Chapter 152 Educated Youth in the 1970s (Sixteen) I Want to Build! I Want to Learn...
"Mom, what...did you say? Xiao Ce...isn't married yet?"
Song Fei stared blankly at his mother, hardly believing his ears. His younger brother, Song Ce, had clearly married Zi Ling in early July 1975, as he remembered it. How could this be…?
Seeing her eldest son's shocked expression, Song's mother was startled. She quickly handed the water glass to Song Fei and asked with some concern, "Xiao Fei, what's wrong with you? Why are you talking nonsense?"
Song Fei held the water glass, carefully took a sip, and felt the warm water slowly slide down his esophagus. Only then did he feel a sense of reality.
"Mom, I...I'm fine." Song Fei forced a smile. "I just had a nightmare, and my mind is a little muddled."
Song's mother looked Song Fei carefully and, seeing that he did not seem to be sick, she was relieved.
"Xiaofei, it's getting late, you should go back to your room and get some sleep! If you're still not feeling well tomorrow, take a day off and rest at home."
"Okay, Mom, I'll go back to my room now."
"Go quickly!"
Closing the door, Song Fei leaned against it and let out a long sigh. Once he had calmed down, he went to his desk, picked up the open book, and examined it closely—it was indeed a professional book on basic accounting knowledge. He carefully opened the book to the first page, where his name was prominently displayed: Song Fei.
The handwriting is strong, neat, and elegant.
It seems that in this world, he really is an accountant. Song Fei pulled out a chair and sat down, staring blankly at the calendar on the wall.
July 15, 1974... For him before, this day had no special meaning; but now, it represents a brand new beginning.
He didn't know why he had come here, nor what these changes meant to him. Were they changed because of his arrival, or were they simply how things were always?
Song Fei did not know the answer.
The next morning, as soon as he got up, Song's mother knocked on his door and called him to come out and have breakfast.
Song Fei pushed open the door and looked at his mother's smiling face in the living room. His eyes involuntarily welled up with tears. Ever since Xiao Ce started writing home every few days, asking for money and wanting to return to the city, life at home had never been as easy as it was today.
"Xiaofei, are you feeling better?" Song's mother took out a dish of pickled vegetables and saw her eldest son standing blankly at the door, so she hurriedly asked with concern.
"Mom, I'm fine, I'm much better now."
"That's good, come and eat!"
Song Fei nodded, washed his hands in the basin first, and then walked to the dining table and sat down.
On the table were three large bowls of brown rice porridge and two dishes of pickled vegetables. To his astonishment, several large, warm, and fluffy white steamed buns sat on the left-hand steamer. Song Fei was completely baffled. Were their family's circumstances this good at this time in his previous life? Were they even able to afford refined grains?
"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and eat, you still have to go to work at the grain store after you finish eating!"
Just then, Song's father walked in from the yard with a towel draped over his shoulder.
"Xiaofei, Dad has fixed your bicycle. He's also put some oil on the chain. Be careful when you ride it and see if there are any more noises."
Song Fei: "..."
bike?
He secretly pinched his thigh, and the clear pain in his leg told him that what he was seeing was not a dream.
Song Fei responded, then mumbled, "Dad, does your factory have a bicycle rental service... Xiao Lin said he wants to get one too."
Mr. Song lowered his head, took a sip of porridge, shook his head, and said, "Bicycles aren't so easy to get. The one you're riding now was a reward from the organization after Xiao Ce made a significant contribution to the village and was commended. These days, you need ration coupons to buy industrial goods like bicycles; it's very difficult to obtain!"
It's Song Ce again.
Song Fei could sense that Song Ce in this world was completely different from the one he knew in his previous life. He never imagined that Song Ce would so readily give such a precious item as a bicycle to his older brother.
He hastily shoveled down a few mouthfuls of porridge, deciding to first understand the current situation before making any plans.
...
Song Ce slept soundly. When he woke up, he looked at his watch beside his pillow and saw the hands had just reached the seven. After he finished getting ready and having breakfast, he saw Engineer Zhou in his work clothes, smiling and waving at him.
"Xiao Song, since this is your first day here, let me show you around our agricultural machinery depot. Let's go!"
"Why!"
The courtyard of the Municipal Agricultural Machinery Research Institute is very large. Engineer Zhou pointed to the two-story building in the center not far from the dormitory and said, "That is the office of all the staff of our Qing City Agricultural Machinery Research Institute. Everyone usually studies blueprints and writes reports here. I will take you there after we finish our tour."
Song Ce nodded and continued walking forward with Engineer Zhou.
"Our research institute is relatively new and not very large yet, but it has everything we need. That's the agricultural machinery R&D and manufacturing plant over there, which is the core area of our institute! We usually process parts and debug equipment there. The two rows of red brick buildings next to it are the agricultural machinery storage area; the ones on the left are abandoned, and the ones on the right are usable."
"What's that factory with its open iron gate over there for?" Song Ce asked curiously.
"That's the testing facility, mainly for performance testing of our newly developed agricultural machinery, such as its working performance, reliability, and safety. We tested your combine harvester in the facility on the left, and its power performance was excellent," Engineer Zhou said with a smile.
