Noticing the unfriendly tone of the other party, Yu Yao frowned slightly, but still maintained the proper etiquette and politely replied, "I am Yu Yao. Are you two comrades sent by Yangcheng Food Factory to provide support?"
Zhu Xinmin crossed his arms and glanced sideways at Yu Yao. "We're from Yangcheng Food Factory. This is our squad leader, Comrade Xu Xiaohui. I'm Zhu Xinmin. Your Haixing Food Factory really goes to any lengths to win."
A researcher? So young? Who are you trying to fool?
Zhu Xinmin simply couldn't believe that a woman about her age could be more capable than their class monitor.
Who knows if Haixing Food Factory, due to its consistently low sales, deliberately attributed all the credit to a young comrade to create hype and sell canned goods in order to appease its superiors?
Xu Xiaohui coughed, "Xinmin, don't talk nonsense."
She then looked at Yu Yao and said, "Comrade Yu, I'm sorry! Xinmin is just outspoken, he didn't mean it."
“Squad leader, I didn’t say anything wrong. We all know how difficult it is to develop a canned food product. She’s so young, is she even sixteen? How could she possibly develop so many high-quality canned foods? This is just my reasonable suspicion.”
Zhu Xinmin defended himself.
"Shut up!" Xu Xiaohui glared at her. "If you're going to keep this up, then go back. I can complete the mission by myself."
Zhu Xinmin was dissatisfied and muttered a low "shut up."
Xu Xiaohui looked at Yu Yao with a gentle smile: "Comrade Yu, I'm so sorry! Your Coconut Grove brand canned goods are indeed very good, we all like them very much. I was very rude just now, I'm very sorry! Zhu Xinmin, apologize to Comrade Yu Yao!"
Zhu Xinmin opened his mouth, but didn't speak.
Xu Xiaohui said coldly, "Comrade Zhu, I know you are very talented in machinery, but you shouldn't be arrogant and look down on others. You suspect others based on mere speculation without any evidence! Have you forgotten how some people in the factory suspected you when you modified the machines?"
A hint of regret flashed in Zhu Xinmin's eyes. He glanced at Yu Yao and bowed, saying, "Comrade Yu Yao, I'm sorry. I was wrong. I shouldn't have suspected you without any evidence or based on mere speculation."
Yu Yao glanced at Zhu Xinmin indifferently, "It's alright, I'm a magnanimous person, I won't hold a grudge against an ignorant child."
Zhu Xinmin jumped up and down like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, "Who are you calling a child? I'm sixteen this year."
Yu Yao glanced at him calmly. "Oh, sixteen, just starting high school. Only a child would get so worked up over something someone said."
She wasn't wrong, and Zhu Xinmin's face turned bright red. "You, you..."
Yu Yao looked at him and added, "You still say you're not a child? You get excited so easily. Adults are very composed and have stable emotions."
She spoke calmly and nonchalantly, a stark contrast to Zhu Xinmin's frantic outburst.
A smile flashed in Xu Xiaohui's eyes. This Comrade Yu Yao is really amazing. She has found the knack for controlling Zhu Xinmin so quickly.
She's a brilliant person—she never makes a rude remark and always manages to deliver a perfect counterattack.
She's starting to believe that she really did develop the Coconut Grove brand canned goods.
Zhu Xinmin grew anxious, looking at Yu Yao's face as if he had caught her red-handed: "You're a child too, we're about the same age."
Yu Yao replied, "Sorry, I happen to be older than you, I'm twenty years old this year."
Zhu Xinmin couldn't believe it and blurted out, "You look so young and beautiful, how could you be twenty?"
"Thank you for the compliment."
Zhu Xinmin was a little confused. "When did I praise you?"
Yu Yao retorted calmly, "You just complimented me on being young and beautiful, and I think that's true, so thank you for the compliment."
Zhu Xinmin choked.
She is young and beautiful, but shouldn't she be humble? Who in their right mind would say so directly, "I'm beautiful, thank you for the compliment"?
Xu Xiaohui smiled and said, "She is indeed twenty."
Zhu Xinmin stared wide-eyed at that fair and beautiful oval face, unable to utter a single word.
Seeing the tense atmosphere, Mr. Liu, who was standing nearby, quickly got out of his car to smooth things over: "The car sent by the factory to pick up three comrades is right there... Where is the other comrade?"
Xu Xiaohui explained: "The other one is Comrade Duo Hong. She was delayed by something and will go to the factory by herself when she arrives."
Yu Yao and Master Liu understood, "Please come with me, both of you."
The four of them got into the jeep. Yu Yao sat in the passenger seat and introduced the Haixing Food Factory and the new production line to Xu Xiaohui.
Zhu Xinmin, unable to find a chance to interject, sulked.
Yu Yao thought of a question and asked Xu Xiaohui: "We have tried the new production line, but the machine for cooking sauce is not more efficient than the old machine."
Before Xu Xiaohui could speak, Zhu Xinmin asked, "Did you open the temperature control valve on the new machine?"
Yu Yao looked at him, "What valve? Where is it?"
Zhu Xinmin raised his head and said, "The valve is on the bottom right side of the machine. If the valve is not opened before boiling, the machine's temperature control can only be adjusted manually, and the automatic adjustment will fail."
Yu Yao suddenly realized, "Oh, I see. It doesn't seem to be mentioned in the instruction manual."
"Of course it wasn't written down. Although the machines we use are internationally advanced production lines, they are ultimately just machines that other European countries have phased out. It's already not easy to persuade them to sell them to us, so we have to figure out these details ourselves." Zhu Xinmin said, a hint of sadness in his eyes.
Yu Yao understood what he meant.
China was founded not long ago, and now the world is imposing a technological blockade on China. Many advanced technologies are not allowed to be learned by other countries. Just these production lines that have been phased out by others were imported after the Ministry of Commerce officials talked themselves hoarse and paid a great price.
The boy's eyes lit up, and he clenched his fist and vowed, "But it doesn't matter. One day, I will develop a machine that is even more powerful than the most advanced machines in the world, so that our country's industrial technology will no longer lag behind."
"That's great. When the youth are strong, the nation is strong. Keep it up!"
Regardless of their relationship just now, at least at this moment, Yu Yao felt that it was good that the young man had the ideal of winning glory for the country.
Zhu Xinmin was surprised and looked at Yu Yao: "You don't think I'm just bragging or exaggerating?"
Yu Yao shook her head: "There's not much difference between ideals and bragging at the beginning. The real difference is in the end. What's realized is called an ideal, what's not realized is called bragging. Striving for the country is a great ideal."
After he said that, the entire jeep fell completely silent.
Zhu Xinmin, Xu Xiaohui, and even the driver, Mr. Liu, all repeatedly recited Yu Yao's words in their minds.
"What is realized is called an ideal; what is not realized is called bragging."
Zhu Xinmin became more and more excited as he read, and couldn't help but clench his fist in agreement: "That's right, what is realized is called an ideal, and what is not realized is called bragging. I will definitely not let my words become bragging."
The boy's journey has been marked by doubt and failure, and at this moment, Yu Yao's words are like a morning bell and evening drum, unlocking the knots in the boy's heart.
From then on, Zhu Xinmin's enthusiasm for machine research and development exploded, and in the future, just like the vow he made here today, he realized his original ideal.
However, the machine expert who later became internationally renowned and elevated China's industrial technology to international standards was still a rebellious teenager.
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