Rejecting Tsinghua and Peking Universities: I Will Lead Harbin Institute of Technology to World Lead

As Lin Feng finished tidying up, the red encrypted phone vibrated.

A top-secret message popped up on the screen.

[Lin Feng, the expert team list is confirmed: In the agricultural field, the team will be personally led by Professor Nong, and members include three vice presidents and seven chief breeding experts from the National Academy of Grain Sciences; in the field of psychiatry, the team will be led by Academician Zhang Qingyuan, and members include directors of neurology departments from eight major hospitals including Peking Union Medical College Hospital, 301 Hospital, and Huashan Hospital; the expert team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences Instrument Testing Center arrived at your location two hours ago. All personnel are expected to arrive within the next three hours.]

Lin Feng's grip on his phone tightened slightly.

Old farmer.

These two words represent an era, a spirit, and a monument in China. The patriot who lifted 1.4 billion people out of hunger is now 87 years old and has long since retired from the front lines of scientific research. Yet, this same old man would travel thousands of miles overnight to Harbin, the "Ice City," for his research.

"Brother Zhao," Lin Feng immediately connected to the internal communication system, "More experts will be arriving soon. Instruct the people protecting me not to intercept them. Especially... Elder Nong."

He paused, then said with unusual solemnity, "That old man came in person."

On the other end of the communication line, Zhao Weiguo visibly took a breath: "Understood! I'll adjust the security plan immediately to ensure Elder Nong's group's absolute safety and smooth operation!"

Over the next two hours, subtle changes occurred around the professor's neighborhood.

At 7:40 a.m., the first convoy of cars entered the residential area.

The back door of the middle car opened, and an elderly man with silver hair, a thin figure, but a straight back, slowly stepped out with the help of an assistant.

It was the old farmer.

The old man was wearing a faded light gray Zhongshan suit, ordinary cloth shoes, and reading glasses perched on his nose. His face was etched with the marks of time, but his eyes remained clear and bright, gazing towards the detached courtyard with expectation in them, and even more so with a kind of almost devout focus.

Almost simultaneously, another convoy arrived.

From the lead car, Academician Zhang Qingyuan strode out. Although this leading figure in the field of psychiatry in China was seventy-two years old, his steps were still vigorous and powerful. He glanced at Elder Nong, and the two nodded to each other from a distance.

Then came the third, the fourth... Within just ten minutes, seven convoys arrived one after another.

National Academy of Grain Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Seed Management Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture, National Center for Mental Health...

Outside the small, independent courtyard, thirty-seven top experts in China's agricultural and medical fields have gathered, including as many as nine academicians.

"Professor Nong, Academician Zhang, and all the experts."

Lin Feng quickly stepped forward and bowed deeply to the old farmer. This was not an official courtesy, but a heartfelt respect from a junior to a senior, and from a younger generation to a pioneer.

The old farmer stretched out his hand—a hand covered in calluses, with slightly deformed knuckles—marks left from years of working in the fields and sifting rice ears. He grasped Lin Feng's hand, his grip light but unusually firm.

"Comrade Lin Feng, there's no need to be so polite." The old man's voice was gentle and clear. "Old Chen showed me three pages of your preliminary report. Those three pages of data were enough for this old man to make this trip."

He looked up at the courtyard: "Where is your research located? Let's go take a look."

There were no pleasantries or formalities; they got straight to the point.

"Okay, please follow me."

Lin Feng led everyone into the courtyard. Old Nong refused his assistant's help and, leaning on his cane, walked step by step down the stairs leading to the basement. Academician Zhang Qingyuan followed closely behind, and the other experts entered in turn.

When all 37 people entered the 500-square-meter underground laboratory, the space felt slightly crowded.

But no one felt uncomfortable.

Everyone's attention was firmly drawn to the scene inside the laboratory.

On the left, four all-environment growth chambers resemble four miniature rice paddies.

On the right, three silver-white prototype mental restoration devices are neatly arranged, with the brainwave patterns of experimental macaques displayed in real time on the holographic projection screen.

The old farmer walked step by step toward the growth chamber.

His steps were slow, each one deliberate and steady. When he reached the cabin, the old man took off his reading glasses, carefully wiped them with the corner of his clothes, put them back on, and then bent down, almost pressing his face against the observation window.

Time seemed to stand still.

Everyone held their breath, watching the old man who had fed China, and gazing at the rice plants that might provide China with even better food.

For a full minute, the old farmer remained motionless.

Then, everyone saw that the old man's shoulders began to tremble slightly.

It wasn't the weakness of old age, but rather a kind of intense, suppressed excitement.

When the old farmer straightened up and turned to look at Lin Feng, tears welled up in his eyes.

"Comrade Lin Feng," the old man's voice trembled slightly, "have you measured the number of effective panicles per plant on these rice plants?"

"I've measured it," Lin Feng replied immediately. "The average is 32.7 ears, with a record of 39 ears."

"Number of grains per ear?"

"The average is 308 pills, with a record high of 341 pills."

"Weight of a thousand grains?"

42.3 grams.

Three data points, like three thunderclaps, exploded in the laboratory.

The agricultural experts present all gasped in surprise.

As industry insiders, they know all too well what these figures mean—conventional super rice typically has 15-18 effective panicles per plant, 180-220 filled grains per panicle, and a thousand-grain weight of 25-30 grams. Lin Feng's figures are almost double those of existing varieties!

"What about resistance?" the old farmer continued, his voice more urgent.

"Completely immune to the three major diseases: rice blast, bacterial blight, and sheath blight." Lin Feng pulled up the test report projection. "After artificial inoculation with the highest concentration of pathogens, the plants showed no symptoms of disease. In drought resistance tests, the plants were able to fully recover within three days after the soil moisture content dropped to 8% for seven days, and the final yield reduction rate was only 8.7% after the water supply was restored."

