Study Monster Cultivation System-Chapter 298 - 297 Can you unite external forces?

In the small conference room, a group of people clutched disposable utensils, savoring duck dishes and fried rice. Almost everyone looked thoroughly impressed.

In fact, the food was just average street-stall quality, but with spirits lifted, even the meals seemed tastier.

A few core members and senior engineers each picked up paper cups, poured themselves a little less than half a cup, and hardly missed an opportunity to toast the leaders.

This meant that for Zhao Zhenhua and Chen Hongbing, stopping at just a couple of shots was out of the question...

Originally, Chen Hongbing had it all planned out. With about a dozen men, he had prepared only four bottles of liquor—totaling up to four kilograms. Evenly distributed, each person would have less than three shots.

Interestingly, everyone restrained themselves seeing there was not much liquor, and each ended up drinking just over one shot, leaving a kilogram each for Chen Hongbing and Zhao Zhenhua.

Shen Tinglan, standing aside, followed the two men in receiving toasts, adeptly picking the perfect moment to excuse himself, "Secretary Zhao, Director Chen, it’s getting late. I’ll take the kids and head back first."

This reminded Chen Hongbing.

"Right." Chen Hongbing called out, raising his arm, "Li Zheng? Come here!"

Li Zheng, who was gnawing at a duck neck, flinched and was about to get up when Lin Yujing pushed him back down.

"When Chen Dada is like this, you mustn’t respond," Lin Yujing, holding a duck wing, earnestly advised, "Once you go over, he’ll keep you talking for half an hour, and you won’t be able to come back."

"That doesn’t seem right…"

"Don’t worry, he’ll forget about it soon enough."

"Makes sense."

Meanwhile, Shen Tinglan slapped Chen Hongbing’s arm down, "That’s enough, the kids need to grow. They need to go to sleep."

"I didn’t ask him to drink," Chen Hongbing defended, gesturing towards Zhao Zhenhua, "I wanted him to talk a bit about how he managed this, to enlighten the secretary and let everyone learn."

"Wait a second." Zhao Zhenhua suddenly put down his cup, "Wasn’t it Liu Zhanqi from Institute No. 11 who handled it?"

"Ah, I was too rushed, didn’t get a chance to report the details."

Chen Hongbing also set down his paper cup and recounted the entire matter clearly.

Of course, given the setting, his words tended to be somewhat exaggerated, turning into a tale of how an intern innovated new technology through real-world training, indirectly guiding engineers from Institute No. 11 to overcome a difficult challenge.

Zhao Zhenhua pressed him down halfway through.

"The hell, you’re talking nonsense drunk." Zhao Zhenhua held back Chen Hongbing then turned to Shen Tinglan with a serious demeanor, "Ting Lan, what’s the real situation?"

Shen Tinglan looked at Chen Hongbing helplessly shaking his head.

"Director Chen was not entirely wrong. The data analysis diagnostics were indeed led by Li Zheng and Lin Yujing."

"From their first day of internship, they were struck by the mechanical and inefficient nature of the testing group’s tasks and became interested in using mathematical methods for diagnostics. After learning about this, I contacted Institute No. 11, hoping the two interns could work with them."

"As far as I’m aware, Liu Zhanqi and his team had been working on this area for a long time but required collaboration with external university labs, which was slow due to funding and confidentiality issues. They were quite eager to partner with someone internally experienced in machine learning, as it would simplify confidentiality concerns and allow for larger data samples."

"But I couldn’t just introduce two high school students, so I falsely claimed they were graduate students specializing in machine learning, currently conducting analysis tests, to see if there was a chance for cooperation."

"Who knew they’d really end up working together. Li Zheng and Lin Yujing had the necessary equipment in the test group’s computer room, so I asked He Zhongrui to arrange a few computers for them to do remote debugging."

"Then, this morning, Liu Zhanqi came to me and said there had been a breakthrough; he gave me a set of reports and hoped I could communicate with The Sixth Institute to conduct three sets of tests together."

"When I saw the reports, I immediately arranged to go to The Sixth Institute with Liu Zhanqi."

