Chapter 109: Blueprints

Goudan brought down a large double sheet of white paper, along with a fountain pen and ink, and handed them to her before heading back to the kitchen to keep busy.

Zhong Yuxiu first checked the pen to make sure there was still ink in it. Then she stood and crouched by the coffee table, beginning to draw on the spot. Her lines flowed so smoothly it was as though her hand possessed a mind of its own; whether drawing horizontal strokes or vertical ones, she could produce exactly the line she wanted. Xi Nian stared, transfixed, but did not disturb her.

After three sheets, Zhong Yuxiu finally stopped.

Only then did Xi Nian ask, "Comrade Zhong, are you always this fast at drawing blueprints? You don't need a ruler or other tools?"

"No need." Zhong Yuxiu flexed her wrist and handed the drawings to him. "For now, there are only these three kinds of weapons. Once they are successfully produced, the firing range and maneuverability will be very flexible. The range can be selected, the mobility adjusted first, and the size can also be changed at will."

In other words, the weapon could be made as large or as small as desired.

"If the size is adjusted, will that affect its performance?"

"It won't. The design I gave is a reduced version based on the original. The performance remains unchanged." Zhong Yuxiu shook her head. In the interstellar age, weapons of this sort had long since been obsolete. What people used were mechs, and their weapons all carried lasers and energy particles.

Xi Nian held the drawings as though they were a priceless treasure. "Comrade Zhong, if this can be created, you'll have made a great contribution again."

Whether she earned merit or not hardly mattered to her. She had money now, and she had ability; as long as she lived properly, there would be no bad days to come.

"Comrade Zhong, are you really unable to take part?"

"Sorry, I truly don't have the time to research it." Zhong Yuxiu shook her head lightly. "Comrade Xi, you should know that lately I've been studying medicine."

Xi Nian nodded. "Why did you decide to study medicine? You've already graduated in physics, so you could have kept doing research there."

"Life is a long road. The more you learn and the more you see, the richer it becomes. Don't you agree?" Zhong Yuxiu countered.

"You're right." Xi Nian agreed at once. Seeing that she did not wish to say more, he still had to ask, "I heard you're researching pharmaceuticals?"

Zhong Yuxiu inclined her head and said slowly, "That is indeed my intention."

"For you to give up physics research and go study medicine for the sake of pharmaceutical research, I imagine you must already have a plan in mind. May I ask what kind of pharmaceutical it is?" What sort of drug could make a research prodigy like her abandon her current work and turn to medicine?

Xi Nian could not make sense of it, but Zhong Yuxiu only smiled. "The data for the physics side has already been completed. It's just that I'm not proficient in pharmacology, so I went to study medicine in a specialized way. Only after I fully master medicine can I begin the research."

"You'll have to work hard, then. Studying medicine is no simple matter. Medical texts, diagnosis through observation, listening, questioning, pulse-taking, identifying herbs, compounding prescriptions, and so on—all of it has to be learned from the beginning. The pressure must be immense," Xi Nian said with a smile. He did not object to her changing fields; he simply could not understand what kind of pharmaceutical could make her willing to give up everything she already had. After all, even if one went to study it, that did not mean one could actually research it. The difficulty of crossing disciplines was enormous, and there would also be pressure from the outside.

Zhong Yuxiu nodded solemnly. Whether his concern came from courtesy or from genuine encouragement, she accepted the kindness behind it.

"I'll study seriously. I imagine I should be able to begin research next year."

Xi Nian was startled. "Next year?"

"Yes."

"Comrade Zhong, may I ask, if I am being impertinent, how far along are you now?" Xi Nian's eyes were filled with surprise, though curiosity about her progress tugged at him as well.

Zhong Yuxiu said, "I've almost finished the medical books at my teacher's place, and now I'm learning how to write prescriptions with him."

"At that speed..." It was far too fast. Was this the difference between genius and ordinary people?

