78: Bringing his wife and children to Harbin Institute of Technology

The next morning, Ye Bingwen went to Ma Kui's office.

Ma Kui was eating breakfast, a steamed bun in his hand. Seeing Ye Bingwen enter, he looked up. "So early? What happened?"

"How much do you know about Zhou Mingyuan's connections in the provincial government?"

Ma Kui put down the steamed bun, his expression turning serious. "Why are you suddenly asking this?"

Ye Bingwen recounted what happened last night, omitting the details of meeting the old man, only mentioning that someone had warned him that Zhou Mingyuan had powerful backers. Ma Kui listened in silence for a while.

"Zhou Mingyuan does have connections in the province. His brother-in-law, surnamed Zhao, is the deputy director of the Provincial Department of Industry. Zhou Mingyuan's appointment as the head of the Physics Department is related to this person." Ma Kui lowered his voice. "Principal Liu has always wanted to get rid of Zhou Mingyuan, but he couldn't do it because of Deputy Director Zhao's influence. This time, your matter has blown up, so he took the opportunity to transfer him away."

Ye Bingwen's heart sank.

"Also, Deputy Director Zhao's wife is Zhou Mingyuan's older sister. That's a strong connection, isn't it?"

What kind of person is Deputy Director Zhao?

Ma Kui thought for a moment, "His abilities are average, but he's very good at building relationships. He's in charge of technological upgrades and has project approval authority. You won't be able to get around him when you apply for provincial-level projects for your brushless motor in the future."

Ye Bingwen's heart tightened.

"But don't worry too much." Ma Kui patted him on the shoulder. "Principal Liu has connections in the province. Besides, the provincial leaders have already read the report on your motor, so Vice Director Zhao can't stop it even if he wants to."

After leaving Ma Kui's office, Ye Bingwen went downstairs to take a look. The footprints in the snow had been trampled and disordered. He stood at the entrance of the building for a while, looking around. There seemed to be a figure behind the window on the second floor opposite, but when he looked over, the figure disappeared.

In the afternoon, Ye Bingwen went to the motor factory.

Li Guoliang was waiting for him in his office, documents spread out on the desk. "The project approval from the Provincial Department of Science and Technology has come through. Fifty thousand yuan, to be disbursed in two installments. The first installment of thirty thousand yuan will arrive next month."

Ye Bingwen took the document. The first signature in the approval comments section was Zhao Jianguo's.

"Was it signed by Deputy Director Zhao?"

"He was very interested in your project and asked several questions. He also said he wanted to come to the factory to see the prototype."

"When are you coming?"

"He didn't say. Maybe next week, maybe next month." Li Guoliang looked at him. "What's wrong? Do you know him?"

"I don't know him."

Li Guoliang didn't ask any more questions, and took an envelope from the drawer. "The first installment is eight hundred yuan. The factory sold twenty prototypes this month."

Ye Bingwen took the envelope. "When is Chief Engineer Li's farewell party?"

"Come to the factory canteen next Friday, you're welcome too."

Emerging from the motor factory, Ye Bingwen stood at the entrance. Money was a good thing, but the people behind it made him uneasy. Deputy Director Zhao was Zhou Mingyuan's brother-in-law. Zhou Mingyuan had just been transferred, and Deputy Director Zhao was already interested in her project—was that normal?

What's meant to come will come.

When Zheng Shuyun got home in the evening, she was feeding An'an.

"Bingwen, I received a letter from you today." Zheng Shuyun pointed to the table.

Ye Bingwen picked up the envelope; it was from Daxing Village. Inside was a photograph of his father and mother standing in front of their newly built brick house, with golden stacks of corn behind them. On the back of the photograph was a line of text: "The house is finished. We're waiting for you to come home for the New Year."

Ye Bingwen looked at the photo, his eyes welling up with tears. "Let's go back home for the New Year."

After finishing her meal, An'an dozed off, so Zheng Shuyun put her in her crib. Ye Bingwen sat at the table writing a technical report.

"Bingwen," Zheng Shuyun suddenly spoke.

"Um?"

"I received a letter from Sister Lin today. Section Chief Sun is retiring next week, and the new section chief is transferred from the province; his surname is Zhou."

Ye Bingwen stopped writing.

"What's your name?"

"Zhou Mingyi".

Zhou Mingyi. His name differs from Zhou Mingyuan's by only one character. Ye Bingwen put down his pen. "Have you ever seen this person?"

