Chapter 121

Zhao Jianguo's finger still hovered above the terminal's confirm key when Su Qing's voice sounded from outside the door. He snapped back to his senses, withdrew his hand, turned and pulled open the door. The Shuang Baotai were indeed crying again, their voices even more urgent than before, as if they had been frightened.

"Is something wrong?" Su Qing stood in the doorway holding the Shuang Baotai, fine sweat beading on her forehead, "I just gave them their medicine, and suddenly they started acting up."

Zhao Jianguo glanced at the screen in the laboratory, the words "The other party is connecting" still flashing. He said softly, "Take the Shuang Baotai back inside first, and don't go near the camphor wood chest."

And you?

I'm going to check the Night School. He Yushui has class tonight, I need to keep an eye on her.

Su Qing didn't stop him. She knew some things couldn't be avoided; she just had to bear them.

The sky had just darkened, autumn wind swirling fallen leaves at the Siheyuan gate. Zhao Jianguo threw on his coat and hurried to the Night School. On the way he ran into a few neighbors returning from work, someone smiling and greeting: "Master Zhao, off to teach again? These days the young folks are all eager to hear you lecture on electrical machinery principles."

He nodded and smiled, but a string was taut in his heart. Last night's recording, that infant's wail, and the secret order from forty years ago—like a stone weighing on his chest. He knew the enemy wouldn't stay hidden forever; sooner or later they'd come out into the open.

The Night School classroom was lit, He Yushui stood at the blackboard writing formulas. Below sat a dozen or so trainees—young workers from the factory, also unemployed youths from nearby streets. Chalk dust clung to her cuffs and hair ends; the room was quiet, but her eyes shone unusually bright.

Zhao Jianguo sat in the back row without a word. He habitually rubbed his tool bag; inside, besides wrenches and screwdrivers, he also carried that Provincial Labor Model Certificate. Since the system's last warning, he hadn't kept it at home.

Halfway through the lesson, footsteps came from outside, followed by the sound of the door being pushed open.

Three people walked in, wearing the Security Department uniforms; the leader was Comrade Wang, who usually oversaw discipline at the factory, his face stern.

"Teacher He," Comrade Wang stood beside the podium, his voice neither loud nor soft, "Someone has reported that the content of your lecture falls outside the scope of regular technical training, suspected of spreading unvetted foreign technical theory; we need to conduct a provisional investigation of you."

The classroom fell silent at once.

A trainee muttered quietly, "What's called foreign technology? We're just fixing radios, aren't we?"

Comrade Wang ignored him, turning to He Yushui: "Please come with us for a while, cooperate with the investigation."

He Yushui didn't move or speak; she simply placed the chalk gently back into its box, then lifted her gaze to Zhao Jianguo.

Zhao Jianguo rose, took a few steps to the front, and stood before her.

"Brother Wang," he said in an ordinary tone, "who said she's spreading foreign technology?"

"The higher-ups received a report letter saying she's teaching outdated theories discarded by capitalist countries, which could easily mislead the masses." Comrade Wang flipped through the notebook in his hand, "Also, someone says her background is complicated—her father used to work as an accountant for a landlord in the south years ago."

Zhao Jianguo chuckled: "Then I ought to check my own background too—my grandfather's generation used to do labor for landlord families."

Someone in the audience laughed out loud.

Comrade Wang's face darkened: "Zhao Jianguo, don't interrupt. This is an organizational procedure, not a joke."

Zhao Jianguo wasn't annoyed either; he opened his tool bag, pulled out a red-background gold-lettered certificate, and held it up: "This is the Provincial Labor Model Certificate I earned in the first half of this year. This night school course is one I spearheaded the application for, approved with a document number by the Machinery Bureau. If you want to investigate, I can call them right now to clarify."

Comrade Wang stared, obviously not expecting him to produce that.

"But... the report letter clearly states she said something like 'the number of coil turns affects magnetic field strength'—isn't that what American textbooks say?"

"That's junior-high physics." Zhao Jianguo shook his head. "If you really don't understand, I can give you a lesson right here."

A young female worker beside them couldn't help but interject: "Comrade Wang, we've studied for half a month and can now fix electric fans on our own. If this counts as capitalist, then my family's Soviet-imported radio must be even more dangerous."

The crowd began to buzz with discussion.

Comrade Wang's face kept shifting, he was about to speak when another commotion came from outside.

Su Qing entered carrying the Shuang Baotai, with Sha Zhu following behind, holding an insulated bucket.

"The children's fever hasn't subsided, I couldn't stay at home," Su Qing stood in the doorway, her voice low but each word clear, "I heard there was a commotion here, so I came to see."

