Scholars in the courtyard.

Chapter 2264: Mental arithmetic but no intention

Siheyuan, middle courtyard.

A group of children were crying loudly while the adults were watching and chatting about family matters while basking in the sun.

"Big sister, Sister Mingyue, you just come, why do you need to bring anything!"

Ran Qiuye was talking to her elder sister and Tang Mingyue.

Ms. Cui next to her also nodded and said, "That's right, we have everything we need at home, I'll take it back later."

The eldest sister smiled and said, "Every time you come to our place, you always bring a bunch of stuff with you!"

"We brought it this time, and you are not allowed to send it back."

After hearing what her elder sister said, Ran Qiuye didn't say much.

Several people turned their eyes to the children in the yard, and saw the sisters Yueyue and Rongrong, one in front and one behind, protecting Xingxing in the middle, and then riding Wangcai in circles in the yard.

Duanwu and Miaomiao looked at it with envy, but unfortunately their mother didn't let them ride it.

You know, that position used to belong to him, but now his two younger sisters have grown up and it is no longer his business.

Now, there is another younger brother.
"Xingxing, this kid is seeing so many children for the first time."

The eldest sister was laughing on the side, and Tang Mingyue also laughed, especially when she saw Xingxing laughing along with her. Although she couldn't speak clearly, she was babbling and waving her arms. That look made people very happy.

Ms. Cui said, "When Xingxing grows up, come and play."

"Sisters and brothers, it's so nice to play together."

Ran Qiuye agreed with a smile. The eldest sister nodded and said to Tang Mingyue, "Qiuye is right. This child needs to play with other children, otherwise he will be easily shy."

Tang Mingyue nodded. At least Xingxing was in this family and wouldn't be bullied.

"Where is Wangcai going?"

Ms. Cui on the side suddenly spoke, and the four of them saw Wangcai running towards the yard at a fast speed, making the three children on his back laugh.

Several people were startled and wanted to get up and walk out.

As a result, Yang Xiaotao appeared at the hanging flower gate, and Wangcai was circling around him.

When Yueyue and Rongrong saw this, they quickly stretched out their hands to ask for a hug. Yang Xiaotao also quickly stretched out his hand, but saw that there was another person in the middle, who was staring at him with wide eyes, not afraid at all.

He simply put the child on his neck, held a girl in each hand, and strode into the yard.

The little guy above his head hugged Yang Xiaotao's head tightly and laughed out loud.

When Yang Xiaotao came up to her, he said, "Sister, Secretary Tang, you are here."

Yang Xiaotao greeted him and knew who the little guy above his head was.

"Put this kid down quickly."

The eldest sister, Tang Mingyue, and Ran Qiuye all looked at Yang Xiaotao holding Xingxing. The three of them had complicated expressions, but Ms. Cui hurried forward and said while holding the child, "The child is still young, don't break his waist."

Hearing Ms. Cui say this, Tang Mingyue hurried forward and picked up Xingxing.

When she got close to Yang Xiaotao, her face turned red unconsciously.

"Aren't you busy in the machinery factory? Why are you back so early?"

The eldest sister asked, diverting attention, and Tang Mingyue took the opportunity to carry the child to the side.

Yang Xiaotao put the two girls down and said, "Now that the matter is over, give yourself a break."

"Vacation? Who would approve of you giving yourself a vacation?"

"Of course I approved it myself."

Yang Xiaotao said shamelessly.

"We handed in the plane today, so we gave the workers in the workshop a half-day holiday. They need to take a break."

At this point, the eldest sister suddenly understood something and asked, "What was the result?"

"Very good, almost the same as the first one."

Tang Mingyue, who was standing by, listened and nodded secretly in her heart.

"You haven't eaten yet, I guess. I'm going to cook something and bring it back to the leader."

As Yang Xiaotao was about to get up and prepare lunch, the eldest sister and Tang Mingyue naturally refused. They didn't expect Yang Xiaotao to come back. He came back suddenly, so they wanted to leave quickly. How could he stay for lunch?

