The train rattled along for almost two days, and Liu Li felt like her bones were about to fall apart. The further south they went, the more different the scenery outside the window became. The bare tree trunks disappeared, replaced by large groves of trees she couldn't name, green even in winter. There were also more ponds and streams, which looked quite novel to this northern girl.

Huzhou Station has arrived. Liu Li, carrying her luggage, squeezed off the train with the crowd. A wave of damp, chilly air hit her face, completely different from the dry cold of the north; it felt like a fine, cool veil seeping into her bones. She tightened her not-so-thick cotton-padded coat, somewhat regretting not listening to Zhang Shulan and stuffing in her thick woolen trousers.

The platform was bustling with people, all speaking in a soft, local dialect, which she could only understand bits and pieces of even with her ears strained. Following the address on the registration notice, she squeezed onto a creaking bus. As she looked at the unfamiliar streets and houses with white walls and black tiles, the initial novelty of getting off the train slowly gave way to a sense of bewilderment at being alone in a foreign land.

The First Machine Building Bureau was an old-fashioned Soviet-style building with gray walls, but the windows were polished to a shine. After registering at the guardhouse and finding out the office building where the "New Textile Machinery Technology Breakthrough Team" was located, she walked along the quiet corridor on the terrazzo floor, able to clearly hear her own footsteps.

The registration area was a large office at the far end of the second floor. She knocked on the door, and a deep, steady male voice came from inside: "Come in."

Pushing open the door, a mixture of warmth and the smell of ink rushed in. The office was large, with seven or eight desks, almost all of which were occupied. Some were drawing, while others were flipping through thick documents. Hearing the door open, several pairs of eyes turned to look at them with scrutiny and curiosity.

A middle-aged man, around forty years old and wearing black-rimmed glasses, stood up from behind the desk at the back and walked over. He was wearing a dark blue Zhongshan suit, buttoned up meticulously, with a blank expression on his face but sharp eyes.

"Comrade, who are you looking for?"

"Hello," Liu Li quickly took out her transfer order and letter of introduction from her bag and handed them over with both hands. "I am Liu Li from Hongxing Machinery Factory. I am here to report to the project team."

“Liu Li…” The middle-aged man took the materials, looked down at them carefully, repeated her name, then looked up, his gaze lingering on her face for two seconds, as if matching her with a certain impression. “Oh, Comrade Liu Li from Hongxing Factory. I am Chen Siyuan, the group leader of this ‘Precision Machining of Key Components’ group.”

His tone was calm, revealing no emotion; he simply confirmed her identity in a businesslike manner.

"Team Leader Chen, hello." Liu Li quickly greeted him.

Chen Siyuan nodded, returned the materials to her, and turned to the people in the office, saying simply, "New colleague, Liu Li, you'll be in our group from now on." Then he pointed to an empty seat by the window, "Sit there for now. Settle in, and I'll assign you specific tasks later."

"Okay, thank you, Team Leader Chen." Liu Li walked to the seat as instructed and sat down. The table was very clean, with only an old enamel mug and a bottle of ink.

The other people in the office glanced at her briefly when she entered, then quickly went back to their work. Occasionally, someone would look up at her with a polite distance in their eyes. She could sense that the atmosphere here was completely different from the bustling, camaraderie in the Red Star Factory workshop; it was quieter, and more... distant.

She silently placed her bag at her feet, took out the new notebook and pen Fu Jingchen had given her, and placed them neatly on the table. Looking at the unfamiliar courtyard and bare branches outside the window, and listening to the subtle sounds of papers turning and pens scratching in the office, Liu Li took a soft breath.

A new environment, a new beginning. This first step has been taken. The only question is whether this seemingly serious team leader, Chen, will get along well with these new colleagues who are all focused on their work. And will her background as a "worker-technician" be enough to succeed in this place that clearly values ​​theory and academic qualifications?