Chapter 317 Awesome Soup

Old Qian did not notice the rich and complex changes in Liu Jianguo's facial expressions.

At this very moment, the entire focus of this national treasure-level scientist was placed on two seemingly unrelated terms: "watching stir-frying" and "high-temperature resistance."

Facing a proposition even more absurd than watching a spider web, Old Qian fell into deep thought once again.

He closed his eyes slightly.

In his mind, he involuntarily recalled the top-secret inspection report on this black Fishing Rod that had been urgently delivered by the Special Agent earlier.

In that report, it not only mentioned the ultra-high strength of the Fishing Rod itself but also emphasized that its surface was covered with an extremely special coating.

This coating allowed the slender Fishing Rod to maintain stable physical properties for a long time in high-temperature environments exceeding two hundred degrees Celsius.

This in itself was a huge challenge in materials science.

However, what necessary connection did this have with a chef stir-frying in a cafeteria?

Just as Old Qian was frowning deeply, preparing to ask the Fat Master Chef for more details.

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The Aerospace Expert standing beside Old Qian, who had asked the initial question, suddenly had his eyes light up.

This Aerospace Expert was an old man, about the same age as Old Qian.

In this Carbon Fiber composite material project team formed for the new generation of fighter jets, his seniority and status were second only to Old Qian, and the two were also old friends who had known each other for many years.

At this moment, the Old Expert seemed to have found an extremely unique approach to solving the problem from Old Qian's brilliant explanation of bionics just now.

He did not rush to speak but walked quickly to the large office desk.

He reached out with his somewhat withered palm and picked up the black Fishing Rod.

Then, he gently brushed his fingers across the surface of the rod body. He felt it carefully.

What came from the pads of his fingers was a special, non-metallic texture.

The Old Expert immediately turned his head to look at the Fat Master Chef, who was still wearing a greasy apron.

"Master Chef, can you describe the situation at that time in detail?"

"Specifically, when your factory director was watching you stir-fry, how exactly were you cooking?"

...Facing the Old Expert's inquiry, the Fat Master Chef rubbed his round head, carefully recalling the scene in the cafeteria kitchen at that time.

Then, the chef began to speak.

"I remember that noon, the factory director came to the cafeteria to get food."

"I was on the stove at the time, making a specialty dish: stir-fried pork kidneys."

Speaking of his old trade, the Fat Master Chef immediately became animated.

"Making this dish requires high heat and plenty of oil!"

"I held the large iron wok in my left hand and flicked my wrist with force."

"The flames in the stove vent shot up more than a meter high along with the oil sparks, directly swallowing more than half of the large iron wok!"

"The temperature of that fire was extremely high; the raw iron at the bottom of the pot was burned red-hot."

"But under the influence of the high-temperature flames and various seasonings and oils, not only did my large iron wok not deform, but a black protective film also formed on the surface."

The Fat Master Chef continued proudly: "With this film, no matter how the pork kidneys tumble inside, they won't stick to the pot at all!"

"In our chef trade, this thing is called 'Wok Hei'!"

...Listening to the Fat Master Chef's description full of the atmosphere of daily life, to the ears of the Aerospace Old Expert, it was nothing short of heavenly music.

High-temperature flames. Oils. Protective film. These highly vivid words combined in the Old Expert's mind with the dry materials science data he currently knew.

The Old Expert was trembling with excitement, and he said loudly: "I think I understand!"

"It's the 'Maillard reaction'!"

"It's a bionic ceramic coating!"

The Old Expert pointed at the Fishing Rod, his voice raised due to extreme excitement. "He must have been inspired by the process of the iron wok forming that black and shiny 'Wok Hei' protective layer on its surface under the influence of high-temperature flames and oils while stir-frying!"

...In the office, everyone was staring blankly at this suddenly erupting Old Expert.

And this Old Expert was already completely immersed in the huge sense of achievement of solving the puzzle.

He turned abruptly to Old Qian and the other few Experts. He waved his arms and explained excitedly: "He developed a bionic ceramic coating technology!"

"By simulating the caramelization process of food at high temperatures, he built a dense, high-temperature-resistant protective layer on the surface of the Carbon Fiber!"

After explaining all this, the Old Expert turned his head and looked at Old Qian. "Old Qian, do you think my analysis is correct?"

The air went quiet. Old Qian looked at this Expert who had learned to jump to the answer. A gratified smile appeared on Old Qian's face. He nodded heavily.

This approach of finding a solution for cutting-edge aerospace coating technology from a kitchen full of cooking fumes was truly imaginative.

...And the other Aerospace Experts, after listening to the Old Expert's detailed explanation and seeing Old Qian nod in confirmation, were once again shocked by this imaginative research and development method.

Is this still scientific research? These top-tier scientists only felt that their worldview was being washed over again and again.

They found it hard to speak for a long time. In the entire office, one could hear a pin drop. After a full dozen seconds passed, they finally, in unison, squeezed out a few words.

"Awesome."

Facing this research and development method that was completely unreasonable but had produced solid, tangible results, only this adjective, which carried a hint of profanity, could accurately express their current feeling of being shocked to the point of scalp numbness.

...This uniform description echoed in the quiet office. Li Jiajun, sitting behind the office desk, was completely hopeless.

He was speechless to the extreme, feeling that his underwear had been stripped bare by this group of people.

However, just as this group of great Experts finished saying these words, the Fat Master Chef, who had been standing at the door, suddenly chimed in.

He wiped his hands with that greasy apron. Then, he said loudly in an extremely honest and simple tone: "It's not impossible."

As soon as this sentence came out, the Experts present were all dumbfounded. Old Qian was also stunned. They turned their heads in unison, looking at this wide-bodied chef, and asked one after another what he meant.

...Seeing a room full of great Experts staring at him, the Fat Master Chef felt a bit embarrassed instead.

He rubbed his hands and then said as a matter of course: "Didn't you say it was Awesome?"

As the Fat Master Chef spoke, he actually became coy. "I knew you great Experts were so discerning."

"My family does indeed have an ancestral recipe for Awesome Soup."

"I can make it for you to eat."

At this moment, the Fat Master Chef also felt a little excited inside. He wasn't lying. Their family's ancestral chef really did have a specialty dish. The name of this dish was indeed Awesome Soup.

However, he had only made it once in his life. Now, hearing these great Experts actually actively request this, he felt that he finally had a chance to show off his skills.

...What, you ask what happened with the time he made Awesome Soup before? That goes back to shortly after he returned from military service.

At that time, a comrade with whom he had a very close relationship came to him for a drink. In order to entertain his old comrade, the Fat Master Chef made him some Awesome Soup.

He made a big pot. After serving it on the table, the comrade felt that the soup was delicious, so he drank the whole big pot of soup.

After drinking it, the comrade asked him what kind of soup it was that could be so fresh and delicious.

The Fat Master Chef at that time was so proud. He didn't give the answer immediately but let the other person guess several times. As a result, the other person didn't guess it.

Finally, the Fat Master Chef told the other person triumphantly that this was Awesome Soup. It meant exactly what it said.

Then... then there was no then. He and that comrade now have nothing to do with each other.

The Fat Master Chef was immersed in his memories, smacking his lips. He raised his head, looking at the great Experts in front of him, his eyes filled with a light of eagerness to try.

(PS, Awesome Soup is adapted from a true story.)