The Red Era, the Opening University Speech

Chapter 143 "National Treasure" Li Mu

After dinner, Li Mu returned to the Iron and Steel Metallurgy Laboratory.

As soon as I reached the door, I saw Guan Jianmin.

He asked suspiciously, "That's strange. Don't you follow me every day and tell me to rest more? Why did you change your temper today?"

Guan Jianmin was originally chuckling, but was startled by this question.

Fortunately, he was quick-witted and blurted out, "You have to listen to my advice. I'll tell you to take a rest now. Will you go?"

"Hey, move to the side a little, you're blocking my way in." Li Mu coughed lightly. He had been away for an entire afternoon, and Professor Zhang and the others must have done a lot of experiments again.

Although Guan Jianmin's reaction was not flawless, he was busy doing experiments and had no time to pay attention to it.

……

Enter the laboratory.

Professor Zhang, who was holding a wooden clip in his hand, saw him come in and immediately came over to hand over the data of the afternoon experiment:
"According to the iron oxide content you provided earlier, the volume density of dolomite after sintering is now close to 97% of the theoretical density!"

"It's not going to be very effective to continue working on iron oxide. I suggest that we focus on studying the ratio of rare earth oxides."

After listening, Li Mu nodded and said, "Okay, let's hurry up and have a meeting first."

After a shout, everyone quickly stopped what they were doing and entered the small meeting room.

Li Mu didn't waste any words and said directly:

“关于稀土氧化物，我认为可以在原先LA203（氧化镧）、Pr6O11（氧化镨）的基础上，再增加CeO2（氧化铈）、Nd2O3（氧化钕），然后将配比为混合物。”

"The melting points of these rare earth oxides are very high, and their properties are similar to those of alkaline earth metal oxides Ca0 and MgO."

……

Experiment, experiment, experiment!

After a brief meeting, everyone in the laboratory quickly entered high-speed operation mode and began to study the ratio of rare earth oxides.

Everyone is like a mechanical clock with the spring fully wound, moving forward without stopping.

Later on, except for a few younger graduate students, the high-intensity research had become a bit too much for older professors like Ye Zhupei.

Even though they gritted their teeth and said they could still hold on, Li Mu still forced them back.

They say, "You just need to be the one to check and let us young people do the hard work."

But even so, these old professors still have to stay until ten or eleven o'clock every day before leaving.

Guan Jianmin remained silent when he saw this scene. There were so many professors who were much older than Li Mu waiting there, and he knew that it would be impossible to persuade them.

He could only do his best to do logistical work for Li Mu and take care of all chores so that Li Mu could devote himself to research and still have time to rest.

……

The night is high, wide and clear.

Li Mu stood on the balcony, exhaled a long breath, and felt that all the bones in his body were a little sore.

After a short rest, he patted his face to make himself more awake, and then returned to the laboratory.

Just when I was about to call for help, I found that Professor Zhang and several graduate students were so sleepy that they were leaning against the table and dozing off.

Without disturbing their rest, Li Mu walked to the operating table and started another experiment.

Light burning, grinding, hydration, and finally, deep burning, each step is as smooth as flowing water, so practiced that there is not a single pause or hesitation.

The sintering process lasts for 3 hours.

While waiting, Professor Zhang suddenly woke up and looked at Li Mu who was standing quietly.

Somehow, he felt that this time he would succeed.

When the calcination was over, Professor Zhang and several graduate students who woke up later quickly stepped forward and joined the test.

"Let me do it." Seeing that Li Mu was trying to do it despite his tiredness, Professor Zhang patted him gently on the shoulder.

Li Mu nodded and stepped behind the crowd.

The detection of dolomite is divided into two parts, chemical composition and physical properties.

The detection of chemical composition is relatively simple. Soon after completing the test, a graduate student came over excitedly to report:

"Team Leader Li, Professor Zhang, the SiO content of 98.7% meets the standard of more than 98%, the magnesium content of 0.48% meets the standard of less than 0.5%, and the alkali metal content of 0.17% meets the standard of less than 0.2%."

"Chemical composition requirements, met!"

This good news made Li Mu and Professor Zhang look excited.

After several months of hard work, they finally saw the dawn of victory.

Next is the testing of physical properties. Since the melting point needs to be tested, the test takes a longer time.

However, the density and hardness can be detected early, which are 2.7g/cm and 6.4 respectively, both higher than their theoretical standards.

