Siheyuan: I eat melons while doing scientific research

Chapter 1439 The Empty Foolish Pillar (5k)

He Yushui, still a high school student, naturally couldn't understand Pang Shuixian's feelings and thoughts, but for her, having an acquaintance in an unfamiliar village was undoubtedly a very fortunate thing.

So she didn't delve too deeply into what Pang Shuixian's words meant or how much emotion they concealed; she was simply happy to meet an old friend in a foreign land.

Although this place can hardly be considered a foreign land, Pang Shuixian is far removed from the concept of "old friends".

Unlike He Yushui, who was slightly uneasy but filled with excitement from the novelty, Sha Zhu sighed repeatedly at home.

In front of him were fried peanuts and a bottle of wine. It wasn't mealtime yet, and peanuts were his standard accompaniment to his drinks.

Normally, he doesn't drink much before mealtimes, so this is unusual.

The reason for the abnormality was He Yushui, who had left home to teach in a rural area.

As someone who truly raised his younger sister single-handedly, there wasn't much difference between seeing his sister and his daughter. It would be strange if He Yushui could feel good about suddenly leaving home to teach in a rural area.

"Sigh, what's so good about teaching in a rural area? Why would she be so foolish?"

"I wonder if she's eating well, or if she's dressed warmly enough, sigh..."

"What if someone bullies her? Sigh..."

Qin Huairu couldn't stand it anymore. It was normal for Sha Zhu to miss his sister, but now he seemed obsessed and she couldn't persuade him. So she gave him some advice.

"Alright, alright, I can't persuade you otherwise. Why don't you go and have a chat with Chief Engineer Gao? When I came back just now, I saw him taking care of his child at the door."

It's the weekend, so Gao Zhendong isn't at work.

Moreover, Qin Huairu felt completely at ease with Gao Zhendong.

Chief Engineer Gao is an upright and knowledgeable person, and he will most likely be able to handle Sha Zhu.

Drinking with him might not solve the problem, but at least it won't create new ones. To put it bluntly, drinking with him can help you relax. Sha Zhu can't outdrink him, and even if he gets drunk and wants to eat fried chicken wings, Chief Engineer Gao can still subdue him completely.

There's only one person in the entire compound who can pin Sha Zhu down with one hand and make him unable to move.

"Is it appropriate to talk to him about this?" Sha Zhu was a little embarrassed. To be honest, it would be normal to ask his buddies for drinks because of a woman. But it didn't seem right for him to confide in his buddies about his sister's new life.

"What's inappropriate about it? How many times have you bothered him? Chief Engineer Gao doesn't treat you like a stranger, so why are you treating him like one?" Qin Huairu laughed, then shoved the peanuts and the wine bottle into Sha Zhu's hands: "Go, go, go quickly. I'm looking after the kids."

Sha Zhu was pushed out the door by Qin Huairu in a daze. As he watched Qin Huairu close the door with a charming smile, he felt a little happier. Ah, it feels so different to have someone looking after you.

He readily agreed and walked towards Gao Zhendong's house with a plate in one hand and a bottle in the other.

"You're upset about this?" Gao Zhendong picked up a peanut with his chopsticks and chewed it with a crunching sound.

"Yeah, should I be happy?" Sha Zhu rolled his eyes at him.

"Hmm...it's actually something to be happy about," Gao Zhendong said with a smile.

"You're just talking nonsense..."

"To put it simply, Xiao'e estimated that, based on Yushui's grades, it would be quite difficult for him to get into a good medical school."

He Yushui was envious of Lou Xiao'e's actions in saving Banggeng and wanted to follow the same path. Everyone knew that she was also following Lou Xiao'e to improve her grades.

However, learning is something that cannot be caught up in a short period of time; it takes time. He Yushui's original grades were not very good, after all, she had only worked after graduating from high school.

"Hmm, I think it doesn't have to be that good." Sha Zhu was quite open-minded. To be precise, these days, as long as you can get into a good school, it doesn't matter how good it is.

