Courtyard House: Starting as a mediocre engineer

On Saturday morning, Zhuang Zhongchen used the same excuse of running a field errand to come to the Institute of Science and Technology Information.

The Science and Technology Information Institute in Beijing collected the latest scientific and technological literature and various journals from home and abroad, making it the most comprehensive and abundant scientific and technological database in China at that time, especially the foreign materials and journals.

Let's put it this way! It has a much richer collection than a university library. Even university professors in Beijing who want to conduct research often come here to search for the latest scientific and technological information.

Of course, these are all original versions; whether you can understand them depends on yourself.

In that era, scientific papers were mainly written in four languages: English, Russian, Japanese, and... Chinese.

You read that right, Chinese is indeed among them. Regardless of how backward China's technology was at that time, it was still a major language. Languages ​​like French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese, which were once prevalent, have long since become marginalized in the technology field.

Of course, other languages ​​were gradually marginalized, leaving only English to dominate. It wasn't until the Industrial Age of Cthulhu that Chinese scientific papers began to rise again.

Domestic scientific journals were originally intended to provide students with a few low-quality papers for promotions and academic advancement. But who would have thought they would gradually become global leaders in certain fields?

Therefore, technology can also determine cultural hegemony!

That said, Zhuang Zhongchen wasn't interested in papers in other languages ​​at the moment; he only wanted to translate English papers. Any subject was acceptable, as long as they could be published in domestic journals.

The payment for translated manuscripts is 3 to 10 yuan per thousand words. Even at 3 yuan, that's still a few dozen yuan more per month, right?

……

However, as soon as they stepped through the gate, they were stopped by an old gatekeeper: "Comrade, this is a classified unit and is not open to the public."

"I'm here to apply for a library card. This is my work ID and engineer's certificate."

"Oh, please come in. Find that young lady, Han; she can issue library cards there."

"Thanks, sir!"

You're welcome. Hehe.

Unlike later on, when engineers seemed to be everywhere.

In this era, engineers not only held a high status but also held a very high rank. An engineer's certificate was their passport, granting them unrestricted access to many confidential locations.

Let's just say that!

A level 9 engineer like Zhuang Zhongchen would be a lecturer at a university. Technical levels 9 through 7 are all considered engineers. A level 7 engineer is equivalent to a senior university lecturer.

Technical levels six through four are called senior engineers, or advanced engineers.

To clarify: There is currently no official title for "senior engineer"; it is a term of respect used by the public. However, this title has become so widespread that piracy eventually forced the government to officially recognize the title "senior engineer."

Technical Level 6 is equivalent to an associate professor, and Technical Level 4 is equivalent to a university professor.

As for technical level three to technical level one? The common term is "high-level engineer." It's mostly "high-level," like the height of a multi-story building.

At that time, a first-class engineer was called an academician. Later, the title became even more prestigious—academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering!

So, even though Zhuang Zhongchen is the lowest-ranking engineer, he's still an engineer! There are only tens of thousands of them in the whole country!

Even if Zhuang Zhongchen simply lay down and coasted through the years until the 80s, when his professional title was reassessed, he could still become a senior engineer by accumulating seniority!

That's why, when Zhuang Zhongchen met that young Han... Sister Han, who was in her thirties, he was immediately entangled with this enthusiastic woman.

"Xiao Zhuang, how come you look so young? Are you a college student?"

"Yes, yes! We made it just in time."

"No wonder!"

To be honest, the original owner of this body was indeed quite lucky; he really did live in a good era.

In recent years, China has faced a severe shortage of skilled personnel in its construction industry, to the point of near desperation. The average college entrance examination pass rate in recent years has reached a staggering 110%!

This isn't a mistake; it really is 110%! There weren't even enough high school graduates. Therefore, a large number of worker-peasant cadres were recommended to attend university for further education, i.e., refresher courses. A group of high-achieving first and second-year high school students were also mobilized. That's why it barely reached 110%.

So, in those days, getting into high school almost guaranteed you a place in university. However, universities were divided into two types—junior colleges and bachelor's degrees. In those days, a junior college diploma was considered equivalent to a university degree. But the two types of diplomas were still different.

So, taking advantage of this opportunity, the original owner of this body somehow managed to get into university and eventually graduated without much effort.

As for engineer certificates? That goes without saying. Although the engineer professional title examination falls under the personnel bureau, the labor bureau is a sister unit, isn't it? Isn't the vocational skills section responsible for vocational skills level examinations? That's also a form of certification!

He gave Zhuang Zhongchen a card after a simple greeting. And so... he became a complete fraud.

It's important to note that this situation is not uncommon in this era. Just as Director Jin said before—a little lack of ability is okay; it can be cultivated gradually. First, solve the problem of whether or not you have the skills!

There's no other way; the country is desperately short of talent, so they just throw anyone in the basket! Even if you're a slacker, at least you can still get some attention, right?

Take, for example, those 5 engineers. When the Russian experts sent to China to assist in the war, only 1 were qualified? The other 4 were essentially incompetent. Yet the country still uses them, and even values ​​them! It's precisely because talented people are so rare!

Of course, that wasn't what Sister Han was concerned about: "Xiao Zhuang, how old are you?"

"20 years old (by Chinese reckoning)."

"Are you a local from Beijing?"

"Yes, I live in Nanluoguxiang."

"Where are your family members?"

"I live alone. My mother passed away a few years ago."

Do you have a boyfriend/girlfriend?

"Hehe, Sister Han, I'm not old enough yet."

"It's okay if it's not done yet. We can place an order first. Do you want me to introduce you to someone?"

"Cough cough cough."

That's absolutely true. If you didn't know about Zhuang Zhongchen's debts, he would be a well-rounded individual, capable of dominating the marriage market.

However, Zhuang Zhongchen was already quite adept at handling this kind of situation. After a few words of coaxing, the two became very talkative, making Sister Han burst into laughter...

……

At noon, Zhuang Zhongchen left the Institute of Science and Technology Information. Before leaving, he borrowed two English science journals.

In fact, most of the reference journals and periodicals were not available for loan by the Science and Technology Information Institute; they could only be read in the reading room. Furthermore, there were no photocopiers in those days, so if you wanted to extract any content, you had to rely on copying it by hand.

However, those older documents and periodicals are not so strictly regulated and can still be borrowed.

Zhuang Zhongchen carefully selected these two old journals. It wasn't that the more advanced the better, nor that the more complex the better.

In this regard, it is essential to adapt to the domestic conditions of this period. The key is—practicality!