42: Chapter 42 Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage? No, I only need one herb!

Beijing, Western Suburbs, Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

Lin Zhou was stopped at the entrance.

"Comrade, who are you looking for? Do you have an appointment?" the guard at the entrance asked with a stern expression.

"I'm looking for the expert in charge of seed genetic research. I don't have an appointment, but I have something I think they'll be interested in," Lin Zhou said as he carefully took a sealed transparent petri dish out of his backpack.

Inside the petri dish was a green seedling that looked completely ordinary.

The guard frowned. Just as he was about to say that this wasn't a vegetable market, a voice came through his walkie-talkie: "Let him in, bring him directly to Laboratory No. 3. Professor Li is waiting for him."

The guard was stunned, but he immediately followed the order and opened the gate.

As Lin Zhou walked through the gates of the Academy of Agricultural Sciences, a researcher in a white lab coat immediately came up to meet him and led him through several laboratory buildings to a heavily guarded structure.

Inside Laboratory No. 3, an elderly man with graying hair and reading glasses stood before a precision electron microscope. He was Professor Li Zhenhua, a leading authority in China's field of plant genetic engineering.

"You are Lin Zhou?" Professor Li looked up, his gaze passing over his lenses to examine the young man before him. His eyes were sharp, not resembling those of a man over seventy.

"Hello, Professor Li." Lin Zhou handed him the petri dish.

Professor Li took the petri dish, and after just one glance, his pupils constricted sharply.

As a top-tier expert, he instantly saw the extraordinary nature of the seedling. Its chlorophyll density, cell wall structure, root vitality... every single metric exceeded any plant he had ever known.

"What is this?" his voice trembled slightly.

"Rice," Lin Zhou replied calmly. "To be precise, it's a seedling grown from rice seeds that I modified using a new technology."

"New technology?"

"I call it 'Genetic Optimization and Rapid Growth Technology'," Lin Zhou explained. "It can shorten the growth cycle of rice from 120 days to 40 days. At the same time, under identical water and fertilizer conditions, the yield can be increased by at least 80%. Most importantly, it has extremely strong tolerance to saline-alkali soil."

The laboratory fell into dead silence.

The surrounding researchers all looked at Lin Zhou with expressions as if they were looking at a madman.

Mature in forty days? Yield increased by eighty percent? Saline-alkali tolerance?

Any one of these three items, if realized, would be enough to win a Nobel Prize. Yet this young man claimed he had achieved all of them simultaneously?

This was no longer a fantasy; this was a myth.

Professor Li stared fixedly at the seedling, his breathing becoming rapid. He did not rebuke Lin Zhou for his arrogance, because he could feel an unprecedented vitality radiating from that seedling.

"Leave the sample," Professor Li's voice brooked no argument. "We need to analyze it immediately. The results will be out in three days at the earliest. Leave your contact information."

"That won't be necessary," Lin Zhou shook his head. "I didn't come here today to seek validation. I just wanted to use you to convey a message to certain people."

Professor Li looked up, waiting for what he had to say next.

"Currently, I am the only person in the world who possesses this technology," Lin Zhou's voice was soft, yet every word carried immense weight. "I am willing, and have the capability, to engage in deep cooperation with my motherland. But the prerequisite for cooperation is respect."

"I hope that I, as an individual, and the country I am currently establishing, can be treated with the respect we deserve. What I need is not charity, but an equal partnership."

After saying this, Lin Zhou turned and left without the slightest hesitation.

He left the seedling, which represented "food hegemony," in the laboratory, along with a massive shock and an unsolvable puzzle.

Walking out of the Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lin Zhou checked the time; it was already four in the afternoon.

He hailed a taxi again and headed toward that alleyway.

This time, his mindset was completely different.

He was no longer that "Internet King" who had a billion US dollars but couldn't even rent an office building. He was a card player holding a trump card, a strategist who could shift the global landscape.

The car stopped at the entrance of the alley.

Lin Zhou walked into the alley, where green bricks and gray tiles lined the path, and branches of old locust trees stretched over the walls. An old man was strolling with a birdcage, and a few children were chasing each other, full of the lively atmosphere of everyday life.

Following the house number, he found an inconspicuous courtyard house. On the vermilion wooden door, there wasn't even a door knocker; only a small mailbox hung to the side.

Lin Zhou stepped forward and knocked on the door gently.

