Chapter 121 Group List
Lin Yuanshu hadn't expected her words to have the opposite effect. She opened her notebook, looked at the first name written on it, and called out loudly, "Is Comrade Wang Jun here?"
A man in the crowd raised his hand and answered loudly, "I'm here."
Lin Yuanshu nodded and didn't shout anymore. The two of them walked into the conference room together.
Upon entering the conference room, the two sat facing each other at the conference table.
Lin Yuanshu smiled and said, "Don't be nervous. We're just chatting casually. The fact that you were even able to attend the interview already shows that you're very capable. However, in a team, it's not enough to just do your job well; you also need to get along with everyone and cooperate well."
Wang Jun was not good with words, and he didn't know how to answer, so he could only nod and agree, "You're right."
Lin Yuanshu stopped the small talk and got down to business, "When you're doing an experiment, if you encounter a culture medium with poor quality raw materials, what's the first thing you do?"
Wang Jun thought for a moment and answered truthfully, "I will first take a small portion of the raw materials for small-scale fermentation. If there are no problems, I will use this batch of culture medium raw materials. If there are problems, I will try to solve them..."
A hint of satisfaction flashed in Lin Yuanshu's eyes, but she didn't show it. She hadn't expected the first interviewee to be so good; it was obvious that he had worked in a penicillin workshop.
In this era, unstable culture medium raw materials are the norm. What she needs are people who can find solutions to problems on their own, not people who just complain to her about the poor quality of the raw materials and wait for her to coordinate a replacement with a batch of qualified culture medium raw materials.
Lin Yuanshu then asked a few more questions, mainly to assess whether Wang Jun dared to try, and whether his thinking was conservative or more inclined to seek innovation and change.
Faced with one question after another, Wang Jun had no time to think and could only quickly state his thoughts.
After asking the last question, Lin Yuanshu put a checkmark on Wang Jun's notebook. Wang Jun's answer was quite commendable, and she liked this kind of group member who dared to think and act.
She closed her laptop and smiled, "Thank you for coming to today's interview. We should have the results by tonight. Thank you for coming all this way."
Wang Jun scratched his head sheepishly, "It wasn't hard work."
He still really wanted to work under Lin Yuanshu. At least judging from the questions Lin Yuanshu asked him, Lin Yuanshu wasn't someone who was completely ignorant about penicillin. He must have put in the effort to read the materials; otherwise, he wouldn't have asked such professional questions.
Wang Jun stood up, preparing to leave the meeting room, when Lin Yuanshu whispered a reminder: "Don't tell anyone else about the questions we'll ask in the interview. If they find out in advance what questions I'll ask and are prepared to answer them, you'll be the one who suffers."
Wang Jun was not angered by Lin Yuanshu's reminder. He knew that Lin Yuanshu was doing it for his own good, not to belittle him. He solemnly promised, "I will not reveal it."
Lin Yuanshu nodded in satisfaction. She wasn't satisfied with Wang Jun's answer, but rather with his attitude. She liked working with people who were emotionally stable, and she didn't have to think too much when talking to them.
She followed Wang Jun to the door of the conference room, where Wang Jun opened the door and braced it with his arm.
Lin Yuanshu quickly called out a name to the comrades in the corridor, signaling that person to come in for an interview.
After the comrade entered the conference room, Wang Jun let go of his hand and closed the conference room door.
The interviewees who hadn't even been interviewed yet immediately surrounded Wang Jun, asking him for information.
"Comrade Wang Jun, what did you talk about inside? Did Comrade Lin Yuanshu ask you if you could join the project team? What aspects of penicillin did you mainly discuss?"
How do you think your answer was? Can you join the project team? What should we keep in mind when answering questions?
Wang Jun was overwhelmed by these miscellaneous questions and didn't know which one to answer first. He said blankly, "We didn't talk about much, just some professional knowledge about penicillin. We'll have to wait until tonight for the results. Comrade Lin Yuanshu should wait until he has met with all of us before making the best selection."
One of the comrades looked somewhat dissatisfied and pressed on, "What you've said is as good as saying nothing at all. We want to know exactly what questions we asked you."
Wang Jun smiled憨厚ly and said confidently, "Comrade Lin Yuanshu asked too many questions, and I've almost forgotten them all. When it's your turn to be interviewed, you'll naturally know what questions they'll ask. I have to go back to my post now, and I really don't have time to chat with you any longer. I'll take my leave now."
After saying this, Wang Jun didn't wait for anyone else to answer before immediately squeezing out of the encirclement and getting away from this troublesome place.
Upon hearing Wang Jun's words, everyone felt a mix of emotions. Those who were prepared were naturally confident, feeling that they should be able to handle Lin Yuanshu's questions, while those who were unprepared were somewhat uneasy, realizing that it was a bit late to start looking at the materials now.
