly.
"Summary of Long-Term Clinical Experience"
"A Modern Interpretation of Traditional Prescriptions"
Research on Mutant Strains of Special Medicinal Herbs
The reasons were laid out.
Most importantly, she pointed to the source of all the key technologies as the “special mutated medicinal materials” she discovered in the back mountain of Qinghetun.
This is not deception, it is protection.
Protect these technologies so they can be successfully implemented, and protect her origin from being investigated.
Lu Zhanming and Zhao Feng came together.
Both men fell silent upon seeing the report, which was as thick as a brick.
"Baby,"
Zhao Feng's voice was hoarse.
Do you know what handing this in means?
"Know."
Gu Baobao said calmly,
"This means that in the next ten or twenty years, our children will have safer and more effective medicines when they get sick."
This means that when our soldiers are wounded, the infection mortality rate can be reduced by another half; it means that our farmers can treat most common illnesses right there in the fields.
She paused, looking out the window at the sprouting willow branches:
"This means that the country can avoid many detours in the battle of medicine."
Lu Zhanming took her hand.
He didn't need to say anything; his eyes said it all.
No matter what decision she makes, he's there for her.
The report was sent out through special channels.
Three days later, in the evening, Gu Baobao and Lu Zhanming took the children back to the Houhai courtyard house.
In recent years, they have mostly lived in the institute's staff quarters, and only occasionally come back here.
The pomegranate tree has grown taller, and its trunk is as thick as a bowl.
Lu Xiao and Lu Shu were picking up pomegranates that had fallen from the tree last year, having a competition to see who could pick up the most.
Gu Baobao touched the rough tree bark and softly told the children a story:
"This tree was planted by my mother when she first came to the capital. It was only this tall back then—"
She gestured a height.
"He was so thin and small that everyone said he probably wouldn't survive."
"Then how did it grow so big?"
Lu Shu looked up and asked.
"Because its roots are deep."
Gu Baobao squatted down and looked her daughter in the eye.
"The roots desperately pushed downwards, through the rocks, to find water and nutrients. Then one day, everyone suddenly realized: Wow, it has blossomed, it has borne fruit, and it has grown taller than the eaves of the house."
Lu Xiao seemed to understand but not quite:
"Just like Mom? Came from the village, and now she's a big expert?"
Gu Baobao smiled and patted her son's head:
"Yes, just like Mom. And like Dad, and like so many other people. As long as the roots are deep, one day it will grow into a towering tree."
Lu Zhanming stood behind her, his hand gently resting on her shoulder.
The setting sun cast long shadows of the four people, which blended into a warm whole on the blue brick ground.
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