Chapter 52

After three days and two nights on the train, they finally arrived at Northern Frontier Station. He Yuzhu and the others got off, feeling that Northern Frontier was much hotter than Sijiucheng, picked up their two bundles, got into the car that had come to meet them, and asked Chen Yun, who was in the same car, "Professor Chen, have we arrived yet?"

Professor Chen looked at He Yuzhu and smiled, saying, "You little rascal, you're getting happy too soon—we still have to ride for another day."

Hearing Professor Chen's words, He Yuzhu was almost collapsing—nowadays there simply aren't any paved roads like in later times; riding in a car for a whole day would shake him to death.

After the car left the train station, it soon left the urban area. He Yuzhu watched the city recede into the distance and asked Professor Chen, "Professor Chen, can you now tell me exactly what the mission is?"

Professor Chen glanced at He Yuzhu sitting in the back seat and said, "Zhuzi, this mission of ours is extremely important. Bai Xiong is currently researching a launch vehicle—that is, sending things from the ground up into space. You know what a satellite is, right? Bai Xiong wants to build an artificial satellite, and through our intelligence feedback he says that if Bai Xiong sends an artificial satellite into space, it will be an exploration that could change the world."

"Of course, we currently lack the capability to research satellites. The organization's mission for us is to infiltrate the area near Bai Xiong's launch base to detect the trajectory of his launch vehicle and some launch data."

After hearing that, He Yuzhu asked Professor Chen, "Professor Chen, is this what you said had no danger?"

Professor Chen looked at He Yuzhu and laughed, saying, "What, are you scared?"

He Yuzhu chuckled, saying, "Scared? If I were scared, I wouldn't be He Yuzhu." Professor Chen gave a couple of laughs and turned his head to look ahead.

He Yuzhu naturally understood the importance of satellites for the country—after all, he had experienced it in his previous life—but then he thought, Bai Xiong's artificial satellite wasn't successfully launched until 1957, was it? He shook his head, cleared his mind, picked a comfortable position, and prepared to sleep.

But not long after, He Yuzhu felt the jolting. Looking out the window, he saw the car had entered the Gobi Desert, and it was bouncing along. He Yuzhu had no choice but to grip the handrail as best he could to lessen the jolting. The car didn't stop until noon, when everyone got off, ate a quick bite, and continued on the road.

Soon it was night, and the temperature in the Gobi Desert gradually dropped. He Yuzhu took two cotton jackets from his bundle, gave one to Professor Chen, then after thinking gave the other to the comrade driver. He then intended to cover himself with a blanket, but the comrade driver said, "Thank you, comrade—I have one, right under the seat you're sitting on. We also prepared one for you."

Just as the driver finished speaking, he saw the vehicle ahead slowly come to a stop. Through the window, He Yuzhu saw the driver of the front vehicle handing out cotton jackets to the people aboard. At that moment, the driver of He Yuzhu's vehicle also got out to fetch cotton jackets for He Yuzhu and the other person. After He Yuzhu put away his own cotton jacket, he put on a military-green overcoat, and the car continued driving. Professor Chen asked, "Zhuzi, why are you still carrying a cotton jacket?"

He Yuzhu replied, "It's not your fault, Professor Chen—you never told me how long it would be, so I brought two sets of clothes for spring, summer, autumn, and winter." After saying that, He Yuzhu took a bottle of liquor from the small bundle Gao Yue had given him and handed it to Professor Chen, saying, "Professor Chen, have a sip to ward off the chill." Professor Chen took the bottle He Yuzhu handed him, opened it, took a sip, and then passed the bottle to the driver.

The driver lifted the bottle and took a big gulp, saying, "Refreshing!" Watching this, He Yuzhu's mouth twitched. Professor Chen then passed the bottle to He Yuzhu, who took a sip and instantly felt the cold lessen considerably; his stomach warmed pleasantly. He screwed the cap back on and slipped the bottle back into his pack.

It was past ten o'clock at night when the car, after a day of travel, finally came to a stop. He Yuzhu and the others had spent the day sitting in the car except when they got out to refuel. He Yuzhu looked at Professor Chen and said, "Professor Chen, have we arrived at our destination this time?"

Professor Chen glanced at He Yuzhu and said, "We're here, we're here—hurry up and get out, or we'll be shaken to death." Hearing that, He Yuzhu immediately flung open the car door and jumped out.

