In the days following sending the letter, Liu Li was somewhat absent-minded. She made several mistakes in her drawings, couldn't enjoy her meals, and even when Zhou Wei discussed the next optimization plan with her, she would frequently drift off into thought. The scales in her mind kept tipping towards Beijing one moment and towards the workshop the next, making her feel uneasy.

She even started paying attention to the mail rack outside the project site, going there several times a day to check it.

Just when she felt she was about to lose her temper from this choice, the old man in the gatehouse shouted through the window: "Liu Li! There's a letter for you! From the Red Star Factory!"

Liu Li's heart skipped a beat, and she practically ran over. The envelope bore Wang Shifu's familiar, slightly crooked but powerful handwriting. Clutching the letter, she didn't rush to open it, but instead retreated to her quiet corner in the workshop.

She took a deep breath before carefully tearing open the envelope. Inside was just a thin sheet of paper; Master Wang's words were always precious.

"Riko, I received the letter."

The beginning was in his usual calm and unassuming tone.

"I heard you did a great job over there, and you've made a name for yourself. That's good; you haven't let me down."

Seeing this, Liu Li felt a lump in her throat.

"It's a good thing that the ministry has taken a liking to you; it means you've reached a certain level of competence." The handwriting paused here, and the ink smudged slightly, as if the writer was also considering his words.

Then, what she said next made Liu Li's heart jump.

"The larger the platform, the more things it can do."

Did this sound like someone was trying to persuade her to go? Liu Li held her breath and looked down.

"But we need to figure out where the root is."

"Don't let the delicious meat in someone else's bowl make you forget how good your own steamed bun is."

"Don't forget your original intention."

The letter ended abruptly there. There was no lengthy analysis, no decision made for her; only these few lines, like hard stones, pounded into Liu Li's turbulent heart.

The larger the platform, the more things it can do... but it needs to understand its roots... and never forget its original purpose...

She pondered these words repeatedly, especially the words "roots" and "original aspiration." Where were her roots? They were in that workshop filled with the smell of machine oil and metal shavings, in the process of touching materials with her own hands, hearing the cutting sounds, and solving specific problems. What was her original aspiration? It was to learn a skill diligently, to become a craftsman like Master Wang, someone who earns a living through their skills and can solve practical problems.

Going to a research institute to track intelligence and do promotion sounds glamorous, but is that still the front-line technical work she loves and excels at? Away from the roaring environment of machine tools, can her material still unleash its full potential?

Master Wang didn't say it explicitly, but she understood the meaning between the lines. He was afraid that she would be blinded by the halo of that "big platform" and forget where her most comfortable and natural battlefield was.

She gripped the thin sheet of letter tightly, her fingertips turning slightly white from the pressure. The scales in her heart, which had been swaying for so long, seemed to have been suddenly steadied by a rough, strong hand, and the pointer clearly pointed in one direction.

Outside the window, the familiar roar of machines from the workshop could be faintly heard. Now, the sound no longer seemed noisy; instead, it gave her a sense of peace and reassurance.

She let out a long, thorough sigh of relief; the cotton ball that had been pressing on her chest seemed to have finally been pierced by this letter.