But Ran Qiuye was also helping to speak up, and Ms. Cui also said to stay, so the two of them didn't know what to do.

Tang Mingyue looked at Ran Qiuye, then gestured to the child in her arms, asking her to speak.

But Ran Qiuye just smiled and gave him a look as if everything was fine, which made Tang Mingyue panic. She was a little worried that Ran Qiuye would not reveal Xingxing's identity.

Just as they were talking politely, a man ran into the yard and shouted when he saw Yang Xiaotao, "Boss Yang, Boss Peng asked me to pick you up. He is going to the northwest."

Yang Xiaotao was stunned. If he was not sure that this man was President Peng's guard, he really wanted to make a phone call to confirm.

"To the northwest?"

"Yes, President Peng personally told you to hurry up and join the comrades from the Seventh Ministry of Machine Building."

Yang Xiaotao opened his mouth. He felt as if there was an old man laughing behind the scenes.

"Are you anxious?"

Yang Xiaotao wanted to wait until after dinner before going.

"Xiao Tao, I know Lao Peng's temper. Since I asked you to go, just hurry up."

"He wouldn't let anyone look for you if there was nothing wrong."

The eldest sister spoke at the side, and Yang Xiaotao could only nod his head, then looked at Ran Qiuye, "I'll go there, and I guess I'll be back soon."

"By the way, Dad is going too, so we can keep each other company."

Ran Qiuye smiled and said, "Go quickly, don't delay the mission."

Yang Xiaotao nodded, then smiled at the elder sister, "Sister, you have to stay for the meal."

This time the eldest sister did not refuse, "Okay, I will definitely eat it."

Seeing this, Yang Xiaotao spoke a few words to Ms. Cui, and then was affectionate with the children at home for a while, and then left under the anxious gaze of the guards.

"This kid is really dedicated to his work, but he is also very lazy."

The eldest sister laughed, and Tang Mingyue laughed too, holding the child. Thinking of Yang Xiaotao's reluctant look when he walked out, everyone laughed too.

"It's not easy for this child either."

Ms. Cui, on the other hand, felt sorry for her grandson. After she finished speaking, everyone nodded again.

On the way to the airport.

Yang Xiaotao sat in the co-pilot seat, with Mr. Peng and Mr. Zhang behind him.

Both of them were wearing military uniforms, very formal.

Not only that, there were several armored vehicles behind the car, and the people inside were dressed the same way.

From this perspective, he was the only one in casual clothes, which was quite eye-catching.

However, he knew where he was going this time. It was the same place as the launch center that the Seventh Ministry of Machine Building had gone to, but it was also a different place.

Father Ran and his men were going to the launch site, but they were at the air command center ten miles away.

To be honest, it was a bit unfair to the old man.

"Boss Peng, is it okay for me, an outsider, to participate in this kind of thing?"

Yang Xiaotao still couldn't quite figure out what Mr. Peng meant. This was clearly a collective action and he was just an outsider.

Mr. Peng didn't say anything after hearing this, but Mr. Zhang spoke first.

"What do you mean by outsider? Aren't you from the Security Department?"

"I remember you were the deputy captain of the Third Division. Your rank is higher than many of the people sitting behind you."

"I asked you to go because it was my responsibility and to give advice."

Hearing what Mr. Zhang said, it really makes sense, but...
Why does it sound so far-fetched?
He really gives me advice and I think highly of him.

Mr. Peng closed his eyes to rest. Yang Xiaotao did not ask any more questions. He sat quietly in the car and then arrived at the airport.

Then we boarded the plane as planned and flew northwest.

South Korea, United States garrison base.

Howard stood in front of the table, looking at the middle-aged man sitting in a chair and trimming his nails, his face serious.

"Mr. Mossos, we have intelligence that proves that the other party is preparing a satellite project."

“And it is very likely to be launched in the near future.”

Howard handed over the sorted information and placed it on the table.

