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Afterwards, He Tiantian and Huang Jingli talked a lot about business and life.

Huang Jingli suddenly remembered a question and said, "Sweetie, I've always had a question, but I haven't asked you yet. When you were in Qijia Village, did you really see the dragon?"

He Tiantian was taken aback and asked, "Why did you suddenly think of asking this question?"

Huang Jingli frowned and said, "Now, when I have nothing to do, I think about Qijia Village and discover many unique things about it. For example, while other villages are suffering from severe drought, our village has water, enough not only for our own village but also to help other villages; secondly, the produce in Taoyuan County is always more expensive than in other villages; and thirdly, there's that hot spring that appeared and disappeared inexplicably, and so on."

"Hehe!" He Tiantian laughed. "Once, when I was delivering something to my father, I was fortunate enough to see a dragon. At that time, feudal superstitions were being broken, and even if people had awe, it was in their hearts, not in what they talked about everywhere. So it was incredibly difficult to see a dragon; those who didn't see one were always half-believing and half-doubting."

"Huh?" Huang Jingli was stunned. "My God, is it really that amazing?"

“Yes, I saw it with my own eyes,” He Tiantian said. “There’s no need to lie to you. Just keep it to yourself and don’t tell anyone else, so as not to disrespect the dragon.”

Although the Snake King has left the human world, he did indeed do a lot for Qi Family Village and helped many villagers.

"Yes, I've got it," Huang Jingli said, feeling even more awe. She would embellish this passage artistically in her novel.

After having lunch there, Huang Jingli left satisfied.

He Tiantian took advantage of the afternoon when the snow stopped to go to the shop and bring back some account books, which she wanted to check.

Meanwhile, Huo Yingjie was working overtime, putting in tremendous effort to finish these tasks before the end of the year.

This project, at its normal pace, would take at least ten months, but Huo Yingjie managed to compress it to five and a half months so he could go home for the Chinese New Year.

Seeing how hard Huo Yingjie was working, Chief Engineer Sun felt sorry for him and came to Huo Yingjie privately to say, "Don't push yourself so hard, take care of your health!"

Huo Yingjie said with a wry smile, "Sigh, my wife and children are waiting for me to come home for the New Year. I won't go; they'll be very sad."

“But this work can’t be rushed,” Chief Engineer Sun said. “Some experiments require time to verify, and shortening the time might have negative consequences.”

Huo Yingjie smiled wryly and said, "I've done my best and guaranteed the results. Chief Engineer Sun, I also hope that the next task you assign me can be completed within five months. If it's still this tight, I will choose to resign."

Upon hearing that Huo Yingjie wanted to resign, Chief Engineer Sun became furious and said, "Huo Yingjie, you have a bright future ahead of you. You can't just keep talking about resigning!"

Hearing this, Huo Yingjie looked weary and said, "I'm so young. What will happen to my family if I work myself to death? Especially this ridiculous rule that we can't leave during the project. Although it's for secrecy, researchers are human too. They have lives, emotions, and desires. We've dedicated our youth to the country, shouldn't the country treat us better? Look at how many people have died in our institute in the past six months. One was just over fifty, and another was forty-eight, both from overwork."

Huo Yingjie's words made Chief Engineer Sun fall into deep thought.

"Sigh, it's because the task is urgent," said Chief Engineer Sun. He felt increasingly powerless lately, and his health was deteriorating day by day.

“The task was urgent, and everyone worked desperately, putting in overtime and working day and night, which was consuming their lives,” Huo Yingjie said. “They are mature, steady, and experienced researchers. It takes a dozen or twenty years for a young researcher to grow into an experienced researcher, but they died from overwork, which is a loss to the country. However, even if the country loses one researcher, there are still tens of thousands of researchers. But what about their families? What about their loved ones? They only have one family, and once they die, they are completely gone.”

Chief Engineer Sun remained silent.

Huo Yingjie continued, "We have always emphasized sacrificing the individual for the greater good, but if the individual is gone, where is the greater good?"

"So, what good suggestions do you have?" Chief Engineer Sun felt that Huo Yingjie's words made a lot of sense, especially the researcher who had recently passed away. He was only forty-eight years old; it was such a pity that he died so young.

“Now that rest days are in effect everywhere else, we should do the same here. We can’t just have a few days off during the Lunar New Year and work the rest of the time in the lab,” Huo Yingjie said. “This way, everyone can have time to relax, have a good balance between work and rest, be more efficient, and it won’t affect our work.”

Chief Engineer Sun thought for a moment and said, "Hmm, you're right. I'll talk to one of the managers at the research institute during this time. One day off a week is a bit too little for you, isn't it?"

Huo Yingjie felt a little embarrassed by what Chief Engineer Sun said, and replied, "I can take two days off every two weeks, so I can go home and spend the weekend there, and then take the bus back on Sunday afternoon."

"Do you know how much manpower and resources this will take?" Chief Engineer Sun asked with difficulty. People like Huo Yingjie need protection when they go out, at least two people. And there are quite a few people like Huo Yingjie.

Huo Yingjie smiled and said, "That's still better than working researchers to death. Nowadays, everyone has days off. Although we sometimes work overtime for research, many people get tired of their jobs if there are no days off. At the same time, we researchers don't just waste time in the lab, but study new directions and new projects to find suitable methods. A balance between work and rest is more efficient."

Chief Engineer Sun nodded and said, "Yes, I will consider it. Take care of yourself."

"Yes, thank you, Chief Engineer Sun," Huo Yingjie said gratefully. If it goes through, he will be able to go home every two weeks next year.

After returning home, Chief Engineer Sun kept thinking about this issue.

When they got home, Chief Engineer Sun couldn't help but tell Aunt Li about it.

Aunt Li smiled and said softly, "Compared to the naked exploitation in capitalist countries, don't you think the socialist ideology of sacrificing the individual for the greater good is a very deceptive form of exploitation, making people willingly accept exploitation?"

Aunt Li also studied abroad and researched philosophy, so she has an extraordinary perspective.

Chief Engineer Sun was speechless for a long time after being silenced by Aunt Li's words.

(To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it on Qidian (www.qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)