Reborn in 1977, I will no longer be my brother's blood bag.

When the graduation project topic selection form was handed out, Zhao Guodong first wrote three large characters in the name column.

After finishing writing, he stared at the blank space behind him, looking troubled.

Du Changshun turned around: "Where's the question?"

"Just thinking about it."

"The form was handed out this morning, and you still haven't figured it out by this afternoon?"

Zhao Guodong tucked the watch under his arm.

"Graduation is a once-in-a-lifetime event, shouldn't I be careful?"

He Qiuyan sat in the front row, stuffing her form into the book.

Zhao Guodong stretched his neck.

"Did you write it?"

"no."

"Then what are you hiding?"

"To protect against you."

"Why would I copy yours?"

"You don't even have your own topic."

Zhao Guodong was cornered and turned to Li Mingyuan.

Li Mingyuan has finished writing.

The question is very long.

Zhao Guodong read half of it and then gave up.

"Can the teacher even understand this?"

Li Mingyuan took the watch back.

"The teacher is probably a bit better than you."

Several people nearby burst out laughing.

Zhao Guodong turned to look for Lin Xiuhe.

"And you?"

Lin Xiuhe's title is only one line long.

Improvements and applications of low-cost temperature control equipment.

Zhao Guodong understood this time.

"Is it the same old stuff from the exchange meeting?"

"no."

"The names are similar."

"The competition is over, but the machine isn't finished yet."

Li Mingyuan tapped the word "Application" on her watch with his pen.

"Are you really going to keep sending them to the factory?"

"Um."

"I only have a few months left to complete my graduation project."

"It will take several months to complete."

Li Mingyuan didn't try to persuade him any further, and looked down at his watch again.

He Qiuyan pulled out the piece of paper hidden in the book and pushed it in front of Lin Xiuhe.

"Can you take a look at this for me?"

The label reads: Equipment Description and Fault Diagram.

Lin Xiuhe asked, "What do you want to do?"

"Make it understandable for workers."

"Then write this."

He Qiuyan held the pen, hesitating to put it down.

"Can this really be considered a research topic?"

Li Mingyuan chimed in from the side, "Whether it can be calculated or not, the teacher will ask this afternoon."

He Qiuyan became even more nervous.

"What if I'm stumped?"

Lin Xiuhe pulled the fault diagram from the exchange meeting out of her notebook.

"Why was Master Qin able to fix the machine?"

"Look at this picture."

Who drew the picture?

He Qiuyan lowered her head and changed the question.

The topic selection meeting will be held this afternoon.

The classroom was packed with graduating students, and a few teachers sat at the front, looking at the application forms one by one.

When it was Lin Xiuhe's turn, Teacher Gao first turned out her question.

"Low-cost temperature control equipment?"

"right."

"This has already been done at the exchange meeting."

"We made a prototype."

"They even got first place."

"Getting first place doesn't guarantee a job in the factory."

Teacher Gao looked up.

"Then tell me, what's still lacking?"

Lin Xiuhe took out a stack of records from her schoolbag.

A food company.

From the North City Factory.

There were also two pieces of paper that Master Qin sent over through someone after the exchange meeting.

She didn't go into the details, but just handed over the top page.

"The same machine, used by a different person, yields different results."

"The foremen at the North City factory can find the problems themselves, while the night shift workers at the food company have to call the maintenance workers."

"Master Qin looked at the instructions for a long time, but in the end he only recognized that one picture."

Teacher Gao turned a few pages.

"These can be included in the usage summary."

"After submitting the summary, the machine is still the same."

"Graduation projects should focus on technical skills."

"Workers dare not use them; no matter how well their technical skills are written, they can't get into the factory."

The voices in the classroom gradually quieted down.

Teacher Gao put the materials back on the table.

"You've already done quite a few real-world projects. You can aim higher for your graduation project; don't just focus on things like cheapness and ease of repair."

Lin Xiuhe stood in front of the table.

"The first thing the factory asks is whether it's expensive and who will fix it if it breaks."

"If they don't ask, the teacher won't do it?"

Teacher Gao's pen stopped on the application form.

"I didn't say that."

"Then I really need to do this problem."

A gasp came from the back row.

Zhao Guodong quickly lowered his head, but his shoulders trembled twice.

Professor Chen took the stack of records from the side.

"Are you prepared to do everything by yourself?"

"no."

"Who else?"

Lin Xiuhe pointed behind her.

He Qiuyan had just hidden her watch under her book when she heard this, so she had no choice but to stand up.

Teacher Gao asked, "What are you doing?"

He Qiuyan walked to the front carrying the topic selection form.

"I want to create a fault diagram."

"Can drawing a few diagrams really be considered a graduation project?"

He Qiuyan's face flushed red.

She placed the old drawings from the exchange meeting on the table, and then took out two more that had been redrawn later.

"Master Qin read the first one backwards."

"The second one, he found the place."

"After I came back, I had two people who had never seen the machine before try it out."

"One was found correctly, and the other was misjudged."

Teacher Gao asked, "And then?"

He Qiuyan put down the third picture.

"I've changed it."

"I haven't tried it yet after making the changes."

"So I want to keep doing it."

"Will the data be processed?"

"Won't."

Someone in the back row chuckled.

He Qiuyan immediately turned her head.

"What are you laughing at? You can do that?"

The man lowered his head and flipped through the book, not daring to make another sound.

He Qiuyan turned back.

"If I don't know how, I'll learn."

"Anyway, I'm going to do this problem."

Professor Chen took her application form.

"Stay here for now."

He Qiuyan asked, "Does this count as passing?"

"Preliminary review".

"So it hasn't passed yet?"

"If you ask again, I'll call you back right now."