However, no one left. After all, they were already at the last minute, and they didn't want to be so lucky. Giving up now would be a huge loss.
Lin Yuanshu interviewed several more people. She originally thought that most of the interviewees were about the same level as Wang Jun, but she was wrong. Wang Jun was actually one of the best.
Time passed slowly, and Lin Yuanshu finally finished interviewing everyone. She felt more tired than the interviewees, her mind constantly racing. Fortunately, the final result was good.
A small number of interviewees also had mixed feelings. They had gone to great lengths to find out what questions Lin Yuanshu might ask, but it turned out that Lin Yuanshu's questions were randomly selected, and their prepared answers were completely useless, a waste of their effort.
After organizing the list of his selected team members, Lin Yuanshu headed towards Director Huang's office.
The team members she selected all shared one characteristic: they dared to think and try. She was not interested in those who only talked about theory but dared not put it into practice. After all, anyone can talk the talk but not walk the walk.
If we cooperate well with them this time, there will be no need to change personnel for the next research project.
Hong Shuang'er is a bit special. She doesn't have the same professional knowledge as the others, nor does she have any experience in researching penicillin. However, she is good at listening to others. Although she can't do fermentation or extraction work, she can take on auxiliary roles, such as helping to coordinate materials and record data.
In the project team, she needed someone who was completely devoted to her. There were some things she couldn't say out loud, and Hong Shuang'er became her "second mouth".
Furthermore, Hong Shuang'er isn't without her merits. Having her work alongside Zhang Xin—one is eloquent, the other has connections—means she won't have to worry about material matters.
Not long after, Lin Yuanshu arrived at Director Huang's office. She knocked on the door and went inside.
Director Huang looked up and saw that it was Lin Yuanshu. He put down his pen and said with a smile, "Your interview was pretty quick. You arrived earlier than I expected."
As Lin Yuanshu handed the list of members he had selected to Director Huang, he replied with a smile, "After all, everyone has their own work to do, and we can't let the interviews interfere with everyone's work."
Director Huang took the list of members, glanced at it, and realized he didn't recognize most of the names.
He looked up at Lin Yuanshu and asked, "Are you sure you want these people to join the project team? If you're sure now, you can't change it later. If you're unsure, I can recommend a few suitable candidates for you to consider."
Lin Yuanshu said firmly, "No need. I'm sure I want them to join the project team I'm in charge of. They've all talked to me in person, and their professional knowledge and interpersonal skills are exactly what I'm looking for."
Director Huang thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "Since you've made up your mind, I won't say anything more. I'll have my assistant post the team list you've finalized on the bulletin board in a bit, and you can start working with them tomorrow to improve the penicillin production process."
Director Huang paused for a moment, then continued, "I heard that Team Leader Lü's research project at the First Research Institute is nearing completion. You don't need to compare yourself to Team Leader Lü. When you were still a factory worker, he had already started researching penicillin. Just follow your own steps. If the sky falls, I'll hold it up for you."
Lin Yuanshu's journey has been too smooth so far, and he was worried that Lin Yuanshu would stumble on this matter.
Upon hearing this, Lin Yuanshu gave a bright smile and said confidently, "Don't worry, I will proceed steadily and surely, and I won't be greedy for quick success."
She never intended to compete with Team Leader Lü. Her task was to improve the penicillin production process as much as possible, based on the existing foundation, to increase the efficiency of the penicillin production workshop and increase output.
For now, she can only focus on improving the strains, optimizing the fermentation process, and simplifying the purification process.
If you ask her to improve relatively simple equipment like a reactor, she can give you a reasonable explanation. But if you ask her to improve more sophisticated equipment, she's completely clueless.
It's like how she can explain the various parts of a fan, but can't explain the structure of a television at all.
Therefore, she can only make improvements based on the existing system. As for improvements to the penicillin equipment, there's no point in even thinking about it, because that's impossible.
Improving the penicillin production process may seem simple, but it is actually fraught with difficulties. Otherwise, Team Leader Lü would not have spent several years researching without producing any results.
She already felt pressured just thinking about cultivating a strain that combined high yield, stability, and strong resistance to contamination; she wasn't even confident that she could complete the task within two years.
Before leaving get off work, Director Huang's assistant posted the list of penicillin project team members on all the bulletin boards in the institute for staff reference.
Hong Shuang'er was incredibly excited to see her name on the list. She couldn't help but say to the intern next to her, "That's great! I can join the project team led by Comrade Lin Yuanshu."
Intern Li said with a serious expression, "I don't know if it's a blessing or a curse that you can join us? After all, the members in your group are all very capable, and they can talk about penicillin with ease."
After all, he knew Hong Shuang'er; her work ability wasn't particularly strong.