"The Sixth Institute was also testing other things, but the chief engineer, after looking at the reports, immediately arranged for these three tests urgently."

"We were so hurried for no other reason; this set of reports, derived by mathematical methods, completely matched Cheng Long’s first fault model. If two different methods yield the same result, there’s almost nothing left to discuss."

"Once the test data came out, it was even more accurate than the most accurate scenario we had imagined."

"You know what happened afterward."

"Not to mention, Institute No. 11 is now ready to request a budget for this; they hope to increase staffing in this area and promote it more extensively within the system. The Institute Director will probably seek your assistance tomorrow."

After hearing this, Chen Hongbing clapped his hands and said to Zhao Zhenhua, "See? She went round and round, but in the end, it still boils down to my idea, which is simply the achievement of Li Zheng and Lin Yujing directing the output of Institute No. 11."

"You’ve got some nerve; that weighs a pound, doesn’t it?" Shen Tinglan chided, "Institute No. 11 had its foundation, and Li Zheng and Lin Yujing optimized it for Yellow 2 based on this. You make it sound so simple."

"Ting Lan, tell me if I understand this correctly," Zhao Zhenhua interrupted Chen Hongbing, who was about to speak, and said to Shen Tinglan, "The role played by Li Zheng and Lin Yujing is at least equivalent to two senior engineers familiar with aerospace systems technology and advanced computer technology, and they completed the equivalent of a team’s workload within a week."

"That’s a fair statement." Shen Tinglan nodded.

"Hmm..." Zhao Zhenhua pondered for a moment, then raised his hand to gesture for the two to come closer and then, with a frown, said seriously, "Have we ever had a precedent for recruiting high school students in our system?"

"..." Shen Tinglan was utterly embarrassed.

"..." Chen Hongbing initially sweated but quickly caught on and seriously replied, "There’s no precedent, but I think it’s possible."

"Stop joking," Shen Tinglan waved his hands dismissively, "They’ve already been recommended for Ji University."

"Well, Ji University also allows part-time studies, right?" Chen Hongbing asked.

"Those are full-time undergraduate programs!" Shen Tinglan became increasingly exasperated, "Even if they really come, it would be as interns."

"That’s definitely possible!" Chen Hongbing nodded vigorously, saying to Zhao Zhenhua, "Internships are good, let’s have them intern for five years."

"Stop messing around…"

"Here’s the thing, just hear me out," Zhao Zhenhua raised his hand and said, "Here, we’re not strict about internship contracts and work. If their studies are too demanding, it’s fine if they don’t come for a few months, though obviously, it’s better if they can. I know, our internship pay isn’t much, but they can participate in our excellence evaluation; take this project, for instance, it’s enough to rate them very highly, and the corresponding performance pay will be solid."

"Wait a minute, Director..." Chen Hongbing raised his hand, "Our department’s annual benchmark is just so much; if they occupy it, others just..."

"Look at you, no ambition," Zhao Zhenhua chided Chen Hongbing with a laugh, "The institute will handle it, it won’t take up a department’s quota, alright? It’s a freebie!"

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.

Chen Hongbing chuckled, "That works, I fully support it."

Zhao Zhenhua then continued, "No worries, Ting Lan, you can discuss with them first, and if it’s possible, then proceed. I obviously can’t force them to stay."

"Alright then..." Shen Tinglan sighed helplessly, "But the hopes are not high; neither of them has the desire to delve deep into aerospace."

"Understood, understood," Zhao Zhenhua gave a bitter smile, glanced at the seemingly excited but actually drained people in the meeting room, and raised his glass, "Even if we can’t keep them, we must offer the best conditions, at least we will have tried. I know, everyone’s salaries are still not quite up to the workload, but actually, there has been a lot of progress these past few years. To get more resources, to hire better people, Yellow 2 must succeed soon, otherwise where do I get the guts to pound the table when I talk to my superiors!"

"We must succeed as soon as possible!" Chen Hongbing raised his glass too.

Shen Tinglan was also forced to raise his own glass of pure water.