"It's actually rather slow." Zhong Yuxiu seemed not to notice his reaction and continued, "I didn't expect there to be so many books and treatises in medicine. A great deal of the theory has to be learned from scratch, so the pace has been a little slow."

Xi Nian: "......"

He felt personally wounded.

Zhong Yuxiu still had no idea and went on, "I'll speed things up."

"Ah, well, Comrade Zhong, take your time. There's no need to rush. Your speed is already very fast; you really don't need to be anxious." He knew she was studying traditional Chinese medicine, and that field was vast and profound. Even after four or five years, or even ten years, others might still not be able to diagnose and treat independently.

If it were not so, why had people in ancient times begun learning from childhood? At the very least, one had to study for twenty years before one could independently take pulses and write prescriptions and truly be considered trained.

Traditional Chinese medicine was boundless in its depth. Even the finest experts would not dare claim they had mastered it completely.

And how long had she studied? Yet she could already take a pulse and was now learning to draft prescriptions.

The two of them talked for a while. In the end, Xi Nian handed over the two large suitcases he had brought.

"Comrade Zhong, it's getting late. I should be going. The suitcases contain the clothes and shoes we bought for you. Take a look and see if there's anything you're not satisfied with; if so, we'll have someone bring different ones from outside."

"Thank you for your trouble." Zhong Yuxiu stood and saw him to the door.

Xi Nian suddenly turned back and looked at her. "Comrade Zhong, once the sales figures for this month have been tallied, I will bring you the results. As for the dividends, they probably won't be delivered to you until before the end of the year."

The sales period for this year could also be settled now.

The overseas orders were enormous, and the number of items sold was considerable. The income had risen by a substantial margin, and Zhong Yuxiu only held thirty percent of it, while the remaining seventy percent could be used for construction.

"All right."

After seeing Xi Nian off, Zhong Yuxiu returned to the main room and sat down. She gathered the scattered papers from the coffee table and rolled them up, putting the fountain pen and ink together with the papers before finally turning her attention to the suitcases Xi Nian had brought.

Hao Nan and Tian Shangguo came out of the kitchen, carrying breakfast at the same time: chicken soup noodles.

"Comrade Zhong, breakfast is ready."

"Put it on the table," Zhong Yuxiu said without looking up. She opened the suitcases and took out the clothes and shoes, placing them on the sofa. She sorted them item by item. There were three wool coats, one jacket, two pairs of tight trousers, and three pairs of wide-legged pants. There were also two pairs of size thirty-six shoes, one brown and one black, and two pairs of size forty-five shoes, also brown and black.

Size thirty-six was for women, and size forty-five for men.

They rather looked like matching couple's shoes.

Zhong Yuxiu shook her head with a smile, placing the four pairs of shoes on the sofa and putting everything else back into the suitcases. As she was about to straighten up, she saw Goudan walking over, so she casually said, "Goudan, wash the clothes in the suitcases for me and hang them up to dry."

"Beep beep." Goudan walked over and took the two suitcases upstairs.

Zhong Yuxiu then turned and went to the dining room. The chicken soup noodles were light on grease and richly flavored. She finished a large bowl and wiped her mouth in satisfaction.

"You two take your time. I'm full." Zhong Yuxiu rose and walked toward the sofa. Hao Nan and Tian Shangguo were still drinking the soup. They had already finished their noodles and could not bear to pour out the broth, which was full of nourishment.

The two of them were always very careful when eating, unwilling to waste even a crumb. Zhong Yuxiu approved of that deeply. Whether one was rich or poor, food was food, and wasting it was still wasting it. These days, in some places, even eating a little refined grain was difficult, and many people were still filling their stomachs with sweet potatoes meal after meal.

Hao Nan and Tian Shangguo cherished grain very much. At home, they would never have dared to eat so freely. Here with Comrade Zhong, not only could they eat until they were full, they also did not have to worry about eating her out of house and home, because the authorities were footing the bill.