Chapter 7

Liang Yuan finally managed to fool his mother. Back at home, he lay on the sofa, watching Li Yuanling tidy up the gifts delivered in the morning. Most of them were malted milk, royal jelly, and other such items, accompanied by a thin envelope. Li Yuanling carefully recorded the money in the envelope in a small notebook. Although it was said that the money would be returned later, who dared to accept the gift from their superior? They would have to find an opportunity to add a little more and send it back. Sigh, it was better to serve the people; being the master of the house was exhausting. Liang Yuan stood up, took an ice lolly from the fridge, and returned to his room.

Looking at the winter vacation homework on the desk, Liang Yuan's head started to ache again. He had to act quickly; otherwise, once he stepped into the school, it would be like entering a sea, and it would be extremely difficult to escape. He picked up the winter vacation homework and, with a few swift strokes, finished the Chinese and math in 20 minutes. Then he recalled the three elements of mechanical drawing he learned in college, found a piece of white paper, and drew the basic structure of an air cooler.

The principle of the air cooler is quite simple: a water pump sprays cold water onto water-absorbing fibers like cotton or silk, creating a curtain-like structure. A sealed channel is then set up next to this curtain, with a suction fan installed at the other end. When the fan turns, the hot air passes through the cold water curtain, cools down, and becomes humid cold air, which is then expelled by the fan. People standing behind the fan feel cool.

After finishing the sketch, Liang Yuan wrote a rough list of components and drew a few finished product appearance diagrams and product dimensions. He was deeply grateful to the mechanical drawing professor from his college days, who was known for his strictness.

This was the moment of truth. Liang Yuan found the 'National Youth Science and Technology Innovation Competition: Preliminary Rules' given by his homeroom teacher during the winter vacation and started reading it.

"The rules say that inventions should preferably have a physical model," Liang Yuan said to himself. He took the freshly drawn diagrams and the competition rules back to the living room and said to Li Yuanling, who was reading a book on the sofa, "Mom, I plan to participate in this." Li Yuanling took the diagrams and looked at them carefully, saying, "Good." Liang Yuan then showed her the sketches he had just drawn. Li Yuanling looked at the sketches and smiled, saying, "Xiao Yuan's drawings are quite good and very standard."

Li Yuanling examined the sketches in detail, her professional expertise surpassing her maternal instincts. She pointed out several unreasonable aspects, such as the fan radius parameters, and the sketches were quickly criticized to the point of being worthless.

Liang Yuan watched his mother, who was now fully engaged, with a bitter smile, feeling deeply moved. His mother had always loved the sky since she was young, but due to her physical condition, she could not become a pilot. She had thus寄托ed her dream of the sky on her chosen profession, hoping to see the planes she designed soar into the blue sky one day.

Unfortunately, reality was cruel.

Li Yuanling's mentor, Professor Wu Zhonghua, was a renowned figure in the international aviation industry. He had once worked at the famous Lewis Jet Propulsion Center in the United States and established the well-known three-dimensional flow theory for blade machinery. To put it bluntly, the design of modern jet engines is based on the theoretical equations proposed by Professor Wu.

In that special era, even small revisionists like Li Yuanling needed re-education, and Professor Wu, a reactionary authority, was to be trampled underfoot.

Professor Wu's turning point came in the 1970s with the introduction of the British Spey aviation engine. At the time, Rolls-Royce demanded 800,000 pounds for a regular technical document. The negotiation team, known for its political correctness, was unable to persuade the British. Professor Wu was called upon to handle the situation. He criticized the British document logically and systematically, and the British, recognizing his expertise, quickly reduced their demands. They ended up making a profit only on the equipment.

After Professor Wu resumed his work, Rolls-Royce, General Electric, and Pratt & Whitney all invited him to visit. During his visit to Pratt & Whitney, he was allowed to see the F119 engine, the powerplant for the F-22 Raptor. At the same time, the "Peace Pearl" program, which aimed to help us modify our J-8 fighter, did not achieve the same level of access. His status in the industry was clear.

Liang Yuan tried to recall. After Professor Wu retired in May, he spent a month to find Li Yuanling, his smallest former disciple.

Liang Yuan silently watched his mother, who was now deeply engaged in discussing the fan. Li Yuanling suddenly stopped, smiled self-deprecatingly, and looked at her son, who was sitting on the other end of the sofa, listening attentively. She thought to herself, "Forget it, a warm and harmonious family, a smart and cute son, what more could I ask for?"

Li Yuanling teased her son, "Xiao Yuan, you listened so attentively just now. How much did you understand?"