He Qiuyan ran back to her seat with the picture in her arms.

Zhao Guodong asked in a low voice, "Passed?"

"Preliminary review".

"It passed the initial review as well."

"And yours?"

Zhao Guodong immediately stopped asking.

At the front, Teacher Gao reopened Lin Xiuhe's application form.

"You've gone too far with this problem; it won't be under control for months."

"I'm only responsible for the overall picture."

"Then whose things belong to everyone else?"

"It's their own."

Teacher Gao looked back.

"You five, are you planning to graduate huddled around a single machine?"

Du Changshun also stood up.

"My question is about installation."

"Where is Zhao Guodong?"

Everyone turned to look at the last row.

Zhao Guodong looked down to find a pen.

Teacher Gao tapped on the table.

"Stop looking, come up."

Zhao Guodong walked to the front with a blank form in his hand.

Professor Chen asked, "What did you do when you were at the Beicheng Factory?"

"Installing machines, going to the site, and working alongside the master craftsman."

"What about the food company?"

"I've run it too."

What are you best at?

Zhao Guodong thought for a long time.

"How can the machine still be installed in a different location?"

"Write."

Zhao Guodong leaned over the table, picked up his pen, and wrote:

On-site installation of control equipment.

After he finished writing it, he felt it was too short.

"Should we add a few more words?"

Professor Chen took the watch away.

"First, let's understand these few words."

Teacher Gao looked at it once and asked him, "What can you do?"

"I've been to several factories."

"How to arrange things when space is limited, how to set up tools when there are too few, and how to modify cables that are not long enough."

"Could you write it clearly?"

"I'll give it a try."

"You can't just say 'I'll try' when you're defending your thesis."

Zhao Guodong straightened his back.

"Then I'll write it clearly."

Teacher Gao drew a circle on his form.

"Preliminary review".

Zhao Guodong carried the watch back to his seat, and as he passed Li Mingyuan, he deliberately showed him the red circle.

"See that?"

Li Mingyuan turned a page of the book.

"I see your title only has eight characters."

"Eight words are enough."

"Even a graduation thesis needs to be written in eight characters?"

Zhao Guodong stuffed the watch into his pocket.

"You're just jealous."

The topic selection will continue.

When it was Li Mingyuan's turn, Teacher Gao looked at it much faster.

"High-performance control direction?"

"right."

"How are the materials prepared?"

"Part of it has already been done."

"This topic has both basic and advanced aspects, and it is suitable for application as an outstanding graduation project at the university level."

A murmur arose from the back row.

Li Mingyuan only took back the application form.

"Thank you, teacher."

As he turned around, his gaze swept past Lin Xiuhe.

Lin Xiuhe was helping He Qiuyan refold the scattered pictures.

Before the topic selection meeting ended, Professor Gao still hadn't given Lin Xiuhe a final answer.

After reviewing the materials she brought, Professor Chen asked, "Where will the funding come from?"

"Let's use what's left over from the exchange meeting first."

"What happens next?"

"We'll continue using the old equipment that can be dismantled. As for the missing parts, I'll go to the factory and ask."

"The school won't cover your losses."

"OK."

"Won't it take several months to finish?"

"Then let's postpone it."

A few more murmurs arose in the classroom.

Teacher Gao frowned.

"The delay will affect the evaluation for excellence and may also affect job placement after graduation."

"I know."

"Still doing it?"

"Do."

Professor Chen pushed her application form in front of Teacher Gao.

Teacher Gao picked up a red pen and wrote four characters.

The revised version is approved.

Zhao Guodong slammed his hand on the table.

The pen holder on the corner of the table fell over, and pencils rolled all over the floor.

Teacher Gao looked up: "Zhao Guodong."

Zhao Guodong bent down to pick up the pen.

"I did not do it on purpose."

"You'd better not have made the mistakes on purpose in your paper."

The classroom erupted in laughter.

The list was posted in the corridor in the evening.

Lin Xiuhe ranked nineteenth.

He Qiuyan is twenty-three.

Du Changshun was twenty-five.

Zhao Guodong was last.

Li Mingyuan ranked second.

There was an extra line after his name:

It is recommended to apply for the school-level outstanding graduation project award.

After reading it, Zhao Guodong turned around and asked, "Why isn't yours?"

Before Lin Xiuhe could speak, Li Mingyuan had already stood to the side.

"She almost failed the initial screening."

"So what?"

"The department is only recommending two this year."

Li Mingyuan pointed to his own line.

"I'll take one first."

Lin Xiuhe read the notice from beginning to end.

"The defense hasn't even started yet."

"That's why I'm telling you in advance."

Tell me what?

"Don't postpone it."

Lin Xiuhe stepped aside to let the students behind her pass.

"You should focus on doing your own job well first."

"Afraid I'll get first place?"

"I'm afraid you won't be able to afford to lose."

Li Mingyuan folded the application form and then unfolded it again.

"Thesis defense in June."

"OK."

"Don't hide when the time comes."

"Whoever avoids this situation will have to treat the whole team to dinner."

Zhao Guodong squeezed in from behind.

"It's a deal, I'll be your witness."

Li Mingyuan asked, "Did you write the complete title of your thesis?"

Zhao Guodong turned and left.

"I need to go back and check the information."

He Qiuyan chased after them, clutching her several drawings.

"Didn't you say you could graduate with just eight words?"

"When did I say that?"

"Just now."

You misheard me.

Several people walked down the stairs.

Li Mingyuan stayed in front of the notice board and looked at Lin Xiuhe's name one more time.

She had already reached the corner of the stairs when she turned back and called to him.

"Aren't you leaving yet?"

Li Mingyuan stuffed the application form into the book.

"They're here."