After the three clinked glasses, Chen Hongbing muttered a few words to Zhao Zhenhua, who nodded, stood up, and each poured themselves more than half a glass before walking over to Li Zheng and Lin Yujing.

Seeing this scene, the surrounding people immediately put down their duck dishes and got up to greet them.

Li Zheng, who was energetically gnawing on a duck neck, was also pinched by Lin Yujing.

Zhao Zhenhua walked up to them, pursed his lips, and nodded his head three times, "Enough said, well done!"

Li Zheng was also stunned on the spot, not knowing what to say.

Chen Hongbing glared at him, signaling with his eyes.

Kid, you really should drink a glass, right?

Zhou Chenglong quickly stepped forward, shoved his paper cup into Li Zheng’s hand, and filled it up for him.

However, Zhao Zhenhua waved his hands, "No, no, no, don’t force it."

Then he tilted his head back, downed his own drink, and then patted Li Zheng, "I toast to comrades who work hard and make outstanding contributions as it is deserved."

Next, he raised his cup and looked around, "Not just them, in the future, anyone who does good work, anyone who needs help in their work, I, Zhao Zhenhua, am willing to serve you!"

With those words, he took the paper cup from Chen Hongbing’s hand and saluted with both hands.

"Everyone has worked hard during this period."

"I toast to everyone!"

The crowd raised their empty cups one by one, sincerely swallowing a few sips of air with him.

Putting down the cups, Zhao Zhenhua’s expression turned serious again, "But we must not be complacent, this is only a temporary victory, we are still far from a major victory at Yellow 2."

"Once Yellow 2 successfully launches."

"Then we can truly celebrate!"

"Let’s stop here for today, no one else is allowed to drink."

"Everyone go back and rest well, you can take half a day off tomorrow morning."

"Reenergize, and I’ll see you at the test site!"

In the midst of everyone’s excited gazes, Zhao Zhenhua was the first to leave the table.

Checking his watch, it was just ten o’clock; the whole celebration lasted only about half an hour.

But seeing Zhao Zhenhua leaving on the spot, most people still felt grateful.

They had already had their fill of the night’s snacks, and if the leader had kept insisting on drinking, it would have been real torture.

Poor Chen Hongbing, his half glass was even snatched away...

After instructing everyone to clean up the scene together, he eyed the glass Zhou Chenglong had just poured for Li Zheng, "You really won’t drink, kid..."

"Uh..." Li Zheng, frightened, quickly extended his hand, "Will you take it not, okay?"

"Hey, it’s just that, it’s already poured out, it’d be such a waste not to drink it."

Chen Hongbing was just about to reach for the glass when another hand snatched it first.

Shen Tinglan took the paper cup and swiftly dumped it into the trash bag.

"Ah..." Chen Hongbing felt heartbroken.

"Director Chen, I just remembered there is some work to report." Shen Tinglan clapped his hands and said with a cold look, "It’s all technical stuff, you better get pen and paper ready for an in-depth study before arranging it."

"Don’t be like that... Isn’t it okay if I don’t drink anymore?" Chen Hongbing slipped out while speaking, "Thank you everyone for the cleanup, I’m going to discuss the test schedule with Secretary."

Li Zheng and Lin Yujing stared blankly at this scene.

Indeed, rank is prevalent everywhere.

What’s the use of having a higher status?

The capable are truly capable.

While Lin Yujing was still pondering the importance of status,

Li Zheng had already taken action.

He stepped forward briskly, swooshed and snatched the trash bag from Shen Tinglan’s hands, "Teacher Shen, let me."

"Ah... no need." Seeing how determined Li Zheng was, Shen Tinglan could only smile and help toss the things on the table into the bag, then looked at Lin Yujing complainingly, "Look at him, isn’t he more suitable as a model student than you are?"

"???" Lin Yujing glared, "He’s not a model student."

"I am."

"District level doesn’t count; it has to be city level."

"Sun Xiubin has already submitted it, I’ll be a city-level one soon." Li Zheng’s face was full of the righteous look from revolutionary movies, "Besides, does being a city-level model student allow you to drink?"

"Ah? I didn’t!"

"Today you didn’t." Li Zheng’s expression brightened, "Dare you say you never did before?"

