Chapter 236: AI Drawing Sparks Children

Early morning around five, just as dawn broke, Zhao Jianguo pushed open the Courtyard Gate to go for a morning run. Passing the East Room warehouse, he saw a slip of paper tucked under the Door Gap, written by Xu Da Mao: "The robot ran normally last night, the battery is full, and it has returned to its place."

He smiled, folded the note neatly and slipped it into his pocket. He used to be too slow to dodge anything, now he actually learns to leave notes proactively.

Just as he reached the middle of the Courtyard, his phone went "ding". The Sign-in Interface popped up automatically, with a new prompt added: 【Detected positive feedback from social reform, unlocking AI drawing system】.

Zhao Jianguo was startled for a moment, tapped to look inside. There was no manual, no tutorial, only a blank input box and a prompt: "Describe the picture in your mind."

He tried, "A Siheyuan in a future city."

The Screen flashed, and a dynamic image leapt out—an old courtyard of blue bricks and gray tiles floating in mid‑air, its roof covered with solar panels, walls lined with greenery, an automatic slide below leading to an aerial school, and a driverless minibus parked at the entrance to pick up passengers.

Before he could react, a voice from behind—Xiao Pang—said, "Uncle Zhao, can this phone play movies?"

Turning around, he saw a few children had somehow gathered around. Xiao Hua was perched on the wall edge, peeking out, eyes glued to the Screen.

"This isn't a movie," Zhao Jianguo placed the Projection device on the stone table, "It's a painting, but not painted with a hand—it's painted with ideas."

"Then I want to draw too!" Xiao Pang jumped up.

"Sure, tell me what you want to draw."

"I want to draw a dungeon! With a subway that goes straight to the zoo, and you can also play video games there!"

Zhao Jianguo opened the system and let him speak into the microphone. A few seconds later, the image was generated. All the children crowded around, chattering excitedly.

Xiao Hua said nothing, standing behind, pursing her lips.

Zhao Jianguo crouched down and asked her, "What about you? What kind of home do you want to draw?"

She lowered her head, her fingers twining around the tip of her braid, "I… just want our Courtyard not to keep leaking rain. If it could fly, we wouldn't have to repair the roof."

"That's easy," Zhao Jianguo opened the input box, "Come on, say— a flying Siheyuan."

As soon as the voice ended, the image appeared: the old courtyard fitted with four propellers, the eaves bearing a grape trellis, a small pool added to the yard, the stairs turned into an automatic lift, and even the stone pedestal at the Courtyard Gate sprouted wheels.

"Wow!" Xiao Pang clapped, "Xiao Hua, you're awesome! Your house can even run!"

The children instantly got excited. Some said they wanted to draw a classroom that reshapes itself into a circle during lessons; others wanted an underground playground where they could slide down after school; and a boy said he wanted to draw a supermarket where his mother never has to queue for groceries, right beneath their building.

Zhao Jianguo didn't stop them, letting each try. Whoever couldn't phrase it, he helped organize the wording. The system responded quickly; almost as soon as the words landed, the picture appeared.

Xiao Hua sat on the side holding a notebook, copying her own drawing. She drew earnestly, even coloring the smoke rising from the chimney.

Amid the bustle, He Yushui came back from outside, a basket of vegetables in hand. She glanced into the crowd and stopped.

"These drawings… did you teach them to make them?"

Zhao Jianguo nodded, "Give it a try, let them imagine how wonderful the future could be."

He Yushui set the vegetables down, squeezed in and flipped through several works. The more she looked, the brighter her eyes became; suddenly she turned back into the house, grabbed her laptop, and rushed back.

"I'll add a section to the app," she said while typing, "These drawings shouldn't be confined to just here."

Half an hour later, the Siheyuan Management APP's home page gained a new tab: 【Future City·Children's Art Exhibition】. All the kids' drawings were uploaded, each with the ability to like and comment underneath.

In less than an hour, clicks surpassed a thousand.

Someone in the outer Courtyard left a comment: "My kid watched for half an hour, went home and used crayons to draw a house that can walk."

Another teacher messaged He Yushui privately: "Could you turn this batch of drawings into teaching material? Our tech‑themed class next week could use them."