She took two steps forward, stood beside Zhao Jianguo, and held the children tighter: "If you're going to take them away, fine—first let me put the two little ones down. But there's no chair, no bed here; I can only stand. If you're not afraid of frightening the children, go ahead and act."

Comrade Wang froze at the sight of this scene.

Two red-cheeked little faces bore tear tracks, their noses bright red—obviously quite ill. To forcibly seize people now would cause a big scandal if it got out.

"We're not insisting on taking them away right now..." he coughed dryly twice, "It's mainly our duty; we have to follow procedure."

"The procedure can wait until tomorrow." Zhao Jianguo picked up the thread: "Today's class goes on as usual; the trainees are all coming straight from work, they shouldn't make a wasted trip. If you don't believe me, I'll call the Machinery Bureau right now to have someone come verify the course content."

Comrade Wang hesitated, glancing at the packed classroom, then at Su Qing holding the children at the doorway, finally waving his hand: "Alright, for today we'll leave it like this. But the matter isn't over—we'll look into it later."

The three turned and left, their steps much slower than when they arrived.

After the door closed, the room let out a breath of relief.

He Yushui drew a deep breath, picked up the chalk again: "Where were we? Oh right, the relationship between magnetic field strength and current. Let's continue."

Someone clapped, followed by laughter.

Sha Zhu set the insulated bucket on the edge of the podium: "I've simmered some millet porridge to calm your nerves. These days, even sharing genuine skills makes you anxious—really spooky."

Zhao Jianguo didn't smile. He walked to the window and glanced outside. A shadow flickered past the small path outside the courtyard wall, as if someone were recording something.

"I need to give Dong Xu a heads-up." He said quietly, "The enemy has changed tactics—they're no longer stealing things, they've started conducting inspections."

He Yushui walked over: "I'm not afraid of an investigation. Everything I say is backed by evidence—diagrams, data, experimental results—all in the lesson plan. If they want to look, I'll open it up for them."

"The problem is they might not follow the rules." Zhao Jianguo slipped the certificate back into his bag, "That report letter just now claimed 'southern accountant,' but your father died ten years ago and his records haven't been updated. Who knows your family background that well?"

The two exchanged a glance, each seeing wariness in the other's eyes.

After class ended, the trainees drifted away one by one. Zhao Jianguo stayed behind to help He Yushui gather the lecture notes. Su Qing sat with the Shuang Baotai in a small stool in the corner, soothing them while she flipped through the lesson plan.

"Did you draw these diagrams?" she suddenly asked.

"Yeah, worried they wouldn't understand, so I drew a few extra exploded views."

Su Qing pointed to a small mark in the corner of a page: "This gear pattern—how does it resemble the magnetic powder imprint on that contraband from the other day?"

Zhao Jianguo leaned in for a look, his brows furrowing.

It was a simple hand-drawn gear, but the tooth spacing was arranged specially, nearly matching the gear they'd confiscated on the black market.

When did you draw it?

"When I was preparing lessons last week." He Yushui thought for a moment, "What's up?"

Zhao Jianguo didn't answer. He remembered clearly that the magnetic powder on that gear was a specially made tracking marker from the system, only those who had contacted the laboratory equipment would get it on them.

But He Yushui had never entered the core laboratory.

Unless...

Have you borrowed my tool kit recently?

No, but I once mended your coat pocket; at that time the bag was placed at the edge of the table.

Zhao Jianguo quickly opened the interlayer of his tool bag—the Crystal was still there, but its surface had an extremely fine scratch, as if scraped by some thin sheet.

He silently closed the bag.

"Nobody should Go Home too late tonight." He said to Su Qing, "I'll stand guard here at Night School; you first take the child back and lock the doors and windows."

And you?

I'm waiting for Dong Xu's news. He said tonight he wants to try a set of new parameters.

Su Qing nodded, picked up the child and walked out. Before leaving, she turned back and glanced at him: "Don't stay up too late."

After the door closed, Zhao Jianguo sat in front of the lectern without turning on the light. Moonlight streamed in through the window, falling on the Blackboard where the drawing had not been erased.

Gear Set, coils, magnetic field direction arrows, and a line of small text:

Civilian Mechanical Lesson Interesting Reader·Third Lecture

He reached into his pocket and felt the Crystal, then glanced out the window.

In the distance, the lights of the Siheyuan went out one by one.

Nearby, the doorframe of the Classroom emitted a faint creak, as if someone had just touched the handle.

Zhao Jianguo slowly rose to his feet, his hand reaching toward the tool bag.

The door moved again.