"Will it succeed?" Looking at the dolomite being continuously heated in the melting point tube, everyone couldn't help but have a thought in their mind.

Time passed by minute by minute.

Until finally, the dolomite began to melt.

The moment Professor Zhang observed the reaction, he rushed forward to check the data.

The next moment, his excited voice rang out in the laboratory: "1800℃, success!"

Several graduate students' eyes were filled with disbelief; they actually completed the production of high-temperature resistant materials!

Some people couldn't help but ask: "Did we really succeed?"

"Really, it's true!" Professor Zhang confirmed with a smile, and the graduate students began to cheer: "Great, we finally succeeded!"

"Our country's steel industry will undergo a major transformation in our hands!"

"We succeeded, we succeeded! Woohoo, we did it!"

……

Some were excited, some were thrilled, and some cried with joy.

But Li Mu's expression was surprisingly calm.

It would be better to say that it was already expected. With their efforts, this result was inevitable, and it just happened to be realized in his hands.

Professor Zhang looked at Li Mu, who remained calm, and said:
"Why are you not happy after your success? I remember you weren't like this."

"After tonight's experiment, our country's steel industry will soon experience a major earthquake and explosive growth!"

"Your name, and even our names, will appear in textbooks of future generations and will be remembered by history!"

His face was full of excitement. Leaving a name in history was an irresistible temptation for any Xia citizen.

"I'm very happy." Li Mu smiled slightly and said, "But Professor Zhang, I'm seeing a little dark now, please move to the side a little, so that I won't fall and bump into you later."

Hearing this, Professor Zhang was stunned. Looking at Li Mu with a calm face, he didn't react to what he meant for a while.

It was not until Li Mu's body began to sway from side to side that he shouted in panic: "Hurry up, Li Mu is about to faint!"

Hearing the shout, Guan Jianmin, who was resting next door, shuddered and rushed into the laboratory at the speed of a 100-meter sprint.

Looking at the staggering Li Mu, he felt as if his heart was being pulled!

……

The next day, in Li Mu's dormitory, although Li Mu was quick-witted and repeatedly emphasized that he was just joking, he still failed to deceive Guo Mo and Leader Qiu who came.

Guo Mo said solemnly with a straight face:

"Li Mu, you are being extremely irresponsible to your own body and to scientific research!"

"If you make a mistake during the experiment because you are too tired, do you know how serious the consequences will be?"

"In my opinion, no matter how important high-temperature resistant materials are, they are far less important than your health and safety!"

His words were extremely harsh, but every word revealed his concern and love, which made Li Mu feel warm inside.

Leader Qiu then said, "President Guo is right. Your value is far from being comparable to that of a high-temperature resistant material."

"With you here, our country's semiconductor and steel metallurgy levels will surely be far ahead of the world in the future."

"A high temperature resistant material may be important, but not as important as you!"

"Oh, by the way, I remember you have an assistant who takes care of your daily life and work. How could I let you do research so unrestrainedly?"

At the end of the speech, Leader Qiu glanced at Guan Jianmin standing next to him. The latter also knew that he had made a mistake, so he lowered his head and said nothing.

Seeing this, Li Mu quickly explained: "Don't blame Assistant Guan, he reminded me many times, but I relied on my youth and good health to not pay attention."

"It's actually not a big deal. I was just too hungry. I'll just have some snacks handy from now on."

"Otherwise, how could I have had the energy to joke with Professor Zhang at that time?"

After he finished speaking, he desperately winked at Professor Zhang, hoping that he would help cover for him.

Professor Zhang straightened his face and said, "You almost fell into the test tube on the table. Do you know how dangerous it was?"

Well, instead of helping, I was hit hard.

After hearing this, the faces of Guo Mo, Leader Qiu, Qian Shuyan and others became visibly darker.

"Anyway, now that the high-temperature resistant material has been successfully developed, we can also complete the subsequent experiments. You should just have a good rest." Professor Zhang continued.

Guo Mo said directly: "You must rest well. If your body has problems again, will you be worthy of Xiaoguan?"

"He is someone sent by the leader. If he doesn't take good care of you, how will he cope?"

"Professor Zhang, within half a month, no, within a month, you can't let him set foot in the laboratory again. The same goes for the Semiconductor Research Institute. I will go and say hello to them later!"

