Master Craftsmen: Rising Since 1959

Chapter 37 Leading Direction

Zhou's father grasped Chen Weiguo's hand tightly.

Chen Weiguo felt a little embarrassed by Zhou's handshake: "Uncle Zhou, please don't be so polite, just call me Weiguo."

Upon entering the house, several dishes were already laid out on the table.

Zhou's mother cooked all her own dishes.

Braised fish, sweet and sour pork ribs, cabbage stew with vermicelli, and a bowl of steamed buns.

These days, this is about the best level of hospitality.

"Weiguo, please sit down, don't be shy. Mengxue, please take care of them."

Zhou's mother wiped her hands on her apron and went back into the kitchen.

Zhou Mengxue didn't go to the kitchen today; instead, she sat opposite Chen Weiguo with a smile on her face.

Before dinner, Zhou's father took out two bottles of wine from the cupboard and placed them on the table.

Chen Weiguo took a look and exclaimed, "Good heavens, it's Moutai!"

Moutai back then wasn't like the kind of thing that's readily available everywhere in later generations; it was a truly rare commodity.

"Uncle Zhou, this is too precious..."

"It's nothing valuable, nothing valuable at all. Compared to you saving Mengxue, what is this?"

Zhou's father pushed the wine towards him and took out two packs of cigarettes from the cabinet.

Chinese.

Chen Weiguo glanced at it; the packaging on the cigarette box was a bit old, looking like it had been treasured for many years.

"Uncle Zhou, you should keep these cigarettes for yourself..."

Zhou's father held his hand down. "Weiguo, listen to me. Our Zhou family hasn't had an easy time these past few years. But these two bottles of wine and two cartons of cigarettes are things I left behind back then. They're clean and honest; they weren't bought with dirty money. If you accept them today, it's a sign of respect for us."

Chen Weiguo looked into Zhou's father's eyes.

The old man's eyes were already a little red.

He looked at Zhou Mengxue again.

Zhou Mengxue nodded slightly to him.

Chen Weiguo sighed inwardly and put away the cigarettes and alcohol.

"Then I thank you, Uncle Zhou. But Uncle Zhou, there's something I need to say first. I saved Mengxue not for any reward. That day by the river, I just couldn't bear to watch. A life was at stake; I couldn't pretend I didn't see it. It's that simple."

Mr. Zhou nodded, said nothing, and raised his wine glass to clink with his.

Chen Weiguo drank a cup with him.

At this moment, Zhou's mother brought over another plate with two gold bars on it.

Chen Weiguo almost choked on his drink.

"Auntie, what are you doing?"

"Wei Guo, you take this too."

Zhou's mother placed the gold bars in front of him. "You saved Mengxue's life and helped her get into the research institute. Our family really doesn't have much to offer. These two gold bars are from my dowry. They're not much, but they're a token of our appreciation..."

Chen Weiguo pushed the gold bars back.

"Auntie, I can't accept this."

"But……"

"We really can't accept it."

Chen Weiguo earnestly told Zhou's mother, "I saved Mengxue because she deserves to be saved. She was among the top three in her department at Tsinghua University and made several inventions. If such a talent were to be lost, it would not only be a loss for your Zhou family but also for the country. The same reason I helped her get into the research institute is to help her. I'm not pitying her; I just think she has the ability and deserves a platform to showcase it. If you give me gold bars, this matter will be distorted."

After listening to him finish speaking, Zhou's father waved his hand at Zhou's mother and said, "Put it away."

Zhou's mother took the gold bars back.

But the look in Chen Weiguo's eyes was different from before.

The look in his eyes just now was one of gratitude, but now it carries an added layer of respect.

Zhou's father picked up his wine glass and clinked it against Chen Weiguo's again.

"Weiguo, please take good care of Mengxue in the institute from now on."

"Don't worry."

Chen Weiguo also took a deep breath.

Zhou Mengxue watched this scene from the side, her eyes a little wet, but she held back and didn't cry.

Once all the dishes were served, Zhou Mengxue proactively put several pieces of braised pork into his bowl.

"Senior Chen, try this. I made it."

"Did you do this?"

Chen Weiguo tasted a piece.

The meat was stewed until very tender, and the soy sauce and caramel coloring were cooked to perfection, resulting in a balanced sweet and salty flavor that was rich but not greasy.

To be honest, it's much better than what his sister did.

Last time Chen Weihong made braised pork, she didn't control the heat well, and the meat was chewy like rubber.

He hesitated for a long time but didn't dare to tell the truth, afraid of discouraging his sister.

The braised pork in front of me is of a quality comparable to that of a master chef in a state-run restaurant.

"How is it?"

Zhou Mengxue looked at him expectantly, her eyes sparkling.

Chen Weiguo put down his chopsticks and commented earnestly, "It tastes better than mine. With your skills, you'd be qualified to apply for a job at a state-run restaurant."

call out!

A smile immediately bloomed on Zhou Mengxue's face.

Her lips were practically curled up to her ears, yet she kept her head down, pretending not to care.

"Then, Senior Chen, eat more. There's still some left in the pot."

After saying that, she put several more pieces on his plate.

Watching her daughter's expression, Zhou's mother exchanged a glance with Zhou's father.

The elderly couple didn't say anything, but everyone could understand the meaning in their eyes.

Chen Weiguo didn't pay attention to these things.

He genuinely thought the dish was delicious and ate with great enjoyment.

Zhou Mengxue's cooking skills were indeed beyond his expectations.

This girl is not only good at studying and inventing, but she's also a great cook.

Sometimes God is just unfair; outstanding people are outstanding in everything.

The meal took almost two hours.

When Chen Weiguo left, Zhou Mengxue saw him off at the gate of the courtyard.

It was already dark outside, and the alley was quiet.

"Senior Chen."

"Um?"

Zhou Mengxue stood at the door looking at him; the moonlight made her face appear somewhat pale.

"Really, thank you."

Chen Weiguo waved to her, "Go back, don't see me off. There's work at the research institute tomorrow, don't be late."

"Um!"

Zhou Mengxue responded, but continued to stand at the door watching him until his bicycle turned out of the alley and disappeared from sight, before turning back into the house.

Chen Weiguo rode his old-fashioned bicycle home, in a good mood.

Zhou Mengxue was a good girl, we didn't make a mistake in saving her.

I'll take good care of her at the research institute from now on.

Who knows, maybe one day she'll be able to stand on her own and produce something decent.

……

The next morning, Professor Zheng stood in front of the whiteboard in the conference room.

Everyone in the room was there.

Chen Weiguo sat next to Xu Zhenbang, while Zhou Mengxue sat in the corner, holding a notebook in her hands.

"From today onwards, Comrade Chen Weiguo will take the lead in the sub-direction of thermal deformation compensation for precision machine tools."

Leading the way.

It's not about participating, it's not about assisting, it's about taking the lead.

What does it mean to take the lead?

This means that he is in charge of task allocation, makes the final decision on technical routes, reviews everyone's progress, and ultimately reports directly to Professor Zheng.

To put it bluntly, he is the person in charge of this sub-direction.

Chen Weiguo was already prepared.

He knew on the day of his defense that Professor Zheng would eventually hand over this research direction to him.

But he didn't expect it to happen so quickly.

The defense had only been over for a few days, and the official document had just been issued, and he was immediately labeled as the person in charge.

But thinking about it, it makes sense.

He wrote the forty-page technical memorandum, he single-handedly endured the difficult questions from five experts at the defense, and he built the theoretical framework for thermal deformation compensation from scratch.

If we don't entrust this direction to him, who will?

Just because he can understand it doesn't mean others can.