"Although I didn't understand anything, it seems like Mom is really good at this," Liang Yuan said seriously, repeating the catchphrase of the bystanders from his previous life. Li Yuanling laughed, thinking that the heavens had already been kind to her. She hugged her son tightly and said, "Mom will help you revise the sketches, and then you can take them to the Youth Palace."

Liang Yuan felt the strength of his mother's embrace and thought that she still couldn't let go of her dream of the blue sky.

In the evening, Old Liang came home, and Li Yuanling showed him the sketches, boasting about her educational achievements. Old Liang, who had retired as an artilleryman, had a low educational level but excellent practical skills. He usually helped Liang Yuan with his projects. After a few words, the conversation veered off course. Old Liang pointed out a part of the design that would be difficult to implement in engineering, and Li Yuanling countered, saying that theoretically, it was the best solution. This led to a debate where Old Liang pointed out flaws, and Li Yuanling countered, and Old Liang filled in the gaps. The argument continued until bedtime.

Liang Yuan was happy. In his previous life, he was too young to understand the industrial level of the 1980s. He was clueless about whether the air cooler could be made and how to replace parts that were not yet widespread. Old Liang, with his practical skills, helped refine the design. After this evening, the sketches were finally mature. Liang Yuan revised the material list he had written in the afternoon, optimized the assembly process, and the next step was to adjust the components to meet the design standards.

The air cooler was finally close to completion. Liang Yuan sighed in relief; the first step of his truancy plan was complete.

The next morning, just as he was half-awake, he heard the two girls chattering outside, and the door was suddenly opened. One of the girls jumped onto the bed, putting her cold little hand directly under the blanket and on Liang Yuan's neck. Liang Yuan was startled, and all his sleepiness vanished.

"Feifei, you're going to pay for this," Liang Yuan said, but before he could reach out, Ning Wanfei giggled and nimbly jumped off the bed and ran back to the living room. Liang Yuan, furious, quickly got dressed and went to the living room. The two girls were dressed as they were the day before, but they had added pink windcoats and had their hair tied in ponytails of the same height. They sat side by side on the sofa, their legs together, knees slanted to the left.

Seeing Liang Yuan, the twins said in unison, "Xiao Yuan, you're so lazy, still sleeping so late." Liang Yuan sighed, knowing he couldn't get revenge. Li Yuanling would never help him identify which one was Feifei. "Feifei, you're too cruel. I only went to bed in the middle of the night," Liang Yuan said, yawning as he headed to the bathroom. The two girls laughed brightly behind him.

After washing up, Liang Yuan came out of the bathroom to find that breakfast was already on the table. Liang Jiangping had left for work early and had eaten separately. During the winter vacation, Li Yuanling ate breakfast with her lazy son every day. The two girls had come over without eating breakfast, planning to go to the city's Youth Palace with Liang Yuan.

Tang Wan had enrolled the twins in a dance class at the Youth Palace to cultivate their grace. Ning Wanjia was obedient and loved dancing, so she studied diligently. Ning Wanfei, however, had little interest in dancing and was more interested in martial arts and karate. In the end, Tang Wan compromised and allowed Ning Wanfei to take the classes she wanted. This was their third holiday training session.

Liang Yuan had enrolled in a radio and aviation model class at the Youth Palace. A few years ago, he had successfully assembled a two-channel remote-controlled airplane and attached a caterpillar to it, chasing Ning Wanfei around and scaring her. Since then, Ning Wanfei had been skeptical of Liang Yuan's inventions, while Ning Wanjia admired his ability to create unusual things.

Liang Yuan picked up a steamed bun and said to the twins, "I'm going to the Youth Palace today to submit my competition entry." "Wow, what is it? When did you invent it? I didn't see it," one of the girls said. "It's not like last year's water-filled tire, is it?" This was how they could tell which one was Jiajia and which one was Feifei.

Liang Yuan chuckled and said, "I'll give you a model first, I promise you'll like it."

Hearing Liang Yuan's boast, Ning Wanjia gave him a big sweet smile, while Ning Wanfei gave him a big eye roll.

After breakfast, Ning Wanjia took a pink bow from her small backpack and tied it to her ponytail. Ning Wanjia usually liked to tie bows in her hair, while Ning Wanfei preferred bells. This was how teachers and classmates usually distinguished the twins.

Liang Yuan picked up the results of his late-night work, "The Principle and Design of a New Air Cooler," and asked Li Yuanling for 50 yuan. He then left home with the two girls.

{Piaotian Literature}