After the May Day holiday, Little Stone from Sister-in-law Xu's family started going to kindergarten with Suisui and Zhaozhao.
As Teacher Hu still had work to attend to and couldn't get away for the time being,
Jiang Si spent the next few days helping Sister-in-law Xu familiarize herself with the surrounding area.
Compared to the Fourth Division, the Air Force compound was indeed much larger, but the supporting facilities were almost identical.
Once Sister-in-law Xu had settled into the new environment, Jiang Si found time to visit her master's home.
Over the past two years, apart from work and spending time with her family, she had spent her remaining time systematically studying precision mechanical drawing as required by her master.
Occasionally, her master would also assign her to draft some drawings with relatively low security clearance.
But ever since the Chinese New Year this year, her master had stopped giving her new tasks.
Before, she could at least take the child to school, but now the child went to school on their own and even stayed for lunch at the kindergarten. Staying home alone for too long was starting to feel quite boring.
She finally understood what Zhaozhao meant when she said that being bored for too long really makes you feel like you're about to sprout.
She felt that was exactly her current state.
After venting to her master about this, within two days, he sent someone to deliver two large boxes of items to her.
When Huo Tingzhou returned home from work, Jiang Si was in the study organizing them.
He casually picked up a few books and glanced at the titles: "Aircraft Structural Mechanics," "Fundamentals of Aerodynamics," "Engineering Graphics and Descriptive Geometry"...
"Darling, these books are..."
"Master had them sent over."
Huo Tingzhou's expression froze for a moment. Professor Yu sent so many books; could it be he wanted his wife to study on her own at home?
Jiang Si nodded, confirming his guess.
"Master said I have one year to learn as much as I can from these."
Huo Tingzhou fell silent for a moment after hearing this.
With so many books, studying them would be no easy task.
After a while, he asked, "One year... won't that be too demanding?"
Jiang Si neatly arranged the books in order. "I think it's alright."
She wasn't just saying this to comfort Huo Tingzhou.
On one hand, the textbooks from this era were quite conscientiously compiled, filled with solid, substantial content.
Unlike later textbooks, which seemed afraid students might actually learn from them on their own, often chaotically organized, practically treating students like... well, you know!
On the other hand, in her past life, she was considered a top student.
These subjects weren't particularly difficult for her.
Besides, her master did say to learn as much as she could.
Jiang Si smiled and waved the book in her hand. "Consider it a way to pass the time."
That's what she said, but with two little overachievers at home, plus Huo Tingzhou himself, it was hard for Jiang Si not to feel motivated.
Huo Tingzhou knew her personality well, so he didn't say much at the time. But to ensure she could focus on her self-study peacefully,
in the following days, he took on almost all the household chores.
When official business required him to travel, he would make arrangements in advance.
Spring turned to autumn, time flew by, and before she knew it, Jiang Si had been studying at home for nearly a year.
After this year of systematic learning, she had not only mastered the material in these textbooks but also achieved a thorough understanding, integrating theoretical knowledge seamlessly.
Now, when drafting complex mechanical drawings, she felt noticeably more fluent, with a more precise understanding and calculation of various structures. She truly experienced a sense of everything falling into place, a sudden clarity.
Upon learning that she had mastered these several courses in less than a year,
Yu Bai'en was both pleased and proud. That very afternoon, he came to the family quarters.
Master and disciple talked for a long time in the study.
Finally, he formally extended an invitation to Jiang Si.
Joining the Seventh Department was an unspoken understanding between master and disciple.
It was just that her master hadn't mentioned it for the past two years, so Jiang Si hadn't thought much about it.
She had assumed, on her own, that her abilities weren't sufficient yet.
Yu Bai'en, however, shook his head. "It's not that your abilities are lacking."
He didn't elaborate further, but based on previous events, Jiang Si could roughly guess.
Back then, her master's wife was injured first, followed by her master himself.
The only reason for his delay was likely concern that the matter might implicate her, worried that those people, cornered, might threaten her personal safety.
Jiang Si's conjecture was confirmed by her master's wife's words later that day.
In fact, it wasn't just worry.
Back then, the young couple had just married. Having experienced regrets themselves, the older generation truly didn't want the young couple to go through the same.