After jumping up and down twice beside the car, He Yuzhu felt less uncomfortable, so he stopped, picked up his luggage, and followed Professor Chen into the base.

Although called a base, it was actually just a circle made of wooden fences, inside which stood many tents. He Yuzhu saw many soldiers holding wooden crates on patrol.

A comrade who looked like an officer ran up to Professor Chen and said, "You must be Director Chen Yun, right? I am Hou Weiguo, the battalion commander of the guard company responsible for the security of your operation." After saying that, Hou Weiguo gave a military salute.

Professor Chen said, "Thank you, Comrade Hou. From now on, our safety will depend on you."

"Protecting your safety is our duty, Director Chen. You've worked hard along the way—we've prepared dinner for you." After saying that, Hou Weiguo led Professor Chen and the others into a tent. He Yuzhu looked at the five members of this mission team, then at the tent, and followed Professor Chen inside.

After entering the tent, everyone sat on the blankets, each holding a box of hot stew, eating the steamed buns made from two‑flour dough, devouring them wolfishly. After a day of jolting plus the cold, He Yuzhu finished a basin of vegetables and two steamed buns, let out a long sigh, and said, "Ah, that's comfortable."

After everyone had finished eating, they were taken to their respective tents to rest. Late at night, the cold wind of the Gobi blew through the tent, so He Yuzhu took out his blanket again, using it as a windbreak, which made things a bit warmer.

The next morning, He Yuzhu, wrapped in a thick military overcoat, washed up at the tent entrance. Seeing Professor Chen also come out of the tent, he asked, "Professor Chen, when will we move out?"

Professor Chen smiled and asked, "What operation?"

He Yuzhu mumbled, "Obviously to go detect the data, right?" Professor Chen picked up his cup, rinsed his mouth, and said, "Not yet—we'll wait for notice. After all, Bai Xiong doesn't test every day."

Only then did He Yuzhu realize what was going on; he chuckled and said, "Ah, looks like I've been frozen stupid."

By noon, He Yuzhu had already taken off his cotton jacket and put on a short‑sleeve shirt. Watching the patrolling soldiers, he headed toward the mess hall.

He Yuzhu entered the mess hall, and the mess worker asked, "Comrade, what do you need?"

He Yuzhu said, "Comrade, I want to make some hot pot base so everyone can ward off the chill tonight."

The mess worker looked at He Yuzhu and asked, "Comrade, what is this hot pot base you're talking about?"

He Yuzhu laughed and said, "Comrade, I used to study Sichuan cuisine. This hot pot base is a seasoning used for hot pot in Shan Cheng—it's made from chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns. Do we have chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns here?"

The mess worker nodded, took out the two cloth bags, and said, "We do, but how do you make this base? If you're going to make it, I have to watch you."

He Yuzhu said, "No problem." After saying that, he picked up the two cloth bags, walked to the stove, poured a basin of water into the pot, brought it to a boil, and added the chili peppers. He told the mess worker, "I'm going to get the liquor and sugar—please keep an eye on the fire for me." Having said that, he left the mess hall, went to his tent, and took out the white sugar and high‑proof liquor that Gao Yue had bought for him.

After He Yuzhu returned, he took an enamel basin, poured in half a basin of Sichuan peppercorns, added water, lifted out the boiled chili peppers, and told the mess worker to crush the chili peppers.

He Yuzhu drained the water from the pot, scooped out the Sichuan peppercorns, then helped the mess worker crush the chili peppers together. After crushing all the boiled chili peppers, he tasted a bit, immediately spat it out, and said, "That's hot enough."

Then He Yuzhu added lard, fried the chopped scallions, ginger, and garlic for a moment, scooped them out and discarded them, put the few other basic ingredients and seasonings into the pot, added the chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns, poured in a little liquor and sugar, saw that there was also some sauce and added a bit of that, simmered for a while, and finally scooped out the simple hot‑pot base from the pot into a bowl.

The mess worker looked at the bowl full to the brim with hot‑pot base and asked, "Is this good enough?"

He Yuzhu nodded and said, "Yeah, that's fine. Given the limited conditions, this is all we can do for now. What meat and vegetables do we have here?"