Xu Fu had left the Earth-Moon system, carrying the expectations of hundreds of millions of people, heading toward the red desert tens of millions of kilometers away.
While the future of the global aerospace industry was taken away by this majestic starship, a major event happened in the physics community.
After the ILHCRC committee meeting and the election of the new chairman, Lu Zhou, the previous chairman of the ILHCRC, stood on the podium in the conference hall as scheduled. He faced the representatives of various countries, directors, and well-known physicists as he read out his retirement speech.
During his speech, Lu Zhou expressed an optimistic vision for the future of physics. He believed that this field would usher into unprecedented prosperity in the next 100 years and radiate this prosperity to every corner of human society.
However, this optimism did not diminish the unwillingness that permeated the venue.
Even though Lu Zhou expressed more than once a long time ago that he would only serve as the chairman of the board of directors for one term, when he finally resigned, people could not help but feel nostalgic. They thought of the incredible miracles Lu Zhou had once led ILHCRC to accomplish.
Even Professor Whittle, who had had differences with him during his entire tenure, couldn’t help but feel sad for his departure.
This was how people are.
They would never know what they had until it was gone.
At this moment, Professor Whittle finally understood what an old friend said: It is a blessing to have a wise leader guide the way.
From this day onward, they were on their own.
Almost everyone listened to his speech with a heavy heart, finally giving a solemn applause.
There was no excitement in the applause. It was slow and heavy, like at someone’s funeral.
“… Please don’t feel downhearted, you’re all making me embarrassed.”
As Lu Zhou looked at the faces of the audience, he felt like letting this despairing sentiment continue might not be a good thing for his successor, Luo Wenxuan.
So he coughed lightly, then made a brief summary and conclusion of his speech. He then gave the microphone to Luo Wenxuan and walked off the stage quickly.
The pressure Luo Wenxuan felt when he took over the microphone was enormous. However, the moment Lu Zhou walked off stage, he felt a sense of indescribable relaxation and calmness.
Although there were still many responsibilities on his shoulders, at least the heaviest one had come to an end.
After the final handover on the ILHCRC was finally completed, Lu Zhou took advantage of the free time he had while the Xu Fu was still on its way to Mars. He was finally able to free up time to deal with some personal issues.
After leaving Shanghai, Lu Zhou did not return to Jinling. Instead, he took Chen Yushan to his hometown, Jiangling, and told his parents the big decision that they had made.
To Lu Zhou’s surprise, he originally thought that after hearing the news, even if his father and mother weren’t astonished, they would at least feel slightly amazed.
However, the reality was completely opposite to what he expected. Not only did his parents look relieved, they even looked a little emotional.
Fang Mei sighed slightly.
“Actually, your dad and I noticed a long time ago… We just feel sorry for the poor girl who has to put up with you.” After that, she looked at Chen Yushan, who was blushing. Fang Mei smiled kindly and said, “Yushan, ever since Lu Zhou was a little kid, he has been a straightforward person. He thinks about problems and things straightforwardly, and sometimes he might be offensive, but I can assure you that his heart is still very kind.”
After hearing this, Lu Zhou suddenly became unhappy.
“Mom, what are you talking about, why am I offensive?”
Everyone from the Jinling launch site to the Jin Ling University loved to hear his speeches, and there was no scientific proof that he was offensive at all.
Chen Yushan looked at her mother-in-law with a kind smile. She blushed and said, “It’s fine… Although he is a bit straightforward sometimes, I still like him.”
Lu Zhou: “…?”
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I understand, you don’t need to explain to me.” Fang Mei said with a smile, “His father and I also went through the same thing.”
This time, Old Lu was the one who was unhappy.
“How is it the same thing? Am I like my son? When I was his age—”
“Okay, enough, enough. You were a charming prince back then… How about you go to the market and buy a fish for your son and daughter-in-law. Speaking of which, you’re drinking tonight, right? Remember to buy two pounds of pig trotters, it’ll pair well with the drinks.”