"Before... before..." Lin Yujing was so anxious she gritted her teeth and glared, "Death to us both, Scum Chap!"

Seeing this, Shen Tinglan’s expression also turned sharp, "Oh, Jingjing, you’ve learned this now? Since when?"

"No, no, no, it wasn’t me!" Lin Yujing frantically pointed at Li Zheng, "It was him! He drank first, he sneaked beers while at Wenhai."

Shen Tinglan then turned his gaze to Li Zheng.

But he only saw a face full of righteousness, just like Xiao Bing Zhang Ga.

"Impossible, Li Zheng is such a good kid that he wouldn’t touch a drop of alcohol," Shen Tinglan pointed at Lin Yujing, "We’ll settle accounts when we get home; first, help me clean up."

"Um..." Lin Yujing wore a look of grievance, crowding around the table like a landlord being escorted away.

While cleaning up, Shen Tinglan also said to Li Zheng, "Jingjing has been out of control since she was little. From now on, you help me keep an eye on her. If you can’t manage, tell me, and I’ll spank her if she drinks again."

"Spank her?" Li Zheng’s eyes widened, "That’s not appropriate."

"Then you tell me, and I’ll do it," Shen Tinglan said, gesturing with a flick of her hand.

"Um..." Lin Yujing’s wailing grew even more tragic.

Seeing this, Shen Tinglan covered her mouth with a smile and tapped Li Zheng, saying, "You’ve got to help me discipline her."

"Discipline, thoroughly discipline," Li Zheng promptly took out his mobile phone, "I don’t even have Teacher Shen’s WeChat yet. Apart from Lin Yujing, there are some work issues I need to ask about too."

"Ah, not yet?" Shen Tinglan quickly took out her phone, scanned Li Zheng, added him as a friend, and then, just as Chen Hongbing called her from outside again, she had to put down her phone and go out to talk.

No sooner had Shen Tinglan left than an evil and despicable laugh emerged.

"Hmph, hmph, hmph." Li Zheng rested one hand on his forehead, and slowly lifted his phone to show Lin Yujing, "Look, who’s this! Think you’re the only one who can rally external support?"

"My mom’s just joking around with you," Lin Yujing gritted her teeth, "She’s still on my side."

No sooner had the words left her mouth than Shen Tinglan poked her head in from outside, waving her hand and saying, "Li Zheng, Lin Yujing, come out for a moment."

Li Zheng quickly put away his phone and turned to say, "Li Zheng, Lin Yujing, listen, who’s first and who’s last?"

"Scum... Chap..." Lin Yujing, infuriated, squeezed her hand so hard that she crushed the beverage bottle she was holding, "Don’t ask for my help anymore, I won’t help you with anything!"

"No, no, no, let’s separate the matters," Li Zheng hastily pacified, "We still need to work together on many things."

"You do it yourself."

"I actually could do it myself, but it’s more comfortable working together with you."

"Sorry, I’m more uncomfortable with you."

"Alright then, alright, I won’t mess with you using Teacher Shen anymore, okay?"

"Too late."

The two of them then left, bickering and fussing.

Unbeknownst to them, Zhou Chenglong stood behind them, a tad traumatized by their previous conversation.

After a moment’s thought, he chose to forget all about it.

Outside, Shen Tinglan led the two directly to Zhao Zhenhua’s office.

There was apparently a hierarchy within niches, also known as nested niches.

Entering the office, they found Zhao Zhenhua and Chen Hongbing had already sobered up and returned to their usual selves.

After settling into their seats, Chen Hongbing took a sip of tea before speaking with some distress, "Secretary Zhao just talked to me. You two will no longer be in the testing group. If there’s any team you want to join, feel free to suggest."

Zhao Zhenhua followed with, "It doesn’t have to be in one department; it can be anywhere within the institute."

"Eh!" Chen Hongbing glared, "That’s not what you said earlier!"

"What’s your rush." Zhao Zhenhua turned to look at them, "Go ahead and suggest."

The two of them then looked to Shen Tinglan.

