Chapter 3 Chapter 3 The Sphinx

Qiu Feng's pregnancy was not disclosed to outsiders.But this can't be hidden from Xie Ling who is very close.She soon found that Qiu Feng was acidophilic and vomited, and asked pleasantly, "Are you pregnant?" Qiu Feng nodded shyly, unable to conceal the joy in his heart. "Ah, what a happy event. The boss (this is the common name for Xiao by all employees in the company) has changed his mind? The power of love is invincible." Prior to this, He Yibing and other close friends knew Xiao’s creed of not wanting children. They felt that this creed was a bit weird and unreasonable, but no one dared to try to persuade him, because Xiao was an idol that everyone looked up to .After hearing the news of Qiu Feng's pregnancy, they carefully avoided talking about it with Xiao Shuihan, but Xie Ling became a frequent visitor to Xiao's villa, caring about Qiu Feng's basic necessities of life.

When the fetus was five months old, Xiao Shuihan held a temporary board meeting.He announced to the board of directors that he decided to retire from the forest and transfer half of his equity to his wife (but his wife will not serve on the board of directors for life), and half of the equity will be distributed to these biologists who co-founded with him according to the contribution.He and his wife will leave their homeland and settle on an isolated island deep in the South Pacific Ocean. This is a complete seclusion, and they will "no longer have any connection with the world."This decision was obviously a bolt from the blue—and it was too unreasonable and abnormal. The board of directors was shocked. In the shock, they all thought of Xiao Shuihan's creed of "no offspring" and Qiu Feng's pregnancy afterwards.No doubt this eccentric decision had something to do with it.The directors were in disapproval.But Xiao Shuihan's attitude has no room for change.A few days later, they were forced to accept the decision and elect a new chairman, He Yibing.

He Shi was a young biologist who joined Tianyuan fifteen years ago, and later became Xiao's close friend.After the meeting, the directors left one after another with gloomy faces, and He Yibing stayed behind, sitting sullenly, with his hands on his forehead, feeling heavy.Xiao Shuihan walked over and patted him on the shoulder, He raised his head and said in a muffled voice: "I really don't understand your weird decision, you must be crazy." Xiao Shuihan said calmly: "Do you need me to help you review some physiological knowledge? The human brain reaches its physiological peak at the age of 30, and after that, 100,000 brain cells will die every day; The secret decree automatically stops division and goes to decline. All things follow the laws of metabolism, and neither nature nor human beings have the authority of immortality.”

He Yibing scolded angrily: "Damn you! You are a decrepit old man in your eighties or nineties? You are just 50 years old, and you are at the peak of intellectual maturity. According to the new age classification, you can only be regarded as a 'young man'. Young people'. Look at your body again, a stranger will never think you are over 35 years old!" He pleaded: "For the sake of Tianyuan, for the sake of your partner, do you think about your decision again? To be honest, we almost I don't think I'm weak, and it's not that I can't take down the chairman of Tianyuan. But an all-rounder like you, who has both profound knowledge and agility, and extremely concise and clear thinking, is hard to find in the world. With you by my side, even if we don’t say a word, we will be bolder. Let’s think about it again, okay?”

A trace of sadness flashed across Xiao Shuihan's eyes: "I'm old, and I don't have any clever talent anymore. I often admire—for example, Li Yuanlong 120 years ago. Of course you know him, he can be regarded as the godfather of biology. Until 120 years later , I still can't surpass him in academic achievement." He Yibing scolded irritably: "I really don't know what ghost you are obsessed with!" He was in a depressed mood and always felt that there was something heavy hidden about Xiao Shuihan's sudden retreat for no reason. Xiao Shuihan used to insist on "no offspring", even Declare what "scourge".Now that Qiu Feng is pregnant, his decision to retire is certainly related to this, but what is the underlying reason?There was a faint ominous sign in He Yibing's heart.Finally, he smiled wryly:

"It seems that you can't be persuaded to come back. My boss and big brother, you are so cruel. You have been together for 15 years, and you left after saying 'goodbye', and you have to say 'no more for life. Contact'... Forget it, let's not talk about it. If there is any aftermath work, you can arrange it." Xiao Shuihan smiled and said: "There is nothing to arrange. In fact, you have been in charge of the overall administration for the past few years—the six years since I got married. There is only one thing, you hurry up to produce the statue and install it .I want to go around the country before I go abroad, and I want to see it before I leave."

