By right, you would be feeling sad and I’ll be feeling happy because the last 5 chapters countdown will begin 😛 But Gu Man posted 7 new epilogues on Chinese New Year’s Eve and more will come. This means we won’t be saying good-bye to Jing Jing and Yu Tu for a while, happy or not lol?
This chapter should be aptly titled “Love Letters to Jing Jing”. Before the advancement in technology, I used to be very happy when I received letters, especially the nice stationery. Although slow, it is more exciting than receiving an email. For those who miss Jing Jing, she’ll be back next week.
Chapter 32 (translated by peanuts and edited by hoju)
After dinner, Yu Tu accompanied his parents out for a walk. Along the way, they were constantly asked by acquaintances “Your son is back?” Small cities are like this; the neighbors know each other well and there isn’t really any sense of distance with them.
They strolled two rounds through the small park nearby. Mr Yu was stopped by a mahjong buddy. He glanced at his wife and son and was about to decline, but Mrs Yu said, “Go la.”
Mr Yu happily went away. Being with the son for a few hours was enough. Playing mahjong still was more attractive.
Mrs Yu smilingly shook her head. The two walked for another while. Then suddenly Mrs Yu asked, “Do you have something weighing on your mind?”
Yu Tu was not surprised that she would ask like this, because he obviously had not been himself in the afternoon and his mother had always been acute. He was silent for a moment, then said, “Before I came home last time, I mentioned to my work unit I wanted to quit.”
A look of surprise appeared in Mrs Yu’s eyes. After a long time, she sighed and said, “I’ve always felt that you are most like your uncle. When you were a child, you especially admired him and often bragged to other children that your uncle launches rockets.”
“Among the siblings of my family, your uncle is the smartest, but in comparison he also struggled the most. He is in northwest China all year round and can’t even take care of the family. Once, your grandfather was sick and almost passed away, but we couldn’t even contact him. At that time, communication technology was nowhere as developed as now. With great difficulty, your grandfather was saved and we also managed to contact him. We told him to come back, but he hesitated for a long time and finally said no, that since your grandpa had recovered, in that case, he would wait until the end of the mission and then come back. The current mission was too important, and he really could not get away.”
“It was another month before he came back to see your grandfather. All the siblings were mad and treated him coldly. At that time, an aunt who came to visit your grandfather scolded him for being unfilial. Your uncle got scolded, but he also did not dare say anything. At that time, you were still young, but you suddenly asked her, ‘Grandaunt, has Cousin-Uncle [first cousin once removed; mom’s first cousin] gone to work in the United States?’
“Your grandaunt loved to talk about this, and immediately she said that if you also studied well, you could go abroad to study and work in the future. But you said, 'But, Cousin-Uncle has gone to work in the United States for several years and hasn’t come back. Why don't you say that he is not filial?'"
After speaking to this point, Mrs Yu couldn't help but smile.
Yu Tu also smiled, as he still remembered this incident. He also remembered the awkward atmosphere that had come about after he asked this question. However, after that, everyone's attitude toward uncle had returned to normal.
Sometimes, it is not that those close to us do not understand; it is simply because they are close that they inevitably will be harsher and criticize.
Mrs Yu said, “At that time, I had thought, that’s true. They were similar in that they both were unable to be by their parents’ side, yet the one who went abroad receives the envy and praise of others while people like your uncle, who remains in the Northwest throughout the year, dedicating himself to his work, is called unfilial and is told his work is not worth it… What kind of reasoning is that? We, as a group of adults, had a less clear understanding of the heart of the matter than you, a 10-year-old child.”
Yu Tu jokingly said, “I have always been smart, since I was a child.”
Mrs Yu patted him once.
“A lot of principles, we do understand, but when it happened to ourselves, we still become muddled. The thing that I most regret is forcing you to apply to get into finance during the college entrance examination. At that time, I was thinking, my son has such high grades; of course he must apply for the most popular major that requires the highest grades or else won’t those high grades be wasted? It was not until later, when I found out that you secretly studied two majors, that I regretted it. How much energy you must have wasted.”
“In the last few years, I’ve aged and I can see more clearly. How do they say it in TV dramas? ‘It is most important to be happy.’ If you like money, go and earn money. If you think money is not so important, go and do something that interests you. I know that you’ll surely be reluctant to leave this profession. You wanted to quit your work; is it because of that time I fell ill?”
