A professor's rebirth: I entered Tsinghua University in 1977.

But the man was well-educated and was asking for help. Comrade Yuan was helpless with the old stubborn man and decided to ask Director Duan Weiming for instructions on the spot.

I called the institute from Liu Chuan'an's office.

The telephones used during this period were still very old hand-cranked phones that needed to be transferred through a switchboard, and sometimes even had to be connected through the switchboard more than twice.

Fortunately, in this day and age, there are very few people who are qualified to use the telephone, so the switchboard can barely keep up.

After two transfers, the call was finally connected.

"Report to Director Duan..."

Comrade Yuan reported the situation to Duan Weimin over the phone.

Duan Weimin laughed and said, "Is Old Tan here?"

"exist!"

"Please ask him to answer the phone himself."

"Yes!"

"Chief Engineer Tan, Director Duan wants you to answer the phone."

Comrade Yuan handed the microphone to Tan Dexi with both hands.

"Hahaha, old classmate, long time no see."

On the other end of the phone, Director Duan laughed loudly.

"Old Duan, stop talking nonsense. Let me make the conditions clear to you first. I want to take the student with me, and you have to pay him according to the standard for junior technicians. When the task is completed, his name must be on the report."

"Can you promise me?"

As for his own treatment, not a single word was mentioned.

He can stay quietly in a place like a farm for two years, so there's no need to mention anything else.

Since Old Duan needed his help, he dared not neglect him.

"I can agree to it, but Old Tan, how come you're still the same? It's been decades, and you haven't changed at all? Just now, Yuan Gang said that your student is only sixteen. What does he know? How can he help you?"

This is what puzzled Old Duan.

He knew Tan Dexi's character too well and knew that he was not the kind of person who would abuse his power for personal gain.

It is absolutely impossible to favor those with connections in the name of research.

But Duan Weimin absolutely didn't believe a sixteen-year-old student could play any role in such a scientific research mission. Could he solve those dizzyingly complex equations?

What their institute lacks is only top scientists like Tan Dexi, but there is no shortage of ordinary researchers.

Otherwise, it would have been over long ago.

"What do you know?"

As soon as these words came out, Comrade Yuan who was standing next to him almost couldn't help laughing out loud.

It seems that this guy never gives in to anyone.

Their research institute enjoys the待遇 (treatment/benefits) of a deputy military rank, and the director, Duan Weimin, is a genuine deputy military rank cadre. When they go to provincial meetings, there are assigned seats, and provincial leaders treat him with utmost respect.

The first thing this old man Tan says is “What do you know”!

Comrade Yuan never dreamed that someone would speak to Director Duan like this.

"How could I not know the value of my own students? If I bring him over, he'll be worth two of your research institute's students. Old Duan was a top student back in school, after all. You'll understand once you see him in person."

"Okay, okay, now that you've said that, how can I not believe you?"

"You can take whoever you want."

"Isn't it just the salary of a junior technician? I, Duan Weimin, can make the decision on such matters!"

"When can you leave?"

"anytime."

Tan Dexi was not at all vague.

This old comrade may have a stubborn temper, but when it comes to revolutionary work, there's no doubt about that.

"That's great. You should come to Daning with Yuan Gang and the others right away. I'll be waiting for you, old classmate. When you come, I'll give you a warm welcome."

It can also be seen from this conversation that Duan Weimin is actually a broad-minded leading cadre. If it were someone else, he would have glared at Tan Dexi a long time ago.

I am a deputy army-level cadre and a general. How could I not have any temper?

"Reporting to the commander, I'm afraid it's not possible. I still need to go through some formalities..."

Seeing that Tan Dexi was about to hang up the phone, Liu Chuan hurriedly spoke from the side.

Old man Tan is a technical person and he doesn't care about these processes.

"Who are you?"

Duan Weimin's voice instantly became majestic.

Tan Dexi handed the microphone directly to Liu Chuan.

"Reporting to the leader, my name is Liu Chu'an, and I am the director and Party branch secretary of Yanggou Farm. If Chief Engineer Tan wants to go to the provincial capital, he needs our region's approval. I'm afraid we'll have to ask the leader to put in a good word with our region's leaders first."

Liu Hongyi is just a student who dropped out of school. He is equivalent to an unemployed young man and does not need to say hello to anyone.

Tan Dexi’s identity is different.

Duan Weimin then remembered this and immediately said, "Sure, no problem. I'll talk to your regional leaders."

Although Duan Weimin was only the head of a research unit, he was still a military officer, a deputy corps-level cadre. Temporarily transferring someone wouldn't be a big problem. The Chuzhou region couldn't possibly refuse him this favor.

After hanging up the phone, Tan Dexi said to Comrade Yuan, "Well, you guys go to the district and stay overnight, and then come pick us up tomorrow morning."

"Okay, Chief Engineer Tan!"

Comrade Yuan's attitude was very good now. Upon hearing this, he saluted Tan Dexi again and shook hands with Liu Chuan to say goodbye.

After Comrade Yuan and the others left, Liu Chuan couldn't help but ask, "Chief Engineer Tan, are you going to take Hongyi to Daning? He, he probably can't help you with anything, right?"

Tan Dexi immediately glared at him and said, "You have no confidence in your own child?"

"As I said before, Hongyi is the most promising student I've ever taught. His solid foundation is a plus, but the key is his wildly imaginative ideas. There are many things I wouldn't even think of, but what he says just makes sense."

"I tell you, if you train this child well, he will have a great future."

"I'll take him to Daning first to see the world and give him some exercise. This will only benefit him in the future. If your region doesn't recommend him, I'll talk to Old Duan and see if their institute can keep him and find a way to recommend him there."

Even if Old Man Tan was wise, he couldn't possibly have known that the college entrance examination would be reinstated next year. In his mind, he still wanted to recommend Liu Hongyi for the Workers-Peasants-Soldiers University.

To be honest, many workers, peasants and soldiers did not learn any real skills, but there were a few exceptions.

Liu Hongyi has excellent self-study skills. If he can be recommended to attend Beidu University or Qinghua University, he can still learn a lot. It will be a great help to his future career.

This is the main reason why he must take Liu Hongyi to the research institute.

If Liu Hongyi is not allowed to show up in front of Duan Weimin, how can Duan Weimin know that he is different from others?