Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Beijing.
More than 3000 people sat in the majestic Great Hall of the People.
Most of the people sitting here were academics from the Chinese Academy of Sciences or Academy of Engineering, senior officials from various government departments related to the manned moon landing program, and other high-level officials. Everyone sat here for one purpose—to give thanks and blessings to the hero of the moon landing program.
After a solemn opening remark, the commendation ceremony for the manned moon landing project officially began. A kind-faced old man walked on stage.
The applause gradually subsided.
The president paused for a second. He then spoke in a calm and solemn voice.
“Our Dong Fang Hong I was successfully launched 51 years ago. That was our first satellite, and it was our first milestone in aerospace.
“18 years ago, our Shenzhou 5 spacecraft was successfully launched. We became the third country to master manned space technology, ahead of the Europeans… This was our second aerospace milestone.”
The auditorium went silent.
After a pause, the old man spoke.
“We are now the second country to land on the Moon! This is undoubtedly our third and greatest accomplishment yet!
“Allow me to speak on behalf of the whole country. I’d like to thank the vast number of scientific and technological staff members who have made great sacrifices to the manned moon mission!”
The thunderous applause spread like a tidal wave, instantly filling the entire conference hall.
The president nodded and went off stage.
The conference entered its next stage.
Academician Yuan, the chief engineer of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, looked at the three astronauts receiving their medals on stage. He was overwhelmed with emotion.
These past six months felt like a dream to him.
He never thought that he would live to see the day ion thruster propulsion systems come to life. He didn’t know if he was remorseful or thankful.
Academician Wu Kang, the chief engineer of the Air Force Equipment Research Institute, was sitting next to him. Wu Kang spoke quietly.
“That guy is pretty amazing.”
Yuan Huanmin glanced at him.
“You’re talking about…”
“Professor Lu. Who else could I be talking about?” Academician Wu smiled and said, “The State Administration for National Defense called the Air Force Equipment Department, and Minister Qin called me. They told me someone created an ion thruster aerospaceplane, but there were funding problems. They asked me to find out if it was reliable… Guess what was my first reaction?”
Yuan Huanmin: “I don’t know.”
Academician Wu said, “I said to hurry up and arrest that person! Who dares to lie to the Air Force Equipment Department! Arrest them now!”
Yuan Huanmin felt a little embarrassed.
Speaking of which, he had something to do with this.
However, the things he did were justified.
“Thank God you didn’t arrest him.”
“Haha, of course now.” Academician Wu shook his head and smiled. He said, “Minister Qin told me that this was a special person and that no one would dare to arrest him. I immediately knew who he was talking about, so Minister Qin immediately took me to see the aerospaceplane in person.”
Academician Wu was embellishing.
He stared at the podium, and there was a hint of fascination in his eyes.
“… I will never forget what I saw.”
In the midst of the applause, the president shook the three astronauts’ hands on stage. He awarded them the “Aerospace Gold Medal of Excellence” and the “Aerospace Medal of Honor”, in recognition of their determination and courage in the manned moon landing program.
Next up was the awards for the researchers who contributed to the moon landing program.
Even though the three astronauts were the ones who landed on the Moon, without these heroes working behind the curtains, these astronauts couldn’t have landed on the Moon.
They were also awarded the Aerospace Gold Medal of Excellence.
This was the highest medal in the field of aerospace, and it was the lifelong dream of many astronauts. This award was generally only given to astronauts and researchers who had made outstanding contributions to aerospace projects.
The president took out the shiny gold medal from the award box, and he draped the medal on Lu Zhou’s chest before shaking Lu Zhou’s hand.
“Thank you.”
Lu Zhou: “Thank you!”
Ever since Lu Zhou received the Ling Yun medal, he stopped caring about awards. His wants were very simple. He only needed people to support his experiments so that he could continue his journey in scientific research.
The president stared at Lu Zhou for a while and smiled.
“Unfortunately, this is all I can give you.”
Lu Zhou smiled and said, “Oh, you’re too kind, this is more than enough.”
“One medal is not enough to represent the country’s gratitude.” The president thought for a while and said, “Everything I can give you, you already have. You’re probably not interested in anything else. I thought for a while… Since there’s nothing I can give you, I have decided to give you a calligraphic work.”
The president grabbed a rolled piece of paper from the staff member next to him. He unrolled the paper and presented it to Lu Zhou.
There was a magnificent line of text on the Xuan paper.
[A propitious and auspicious omen comes to those who are talented!]
There was also a square name stamp on the corner.
Lu Zhou stared at the line of calligraphy and looked astonished.
Even though he didn’t know a lot about art, he could still feel the power from the brush.
“Well written,” he said.
The president smiled and waved his hand. “If you like it, find a place to hang it.”
Lu Zhou took the Xuan paper and the medal box from the president. He then bowed as a show of thanks.
Even though Lu Zhou didn’t know what this meant, when he saw Director Li’s envious eyes, he knew this wasn’t just an ordinary piece of calligraphic work.
Speaking of which, wouldn’t it seem too arrogant if I were to hang this in my office?
Emm…
Forget about it, I’ll just store it as an antique.