A nation's industrial development begins with junior engineers.

Chapter 835 The silly boy who always receives "ordinary things".

Factory Director Wang and Old Liu from the production department walked in with smiles on their faces. Old Liu was carefully carrying a large earthenware pot, from which thick, medicinal-scented steam was constantly rising from the edge of the lid.

"Come on, Jiang Gong, Cheng Gui, you've been busy all night, quickly drink this bowl of soup while it's hot to refresh yourselves and replenish your energy!" Factory Director Wang's voice was loud and clear. "We've been watching the heat and simmering it for almost half a day!"

"Ha, you still have the nerve to boast? If it weren't for me, you would have ruined this whole pot of good stuff!" Old Liu looked at his factory manager, a sense of intellectual superiority welling up inside him.

Company Commander Tang frowned, put his hands in his pockets, and suddenly said, "Hey, how did this come about?"

"Haha, he's a veteran when it comes to Chinese medicine. I thought the big deal he was talking about was some kind of wild ginseng that had just been delivered from the mountain, but it turns out he pulled out a wild ginseng."

"Luckily, I reacted quickly and kicked him away!" Old Liu explained while busy serving soup to the two of them.

"The most important thing about our medicinal cuisine is not how strong a single herb is, but the 'combination,' the 'principal, assistant, adjuvant, and guide,' which emphasizes balance and harmony."

"It's like this soup. The main ingredients are the 'chief' ingredients, which govern the overall direction and nourish the spirit; the other ingredients are the 'minister' ingredients, which assist the 'chief' ingredients and enhance their medicinal power; some are the 'adjuvant' ingredients, which are responsible for harmonizing and preventing the medicinal properties from being too extreme; and some are even the 'guide' ingredients, which guide the medicinal effects to where they should go. When these ingredients are combined, the medicinal properties are balanced, providing gentle and lasting nourishment."

"His medicine was too potent. It's like a fierce general who doesn't obey orders has entered the body; a perfectly good tonic might turn into a deadly poison!"

After listening to this simple yet profound explanation, Company Commander Tang slowly nodded, took his hand out of his pocket, took the soup bowl first and tasted a sip, then took over from Lao Liu and began to silently serve soup to everyone.

However, he moved extremely slowly, as if he couldn't bear to waste a single drop of the medicine...

Factory Director Wang and Old Liu were captivated by the complex blueprints spread out on the table, and they took the opportunity to hand over the task of distributing the soup bowls to Company Commander Tang.

"Engineer Jiang, could you tell us more about this drawing you made? I overheard a bit outside the door, but it's really intriguing..." Factory Director Wang rubbed his hands together, his face full of anticipation.

“Sure, no problem.” Jiang Xia composed himself, smiled and agreed, and began to briefly introduce the concept of the automated production line and the core principle of the fluidized bed in the simplest language.

Old Wang, standing to the side, kept an eye on Company Commander Tang's condition while looking at the two enthusiastic Chinese medicine practitioners with a slightly pitying gaze.

"Hey, you guys came here yourselves... Putting aside that thick confidentiality agreement that could kill someone, even if you understood it and were excited, what can you do about it?"

This production line is destined not to be located in your traditional Chinese medicine factory area. That clueless brat has once again unwittingly painted a rosy picture for others, one that's visible but likely unattainable…

However, what Old Wang didn't know was that this Factory Director Wang had already been "forged" by various strict rules and regulations. Compared to those obscure and profound Chinese medicine classics, confidentiality regulations and the like were nothing...

In Director Wang's eyes, it was nothing compared to the greatness of the matter. That's why studying medicine often produces talented people; others have read more ancient books and devised more secret formulas than you've eaten steamed buns…

After listening to Jiang Xia's introduction, Factory Director Wang couldn't help but exclaim, "Excellent! Excellent! You young people are so quick-witted and energetic, finding new ways to utilize the traditional Chinese medicine of our ancestors! If this can truly alleviate the shortage of medical care and medicine for ordinary people, even in my old age, I can smile as I meet the master who taught me how to make medicinal plasters!"

He took two steps forward, his eyes brimming with anticipation: "Engineer Jiang, how much will it cost to build this line? How many workers will it require? Although our factory is poor, I can borrow from the herbal medicine station and pool my resources with other factories!"

"If all else fails, I'll just sleep on the ground in front of the boss's door. I won't budge until they approve my funding!"

Alright, here it comes...

Old Wang quietly moved closer to Jiang Xia, his hand unconsciously protecting Jiang Xia's elbow, ready to act as a human cushion for the silly boy when the two of them erupted upon hearing the unacceptable result.

Jiang Xia didn't answer directly. Instead, he lightly traced the words "fully automatic" on the drawing with his fingertip, repeatedly muttering, "Compatibility... balance..."

Yes, traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes the balance of ingredients, and the same applies to doing things and developing technology.

Under the current objective conditions, ignoring reality and forcing a fully automated system with incomplete configurations is like trying to add a potent wild ginseng. Not only might it fail due to a lack of key components, but it might also be too "medicinal," disrupting the entire strategic relocation plan and wasting resources.