She interrupted Yu Tu’s reply. “Oh you, you must have overthought things. I don’t know how you managed to figure things out and go back to that job, but mom wants to tell you, you don’t need to think about providing this and that for us. It is enough that you take good care of yourself. We are not old yet. If you still feel that what you do is not good enough, just think of your father’s colleague’s son.”
Yu Tu hesitated for a while. “…Are you talking about that one who lost hundreds of thousands?”
Mrs Yu actually nodded: “Yes.”
Yu Tu: “Mom…”
When Mrs Yu looked at his wry expression, she smiled again. “That was wrong of me. This is an extreme example. But you understand my meaning: you are already good enough. Others are already very envious of your father and me, so don’t keep thinking that you must do things to the absolute best.”
It seemed that not long ago, someone had also said similar things to him.
Only after a long time did Yu Tu make a "hmm" sound.
They also exchanged conventional greetings for a while with two acquaintances passing by. After they left, Mrs Yu suddenly said, “You should also be considering marriage, which is an important event in your life. I’m always asked by people why my son still is not married yet.”
Yu Tu was somewhat taken aback, because his parents seldom rushed him to settle down.
“Don’t set your requirements too high. You don’t need to look for someone too beautiful. It is best if she can take care of people.” Mrs Yu’s typical mother-in-law criteria.
Yu Tu walked silently. Mrs Yu thought that he most likely still had never considered this issue before, so she did not continue with the topic. Who would have thought? Yu Tu suddenly called her at the doorway of the house. “Mom.”
Mrs Yu looked at him.
Yu Tu said, “I probably like it the other way round.”
<>Copyright of Fanatical, hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com. If you are not reading this from hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com, this translation was taken without consent of the translator.
Yu Tu somewhat wished to escape. He did not expect that his mother, who had always seemed calm and unhurried on the question of his marriage, because of his words, would be so enthusiastic, with all kinds of incessant inquiries.
But now, what could he say?
After spending the night at home, Yu Tu flew directly to Dunhuang from the nearest airport. After meeting up with some members of the experiment team, they drove to the experiment site in the middle of the desert.
In the desert far away from human habitation, the rhythm of everything slowed down. Yu Tu focused on his work every day, both engrossed in it, yet at the same time, his mind dissociated from it, too.
A few days before the end of the mission, Yu Tu received a call from Guan Zai, who was thousands of miles away.
“Is everything running smoothly over there?”
“Yes, we finished a few days ahead of time. After a few months, we’ll do the second one.”
Guan Zai said “Oh, No wonder Chief Sun had time to find me to complain.”
The Chief Sun he mentioned was the chief person in charge of this experiment. Yu Tu frowned slightly. “Is there any problem?”
Guan Zai heaved a sigh and said, “You don’t know that our Chief Sun is a serious and active person. He wants to have a hand in all big and small work matters, and he is also very concerned with important life events, such as marriage prospects, of the young people working under him. As a matter of fact, he originally had wanted to introduce a girl over in the Tianjin institute to a young man in his institute. It’s really good that Beijing and Tianjin are very close to one another, right? But supposedly, you’ve been acting especially melancholy and deeply intellectual and reserved every day, frequently gazing at the stars alone not joining in on any after-work group recreation activities. As a result, you’ve captivated a group of naive girls’ hearts and directly shattered the hope of all other young men.”
Guan Zai finished saying everything in one breath, and then he criticized, “Old Yu, you did not have this bad habit of being such a poser before.”
Yu Tu: “… At the beginning, I won five days in a row, so they revoked my card game membership.”
“When you talk like this, you’re even more pretentious. Restraint ah. You already look handsome, and on top of that you’re a poser. Give others a chance to live, okay?” Guan Zai said seriously, “The purpose of my call is to warn you…”
“You must continue your posing, ha ha ha.” He burst into laughter over the phone. “Don’t give a glimmer of hope to the brothers of other institutes. When you come back, I’ll bestow you the title of ‘The Pride and Glory of Our Institute’ to you!”
Yu Tu: “… Is your wife by your side? Give the phone to her.”
Yu Tu directly expressed his wish that he did not want to talk to him anymore.
Shen Jing took the phone.
Yu Tu immediately asked about Guan Zai’s health condition. Shen Jing sounded much more relaxed than before, and she also did not try avoid having Guan Zai hear. She talked about the progress of the medical treatment and said it was much better than expected.
