It wasn't an apple that hit Newton.

Lavoisier raised a slender, long index finger, adding a warning, mainly to prevent Joan from getting too carried away and forgetting her duties as an assistant.

?

However, Joan, who was originally very excited, was stunned at this moment, and her expression became a little strange.

Lavoisier noticed Joan's expression was off. Following her gaze, she looked over in confusion and was surprised to find that there were still some breadcrumbs on her raised index finger. Embarrassed, she pulled it back, rubbed it vigorously behind her back, and then flicked it off.

"Ahem." She suddenly remembered something and changed the subject, "Can you cook?"

"meeting."

Joan nodded, somewhat puzzled.

"How's your skill level?"

"It should be... alright."

Joan recalled the expectant expressions on her parents' and brother's faces every time she cooked at home.

But does this have anything to do with being an assistant? Is cooking a form of training for chemistry experiments? It does seem quite plausible.

......

Inside the office.

Li Cheng quickly finished the remaining food; although he wasn't full, it was enough.

It's often said that men and women working together makes the work easier, but in terms of meal efficiency, working together is definitely one of the least efficient methods...

Immediately afterward, seeing that Lavoisier had not yet returned, Li Cheng began to peruse the documents and reports on the table... To be honest, this was originally his purpose in coming here, but it was delayed time and again, and it almost became just a side project.

This is a report about sulfuric acid.

Based on the practical books provided by Li Cheng, Lavoisier has been trying to prepare sulfuric acid using copper sulfate pentahydrate for the past few days. The report in front of us is Lavoisier's specific process of collecting relevant information and his practical experience, as well as his insights.

Copper sulfate pentahydrate, also known as copper sulfate pentahydrate, was first produced by the Tang Dynasty alchemist Hu Gangzi in the 7th century AD through a calcination method. Similar discoveries were made in the West a few centuries later.

①CuSO4·5H2O====CuO+SO3+5H2O（或SO2+O2）；②SO3+H2O====H2SO4。

However, the simple burning method not only pollutes the environment and produces highly corrosive gases, but the sulfuric acid produced is also not pure enough.

Li Cheng also proposed a lead chamber method, which was originally used by the Englishman J. Roebuck in 1746. As long as nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide are recovered properly, there will not be much pollution.

①S+O2====SO2；2SO2+O2+NO+NO2+H2O====2NOHSO4；②2NOHSO4+H2O====2H2SO4+NO+NO2。

With sulfuric acid, we can continue to advance in the direction of applied chemistry.

Sulfuric acid is known as the "mother of industry" and is widely used in various industries, including fertilizers, explosives, and metallurgy. It would have been unimaginable if sulfuric acid had not existed in my previous life.

Therefore, sulfuric acid is very important.

However, Li Cheng was just talking big; he really couldn't do it himself.

In fact, the highly developed chemical industry in my previous life also had this problem, and it was even more serious.

Often, scientists discover yet another completely new material, whether it's useful or not, and then happily publish a paper detailing its preparation methods and various parameters and properties.

Then another group of scientists were overjoyed when they saw the paper, thinking, "Great! We can use this material!" But after doing experiments for several days according to the instructions in the paper, they couldn't reproduce it even once. They had no choice but to send emails to the original authors of the paper for help.

But looking at the present moment...

Lavoisier, who spent years conducting experiments in the laboratory and personally making all sorts of strange and unusual attempts, was definitely more capable than Li Cheng in terms of hands-on skills.

And that's one of the reasons he kept thinking about hiring Lavoisier as an employee... Well, although the direction later inexplicably went astray, the goal was still achieved, wasn't it?

Chapter 86 The Battle of Wits in the Office

The report was quite long, and Li Cheng didn't read it carefully; he just skimmed through it.

Most of it consisted of data collected by Lavoisier, various problems encountered in specific experiments, and some analyses done by Lavoisier himself. In short, it was about a lack of progress...

That's understandable, considering it's only been a few days. It's already quite an achievement that Lavoisier was able to find the time to produce such a stack of reports.

As a competent boss, Li Cheng felt that this positive attitude was highly commendable.

Step, step, step...

As the footsteps drew closer, Li Cheng looked up and saw that it was Lavoisier returning.

"It's been a while, I've already finished reading all the reports here..." Li Cheng asked with some curiosity, "You seem to really like that student?"

Lavoisier sat back down in the seat next to Li Cheng. Hearing the question, she nodded in agreement: "I have discovered that this student named Joan has a special talent."

"What talent?"

Li Cheng was taken aback; he really hadn't noticed.

Lavoisier thought for a moment, then lowered his voice and said mysteriously, "It's a secret~"

She spoke with Joan twice, once in classroom 205 and once outside the office.

When Lavoisier first learned of Joan's pursuit and predicament, she seemed to see a glimpse of her past self in Joan and decided to take her on as an assistant, as she was currently in need of one.