Instead of pursuing unrealistic "perfection" in the present moment, it's better to be like this perfectly prepared medicinal meal—knowing how to prioritize and make the best use of resources. Concentrate limited resources to ensure the most critical and urgent technological milestones are achieved.

Having figured this out, Jiang Xia's inner turmoil instantly dissipated. He picked up a pencil, circled the "fluidized bed" section on the drawing, and smiled at Director Wang, saying:

"Factory manager, let's not rush into the fully automated production line... How about we focus on getting this fluidized bed granulator ready first?"

"We can modify the old refining tanks, start trial production in three days, produce 18 tons a day, and complete the order in two months. What do you think?"

"What? This can be changed?"

"Hehehe...Of course!"

Factory Director Wang was taken aback for a moment, then realized what was happening. Although it wasn't a fully automated solution, being able to resolve the order issue was already a huge relief.

He nodded quickly, his face crinkling with a smile: "Okay! Okay! We'll do as Engineer Jiang says! We'll go to the equipment factory next door right now and ask to borrow their fitter!"

Watching the two rush out the door, Jiang Xia couldn't help but mutter to himself, "Do they have to borrow all of this?"

Sigh, a state-owned pharmaceutical factory has to borrow a dedicated team of fitters on short notice, which shows how desperate it is... A traditional Chinese medicine factory, so destitute.

…………

"Hey...hey...factory manager! You haven't arranged where Engineer Jiang will stay yet..."

Suddenly remembering something, the young girl Cheng Gui quickly chased after them, shouting at their retreating figures.

Unfortunately, these two overjoyed practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine have vanished without a trace...

Cheng Gui cursed under her breath, her eyes darted around, and a blush rose to her cheeks.

"Jiang, our factory doesn't have a guesthouse, but I have an empty bed in my dormitory. The bedding is clean. Why don't you make do with it for now?"

"I'll just continue with the component analysis in the lab..."

Jiang Xia waved his hand, smiled, and pointed to the mule cart in the yard outside the window: "No need to trouble yourself, we were prepared when we came. Let us use this laboratory!"

Cheng Gui looked in the direction he pointed and saw a bulging dark blue cloth bag draped beside the mule cart shaft. A crooked "Jiang" character was embroidered on it with red silk thread, which was particularly eye-catching under the light of the porch.

"What's that?" Cheng Gui walked over curiously and reached out to touch it. The bag was heavy and still felt warm from being sun-dried.

"Hehehehe, this is my treasure!"

Cheng Gui looked at the luggage bag that Lao Wang had carried down and thought, "Tch, it's just bedding."

However, this worker Jiang is really nice; he's not arrogant at all, and he's not picky about where he has to stay...

Calling bedding "treasure"? Hmm, could it be a gift from Jiang's lover?

……

After Cheng Gui politely said goodbye, Jiang Xia quickly finished washing up and crawled into the "treasure" in his mouth.

"Old Wang, set the timer! Wake me up in two hours!"

"Ah, you've been running all day, shouldn't you take a rest?"

"I can't rest. I'm still not confident about converting the traditional method to a fluidized bed. I need to think about it some more later!"

"This……"

"Don't worry, it'll be perfect! With this treasure's blessing, I'm sure I'll be able to come up with a solution!"

When Lao Wang heard Jiang Xia say this, he glanced at the bedding and reluctantly agreed.

No, it shouldn't be called a blanket; it should be called a sleeping bag.

As for why a simple sleeping bag could be called a treasure by Jiang Xia?

Perhaps it's because Mr. Zutong sewed it for him by hand...

During his brief stay at the Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics to work on key technologies, Jiang Xia was invited by Professor Zu Tong to stay in the same dormitory room. The old man was a light sleeper, and when he woke up in the middle of the night, he found that Jiang Xia, who was sleeping in the bed next to him, was in a terrible sleeping position, with the blankets kicked off and half of his body exposed.

Mr. Zu Tong saw this and felt sorry for this talented young man who didn't know how to take care of himself, fearing that he would catch a cold and it would affect his work.

That night, the old man used the new cotton quilts that had just been issued by the organization, along with thick needles and thread, and by the light of the lamp, carefully sewed the two quilts together into a large, thick sleeping bag that could wrap a person up completely.

"Xiao Jiang, take this and use it. Wrap yourself up well at night so you don't catch a cold. We can't afford to let our brains get cold."

Wow, what a profound sentiment this is!

Anyway, the little guy cherished it like a treasure. This sleeping bag ranked second only to the quilt that Company Commander Tang and his men patched together with their shirts.

……

Just as Jiang Xia was about to lie down in his sleeping bag, Company Commander Tang handed him the bowl of herbal medicine: "Drink it, it'll be fine."

"okay!"

The laboratory lights went out, and Company Commander Tang and Old Wang laid out their bedding, one guarding the door and the other the window.

Jiang Xia fussed a couple of times in his sleeping bag, but couldn't fall asleep...

"Damn, this pot of medicine is really effective!"