Shen Tinglan simply nodded, "Don’t think too much, you can choose any area you want to work in."

The two exchanged glances through their eyes, with Li Zheng ultimately taking the lead to speak.

"We want to follow Teacher Shen," Li Zheng nodded.

"Ah yoyo!" Chen Hongbing’s expression instantly lit up, staring at Shen Tinglan and saying, "This son-in-law! Just this son-in-law! I want him."

"Go away, go away." Shen Tinglan flustered, turned her back, and covered her face.

Zhao Zhenhua then asked, "Is that also what Lin Yujing wants?"

Lin Yujing also nodded.

"Hmm…" Zhao Zhenhua stroked his chin and pondered, "Shen Tinglan is the chief engineer of Department One, Yellow 2’s chief designer, and she has many specialized groups under her as well. Do you have any specific interests?"

"As long as we’re with Teacher Shen, that’s fine," Li Zheng nodded again.

Chen Hongbing stopped joking and seriously explained to Zhao Zhenhua, "Secretary, I also realized from this incident that Tinglan understands them better, knows how to create an environment for them to excel. Although superficially it was their guidance that contributed to Institute No. 11’s success, without Tinglan’s arrangements, it wouldn’t have happened this quickly."

"Hmm…" Zhao Zhenhua addressed the two, "Hongbing just told me that you decided to come here only after witnessing Yellow 2’s failure first-hand."

The two nodded in unison.

"Then may I ask you for a favor, a personal request," Zhao Zhenhua leaned forward over his desk, "One year is a very short time, maybe you won’t even have a new plan ready... Can you promise me, starting with Yellow 2’s failure and ending with Yellow 2 taking off, to see it through from start to finish?"

The two looked at each other again.

This time, they smiled at each other.

Ignoring the look from Shen Tinglan, Li Zheng just nodded to Zhao Zhenhua.

"Otherwise why would we come?"

At this, the three adults simultaneously felt as if they had been electrified, all breaking out in an unknowable number of goosebumps.

Even someone like Zhao Zhenhua, who had seen all sorts of people, had to admit.

This was a bit of an overplay.

But given their prior performance, he had to say, it was a stable show-off.

Or a steady show-off.

"Goodness!" Zhao Zhenhua felt a numbness in his skull and turned to glare at Chen Hongbing, "Is there any more alcohol?"

"They all fell apart..." Chen Hongbing said with a pained expression.

"Ah... I really can’t think of anything else to say." Zhao Zhenhua had no choice but to speak dryly to the two, "Go and report to Chief Designer Shen Tinglan now."

"Report!" Li Zheng stood up and turned to Shen Tinglan, "Teacher Shen, I’m your man now."

Lin Yujing then pinched Li Zheng, "I am the one, you’re an outsider."

Zhao Zhenhua and Chen Hongbing both burst into laughter.

"Forget you two," Zhao Zhenhua joined in, "I’d even consider taking such a son-in-law."

"This... we are talking about work here!" Shen Tinglan grabbed her notebook and ran out.

"Go after her now," Zhao Zhenhua waved.

"Really need to chase after her." Chen Hongbing hurried them along.

"I need to chase..." Li Zheng, with his limited experience, followed the guidance and chased after her.

"You’re not allowed to chase, I’ll do it!" Lin Yujing also chased after Li Zheng.

Zhao Zhenhua and Chen Hongbing slapped the table and laughed again.

"Hahaha... Shen Tinglan... haha..." Zhao Zhenhua held his stomach and said, "So serious for so many years, she finally fell for it, hahaha..."

"Quite right, quite right..." Chen Hongbing gasped for breath and laughed, "The atmosphere’s so tense, it’s good to have a few people like this around, it’s been many years since I’ve seen Tinglan so happy."

"Yeah, Yellow 2’s team is already quite young, now I even feel younger myself." Zhao Zhenhua picked up his teacup, took a sip, and thought aloud, "But I remember you saying that they insisted on signing just a one-year internship contract, right?"

"Right, they are supposed to start university next year. They were guaranteed early admission and really had nothing else to do in their senior year, so they came here for an internship."

"But they said they came for the launch of Yellow 2."