One data point after another was thrown out, like a series of heavy bombs.

The old man's hands trembled more and more violently, and he needed a cane to stand. His assistant tried to help him up, but the old man waved him off.

"Growth cycle?" the old man asked the last crucial question.

"From sowing to maturity, it takes ninety-six days." Lin Feng paused, then added, "This is the data for the fourth-generation stable variety. Theoretically, by further optimizing the light and temperature response genes, it can be shortened by another five to seven days."

"Ninety-six days...ninety-six days..." the old farmer murmured repeatedly, then suddenly threw his head back and laughed, "Hahaha! Good! What a fine ninety-six days!"

His laughter was tinged with sobs.

After laughing a few times, the old man suddenly coughed violently. His assistant quickly handed him water, but the old man waved his hand, took out a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his mouth, and looked at Lin Feng with a complex and indescribable emotion in his eyes.

"Comrade Lin Feng, do you know what ninety-six days means?" the old man said slowly. "In most parts of the south, three seasons can be grown in a year. In some tropical areas, even four seasons can be grown. This means..."

"This means that with the same amount of arable land, total grain output can increase two to three times," Lin Feng continued. "If this is promoted nationwide, China's grain self-sufficiency rate can increase from the current 95% to over 150%. We can not only completely get rid of import dependence, but also become a net grain exporter."

"Moreover," he continued, "the nutritional composition of super rice has also been significantly improved. The protein content has increased from the conventional 8% to 14.7%, and the proportion of essential amino acids is more balanced. The content of trace elements such as B vitamins, vitamin E, zinc, and iron has increased by an average of 28%-41%."

The old farmer listened quietly, and after Lin Feng finished speaking, he let out a long sigh.

"The younger generation is truly formidable," he said softly, those four words carrying immense weight.

Then, the old farmer turned to Academician Zhang Qingyuan: "Academician Zhang, you guys go take a look over there. I want to stay here... and look around a little longer."

Zhang Qingyuan nodded and led the group toward the mental restoration equipment area.

For the next three hours, the underground laboratory transformed into the most rigorous technical defense venue.

The agricultural expert group surrounded Lin Feng, bombarding him with questions.

Lin Feng answered calmly. For each question, he provided detailed data, clear principles, and feasible solutions.

The old farmer mostly listened quietly, occasionally interjecting with one or two extremely crucial questions. Each time, Lin Feng's answer made the old man's eyes shine even brighter.

The situation was equally intense on the side of the psychiatric expert group.

Academician Zhang Qingyuan personally operated the prototype machine to treat a macaque implanted with a depression model. Three hours later, when the monkey, which had previously huddled in a corner and shown no interest in food, began to actively explore its environment and eat fruit, all the experts fell silent.

Then came more in-depth questioning.

Lin Feng answered each question one by one, pulled up the raw data from thousands of animal experiments, showed before-and-after comparison images of neuroimaging, and explained the individualized parameter optimization model based on deep learning.

The defense concluded temporarily at 1 p.m.

The old farmer and Academician Zhang Qingyuan walked aside and talked in hushed tones for a few minutes.

Then, the two elderly people walked towards Lin Feng together.

"Comrade Lin Feng," the old farmer spoke first, his tone more solemn than ever before, "Although it still requires a series of procedures such as national-level replication verification, regional trials, and safety assessments, based on my sixty years of breeding experience, I can tell that your super rice technology is real, feasible, and revolutionary."

Academician Zhang Qingyuan continued, "The same applies to the mental health repair device. I personally operated and verified three cases, and the treatment effects were completely consistent with the data. If subsequent large-scale clinical trials confirm its safety and effectiveness... this will be the biggest breakthrough in the history of psychiatry."

The endorsement of these two titans is tantamount to giving these two technologies the highest level of approval.

Lin Feng opened the prepared document box one by one.

"Professor Nong, Academician Zhang, and all the experts," he said sincerely, "Here are all the experimental data, gene editing maps, breeding records, and test reports of Shennong Super Rice from the first to the fourth generation, totaling seven volumes and three thousand four hundred pages."

"This contains the design blueprints, algorithm source code, complete records of animal experiments, and a database tracking treatment effects for the Bian Que Mental Restoration Device, totaling twelve encrypted data packets with a total data volume of 8.7TB."

"All physical samples and prototype equipment are here. I am willing to unconditionally transfer all data and technology to the relevant national departments, and let the experts lead the subsequent verification, optimization, and promotion work."

The room fell silent after he said that.

Unconditional transfer means that Lin Feng has given up all possible patent benefits, academic reputation, and even his personal priority in authorship of these two epoch-making achievements.

Old Nong stared intently at Lin Feng for a long time before slowly saying, "Comrade Lin Feng, are you sure?"

"Confirmed." Lin Feng answered without hesitation. "Food security and public health are the foundation of a nation. The faster these two technologies are promoted, the more people will benefit. My personal gains or losses are insignificant."

Academician Zhang Qingyuan said emotionally, "We will ensure that your contributions are fully recorded. But this is indeed... a blessing for the country and the nation."

The handover ceremony was simple yet solemn.

The elderly farmer personally accepted the seed sample box of super rice, and Academician Zhang Qingyuan signed for the technical file of the mental restoration device. The thirty-seven experts, each with a solemn expression, knew the weight of what they were receiving.

At 3 p.m., the expert team left one after another with the data and samples.

Old Nong was the last to leave. Just before getting into the car, the old man grasped Lin Feng's hand and shook it vigorously: "Comrade Lin Feng, thank you. Thank you for making this country's rice bowl even more secure."

The car drove away.

Lin Feng stood at the entrance of the courtyard, watching the convoy disappear around the street corner.