“The problem is that, given the current situation and progress, even someone who isn’t that good might not be able to pass the exam,” Gao Zhendong said.

"This..." Why are you speaking such blunt truths!

"So, the reason she can go to teach in rural areas is that she has more time to study outside of teaching. This year is equivalent to more than half a year of extra study time for her, if she works hard..." The idea that diligence can make up for lack of talent is not necessarily effective everywhere, but it is basically useful in most fields and ability levels that do not require talent.

"Besides, there will be support when she comes back. With these two conditions, once she returns, this matter is almost a done deal," Gao Zhendong said with a smile.

She was able to stay in the teaching support program for a full year, and even if the nail wasn't driven in properly, I'll make sure it was driven in firmly for her!

"But will things change?" Sha Zhu asked, somewhat worried.

"What could possibly change? There's a need for educated people everywhere, but the educational resources are insufficient, which is why this method was adopted. Yu Shui and the others have all made contributions when they go down there and come back, and even if they haven't made any great contributions, they've still put in the effort. Do you think we can treat them unfairly? Besides, it's good for them to get some experience; it will make them more mature, and they can learn more when they go to university."

Gao Zhendong didn't spout any grand principles; instead, he used the most down-to-earth language to explain the matter. He figured that Sha Zhu probably wouldn't understand grand theories, so a more relatable approach would be more effective.

At the same time, Gao Zhendong was well aware that for most people, entering university too early is not necessarily a good thing.

"And this counts towards seniority, so it won't interfere with anything." Seniority is the most important qualification for ordinary people these days, if not the most important.

Gao Zhendong's words all sounded reasonable, but Sha Zhu still felt uneasy: "I understand the reasoning... but I still feel like something is wrong."

"What's wrong? Are you worried your wife will take over your sister's house?"

"That's impossible!" Sha Zhu was not happy about this.

"That settles it then, let me think..." Gao Zhendong stared at Sha Zhu for a long time, then suddenly laughed: "I know why, Yu Shui decided to go to teach in a rural area this time without discussing it with you, right?"

"Yes, how did you know?" Sha Zhu looked at Gao Zhendong as if he were a god.

How would I know? You didn't consult me ​​beforehand, which means He Yushui definitely didn't consult you beforehand.

In this kind of situation, if He Yushui and Sha Zhu had discussed it, given Sha Zhu's personality and the circumstances, he would definitely seek advice from Gao Zhendong first.

However, Gao Zhendong didn't say it directly, but instead pretended to be mysterious: "Let me do a quick calculation. I can guess just from your long face. I think you just feel that your sister has grown up, has her own opinions, and is about to fly away, so you're reluctant to let her go."

Gao Zhendong's words were like a lightning bolt that cleaved Sha Zhu's head.

It seems... it seems that's really the case.

Although Sha Zhu admitted it in his heart, he still wouldn't back down verbally. He took a swig of wine and said, "Grandma, I've been raising her for over ten years. I'm fed up with her. The sooner she leaves, the better."

Gao Zhendong drank a glass with him, smiling without saying a word. At this point, there was no need to say anything more; he understood what was going on.

However, his behavior completely broke down Sha Zhu's defenses, causing him to blurt out the truth!

"Alright, alright, let's drink. But you know what, even though it's only been a year since she left, I still feel empty inside. I feel like there's something missing, it just doesn't feel right." He sounded like a parent whose children have been admitted to university and who has suddenly put down their burdens.

"With your whole family, are you worried about not having anything to do?" Gao Zhendong said with a smile.

"Hey, if you're talking about this, I have something to say. Don't let my large family fool you. Sister Qin and the child's grandmother take good care of me. At home, apart from taking care of some rainwater-related things, I don't really have to worry about anything else. I keep some pocket money for myself, hand over my salary, and that's it. Oh, right, except for you, kid, who always mooches off me for meals."

Gao Zhendong often mooches off Sha Zhu for meals, which is probably one of the few things Sha Zhu has to worry about besides his family affairs, even though he doesn't have any real family matters to attend to.

"Alright, how about this, I'll find you something to do." Gao Zhendong laughed, seeing that he was bored out of his mind.