That afternoon, her master's wife shared many, many stories from the past.
"Officially, this year marks your master's tenth year with the Seventh Department. But in reality, he has been formally involved in and responsible for certain projects since the 1950s."
The 1950s?
Huo Tingzhou and Jiang Si exchanged a glance. Her master and his wife had been married for just over twenty years.
Didn't that mean they began living apart for long periods shortly after marriage?
No wonder they never had children all these years.
The more she learned about the sacrifices and dedication behind the scenes, the more Jiang Si felt undeserving of the honors she had received.
After a pause, she looked up at him.
With no outsiders present, Jiang Si asked directly, "Master, back when you took me as your disciple and devoted yourself to training me, was that also part of the organization's plan?"
"Yes." Yu Bai'en admitted frankly, though he hadn't known the specific details of the plan at the time.
He was simply following the organization's requirements to discover and cultivate a group of talents as a reserve force.
He looked at Jiang Si, his gaze open and honest. "Choosing you involved organizational considerations, but most importantly, I saw your innate talent and creativity in drawing and design."
So that was it. Jiang Si finally understood.
Yu Bai'en's visit today clearly wasn't just his personal intention; it also carried the organization's meaning.
Regarding safety concerns, he also gave the young couple a solemn promise.
On one hand, it was due to the organization's emphasis on the security of scientific research personnel.
On the other hand, he didn't avoid mentioning that the Huo family's influence was also a factor.
Jiang Si found this easy to understand.
The people in the shadows aimed to disrupt or hinder China's scientific progress, but no one would be foolish enough to target the family of the head of China's military.
Yu Bai'en's words dispelled Huo Tingzhou's last remaining concern.
Jiang Si herself had no reason to hesitate. In early April, she officially joined the Seventh Department, appointed as the head of the First Design Group within the Overall Design Department.
Of course, before her appointment, master and disciple had already reached a consensus, which led to the issuance of the appointment letter.
On the day she completed the onboarding procedures, Yu Bai'en also took Jiang Si to her design group to help her get acquainted.
The Overall Design Department had four groups under it, with the First Group having the most personnel and handling projects primarily from their First Research Institute.
"Let's stop here for today," Yu Bai'en said to Jiang Si. "In a couple of days, when you officially start work, I'll give you a detailed overview of the main projects the group is responsible for."
In fact, initially, he had wanted Jiang Si to enter the First Research Institute, taking up the position of assistant to the deputy chief engineer.
But after some thought, he decided it would be better for Jiang Si to first gain experience in a grassroots design team.
After all, the assistant to the deputy chief engineer was a director-level position, and anyone holding such a role required at least a college diploma.
Forcing her into that position through a parachute appointment might not actually be in her best interest.
Jiang Si herself didn't have any major objections to this.
The work in the design team aligned well with her specialization, which she thought was perfectly fine.
However, her mentor's wife, Fang Wenjun, couldn't quite understand the decision when she heard the news.
Seeing this, Yu Bai'en explained, "I know you feel it's unfair to her, but having her train in the design team for a couple of years is actually good for her."
"When the time is right and she has solid achievements to her name, a promotion will be much better than putting her in a precarious position right now."
Fang Wenjun understood his point. Academic qualifications had always been a hard requirement for advancement.
The girl had ability, character, and background—she lacked nothing except the proper diploma.
"If we had known it would be like this, it would have been better to let her attend Qinghua University for two years first."
Yu Bai'en had thought of that too, but the problem was, Qinghua University wasn't what it used to be.
He sighed, "This year, our unit was assigned several worker-peasant-soldier students from Qinghua and Peking University, but they couldn't do anything when they arrived."
"When asked, it turned out they hadn't been taught anything substantial in university for the past two years. In the end, there was no choice but to assign them to logistics departments."
He was almost embarrassed to say it—what real knowledge could one gain from such a university nowadays?
Hearing this, Fang Wenjun also sighed. "Who knows when universities will go back to how they were before, properly teaching and nurturing students again."
"It should be soon," Yu Bai'en said. "For the country to develop, it needs talent and education. This chaos won't last forever."
At that moment, he was just trying his best to console his wife.
Little did he expect his words to hit the mark. At the end of April, a major piece of news was suddenly published in the newspapers—
