The villainous young lady is actually a scientific research genius!

"Q&A!"

Gu Zhaozhao wrote two words on the paper and laid out the two versions of the agenda for the International Congress of Mathematicians side by side.

This item was not included in the first edition.

In the revised version, a public Q&A session for young award winners was added after the awards ceremony, with a special note stating that scholars and journalists were welcome to attend.

Winche copied the relevant dates into his notebook.

"The alliance secretariat said it was to expand the influence of young scholars."

He paused, the pen tip resting on the paper.

"But they haven't given a definite answer as to which committee the proposal was first submitted to."

Gu Zhaozhao circled the date of the process modification.

"Go and investigate."

She moved her pen and pointed to the line for adding a new process.

"Focus on investigating three things."

"Who brought it up, who pushed it forward, and—"

She underlined the word "journalist".

"Who insisted on letting reporters in?"

Wen Che wrote down each item.

He looked up when he wrote the third point.

"Should we suggest the league cancel this Q&A session first?"

"Don't move yet."

Gu Zhaozhao pressed the note she had pieced together from Harrison's room next to the flowchart.

August.

The awards ceremony.

Option 2.

Proposing cancellation now would be tantamount to openly telling the other party that China has noticed something amiss and has listed this public Q&A session as a risk point.

"First, obtain the complete workflow record of the proposal."

Gu Zhaozhao looked at the few sheets of paper.

"We haven't even figured out the thread yet. Cutting it now will only alert the people behind us."

Wen Che nodded.

"Understood, I'll check with the committee first."

There were two knocks on the office door.

The duty officer strode in with a punched telegram, his shoes kicking up dust from the corridor.

"Chief Engineer Gu, an urgent telegram from the Tianjin Solvent Factory."

Gu Zhaozhao took the telegram.

The paper lists four sets of key data.

Moisture content.

Metal ion residue.

Distillation range.

The last item is purity—99.97 percent.

She checked each item one by one, then turned the telegram to the back and read the attached inspection instructions.

Sampling was performed at three locations.

All three sets of data have reached the usage threshold.

Jincheng Solvent Plant managed to deliver its first batch of high-purity solvents within 48 hours, thanks to its existing distillation equipment.

Wen Che leaned closer for a look.

"Ninety-nine point ninety-seven percent."

He raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Is this the same quality of the batch of goods that the Japanese distributor used to inflate prices?"

"Passing the test only proves that these few samples are qualified."

Gu Zhaozhao closed the conference agenda.

Whether the entire batch of goods can be used depends on whether it enters the production line.

She picked up the telegram and the experiment records.

"Get the car ready, we're heading to the pilot production line."

Wen Che picked up the documents on the table and followed him out.

As he reached the door, he glanced back at the two versions of the conference agenda on the table.

The public Q&A session from August is still pending.

Today's domestically produced solvents are already waiting on the pilot production line.

A clue was hidden several months later.

The other line is tonight.

Both sides are urging for a deadline.

……

Pilot line in the suburbs of Beijing.

The domestically produced solvents were delivered to the factory early in the morning, with red seals affixed to the outside of the iron drums.

The container is printed with the name of Jincheng Solvent Factory, production batch and date of manufacture, and next to it is a complete sampling record.

After Gu Chengyuan and his team checked the seals, they were waiting for her at the entrance of the ingredient preparation room.

"Zhaozhao, this batch of goods has passed the factory's random inspection."

He handed the test results to Gu Zhaozhao.

"The fifth batch of precursor fibers prepared using this batch of domestically produced solvents will be put into the furnace tonight."

"We just had a discussion and we're thinking of adding 20% ​​imported material to the first batch. That would be safer, so we don't put all the risk on the line right away."

Gu Zhaozhao took the test report and flipped directly to the last page.

How much imported material is left?

"Enough for two furnaces."

Gu Chengyuan pointed in the direction of the warehouse.

"As you requested, it will remain sealed. There are three keys, each kept by one of the three people, and no one can open the vault alone."

"Then keep it sealed off."

Gu Chengyuan was about to flip through the documents when he stopped.

"Zhao Zhao, the domestically produced materials have just passed laboratory testing."

He frowned.

"The fifth batch is crucial to the overall progress of the tenth batch of verification. The entire furnace will be replaced, leaving no risk unaddressed; we'll have to bear all the consequences ourselves."

"Adding imported materials will not eliminate the risks."

Gu Zhaozhao handed the test report back to him.

"It's just been hidden."

She tapped the raw material section on the test report.

If two materials are mixed together and the finished product passes inspection, whose responsibility is it?

"If something goes wrong, who will be investigated?"