The second time was during their conversation outside. Lavoisier had only casually asked to change the subject, but he unexpectedly learned that Joan had an extremely high level of culinary skill... at least much higher.

But how could she possibly tell Li Cheng that Qiong's talent was cooking?

Wouldn't that expose us?

However, from a certain perspective, cooking and conducting experiments do have a lot in common. Both require precise control of heat and ingredients, along with correct operating techniques, and there can be no mistakes whatsoever.

From this perspective, it's possible that Joan might actually have a talent for chemistry.

"Then I'll ask."

Li Cheng wasn't very interested in asking further questions; he was just a student, and the name didn't ring a bell.

He then pointed to the stack of reports beside him and said, "I've read this report. It's very detailed, far exceeding my expectations. It's clear you've put in a lot of effort these past few days."

Lavoisier's eyes darted around, and he asked, "Is there any reward?"

"award?"

Li Cheng was taken aback, then felt a headache coming on.

This was clearly another attempt to flirt with him; how could he not see through it?

But Li Cheng was somewhat unable to resist this enthusiasm—mainly because his rank was too low. He hadn't shown his true colors when he bullied a little girl in the newbie village, but now that a boss had his eye on him, his noob nature was exposed.

During the feeding play just now, he was still in a daze and appeared very passive, weak, pitiful, and helpless.

Is this okay?

This is not good, this is very bad.

Although the current situation stems from a series of misunderstandings and coincidences, and was not Li Cheng's original intention, since Lavoisier has already taken the initiative and made a move, passively defending himself is hardly Li Cheng's style.

He's better at creating problems than solving them.

After careful consideration, Li Cheng decided to start from what he could control and gradually get back to his own rhythm, instead of being led by the nose by Lavoisier, who would feed him whenever she said so.

So he smiled slightly and asked in return, "Then let me pat your head?"

Touching someone's head has been a way for men and women to express intimacy since ancient times.

Although hair is an inexpensive body part that is constantly exposed to everyone's view, falls out regularly, and grows back quickly. Some human males even deliberately sacrifice it in pursuit of power, aiming to achieve invincibility.

But for human women, hair, which may seem the most insignificant thing, is actually something important that only the closest opposite sex has the right to touch.

Lavoisier: ?!

Li Cheng's response surprised her a bit. She had expected him to react stiffly like he had during dinner before, so she was even prepared to cover it up by saying it was a joke.

But thinking about it carefully, this is how Li Cheng should react; his previous wooden reaction would have been strange.

Besides, this is the right way. This is the only way it's worthwhile for me to take the initiative. This is the kind of person I would like.

This is more like the guy who struck up a conversation the first time we met, who lied and tried to get close to me; the guy who didn't explain things clearly, causing me to misunderstand and keep me up at night for several nights; the guy who unexpectedly doubled down when I gave up.

Lavoisier's heart was suddenly filled with a burning fighting spirit.

She seemed to have suddenly found a new goal in life.

That is, in this battle without gunpowder but with life at stake, to defeat Li Cheng, make him truly fall in love with her, and thus take revenge on him for shattering and rebuilding her girlish heart!

As Lavoisier thought this, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up, revealing a genuine smile.

hiss--

However, Li Cheng, who was standing next to him, gasped when he saw that smile... Could it be that his idea of ​​regaining control of the situation had been seen through, and that this was a mockery of his stupidity and overestimation of his abilities?

That's terrifying, absolutely terrifying.

I thought this was a minor boss, but now it seems like it's a major demon king!

In Li Cheng's eyes, the smiling Lavoisier seemed to be surrounded by countless black wisps, like a demon from the underworld staring at him, a weak human being, who could be toyed with at the slightest touch.

Calm down, stay calm, I still left myself some room for maneuver...

Li Cheng forced himself to calm down and changed the subject, saying, "Let's not pat your head. It's a reward for you after all, so it's your decision. It's not appropriate for me to make the decision on my own."

???

Lavoisier's smile vanished instantly, replaced by deep confusion.

What's going on? Why are you backing down again?

I was already thinking about how to pose for the next few moves, why did you suddenly take it all back? Wasn't there supposed to be a reward?

No!

You absolutely must pat my head! I disagree with everything else!!!

"I......"

Just as Lavoisier was about to make a request, he suddenly realized something was wrong and quickly shut his mouth.

This tactic... seems a bit familiar...

It seems that Li Cheng initially piqued her interest with half a copy of "An Introduction to Basic Chemistry," and then added the lure of gold pounds. This kept her awake all night, tossing and turning, conflicted, nervous, and expectant.

Later, under immense pressure, she was persuaded to agree to Li Cheng's request—although a slight misunderstanding arose and their objectives seemed somewhat different, it wasn't a big deal. The key point was that this operation looked strangely familiar.

If she understood Chinese, she would definitely have said the idiom "to let go before trying to catch someone".

Although Lavoisier didn't know the idiom, she still figured out a similar meaning and then began to grit her teeth.

unacceptable!