"Astronaut Zhang Kai, having completed the tasks assigned by the country and its people, is returning to the Mars manned spaceship."
"Please, rest assured, country and people."
Just two sentences, yet not many know the efforts and crises behind them.
The people living happily and healthily are destined never to know this hardship.
Perhaps in history books years from now, it will be made public, but thatâs a matter for the future.
While waiting for a reply from the central control command center, the three in a weightless state chatted and laughed.
"Old Zhang, you didnât see, Old Qian even shed tears for you."
"Hahaha, really?"
"Would I lie to you?"
"What can I say, was he moved by me?"
During the chat, Zhang Kai talked about his feelings on Mars.
Although he had experienced a simulation of the Martian environment at the Blue Star training base.
But a simulation is a simulation; no matter how similar, itâs still just a simulation.
Besides, leaving a footprint on Mars and executing a mission couldnât feel the same.
Inside the spaceship, Zhang Kai vividly described the scenarios he experienced.
At this moment, the spaceship received a message from Blue Star.
The content was brief, with only two items.
The first was praise for the astronautsâ calm and steady performance.
The second was... to detach and abandon the Mars lander, then follow the recalculated trajectory.
Return home!!!
Because the distance between Mars and Blue Star is not constant; the nearest distance is about 55 million kilometers, while the farthest exceeds 400 million kilometers.
Close encounters between them occur roughly every 15 years.
The longer the spaceship stays in Martian orbit during this period, the longer it drags on, meaning the distance to return to Blue Star becomes farther.
Although once the spaceship accelerates to its maximum speed, it can shut off its engines and coast in uniform motion through space.
But nobody can guarantee that no accidents will coincidentally occur on the return journey.
"Time to go home."
"Yeah, finally going home."
Inside the Firefly manned spacecraft, all three astronauts were seated in their places, controlling the ship.
"Mars lander is starting to detach."
"Received, Mars lander detached."
Receiving the commanderâs instructions, Li Haiyan executed the command without hesitation.
In space, the Mars manned spacecraftâs two small engines fired for 0.05 seconds.
Slowly, the distance between the spaceship and the lander grew.
Two hours later, the Firefly manned spacecraft ignited its engines, departing from Marsâ outer orbit.
Thirteen hours later, the spacecraft accelerated to its preset speed and the engines automatically shut down.
What awaited the three astronauts next was a long journey home.
Li Haiyan stood upside down on the spaceship, watching Zhang Kai continuously exercise and laughed:
"I say, Old Zhang, no need to rush losing weight."
"Since thereâs nothing else to do, might as well exercise."
At this moment, Mo Jingchun on Blue Star declined a teacherâs invitation to stay for a meal.
Although through countless trials and tribulations, luckily, the astronauts had successfully completed their mission and began their return!
By the time they return to Blue Star, a year will have passed.
On the plane, Mo Jingchun looked out at the bright moon and thought of the scene of the Mars lander lifting off.
It was truly just a bit off.
Half an hour later, the plane smoothly landed at Luzhou Airport.
Mo Jingchun held his already sleeping sister in his arms and dialed Xia Xiaominâs number.
Once connected, "Xia, Iâve gotten off the plane."
"Where are you? Iâll come find you."
"Iâm at the exit, boss."
"Okay!"
On the other side of Blue Star, it was still daytime.
Having read the report, the white-haired old man furiously crushed it into a ball and threw it into the trash bin.
"Boss, here."
Anxious that the boss might not see her, Xia Xiaomin was waving her phone with the flashlight on.
The white Audi raced down the highway. In the backseat, Mo Jingchun softly said to Xia Xiaomin:
"Driving out at night to pick me up, thank you."
"Boss, will there be a bonus?"
Mo Jingchun was caught between tears and laughter for a moment, "Yes, of course, there will be."
The car returned to silence.
The little one slept soundly, unaffected by the carâs noise.
The next day, Mo Jingchun woke up past ten oâclock.
He habitually reached out for Candy, who slept next to him, only to find the space empty.
Suddenly, Mo Jingchun opened his eyes and sat up immediately.
Candy, who was sitting on a small stool eating snacks, froze.
She even forgot to continue eating the snack she had brought to her mouth.
Being watched like this by her brother, despite feeling a bit reluctant, Candy got up and walked over to the bed, offering the partially bitten snack forward.
"Brother, youâre hungry too, right."
"Here you go."
Seeing the cheese stick in his hand, Mo Jingchun felt happiness accompanied by a little heartache.
After handing the cheese stick back, he said with affection:
"Guoguo, if youâre hungry, why didnât you call for me?"
"But brother was sleeping."
"Itâs okay."
Quickly washed up, Mo Jingchun took Candy downstairs and headed straight to the cafeteria.
When he arrived at the office, Xia Xiaomin was already there.
Mo Jingchun surprisedly asked, "Why didnât you take the morning off?"
"Didnât sleep well, huh?"
Xia Xiaomin smiled and shook her head, "Slept well; Iâm a night owl."
To her, this was nothingâthinking back to her devil training days.
Even catching a little sleep was a luxury.
"Meow, meow, meowïœ"
After a three-day absence, Bun clearly missed her little master.
Bun nuzzling against Candyâs legs made the little one laugh heartily.
Feeling another gaze, Bun hesitated for a moment, then went over to nuzzle as well.
Mo Jingchun contentedly retrieved his gaze.
Not bad at all, not raised in vain.
"Oh right, Xia."
"In the three days I was away, nothing happened, did it?"
Xia Xiaomin shrugged with a smile:
"Pretty uneventful, nothing happened."
"If youâre talking about changes, there is something."
"Oh? Whatâs changed?" Mo Jingchun was visibly surprised and a bit curious.
"These past two days, whether in the cafeteria or in the employeesâ offices, all I hear is talk of advanced calculus, discussing technical terms."
"Hmm... itâs just like in high school, after exams, when students discuss the questions."
Thatâs a good sign!
Compared to other big companies, Candy Technology is still quite new, which results in a lack of foundation.
Take some of the domestic internet giants; they all have hordes of PhDs and experts.
However, Mo Jingchun believes that it wonât be long before Candy Technology catches up.
This is confidence.
PS: Thanks to the book friend 20210331011213566 for the support and reward.