Gu Chengyuan said in a deep voice, "But if the whole batch fails, the momentum that the first four batches have worked so hard to build up will be broken."

"If it breaks, stop and find out why it broke."

Gu Zhaozhao walked to the iron buckets and checked the batch numbers one by one.

"The fifth batch will verify whether domestic substitution can actually be successful."

She raised her hand and pressed the red seal on the bucket.

"If you mix in imported materials, the furnace might be saved, but the data will be ruined."

"In the end, we still don't know if domestically produced materials can support this batch on their own."

Gu Chengyuan did not speak immediately.

Four batches of data, two batches of imported inventory, and tonight's production progress were all weighing on his mind.

He has a habit of calculating the worst possible outcome first before deciding how many steps to take.

This time, however, there is only one choice: risk or the answer.

He stared at Gu Zhaozhao for a moment, and finally stopped trying to persuade her.

"OK."

Gu Chengyuan lowered his head, unfolded the test form that he had unconsciously rolled up, and smoothed it out little by little.

"I'll listen to you."

"The fifth batch uses entirely domestically produced materials."

Upon hearing this, the technicians in the ingredient preparation room all turned around.

Some people put down the measuring cup, while others rechecked the markings on the iron bucket.

A young technician swallowed hard, but couldn't resist.

"Chief Engineer Gu, you really won't mix in any?"

"Absolutely no adulteration."

The young technician glanced instinctively at the warehouse.

"The imported inventory has been sealed off. The Japanese probably think we haven't dared to turn on the furnace at all."

Wen Che pushed up his glasses.

"Then let them continue to think that way."

He smiled.

"They're raising prices again, cutting off supplies, and still clinging to our core formula and dreaming big."

"We've been working so hard for so long, we should make them happy for a few more days."

Someone in the ingredient preparation room couldn't help but chuckle softly.

The tense atmosphere finally eased a little.

Gu Zhaozhao had already opened the craft card.

"Once you've had your laugh, get back to work."

She glanced at the crowd.

The voice wasn't loud, but everyone immediately stood up straighter.

"Take a sample and seal it."

"Raw material batch, feeding time, equipment number, not a single one can be omitted, all must be recorded in the form."

She paused for a moment.

"Whoever misses a single item in their notes will have to stay up all night working on this batch of data."

The laughter that had just started immediately stopped.

The scale pan is reset to zero.

The sampling bottles were arranged in order of their numbers.

Every seal and every weighing is checked and signed by someone.

The fifth batch of tests has officially begun.

After the raw yarn enters the production line, all the staff on duty stay in front of the instruments.

Temperature, tension, feed rate, one after another.

The paper tape slowly emerged from below the instrument, one square after another, while the recorder's pencil never stopped, and the numbers neatly fell into the form.

The data in the first half was stable.

When entering the critical section, the furnace temperature curve suddenly deviated downward once.

The magnitude of the damage has not yet crossed the shutdown line, but it is significantly larger than the previous four batches.

The technician on duty firmly grasped the adjusting lever.

"Should we move it back half a notch?"

Gu Zhaozhao raised her hand and pressed the operation record.

"Don't move."

"Burn according to the original plan."

The technician stared intently at the curve.

"If it deviates further downwards, the intensity may be affected."

Write down the deviations.

"But it can still be transferred back now."

The technician's voice was strained.

"It will be too late if we wait any longer."

"Now that we've adjusted it back, the fluctuations caused by the original state of the filament will be masked by the operation."

Gu Zhaozhao marked the exact time next to the curve.

The pen tip did not pause.

"The fifth batch of inspections focused on raw materials."

"The process parameters must remain unchanged."

She looked up at the control panel.

"This batch isn't about achieving a pretty result."

"Let the data remain exactly as it is."

The technician tightened his grip on the adjusting lever.

He glanced one last time at the still-extending curve, and finally slowly let go.

"I see."

A few minutes later, the curve shifted again.

This time, no one in the control room made a sound.

The recorder was writing numbers with his head down, pressing the pencil too hard.

With a "snap," the pen lead broke off at the edge of the form.

He paused, pursed his lips, immediately switched to another pen, and continued writing.

Gu Chengyuan stood outside the observation window, his gaze following the curve as it moved little by little.

After the second fluctuation subsided, the furnace temperature began to slowly recover.

The curve gradually climbed back to the specified range.

It's just not far from the warning line.

No one dared to consider this a passable hurdle.

Gu Chengyuan rechecked the data.

"Still within the process window."

Gu Zhaozhao nodded.

Her gaze remained fixed on the ever-extending strip of paper.

The furnace temperature has returned to normal.

But whether this batch will be successful or not, no one knows yet.

"continue!"