The Red Era, the Opening University Speech

Chapter 110: Just because we started late doesn’t mean we can’t figure it out!

Back to the slum.

It was cooking time and smoke was rising from every household.

Li Mu didn’t come back yesterday, so the two little guys, Li Lan and Li Yu, sat listlessly under the tree in the yard, not wanting to play with the Rubik’s Cubes in their hands anymore.

"Why do you look so sad?" Li Mu stood quietly behind the two girls and touched the little heads of the two girls.

Hearing his voice, Li Lan and Li Yu's eyes lit up, and they turned around and hugged him from the left and right: "Brother~ You're back!"

"We missed you so much!"

"Are you missing me or the delicious food?" Li Mu asked deliberately.

The two little girls said in unison: "I miss my brother~"

The sweet voice and cute look made Li Mu laugh out loud.

Grandma Li and Wang Juanhong, who were cooking inside, heard the noise and came out.

"Xiao Mu, you're finally back." Wang Juanhong said with a smile, "If you don't come back, your grandma will probably go to school to look for you tomorrow."

"Nonsense, Xiaomu is so old, can't he take care of himself?" Grandma Li retorted immediately after hearing this.

She was worried before because she always felt that Li Mu was still young and still needed help from his family.

But now, Li Mu can not only help his family, but also take photos with his superiors, so she naturally won't be so worried anymore.

"I was studying something with my classmates yesterday, so I was delayed for a while." Li Mu explained first, and then handed the meat in his hand to Wang Juanhong, "Aunt, I got my reward before, and I used the money to buy some meat. You can cook it and we will eat it tonight."

"Okay." Wang Juanhong took the meat with a smile and went back to the kitchen to cook.

Li Mu took out some money and food coupons and prepared to give them to Grandma Li for safekeeping.

However, what he didn't expect was that Grandma Li pushed the money back.

She said, "Xiao Mu, our family has enough money and tickets now, and you are grown up now, so you can keep these by yourself. You don't need to ask me if you need to buy anything."

Li Mu was slightly stunned, but soon realized that in Grandma Li's eyes, he was no longer the child who needed to be taken care of.

He smiled and shook his head: "Grandma, don't worry, I have enough money on me, just take these, and treat them as pocket money for you."

After saying that, he stuffed the money into Grandma Li's pocket.

"Xiao Mu, Xiao Mu has really grown up!" Grandma Li looked at Li Mu, tears welling up in her cloudy eyes.

……

The aroma of meat filled every corner of the compound.

Whenever people in the courtyard smell this scent, one thought will come to their mind: the college student from the Li family is back!

Although every household would occasionally buy some meat to eat, no one was as generous as Li Mu, who would spend several kilograms at a time to ensure that everyone in the family could eat enough.

Smelling the aroma of meat, many people looked at the coarse grains in their hands and suddenly felt that they were not fragrant.

But even though they are envious, they will not be jealous.

Who made the Li family have a college student?

At most, the more I think about it, the more I feel that I should supervise my children more.

Afterwards, I would beat the children for no reason, telling them to work harder and go to college like Li Mu in the future to make a name for themselves!
……

Li Mu originally wanted to go back to his room, but then he thought that the time he had back was short, and he couldn't stay with his family for long after studying, so he simply came out to help with the cooking.

Seeing his aunt preparing to put the chicken directly into the air fryer, Li Mu suddenly said, "Aunt, wait a minute, I suddenly thought of a new way to eat it."

"Really? Then tell us about it soon." Wang Juanhong smiled immediately.

The French fries, fried yams and fried chicken legs that Li Mu made using this air fryer were all delicious.

"I'd like to trouble you to cut the chicken legs into small pieces for later use." After Li Mu finished speaking, Wang Juanhong started to cut the chicken legs without saying a word.

Worried that the pieces might not be cut to the right size, she asked carefully before cutting.

Li Mu followed the steps in his memory to prepare the batter, then added flour, salt, white pepper, five-spice powder and other seasonings into a bowl.

Some seasonings are not available now, but he doesn’t force it, as long as he can make them.

Then mix the prepared batter

Coat the chicken thighs with breadcrumbs. If you don’t have breadcrumbs, sprinkle some flour instead.

Brush some oil in the air fryer, adjust to the appropriate temperature and bake for 12 minutes.

"Finished!" After doing all this, Li Mu clapped his hands with satisfaction.

Just then, Li Lan and Li Yu, who had not been able to find him for a long time, pulled Li Jun, who had just returned home, into the kitchen.

