Chapter 106: Songjiang’s Future Will Be Even Brighter

Zhao Guoyang’s pointed and substantial remarks completely won over Zhao Siyan. Furthermore, it wasn't just Zhao Siyan; Jiang Hong and Liu Renhe also set aside their initial disdain for him. Zhu Maotao, on the other hand, stared at Zhao Guoyang as if he had discovered a new continent, scrutinizing him intently as if there were flowers blooming on his face.

The calmest person in the room was likely Wang Ziqing. After all, when he first received the call from Fang Xuesen, the executive deputy director of the State Machinery Commission, he had already guessed that the young Zhao he was looking for was no ordinary individual. Wang Ziqing had specifically looked into the basic situation of the Hongda Machinery Plant where Zhao Guoyang worked, and he knew that this small state-owned enterprise had recently managed to secure a contract for motorcycle frames from the Siyang Group in Nanyue Province. He had originally assumed that Zhao Guoyang might have contributed some effort to this endeavor, showing a certain level of competence, and thus caught Director Fang's attention. As it turned out, the situation was clearly far more complex than that.

Seeing how knowledgeable Zhao was about automobiles, it was difficult to associate him with a recent graduate who was just responsible for motorcycle frames at a factory. Now that Wang Ziqing roughly understood Zhao Guoyang’s capabilities, a heavy stone in his heart was finally lifted. He had initially worried that Director Fang might have chosen the wrong person, leading to an embarrassing mishap. It would have been a massive blunder to bring the wrong person to the Director.

After Zhao Guoyang finished speaking, the room fell into a long silence. Perhaps sensing that he had been a bit too performative, Zhao cleared his throat and said to Professor Zhu, "Professor Zhu, what I just mentioned was merely something I happened to skim through in some materials. If there is anything inaccurate, please don't hold it against me..."

After a long while, Zhu Maotao sighed deeply and said, "Xiao Zhao, regardless of whether you saw this information in books or elsewhere, your mastery of automotive simulation theory is far beyond my imagination. It is truly... astonishing! Just looking at the logic and methods you used to solve my problem, my two prized students are far behind you in their understanding of this subject..."

Zhu Maotao’s unreserved praise made Mo Xiaotian’s expression darken. Zhao Guoyang, not noticing Mo's reaction, smiled at Zhao Siyan and said, "Actually, what I said earlier was a bit presumptuous. On second thought, Researcher Zhao, with Professor Zhu’s careful guidance, it is perfectly natural for you to have been exposed to vehicle simulation content early on. My comment about you being overly ambitious was truly too subjective on my part..."

Zhao Guoyang’s sincere words immediately smoothed over the frustration Zhao Siyan had been holding onto. In truth, Zhao Guoyang’s earlier explanation had already left her deeply impressed by this technical section chief of her own age, though her pride had made it difficult to admit. "Section Chief... Section Chief Zhao, it was I who was short-sighted." Zhao Siyan blushed, lowered her head, and offered her own apology.

With this small interlude, Zhao Guoyang finally earned a place of respect in the eyes of the group. Jiang Hong and Liu Renhe, the two powerful officials from the Provincial Machinery Commission, no longer dared to look down on him in the slightest.

...

The train reached the outskirts of Songjiang City at five in the morning. Since the sun rose late in the winter, this, the Republic’s greatest metropolis, was still shrouded in thick darkness—a sight that felt somewhat unfamiliar to Zhao Guoyang, who had been accustomed to the brilliantly lit nights of the city in his past life.

Seeing him leaning against the train window, lost in thought, Zhao Siyan, lying on the opposite bunk, felt an indescribable, wondrous sensation. It seemed as though this man before her possessed an ineffable, compassionate poetic spirit.

"Section... Chief Zhao, what are you looking at?" Zhao Siyan glanced furtively at her teacher and senior fellow student, who were snoring on the upper bunks, and could not help but ask in a hushed tone.

Zhao Guoyang started slightly, turned to look at Zhao Siyan, who was curled up in her quilt and shivering slightly, and smiled. "Nothing much. It’s my first time in a big city like Songjiang, and I wanted to see its night view. It’s just a pity..."

"If you want to see the night view, it’s better to go to Punan. The changes there over the last few years have been truly remarkable," Zhao Siyan offered kindly. Being a native of Songjiang, she knew the city like the back of her hand. Since the state proposed the development of Punan in 1990, thousands of millions of funds had poured into this 1,200-square-kilometer area. In less than two years, Punan had developed into one of the most prosperous districts in all of Songjiang. In terms of economic vitality, it even surpassed several of the old established economic powerhouses in the city, rivaling Pengcheng, the economic hub of the south. These facts were undoubtedly the pride of a Songjiang native like her. Consequently, as she introduced the area to Zhao Guoyang, she couldn't help but speak with a sense of pride, fearing he might not grasp the current significance of Songjiang and the Punan district.

However, she did not know that in his past life, Zhao Guoyang was intimately familiar with the entire city of Songjiang. Perhaps no one other than him could have imagined just how prosperous this place would become. In fact, in his former life, Zhao Guoyang had possessed a heavy machinery laboratory near the coast of the Punan New Area. Back then, aside from his constant traveling, he had spent nearly a third of every year in that very laboratory.

Thinking of the scenes of himself guiding his students in that lab, Zhao Guoyang couldn't help but feel a touch of melancholy. After being lost in thought for a while, he shook his head with a bitter smile. Melancholy was an emotion usually reserved for the elderly. What was happening to him? Was he still clinging to the past, unable to move on?

Every move Zhao Guoyang made was observed by Zhao Siyan, and her curiosity about this contemporary of hers was elevated to a significant degree. Yes, Zhao Guoyang was quite handsome. While he didn't possess the delicate, fair features of the "little fresh meat" idols of the future, he had a rugged, sharp-featured, and masculine appeal. In this era, a man with his appearance was far more highly regarded than those effeminate types. Coupled with the frankness and directness he had shown when pointing out her mistakes, it was easy for a young woman to be attracted and develop a sense of affinity toward him.

Seeing that Zhao Guoyang remained silent, Zhao Siyan paused for a moment, intending to invite him to stay in Songjiang for two days after the upcoming auto expo so she could show him the sights of the great city.

Before she could speak, Zhao Guoyang turned his gaze away from the darkness in the distance and smiled. "Researcher Zhao, thank you for the reminder. I believe that the city of Songjiang will perhaps be even more magnificent in the future than either of us can imagine..."

Looking at Zhao Guoyang’s expression of absolute conviction, Zhao Siyan’s gaze gradually drifted into a trance.