On the platform of Mason Station, Weiss and his entourage were neatly dressed and looking forward to it. The train stopped slowly, and the flow of people was like weaving and bustling. Professor Aisha Yang finally came into view, this talented and beautiful sister was dressed smartly: a beige plaid shirt on top, brown breeches below, a pair of maroon boots on her feet, a black briefcase in one hand, and an apple-faced girl in the other. The mother and daughter wore similar women's top hats and tonal trousers. When they got closer, Weiss noticed that they had all cut their ears short!

"Ah, welcome, Professor Yang...... Welcome to Lorraine! Weiss greeted the big beauty very warmly, and then, he squatted down, wanting to pinch the little beauty's apple-like face, but he didn't expect her to throw herself directly into his arms, so that his battle-hardened and accustomed to all kinds of scenes caught off guard for a while. Fortunately, he used to bring his sister, and recently he is greeting little Kemp, so he is not helpless against children, not to mention that this is still a very cute little girl. So, he picked her up with his hand, and then grinned at Professor Yang who was embarrassed, and it was out of the way.

A kind smile has the magical effect of dissolving all embarrassment. Professor Yang then introduced the students to Weiss. There are a total of 9 of these young people with childish faces, 8 men and 1 woman. The only girl in the student team also had a short haircut like Professor Xiao Yang, which seemed to be a thorough preparation for the field exploration and survey.

Nearly half of the students brought by Professor Xiao Yang are senior research students, which is equivalent to master's students, and the rest are also senior general research students, that is, undergraduate bachelors who are about to graduate. Being able to enter the Ulster University of Technology, the potential of these young talents is understandable, but they are still rookies who lack practical experience, and Weiss really likes Professor Xiao Yang as a first-class scholar in the industry. Under the words and deeds of Professor Lao Yang and careful cultivation, this good-looking female scholar has become a top academic expert in the field of geology and geography of the Federation. With her out of the horse, she has been engaged in exploration and exploration for several months wholeheartedly, as long as her luck is not too bad, it should not be difficult to reproduce the good results of Professor Yang's prospecting in the past.

After introducing the students, Professor Xiao Yang naturally handed Weiss a baggage checklist. The students carried their own luggage, and some commonly used exploration and survey equipment and books and materials were checked in with the car, and it was natural that Weiss would arrange personnel to be responsible for picking up and transporting the goods.

Outside the train station, Weiss had already arranged the car in advance. The Lorraine Industrialists Union and the Clumber-Haysen family have already started their business vigorously, and transportation is indispensable. After the war, luxury cars were hard to buy, but ordinary vehicles were readily available. Weiss purchased 3 used cars and 15 used vans for the Clumber-Heisen plant and rebuilt the fleet and workshop. The Lorraine Industrialists Union is also procuring ships and vehicles and is actively preparing for the establishment of a combined transport company.

After getting into the car, Weiss continued to hold the little girl with the apple face, and Professor Yang sat next to him.

After deciding on the cooperation with the School of Geology and Geography of the Ulster University of Technology, Weiss made a slight inquiry that Professor Aisha Young's husband was an army officer who died in battle shortly after the outbreak of the war, and not to mention whether she had any plans to remarry, at least so far, she has been teaching while taking her daughter Little Candy with her. Professor Yang is middle-aged and widowed, and now he is alone. The father and daughter helped each other, and life went on like this.

More than two years have passed, and at this age of Little Candy, the impression of his father will fade, but the desire for father's love will not. Perhaps it was the resemblance between Weiss's image and her vague memories of her father that made her as reluctant to let go as if she had been reunited after a long absence. Regarding the topic of Little Candy's father, it is obviously inconvenient to talk about it at this time. Weiss took the initiative to change the topic: "We are looking forward to the stars and the moon, but we can be regarded as looking forward to you, thank God!" ”

"We are arranging the procedures and itinerary for the field study as quickly as possible, how are you doing here?" Professor Xiao Yang said.

"The construction of the Free Lorraine Canal has begun, and it is going very well, thanks to your help." As soon as Weiss answered, the apple-faced girl asked in her childish voice, "What is the canal?" Is it a river used to transport things? ”

"Hah! A canal is a river carved out by man, which is a little different from a natural river. Comparatively speaking, its river is relatively straight, the current will be slower, and it is mainly used for boats to navigate. Weiss explained simply.

"Is the canal beautiful? Is it more beautiful than an ordinary river? The apple-faced girl asked again.

"Each has its own characteristics!" Weiss replied.

"Our curious lady has countless questions every day." Professor Xiao Yang said to Weiss a little helplessly, "If you can't satisfy her, she will keep pestering you." ”

"That's normal!" Weiss smiled and said to him, "Each of us has a time when we were young, and we like to ask questions, which is an instinctive curiosity." ”

"What is intellectual curiosity?" The Apple-faced girl has a new problem.

"Intellectual curiosity is to be interested in everything in the world, to know the reason for everything. Your age is one of the most intellectually curious. Weiss patiently explained.

"That's a good thing, it's to be praised, isn't it?" The little girl asked again.