"No. Sister Lin said he'll report for duty next Monday." Zheng Shuyun looked at him. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing. You can continue studying."

Ye Bingwen turned back, staring at the half-finished report, unable to write a single word. Zhou Mingyuan had been transferred, and now Zhou Mingyi had arrived. Was it a coincidence, or was someone orchestrating this?

He remembered that letter—"You'll find out sooner or later."

The next day, Saturday, Ye Bingwen went to the laboratory.

He needed to finish writing his paper on brushless motors and submit it to the *Journal of Mechanical Engineering*. Sitting at the lab bench, looking at the prototype, the motor lay quietly on the table, its coils gleaming with a coppery sheen. He picked up his pen to write his conclusion, then put it in an envelope.

The laboratory door was pushed open. Chen Zhiyuan walked in, holding a paper package in his hand.

"Bingwen, someone asked me to give this to you."

"Who?"

"I don't know him. A man, in his forties, wearing glasses and a gray Zhongshan suit. He stopped me at the school gate and said his surname was Zhao."

Ye Bingwen's heart skipped a beat. He opened the paper package; inside was a letter.

"Dear Ye Bingwen, this is Zhao Jianguo. I heard that your brushless motor project has passed the expert review, and I am very interested in your technology. I will visit the motor factory next Wednesday afternoon and hope to discuss it in person. Enclosed is the Provincial Department of Industry's Technical Transformation Project Guidelines. Your brushless motor meets the application requirements. If you are interested, please prepare the necessary materials."

Ye Bingwen put down the letter and opened the document below. The technological upgrading project had a budget ranging from 150,000 to 300,000 yuan.

Chen Zhiyuan leaned closer, "Three hundred thousand! Bingwen, you've struck it rich!"

Ye Bingwen remained silent. Deputy Director Zhao's letter had arrived just in time. Zhou Mingyuan's brother-in-law had taken the initiative to come knocking. Was it goodwill, or a trap?

He turned the letter over, and on the back there was another line of small writing, the handwriting very faint, as if it had been written in a hurry.

"Those footprints downstairs were the ones I had investigated. Be careful of the people around you."

On Monday morning, when Ye Bingwen arrived at the lab, he found the door unlocked.

He pushed open the door and went in. Zheng Zhiyuan was squatting in front of the lab bench, using a multimeter to measure the parameters of the brushless motor. Hearing the door open, he looked up and smiled somewhat embarrassedly.

"I was passing by, saw the door was open, so I came in to take a look."

Ye Bingwen didn't expose him. He was the one who locked the lab door, and only he had the key. Zheng Zhiyuan being able to get in meant he had specifically gone to the department office to borrow the key.

"How did the test results come out?" Ye Bingwen walked over.

"The data is even better than what you reported." Zheng Zhiyuan stood up, put down the multimeter, and said, "Ye Bingwen, you did a really good job with this. I've been in the research group for three years, and I've never seen anyone build something like this from scratch by themselves."

Ye Bingwen remained silent. Zheng Zhiyuan wasn't the type to give compliments; when he said "not bad," he meant it.

"If you don't mind, just call me if you need any help in the future," Zheng Zhiyuan said, then turned and left without waiting for Ye Bingwen's reply.

Watching his retreating figure, Ye Bingwen felt a pang of emotion. In the month or so since joining the research group, Zheng Zhiyuan was the first senior colleague to proactively extend a friendly gesture. It wasn't because he had suddenly become enthusiastic, but because he had recognized Ye Bingwen's value. In academia, value is the passport.

In the afternoon, Liu Weidong also arrived. He was much more direct than Zheng Zhiyuan, saying as soon as he entered, "Ye Bingwen, can I borrow your motor to take it apart and have a look?"

Ye Bingwen hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

Liu Weidong squatted down, disassembled the motor casing, and carefully examined the winding pattern inside. After looking for a while, he looked up. "Did you come up with this winding method yourself?"

"I saw it in a Soviet journal."

Which episode?

Ye Bingwen gave the journal name and issue number. Liu Weidong wrote it down in his notebook, said "Thanks," and left.

Chen Zhiyuan, watching this scene from the side, couldn't help but laugh. "Look at you, once you start talking, it's more effective than any words. Who paid any attention to you before? Now they're all coming."

Ye Bingwen smiled and continued writing his technical report.

Around 4 p.m., the lab door was pushed open again.

This time, it was Ge Jianjun who came in.