Chapter 140 (Exchange Conference)
After taking his seat, Team Leader Zhao glanced at Lin Yuanshu beside him and proactively extended a friendly gesture, saying, "This should be your first time attending a technical exchange conference. If you encounter anything you don't understand, you can come and ask me. I've attended technical exchange conferences before and I know quite a bit about this. By the way, do you know who will be attending this technical exchange conference?"
Lin Yuanshu replied without hesitation, "I don't know much about it. I only know that the medical research institutes in Beijing will send people to participate, but I'm not sure who they are specifically."
After all, it wasn't a very important matter for her, and there was no need to specifically look into it. She had been studying materials related to schistosomiasis for the past few days, trying to be able to answer Director Cao fluently instead of stammering and not knowing how to answer.
Team Leader Zhao pursed his lips and smiled, "I heard that the Vice Minister of Health, Director Cao of Xiangcheng Pharmaceutical Industry Research Institute, and others are among the participants in this exchange conference. These are all outstanding figures in the pharmaceutical industry, and I am very happy to be able to participate in the exchange conference with them."
He paused, his eyes fixed on Lin Yuanshu, and casually remarked, "On another note, I didn't expect Director Cao from the Xiangcheng Pharmaceutical Industry Research Institute to participate in this exchange conference. After all, Xiangcheng is quite far from Beijing, and it's not easy for Director Cao to come all this way. Why do you think Director Cao would participate in this technical exchange conference?"
Although Deputy Director Liu had told him that Lin Yuanshu didn't know anything about Director Cao, he still wanted to test the waters and confirm it personally to put his mind at ease.
To be honest, he didn't want to compete with Lin Yuanshu. Lin Yuanshu was too quick-witted, and in terms of work ability alone, he probably couldn't compare to Lin Yuanshu.
Sigh! The student has truly surpassed the teacher, making this senior figure feel somewhat ashamed.
Upon hearing this, Lin Yuanshu couldn't help but frown. Was Team Leader Zhao testing her? Or was he genuinely curious? Why would he suddenly ask her about something like this?
Despite the turmoil in her heart, her face remained perfectly calm. She spoke nonsense with a straight face, "Perhaps Director Cao had important business to attend to in Beijing and happened to be there when the Ministry of Health was preparing to hold a technical exchange conference, so he participated in it."
When Team Leader Zhao saw that Lin Yuanshu spoke of Director Cao without any hesitation, his eyes didn't dodge, and his expression showed no guilt, he breathed a slight sigh of relief. Still unwilling to give up, he continued to probe, "Do you know Director Cao? Have you heard anything about Director Cao's deeds?"
Lin Yuanshu was not sure at first, but now she is completely sure. Team Leader Zhao was testing her. Otherwise, why would he ask her about Director Cao again and again?
She said frankly, "Of course I know him. I've read about nitrate cyanide in the newspaper, and it mentioned Director Cao. I've long admired Director Cao, but unfortunately I've never met him in person."
Sometimes, simply disclaiming any connection can only increase suspicion; it's better to give a half-truth or half-lies.
To be honest, she was quite surprised. She didn't expect Team Leader Zhao to test him, and she certainly didn't expect Team Leader Zhao to know about Director Cao's affairs.
She thought she was the only one who knew about this, and she originally thought she had an advantage, but now she sees that advantage has vanished.
There are probably many more people who know about this, and everyone came prepared. Just thinking about it makes her feel a lot of pressure.
Seeing Lin Yuanshu's calm and composed demeanor, Team Leader Zhao finally felt relieved. He laughed heartily and said, "You're quite lucky. You got to meet Director Cao this time. It's good to expand your network. If you want to establish yourself in this industry, work ability alone won't be enough."
Lin Yuanshu agreed without hesitation, "You're absolutely right."
It seems she managed to get away with this. She didn't want to admit it, not because she was afraid that Team Leader Zhao would sabotage her at the exchange conference, but because she was worried that someone would follow the clues and expose her source of information.
She can't afford to lose Team Leader Ye as a source of information.
After an unknown amount of time, the van stopped in front of the Sijiucheng People's Hotel.
Lin Yuanshu and Team Leader Zhao got out of the car and showed the hotel staff their "letters of introduction".
After the staff confirmed that there were no problems with the "letter of introduction", they took the two to the banquet hall.
Although it's called a "letter of introduction," it's more like an identity document issued to them by the research institute. Without this "letter of introduction," even if the Minister of Health came, he wouldn't be able to bring them in.
As soon as Lin Yuanshu entered the banquet hall, he was greeted by neatly arranged wooden tables and chairs. A blackboard, display boards, and other items were placed on the podium. Banners hung around the banquet hall, which read "Share drug improvement experience to improve drug quality and production."
Tea and pastries were prepared on each table. Although they were called pastries, they were just simple coarse biscuits. After all, there were too many people attending the technical exchange conference, and if we really served pastries, the cost would be too high.
Instead of frantically searching for Director Cao in the banquet hall, she found a seat, took out her speech draft, and began to review it. Her immediate priority was to prepare well for her speech on stage later.
The conversation with Director Cao can wait until the afternoon group discussion.
First, demonstrate your work ability to Director Cao, then strike up a conversation. This should make things easier and naturally leave a good impression on Director Cao.