Old Lu suddenly stopped talking. He happily put on his shoes and went out to buy groceries.
Chen Yushan smiled at Fang Mei and spoke.
“Auntie, I can help you in the kitchen.”
“Oh, no need, just keep me company if you want. I can handle it alone.” Seeing how kind her daughter-in-law was being, Fang Mei began to smile.
“Mom, I can help too.”
Seeing how everyone had tasks to do, Lu Zhou was embarrassed to stand around doing nothing; he wanted to find something to do himself. However, his wife shut him down.
“There’s no way three people can fit in the kitchen. Stop messing around, just wait in the living room!”
Seeing how defeated Lu Zhou looked, Chen Yushan couldn’t help but smirk. She secretly stuck her tongue out at him, then followed Fang Mei triumphantly into the kitchen…
That night, Lu Zhou’s mother, Fang Mei, cooked an entire table of delicious dishes. The family sat and ate together; the atmosphere was so lively it was almost like it was Chinese New Year.
It was rare for Old Lu to drink alcohol without being berated by his wife, so he took out the good spirits he had treasured for a long time and placed it on the table generously.
Normally, he only drank a small cup at a time, but this time, he was much more generous, pouring his son one shot after another.
Because of this, even though he had not been drunk for many years, he was totally plastered.
“… When you win the Fields Prize, I didn’t get drunk. When you won the Nobel Prize, I didn’t get drunk either. But it seems like today will be different,” Old Lu said. “Your father is getting old.”
“You’re not even sixty yet.”
“Fifties is not young either… You were just a little kid back then, sitting on a stool with your legs dangling, but now, you are taller than me.” Old Lu stared at the ceiling, as if he was thinking of something funny. He suddenly smirked and said, “The times were different back then. I still remember that when your mother wasn’t paying attention, I secretly gave you a sip of wine. After that, you wobbled around, and you could barely stand up.”
Lu Zhou: “…”
What kind of dad does that?
He didn’t even know that he had such a dark childhood.
“Pfft…”
Chen Yushan didn’t think her fiance could still be so… cute as a child. Her shoulders began to shake as she laughed, and her stomach almost started to hurt. She pretended to cough and buried her face under the table.
Fang Mei thought she was choking. Feeling concerned, she patted her back with concern. Then, she brought her a cup of hot water from the side.
“Eat slowly, be careful.”
“No… I’m fine, auntie.”
“You’re not fine at all, you’re choking.”
After downing the shot, Lu Bangguo reached out his hand toward his flask. However, instead of grabbing the flask, he grabbed the soy sauce bottle instead. If it weren’t for Lu Zhou, he would have filled up his shot glass with soy sauce.
Lu Zhou took the soy sauce bottle from his father and sighed.
“Dad, you’re drunk, take it easy.”
“Oh, come on, how many has it been?”
“… If I’m correct, this is your seventeenth shot.”
“What? Only seven shots. Your dad isn’t drunk at all… No wonder you’re a mathematician, you’re so good at counting.”
Lu Zhou smiled and didn’t say anything.
Even though Lu Zhou didn’t particularly like drinking, he had always been a heavyweight.
Naturally, this was inherited from his father. However, it was also probably because the system had helped him strengthen his metabolic function. Sometimes, when he drank too much, he did feel dizzy like a normal person, but as long as he went to the toilet and drank some water, he would be okay.
“Do you know what makes your dad the happiest?”
Lu Zhou held the kettle and filled his dad’s cup with warm water as he replied, “That I finally fulfilled your old man’s wish and came back with a wife?”
“You’re wrong, son.” Old Lu shook his head and continued with a serious expression, “Your wife isn’t the most important.”
“Oh?” Lu Zhou said casually, “Then what is important?”
“The important thing is… After spending so many years away from home, you finally have a home.”
Is there any difference between the two?
Lu Zhou silently took a sip of the spirit in the glass while he looked at his old man sipping warm water…
After thinking for a while, he still couldn’t understand what his old man was talking about.
Whatever, who cares…