Forced to marry a disabled man in the countryside? I'll repay you tenfold!

If only life could stay this peaceful forever.

-

Unfortunately, the peaceful days didn't last long.

People from Wucheng have arrived. It's a high-ranking official—surnamed Zhou, given name "Cheng," the newly appointed second-in-command of Wucheng. He personally led the team, carrying a banner and bags of gifts, his attitude unusually amiable, showing none of the arrogance of the previous group.

In the command post, in front of a group of officers from the 65th Regiment, Zhou Cheng solemnly announced:

"Comrade Su Wanqing, this is a letter of appointment for you, entrusted by Regiment Commander Feng, for you to be a visiting researcher at the Central Academy of Agricultural Sciences. From today onwards, you are a member of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Also, this is your reward for contributing alfalfa seeds this time: a certificate of honor, a medal, a personal bonus of 800 yuan, and 5,000 yuan in special development funds for the regiment."

Su Wanqing accepted the letter of appointment and the reward, thanking them with neither arrogance nor servility. In her heart, she thought, "Wow, so much money! This time the country is unusually generous; they only took a small vial of bacteria, yet gave me so much money. The more of this money that's publicly available, the better. No matter how much money I take out in the future, it'll have a prestigious backing!"

Zhou Cheng sighed, his tone sincere: "Comrade Su, Secretary Liu, what happened before was due to our poor personnel management. Director Zhang and Section Chief Li have been dismissed from their posts and will never be rehired. We failed to manage our subordinates properly and almost stole your credit. On behalf of the organization, I sincerely apologize to you!"

Liu Shuqing felt completely relieved and secretly gave Su Wanqing a thumbs up—Dr. Su is really amazing; even the second-in-command of Wucheng came to apologize in person.

Su Wanqing exchanged a few polite words. She didn't care what happened to those two.

Zhou Cheng continued, "To express our apology, the organization has decided to compensate Comrade Su Wanqing and the 65th Regiment. For Comrade Su personally: you have obtained the qualification of an external appointment at the Central Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and if you wish to be transferred back to the inland areas in the future, you will be given priority. For the 65th Regiment: we will provide an additional 3,000 yuan in research funding, 500 jin of diesel fuel, a set of new agricultural machinery, and two additional special approvals for the conversion of educated youth to regular positions."

Liu Shuqing rubbed his hands together with delight. These were all good things for the 65th Regiment, and they would become the envy of the surrounding regiments! Who wouldn't want to come to the 65th Regiment in the future?

After listening, Su Wanqing asked directly, "Secretary Zhou, you want rhizobium, right?"

They also have quotas for alfalfa seeds in Wucheng, so they can get them even if it's a later batch. But if they can't get the rhizobium that can increase yield by 30%, this year's bean harvest will be completely ruined.

Zhou Cheng, though caught out, wasn't embarrassed and laughed, "Comrade Su, you're so straightforward. To be honest, the hundreds of thousands of acres of legumes in the dozen or so counties under Wucheng all depend on this treasure of yours. Whether we can meet our targets depends on it."

Su Wanqing nodded: "I only have one condition."

"Please speak."

"I'd like to borrow the complete set of diamond drill bits from the Wucheng Industrial Exhibition Hall for a day to take a closer look at their models and structure."

Zhou Cheng hesitated for a moment, then readily agreed: "That's it? No problem! I'll have someone transport the drill bit to Yili Prefecture right away. You can arrange for experts to observe and study it properly. Consider it a technical exchange!"

Su Wanqing looked at Liu Shuqing: "Secretary Liu, you decide how to change our rhizobium."

Liu Shuqing didn't stand on ceremony and immediately listed a series of supplies—diesel, fertilizer, steel, farm tool parts… Zhou Cheng agreed to them one by one, knowing in his heart: this little bit of stuff was worth it for the increased production of hundreds of thousands of acres.

Wucheng was very efficient. Within days, Su Wanqing's new planting house was completed, and Chen Xiuer was officially appointed as an "edible fungus technician," becoming a permanent employee with a formal position. That day, Director Li rushed over in a flurry, followed by an equally excited Liu Shuqing.

"Dr. Su! You're truly our lucky star!" Director Li exclaimed, his face beaming. "You have no idea, those guys from the oil exploration team were green with envy when they heard you borrowed the drill bits! They were all waiting for you outside the exhibition hall this morning!"

Su Wanqing smiled and said, "I remembered you mentioning this last time. I took the opportunity to bring it up. I just wanted to confirm the model number so my friend could see if he could get his hands on it."

Director Li waved his hand and laughed, "Little Su, not to be pessimistic—this thing is a special diamond drill bit imported from West Germany, and it's in short supply worldwide. It's priced at five thousand each on the black market, but there's no market for it; even with money, you can't buy it. If we could really get our hands on it, those guys from Daqing Oilfield and Karamay would have snatched them all up long ago. We wouldn't have a chance!" He paused, then became smug again, "But the fact that you managed to borrow the drill bit this time, leaving those oil tycoons only able to look but not use it, is a way of venting my anger!"

Su Wanqing smiled but remained silent. She packed her things, and together with Zhou Yanshen, they jumped onto the tractor and followed Director Li to the exhibition hall. Zhou Yanshen stayed close by—ever since that night, he was determined to stay with his wife.

In the exhibition hall, the set of diamond drill bits was displayed separately in a glass case, surrounded by envious onlookers.

"Sigh, if we had this thing, we would have drilled through all the oil fields in Karamay long ago!"

"Who says otherwise? The domestically produced drill bits we're using now break after eight hours and can't even get the core. With this, a month's quota can be completed in ten days!"

"It's so tempting to look at but not use..."

Su Wanqing approached the glass case, her gaze falling on the gleaming drill bit. A slight smile appeared on her lips. This thing was definitely worth her random critical hit!

A group of people surrounded the glass display case, marveling at it and practically wanting to press their faces against it. When it was almost time, Director Li waved them away, saying, "Alright, alright, just look and that's enough. Do you think it'll grow roots and sprout here? This is the only set in all of Xinjiang; you should be content with just a glance!"

After clearing the area, Director Li winked at Zhou Yanshen knowingly: "Let's wait outside. We don't understand this thing anyway. Don't worry, it's guarded by people from Wucheng inside and out. They treasure this thing more than anyone else."

Su Wanqing silently gave Director Li a thumbs up—Old Li really understood her.

Zhou Yanshen surveyed the surroundings and, finding it indeed safe, nodded: "Perfect timing. I have some questions for Director Li—the handling of those dozen or so people that night, and their wounds are also quite strange..."

Director Li slapped his thigh: "I was just about to give you an explanation for this! That day..."

The two walked out while talking, leaving Su Wanqing alone. Su Wanqing no longer cared about Zhou Yanshen's suspicions.