Seeing their brother's appearance, their eyes suddenly lit up: "Brother~Are you making something delicious?"

"Yes, I call this fried chicken nuggets. Wait a moment and you can eat it!" Li Mu smiled.

Hearing this, the two little girls cheered and ran to his side, acting coquettishly and cutely.

……

Ten minutes later, as soon as Li Mu opened the air fryer, the special aroma of fried chicken immediately filled the kitchen.

Looking at Li Lan and Li Yu who were looking at him with their big, bright eyes, he immediately took out the fried chicken, warned them "be careful of the heat", and handed it to the two little girls.

But this reminder was obviously useless to them.

"I'll give some to grandma." Li Mu smiled as he looked at his two sisters who were gasping for air from the heat. Then he said to Wang Juanhong, "Aunt, fry the rest and give some to the neighbors."

When you are not full, many conflicts will arise just for a bite of food.

His family now has meat to eat almost every day, and everyone in the yard knows about it.

Eating alone is delicious, but it can easily make people jealous.

Anyway, he doesn't need this little food, so it doesn't hurt to give him some.

……

After the second pot of air-fried chicken nuggets came out of the pot, Li Mu asked the two little girls to deliver them to the nearby neighbors.

The two cute little girls knocked on the door with plates in hand, and after being handed fried chicken nuggets, they were also given some candies, which made them very happy.

Li Mu took a plate of food and gave it to Uncle Zhong.

Although this may seem a bit utilitarian, you will still be living together for decades to come, so it is definitely a good idea to build a good relationship.

Uncle Zhong's family was also cooking. When they saw him carrying the chicken nuggets over, they immediately declined: "We've already eaten so much meat from your family. We can't have any more."

"Hey, Mr. Zhong, you are being too polite. If you have any delicious food at home, don't you send it to our family?" Li Mu put down the fried chicken nuggets with a smile and said:
"Besides, a bite of food doesn't matter. Our lives will definitely get better and better."

His words made Uncle Zhong's eyes dazed, and he seemed to think of the great sun again.

He was born at the end of the last century and witnessed the most turbulent and difficult years of the Xia Kingdom.

During the saddest times, he even saw people eating Guanyin soil.

The person who eats will have a big stomach, but will still be hungry. He can only keep eating and eating until he is full to death, and will still be hungry.

Uncle Zhong suddenly said with absolute certainty: "Yes, our lives will definitely get better and better!"

……

After returning to school from home, Li Mu continued to study integrated circuit computers. Although pyrethroids are important, he has already given Xu Qing the direction of acrylate synthesis, and he will not provide any more help for the next period of time.

This research is different from previous ones. Xu Qing and his colleagues are all students. If they can develop pyrethroids quickly with his help, it would be too conspicuous.

In this way, four days passed uneventfully.

……

On this day, Li Mu was immersed in drawing designs in his dormitory as usual.

There were two knocks on the dormitory door.

He briefly tidied up the messy manuscript paper and said, "Please come in."

The door opened with a creak, and Huang Xinhua walked in with a smile.

He came in and took a quick look. Seeing the various structural diagrams on the table, he quickly thought of what Li Mu had mentioned to his superiors last time: "Are you researching integrated circuit computers?"

"Well, I just don't have any idea yet." Li Mu nodded. There was nothing to hide.

Huang Xinhua comforted him by saying, "Don't worry if you don't have any ideas. After all, we are pioneering research in computers. We have no references and it won't be possible to produce results in a short period of time!"

"If you have any questions, you can talk to professors in this field. If you don't know anyone, I can introduce you to someone."

“No, no.” Li Mu waved his hand quickly and said, “I will study it myself first, and then ask Professor Huang for help if I need it.”

Huang Xinhua nodded and said, "That's fine. Just tell me when the time comes."

"Let's talk business first. I came to see you this time because Director Wang sent a notice asking us to attend the mass production design discussion meeting for the industrialization of lithography machines."

This time he did not ask Li Mu whether he would go or not.

With the expert allowance, Li Mu had to go even if he didn't want to.

"Okay, Professor Huang, please wait for me to pack and I'll be there soon." Although Li Mu was nervous when he heard that, he could only nod and prepare to go to the Semiconductor Research Institute.

……

Semiconductor Research Institute, conference room.

Researchers at the institute with the rank of associate researcher and above, as well as a group of professors who came from Beijing Institute of Technology and whose research interests include physics, engineering and technological sciences, optics, etc., all attended the meeting.

But this meeting was quite tense.