It can be seen that he was really angry this time and didn't leave any leeway.

But one month...

Li Mu looked at the dark faces of the people surrounding him and swallowed his words of plea.

Forget it, let’s get through this first.

……

After teaching Li Mu a lesson several times, Guo Moqiu and others finally walked out of his dormitory.

Li Mu let out a long sigh of relief and just as he was about to stand up, he noticed General Zhao with a helpless look and Guan Jianmin with a resentful look standing beside him.

He thought for a moment and said, "I was wrong in this matter. If you are punished, tell me and I will help you solve it."

This time if he gets into trouble again, General Zhao will be fine, but Guan Jianmin can't escape.

Although I usually get annoyed by Guan Jianmin's nagging in my ear, I can't let him be punished for it.

Hearing this, Guan Jianmin shook his head and said, "I'm not afraid of being punished, let alone being disciplined!"

"But I'm afraid there's something wrong with your body!"

"Li Mu, the more I get to know you, the more I realize how important you are to the country!"

“High temperature resistant materials are just the beginning, not the end. What you can create in the future will be more dazzling than now and will shock the world!”

His words caused Li Mu to fall into a brief silence.

It's not that I was persuaded, but it's inevitable that I feel a little embarrassed.

So far, most of his achievements have been achieved with the help of the golden finger, and there are only a few results that he has completed entirely on his own.

Compared to these people who have passionate souls and lofty ideals, and who devote everything to national construction without reservation, he is far inferior!
"I feel a little embarrassed by your compliment." Li Mu blushed for a rare moment and said, "But I really look forward to the day you mentioned."

Guan Jianmin said firmly: "It will come!"

"Definitely!" General Zhao clenched his fists tightly.

Seeing the two people so excited, Li Mu was deeply moved and said, "So in order to make that day come true sooner, can you please hand me the notebook on my desk?"

"Don't even think about it!" Guan Jianmin and General Zhao's faces turned black.

……

Here, Leader Qiu, Guo Mo and others came to the Iron and Steel Metallurgy Laboratory.

Experts from the First Ministry of Machine Building had arrived in advance and were testing the data on high-temperature resistant materials.

After getting a positive result, everyone couldn't help but show an excited look on their faces.

Leader Qiu shook his head and sighed:

"This Li Mu, apart from being a little troublesome to study, is impeccable in other aspects!"

“How long did it take from proposing the construction of a 300-ton converter to the success of high-temperature resistant materials?”

"Especially since he started his career in semiconductors halfway through his career and then switched to steel metallurgy."

"This talent is truly amazing!"

Guo Mo on the side said with a smile: "Indeed, it is a blessing for our country and the scientific research community that we have a Li Mu."

"The significance of his existence is no longer as simple as an outstanding scientist, but the 'national treasure' of our Xia country!"

"At a time when the world is in turmoil and our country is isolated and threatened, it is his continuous inventions that have instilled strong confidence in our people."

"It is he who made us firmly believe that our Xia country is not inferior to any country, and we Xia people are not inferior to anyone!"

The comments of the two made professors including Ye Zhupei and Qian Shuyan fall into silence for a moment, and then they nodded deeply.

Li Mu's existence has indeed completely different meaning to the Xia Kingdom.

"It's a pity that he is a little difficult to manage. If he could have developed a relationship with Wang Ya earlier and had someone to take care of him, we wouldn't have to worry about him anymore." Qian Shuyan added silently.

Hearing this, Leader Qiu was slightly stunned. He looked at everyone around him who was laughing in unison, and became interested. He asked, "What's going on? Tell me quickly."

After listening to Qian Shuyan's story, Leader Qiu smiled and said, "Actually, I don't think everyone's attention needs to be focused on Wang Ya."

"Everyone has several daughters and granddaughters in their family. If the conditions are suitable, you can let them meet them first."

"Even if it doesn't work out, there won't be any harm in just being friends, right?"

After he finished speaking, many people's eyes lit up.

In fact, it's not that they didn't have any thoughts about it, but Guo Mo and Qian Shuyan mentioned first that Li Mu was interested in Wang Ya, so they temporarily put the thoughts aside.

But now so many days have passed and they have tried in many ways, but apart from meeting with Wang Ya a few times, there has been no progress at all.

It’s hard to say whether I like it or not.

Mr. Xu was the first to nod in agreement:

"I think it works!"

(End of this chapter)