The middle-aged man put the nail clippers aside and did not look at the document. Instead, he looked up at Howard and said, "Hey, man, you flew here in a hurry from Dayuan and ruined my wonderful afternoon tea. Is that because of this?"

His tone was disdainful and his expression was even more annoyed.

"Mossos, this is not a boring thing, this is a very, very important thing that Washington takes seriously."

Howard was also furious, with his hands on the table, his voice serious and intense.

Mossos leaned back to avoid Howard's spit, his expression not changing.

After Howard finished speaking, Mossos said easily, "Howard, do you know how much manpower and material resources we invested in this?"

"Just last year, the F-1 engine we were testing was consuming three tons of fuel per second."

"Three tons! The first stage of our Saturn rocket for the moon landing requires five such engines. Do you know what it means when they are ignited?"

"That means thousands of banknotes are being burned every second!"

“There’s a lot more money going into research.”

"And what about the other side, what do they do?"

"They can't even fill their stomachs. They can't even provide the most basic security. They have no machines, no research sites, and even their place to eat is on a pile of gunpowder."

"And you told me that these people can actually make space rockets and artificial satellites?"

"Why don't you just tell me that they have the capability to launch intercontinental ballistic missiles?"

"Howard, I see you've been here for too long, and you've gotten drunk on the Chinese medicinal wine."

Mossos threw another document on the table in front of Howard, which contained the information he was talking about.

Howard was stunned. He didn't expect the other party to know so much about it. He was a little overwhelmed by what he said.

After a long while, Howard calmed down and reorganized his words, "Dear Mr. Mossos, I know this sounds incredible."

"But hasn't the other party done enough incredible things?"

"Think about the mushroom eggs, and then think about the hydrogen bombs. Each of these was fraught with difficulties, but now they have succeeded."

"Haven't we suffered enough from them?"

Howard said so, and now it was Mossos' turn to be speechless.

Not to mention the war that happened more than ten years ago, the South is still fighting a bloody war, and the weapons from the enemy have caused them enough suffering.

In this way, they suffered a lot of losses.

"So, no matter whether it's true or not, we have to let Blackbird go this time."

Howard made an suggestion, but he didn't want Mossos to stand up from his seat directly. It felt like spending his money.

"A trip? Do you know how much a Blackbird flight costs?"

"Do you know how much it costs to come back for maintenance?"

This time Howard did not back down, "I don't know how much a trip out will cost, and I don't know how expensive the Blackbird is to maintain."

"But I know that if I don't do this well, I won't be able to explain myself."

"You are not sitting comfortably in this position."

The two men were arguing with each other, their heads almost butting against each other, and their eyes were full of determination.

"Okay, this is the last time."

After a long time, Mossos regained his momentum, sat back at the table quietly, then picked up Howard's report and read it carefully.

"Number 24? Are you sure?"

After flipping through the information, Mossos asked in surprise. Howard nodded solemnly, "This is the information we got."

"And as they say, it's called the unexpected."

Mossos opened his mouth wide and remained silent for a long time. Finally, he slammed the table fiercely, "Damn it, damn it. They ruined the most wonderful festival."

"They will surely be punished by God."

As soon as Howard left the office, he saw Mele waiting anxiously.

"Sir, he agreed?"

Howard nodded. "Although there were some twists and turns, I finally agreed."

"twists and turns?"

"Well, yes, they think this is nonsense. They don't believe that the other party can build a satellite, nor do they believe that the other party has the ability to send it into the sky."

Maile opened his mouth wide, then pressed his hands down, "But, but our intelligence has clearly shown that they are doing research, and they have achieved remarkable results."

Hearing this, Howard sneered, "Why don't they go?"

"You know what? All their fuel goes into their own pockets. If you ask them to pay for it, will they be happy?"

Mele was at a loss.

Howard shrugged, "Mr. Melo, isn't this a common practice?"

"Okay, you'll get used to this."

"Now, let's go enjoy ourselves."