"That’s what they said just now."

"Look, when we put our issues together..." Zhao Zhenhua clapped his hands together, "These two are planning to complete the redesign and relaunch within a year..."

"Hey!" Chen Hongbing waved his hand and laughed, "Young people, aiming high, that’s good."

"I, on the other hand, think it might be a realistic target for them..." Zhao Zhenhua pursed his lips and said, "Hongbing, have you ever met a genius?"

"Shen Tinglan?"

"She’s not a genius, she’s a specialist." Zhao Zhenhua tapped the table gently and said, "Her partner is the genius."

"..." Chen Hongbing frowned at his words, "It’s rare she’s happy, why bring up that bastard."

"Grandson or not, genius is still a genius." Zhao Zhenhua shook his head and sighed, "Back in the day, wasn’t it that grandson who, all by himself, solved so many difficult problems?"

"That was still a grandson, that’s decided."

"Yes..." Zhao Zhenhua stood up and said, "I see in those two the same talent that person had back in the day. We have to admit, sometimes a genius is worth thousands and thousands."

With that, he turned, "Now, his daughter is here, and we must keep her, not let her undertake things she shouldn’t. I’m not saying keep her in the aerospace system, I mean keep her in this country."

"Rest assured, Jingjing is a good kid, I’ve watched her grow up." Chen Hongbing also stood up, "But honestly, honestly, some of her behaviors still reflect that man’s influence... Relatively speaking, I actually have more faith in Li Zheng, I confirmed with He Zhongrui later, Li Zheng has been living in the Western Suburb from day one, and 90% of the core work was completed by him working overtime, Lin Yujing just works regular hours, it’s hard to say if she even contributes 10%."

"Maybe that 10% is key?" Zhao Zhenhua suggested, "Maybe given time, the people at Institute No. 11 could complete that 90% on their own too?"

"Secretary, if we keep talking like this, we’ll start arguing," Chen Hongbing somewhat exaggeratedly rolled up his sleeves.

"Haha, no more talk, no more talk."

...

Late at night, Shen Tinglan was driving, Lin Yujing sat in the passenger seat, and Li Zheng sat in the back, following the route to drop Li Zheng off at his place first.

Because of what had just happened, she was very embarrassed and hardly spoke all the way.

When they were almost at Li Zheng’s home, she couldn’t help but finally speak.

"Did you two discuss beforehand, directly saying you’ll follow me in this situation?"

"No, we decided at the moment." Li Zheng nodded.

Lin Yujing also looked out the car window and nodded.

"Did you... communicate by blinking Morse code or something?"

"Ah." Li Zheng suddenly perked up, pulling at the back of Lin Yujing’s seat, "That’s a good trick, let’s practice it."

"Move, move!"

"Haha." Shen Tinglan laughed and asked, "You came to me because you knew I would care about you two and not work you to death, right?"

"Yeah, definitely knew that." Li Zheng nodded, "Teacher Shen will definitely be on our side... giving us ample learning and performance space. Other people, including Director Chen, more or less treat us as tools, only Teacher Shen stands on the side of knowledge."

"Who said? I have work targets too." Shen Tinglan pretended to be stern, "With me, you can’t just learn sneakily and not work."

"Did you hear that?" Li Zheng pulled on Lin Yujing’s chair back again, "We have to work!"

"Move, move." Lin Yujing leaned forward to the car front, "Annoying, so annoying."

Shen Tinglan continued, "But you two are still too naive, you fell for Secretary Zhao’s trap, he snapped his fingers and you agreed, Yellow 2 can’t be re-launched within a year, even in the smoothest scenario, it needs over 600 days, a little trouble could drag it to two to three years, in the end, he just wants to delay your schooling and have you work here as laborers. Don’t mind tonight’s words, if you think you’ve learned what you wanted, you should go, don’t delay your studies."

"Sure." Li Zheng readily agreed.

A year is indeed uncertain.

But learning with Aunt Shen, how can it feel so comfortable?

Although Jie Qifen is not bad.

But the best is still Aunt Shen.

What’s a few more or fewer days to worry about?