Weiss laughed heartily: "Yes, it should be praised." The more you know, the faster you grow, and later you will become an omniscient person like your mother, an admirable person, and a respected person in school. ”

"But I think my grandfather is more powerful, he knows more things, and my mother can't compare to him." The little girl with the apple face said innocently.

"My grandfather is older, he reads a lot of books, and he has experienced a lot of things, and my mother is younger, relatively speaking, she will know a little less, but with the accumulation of experience, my mother will definitely catch up with and surpass my grandfather." Weiss explained kindly.

"Oh, what's your name?" Just one question, the little girl kept sending new questions.

"Dragon, it's okay if you call me Uncle Long." Weiss made an exaggerated strange expression, imitating a dragon with fangs and claws.

"Dragons? Did you emerge from a dragon egg? The apple-faced girl asked.

Weiss leaned close to her ear: "Shhh, it's a secret, few people know about it. ”

"Are there really dragon eggs?" The little apple-faced girl asked in a whisper.

"Philosophically, anything is possible." Speaking of this, Weiss looked at Professor Xiao Yang, but this was obviously not her area of expertise, so she shrugged her shoulders and said that she was speechless.

"So, Uncle Long, would you like to be my father?" The little girl with the apple face coldly threw out a question with ultimate lethality, and there was no foil or foreshadowing.

Weiss couldn't answer, and said with an embarrassed smile: "There is a little brother who also wants me to be his father, but I told him that I am his uncle, and I can only be his uncle, but I will be good to him like a father." ”

This answer was quite appropriate, and the topic was diverted, and the little apple-faced girl said, "Will that little brother play with me?" How old is he? Is he good-looking? ”

Weiss answered these questions one by one. After chatting for a while, Professor Xiao Yang finally said to the apple-faced girl with a straight face: "Okay, you have enough questions today, save them for tomorrow, okay?" ”

"But I think Uncle Long is very interesting, and he is willing to answer these questions." The apple-faced girl playfully retorted, "I think he's better than Dad." ”

The truth that people are difficult to dismantle, the little girl is obviously incomprehensible at this age, and Professor Xiao Yang can only endure the pain of being poked and turn his head to look at the street scene outside the car window. They took the train station from Mason to the offices of the Union of Industrialists of Lorraine, where they settled in for a while, had lunch and then continued their drive to Somsonas.

At the dinner table, the apple-faced little girl seemed to be a different person, eating quietly and independently, neither spilling food crumbs outside, nor picking and choosing the food on the plate, showing good parenting.

On the way back to Somsonas from Mason, the group stopped at the canal construction site, where Weiss briefed Professor Yang and the students she brought with him about the implementation of the Free Lorraine Canal. Although engineering is not their specialty, the rapid launch of the project is inseparable from the geological analysis they have done before - the success is due to their part.

It was late afternoon when the group arrived at the Château de Clumberg-Haissen, and the heat of the day was gradually dissipating. Children are having fun playing on the grass. After a long journey, the little apple-faced girl fell asleep in Weiss's arms in the afternoon, and her snoring appearance was very cute. When she arrived at the castle, she saw a group of children playing, and walked timidly over them, and soon "blended" into their ranks.

After settling Professor Yang and her students into a place to stay, Weiss walked to the meadow and called Little Kemp over, as if he were explaining his mission to a soldier, and solemnly told him: "Little Candy is a sister from afar, and you want to live here for a while, you are the elder brother, take good care of her." ”

"Oh, is she your daughter?" The little boy asked with a serious face.

Weiss almost spurted out a mouthful of old blood, and he smiled awkwardly and said, "No, no, no, her mother is my friend, well, the professor we hired to help." Her mother helped us, so please help her mother take care of her, okay? ”

Among his peers, Kemp Jr. is also the kind of person who is more well-behaved and sensible, and he immediately agreed: "Leave it to me, no problem." ”

Weiss had just asked Kemp to play with the candy, and Professor Yang came, and she stood next to Weiss and looked at the children playing: "I really can't see that you are a person who is thick and delicate and extremely patient." ”

"Don't I look like it?" Weiss smiled, "I have a younger sister who has followed me since I was a child, so I have more experience in this area!" ”

"When we first met, I thought you were a person with brains and a heart, who did big things, and generally speaking, such a person didn't care much about small things." Professor Xiao Yang said frankly, "The child's feelings are very intuitive, she thinks that you are better than her father, objectively speaking, at least the temper is indeed better than his." ”

Once some topics are mentioned, the atmosphere is inevitably a little solemn. Weiss hurriedly said: "Although I have left the army, during the war, I spent most of my time on the front line, and I know how hard we fought this battle. Those who sacrificed their precious lives in exchange for the peace of this country, so those of us who are alive have an obligation to do what we can for them. ”

Professor Xiao Yang lowered his head and did not speak, Weiss raised his head and looked at the red sky of the sunset, with infinite emotion in his heart, and expressed it through an ancient poem: "The vast and sorrowful day is slanting, and the whip points to the end of the world." Falling red is not a ruthless thing, turning into spring mud is more protective of flowers. ”

This ancient poem was said in the Ulster language, and Weiss thought that Professor Xiao Yang might not be able to understand it, but when he saw that she was silent for a long time, he looked down and saw that she was already in tears. In this situation, how can you miss a warm handkerchief?