Although Lin Yuanshu did not immediately approach Director Cao to speak, Team Leader Zhao did. This was mainly because Director Cao was surrounded by many comrades who wanted to talk to him, and Team Leader Zhao was afraid that if he didn't go, he would miss the opportunity to speak with Director Cao.
Director Cao also felt quite helpless about this. He originally planned to observe discreetly at the exchange conference and select suitable talents to invite to join the schistosomiasis prevention medical team.
Unexpectedly, the news was leaked, and everyone rushed to chat with him, hoping to join the medical team. This was not exactly the same as his original plan, but rather completely unrelated.
Because Director Cao was surrounded by many people, Lin Yuanshu didn't need to bother looking for him. She could see him as soon as she looked up, and she could also see Team Leader Zhao struggling to squeeze to Director Cao's side.
It seems everyone is well-informed and came prepared.
When Team Leader Bai and Team Leader Lü from the First Research Institute arrived at the banquet hall, most of the people were already seated.
Among so many people, they spotted Lin Yuanshu at a glance. It wasn't because Lin Yuanshu was particularly eye-catching, but because he was sitting near the door, making it difficult not to see him.
Team Leader Lü's expression turned somewhat unpleasant. He immediately turned his head away from Lin Yuanshu's direction. To be honest, he didn't want to run into Lin Yuanshu, as it would be embarrassing.
Team Leader Bai's feelings were also very complicated. He had heard from others that this technical exchange conference was not simple, which was why he had tried so hard to persuade Director Yu to let him participate in this technical exchange conference.
He just didn't expect to run into Lin Yuanshu at the exchange conference; it felt both expected and unexpected.
He didn't regret what he had done, but he regretted not being ruthless enough. What was the point of preventing Lin Yuanshu from joining the First Research Institute? He should have found a way to drive Lin Yuanshu out of Beijing. He was too soft-hearted.
The two of them coincidentally chose a spot that was relatively far away from Lin Yuanshu, which was the first time they had made the same choice with such tacit understanding.
Seeing this, Team Leader Lü originally wanted to say a few sarcastic remarks to Team Leader Bai, but then he thought that he and Team Leader Bai were now "fellow sufferers in the same boat," and that Team Leader Bai could use the same words he used to satirize him.
The two of them snorted in unison and turned away, refusing to look at each other.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, the Vice Minister of Health stepped onto the podium, took the microphone, and said loudly, "Welcome everyone to today's technical exchange conference. We must firmly adhere to the principle of 'grasping revolution and promoting production.' Through today's exchange and sharing, we can learn new skills and better solve the country's production problems..."
After the Vice Minister of Health finished speaking, everyone spontaneously applauded. Then, everyone stood up and read aloud together, "Serve the people."
The first person to present was a colleague from the Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, who brought an innovative, traditional method for processing herbal medicines…
Lin Yuanshu listened to the lecture and took notes. As the saying goes, a bad pen is worse than a good memory. Writing down these knowledge points can not only deepen memory, but also be used to refer to the notebook if forgotten later.
She never underestimates anyone.
Time passed by unnoticed, and finally it was Lin Yuanshu's turn to give a speech.
Lin Yuanshu took a deep breath, closed her notebook with one hand, put the pen into her pocket with the other, and confidently went on stage.
Holding the microphone, she looked at the audience and began to share her experience in improving the acetaminophen production process. Her tone was calm, her thoughts were clear, and she appeared very composed.
Lin Yuanshu is the kind of person who can perform exceptionally well in critical moments; this is probably what people often call "being more adept at fighting in times of crisis."
Everyone present knew Lin Yuanshu, after all, he had recently completed the improvement of penicillin, and the newspapers had publicized it extensively, so it was hard for them not to know.
Moreover, the Ministry of Health is currently busy promoting the improved penicillin production process, and its presence is something they cannot ignore.
Director Cao was very satisfied with Lin Yuanshu's performance. He whispered to Team Leader Zhao beside him, "Is this the woman who improved the penicillin production process? She's so young it's hard to believe. With a comrade like her, how can the country not prosper!"
Team Leader Zhao was initially quite pleased that Director Cao had taken the initiative to speak with him, but after hearing Director Cao's words, his smile vanished instantly, and he forced himself to say, "Yes, Comrade Lin Yuanshu is indeed outstanding. The only drawback is that she has been married for so long and still hasn't gotten pregnant. I heard that Comrade Lin Yuanshu has been trying, but the results haven't been ideal."
Fortunately, Lin Yuanshu was unaware of Director Cao's affairs and wouldn't go out of his way to curry favor with him; otherwise, he would have truly lost this opportunity.
He said these things essentially for Lin Yuanshu's own good, so that Lin Yuanshu wouldn't have to suffer in the epidemic area.
Director Cao raised an eyebrow, quite surprised, and said, "I didn't expect you to be interested in Comrade Lin Yuanshu's affairs."
Team Leader Zhao gave a guilty look, laughed awkwardly twice, and explained, "Comrade Lin Yuanshu and I work in the same research institute, so it's inevitable that we'll hear these kinds of rumors."
Director Cao nodded thoughtfully, then turned to look at the podium instead of speaking.
Twenty minutes later, Lin Yuanshu stepped down from the podium amidst enthusiastic applause.
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