1959Siheyuan, a Turnaround

Yang Qiming was expelled from school. This incident was like a sudden rainstorm, coming and going quickly.

Before long, he was like a stone thrown into the sea, failing to stir up much waves and was gradually forgotten by everyone.

After experiencing this setback, Li Weiguo and his team regained their spirits and plunged into their busy daily research.

At first, everyone was full of enthusiasm and energy, but practical problems came one after another.

The five people doing the research together had varying levels of expertise, and as the research progressed, the gap became more and more obvious.

Take Wang Yong and Liu Fusheng for example. They both had little experience. Although they got up early and went to bed late every day, staying in the document room and laboratory with their eyes red from staying up late, even with such efforts, they could still clearly feel the gap between themselves and others in every group discussion.

Those complex theoretical models and cutting-edge technical problems gradually became clear in the eyes of Li Weiguo and some of his classmates, but to them, they were still a tangled mess that they could not make sense of.

Gradually, both of them began to want to back out, but with the help of Li Weiguo and others, they insisted on not saying what was in their hearts.

Several other people also gradually noticed the difficulty.

Every professional course is like a difficult battle. Just dealing with daily academic assessments is enough to exhaust them, not to mention having to take into account this difficult research topic.

I haven't fully understood the knowledge in the books, and the experimental data are frequently wrong. Staying up late has become commonplace, but the results are very few.

By the second semester of the junior year, the cruel reality was set before them. Zhang Jianguo was the only one who could barely keep up with Li Weiguo's pace.

Wang Yong was the first one who couldn't sit still. He looked at his increasingly haggard face in the mirror, his heart filled with helplessness and confusion.

These days, his grades have dropped drastically, several of his professional courses have failed, and he has made no progress in research.

After tossing and turning for several nights, he hardened his heart, picked up a pen, and wrote the application report word by word, honestly telling the actual situation he was facing.

Seeing this, Liu Fusheng and others followed suit. They knew that if they continued to hold on like this, not only would their research not be successful, but their studies would probably also be ruined.

After submitting the report, I didn't expect to receive a response so quickly.

The leaders were very pleased with their honesty and after some discussion, they agreed to their application and allowed them to temporarily put aside their research and return to the classroom to concentrate on their studies.

When they heard the news, they felt mixed emotions, including regret for not being able to persevere to the end, but also a little hope for their future studies.

Faced with the choices made by several other people, although Li Weiguo was reluctant, he still chose to respect their own wishes.

After all, everyone has his or her own path to follow, and forcing them to be tied together will not benefit anyone.

On the day of farewell, everyone's eyes were slightly red. The days of struggling together in the past flashed before their eyes like slides, but now, they have come to a fork in the road.

"Weiguo, it's up to you and Jianguo from now on. We have to make some achievements with this research!" Wang Yong patted Li Weiguo's shoulder, his voice slightly hoarse, his eyes full of trust and entrustment.

"Don't worry, you guys should also work hard in class, and we shouldn't fall behind." Li Weiguo shook hands vigorously, his eyes firm and warm.

However, the road ahead is much more difficult than imagined.

Without the support of their teammates, Li Weiguo and Zhang Jianguo found that they could not complete the systematic research even if they tried their best.

There is a shortage of manpower, limited resources, and many problems that stand in our way like mountains.

Fortunately, there is always a way out. After the higher-ups learned about the situation, they quickly made arrangements.

On a sunny yet mysterious morning, Li Weiguo and Zhang Jianguo packed their simple bags and, under the guidance of their leader, were secretly sent to a mysterious base for internship.

As the car slowly drove away from the campus, the two men felt a complex emotion as they watched the familiar teaching buildings and playgrounds gradually disappear from their sight.

This departure means that they will bid farewell to their simple and carefree college life and step into a new field full of unknowns and challenges.

But there was no sign of retreat in their eyes, only a firm vision for the future.

At the end of 1962, after experiencing many twists and turns, the country drew lessons from the Great Leap Forward.

A series of people-friendly policies were like the warm sunshine in winter, dispelling the haze that had shrouded people's hearts for a long time. They were introduced like timely rain, bringing new hope to the people across the country who were deeply mired in the quagmire of famine.

Smiles gradually appeared on the faces of people in the streets and alleys. Everyone was holding back their energy, hoping that life would get better day by day and that they could regain the atmosphere of old life.

The wheel of time rolled forward and it was 1963.

In the first half of the year, the scorching sun burned the earth in the southeastern region of China. The land was as dry and cracked as a dry riverbed, with cracks opening as if silently calling for rain.

God was reluctant to send even a drop of rain. The crops in the fields were wilted in the sun and were struggling listlessly under the ravages of drought.

The farmers looked at their cracked and dusty fields, their hearts filled with helplessness and sorrow. Their rough hands repeatedly stroked the cracked land, their eyes full of worry about the harvest.

But the suffering caused by the drought seems still a bit far away for the people in the city.

Life within the city walls continues as usual, the alleys are still filled with the sounds of children playing, and the chimneys of the courtyards still emit wisps of blue smoke as usual.

However, on August 8, the weather in the sky suddenly changed.

The jewel-blue sky was quickly invaded by inky black clouds in the blink of an eye. The clouds gathered and surged in layers, like a black mountain that was about to collapse, weighing heavily on people's hearts.

After Grandpa Li stood still in the yard, he looked up and stared at the dark clouds. His brows were twisted into the shape of a deep "川" character, and the wrinkles on his forehead seemed to have deepened.

The words passed down from the older generation buzz in my ears: "After a severe drought there will be a severe flood."

The old man has lived for most of his life, experienced many ups and downs, and has seen a lot. His heart suddenly skipped a beat, and an ominous premonition surged into his mind like a tide. This rain was likely to be serious.

"Old woman!" Grandpa Li turned around and shouted towards the house with a bit of urgency in his voice, "The weather looks bad, it will definitely rain heavily, quickly move the coal under the eaves into the house."

Grandma Li was sorting out odds and ends in the house, folding some old clothes neatly and preparing to put them in the closet.

Hearing this out of the blue, he paused, and leaned forward with a puzzled look on his face, his eyes revealing confusion: "Old man, what's wrong with you? Why are you crazy? The coal is fine there. If it rains, just cover it with a piece of plastic sheet or a torn quilt. Why bother moving it?"