A professor slammed his hands on the table and said, "We can even industrialize chips, so why can't we industrialize photolithography machines?"

As soon as he finished speaking, someone immediately refuted: "The success of chip industrialization does not mean the success of lithography machine industrialization. Now we are still using 'homemade lithography machines' for lithography. Don't you know that?"

"We just started late, but that doesn't mean we can't research it. If we can realize the industrialization of lithography machines, it will be a huge innovation for the development of our country's chip industry!"

……

When Li Mu and Huang Xinhua walked in from the back door, they heard everyone in the conference room talking to each other.

When getting emotional, it is normal to bang the table and kick the bench.

But in the end, no one could convince anyone else.

"They are divided into conservatives and radicals." Looking at the debate in the conference room, Li Mu found a seat in the back and sat down, thinking to himself:
"I'm afraid it's because of the success of chip industrialization that some people's ideas have become radical."

"With the current domestic industrial foundation, it is difficult to make lithography machines, let alone industrialize them."

Thinking of this, he shook his head secretly.

Just as he was thinking, Wang Shoujue, who was in charge of presiding over the meeting, saw that the situation was almost out of control, and slammed the table twice:

"Everyone, be quiet for a moment."

As soon as he opened his mouth, the sound of the quarrel suddenly became much weaker.

"It's not a good idea to keep arguing like this. I just saw Professor Huang and Li Mu coming. We might as well listen to their opinions first." Wang Shoujue said in a deep voice.

After he finished speaking, Huang Xinhua immediately walked onto the stage and expressed his own views.

But everyone knows that what Wang Shoujue really wants to hear is Li Mu's speech.

"Ahem, then let me tell you what I think..." After Huang Xinhua came to the stage, he did not clearly support or oppose either side, but just maintained a neutral attitude.

No one was nitpicking, but instead turned their eyes to Li Mu.

They all knew that this was the highlight.

"This is difficult!" Li Mu's heart tightened when he saw the expectant looks in these people's eyes.

From the moment Wang Shoujue opened his mouth and his eyes fell on him and Huang Xinhua intentionally or unintentionally, he knew something was wrong.

He stood up and walked slowly onto the stage.

There is no way to escape, you can only face it.

"Since Director Wang asked me to speak, then I will boldly say a few words in front of all the experts." It's never wrong to say a few humble words first.

After saying that, Li Mu glanced at everyone in the conference room before continuing, "Actually, I don't agree with industrializing the photolithography machine now."

"Our country's current industrial manufacturing capabilities need to be improved and cannot meet the requirements for the industrialization of lithography machines."

At this moment, someone suddenly said, "The National Science Journal of the M Empire published news not long ago that it has developed a contact lithography machine."

“If they can figure it out, why can’t we?”

"Yes, we are ahead in chip industrialization and we cannot fall behind in this regard," an expert agreed.

The country has finally achieved the world's top status in scientific research, and they must ensure the stability of this status at all costs.

When Li Mu heard this, he glanced at Wang Shoujue who was standing next to him, and the latter immediately smiled apologetically.

He understood: "Love is for me to charge in the front!"

Although he understood, Li Mu still had to say: "It is true that Emperor M has already developed a contact lithography machine."

"But I think everyone might have overlooked one point. M Emperor's integrated circuits are still at the stage of small and medium-scale integration, and the lithography machines they produce and develop are also based on this."

"Do you think this type of lithography machine can meet our needs for large-scale integrated circuit production?"

The sudden question caught everyone in the meeting room off guard, and many of them looked embarrassed.

After arguing for so long, they seemed to have never thought about whether Emperor M's things were suitable for their own use.

I always feel that the things in Mr. Emperor’s house are the best, it has become a habit.

I actually forgot that what’s at home is the best.

"Hahaha, well said." Wang Shoujue suddenly clapped his hands, breaking the awkward silence. "Emperor M's things are not necessarily all good."

"If we want to realize the industrialization of lithography machines, we must find a path that suits us."

After he finished speaking, someone immediately agreed:
"Director Wang is right. Since contact lithography machines are not working, we should research more advanced lithography machines that are more suitable for large-scale integrated circuit production."

"Then we can realize the industrialization of this lithography machine!"

"No, it will take too long and cost too much to do it now, and it is not suitable for the needs of industrial production of chips." Unexpectedly, someone else expressed a different opinion.

……

For a moment, the situation returned to the stalemate at the beginning.

Some experts said that the update time is not very friendly. I would like to ask for your opinions on when to update.

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(End of this chapter)