Zhao Jianguo was teaching Xiao Pang to adjust the picture's angle when his phone vibrated. System Prompt: 【Children's participation reached critical threshold, triggering viral propagation effect】.

He kept quiet, merely filmed the children gathered around watching the drawings, posted it to the group with the caption: "What they drew isn't a dream, it's a wish."

Before lunch, San Daye walked out carrying a bowl, eating while glancing at the Screen.

"These kids, they keep drawing nonsense," he muttered, "Flying houses? Growing cabbage in the sky? Could that really work?"

Zhao Jianguo laughed, "It doesn't look like it now, but ten years ago who could have imagined phones could stream video? No matter how fast your abacus was, it couldn't calculate today's world."

San Daye hummed, lowered his head and kept eating. After finishing, instead of leaving, he fetched a small stool, sat down, and stared at Xiao Hua's "Flying Siheyuan" for a long while.

At two p. m., the sun was bright. The children gathered again, this time bringing classmates along.

"Uncle Zhao, my desk‑mate also wants to draw one!"

"I want to modify mine, add a drone for parcel delivery!"

"Could my dungeon be linked to Subway Line 3?"

Zhao Jianguo helped each of them tweak their keywords. The system grew smoother, even comprehending complex commands.

He Yushui kept monitoring the data from the backend. She looked up and said, "Twelve communities have already reshared the exhibition link, and officials from the Education Bureau have called to inquire."

Zhao Jianguo nodded, saying nothing more.

As the sun slipped westward, parents arrived one after another to pick up their children.

"Mom, look at what I drew!" Xiao Hua clutched her mother's hand, "From now on we'll live in houses that can fly!"

Her mother smiled, patting her head, "Alright, then study hard and build one yourself someday."

Before Xiao Pang's father led him away, he turned and shouted, "Uncle Zhao, I'll come back tomorrow to draw! I want a version that can dive."

Most people had left, but only Xiao Hua lingered, refusing to go. She crouched beside the Projection device, watching her drawing loop on the screen.

Zhao Jianguo sat beside her, "Why aren't you heading home yet?"

"I just want to watch a bit longer," she whispered, "I think it can really take off."

Zhao Jianguo reached out and gently ruffled her hair.

The other children also stopped, gathering around.

He looked at the faces before him and said softly, "Do you know? The real future isn't inside machines, nor on blueprints."

The children blinked.

"It lives in those weird and wonderful ideas inside your heads."

Xiao Hua suddenly stood up, "Then tomorrow I'll draw a house that can fly, dive, and even cook!"

"Sure." Zhao Jianguo smiled, "Dream away; I'll make sure it appears on the Screen."

He Yushui closed her computer, walked over and said, "I've saved all the data; later I'll compile a children's creativity report."

Zhao Jianguo nodded, "Don't delete these drawings."

The night wind blew in, and the lamp at the corner of the courtyard flickered. The Projection was still working, and the wall kept cycling the children's works— a courtyard that flies, a school underground, a classroom building that can change shape.

Xiaohua lay on the stone table, her eyes fixed on the screen, and she slowly closed them.

Zhao Jianguo gently lifted her and said to He Yushui, "Send her Go Home."

He Yushui took the child and asked softly, "What are you after? Spending so much time letting them play with this?"

Zhao Jianguo gave no reply, only glanced at the last picture on the wall.

It was a scene generated from a sentence that Xiao Pang said before leaving: "In the future every Siheyuan will have a robot butler, just like the one Uncle Xu made, helping everyone with work every day."

In the picture, a silver‑gray robot stood at the old Courtyard Gate, holding a vegetable basket, and wearing on its head a paper hat drawn by a child.

Zhao Jianguo's mouth twitched.

He picked up his phone and reopened the Sign-in Interface.

The system reward has already been credited: 【Children's Technology Enlightenment Specialization】.

He tapped Confirm and closed the page.

When he looked up, he saw He Yushui still waiting for an answer.

He said, "I'm not after anything."

He hesitated, then added, "But they will later."

Xiaohua turned over in her sleep, and one foot kicked the blanket aside.