Chapter 6

Tang Wan pulled Liang Yuan over, touched his red ears, and rubbed them a few times, saying, "These two little girls, they don't know their own strength. Aunt Ning will deal with them later." Liang Yuan smiled foolishly and said, "Aunt Ning, please don't. After you deal with them, my mom will find an excuse to scold me in the evening."

Li Yuanling laughed and said, "Brat, do you believe I'll scold you right now?"

At the moment, Liang Jiangping's future was promising. After taking over the section chief in May, his rank naturally rose to deputy division level. Even without a promotion, he would easily become a full division chief in two years. Ning Lei was currently the commander of the 118th Regiment of the 30th Air Division, which also corresponded to a deputy division level (military personnel are usually demoted by at least half a level when transferred to civilian positions).

The two families were quite close at this time, and everyone was happy about the childhood friendship between Liang Yuan and the two little girls. From a young age, Liang Yuan was often teased and asked which of the two little girls he would choose as his wife. Liang Yuan always honestly said he would choose Jiajia, but sometimes even Tang Wan couldn't tell the two girls apart, and Liang Yuan couldn't recognize which one was Jiajia. He usually just grabbed one of them, and if he guessed right, nothing would happen. If he guessed wrong, he would be in for a scolding from Feifei.

The deputy section chief of the railway station, Huang Mingshan, interjected with a smile, "I still remember a few years ago when I came home from work and saw Liang Yuan crying pitifully behind the flower bed. I went over to check and found the two little girls saying, 'Xiao Yuan, don't cry, it's all Feifei's fault.' They pointed at each other, saying, 'Feifei did it just now. We won't play with her anymore.' I watched for a long time but couldn't tell the difference between the two."

He then asked Tang Wan how she usually distinguished them at home. Tang Wan smiled and said, "At home, I try not to dress them in the same clothes, but Jiajia tends to purse her lips more when she smiles."

"A mom is so mean," a little girl appeared, her legs straight and deadly in tight gray pants, a beige high-collar sweater covering most of her buttocks, a strand of black hair falling over her right forehead, held in place by a Chinese knot accessory.

"Right, right," another identical little girl appeared.

"But what Mom said is already outdated."

Everyone in the room watched the two identical little girls with great interest, but no one could tell the difference.

Huang Mingshan curiously asked Tang Wan, "Can you tell them apart now?" Tang Wan smiled and said, "It's over. They heard us, and it will be chaotic for a while."

Li Yuanling hugged the two little girls and said, "Tang Wan, you are so lucky. Having daughters is great. I get so annoyed with my wild son."

Liang Yuan pouted, and one of the little girls said, "Xiao Yuan, guess who I am?" "You are Jiajia," Liang Yuan said casually. Seeing the little girl's surprised look, Liang Yuan smiled smugly. The two little girls,不服气 (unconvinced), went into the bedroom and came out without saying a word, smiling at Liang Yuan. Liang Yuan pointed to the left one and said, "You are Jiajia." The little girl,气鼓鼓 (puffed up with anger), went back into the bedroom and came out with no expression. Liang Yuan looked and still pointed to the left one, saying, "Jiajia, you always stand on the left." The left little girl glared at Liang Yuan and said to the right one, "I told you to switch positions."

The adults marveled, and Liang Yuan didn't say anything, just winked at the two little girls. It was Old Liang who kindly asked how Liang Yuan guessed. Liang Yuan laughed and said, "I can't tell them apart, but I can tell the slippers. Jiajia's slipper has a cat with a tail that I broke off. As for the first time, it was just a guess."

Liang Yuan looked at the two dejected little girls and smiled smugly. Ning Wanfei shouted, "Xiao Yuan, you cheated," and came over to pinch Liang Yuan's ears, while Ning Wanjia clung to Li Yuanling's arm, trying to get her to intervene. Liang Yuan ran into the bedroom and slammed the door shut. Ning Wanfei pounded on the door and shouted, "Xiao Yuan, you're cheating. This doesn't count."

The doorbell rang, and Li Yuanling opened the door to see a middle-aged man in a white military uniform standing outside. Li Yuanling turned and said, "Old Liang, Commander Ning is here."

Ning Lei entered the room and smiled at Liang Jiangping, saying, "Old classmate, I'm here to freeload." He then looked at the two daughters and Tang Wan and asked, "When did you arrive?" Liang Jiangping nodded at Ning Lei and called into the bedroom, "Xiao Yuan, come out. Uncle Ning is here."

Liang Yuan covered his ears and cautiously peeked out. Ning Lei strode forward, grabbed Liang Yuan, and rubbed his head, saying, "Good boy, you're a real man." Both Liang Jiangping and Ning Lei were battle-hardened soldiers who didn't fear for Liang Yuan's safety but admired his boldness and decisiveness. "In a few months, I'll get you a model airplane," Ning Lei promised.

Liang Yuan had been pestering Ning Lei for a model airplane made from machine gun shells since the end of last year. At that time, the Chinese Air Force was in a sorry state, with close-range dogfights and machine gun attacks being the primary training and offensive methods. Air-to-air missiles, which were advanced technology, wouldn't be seen by the Air Force until the next year.

