Quick Transmigration: The Pregnant Little Fairy is Pampered by the Heirless Boss

Chapter 333 Era: XCMG's Simple-minded Wife 37

Yeah, nobody will believe it.

Outside the window, an airplane streaks across the twilight sky.

Xu Weidong recalled the scene of Ji Xiaosong mending the lining of his suit under the lamp on the night before he left home.

Her hair fell across her forehead, while three children lay on the ground drawing blueprints that no one could understand.

The warmth of that moment contrasts sharply with the coldness of this moment.

“We will come back,” he said softly, whether to Counselor Wang or to his family thousands of miles away, “as scientists.”

*

Amid the roar of the diplomatic plane, Zhao Bo curled up asleep in his seat, tears still on his face.

By the dim light of the reading lamp, Shen Hongying frantically worked out some calculations on her notebook.

Xu Weidong stared into the darkness outside the porthole, clutching the Science magazine in his hand.

In a daze, he seemed to see his father standing on the ruins of the old laboratory, holding the torn-up D language manual in his hands.

“Remember,” the old man’s voice echoed across time and space, “true science is like a seed; it can sprout even in the most barren soil.”

Below the clouds, the waves of the Pacific Ocean gleamed coldly in the moonlight.

Xu Weidong took out the wire model made by the children; the crooked formula stubbornly maintained its shape in the shadows.

He suddenly understood what Ji Xiaosong often said.

The darkest hour is often the closest to dawn.

The plane tilted slightly and began to descend.

Xu Weidong gently woke Zhao Bo: "We're almost there."

The young man opened his sleepy eyes and saw the dawn breaking over his homeland outside the window.

Beside the track, a familiar figure was eagerly waiting.

It was Ji Xiaosong, who was holding Nian'an, who was half asleep and half awake, in her arms.

A welcome banner made by the three children fluttered gently in the morning breeze, with crooked handwriting that read: "Welcome Daddy home."

Xu Weidong's Adam's apple bobbed.

He quietly slipped the copy of Science magazine into the bottom of his suitcase, like planting a seed waiting to sprout.

*

The moment the plane door opened, the morning breeze carrying the familiar smell of coal smoke rushed in.

Xu Weidong took a deep breath; the air of his motherland always carried a rough, earthy feel, a mixture of steel and soil.

He squinted and saw Ji Xiaosong holding Nian'an, standing outside the police line, the morning light gilding her with a golden edge.

"Dad!" Nian'an suddenly broke free from her mother's embrace and rushed over like a little cannonball.

Xu Weidong bent down to catch his daughter, enveloped in her faint milky scent.

The little girl buried her face in the crook of his neck, her warm tears wetting his shirt collar.

Zhigang and Zhitie followed closely behind, the two boys hugging their father's legs on either side.

Xu Weidong could feel Zhi Tie's little hands trembling slightly, while Zhi Gang had straightened his back like a little adult, though his reddened eyes betrayed him.

Ji Xiaosong stood three steps away, a smile playing on her lips, but tears glistening in her eyes.

She was holding a navy blue coat in her arms, the one Xu Weidong had forgotten at home before he left.

When her husband finally freed one hand to reach for her, Ji Xiaosong suddenly threw herself into his arms, her forehead slamming heavily against his collarbone.

"Does it hurt?" she asked in a muffled voice, her fingers tracing the lining of his suit jacket, where she had sewn the lucky charm herself.

Xu Weidong shook his head and hugged his wife and daughter even tighter.

He smelled the faint scent of jujube blossoms in Ji Xiaosong's hair; it was the scent of the old jujube tree in the family compound.

The three children huddled together among them, forming a small, warm cocoon.

"Aunt Dan made braised pork!" Zhi Tie suddenly looked up. "She reduced the sauce using the method you taught me!"

"I solved the calculus problem!" Zhigang said defiantly, pulling out a crumpled piece of scratch paper.

Nian'an then whispered mysteriously in her father's ear, "I dreamt that you were flying in the sky, and there was a huge black shadow chasing you behind you..."

Xu Weidong choked up.

He looked into the distance and saw Ji Dan leaning against the jeep, his red scarf fluttering in the wind.

On the way back in the jeep, Nian'an fell asleep on her father's lap, her little hands still tightly clutching the hem of his clothes.