"what's up?"

Gao Zhendong turned around, picked up a pen and paper, and started drinking while talking to Sha Zhu.

After a while, Sha Zhu was overjoyed.

"Hey, this is fun, and it's right up my alley!" As someone who often gets used to the environment at the No. 3 Rolling Mill and the No. 3 Branch Mill, Sha Zhu can definitely grasp the meaning of "right up my alley".

Gao Zhendong's suggestion reminded him of the days when he was making self-heating food, which was not only interesting but also fruitful—the kind of fruitful results he could show off to all the cooks. This was incredibly exciting for Sha Zhu, who loved to show off and brag.

"Okay, I'll do this! Hahaha."

"Do you want me to help you start a project?" Although there are definitely people researching this, starting another project wouldn't hurt. This kind of thing has a wide range of uses and needs to adapt to the differences between the North and the South. Sha Zhu, a chef at the cafeteria with a double degree from Sichuan and Shandong, must have some different insights than others.

Moreover, unlike airplanes and missiles, this thing doesn't cost much.

"No need, no need. I'll contact the logistics department myself first. After all, I have some achievements to show for it! If that doesn't work, I'll contact Deputy Factory Director Li. If all else fails, I'll contact you."

As the first cook in the cafeteria, Sha Zhu still had some prestige in front of these departments and personnel, and he wanted to try it himself.

"Okay, it's up to you."

When his own porridge got cold from being blown on, Sha Zhu immediately turned his attention to the soup in other people's pots, especially his lifelong rival.

"Hey, don't let my appearance fool you, Xu Damao in the backyard is the one who's really in a terrible state."

His voice was filled with schadenfreude.

In the backyard, Xu Damao was drinking alone, brooding over his drink. Unlike Sha Zhu, who got happier the more he drank, Xu Damao's drink grew colder and more bitter with each sip.

The slightly yellow incandescent light appeared somewhat dim to him, and the corners of the room seemed shrouded in a hazy mist, even though there was no dust in them.

Apart from the slight sound of him putting down his chopsticks and bowl, the whole house was quiet. If you had to point out a sound, the only faint sound was the rustling of a mouse crawling in some corner.

"Snapped!"

Because of the heat in the room, the slight cracking sound of wood that had expanded and split from somewhere sounded like thunder to him, startling him so much that his hand trembled and a few drops of wine spilled from his glass onto the table.

He slammed the glass down on the table; he couldn't eat the food, and he couldn't drink the wine either.

The sound was unusually heavy, as if it were an attempt to bolster one's courage.

Even in the warm room, he couldn't help but shrink his neck, looking somewhat desolate.

After a moment of stunned silence, he grabbed his chopsticks and shoveled a few mouthfuls into his mouth. He tightened his clothes, lay down on the bed fully clothed, and fell asleep without tidying up the scattered cups, plates, and bowls on the table.

Outside the hanging flower gate, which is completely opposite to his position, inside the reverse-facing room, several people are discussing something.

"Based on this person's family situation and recent psychological and behavioral state, it is not suitable for him to live here."

"Yes, that's right. It's a ticking time bomb. Although it doesn't pose much of a threat, it's still a potential problem."

"Report this to your superiors and make some adjustments. They have quite a few buildings in their factory, so the situation can be adjusted without any negative impact on the relevant personnel."

"Okay, let's handle it this way."

Inside the room, apart from the beeping of the keypad telephone and soft whispers, there was no other sound.
-
As expected of Committee Member Gao!

Although their superiors had already made this judgment, Professor Han and the comrades from the Ministry of Machinery Industry and other ministries, who were sitting in the conference room of the Third Factory, were still somewhat excited.

"Thank you comrades for taking the time to come here. Today we mainly need to resolve one issue, and that is the clock!"

The comrades from the Twelfth Ministry of Machine Building were somewhat bewildered. Clocks? Isn't the cheap and accurate quartz clock you made yourself the best clock? After further optimizing and adjusting the appearance and functions, our factories in the Twelfth Ministry of Machine Building are now making traditional mechanical watches suffocate in the international market, forcing them to shrink towards the high-end market.