Ning Lei served in the 30th Air Division, a famous elite aviation unit in the Republic. The most advanced aircraft in this division was a squadron of J-7IIMs, which were high-tech defense weapons at the time. The J-7IIM was equipped with British radar and a hot-wire aiming system, allowing pilots to lock onto enemy aircraft without relying on visual confirmation. The cockpit display showed the simulated firing trajectory of the enemy aircraft and the machine gun, and as long as the trajectories aligned, pressing the firing button would end the enemy.

Liang Yuan had to put on a happy face at Ning Lei's promise. Having been exposed to the J-20 and the American F-22, he found little interest in a model airplane made from large shells.

The prototype of the American F-22 had already been selected, and it would take off in three years. The F-22 had been a threat to the Republic for many years, and even after its retirement, it remained the top enemy of the Republic's military. Before Liang Yuan came to this era, he hadn't seen anything in the military that could match it. Liang Yuan pretended to be excited while his mind wandered. Pretending to like something was exhausting, like telling his wife of ten years, "I love you, darling," with a loving gaze.

The group couldn't eat at home, so Liang Jiangping called the canteen to check if there were any ingredients left. They slowly made their way down the stairs and walked to the canteen, which was two streets away from the residential complex.

The meal lasted until 1 PM, and everyone returned to work. The two little girls were taken home by Tang Wan. Old Liang, being dedicated to his job, went back to the office. Li Yuanling held her son's hand and strolled home. Liang Yuan felt warm inside as he was led by his mother. He had to suppress his disdain for the era, but he couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed.

The streets were filled with bicycles, and the blue and green work uniforms were everywhere. A Soviet Volga car sped past, and the trolleybus, with its long poles, hummed as it passed through the intersection, creating a crisp sound and a fleeting spark at the overhead wire junction. The wall across the street read, "Learn from the women's volleyball team spirit, and achieve the four modernizations of our country." The unique atmosphere of the era was palpable. It was truly a dreamlike era.

What to do first? Burn glass, make cement, smelt steel, conquer the world, spread the seeds... Oops, wrong category. This is it: Bill Gates can eat his ass, I'll be the world's richest man, and Google and Baidu will be mine. All the Oscar-winning actresses will be mine. Well, the 84th one, I'll let that slide... Liang Yuan, while being led by his mother, was already daydreaming about outer space...

"Xiao Yuan, have you finished your winter homework?" A bolt of lightning. Bang! Liang Yuan was kicked from the clouds. In two weeks, he would be learning complex arithmetic, and in two weeks, he would be sitting hand-in-hand with a bunch of little kids in the classroom, singing, "No fragrance, no height, I am a little grass no one knows..." And this would go on for two years!!

Liang Yuan's heart felt like it had been trampled by a thousand horses...

This must not happen. I'm not here to jump rope or play with sandbags. Liang Yuan looked at his small arms and legs, wondering what to do.

Li Yuanling looked at her son's scrunched-up face and asked, half amused and half exasperated, "Tell me, how much is left to do?"

Liang Yuan decided to go all out. He stopped walking, blinked his eyes to look as cute as possible, and said to Li Yuanling, "I haven't done it yet, but Mom, I have a big invention." Liang Yuan continued to act cute, trying to cover up his laziness over the winter break.

"Really? Did you complete the experiment of filling bicycle tires with water last summer?"

"That's not useful. I read that it's only for large tractors and such (Note 1)."

Liang Yuan had always been very hands-on. At the age of five, he had disassembled a clock at home. Except for electronic products with high-voltage components, almost everything at home had been dismantled by Liang Yuan. Liang Jiangping and Li Yuanling's two bicycles had been disassembled countless times. They encouraged this behavior, as long as he wrote a reflection after disassembling something and explained his thoughts. The first time Liang Yuan disassembled a clock was because he saw a flywheel inside that kept spinning. He wanted to remove it and install it in his toy car so he wouldn't need batteries. (I did this when I was a kid -_-.)

Li Yuanling looked at her son with a smile. "Mom, look, in the summer, the electric fan at home only blows hot air, which is useless. When I went to the ice cream factory, I saw people putting ice blocks in the room to cool it down..." Liang Yuan brought up the air cooler, which was popular at the turn of the century.

Liang Yuan explained the principle and the basic components of the air cooler to Li Yuanling, who was surprised by her son's invention.

Li Yuanling thought more and more that Liang Yuan's invention was creative and practical. She happily picked up Liang Yuan and spun him around, saying, "This is a great idea, sweetie. Do you need any help from Mom?"

Liang Yuan could feel how happy his mother was, even using the nickname she used when he was in kindergarten. He took the opportunity to ask, "I want Mom to help me design a large suction turbine fan." Liang Yuan knew this would be a piece of cake for his mother, who studied aviation engines. However, he needed to keep her busy to have time for his next plan.

Note 1: In the 1970s, large engineering machinery used the technology of filling tires with water. The advantages were: 1. Filling tires with water increases the weight and lowers the center of gravity, improving stability and smoothness. 2. It increases the traction force. 3. It reduces tire slippage and wear, extending the tire's life. 4. It improves the balance of tire wear.