“You’ve asked so much, but you actually don’t know a damn thing!” Guan Zai snatched the phone back. “Chief Sun called to inquire about whether you have a girlfriend. How should I answer?”
He chuckled. “How about I answer that you like your high school classmate Qiao Jing Jing?”
Yu Tu was taken aback for a bit but then immediately understood. Guan Zai probably watched the video forwarded by the work group in WeChat. A while ago, the video of the KPL exhibition match he participated in had finally spread to the work group in the institute and attracted a lot of attention. Guan Zai was so smart; he definitely would have connected it to what he had said in Xi’an.
“Didn’t you brag that the girl likes you? I watched the video and felt that lady is really interested in you. But you’re still running around as a bachelor; what’s up with that?”
Yu Tu gave a wry smile and sat down on the sand, holding his mobile phone. “Before, I’d always been thinking, what can I give her? No money, okay, but I may not even be able to always keep her company.”
She was very delicate, tended to act like a spoiled child, needed people to indulge her, and lived exquisitely and comfortably all the time.
He was initially been full of joy. But one day, when he bowed his head, he discovered that his palm was so rough. He simply could not reach it out to take hold of such a pearl.
<>Copyright of Fanatical, hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com. If you are not reading this from hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com, this translation was taken without consent of the translator.
Guan Zai was silent for a long time over there, and Yu Tu also didn't talk. They remained on the line like this. After a while, Guan Zai said, “Yu Tu, my wife said, that’s not how things are counted.”
Then he scolded, “Are you a blockhead?”
This was the first time in his life that he was scolded like this, but Yu Tu actually smiled. He raised his head to look up at the starry sky, purer than other places, above him and sincerely admitted, “You are right.”
<>Copyright of Fanatical, hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com. If you are not reading this from hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com, this translation was taken without consent of the translator.
When he returned to Shanghai, there were still more than ten days until the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year). Yu Tu first went to visit Guan Zai and was once again ridiculed for a long time.
After a few days of work, one day when he was eating in the cafeteria, Da Meng suddenly said, “On this work trip, who did you learn your new catchphrase from?”
Yu Tu was surprised, “What?”
“You didn’t realize it yourself? You love to say, ‘Everyone, let’s work just a little bit more, a little harder.'” Da Meng complained, “It’s the same catchphrase the head teacher of my senior year in high school used. I’ll get shivers from the top of my head when I hear it.”
After he finished saying, he continued to eat his meal. But Yu Tu held his chopsticks and stared blankly for a while. When he lowered his head again to pick up some food again, there was smiling expression in his eyes.
<>Copyright of Fanatical, hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com. If you are not reading this from hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com, this translation was taken without consent of the translator.
There was an additional habit to Yu Tu’s daily life routine —— writing letters.
Every late night after returning home, no matter how late it was, before going to bed he would unfold a sheet of stationery and write a letter.
The content of the first letter was about the first cosmic velocity (orbital velocity). This question is very simple, but it also involves some theories and formulas that people usually don’t understand. Yu Tu tried as much as possible to explain this complicated subject matter in simple terms.
The second letter compared the level of China’s aerospace technology to foreign countries.
On the snow-white letter paper, under the light from the desk lamp, Yu Tu wrote out everything methodically——
“This question is too broad, so I may have to use a lot of letters to answer you. In this letter, let’s first talk about the history of the development of the modern aerospace …”
<>Copyright of Fanatical, hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com. If you are not reading this from hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com, this translation was taken without consent of the translator.
He finished writing the letter before going to bed. The next day, he took it and dropped it into the mailbox outside the work unit. By the time Spring Festival holiday arrived, he had mailed out ten letters altogether.
When he dropped the last letter before the New Year into the mailbox, Yu Tu thought, if during the Spring Festival holiday, there was no…
Then after coming back, he had no better option but to start talking about immigration to Mars.
————————————————————————————————————————————
Gu Man wrote: After many years, Chief Engineer Yu and Beautiful Maiden Qiao were already old. In his spare time, Chief Yu has compiled and published a book called “Love Letters to His Wife”.
Fans were eager to purchase. They opened the book and looked.
Aerospace knowledge popular science? A brief history of aerospace ? ? ?
Emmmm~~~~
Completed:
32 of 37 Chapters
0 of 7 Epilogues
Post navigation