However, Professor Han, being from the original research institute, reacted immediately.

"Committee Member Gao, are you referring to the atomic frequency standard?"

No wonder they went to the original research institute; this is a perfect match for them, at least in terms of basic principles.

In fact, we had already begun developing an atomic clock, or more precisely, a prototype, at this time. It just wasn't called an atomic clock, but rather the more professional "atomic frequency standard."

However, this name, which is not common and goes straight to the core of the principle, made the comrades of the Twelfth Ministry of Machine Building immediately understand what it was, since they were the ones who had the most contact with and use of oscillation sources.

A standard frequency obtained by relying on a certain mechanism of atomic operation, as long as the frequency error is small enough and meets a certain specific standard, can be used as a clock, and is the basis of all clocks and watches.

Frequency is the core of a clock.

“Committee Member Gao, we already have comrades who have started the development of atomic frequency standards. Do we not need to develop another one?” The comrades at the original research institute were very clear about this situation, and they even knew that the prototype was already in the final stage.

Gao Zhendong knew this, and he even knew more about it.

He shook his head: "We need a system that can directly go to satellite."

He went straight to the point, putting the objective of this matter on the table.

Both the colleagues at the original research institute and those at the Twelfth Ministry of Machinery Industry gasped in surprise. This requirement was far too high; no wonder he couldn't wait. The colleagues at the original research institute knew just how large and heavy this nearly completed atomic frequency standard was.

That would require calculations in cubic meters and hundreds of kilograms, and the integration of the structure is insufficient.

That frequency meter may be accurate, but there's no doubt that using it on a satellite is a pipe dream.

"Are you planning to develop rubidium clocks?" This is another possibility. The clocks currently being developed are cesium clocks, chosen due to the availability of raw materials, which are used to pump air bubbles at specific frequencies.

Gao Zhendong shook his head: "No."

If we consider ease of production and implementation, rubidium clocks are currently superior.

Even our first atomic clock used a very interesting design.

The principle is the light-pumped bubble scheme commonly used in rubidium clocks but not in cesium clocks later on, but the material used is cesium, which is similar to rubidium.

This scheme, to some extent, should be a type of laboratory atomic clock, or a laboratory reference frequency standard. Its characteristic is to pursue accuracy as much as possible, but without considering mass production parameters such as structure, size, and weight.

Gao Zhendong was not clear about the specific details, but he did know that the atomic clocks we mass-produced were optical pump rubidium clocks that were finalized in 76. In other words, for mass production, we were still using rubidium clocks.

However, he also has no plans to work on rubidium clocks.

"Could it be a hydrogen clock?"

“No, it’s still a cesium clock,” Gao Zhendong replied.

Because he has a small-sized cesium clock solution that can at least be deployed to satellites, its accuracy, even under current conditions, can meet the requirements of synchronous orbit responsive positioning and navigation. After all, the other errors introduced by responsive positioning and navigation are no less than clock errors, so in this case, clock error is not the most critical issue.

"Isn't this... a bit wasteful?" Professor Han said.

“The underlying principles and solutions are somewhat different; it’s like taking two approaches. I’ve estimated that if we follow this solution, we can reduce the volume to 0.05 cubic meters and weigh less than 50 kilograms.” Gao Zhendong’s words immediately made Professor Han forget about the word “waste.”

Let's solve the problem of whether we have it or not first. With this size and weight, even if it's not very accurate, it's enough.

"Moreover, the error is no greater than 10 to the power of -10 seconds." This number is not high, but it is sufficient.

Okay, no problem, this is it, let's get it done first.

"I estimate it will take at least a year to develop this thing," Gao Zhendong added. "A year or more should be enough."

However, upon hearing these words, Professor Han put aside all his concerns. A year? Hmm, a year is long enough.

In fact, he knew very well that a year was incredibly fast, something most people wouldn't even dare to imagine, but this comrade in front of him was different.

(End of this chapter)