Song Ce smiled as he listened to the sounds of hardware hammering and debugging coming from the test plant.
Engineer Zhou pointed to the vast expanse of fields ahead and laughed heartily: "That's all the farmland we've built so far. Further ahead is a huge experimental field. Feel free to try out any ideas you have, but you must report to your superiors beforehand, understand?"
"Yes, Engineer Zhou!"
"Good job, lad! We all have high hopes for you!" Engineer Zhou patted Song Ce on the shoulder and said with a smile.
"Yes! Please rest assured, organization!"
After Engineer Zhou finished introducing the basic situation of the Agricultural Machinery Research Institute, he took Song Ce back to the two-story office building where they had started.
Song Ce's appearance immediately attracted the attention of many researchers. After all, such a young new face was rare, especially since Zhou Liuliang was the one who led him in.
Who is Zhou Liuliang? He's Professor Wei's right-hand man! Ever since Professor Wei transferred from Beijing to Qing City last year, he personally selected Zhou Liuliang to work with him on agricultural machinery research. At this moment, Zhou Liuliang seemed oblivious to the probing gazes and led Song Ce straight to Professor Wei's office.
Professor Wei's office was simply furnished, with the only decoration on the wall being a banner that read "Diligence and Rigor, Science and Technology for Agriculture".
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Professor Wei got straight to the point: "Little Song, since you were able to build a harvester independently, your personal abilities are undoubtedly excellent. However, you might lack some theoretical knowledge about agricultural machinery, so you'll need to brush up on that. I'll give you a month to study here! During this time, Engineer Zhou and I will be at the R&D plant, so feel free to ask us anything you don't understand." He then pointed to the empty seat opposite Engineer Zhou and smiled, "I'll come over periodically to test you. Are you confident?"
“Reporting to Professor Wei, I have it!” Song Ce said, straightening his back.
"Good, that's ambitious! Here's the key to the archives next door. You can look at all the documents there. Go on!"
Song Ce nodded and watched Professor Wei and Engineer Zhou leave the office.
For the next month, Song Ce practically lived in the archives, sometimes so busy he didn't even have time to eat. He was like a dry sponge, absorbing all the knowledge in the archives with all his might.
The researchers who had noticed Song Ce from the beginning were getting restless. One by one, they wanted to test the new researcher's abilities. After all, he was just a young upstart who had already gained Professor Wei's favor upon arriving at the Agricultural Machinery Institute. These veterans who had been at the institute for several years felt a little resentful.
"Baiquan, what do you think that kid's background is?" A researcher wearing glasses leaned over and asked in a low voice.
"You don't know yet?" Cao Baiquan put some jasmine tea in his enamel mug and said in a low voice, "I heard from Zhou's student Xiao Meng that this kid was an educated youth who was sent to the countryside. Two months ago, he was awarded the title of 'Five-Good Educated Youth' and 'Technical Expert'. Professor Wei heard about it and personally transferred him from the village to our agricultural machinery institute."
"Sent-down youth? I've heard there's a lot more to it than meets the eye! Do you know exactly why you were selected?"
"They say they built a harvester from scrap metal from a junkyard, but I don't know if that's true or not."
"I reckon this kid must have some skills, otherwise why would Professor Wei have taken a liking to him?"
"Keep your voice down!" Cao Baiquan quickly covered the bespectacled man's mouth and gestured towards the window seat. "Didn't you see Xie Guoliang's face change? You'd better say less!"
"Why……"
By the window, Xie Guoliang gripped the enamel mug slightly, causing a few drops of tea to spill onto his half-finished sketch. He had been at the agricultural machinery institute for five years, one of the first students trained by Professor Wei, but now a sent-down youth had stolen his thunder.
On what grounds?
Cao Baiquan, who was standing next to Xie Guoliang, glanced at Xie Guoliang's ugly face and quickly pulled the bespectacled man away.
...
This month, Professor Wei tested Song Ce three times.
The first time, he kindly asked Song Ce what books he usually read, and then asked him questions based on the books Song Ce mentioned. As expected, Song Ce got a perfect score.
The second time, in addition to the normal test, Professor Wei added several questions about modifying the structure of agricultural machinery drawings, which Song Ce answered flawlessly as well.
The third time was a little different. Professor Wei gathered all the researchers from the Agricultural Machinery Institute together and conducted an open-ended questioning session with Song Ce. Song Ce remained composed and answered each question clearly and logically, earning him a round of applause on the spot.
After this incident, everyone at the agricultural machinery institute changed their impression of Song Ce from a young, newly arrived educated youth to a researcher with real skills.
Two years later, Song Ce successfully developed a self-propelled combine harvester based on the original combine harvester, and named it Qing-A1. The news shocked the entire agricultural machinery institute.
After Professor Wei led the testing and improvements, the performance of the Qing-A1 became increasingly stable. With the roar of the engine, Song Ce skillfully drove the Qing-A1 slowly into the test field. Watching this harvester operate continuously for up to three hours without interruption, Professor Wei exclaimed "Good!" three times in a row!
He wanted to announce to the entire research institute that the test of the Qing-A1 had been successfully completed!
Almost at the same moment, a shocking piece of news spread rapidly throughout Qing City.
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Author's Note: [Dog head with rose in hand]
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