Chapter 213

Zhao Jianguo stepped off the tram, the wind a bit chilly, he flipped the collar of his work uniform. The canvas bag in his hand had already been handed over, the task was completed, and the knot of tension in his heart finally loosened a bit.

When Zhao Jianguo entered the Siheyuan Courtyard Gate, Sha Zhu was squatting on the doorstep, an old schoolbag spread out before him. He took a piece of cloth and carefully wiped a small wrench, muttering: "This is the first tool passed down in our family."

Zhao Jianguo stepped closer to hear clearly, then chuckled: "Your family's heirloom? Your dad is a cook, your grandpa is a cook—what got passed down is probably a spatula."

Sha Zhu glanced at him: "Hey, Jianguo, don't tease me. I'm packing for my son. He's reporting to the Mechanical Vocational School tomorrow, and the teacher said he needs to bring basic tools."

Zhao Jianguo looked at the bag; inside were just a few old items: a vernier caliper, its teeth a bit worn smooth; a hammer, its wooden handle cracked; and a battered copy of the Metalworking Manual.

"That's all?" he asked.

"What else?" Sha Zhu gave a wry smile. "I'm not a technician—what good stuff could I have? I can't let him go to class empty-handed."

Zhao Jianguo said nothing, turned and went inside.

A few minutes later he came out, holding a dark gray toolbox with a matte coating and metal corner protectors. He set the box on the ground and clicked open the latch with a snap.

Sha Zhu froze.

The contents of the box were neatly arranged. On top was a palm-sized micro lathe, its structure complete with pulley and tailstock. Beside it lay a set of drafting tools—vernier caliper, dial indicator, angle gauge—all made of precision steel with clear markings. Below that was a book whose cover read Fundamentals of Mechanical Manufacturing; flipping it open revealed pages dense with handwritten annotations.

"This is……" Sha Zhu's voice trembled a little.

"It's an Engineer Cultivation Gift Package." Zhao Jianguo said. "I made it recently when I had free time, originally planning to give it to whoever got into an engineering program, but now it's perfect."

Before Sha Zhu could react, Zhao Jianguo pressed a small button on the inside of the box. A blue light swept across, and suddenly a three‑dimensional diagram appeared in mid‑air—a quadruped robot simulating a plowing motion, its tracks pressing over clods of soil while the plowshare threw up waves of mud.

"It's a Holographic Teaching Diagram." Zhao Jianguo pointed. "He can use this to practice fitting; if he makes a mistake, no parts are wasted."

Sha Zhu gaped, unable to speak for a moment. He reached out and touched the light; his finger passed through it, the image wavered then returned to normal.

"This……this is too advanced."

"Not really." Zhao Jianguo pushed the box toward him. "From now on, every vocational‑school student ought to have something like this."

The next morning, as the sun just rose, the courtyard was already bustling. Sha Zhu's son wore newly bought blue pants and a white shirt, shouldering the old schoolbag as he stood before the toolbox, reluctant to leave.

"Dad, can I open it and have a look?"

"Go ahead, go ahead!" Sha Zhu nodded repeatedly. "This is what Uncle Zhao gave you—treasure it."

The boy crouched, first taking out the book, flipping a few pages, his eyes lighting up: "This section covers jig and fixture design—we'll need it in the first week!"

He then took out the micro lathe, turned the handwheel, and found it could actually transmit motion. He looked up, delighted: "It really can spin!"

Zhao Jianguo stood beside him, smiling: "Of course it can spin. I also added a safety clutch—if you force it too hard it slips automatically, so the motor won't burn out."

The boy nodded, taking careful note. Finally he pressed the diagram's activation key; the holographic image unfolded again. He stared at the robot for a long time, then suddenly said: "Dad, I want to build a robot that can farm."

"Huh?" Sha Zhu blinked.

"Look how steady it is." The boy pointed at the image. "Village elders bend over all day working and can't straighten their backs. I want to make a machine that can find its own way, turn the soil, and harvest crops—so they can rest."

Sha Zhu was stunned. He looked at his son's earnest face, then at Zhao Jianguo, his lips moving but no sound came out.

After a moment, he sprang to his feet and threw his arms around Zhao Jianguo's shoulders: "Jianguo… you didn't just give tools, you gave a lifeline!"

His voice trembled: "All my life I've been chopping vegetables and stir‑frying meat in the canteen—no matter how skilled, it's just a cook's craft. But you've given him hands that can build machines! This is going to change his fate!"

Zhao Jianguo patted his arm: "The boy has ambition; we just need to support him so he can fly."

Sha Zhu wiped his face, looked down and saw the old tools still lying in the schoolbag; he bent over, picked them up, and gently placed them in a corner of the toolbox.

"Keep them." He said. "This is the Starting Point."

When the bus arrived, the boy boarded carrying the toolbox. His seat was by the window; he stuffed the book into his bag but kept feeling the activation slide of the holographic diagram.

Before the bus pulled away, he took out paper and pen and began sketching. The lines were wobbly, but you could make out a tractor‑like shape with a mechanical arm. Beside it he wrote a few characters: **Automatic Seeding System V1.0**.

The bus doors closed and it slowly drove out of the hutong.

Zhao Jianguo stood at the courtyard gate, watching the vehicle disappear. Sha Zhu kept waving until he could no longer see it, then lowered his hand.

"Do you really think he can become an engineer?" Sha Zhu asked.

"As long as he keeps wanting to build machines." Zhao Jianguo said.

Sha Zhu nodded, then suddenly chuckled: "Later I'll have to clear a spot on the workbench and set up his old tools as a display. Whenever someone comes to eat, I'll have to say—look, see? This is the first set of gear for a future engineer!"

Zhao Jianguo laughed.

Just as he was about to go back inside, the system terminal on his wrist gave a faint vibration.

A line of prompt appeared:

【Education Investment Triggers Inheritance Effect】

【Civilization Degree +5%】

He didn't rush to close the interface; instead he stared at it for another two seconds.

Sunlight fell on the screen, casting a faint reflection. He recalled the woman he had seen on the tram the night before, lugging a suitcase with wet labels, speaking in a strange accent. Those matters weren't over, but he now knew he had a new direction.

At noon, He Yushui came to find him to debug a new module of the app. She said the Street Office had issued a notice that inspectors would be coming these two days, possibly to put up a sign in the courtyard.

"What kind of sign?" Sha Zhu leaned in and asked.

"A Technology Demonstration Point." He Yushui said.

Sha Zhu's eyes widened: "Here?"

"Why not?" Zhao Jianguo took the tablet. "We have the technology, we have people, and we have the will to learn."

At three in the afternoon, Zhao Jianguo sat at a small table under the locust tree in the courtyard, checking maintenance dispatch data on one hand while waiting for word from the Street Office on the other. Thin clouds drifted overhead, and the wind made the leaves rustle.

He was about to refresh the page when his phone buzzed.

It was an abnormal alert from the bank system: a sum of money from an overseas account was trying to link with the accounts of three domestic vocational‑training schools; the amount was small, but the route was concealed.

He opened the details and saw, to his surprise, that the Mechanical Vocational School his son attends was listed among the recipients.

Zhao Jianguo stared at the screen, his fingers slowly tightening.