Chapter 29 Wang Yu's Background

Lin Xi felt a layer of cold sweat instantly break out on his back.

This old man, he holds a grudge!

Back then, when Old Qian asked him to join the core design office, he refused point-blank because he wanted to make money.

To someone like Zhang Zhengguo, who valued his reputation above all else, this was practically a slap in the face in public.

"Director Zhang, you've misunderstood!"

Lin Xi's brain worked at lightning speed, his face wearing an expression of having suffered a great injustice.

"How could I dare to look down on the design office? That is the holy temple for us aerospace people!"

"Then why didn't you come?" Zhang Zhengguo huffed. "You'd rather go collect junk?"

"Because I'm poor!" Lin Xi spread his hands, speaking with righteous confidence.

"We lack money, we lack wind tunnels, we lack equipment."

"If I went in, I would just be drawing a few more blueprints."

"But by staying outside, I'm handling logistics and generating research funding for us!"

Lin Xi stepped forward and lowered his voice:

"Director Zhang, give me a chance. One year, just one year."

"Maybe by this time next year, I'll be able to sponsor you to build a new wind tunnel laboratory!"

Wind tunnel?!

Zhang Zhengguo was stunned.

That money-burning beast that consumes funds like flowing water—this kid has such a big mouth?

Trying to turn a scientific research unit into his own downstream supplier?

"Hahahaha!"

Zhang Zhengguo suddenly looked up and laughed, pointing at Lin Xi and saying to Old Qian,

"Old Qian, listen to this!"

"This kid is not only good at technology, but his ability to talk big is also first-class!"

After laughing, Zhang Zhengguo stopped smiling and patted Lin Xi's shoulder with a solemn expression.

"Alright."

"I'll buy this promise."

"If you've had enough fun outside, or if the Service Center can't keep going,"

"The doors of the Chief Design Office are always open for you!"

That was a promise.

Lin Xi let out a sigh of relief.

He hurriedly struck while the iron was hot and unpacked the two boxes he had brought.

"This is a New Year's gift for you leaders."

"A deluxe edition of the 'red star · warm sun' specially made by our Service Center."

This deluxe edition had been manually polished by everyone for a whole day.

The aluminum cover was so shiny it could serve as a mirror, and the outer shell had been sprayed with three layers of paint; it looked like a work of art.

"This thing is not bad."

Old Qian touched the smooth body of the heater. "I heard it also has anti-tip protection?"

"Yes, safety first." Lin Xi demonstrated the power-off protection function.

Wang Bin, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly stood up.

He picked up his hat, put it on, and gave Lin Xi a deep look.

That gaze was complex. It held scrutiny, surprise, and even a hint of... very deeply hidden gratitude.

"Comrade Lin Xi." Wang Bin's voice was a bit hoarse, and it was hard to tell if he was happy or angry.

"Awaiting instructions, Leader." Lin Xi stood at attention immediately.

"Your power-off protection... is done well."

An abrupt, nonsensical sentence.

After saying this, Wang Bin saluted Old Qian and Zhang Zhengguo, turned around, pushed the door, and left.

Lin Xi was completely confused.

A director of the Power Department, praising a heater's power-off protection?

This was like a Michelin chef praising you for making good instant noodles.

It sounded awkward no matter how you looked at it.

The door closed.

Zhang Zhengguo picked up his teacup, watched Wang Bin's departing back, and suddenly sighed.

"Little Lin, do you find Director Wang's words a bit strange?"

Lin Xi nodded honestly: "A little."

Zhang Zhengguo glanced at Old Qian. Seeing that Old Qian didn't object,

He lowered his voice, his tone tinged with a bit of gossip and a bit of regret.

"Do you know Wang Yu from your Service Center?"

Lin Xi's heart jumped violently, and a certain instinct started screaming in alarm:

"I know, he is our technical backbone."

"That's it then." Zhang Zhengguo blew the tea foam away,

"When Wang Bin was young, he studied in the Soviet Union. That was back in the sixties..."

"After returning, he was young and impulsive and made a mistake in his personal life."

"Some things cannot be written in the files, and the organization cannot acknowledge them."

"Wang Bin is a man of first-class technology and ability, and he originally had the opportunity to go further."

"Just because of that 'mistake'."

"He can only stay in the position of Director of the Power Department until retirement."

"That Wang Yu..." Zhang Zhengguo pointed outside the door,

"Is that 'mistake'."

Boom—!

Lin Xi felt as if his skull had been struck by lightning.

All the clues connected into a single line in his mind.

No wonder!

No wonder that bookworm Wang Yu.

He spent all day tinkering with a pile of imported electronic components that were hard to get even at the base!

No wonder he was proficient in Soviet circuit logic!

No wonder he had been loafing in the Service Center for so many years, and no one dared to fire him!

So that was the root cause!

That "power-off protection is good" from Wang Bin just now—was that praising the technology?

That was clearly him thanking Lin Xi for taking care of his son, whom he couldn't acknowledge publicly!

Lin Xi opened his mouth in shock, unable to close it for a long time.

This wasn't just picking up a tech geek; this was picking up a connection to the heavens!

As long as he took good care of Wang Yu.

Wang Bin, the powerful Director of the Power Department.

That would be the Red Star Service Cooperative's strongest ally!

"Alright, keep this matter to yourself." Zhang Zhengguo waved his hand,

"Telling you is a return gift for the heater you gave me."

"In the future, for that child..."

"Take care of him a bit more."

"Understood! Don't worry!" Lin Xi nodded vigorously.

He had to cling to this powerful backer!

The report ended, and Lin Xi prepared to take his leave.

Before leaving, he remembered something, turned around, and said to Old Qian:

"Old Qian, our electric fan project has already started."

"Oh?" Old Qian's eyes lit up, "That transonic blade fan?"

"Yes."

"I already have a comprehensive plan."

Lin Xi paused, his tone confident.

"After the New Year, I will bring the samples to report to you!"

...

The twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, Aerospace City.

The snow had stopped.

Lin Xi was wrapped in a military coat, riding the "28-inch bicycle" newly added by the Service Center.

Two mesh bags were hanging on the handlebars.

Two cardboard boxes were tied to the back seat.

He was busy shuttling between various departments of the Aerospace City.

In this day and age, human relationships are about face, and even more about substance.

At Zhao Gang's place in the Power Supply Station, two bottles of Xifeng liquor and a carton of Da Qianmen cigarettes;

Then the Dongfeng Department Store, the Materials Division, the Logistics Section, the Security Department...

Lin Xi spent the "public relations fees" from the ten-thousand-yuan profit smoothly.

He didn't send expensive things, only "scarce" ones.

In an era of material scarcity, this was more effective than sending money.

Every door he knocked on greeted him with a face smiling like a chrysanthemum.

And a heartfelt "Comrade Lin Xi, you are too polite".

In the livestream room, the comments were filled with emotion.

【This is the New Year's atmosphere of that era; even gift-giving is filled with simplicity.】

【The Streamer's emotional intelligence is off the charts, turning these key figures into gods of wealth.】

【Don't underestimate these few bottles of liquor; whether it's power or materials after the New Year, these are all golden tickets.】

After finishing the last stop, it was already dusk.

Lin Xi returned to the Fifth Workshop.

He carefully packed up the remaining large piece of pork belly, a bottle of Moutai he'd gotten from Manager Sun, and a bag of refined white flour.

Tonight was New Year's Eve.

He had no family in this time and space.

But he thought of that lonely little home where only a couple spent the New Year.

The home of his master, Li Jianguo.