Zhigang and Zhitie squeezed against the car window, vying to point out the scenery along the way:

"Look! A newly built oil refinery!"

"There's a gantry crane over there!"

Ji Xiaosong held Xu Weidong's hand and found that his palm was covered with tiny wounds.

"About the spectrometer..." she began softly.

"We'll talk about it when we get home."

Xu Weidong squeezed her fingers, his gaze sweeping over the unfamiliar driver in the driver's seat.

Ji Xiaosong understood and changed the subject to everyday matters: "Aunt Zhang's eldest son got into a technical school... the factory just distributed some autumn vegetables..."

Outside the car window, the morning mist gradually dissipated.

The blast furnaces of Hongqi Steel Plant stand on the horizon, spewing out familiar plumes of smoke.

Xu Weidong suddenly recalled the glamorous laboratory photos in the journal Science, and a dull ache rose in his chest.

When the jeep turned into the residential compound, a group of people had already gathered under the old jujube tree.

Lin Xiaomei was the first to rush over, followed by Shen Hongying's parents and several of Zhao Bo's colleagues with whom he usually got along well.

The workers asked all at once:

Have you seen any foreign equipment?

Are people from the US particularly arrogant?

Xu Weidong forced a smile and responded until Ji Dan squeezed through the crowd: "Make way! Engineer Xu just got off the plane, let him catch his breath!"

The house is filled with the aroma of braised pork and steamed buns.

Ji Dan magically produced a basin of hot water: "Wash your face, I'll go heat up the dishes."

The three children immediately took their places: Zhigang set out the bowls and chopsticks, Zhitie moved the stools, and Nian'an ran around carrying his father's slippers.

While washing his hands, Xu Weidong noticed a homemade water filter on the washstand. It was made from scrap steel pipes and gauze, clearly an "invention" by the children.

A crooked schedule was pasted on the mirror, which read "Countdown to Dad's Coming Home," with a big red heart drawn on the last day.

At the dinner table, Ji Xiaosong served everyone a full bowl of rice.

As Xu Weidong picked up the first piece of braised pork, the three children suddenly exclaimed in unison, "Dad, you've worked hard!"

His chopsticks froze in mid-air, and the meat juices dripped onto the tablecloth, spreading into a dark flower pattern.

"Eat."

Ji Xiaosong ladled him a spoonful of meat broth, "Eat up and take a nap. We can talk about it tonight."

The afternoon sun shone through the gaps in the curtains onto the bed.

Xu Weidong lay on his familiar hard bed, with Nian'an curled up like a shrimp beside him.

The little girl always kicks off her blankets while sleeping, but at this moment she nestled obediently in her father's arms.

Zhigang and Zhitie slept on the floor next to each other, their breathing rising and falling.

The door hinges clicked softly, and Ji Xiaosong quietly entered, carrying a teacup.

She sat on the edge of the bed, running her fingers through her husband's disheveled sideburns: "The children have been counting down the days until you come back. Every night, Zhigang stares at the stars and says, 'Dad can see the same stars over there.'"

Xu Weidong held his wife's hand and noticed new needle marks on her fingertips: "Did you stay up all night doing experiments again?"

"The children helped record the grain growth data."

A sly glint flashed in Ji Xiaosong's eyes. "Nian An can 'see' the grain boundary movement under a microscope, Zhi Tie's manual error is no more than 0.1 millimeters, while Zhi Gang discovered the flaw in our calculation model."

Xu Weidong's pupils contracted slightly.

He thought of the priceless equipment in Carl's laboratory, then looked at his daughter's innocent face beside him.

Who would have thought that this sleeping little girl has "eyes" more sensitive than an electron microscope?

"Go to sleep." Ji Xiaosong tucked him in. "The old factory director is coming tonight. He said he wants to treat you to a welcome-back dinner."

Xu Weidong closed his sore eyes.

In a hazy state, he felt his wife gently kiss his forehead, and the even breathing of his three children sounded like a tender lullaby.

In a half-dream, half-awake state, he seemed to see a seed quietly sprouting in barren soil, its tender green shoots piercing through the hard rock layers and stretching towards the sunlight.

Outside the window, the steel mill's whistle blared as usual, like the ceaseless heartbeat of this nation.