A nation's industrial development begins with junior engineers.

Chapter 833 The people are gone, but the machines must remain!

The twilight light shone through the laboratory windows, casting long shadows on the floor.

In the corridor outside the door, the factory director and Lao Liu squatted against the wall, the clay pot in their hands still steaming. Water droplets condensed on the edge of the wooden lid dripped down the cracks, scalding Lao Liu so much that he quietly switched hands and quickly wrapped the bottom of the pot with a handkerchief.

This pot of "highly nourishing soup" simmered all afternoon, with plenty of angelica, astragalus, and codonopsis, and there was even a cute little bird lying inside.

The original intention was to nourish Jiangxia and Chenggui, but as soon as they reached the door, they heard the conversation inside and stopped in their tracks.

"Factory Director! Listen to this... this is clearly an attempt to lure away our technicians! Comrade Cheng Gui is currently the most knowledgeable and capable researcher in our factory; we can't let him fool us away!"

The factory manager didn't seem surprised. He sighed, his tone tinged with helplessness: "Bend? What do you mean by bending? Old Liu, Technician Zhang Chenggui's personnel file isn't with us. He was sent down from above to support our construction."

"Then... are we still going to send this specially prepared nourishing soup as a gift?" Old Liu was still a little resentful.

Before the factory manager could say anything more, the sounds continued to come from inside the laboratory.

"Hey, you're trying to sneak away on your first day at the Chinese medicine factory?"

"Of course not!" Cheng Gui's voice was crisp and clear, carrying a hint of the grievances from back then. It was just that accent that had been completely assimilated...

Jiang Xia had originally intended to hear this person speak in the soft, melodious Wu dialect.

Who would have thought the synchronization effect of the Northeastern dialect would be so outstanding, it's simply terrifying...

"I studied Western medicine for four years, and I was very familiar with test tubes, beakers, and spectrometers. But when I was assigned to work, I was thrown into a Chinese medicine factory! You have no idea what happened when my mentor was talking to me about 'Yin and Yang and the Five Elements,' 'principal, assistant, adjuvant, and guide,' and 'nature, flavor, and meridian tropism.' It was like listening to gibberish to me. It felt even more mysterious than the 'negative pressure gradient distribution' I saw on the computer the other day!"

Old Liu, squatting outside the door, clenched his fists so tightly that he almost tore his handkerchief to shreds. He silently cursed, "Why does this idiot always bring up the most awkward things?" The factory manager next to him quickly pressed him down, signaling with his eyes, "Listen to this," but he himself also had a tense face and sweaty palms.

He knew that Cheng Gui had just gone to that Chinese medicine factory in Tianjin and was indeed looking forward to being transferred every day, and hadn't even opened his luggage much.

Hey, please don't let that thought pop into your head here again!

……

Listening to Cheng Gui's straightforward remarks in the laboratory, Jiang Xia couldn't help but feel a sense of感慨 (gan3kai3, a complex feeling of mixed emotions, including regret and reflection). The trajectory of history is always so similar. Indeed, many leading figures were initially "forced" onto that seemingly accidental but actually inevitable path by the times and reality.

For example, when working on the "electron double-slit interference experiment," Comrade Gan Chang, whom Senior Sister Zehui brought along, was someone else who went from particle physics to serve the young lady.

And that woman who wrote the book is even more remarkable, asking, "If the motherland needs you, are you willing?"

He changed his research direction three times, and the key point is that these three directions were completely unrelated, which is equivalent to starting from scratch.

Yes, not only them, but also many, many other people.

It is countless researchers like these who, despite lacking a distinguished initial background and being assigned to seemingly "unsuitable" positions, have taken root in ordinary soil with their indomitable spirit and a sense of responsibility for the needs of the people, blossoming into extraordinary achievements.

They may remain unknown throughout their lives, but it is precisely these millions of people who are "forced" and "persevered" that have gathered into a powerful force for national progress.

……

"Since you're so upset, haven't you ever thought about changing positions and transferring back to a pharmaceutical factory or research institute?"

The conversation inside the lab continued, but as soon as these words were spoken, the two people squatting outside the door felt their hearts leap into their throats.

Cheng Gui's voice paused for a moment, and when it rang out again, it carried less of a complaint and more of a complex emotion: "I thought about it, how could I not? For the first few months, I wanted to submit a report every day. I felt that all my skills were useless here, and I was very frustrated."

She seemed lost in memories, and her speech slowed down: "Until one time, I went on a medical round with the old doctor to the countryside. In a remote village, we met a villager who was seriously ill. At that time, there was a shortage of medical care and medicine, and the man was on the verge of death. The old doctor leading the team managed to pull the man back from the brink of death by using a few herbs he had picked from the mountains and boiling them in the most traditional way."

"Going to the countryside for medical treatment?"

"Yeah!" Cheng Gui chuckled self-deprecatingly. "You wouldn't believe it, someone like me who studied Western medicine is now practically a doctor. Life in the countryside is so tough... no doctors, no medicine. When you get sick, you just have to tough it out..."

“I was watching from the side. That bowl of dark, murky medicine was no longer something ‘unscientific’ in my eyes; it became a life.”

Cheng Gui suddenly became serious: "That's when I started to understand. On this land, in many places where Western medicine can't reach, traditional Chinese medicine is the lifeline that ordinary people hold in their hands."

"Later, I thought, since I understand some theories of medicinal chemistry and formulation, why can't I try to understand and improve it with a scientific perspective and methods?"

Even if we can't fully understand 'why,' we can at least try to make it more effective, more stable, and easier for ordinary people to use. Gradually, we start to feel that this is...quite interesting and meaningful.

Jiang Xia put down his pencil, looked at the colorful test tubes in front of her, and asked softly, "So you don't want to change jobs now?"

"What are you changing!" Cheng Gui picked up an orange-yellow test tube, shook the liquid inside, and his eyes gleamed.

"I am now testing the effective components of Banlangen (Isatis root), and as I watch the data gradually increase, I think about how these medicines can be delivered to the mountains and rural areas so that people no longer have to suffer because they have no medicine."

Moreover, I've discovered that traditional Chinese medicine has fewer side effects. For example, the Danshen blood-activating formula I'm researching is gentler than nitroglycerin, and can be used by the elderly. Although I have a background in Western medicine, I now feel that understanding and mastering traditional Chinese medicine is more important than anything else.

These words, transmitted clearly through the crack in the door, reached the ears of the two people outside.

The factory manager outside the door secretly breathed a sigh of relief; his back was soaked with sweat. Old Liu also grinned and revealed a smile.

"Did you hear that? Comrade Cheng Gui really wants to stay and work on traditional Chinese medicine!" The factory director lowered his voice, his eyes full of satisfaction.

"We need to add two more herbs to this soup. I also have a good one with six leaves that I've saved up. I'll put it in to nourish the two kids! They've put so much effort into the medicine from our factory, we can't let them down!"

"Tsk..." Old Liu was still very reluctant.

It feels like my own daughter has been kidnapped by a blond guy!

"Are you stupid? Even if the person leaves, can he take the machines, the blueprints, and the ideas with him? This kid wants to swindle our technicians, but he can't just leave them behind for nothing! Let's go back and make some soup!"

"Okay!" Old Liu nodded quickly, picked up the casserole and ran to the kitchen, his steps becoming much lighter.

……

Behind them, in the shadows, Company Commander Tang silently twitched the corner of his mouth. With his keen senses, he had already noticed the two eavesdropping outside the door, but sensing that they meant no harm, he tacitly allowed them to stay.

However, the phrase "the people are gone, but the machines remain" still made Company Commander Tang frown slightly.