From the time he was studying (abused) at the Barston Military Academy, Weiss developed the habit of carrying a clean handkerchief with him, mainly not to wipe his sweat and blow his nose, but to play the role of survival in the wilderness and medical emergency. Purely out of manly demeanor, he took out his handkerchief and handed it to Professor Xiao Yang. She took the handkerchief, turned her head to wipe away her tears, and then smiled at Weiss unnaturally: "Occasional sadness doesn't affect the mood at work, don't worry." ”

Orphans and widows are the most pitiful, not to mention a young mother like Professor Xiao Yang, who combines beauty and talent. The breeze blew and made the fragrance smell, which made Weiss an older single Wang who had never been married inevitably a little confused.

At dinner, in addition to Weiss, three of the "Big Seven" of the Lorraine Industrialists Union came: Alex Nordimik, Grunson Totenberg, and Morton Palach. Totenbell and Palach are mainly engaged in mining, and are the main initiators of the United Mining Company. Although Alex Nordimik is only a student of the Federal Engineering University, he is also a high-end talent, and the key is that he is very knowledgeable in engineering, and can find real experts - the engineering consultant hired by the Lorraine Industrialists Union is one of his senior brothers, and he has since been involved in the canal project throughout the whole process to ensure the construction quality of this large project from the technical level.

Dinner at the castle with separate tables and trays for the children, who play together during the day and eat together at night, are free to their instincts and are not too constrained. As the little master, Kemp greeted the little candy very well, and the apple-faced little girl did not get carried away, and when it was time to eat, she once again returned to that quiet and serious, dignified and elegant state, which actually attracted other children to follow suit.

At the large table, the guests' topic of the day revolved around the exploration and exploration of geography and geology, and the academic atmosphere was unprecedentedly strong. Lorraine is a mountainous and mineralized place, with a long history of mining. It is said that there were people who mined in ancient times, the first was copper smelting, and later successively excavated coal mines, iron ore, lead ore, etc., which were very basic industrial raw materials in the era of the industrial revolution. The crowd discussed possible deposits of mine in Lorraine, including, of course, bauxite, which Weiss was particularly looking forward to. Bauxite seems to be far less ubiquitous than on Earth on Orens, but in the laboratory, aluminium is already a relatively common extractable metal substance, and has not yet been commercialized on a large scale due to industrial technology and industrial use. In fact, in addition to the Xingyuan Stone, there are various known mineral deposits in Lorraine, but some are suitable for commercial mining, and some cannot be commercially mined under the existing conditions.

Speaking of the strange material of the star source stone, Professor Xiao Yang said that this mineral is likely not produced by the planet Orens, but brought by meteorites and other "space visitors" from other places, because several mysterious elements that make up the star source stone cannot be arranged into the existing element sequence, and from a mineralogical point of view, the discovered star source stone deposits are divergent, and the vein morphology of other mineral deposits is significantly different.

"If the formation of Xingyuan Stone Mine is not necessarily related to the topography and geological conditions, then the view that Lorraine does not produce Xingyuan Stone Mine is not valid." "Maybe we'll be able to break this zero record this time?" ”

"If that's the case, I'll send Professor Yang in my personal name...... Uh, a pure gold plaque that says 'Light of Lorraine'! Pallaher drank a few glasses of sweet wine, and in a slightly drunken state, he could not help but dance as he spoke.

"What to write 'Lorraine Light'? It feels a little awkward, so it's better to write 'Goddess of Exploration', or 'The First Goddess of Ulster Technology', hahaha! Nordic quipped.

"The titles you give are lacking in creativity and academics, so according to me, engrave three lines on the pure gold medal plaque, one line reads 'Lorraine Industrialists Alliance Salute', one line says 'Lorraine's first star source stone discoverer', and the last line reads 'Professor Aisha Yang of Ulster University of Technology'." By the way, the plaque should use the most beautiful pattern to bring out the talent and beauty of our Professor Yang! ”

The men drink and talk together, it doesn't matter what the cause is, it doesn't matter what the situation is, as long as it's about the opposite sex, it's always extra excited. Weiss quietly observed Professor Xiao Yang, and she didn't seem to be obviously repulsed by such ridicule, but she didn't follow the car, but calmly acted as a spectator, as if what they said had nothing to do with her. Inadvertently, Weiss turned his head to look at the child's table again, the little candy had finished eating, and was talking to Kemp as a little fan girl, and asked a lot of questions, Kemp was more than four years older than her, and his self-care ability and knowledge mastery were obviously one or two grades higher, judging from his calmness, it might not be difficult to deal with this curious young lady. It's just that at his age, not only is he far away from his mother living in this strange place, but he also has to take care of Xiao Nizi who came out of nowhere.