After a long while, slow, leisurely footsteps came from inside the door.

"Who is it?" an aged voice asked.

"Is Mr. Chen Yuan at home? I am a junior, Lin Zhou, here to visit upon the recommendation of Director Zhou."

The wooden door creaked open a crack.

A face covered in wrinkles poked out. The old man looked even thinner than in his photograph, wearing an old undershirt washed until it was pale, but his eyes were exceptionally bright, like two searchlights, scanning Lin Zhou up and down.

"That kid Zhou Wen is causing trouble for me again," the old man muttered, but he still opened the door. "Come in."

Lin Zhou walked into the courtyard.

The courtyard was not large, but it was kept neat and tidy. A grapevine covered the entire trellis, with a stone table and stools placed underneath. In a large fish tank, a few koi were swimming leisurely. In the corner, a few patches of green vegetables were growing vigorously.

One could never tell that this place was the residence of an "Iron Abacus" who had once managed hundreds of billions in funds.

"Sit," Chen Yuan gestured to the stone stool, while he picked up a purple clay teapot and began to brew tea in a slow, leisurely manner.

"Did Director Zhou tell you everything?" Lin Zhou asked after sitting down.

"He did," Chen Yuan said without looking up, focused on his task. "Want to ask me to come out of retirement to be your Minister of Finance?"

"Yes."

"Heh," Chen Yuan let out a soft chuckle through his nose. "Playing house, are we, and you're actually taking it seriously? Building a nation? Do you know how much money a country spends the moment it opens its eyes every day? Do you know how complex fiscal budgets, tax systems, and monetary policies are?"

"I don't know," Lin Zhou admitted frankly. "That is why I came to ask for your help."

"Why should I help you?" Chen Yuan finally looked up, staring directly at Lin Zhou. "Because of that 'Cyber Freedom Republic' of yours on the internet? Or because of that billion-dollar 'donation' in your account?"

His words carried unconcealed contempt.

Lin Zhou did not get angry; he took a second petri dish out of his backpack.

Inside this petri dish was another seedling.

But unlike the one sent to the Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the leaves of this one had a strange metallic luster, and the root system was even thicker.

"What is this?" Chen Yuan frowned.

"A special kind of rubber tree seedling," Lin Zhou pushed the petri dish toward him. "It was also improved using my new technology. Its growth cycle has been shortened from seven years to one year. The natural rubber it produces is equivalent to the best 'Eucommia rubber' currently available in the world in terms of strength, toughness, and heat resistance."

Chen Yuan's movements stopped.

Although he was not an agricultural expert, as a former high-ranking official of the Ministry of Finance, he knew exactly the weight of the phrase "strategic new material."

Eucommia rubber is a key material for manufacturing aircraft tires and special equipment, and it has long been one of the fields where our country is being "choked."

If what Lin Zhou said was true...

"I am similarly willing to cooperate with the country on this technology, as well as more new material technologies in the future," Lin Zhou looked into Chen Yuan's eyes and said, word by word. "I need someone who can help me manage the purse strings and maximize the value of these technologies into national strength. This person must have sufficient capability, sufficient experience, and sufficient... patriotism."

"I don't want these technologies that can change the fate of a country to end up as stock codes in the hands of Wall Street financial groups."

"Mr. Chen, I didn't come here today to beg you to come out of retirement. I came to invite you to join me in doing something... a cause unprecedented and perhaps never to be repeated."

"We are not playing house. We are using technology to fight for a new trump card for our country in the future global landscape."

The courtyard was extremely quiet.

Only the wind blowing through the grapevines made a rustling sound.

Chen Yuan's hand holding the teacup hung in mid-air, not put down for a long time. In his eyes, which had seen through countless ledgers and human hearts, a violent fluctuation appeared for the first time.

After a long while, he put down the teacup and let out a long sigh.

"That old fox Zhou Wen... this time, he's really dug a massive pit for me."

He stood up, walked to the corner, picked up a small water ladle, and watered the vegetable patch.

"Alright," he said with his back to Lin Zhou, his voice somewhat hoarse. "Tomorrow, I'll report to that 'Legislative Yuan' of yours."

"But let me make it clear: I only manage the money. Personnel, diplomacy, and all that messy stuff, don't bother me with it."

"Also, the fish and vegetables in this courtyard of mine need to be looked after by someone every day. If even one green onion goes missing, I won't let you hear the end of it."