He was talking about a sphinx.Three days ago, Xiao Shuihan had handed over a 1% small statue to He Yibing, which would become the growth core of a big statue.He Yibing said: No problem, make sure you install it before you leave. "I wish you a smooth journey. In case something goes wrong, you should remember that my friendship is trustworthy." he said gravely.Xiao Shuihan knew the weight of this sentence and was very moved, but he didn't show any signs of it, and smiled and said goodbye to He Yibing. At dawn a few days later, seven or eight close friends including He Yibing, William Cox, and Park Zaiyuan saw him off in front of the Sphinx statue. The Xiaos were about to start their domestic tour.

The Sphinx statue with a human head and a sphinx body is located under the main building of the company. It is more than four meters long, crystal clear and white, smooth and soft.It is "naturally" generated by the ivory growth gene according to the artificially written shape code, and the whole body is seamless and exquisite.This statue is the Sinicization of Greek legends. The lion body is a traditional Chinese shape, but it does not adopt the dignified style since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, but imitates the evil spirits and Tianlu stone carvings of the Han Dynasty. , The body is vigorous and elegant, and the wings seem to open and close.The woman's head is partly freehand and concise, with her long hair fluttering backwards and scattered on the lion's body.Her figure is bumpy, her mouth is slightly raised, and her smile carries the mystery of Mona Lisa.From the first moment he saw her, Qiu Feng was fascinated. She circled around the lion's body, stroking it from head to tail, gasping in amazement, her eyes wandering like the sky.

"It's so beautiful! I can't describe it, it's so beautiful," she said sincerely. He Yibing said proudly: "I think it should be regarded as a flawless masterpiece." Xiao Shuihan was very happy, and asked Qiu Feng with a smile: "Do you still remember the mystery of the Sphinx in Greek mythology?" "Of course I do. The Sphinx, the daughter of the giant Typhon and the basilisk Ecarina, asked every passerby a riddle and devoured all who could not guess it. No one could After defeating her, even King Creon's son became a victim. The king had to issue an edict: Any hero who can get rid of the Sphinx can occupy his throne and marry his sister as his wife. At this time, a The brave and wise young man Oedipus came to the city of Thebes, and he was always bewitched by an ominous oracle. The oracle said that he was doomed to kill his father and marry his mother in his life, so he had to wander around to escape his fate. Therefore, he never valued life, and was determined to eliminate harm for the people. He challenged the Sphinx, who gave him the most difficult riddle. The riddle was: walk on four legs in the morning, and walk on two legs at noon. , Walking on three legs at night; the time when the legs are used the most is the time when the strength and speed are the weakest. The clever Oedipus guessed at once: the answer is people, and the childhood, middle age and old age of people are the essence of life. Morning, noon, and evening. The Sphinx killed himself in shame, and Oedipus became king. The water is cold, am I right?"

"Yes, that's right." Xiao Shuihan sighed, "I admire the speculation of the ancient Greeks. Scientists can often get philosophical inspiration from Greek mythology. This mystery of the Sphinx is actually a permanent mystery of the universe. Mystery is the ebb and flow of life, the alternation of life and death from generation to generation.” He said to He Yibing, “Please take care of this statue, maybe the mystery of my life lies in it.” He Yibing and the others looked at him suspiciously and nodded heavily.They couldn't understand the deep meaning in Xiao Shuihan's words, but they said: Don't worry, we will fulfill your entrustment.The autumn wind was bleak, the sycamore leaves swirled on the ground, and there was a chirp of geese in the air. More than a dozen wild geese flapped their wings vigorously and flew south according to the guidance of the Creator during the exciting period of migration. The herringbone-shaped formation of geese slowly disappeared below the horizon.Xiao Shuihan hugged his friends goodbye one by one, then carefully supported his pregnant wife and got into the H300 car.The Sphinx looked up and watched the car disappear on the horizon.