Hong Shuang'er waved her hand dismissively and said excitedly, "Everyone starts from not knowing to knowing. I have a mouth, and I will ask Comrade Lin Yuanshu if I encounter any problems I don't understand. The stronger a colleague's work ability is, the greater the probability that we will complete the task. How could it be a disaster!"
She knew that she was able to get into this project team thanks to her previous friendship with Comrade Lin Yuanshu. Fortunately, she did not follow Feng Aiguo down the wrong path and go against Comrade Lin Yuanshu, but chose to abandon the darkness and embrace the light.
Anyway, no matter which project team she's in, she has to follow the team leader's orders. To her, it doesn't really matter whose orders she follows, so she doesn't feel that following Comrade Lin Yuanshu's orders will hurt her self-esteem. Some people want to follow orders, but they don't even have the chance yet!
Seeing that Hong Shuang'er seemed to have her own plans, intern Li didn't say anything more. After all, he and Hong Shuang'er were just colleagues, and he had no right to interfere in Hong Shuang'er's affairs.
When Mas saw the list, he felt uncomfortable. The intern who had argued with him before was able to join the project team to improve penicillin, which deprived him of an opportunity to laugh at that intern.
He also complained that Lin Yuanshu was incompetent. If Lin Yuanshu had only chosen assistant researchers and not interns, he wouldn't have fallen out with the others. Lin Yuanshu was too cunning. He did this on purpose to make him fall out with the other interns. He was very scheming.
Deputy Director Liu was quite satisfied with the list. At least Lin Yuanshu did not openly favor Director Huang. The selection team included his people, Director Huang's people, and those who remained neutral, making it quite balanced. It seems that Lin Yuanshu also understands the meaning of balance.
Lin Yuanshu had no idea that her group list would make others think so much. As soon as the bell rang, she left the microbial fermentation laboratory and went straight home.
After meeting Zhou Xiangyang at the back door of the cafeteria, the two rode their bicycles home together.
Lin Yuanshu sat in the back seat. A gust of cold wind blew over, and she couldn't help but curl up. She preferred summer to winter; the winters in Beijing were just too cold.
The two chatted idly for a while.
"What has Mom been up to lately? She hasn't been giving me any trouble."
Zhou Xiangyang thought for a moment and answered truthfully, "She's causing trouble for Aunt Wei."
Lin Yuanshu was not surprised by this answer, after all, it was at her behest that Aunt Wei caused trouble for her mother-in-law.
She just didn't expect the two of them to still be arguing. She thought they had stopped a long time ago, since more than half a year had passed. No wonder her mother-in-law had the energy to deal with her. If she had her mother-in-law's energy when she was working, she would be able to work overtime every day.
"I didn't expect Mom to be so busy," Lin Yuanshu exclaimed sincerely.
She's always dealing with her daughter-in-law or the neighbor; her mother-in-law is better suited for the emperor's harem—life is all about endless struggle.
Zhou Xiangyang didn't catch Lin Yuanshu's implied meaning. He smiled and explained, "Uncle Wei recently became the head of the repair team, and Aunt Wei has been bragging about it to our mother, which has made their relationship even worse..."
Before they knew it, the two had returned to the apartment building. Zhou Xiangyang pushed his bicycle to the bike shed and locked it, while Lin Yuanshu waited for him downstairs.
Lin Yuanshu didn't wait for Zhou Xiangyang; instead, he met the plump old lady first.
The plump woman saw Lin Yuanshu downstairs alone and greeted him warmly, asking, "Why are you downstairs alone? Where's your husband? You two are usually seen together."
Lin Yuanshu said somewhat embarrassedly, "He went to the bike shed to lock his bicycle."
The plump woman paused for a moment, then burst into laughter, saying, "I knew it! How could you possibly be alone downstairs? It's a blessing not to have your mother-in-law causing trouble at home. You two young people have such a sweet relationship. I'm not as lucky as you. I endured most of my life before my mother-in-law finally got rid of me..."
Lin Yuanshu said a few words of comfort, telling the plump woman to look forward and not be bound by the old ways.
The two didn't chat for long before Zhou Xiangyang returned to Lin Yuanshu's side, and the three of them went upstairs together.
As soon as the three of them stepped out of the stairwell, they saw two older female neighbors standing in front of Lin Yuanshu's house, each holding a bowl of dumplings.
Lin Yuanshu knew at a glance that they were coming for her, since quite a few people had wanted to give her gifts in the past two days, but she hadn't accepted any of them.
Ignoring the plump woman's presence, the two smiled at Lin Yuanshu, and Sister Xia spoke first: "Comrade Lin Yuanshu, you've come back at just the right time. We were just about to bring you some dumplings! These are homemade, please have a taste."
Upon hearing this, the plump woman's face turned extremely ugly. She said sarcastically, "You're just being overly solicitous. You're up to no good. You didn't see us off when we first moved in, but now that you know how powerful Comrade Lin Yuanshu is, you're trying to curry favor with us. Let me tell you, it's too late."
Although she didn't work at the research institute, she learned about Lin Yuanshu's recent work situation from her husband.
Sister Yao smiled and said, "Auntie, this is a matter between us and Comrade Lin Yuanshu. It has nothing to do with you. You'd better not interfere."
The plump woman said angrily, "Comrade Lin Yuanshu's affairs are my affairs."
Aunt Yao immediately retorted, "That doesn't mean you can make decisions for Comrade Lin Yuanshu."
When they first moved in, they didn't really care about Lin Yuanshu and the fat woman. After all, Lin Yuanshu was just a lowly assistant researcher with no background, and he would probably only be an assistant researcher for the rest of his life. The fat woman was even less noteworthy; she was just an unemployed countrywoman.
Unexpectedly, Lin Yuanshu was valued by the Minister of Health and was put in charge of such an important project. Their partners then encouraged them to cultivate a good relationship with Lin Yuanshu, since being close to him would give them an advantage. Their partners also wanted to join the project team led by Lin Yuanshu.
Unfortunately, Lin Yuanshu was out early and back late during this period, so they rarely had a chance to meet him and therefore couldn't find an opportunity to get closer to him. After careful consideration, they decided to send dumplings to him to try and build a relationship, but then the fat auntie became their obstacle.
Upon hearing this, the plump woman realized that she had said something inappropriate. She looked at Lin Yuanshu and said somewhat embarrassedly, "I was so angry with them that I lost my temper. Please don't take what I just said to heart. You know I can't keep things to myself and I'm quite outspoken. I didn't mean any harm."
Lin Yuanshu didn't argue with the plump woman, but instead said with a smile, "It's normal for neighbors to have some disagreements. It's tiring to stand here and talk. Why don't you come to my house and chat?"
Sister Xia and Sister Yao naturally wouldn't let go of this opportunity to build a good relationship with Lin Yuanshu, and immediately agreed.
The plump woman was worried that Lin Yuanshu would be won over by them, and that the three of them would then isolate her. She sincerely didn't want that to happen, so she followed them to prevent Lin Yuanshu from being deceived by their sweet talk.
Seeing this, Zhou Xiangyang took out his key and opened the door.
The three followed Lin Yuanshu into the living room. Sister Xia and Sister Yao placed the dumplings on the table before sitting down.
Seeing that the three of them had sat down, Lin Yuanshu turned around and went to the kitchen to pour each of them a cup of hot water.
The plump woman took the hot water Lin Yuanshu handed her and deliberately said, "We have such a good relationship, you don't need to bother entertaining me. I feel just as comfortable at your house as I do at my own. Don't worry about me."
Sister Xia and Sister Yao couldn't help but roll their eyes when they heard what the fat aunt said. If it weren't for the fat aunt's shameless persistence in clinging to Lin Yuanshu, they would have already gotten along well with him. They wouldn't have been neighbors for so long without exchanging more than a few words.
Sister Yao pointed to the dumplings on the table and said, "Comrade Lin Yuanshu, we don't know what kind of filling you usually like to eat. This time we made meat filling. Try it and see if it suits your taste?"
In order to get closer to Lin Yuanshu, both families spent a lot of money, including a considerable amount of "meat tickets".
Lin Yuanshu smiled and replied, "No need to taste it, I know it's delicious. After all, the aroma is so wonderful, my nose could smell it long ago."
Sister Xia and Sister Yao were very happy to hear this, feeling that their good intentions had not been wasted.
The plump woman pursed her lips and muttered under her breath, "It's like a weasel offering New Year's greetings to a chicken; they're up to no good."
Sister Xia and Sister Yao's smiles froze instantly.
Under the strict watchful eye of the plump aunt, Sister Xia and Sister Yao didn't chat much with Lin Yuanshu; the living room was filled with the plump aunt's incessant chatter.
The two women were now thinking similarly: they wanted to get rid of the fat woman, as she was really in their way.
Half an hour later, Lin Yuanshu felt that the time was about right, and she yawned at the fat woman.
Seeing this, the plump woman said excitedly, "Comrade Lin Yuanshu must be tired after working all day and chatting with us for so long. We won't bother you any longer. You should get some rest. We'll be leaving now."
Lin Yuanshu stood up and walked towards the kitchen, saying, "A while ago, Xiangyang made some meat sauce with his godmother. It was quite delicious. Take a jar home and try it."
Sister Xia and Sister Yao exchanged a glance. Aunt Yao smiled and politely declined, saying, "You're too kind. We appreciate your kind offer, but we have meat sauce at home. We can't possibly finish all this meat sauce if we take it home. You should keep it for yourselves!"
Their purpose in sending dumplings was not to expect Lin Yuanshu to reciprocate. Rather than being even, they hoped to have some kind of connection with him.
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